If there’s one person out there that be considered a linchpin in the growth of Vancouver’s electronic music scene, it’s Robert Shea.
As a DJ at legendary Vancouver club, Graceland, in the late 1980’s, Robert was one of the first people bringing acid house and other sounds from across to Vancouver’s underground scene.
As the owner of the Map Music label, Robert was integral to giving Vancouver names like Pilgrims Of The Mind, Dan Handrabaur and Phil Western a platform to get their most unique sounds out there and in the ears of people worldwide.
As a producer, he’s just dropped a record chock full of electroniculture, a cross genre hybrid of all the sounds that have defined him over the years.
And then, there’s also his book. Discotext Magazine: Vancouver Club Culture & the History of EDM 1988-1990 is a retrospective look at Graceland’s in-house magazine and style bible. Just released, it’s a classic look at a very specific place and time in Vancouver history and all the gloriousness that came with it.
Even though he’s now a Montreal resident, Shea remains a figure head in Vancouver, one whose fingerprints remain visible, long after his departure.
