Timeline, aka the artist formerly known as DJ Timeline aka Dan Wurtele, has been a longtime presence in Vancouver's EDM scene. Founding member of the critically lauded electronic band Circlesquare, one of Vancouver's top Electro-House DJs & general manager of Blueprint Events are just a few of the many hats he's worn over the years. For the first ever installment of our brand new Q & A series, we sat down with Timeline to get his take on the past, present & future of EDM, some insight into his relationship with Blueprint & what tunes are really doing it for him:
Timeline, you're best known in Vancouver as being Blueprint's top DJ and you've arguably been Vancouver's most active & well known House/Electro House DJs for some time now. Tell us about your relationship with Blueprint, how it began and how it's grown over the years.
In 2005 I was DJ'ing many different shows, releasing music and mix CDs and building my profile in Vancouver. Alvaro from Blueprint approached me and soon I was booked to play one of his events. We got along great and he liked my sound resulting in more and more events together. Having a background in graphic and web design, I started designing flyers and posters for Alvaro as well. At that time Blueprint was a one man show and growing fast.
In 2008 Alvaro offered me to come on board with Blueprint as a designer and exclusive DJ for the company. I happily accepted. We were working from our homes and getting very excited for the future as many opportunities were upon us. Our Friday night at Celebrities, Stereotype, was a very successful weekly club night that grew our relationship with the Adelphia Group (owners of Celebrities, Caprice, Venue) A partnership was soon formed and we moved into their head office in downtown Vancouver in early 2009. The resources available to us at that point helped Blueprint grow even faster and the next 3 years saw the company produce its biggest events ever. Blueprint continues to grow and has hired more talented DJ's, designers, social media experts and a large team of interns and promoters.
At my last count, we have already produced 165 events in 2011. Basically averaging a show every 2 days. It is a tremendous amount of work and late nights and it is more exciting and enjoyable than ever. I have grown to the level of General Manager of Blueprint Events, along with my resident DJ status. It's a very rewarding position as I get to help develop the business, work with incredibly talented and inspiring people and DJ the best events Blueprint has to offer. We are ending 2011 in true Blueprint fashion, with 6 events in the last 5 days of the year, including the sold out Avicii show for 6,000 people at the Vancouver Convention Centre. And for 2012?... We announced our January 1st show two days ago, Hardwell at Celebrities, and it's almost sold out already. A great start to the massive year of events we are working on for all you dance music enthusiasts.
You've seen DJs come and go, genres & sounds come and go. How would you describe your style of DJing and how has the emergence of so many genres & sounds over the years influenced that style?
I'd say the main style and sound of my DJ'ing is rooted in the simple idea of FUN. I'm always looking to make people in the club have the best possible time they can. I feed off the energy of people dancing, screaming, smiling and basically losing their mind. To be more specific, I'm definitely a HOUSE DJ. I started DJ'ing House and I still get my favourite vibe from a House party. There is an undeniable connection to music that beats at the same rate as your heart when you're dancing. I play within the realms of house, and enjoy playing a banging Electro House headline set at Celebrities as much as a deep Tech House set at Gorg-o-mish.
I've definitely seen many new genres and sounds over the years and I pay closeÊattentionÊto all of it. Each new genre or even song can warp the future of any other genre. "Techno" is no where near what it was 10 years ago, which can be said about every genre really. I take elements from Electro, Dubstep, Techno and even Trance and play it in a set... in my House rooted way. There is so much good music out there and we are in this age of complete openmindedness about music that it allows me to really experiment and play around within a set. It's a very fun time for DJ's.
I look for new music everyday of my life. The sheer amount of music released on a daily basis is staggering. Part of being a good DJ today is being on the cutting edge of music, as things change so fast. ÊI'd say 90% of my DJ sets contain music that is less than 1 month old. I have always been a fan of playing brand new stuff and have built a fan base of people who know they are going to hear a lot of recently released (and unreleased) tracks when they see me. It's a great trust to have from my fans as they know they are going to hear the newest music and have a really fun night.
What have been your top 3 Blueprint shows (you've played on) overall, and your favourite show (you've played on) so far in 2011?
Oh wow, loaded question! Hard to pick as there have been so many, but here's a few that definitely stick out:
1. Deep Dish at Celebrities. July 2005.
- Deep Dish are the reason I started DJ'ing and to be able to open up for my heros years later was a dream come true. I will always remember this event and always be thankful to Alvaro for booking me on that show.
2. Deadmau5 at Thunderbird Arena. Sept 2009.
- This was Blueprint's first arena show ever and also the first ever solo arena show for Deadmau5. I got to open up and oh man what a rush to play an arena. There have been many since, but you always remember your first.
3. Timeline CD Release Party at Celebrities. 2007
- We did a number of CD release parties at Celebrities but this one just blew up. The club was absolutely packed and people went off. It was so fun and felt so good to get all this support. Definitely a highlight in my career!
4. I have to add a 4th as it was a big one.... Opening for David Guetta at the Commodore in December 2009. If you were at that show, you know how insane it was!
And for favorites for 2011:
1. Axwell at the Commodore. November 24
- This guy played one of the best sets I've ever seen. Was a real honor to open up for a living legend.
2. Deadmau5 at the PNE Forum. August 11/12
- Deadmau5's fan base has grown so big and diverse. It was great to be able to expose his fans to my style, and have it received with such enthusiasm.
3. Felguk at Celebrities. October 28
- It was Halloween and Felguk played 12:30 - 2. I got to play before and after them and it was such a mental party. People go even crazier when they are in costume and this sold out event brought out the wild side in everyone. Kinda wish every weekend was Halloween.
Top 5 tracks in your current set(s) that are really doing it for you:
Eric Morillo & Eddie Thoneick - Stronger ft. Shawnee Taylor (Nicky Romero Remix)
BKCA - We Feel Love (Tommy Trash Remix)
Michael Woods - Last Day On Earth
Nero - Guilt (DallasK Remix)
Paul Thomas & Pete Griffiths - Pandora
Mord Fustang - The Electric Dream (Heren Remix)
Fedde Le Grand - Metrum (Manuel De La Mare Remix)
Your current favourite producer or sound? Who or what is most influencing the way you DJ these days?
Dubstep is obviously very exciting these days, as is Moombahton. I listen to these a fair bit as I find them both very inspiring. Guys and groups like Nero, Knife Party, Feed Me and Sub Focus really do it for me. For house music, I'm a big Manuel De La Mare fan, and really like the productions of Chris Lake, Michael Woods, D-Formation and Nicky Romero.
Being involved in Blueprint gets me very close to all the artists we bring, and I see over 100 shows a year. Talking to and watching these DJ's, in every genre, is very exciting and interesting, and I learn something from each and every show. So really, I am influenced by the whole scene in general, as opposed to one or two specific artists. I may not be into say, a trance DJ, but that doesn't mean I can't watch his show and pick up a new technique he does. Every artist has something to offer. Openmindedness is the key to musical evolution.
"What's new from you in the realm of production? We've been eagerly awaiting a new Timeline track for awhile now."
I'm happy to say I just finished a brand new one earlier this week and I will be testing it out for the first time tonight at Celebrities, opening up for Alesso! It is going to be released on my label Live To Tape in February with a B-side that was written a couple months ago. The first track is a big sound melodic track, Swedish inspired, but more bouncy then epic. I'm very excited to see the reaction. The B-Side is a chunky electro-house warm up track (Jack Beats / Felguk inspired) that I've played out a few times and it's ready to be released!
What are you listening to outside the realm of EDM these days?
Surprisingly little. There is so much new EDM out every day that I spend most of my time listening to that. I'm really not currently on other music, even though I really wish I was. I'm sure there is so much amazing music out there. I need someone to send me the new cool shit!
When I am in the mood for something other than 4/4 I usually revert back to my old favourites. Stuff like Slowdive, Bowie, Cohen, My Bloody Valentine, Wu Tang, Erlend Oye, Massive Attack, Enya, Slayer, Portishead and Circlesquare (+ a hundred others) really clear my mind and remind me of an important era in music.
The DJ Mag Top 100, a longtime measuring stick of "success" in EDM, recently had a major shake-up-- especially in the Top 10. What's your take on the "sea change" in EDM this reflects or if there's even any merit to charts like DJ Mag's.
People definitely pay attention to the DJM Mag Top 100 and it has weight in the industry. I've heard that the top 10 are based on more actual facts (like amount of tour dates / releases / fan base / yearly income and the like) and the rest are based on votes. I could be totally wrong though. Regardless, there were definitely a number of surprises this year. Seeing trance ousted from the #1 position came as a surprise. It could very well be a sign of the times, is the trance world shrinking? I don't really know as I don't follow that world, but I definitely see House and Dubstep artists, in North American at least, having a massive surge of support behind them. I think we will see more radical changes and surprises in the Top 100 in years to come. Things happen so fast now, an artist can be practically unheard of one day, and be the biggest fuckingÊthing in the world 6 months later. It's super exciting that it can happen that quickly, the industry has become this kind of equal playing field where every producer has the same shot.
2011 was indisputably a year of tremendous growth for EDM. Where do you see electronic dance music as a whole going in 2012?
There is so much focus and excitement with EDM now it can only get bigger. Artists are really stepping up their game as well adding production and other theatrics to their shows. A very welcome addition. This is going to get even more extravagant in 2012 as are the many events and festivals, which I expect the number and size of these are going to break records.
Musically we're going to see at least 1 'new' genre come to light, there will be hundreds of new artists to check out, at least 1 of which will blow up even faster than Skrillex, we're going to see EDM have it's largest presence ever at the Grammy Awards, there will be more songs released in one year that ever before, EDM will continue to influence pop culture at an increased rate. All in all, 2012 is going to be really exciting and very fun.
