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Concord Dawn rises in the west and plays sets in the east

Vienna-based, New Zealand drum and bass man performs at Tommy Africa's
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Branching out Drum and bass DJ Concord Dawn has been performing more tehcno and house music lately. Photo Submitted

With an accent that screams New Zealand and a home in Vienna, drum and bass wiz Concord Dawn (a.k.a. Matt Harvey) has an Antipodean DJ's heart in the central European music scene.

It makes for an interesting career.

"I've lived in Vienna for nine years. I come home to see family and friends and play a few gigs out of the snow, you know?" he says.

"I travelled quite a bit and had done two or three tours of Europe. I went back and forth to London and it was fun, lots of Kiwis in London — really a lot, but then I did a trip to Vienna and it was just nice. It's a good size for a city, not too big or too small."I found that in London I was always worried about how I'd get from Brixton to Hampstead Heath. Would it take an hour or two hours? Vienna's a lot more chill."

For his career — which is strong in Europe — it means being halfway between London and Moscow, or Sweden and Spain, he adds.

"I had to pick somewhere!" he laughs.

"I play a lot in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, which are all right next door. I can take a train. I can be there in an hour. You can still be driving around in L.A. in that kind of time."

He adds that while his German is much better than it used to be, it was a really good thing not to be distracted by the non-English world around him.

"You can have your thoughts to yourself. I have more peaceful time inside my head," Harvey says.

Does that impact his music?

"I don't know, it's not like I make the world's most meditative music!" he laughs.

"Lately, when I've been writing music I will stop and read a book for half an hour and clear my head out. I think people do less of that these days and you can see the base level of tension rising."

Concord Dawn used to be a two-man outfit; Evan Short left in 2010. By then the group had been performing for over a decade. They started locally, hit success, and then embarked on a never-ending tour.

Lately, Harvey has been performing more house and techno music after 20 years in drum and bass. He even made a trip-hop album last year.

"If you've done 100 paintings, go and do a couple of sculptures," he says.

Unsurprisingly, his output is prolific.His latest EP, The Fuzz, came out last year and a house EP, Cold Water, is out in April.

"It has been really interesting listening to that stuff and going 'whoa!'" he says.

Concord Dawn performs at Tommy Africa's on Thursday, April 9, at 10 p.m.

What's he bringing to Whistler?

"Ignorance!" he says, brightly.

"I like it. It means I'm not wondering constantly if I am doing anything wrong. Whether something is allowed. But that's how all artists should be."

He complains about drum and bass releases, with the beats and key for each song exactly the same. He doesn't want this for himself.

"Being ignorant of house and techno has been really interesting for me. Now, when I can go back to drum and bass I find myself inclined to do things a little bit differently."