"Vancouver, make some noise!"
I'm standing in 604 Records' East Van performance space on Saturday night (January 12), where technical difficulties have delayed the start of the Golden Age of Wrestling's album release show for Scorpion Deathlock, producer Jeff Cancade's third album under the moniker. But, instead of becoming restless, the sold-out crowd of a few dozen attendees remain politely attentive — and all respond with full-throated cheers when Cancade cuts the silence with his request to make noise.
It's the perfect embodiment of the supportive network of friends, fans and collaborators that Cancade has built in the past few years, since the launch of his dual projects: the ambient-leaning Golden Age of Wrestling and the synthpop-oriented Devours, which together have issued seven full-lengths since 2016.
"I don't want to knock artists who play the industry game, but there is so much value and beauty in DIY culture and building grassroots followings in your city," Cancade tells Exclaim! over email. "No matter where you live in Canada — whether it's in Toronto, Medicine Hat, you name it — being a Canadian musician is really, really difficult. My wish is that we would stop obsessing over American artists and take more of an interest in Canadian arts, music and film. Just because Canada's population is smaller, it doesn't mean that we're less talented, messy, entertaining, dysfunctional or inspired."
That's why Cancade takes such a specific interest in Vancouver's music scene. He runs a record label called surviving the game, which doesn't actually release music from anyone other than Cancade himself; rather, the label serves the dual function of hyping up his city's local scene, as Cancade shouted out dozens of fellow artists with lists of his favourite Vancouver albums of 2023, and the Vancouver albums he's most excited for in 2024. The label's Spotify profile features 16 playlists of local artists.
It's his way of dispelling the myth that Vancouver is all style and no substance.
"Despite the fact that it's Canada's third biggest music hub, the artists get overshadowed by the city's own scenic beauty," he points out. "I feel like Vancouver's identity is that it's 'pretty and outdoorsy,' so people don't assume that there is a cool, gritty arts culture here. On the surface, it appears as though Vancouver is sleepy, so I fully understand why Eastern Canada only sees it for its mountains and beach volleyball — but chip away at it and you'll discover a booming music scene, albeit one that is almost entirely underground and a bit difficult to penetrate."
Cancade's attention to his local community has now paid off in the form of a record deal with one of the city's longest-running music institutions: 604 Records, which has recently launched the ambient imprint INTRASET. The Golden Age of Wrestling's Scorpion Deathlock officially drops on January 19.
It's an auspicious and adventurous release for the label — and a daring one, since Scorpion Deathlock barely counts as ambient music. The songs that Cancade, dressed in a sparkly gold cape inspired by wrestling costumes, debuts during the launch party feature ghostly ambience, but also juddering beats and buzzy blasts from noisy synths. It's not exactly chill music to study and relax to.
"The fact that INTRASET chose to release the most uncompromising and least commercial album of my entire career is pretty crazy, I'm not going to lie," Cancade admits, joking that 604 won a bidding war with surviving the game. "I can't believe they're working with me for this album. I'm very grateful that they took a chance on me and that they let my freak ass just do what I want and run amok creatively. I'm so excited that INTRASET exists — everyone at the label is really supportive, talented, and passionate about electronic music. I'm tempted to call the whole thing a bust because I haven't been introduced to Chad Kroeger yet, but I'm keeping the dream alive!"
With how things are going, it's surely only a matter of time before the Golden Age of Wrestling puts all of Nickelback in a headlock and pulls them into his growing community.
I'm standing in 604 Records' East Van performance space on Saturday night (January 12), where technical difficulties have delayed the start of the Golden Age of Wrestling's album release show for Scorpion Deathlock, producer Jeff Cancade's third album under the moniker. But, instead of becoming restless, the sold-out crowd of a few dozen attendees remain politely attentive — and all respond with full-throated cheers when Cancade cuts the silence with his request to make noise.
It's the perfect embodiment of the supportive network of friends, fans and collaborators that Cancade has built in the past few years, since the launch of his dual projects: the ambient-leaning Golden Age of Wrestling and the synthpop-oriented Devours, which together have issued seven full-lengths since 2016.
"I don't want to knock artists who play the industry game, but there is so much value and beauty in DIY culture and building grassroots followings in your city," Cancade tells Exclaim! over email. "No matter where you live in Canada — whether it's in Toronto, Medicine Hat, you name it — being a Canadian musician is really, really difficult. My wish is that we would stop obsessing over American artists and take more of an interest in Canadian arts, music and film. Just because Canada's population is smaller, it doesn't mean that we're less talented, messy, entertaining, dysfunctional or inspired."
That's why Cancade takes such a specific interest in Vancouver's music scene. He runs a record label called surviving the game, which doesn't actually release music from anyone other than Cancade himself; rather, the label serves the dual function of hyping up his city's local scene, as Cancade shouted out dozens of fellow artists with lists of his favourite Vancouver albums of 2023, and the Vancouver albums he's most excited for in 2024. The label's Spotify profile features 16 playlists of local artists.
It's his way of dispelling the myth that Vancouver is all style and no substance.
"Despite the fact that it's Canada's third biggest music hub, the artists get overshadowed by the city's own scenic beauty," he points out. "I feel like Vancouver's identity is that it's 'pretty and outdoorsy,' so people don't assume that there is a cool, gritty arts culture here. On the surface, it appears as though Vancouver is sleepy, so I fully understand why Eastern Canada only sees it for its mountains and beach volleyball — but chip away at it and you'll discover a booming music scene, albeit one that is almost entirely underground and a bit difficult to penetrate."
Cancade's attention to his local community has now paid off in the form of a record deal with one of the city's longest-running music institutions: 604 Records, which has recently launched the ambient imprint INTRASET. The Golden Age of Wrestling's Scorpion Deathlock officially drops on January 19.
It's an auspicious and adventurous release for the label — and a daring one, since Scorpion Deathlock barely counts as ambient music. The songs that Cancade, dressed in a sparkly gold cape inspired by wrestling costumes, debuts during the launch party feature ghostly ambience, but also juddering beats and buzzy blasts from noisy synths. It's not exactly chill music to study and relax to.
"The fact that INTRASET chose to release the most uncompromising and least commercial album of my entire career is pretty crazy, I'm not going to lie," Cancade admits, joking that 604 won a bidding war with surviving the game. "I can't believe they're working with me for this album. I'm very grateful that they took a chance on me and that they let my freak ass just do what I want and run amok creatively. I'm so excited that INTRASET exists — everyone at the label is really supportive, talented, and passionate about electronic music. I'm tempted to call the whole thing a bust because I haven't been introduced to Chad Kroeger yet, but I'm keeping the dream alive!"
With how things are going, it's surely only a matter of time before the Golden Age of Wrestling puts all of Nickelback in a headlock and pulls them into his growing community.
