E-town Rave History Project at AEMCON

This week, I am speaking on a panel at the Alberta Electronic Music Conference (#AEMCON2017).  The talk is called "Alberta's Dance Music Legacy" and I am presenting some preliminary results of my E-town rave research. 

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Period (A) -- The Primary Sources

Who doesn't love a good party flyer? Remember the exciting feeling of picking up a flyer for a killer party, feeling its weight and its finish, turning it over in your hands? Remmeber how the flyer itself -- the colours, the typography, the graphics -- would signal what kind of vibe the promoters were going for? How the party flyer something you could look forward to and hold on to?

In this article, we dive head first into the primary source material at the heart of the E-town Rave History Project -- party flyers.

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"A town that works hard, plays hard" -- Edmonton, Sketchiness and the Early Dance Music Scene

My Interview with Prosper Prodaniuk - Part 1

Interview Date: August 5, 2016

Interview Location: Second floor, Enterprise Square 
(Old Eaton's Building), Edmonton AB

Interview total time: Part 1, 58:45

In this interview, Prosper Prodaniuk, music journalist, deejay and participant-observer of the rave scene since back in the day, shares his thoughts about the rough edges of Edmonton's dance music scene, and memories of formative events back to childhood. Sports World Roller Rink, the Syrena Club in the basement of Polish Hall, that empty clothing store at the top of Edmonton Centre -- all are discussed.

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Ten Early Edmonton parties (1991-1993)

From My Interview with Art Sproul (Part 1)

Interview date: May 16, 2017, 8:00 PM Eastern

Interview location: By telephone (Montreal-Edmonton)

Interview total time: ~2 hours (first 30 minutes represented here)

In this excerpt, Art Sproul -- part owner of the record store Breakaway Music and rave promoter from 1991 to '93 -- recounts the parties he promoted in Edmonton from 1991-1993, at Flashback[2], the Bronx, Dance Factory [0] and [1], as well as the venue that would (under duress) become Rebar.

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DJ Soulus (Roost; Rebar; GOMP), rave scene pioneer

Interview Transcript: Alicia K (DJ Soulus)

Interview date: August 7, 2016, 11:00 AM

Interview location: Alicia’s house, ground floor, sitting room Edmonton, AB

Interview total time: ~45 minutes

Alicia spins liquid drum 'n bass under the pseudonym Soulus.  She is a photographer and graphic designer who produces flyers for parties and club nights promoted by, among others, Grumpy Old Men Productions (GOMP) and their associates. 

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Techno Rebels: "Just the [ ♫ ] Tracks, Ma'am"

What follows is an audio tour through the "pre-history of techno" according to Dan Sicko, author of Techno Rebels (1999, Billboard Books: Broadway, New York), "the definitive text on a hard-to-define but vital genre of music."

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4-20 Special: Origins of Cannabis Prohibition in Canada

Notes from:

The Real Dope:

Social, Legal and Historical Perspectives 

on the Regulation of Drugs in Canada

Edited by Edgar-André Montigny

University of Toronto Press, Toronto: 2011

[All quotes from this source.]

TL;dnr -- Don't worry about the history of drug prohibition in Canada, Justin Trudeau's looking out for you and his main man Bill Blair's got your back.

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The Picture That Started It All

In the book Generation Ecstasy by Simon Reynolds, there is the picture that inspired the E-Town Rave History Project.

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