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With this being the first day of May, it's time for a blog post! Been up to a few interesting things lately between gigs and writing music.

On the gig front, I'm definitely still coming down from the high of the first Blueprint night at Habitat with fellow elder statesman Nathan Hedley. The premier of a night that will hopefully run monthly in the near future, this was one for the ages. The club was rammed by midnight and absolutely hopping the rest of the way through. It's been awhile since I've been in the midst of a musically mature audience that brought such a great vibe to the room, so playing this night was a treat to say the least. Next Blueprint lands at Habitat on June 22nd, hoping to follow up with even more of the same.

A couple of other notable gigs are on the horizon. Firstly the Inshala festival in June, which I'll be returning to after missing last year. The first time I played it was an incredible experience so I'm really stoked to be at it again. Jay and Kylee put in loads of hard work into this weekend and it's grown bigger every year, so I'm just happy to be a part of it.

In July I'm off to Europe for almost a month, just to enjoy the music (and not get hung up on playing gigs). Sarah and I, along with a few others along the way will be traveling to Paris, Amsterdam, Ibiza and Rome in July and seeing the likes of Richie Hawtin, Carl Cox, Sven Vath and more along the way - including a stop at Sensation in Amsterdam. Counting down the days… Beyond that, there's a great possibility of returning to Phoenix in August. Stay tuned for details on that.

On the production side, inbetween working a billion hours at the job I've managed to put together a new release titled "Moments", which will be released on JOOF Recordings soon. The package has an upbeat version as well as ambient mix which will be on the same release.

Up next is a remix of a beautiful vocal track from Calgary's own 40 Gun Flagship. I've started on it, and am looking to get something rough together in the next few weeks, but definitely want to make this one special so as much time as needed will be thrown into it.

That's all for now, time to enjoy the Spring season!

Unfortunately my first blog post of 2012 has taken until March to write, but hey, better late then never.

The past couple of months have had me play a few really good gigs in Calgary. I've had the privilege of dropping in at Habitat again to play an early set of oddities and "easy listening" stuff I've been into. It's always a fun challenge to dip into the part of that collection and rediscover some really amazing music.

Also on the sked was the PixelMash show put on by the hard-working lo.definition crew. This was an interesting show combining massive visual displays and a whole range of music. Slotted in later in the night I had the chance to really dig into some bread and butter progressive and get things going, with fellow 709'er Jay following right after with a big set of techno. Ending of the night was lo.definition's Tunder who closed things down in style.

Lastly, but definitely not least in terms of importance was the Banel show put on by Evolv[d] Productions with a little help from 709 of course. For those who don't know, Banel aka Behind Blue Eyes is a pillar in the underground progressive scene. Based out of Denmark, he is the long-time founder and owner of the legendary Iboga Records, which happens to have a massive catalog of some of the best music you'll ever hear. I had the absolute privilege of manning the stage before Banel with a heavily JOOF influenced set. Tons of fun to play and thanks to Jay, Kylee and crew for their hard work in making this show happen.

On the production front, the last few months have been focused on the creation of another deep trance piece, in the similar vein as my "Sunrise Over Xaman-Ha" track that was released on JOOF in late January - which has received a lot of support worldwide. Only a few more hours to go and I think this one will be ready, however I may get some help from a very accomplished friend on this one, so it will be finished when the time is right!

Other than that, simply as a fan of the music, Sarah, myself and a few great friends are headed off to Europe this summer for both Sensation in Amsterdam - where no matter who plays, this event is something to simply experience - followed by another week long session of madness in Ibiza, where we hope to see the guys we never see here - Eric Prydz, Sven Vath, Sasha, Richie Hawtin and more. With the commercial side of things unfortunately starting to dominate and diminish the quality of dance music these days, we're really looking forward to seeing the guys that still do things properly.

That's all for now. Thanks again for all the support, especially of the new release. Awesome stuff from all of you.

As another year comes to a close, I always like to reflect back on the year that was. 2011 was an interesting year in the music world, one which saw the number of gigs I played go down, but the quality of the ones I did play go up. It was also a year in which I reinvested more time into my radio show mixes while keeping the production-side going when time allowed.

First off, I thank everyone of you for your ongoing support of everything I do (I wish I could do more); amazing as always. All the best in the new year to every one of you!

GIG HIGHLIGHTS

The year started off with two fantastic gigs highlighting the months of January and February, starting with my first time at Trinity nightclub in Seattle, then back in Calgary at Habitat with long-time musical friend, Darin Epsilon. Spring was a bit quiet but summer brought about my return to the Motion Notion festival by Edmonton. I first played this festival in 2003, 04, and 05 but had not played since - and wow have things grown since then. It was a lot of fun to come around full circle and play the main stage again, and I hope to do it again in the coming years.

Moving into fall, three gigs really stood out for me. First off was my weekend stops in both Scottsdale, Arizona and at Trinity in Seattle for a return visit. This was this my wedding anniversary weekend with Sarah, who I was very happy to have come with me of course, and both gigs turned out well with the Seattle show being absolutely over the top. I had the privilege of playing a 2 hour set of my biggest and best stuff to a packed room throughout - the atmosphere in there was absolutely insane. Hopefully I can make Seattle a yearly visit as both my wife and I really love it there.

The third highlight gig of the fall was the annual Bardo halloween party. This one's always special as it pulls together the old crew of guys that originally powered Area709 - and this one was extra special as it brought out another one of those grouchy old men, none other than Rusty Ezard.

As always, the support from the dance community in Calgary was nothing short of amazing and the whole night simply went off as only an underground party in this city could. These parties always bring things up a notch and as a result, it was probably the best set I had put together all year by far (709Sessions Episode051 featured this set)… with the original crew around you, you have to step it up as you will be judged, lol!

RADIO SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

2011 was a great year for the online radio show side of things. My 709Sessions show rolled through it's 4th year, continuing to build a strong following along the way. I was also lucky enough to be featured as Artist of the Week on FriskyRadio as well as jump in for a guest spot on Darin Epsilon's Perspectives show, which draws a massive following.

Look for more of the same in 2012. Luke Porter jumps in on guest duties for my show first thing in January, followed by a host of great guests in the coming months. There may also be a move to a new station in the new year as well, we'll see. So far Digitally Imported, InsomniaFM, ETN and Tribalmixes have been fantastic for me, so I want to continue to build things on those stations.

PRODUCTION WORK

This year saw time for production decrease, however despite that challenge, I managed to produce one of my best tracks to date, "Sunrise Over Xaman-Ha", which was signed to John 00 Fleming's legendary JOOF Recordings label - to be released on January 24th of 2012.

I'm honoured to be on the JOOF label. I've always been a big supporter of the music coming from the label, and having a chance to be in the company of such amazing artists is truly humbling. Hopefully I can continue to build my production work with them in the new year.

OTHER STUFF

A more interesting side-step this year, as it relates to the music aspect, was my venture into teaching cycling classes. Putting together sets for gigs is one thing, but putting together mixes for these classes is a whole other bit of craziness - having to bridge the gap between what people are into without compromising your own personal tastes, meanwhile creating a soundscape for getting the most out of a workout.

The result has been phenomenal and has actually really taken me back to my roots in trance - and has revealed a whole new appreciation for what good trance really is. Needless to say it's a been a lot of fun and I love where things are going.

Still tied to the healthy side of things, I also started doing a few downtempo and off-beat gigs for Lululemon - highlighted by their Salutation Nation yoga event (300 people doing yoga on a soccer field) - which allowed me to get out and play some very interesting stuff for an extremely supportive organization, and of course score some awesome clothing at the same time. More of that will be coming in the new year I hope!


That sums up what's been a really good year and I'm looking forward to what 2012 will bring. Thanks again for all of your support and may the next year be special for each and every one of you.