BC Place will function a number stadium for the 2026 World Cup, however 2022 marked the 12 months that Vancouverites reconnected with a Winter custom after years with out Contact.
Contact Music Pageant returned to town on Dec twenty ninth and thirtieth after a three-year absence, predating COVID lockdowns. The occasion’s organizers made some extent to be heard not simply within the stadium, however throughout all of Vancouver. The competition was so loud that neighbors past the water in Kitsilano—a 45-minute stroll away from the venue—made noise complaints, based on Every day Hive Vancouver.
Opening night time headliner Subtronics set the tone with an enormous efficiency that may greatest be described as hyperactive. Fixed misdirection, surprising transitions and artistic drops saved followers on their toes. The set was so imaginative that it might be irritating if it wasn’t so rattling entertaining.
Subtronics was with the group each step of the way in which. No matter your top or vantage level, the DJ’s lengthy hair whipped round like Willow in a frenzy. A standout second was his double twist on Excision’s fan-favorite observe “Rumble,” whereby he flexed the total breadth of his technical mastery. It was as recent because it was acquainted and an exquisite ode to his “Bunker Buster” collaborator.
There was a palpable buzz within the air as Above & Past took the stage. Longtime followers rushed to the mainstage to start their journey via the long-lasting trance music trio’s mesmeric catalog. The Vancouver crowd was handled to a magnetic audiovisual expertise that tugged on the heartstrings for the night’s penultimate efficiency.
Earlier within the night, Madeon’s followers had been handled to a uncommon and unplanned efficiency after laptop computer crashed partway via the present and he was pressured to pivot from a stay set to a DJ set. The French famous person expertly performed the playing cards dealt to him, rinsing dance hits “All My Buddies,” “Pay No Thoughts” and “You are On” to maintain the group locked in a perpetual groove.
The Day 1 darkish horse was most actually James Hype, who gave the competition a much-needed jolt of power. Thumping tracks like “Ferrari,” “Disconnected” and “Dancing” made it unimaginable to sit down nonetheless. Hype’s set warmed up newly arriving festival-goers and reinvigorated early birds.
Different standouts from Day 1 embrace Wax Motif, Matroda and Huxley Anne. Vancouver’s personal Seb C kicked off the day, exhibiting off for his hometown crowd. LEVEL UP, 4B and Madam Lola rounded out a enjoyable and eclectic first-day lineup.
Contact Pageant alumni The Chainsmokers got here again to show some extent this 12 months. The chart-topping duo’s wild set stomped via a wide range of genres, together with dubstep, techno and even a drum & bass remix of their hit file “Roses.” At one level, they invited the group to affix in celebration of Drew Taggart’s thirty third birthday.
There isn’t a query that SVDDEN DEATH claimed the title of probably the most vicious set of the weekend. The digital music star, who was not too long ago named one in every of EDM.com‘s greatest music producers of 2022, threw down his distinctive dubstep-metal fusion and managed the group in a way solely he might. It was virtually like hypnosis.
Tech home dominated the FVDED stage, the place Dombresky, Cedric Gervais and Westend saved us shifting with their signature pumping drums and pulsing basslines.
Day 2 additionally featured native artists Reezy and Steph Tsunami, who delivered memorable performances and showcased why Vancouver’s native digital music scene is one in every of North America’s most promising.
Contact, which was one of many first main digital music festivals within the coronary heart of town, has continued to encourage the following technology of ravers. If this 12 months’s occasion was any indication, the way forward for digital music in Vancouver is blindingly shiny. We will solely think about what town has in retailer for 2023.
