What: Kytami and friends
When: Saturday, Dec. 31
Where: Blacks Pub
Tickets: $50
Most know her flying fiddle from her legendary sets with Guitar Doug at the Dubh Linn Gate, or you may have caught her punked out mania as Kytami in Blackie LeBlanc & The Kytami Revolution which opened for Florida Punk Band Against Me! at Garfinkels earlier this year.
But unless you have ventured down to one of her regular gigs in Vancouver over the past year, never has Whistler heard Vancouver virtuoso violinist Kyla Uyedes bow sound the way it will in her upcoming Kytami and friends show, Saturday, Dec. 31 at Blacks Pub. And there is only one word for it, electric.
"Ive been doing this electronica, hip hop fusion tons in Vancouver at parties and festivals and Ive been trying to bring it up to Whistler forever, but for some reason, this will be the first time," she said. "People seem to be really open to this sound. Its good to be bringing something new. When I first moved to Vancouver, there werent a lot of people doing it. Now it seems to be getting more common."
Anyone who has caught Uyedes fiddle at the Dubh Linn Gate or at the now-closed DV8 Lounge in Vancouver knows there is nothing common about the spitfire fiddler.
The former Whistler resident of 10 years moved to the city after the release of her first solo album in 2002.
The classically trained violinist first unearthed this unique fusion of fiddle and house music in Whistler. A snowboard enthusiast, Uyede moved from Seattle rock and punk listening to deeper beats in hip hop and eventually electronica, jungle and drum n bass as it moved across the Atlantic in the early 1990s.
The dark sounds and heavy bass lines first moved Uyedes bow in a different direction than her Celtic cover tune staples. Her listening time and stage shows were worlds apart, two worlds she wanted to bridge with one voice.
"I always had this idea that I wanted to perform in the (music hip hop) scene I was into," she said. "I wanted to make the kind of music I was into and listening to. I started working with interesting DJs who were into making that kind of music."
At first the turntable wizardry of hip hop DJ Mat the Alien dialed in a new sound on Uyedes fiddle. Now she works with Third Eye Tribe who will join her for the New Years Eve performance along with Blackie LeBlanc and long-time friend Leanne Lamour, who joined Uyede at countless après sets at the Gate years ago.
From eastside bars and art galleries to lounges and the Shambhala festival, Uyedes charisma, passion and flare with the fiddle combined with cutting-edge innovative beats draws a devout following. Dont miss the Whistler debut of her new sound Saturday. Tickets are $50. Doors open at 6 p.m.