With deep house gradually resurging, a handful of local DJs are reminding us that smooth, soulful and funky 4/4 beats aren’t just for lounging around. Given there’s a proper sound system, deep house is very danceable. This should be apparent at tonight’s House Boat Party, which features Sean Dimitrie, a leading light in Canada’s house community who hosts such talents as Mark Farina, Osunlade, Little Louie Vega and Kenny Dope at Vancouver’s Fortune Sound Club, where he is resident DJ.
Aside from being a purveyor of house music, Dimitrie co-owns Bombay Records (bombayrecords.com), a label that’s been one of the foremost Canadian house imprints since the early 1990s. Dimitrie’s first release was a remix of Roy Davis Jr’s famous Men From The Nile featuring Peven Everret.
While both he and his label are well-known for their house releases, that’s not the only thing they’re about.
Photo Courtesy of Sean Dimitrie
“Bombay started as a house label on the deeper side of things, but in the past eight years we have stepped into other sounds,” he says. “I recently cowrote and produced a full-length hip-hop album with an MC from Montreal named Daybi, and it was released in 2010. We also started a sub-label six years ago called Manali that focuses on techno and tech house.”
But it’s not all easy gliding, especially with the rise of digital music.
“The whole game has changed and nobody has seemed to build a new business model that works yet,” he says. “I used to make a very good income as a DJ and producer, and the label would sell a lot of records. My partner Nav [Bhinder, the founder of the label] and I both have ‘day jobs’ now. We still press vinyl and release a limited amount for every release, but I think the CD market is dead.”
A versatile musician with a jazz background, Dimitrie plays and makes all kinds of music.
“I moonlight as a composer of music for films — I would love to do more of that,” he says. “I also have a couple singers, Randy Ponzio and David Morin, who I am working with as a musical director and have formed bands with to perform the original music live.”
In the past couple of months, Dimitrie has been busy performing with Ky-Mani Marley, Ziggy Marley, Yellowman, Aloe Blacc, and De La Soul, who he is collaborating with on two upcoming albums that will come out early next year.
‧ The House Boat Party with Sean Dimitrie, Yoshi and Hooker. Tonight from 10pm to 3am at Dajia Wharf (大佳碼頭) (the boat will not actually leave the dock) in the Dajia Riverside Park, Taipei City (台北市大佳河濱公園). The wharf is about 150m away from the Dazhi Bridge (大直橋). Admission is NT$250 at the door.
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