Ulis is a staple of the West Coast electronic music scene. The Vancouver based co-founder of Ten Pin record label, nourishes the underground with dark, atmospheric and rich bass. His beats are a chill selection perfect for an intelligent dance floor. As one of 12 members of Lighta! Sound, a crew known for making sound system culture popular in Western Canada, Ulis’ music will make you want to throw down (whatever that means to you). Below Ulis shares about his start in music and collaboration with member of the indie group Humans, Robbie Slade.
https://soundcloud.com/maxulis/grenier-x-max-ulis-the-face-you-wear-is-not-your-own
A time before mixing
RM: I’m always interested to know how DJs got their start. What were some of your interests or hobbies before you started DJing? Did you have any traditional music training?
MU: I have always been interested in music. My mother and father were always playing records and I picked up the guitar in my early teens. I have no music training and have always played by ear. I have found in the last few years that having different outlets for creativity helps spawn new ideas and ways of doing things that I can then incorporate into my other projects.
Name that genre
RM: I first started following your music when you played dubstep and now your SoundCloud mixes are tagged #techno, #bass and #electro. Can you describe your genre transition over the past couple of years?
MU: Well I have been DJing for about 16 years now so really I started out with house, drum and bass, hip hop and downtempo type stuff. Dubstep just kinda came along and became my focus for a little while and I had a lot of success with it. I have my fingers in a lot of different music projects. I am not a slave to any genre per say, I am more concerned with the feeling that music gives me.
On the road
RM: Are you touring a lot this winter? Between winter shows and festival season, when are you the most inspired to create new music?
MU: Creativity is fleeting. When I am inspired I try and work as much and as quickly as possible. There is no magic potion for me, I just have to be lucky – and usually that means having a bit of time with no distractions. I do have a few dates lined up this winter, a couple in Portland and a few in Western Canada that are on the verge of being confirmed now. I have a bunch of festival bookings this summer but I cannot reveal them yet.
Collaborating with friends
RM: One of my favourite interviews you did was with Robbie Slade as Sabota at SXSW in 2013. Are you planning to go back to SXSW? What is on the horizon for Sabota in 2015?
MU: I am not sure I will be back to SXSW for a while. I enjoyed my time there but the only reason to play it is if you have a release that is already making waves and to go support it. Sabota has a couple releases on the horizon, one which is a collaboration with our friend Grenier in March on Mina Records (Switzerland) and another on Heart to Heart Records (Edmonton, AB), not sure on the release date for that quite yet. We also have a couple festival dates this summer we are excited about.
Raving before the Internet
RM: I saw an interview you did with Rad TV at Bass Coast 2014. In it you mentioned you started playing music around 1994. That’s roughly the same time as the birth of the Internet! It would appear you have had a front row seat watching electronic music grow parallel to the Internet. What do you think the most interesting intersection of the Internet and the rave scene has been?
MU: I started DJing around ‘98, raving around ‘94. I honestly think that the Internet has made the rave scene less fun as a lot of the exciting hidden aspects of it are now out in the open and have almost become mainstream culture. It has become easier to find amazing music, but it also takes some of the specialness and immediacy out of the whole thing. One of the best things about underground parties are the human connections you make – with the advent of cell phone culture people are less likely to make new friends and connections and I think that is a shame. But all in all we can now easily share our music with people from around the world, which I think is pretty great.
Max Ulis plays the Traverse this Saturday, February 7 with Revelstoke resident Lorne B. Tickets are $8 advance and are available at The Cabin and Society Snow & Skate. Doors open at 9:30pm. Check out the Facebook event here.
What did you think of this story?
Your feedback after we publish a story helps ensure we're always improving our reporting to better serve you
