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Jeffree rebounds with sounds from Far East

WHO: DJ Jeffree WHERE: Tommy Africa’s WHEN: Feb. 11 In just six years he’s gone from Jeffree Atizado of Vancouver to DJ Jeffree world traveller.

WHO: DJ Jeffree

WHERE: Tommy Africa’s

WHEN: Feb. 11

In just six years he’s gone from Jeffree Atizado of Vancouver to DJ Jeffree world traveller. Tokyo, Bali and Malaysia are just a few of his regular gigs, and you can add clubs in Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand to his credentials.

Jeffree started out in Vancouver, spinning largely shiny house and dance tunes. But he says a trip to Japan and Asia helped shape his present musical stylings.

"I would describe it as dark, tribal progressive house. Asia is a different energy, a different atmosphere in the venues."

And it’s that ability to transform culture into music that has carried the 27 year old around the globe.

"As I travel, my music always progresses; it always evolves," Jeffree says. "I always bring two boxes of vinyl, but the way I play them changes. For example in Bali I play on beaches and that’s a completely different atmosphere to playing in an after hours club in Tokyo. It really forces you to react to the crowd you’re playing for… because you’re really relying on your music and nothing else."

And how does Vancouver compare to his other stops?

"Vancouver is more house driven. The tempo is a little bit slower than the rest of the world. But (Vancouver is) more open to a wider range. Everyone has their own opinion to what they like, but they can still go out and see a good DJ and respect their sound."

Jeffree admits, however, that much of North America is lagging behind in the whole DJ evolution. And a large part of the reason are those pesky liquor laws.

"The after hours scene in Australia is exploding right now because they don’t have the strict 2 a.m. bylaws that we have here. They have 24 hour licenses. The dance parties there run till 8 or 10 in the morning… and when the dance party is over they move over to a day club at like 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning until 10 p.m. at night. Investors and promoters will put in a quarter of a million dollars because they know people are gonna pay the money to go out to these parties because they get their money’s worth.

"There’s such an abundance of DJ’s and people who really love music in Vancouver, but unfortunately they can’t make a viable business… Vancouver raves will never be distinguished on the international scene unless they’re promoted like a dance music festival, like Creamfields where there’s a lot of corporate sponsors and music people involved. I think there’s a lot of talented DJ’s in Vancouver right now who are being suffocated, they don’t have the opportunity to play, or they don’t have the right venue or they don’t feel they’re playing to the right crowd who appreciates their type of music… and it stops them from progressing."

DJ Jeffree, however, seems to be having no trouble at all. His current projects include residency at a new "super-club" in Malaysia. He says he’ll still keep a foot in Tokyo and is working on re-establishing a base in Vancouver.

Part of the latter includes a stop in Whistler. And Jeffree’s no stranger to the resort. In his earliest DJ years, he was often found behind the wheels at Maxx Fish. Jeffree says he wants to show what he’s been up to because many people thought he "just fell off the face of the earth." Well, Jeffree certainly hasn’t fallen off the face of the earth, but he has been ripping it up… with vinyl.