This time subsequent week, shut to twenty,000 music followers can be settling in on “The Farm,” the affectionate identify for Salmo River Ranch, a 500-acre cattle farm tucked alongside the west flank of British Columbia’s Kootenay Mountain vary—and the house of Canada’s premier digital music competition, Shambhala.
Past its serene location on the banks of the glacier-fed Salmo River, astounding manufacturing, pioneering hurt discount efforts, and remarkably holistic vibes, the multi-day tenting affair’s 25-year historical past of meticulously curated musical programming has helped set up it as among the best of its sort on the continent.
Privately owned and operated, with out company sponsorship, since its inception as a small one-stage rave in 1998, Shambhala embraces its DIY ethos with a lineup of six independently designed, booked, and operated phases.
Helmed by the competition’s veteran stage administrators, construct groups, visible artists, and audio engineers, these everlasting fixtures of The Farm every supply a uniquely crafted musical expertise with top-notch sound besides.
Shambhala’s silver anniversary version, which takes place from July 26-29, will characteristic performances from a various lineup of worldwide headliners, underground legends, rising stars, and a number of the Canadian competition scene’s most esteemed digital abilities.
This one’s for the heads and the crate diggers. Learn EDM Maniac’s stage-by-stage music information to the twenty fifth version of Shambhala Music Pageant beneath.
The AMP
Positioned adjoining to the competition’s vendor village, the AMP is the beating coronary heart of Shambhala’s bustling “downtown” space. Hosted by longtime competition characters Def3 and Ray Black, it’s certainly one of two phases to open early on Thursday and a crowd-favorite spot to kick off your weekend within the woods, boasting PK Sound and a shady retreat beneath its candy-striped cover.
Don your goggles for Whistler-based duo SkiiTour’s well-known Après Skii opening celebration, stick round for bodacious bass vibrations from AHEE, Chmura, and Tsuruda, and catch some cutting-edge drum & bass from France’s The Caracal Undertaking and competition favourite Longwalkshortdock.
On Friday, the AMP embraces surging sounds from throughout the Atlantic. Count on opening units from Kurei, Secret Recipe, Hypho, DJ co.kr, and Chef Boyarbeatz to span a spread of UK-centric subgenres, from 140BPM dubstep to blistering breaks and techno. Later, UKG and bassline greats Flava D, Sammy Virji, Gents’s Membership, and Taiki Nulight will maintain the celebration correct pumping till daybreak.
A deep dub showcase on the AMP on Saturday will characteristic performances from BC’s personal MYTHM, Minnesota trio Ternion Sound, Deep Darkish & Harmful label bosses Reality, and boundary-pushing experimental heavyweights like PEEKABOO, G Jones, and Eprom.
The AMP’s Sunday lineup is anchored by none aside from trip-hop pioneer Tipper, who can be joined by rising experimental bass stars like Saka, Tape B, and EAZYBAKED, Dutch future bass favourite San Holo, and Grammy-winning MC Flowdan.
The Dwelling Room
Over the course of its 20 years on the Farm, the Dwelling Room has perfected the artwork of chilling. Initially named the Seashore stage when it launched in 2002, the idea started as a devoted area for downtempo and ambient music, encouraging festivalgoers to take a respite from the wild weekend with a cool dip within the river or a nap beneath its old-growth cedar timber.
These days, markedly extra uptempo and multi-genre tunes come booming out of the Dwelling Room’s PK system, tastefully punctuated by distinctive programming true to its chill-out roots, together with Native American flute music, the Fungineers’ psychedelic hip-hop puppet present, and LSDREAM’s LIGHTCODE.
Beginning the celebration early together with the AMP, the Dwelling Room will host a curated invoice of Kootenay abilities on Thursday earlier than expansive bass artists like SOOHAN and Adham Shaikh and stay digital act Tone Ranger take the stage.
On Friday, after some baile funk from VHOOR, followers can catch hip-hop, bass, breaks, and the whole lot in between in units from Honeydrip, Mary Droppinz, Amp Dwell, Onhell, and The Glitch Mob, who got here up with their moniker within the Dwelling Room 17 years in the past, in line with stage administrators Sara Spicer and Mike Paine. The duo’s members, edIT and Ooah, can even carry out solo.
Earlier than he performs the AMP on Sunday, Tipper will ship his final set within the Dwelling Room earlier than retiring with a sundown efficiency on Saturday, giving method to extremely touted stay acts like LION BABE, Moontricks, and Dirtwire.
On the ultimate day of Shambhala, attendees can bust a transfer on the banks of the Salmo to the sounds of returning Shambs legend Mat the Alien, hip-hop mashup pioneer Z-Journey, Wajatta—the comedic dance music undertaking of Reggie Watts and John Tejada—and the worldwide home rhythms of Sabo.
The Village
The Village is Shambhala’s designated place for face-melting bass. Supposedly modeled after the Ewok village in Star Wars, it options treehouse hideouts and elevated walkways, and is intentionally crafted to be cozy and immersive regardless of being Shambhala’s largest by whole space.
After 18 years on the Farm, the Village underwent main renovations in 2019. Its well-known jungle-gym-looking dome was demolished, and a brand new metal and concrete construction was erected, adorned with decadently carved psychedelic patterns on its wood exterior. The brand new Village debuted in 2022 following the competition’s pandemic-era hiatus and is specifically outfitted with towering stacks of PK bassbins.
The Village opens on Friday, with label proprietor and Metalheadz veteran John Rolodex’s Village Jungle Rinse Out through the day. Later, a efficiency from UK drum & bass artist Friction offers method to Canada’s personal dubstep don Excision and the equally heavy Dion Timmer.
Saturday brings drum & bass with a DNB Ladies takeover from Crystal Contemporary earlier than top-selling duo Phibes, surging UK artist Georgie Riot, and “MHITR (Semi-Computerized)” hit-maker Hedex. The night time will shut with deep dub and experimental bass from the Chillage (sick.Gates, Mr. Invoice, shmani, and Slowform), however not earlier than Ganja White Evening unleashes their well-known wobbles and wubs.
sick.Gates will ship his fundamental set on the Village on Sunday alongside live-looping drum & bass act Wolfy Lights—performing with Pendulum drummer KJ Sawka—Hospital Information heavyweight Whiney and MC P Cash, D&B titan A.M.C. and MC Armanni Reign, WORSHIP member Dimension, freeform bazz wizard Subtronics, and rising lure expertise Juelz.
Fractal Forest
The Fractal Forest joined Shambhala in its sophomore yr, 1999. Appropriately dubbed “The Funkiest Present On Earth,” the 360-degree stage is a basic identified for its UFO-looking pyramid hovering above the DJ decks and its place tucked away within the woods, the place the ft are at all times transferring to the grooviest tunes round by way of PK Sound.
A flurry of Calgary funkmasters open the Fractal Forest throughout a Westwood Recordings takeover on Friday, together with longtime Shambhala participant Freddy J, Underdog, DJ Hannah, and Joanna Magik, a present flagbearer of the Canadian home scene identified for her releases on Dirtybird, Glasgow Underground and Farris Wheel.
The native presence continues with a DJ set from Montreal’s Grammy-nominated electro-funk duo, Chromeo, and BC-based Shambhala stalwarts like The Funk Hunters and Stickybuds. Later, Day by day Bread’s wonky hip-hop beats will give method to crisp tech home cuts from returning spinners like live-drumming DJ RUMPUS and Burchill.
Extra Fractal Forest veterans open the invoice on Saturday, comparable to DJ Lefy, The Gaff, and Slynk, earlier than Small City DJs, one other celebrated Calgary tech home act and hosts of the stage’s Fractal Funk Jam, present direct assist for a uncommon all-vinyl set from DJ Pee.Wee, higher generally known as eight-time Grammy-winner Anderson .Paak.
Additionally remember to try award-winning British home duo Stanton Warriors and funk-hip-hop dad Father Funk forward of Sunday’s spectacular run of leftfield and bass home artists, together with The Sponges, Wax Motif, Dillon Francis, Marten Hørger, BIJOU, Cazztek and extra.
The Grove
House of the “gnomies,” the Grove is a maze of woodland experiences adorned with mushy, colourful lighting for a glowing mystique that honors the pure fantastic thing about the West Kootenay area. It additionally provides maybe essentially the most sonically numerous lineup at this yr’s Shambhala, heard on a top-of-the-line Funktion-One system.
Pageant basic instrumental ensemble Lazy Syrup Orchestra kick off the enjoyable with their mixture of funk, soul, bass and hip-hop on Friday, adopted by a showcase of Canadian expertise, together with Sundog, Metafloor, and ATTYA.
UK-heavy sounds will come from DE-TÜ‘s NINA, Sicaria, and awarded jungle revivalist Nia Archives, making her Shambhala debut. Later, Exit Information boss dBridge and anything-goes heroes Synkro, The Librarian, and Goopsteppa soundtrack the trail to dawn.
On Saturday afternoon, New Zealand bass selector and Westwood staple Ok+Lab will debut his stay undertaking, PXLMTREES, with TF Marz, Parkbreezy, OAKK, and El-B main the Grove to sundown. Grammy-winning songwriter, producer, and vocalist James Blake’s DJ set is the primary occasion, with distinctive direct assist coming from soulful live-looping rapper-singer KAMAUU.
5 Alarm Funk make their anticipated return to the Grove on Sunday, forward of tribal home grooves from rising act O’Flynn, exquisitely minimal home and techno from Sydney-born, London-based Logic1000, and heralded natural home from Bonobo.
Don’t miss legendary Hessle Audio co-founder Ben UFO, famend for his wide-ranging units that incorporate the whole lot from home and techno to dubstep and IDM, in addition to rave-inspired multi-instrumentalist Jasper Tygner.
The Pagoda
Final however definitely not least is the granddaddy of all of them, The Pagoda. Maybe essentially the most visually stimulating, Shambhala’s unofficial fundamental stage is a towering seven-story temple that shapeshifts into something you possibly can think about, washed with painstakingly mapped 3D projection visuals and rigged with thumping PK audio system.
After its grand opening on Friday, the Pagoda welcomes a number of the world’s finest selectors in zany home music, together with deep stalwart Kyle Watson and What To Do label boss and Dirtybird legend Justin Martin, who can even play B2B with UK tech home icon Chris Lorenzo. Later, bass home reigns supreme with Matroda and a B2B from trade luminary Destructo and G-house king Dr. Fresch.
On Saturday, the Pagoda comes out swinging with an thrilling B2B from Desert Hearts co-founder Mikey Lion and the Pagoda’s personal DJ Soup, British underground champion Completely Huge Extinct Dinosaurs, and a Disclosure DJ set manned by Man Lawrence. Later, catch the in-demand sounds of immediately with Disco Strains, Max Styler, and Norwegian future home chief Funkin Matt.
Canadian indie dance duo Bodysync is one other must-see, identified for his or her light-hearted and carefree cuts launched on esteemed imprints like A-Trak’s Idiot’s Gold, Final Gang, Counter Information, and extra.
The Pagoda’s Sunday lineup is stacked with bass. Issues get scorching as early as 8PM with LYNY, adopted by a protracted line of his main experimental bass contemporaries, comparable to One True God, Zingara, CloZee, LSDREAM, Barclay Crenshaw and straight-out-of-Bristol legends KOAN Sound.
