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Funktastic DJ Featurecast vibes up GLC

SkiiTour DJ Tim Livingstone and Canosis guest with British act
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Nu-Funk DJ Featurecast is performing at the GLC on Dec. 4 with DJs Tim Livingstone and Canosis.

Nu-Funk DJ Featurecast has performed in Whistler four times, but don't expect a repeat of the past.

"I remix a lot of music so I have my own sound when DJing, even when playing other peoples music I tend to put my own twist on it and edit and change things around," says Featurecast adding that he is always writing music for his sets, which keeps him busy in the studio most of the time.

But if he is getting out from behind the mixer, Western Canada is one of his favourite places to tour.

"It's such a unique place. I always find the crowds here are very welcoming to my sound and appreciate what I do which is amazing," he says in an email interview from across the pond in the U.K.

He plays with special guests, SkiiTour DJ Tim Livingstone and Canosis at the Garibaldi Lift Company (GLC) on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

The Whistler audience can expect "good vibes and good music" Featurecast adds, everything from hip hop, breaks, drum and bass, funk and trap, with loads of cutting and scratching thrown in for good measure. 

And he loves to riff off the classics.

A remix of Public Enemy's "Harder Than You Think" cranked up the rhythm and led to Chuck D following Featurecast on Twitter.

"Yes, the response on that was pretty amazing. I think it's on 340,000-plus plays the last time I looked," he says. "I also had G-Wiz's (producer of the original) wife email me to tell me how much he liked my remix. I'm a big Public Enemy fan so that made my day."

Featurecast also remixed the old funk track "It's Your Thing" by the Isley Brothers into "My Thing" with pretty pleasing results, and not just from the music.

"I love that I use modern production techniques to bring it bang up to date. The reaction from crowds is always interesting, too. There are some that know the original and then people that have never heard it before and just think it's something new. I always get a kick out of that," he says.

His Whistler pit stop is part of a 10 gig, 12-day tour of "super-friendly" Western Canada that will stretch from Vancouver to Saskatoon, and includes other ski locales like Banff and Fernie.  

"It's going to be a pretty full-on tour. Every time I tour Canada it gets better and better. I remember I toured around this time last year trying to do some of the smaller towns like Invermere and Fernie and still had a blast," Featurecast says.

In fact, he thinks Canada is just about his favourite place to play.

"I've played Shambhala Music Festival three times and that has to be one of my favourite gigs I've played, it's such a special place," he says.

"Other than that, I like the small grimy clubs where the people are there to go crazy. Romania is good for that kind of thing."

In terms of new music or projects:

"I'm currently working on my second album for Jalapeno Records here in the U.K. I have a few tracks finished but I think 2014 will see a lot of my studio time spent finishing it off."

He is also touring and DJing, going to Australia over Christmas and New Year's, but he won't get the time to try his luck on the slopes in Whistler, which is something he's yet to try. He says he'll try skiing one day.

With this information, Featurecast signs off with a sad-faced emoticon.