Sunwave is summarized on its website as: “electronic music + sun = waves of pleasure.” It is an annual series of open-air parties at Koerner's Pub featuring an impressive lineup of 32 local House and Techno DJs this summer. Attendees have the opportunity to experience lush Deep House, bouncy melodies and accelerating textures of Techno, amplified by Koerner's beautiful garden aesthetic and immersive array of speakers and lights.
The atmosphere of the space that a DJ performs in drastically alters the listener’s experience of the music being mixed. Koerner's has a two-level outdoor tiled patio with picnic tables lined up above stairs leading to the main dance floor and small stage. The warm evening sun peaks through the canopy of surrounding trees that rise up countless meters behind the dance floor and by sunset the stars are visible above. In this space the music is entrancing but it still accommodates casual conversation by strategically having speakers placed both in the lower and upper patio floors. This all allows the dancers to freely drift between losing themselves in a groove and befriending others while enjoying drinks served in Koerner's staple hipster mason jars.
On rainy days the DJs are moved inside, which somewhat diminishes the appeal of the event however the parties still go until the pub closes at 1am. The lower attendance on rainy days might even make it feel more intimate.
The current crowd of Sunwave enthusiasts includes members of Vancouver’s underground electronic music community, many past students, a few wanderers from Wreck beach and some out-of-town visitors, but not as many current students as one might expect.
Roughly one tenth of the approximately 200 attendees at the sunny Wave I and one tenth of the 50 attendees at the rainy Wave II were students. This is expected to change, as the organizers noted that student groups such as the UBC Electronic Dance Music Club are reaching out to the organizers of Sunwave.
For UBC students, Sunwave is a unique chance to interact with Vancouver’s underground house and techno community on their home turf. The location is ideal for those living in residence and it appeals to people interested in parties off the beaten path of pop-EDM and top 40 remixes.
So far, Waves I and II proved Sunwave to be a fun, unique series of events that delivered exciting House and Techno music from professional local DJs in a beautiful, but weather dependent location tucked away on campus.
The organizer of Sunwave is DJ K.A.S.H. who is performing at several of the shows alongside Rennie Foster, Jay Tripwire, Joel West, Howl Sound, Iain Howe, Myte, Oliver Nickels and more.
The third of the six bi-weekly events, Wave III, will be bringing Vancouverites to the far corner of UBC on Saturday July 2.
You can view the line up for Waves III through VI at sunwavebc.com and can watch a live stream of the events at deradio.ca.