When Erin Kelly moved to Nanaimo almost four years ago, she knew Vancouver Island had a thriving electronic music community. But a lack of a regular venue in the city meant she often found herself travelling to communities like Victoria or the Comox Valley to attend shows.
“I started to feel like ‘where’s all the shows here?’,” she told The Discourse. “There are shows here, but just not as many venues for it.”
That’s when she decided to step in and take on the task of organizing a monthly electronic music night called Common at Verra Studios, located at 21 Nichol St. The inaugural Common event takes place on Saturday, March 28.
“There’s a lot of people on the Island all over the place that make their own electronic music but don’t always necessarily have spaces to perform it,” Kelly said.
Kelly and her husband Slim Rouissi used to throw house-music shows in the basement of the Vancouver artists’ building where they lived. They would have friends who were DJs mix and share their music with people, but that stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They also helped organize the Alpine Crescendo music festival for two summers in the mountains outside of Vancouver.
After moving to Nanaimo, she was asked to join the board of directors for the Old City Arts Hub, who Kelly said was incredibly supportive of her idea for an electronic music night in Nanaimo.
The Old City Arts Hub provided Kelly with $500 in seed money and people on the board helped connect her with resources in the community.
“They were so excited to help push things in the community that would create more spaces for art and culture,” she said.
Kelly found that while there are clubs and bars where electronic music is played, there were also a lot of people in the scene who didn’t want to be around drinking culture.
Kelly said she made the decision not to sell alcohol at her shows because she wanted the event to be more about the music and art.
However, Common will still be 19+ because it is a late-night event and Kelly wants to ensure that the space will be safe for attendees.
Kelly said she hopes to host an all-ages show that starts earlier in the day four times a year after the event is more established.
“I firmly believe that music is for everybody,” she said.
Free water will be available at the show to help keep dancers hydrated and organizers will have a naloxone kit on site to respond to accidental overdoses.
Electronic music culture itself was founded on an ethos of “come as you are,” as Black, Latinx and queer communities found a place of refuge to express themselves and dance freely at clubs like New York City’s Paradise Garage when this music genre emerged in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Those attending Common events will have to adhere to a policy stating that sexism, misogyny, racism and homophobia won’t be tolerated — another key part in ensuring people are safe. Kelly said she wants to empower people to ask for help and let them know that the venue takes these issues seriously.
First show to mix electronic music with live instruments and dance
The first Common show will take place this Saturday, March 28, from 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. and is a showcase of Vancouver Island’s electronic music artists.
The Comox Valley’s dj sprouT will bring her blend of deep, funky house and breaks with melodic and percussive elements.
Victoria’s FunDipz mixes the percussive elements of Brazilian funk with driving electronic beats to capture the rhythms of Brazilian and Latin music with house, breakbeat and bass music.
Duncan’s Andrew Allsgood has over 30 years behind the decks and his set at Common will be an “aural adventure steeped in decades of electronic music.”
DJ sLow from Victoria will play a creative mix of electronic music fused with live violin.
Kelly, who works as a professional classical violin player with the Vancouver Island, Victoria and Tacoma symphony orchestras, said she wants to emphasize live performances at Common.
Some of the artists performing at Common will be playing with live instruments while also doing live mixing. Kelly said for the second show in April, someone will be playing a fully live, modular synth setup. There will also be an electronic producer with a live dark techno set.
“We’re trying to engage with the live aspect as much as we can,” Kelly said.
The event will also feature Crimson Coast Dance who will help participants get in touch with their bodies and perform live dance solos through the night.
Attendees encouraged to keep phones off the dance floor
While Kelly is leading the event, she said she couldn’t do it by herself and has a small crew of people who are helping out behind the scenes.
Sam Low, or DJ sLow, is bringing his “awesome sound system” up from Victoria for the event and will also be doing the event’s lights.
Kelly said Low has helped troubleshoot different parts of the event with her.
“We’ve got somebody on our first set who’s going to play the flute,” Kelly said. “How do we get somebody to play flute with amplified music? What type of microphone do we need?”
“Sam has been my guy, talking with [me] and helping me plan that.”
Tickets for Common cost $30 and can be purchased on the event’s website, but nobody will be turned away for a lack of funds if they are in genuine financial need and contact organizers before the event.
Kelly said she wants to create a space for people to explore art through live painting, dancing or through music. To motivate people to live in the moment, she is encouraging attendees to put their phones away on the dance floor and engage with one another instead.
“We want people to experience it, not to document it,” she said.
