DJ Refine
Words by Ryan Mitchell
Photography by Adam Luk

On a cold fall Saturday justalilhype! spoke with DJ Refine who specializes in House, a growing music scene in Vancouver. We talk about the absence of HYPE in Vancouver for the House culture and the oversaturation of Hip Hop on spin tables.

Describe yourself and what you do

Well I’m DJ Refine, I grew up in Vancouver. I DJ in the city and I also produce music. I’ve been a part of the scene in Vancouver for about a year and a half now, and hope to DJ in other parts of the world very soon.

Illustrate your love for music

Music is a huge part of my life, you always need something to listen to when you are stressed , or trying to feel good about yourself. I have always been interested in electronic music, just feels more natural to me, I know it sounds weird me saying ‘its natural’ because it is electronic right.

So it’s more genuine to you?

It strikes a chord with me, I have always felt it , it’s always played a big part in my life. When I was growing up I would always have music on, especially when I was trying to avoid my parents. It was just a natural progression to go from a listener to a DJ to a producer.

Where did you find your passion to not only DJ, but play and produce music at age six?

Yeah when I was six I started playing piano, my parents always wanted me to do something, wither sports or anything so that I didn’t sit around and play video games all day.  They got me a paino which i played for a couple years, then I played some sax, got into drums in 8th grade. Tried to start a few bands, but it’s pretty tough to start one in high school. By 12th grade I was really trying to get good at guitar. For at least a two years I would play for hours a day. I grew out of it after getting into hip hop and electronic music even more, so DJing was just the next step for me.

How can you redefine the typical spin?

I like to bring more of an underground house feeling, sounds that are more common internationally, but it’s hard to get the crowd going on unique electronic music. People in Vancouver often expect to hear top 40 mainstream music or things they can “sing along to” and have heard a million times before. Vancouver is actually couple years behind the rest of the world. What I like to do is play the more mainstream stuff, mix it in with the new stuff.  I like to mix music people haven’t heard before with things they can recognize, show them what is out there while still keeping them interested. Sometimes it’s hard to find a balance, but it is fun to bring the new sounds.

Is Vancouver too much of a mainstream culture?

Yeah it is, even in Toronto, I don’t know what it is, but they are on level with the rest of the world versus Vancouver.

What do you think Vancouver should change?

We are already on the way, I remember when I clubbed four or five years back it was only mainly Hip Hop events , but now there are more venues playing house and more house nights out there: Ginger 62,  Red Room, Lotus,  lately at Republic just to name a few. People will slowly progress, but I don’t think we will ever catch up to other cities.

Why has House music gained popularity in the recent years?

You can only listen to Hip Hop so much, especially with the saturation of Top 40 we’ve had in this city. We don’t have a House radio station, we don’t have a Top 40 House chart. We don’t have that here, people are starting to get sick of mainstream music being shoved down their throat. People want to hear something new. Even The Beat is playing some house music now.

How do you pick up girls when DJing?

You know what? It doesn’t take much when you are DJing. Girls naturally gravitate towards, that you don’t have to work that hard. Problem is I’m so focused on DJ majority of the time I don’t have time to pick up girls while spinning. I like isolating people outside, where it not so loud or chatting it up in a quiet corner of a club

If there is such thing

Yeah exactly

Give me instructions on how to HYPE a crowd.

You just got to feel it. Good DJs out there, they will feel the crowd, it will be a part of their whole set. There are DJs who play what they want, and then there are those who will listen to what the crowds want, based on their movements. If people are heading to the bar, right away you know you got to change it up.  I’ll go through music, make notes on what will HYPE it up or mellow it out; you can always work to improve your set.

What type of HYPE does Vancouver need right now?

Vancouver needs to wake up to the rest of the world. I’ll go and do a set and I wouldn’t be able to play 80% of the tracks I want to, because the crowd won’t get it. Generally here people want to hear shit they know, I think I mentioned it before; girls will always want to hear stuff they can sing to.

So stuff they feel ‘safe’ with?

Yeah I guess it is a comfort zone right?  People have come up to me during a House set requesting Hip Hop.   “Do you have any Top 40? Can you play some Britney Spears?”    I’m thinking “can’t you hear what I’m playing now?” I think they need to wake up start listening to what the DJs are playing, because we are the ones exposed to the most music, people need to respect our sets, be more open minded, I don’t want to sound rude or anything, but you get what I mean.

What does HYPE mean to you?

When you are in a club or house party, or anywhere, just feeling the music, feeling the bass inside you, behind the decks you can feel the energy of the crowd. It is about that feeling, not necessarily the lyrics , or the melody. That’s the reason I love electronic so much because for example Hip Hop it is about the lyrics and the beat, but with electronic music it’s the only music in the world that people can describe by the feeling they get from it. When you feel the music build and can’t help but move or throw your hands in the air waiting for it to drop and the bass to consume you, that’s when you feel the HYPE.