A smoked out, jazz tinged deep house opening set recorded live at Fortune Sound Vancouver BC

Woodhead - Fortune Sound Club April 22 2023 Night 2.WAV

Every year Shambhala Music Festival brings together some of the world's best electronic music, art, and culture. It is consistently voted one of the top ten festivals in the world. It never ceases to amaze me how large the festival has grown from it's humble beginnings in the woods of BC Canada. 

There are a few reasons why I called this mix, "The Return From Shambhala."

This mix is something personal to me. I have played Shambles many times over the years, but it is more than just my return to perform at an amazing party in Salmo, BC. I grew up in Toronto and spent some time in Vancouver, but these days I live in Victoria, BC. While I have never lived in Salmo or the Kootenays, I do have friends and family there. The friends who have worked at Shambhala are too numerous to list, even my brother Michael and sister Natasha have volunteered to help with the show. My father (Padma Samchuk) is a local and before he retired from working at raves, he worked for many years on the various incarnations of The Grove stage. Each year he brought new art, large-scale decorations and live painting exhibitions to the event. One of his large banners flanking the entrance to The Grove stage was used for the tickets a while back. Likewise, the cover art for this mix is also watermarked with one of his pieces. So for me coming to Shambhala Music Festival is also a visit with my family in nearby Nelson, BC. In that way, I am also "returning" home.

Shambhala is an interesting name to choose for a festival. As I understand it, there is the teaching of the Bodhisattva, or enlightened humans who are compassionate, generous and patient. Because of these traits, they have earned the right to escape the repetitive bonds of reincarnation to ascend to Shambhala. But instead of enjoying the fruits of their labors in that mythological place, they choose to "return" to the earth and help the rest of us become enlightened. Simply put, the idea of going to a heavenly party was a major theme when the festival was first named. Therefore, "The Return from Shambhala" is really a return from heaven.

Putting this mix together was a real joy for me as I prefer music that is emotional, genuine and cerebral. This track selection was curated to create a long, slow burn right through to the end. Often this type of programming is used for a warm up set or an introverted musical exploration going deep into the night. But this isn't an opening set. Because I went with bass heavy, ethereal and slightly psychedelic music, I envisioned this mix for the smooth journey home after the festival. 

The Return From Shambhala Tracklist

Artist - Title - Label
1. Dronus - Forever Grateful - RF044 - RF Records 
2. Chris Cargo - Beyond the Mask - If You Wait 
3. Soul Relay - Veritas - 3rd Avenue
4. Arbey Gonzalez - Nova Vida (Original Mix) - One Of A Kind
5. Zehv - Maggie (K Loveski Remix) - MNL
6. Bondarev Dowden - Tranquility (Original Mix) - One Of A Kind
7. Jiminy Hop - Colatrix (Matter Remix) - Meanwhile 
8. Sergey Muzarks - Andromeda (Original Mix) - Mistique Music
9. The Journey - Games (Kasey Taylor and Chris Meehan) - UGenius

Cover art by duh Padma



Yoseff Samchuk 6 - The Return From Shambhala - June 14, 2023

As we’re gearing up to return to Bass Coast this week, we wanted to share another recording from this year's Downtown Defrost for your listening pleasure! Next up in the series we have the incomparable Dane! One of the most talented DJs to come out of western Canada, Dane's sets are always incredible, and this one was no different. If you’re road tripping out to Merritt this week (or anywhere else), be sure to put this one on! ✨🪩🕺🎶

Follow Dane on SoundCloud at:
https://soundcloud.com/commonedit

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www.downtowndefrost.com/
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Dane - Live From The Downtown Defrost 2023

NUNI - STACKS 2023

Kelly Zahn live at Skullspace for Nuit Blanche 2023!  Tracklist coming soon...

Kelly Zahn - Live at Nuit Blanche 2023

An interplanetary transmission received and recorded on October 12, 2023.

Annulus Eclipsis

What an honor to open for downtempo/deep tech artist, Bawab, for his Bay Area debut! This is a very special set for me. I had a great time crafting this downtempo, organic house, electronica mix. Huge thank you to the folks over at TIMEFVCK for having me, especially Gregor and Aurora (Middlespoon & Abuelita)!!

Bawab Bay Debut - GINGERKAT Mix

The year is almost over and I haven't yet uploaded a set from my ongoing residency at the legendary Gorg-O-Mish afterhours club in Vancouver, Canada. This excerpt recorded in November should do the trick. I hope you enjoy the ride and I hope to see you on the dance-floor soon! 

Peace, RF