By Megan Cole, special to CBC Music
Bass and the sound of muffled music often pour out onto the streets surrounding Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, where rock legends and hip-hop stars play, but last year the centre hosted a different Grammy Award winner.
Positioned behind a DJ booth, surrounded by awe-inspiring lights, lasers and video screens, L.A.’s Skrillex commanded a crowd not just with his music, but with the help of Calgarian sound and production wizards PK Sound.
Founded by a group of friends in the early 2000s, PK Sound has created a reputation, particularly in the electronic music industry, for building large format sound systems. Along with production work, they also tour with artists such as Skrillex, Bassnectar, Opiuo, Datsik and Excision.
As the list of projects grows, the accolades and awards are further affirmation of PK’s impact in the genre and on the industry. This year, PK Sound is facing off against competitors like Apple, Pioneer and Numark at the International Dance Music Awards, being held Thursday, March 21. They’re nominated for manufacturer of the year, as well as best club sound system (manufacturer). Closer to home, PK was just recognized by the Calgary Choice Awards in the best arts and culture category.
At first glance, PK Sound may seem no different than any other production company in North America, but when Jeremy Bridge, president, decided to take the concertgoer from observer to being visually and sonically immersed as part of an unforgettable experience, he started creating something no one else was doing. As well as “promoting the music we grew up loving,” he adds.
But instead of taking the audio-visual equipment that existed and attempting to achieve their vision, Bridge and PK knew they had to build it all — the company and the tools — themselves.
“We make awesome-sounding, really loud speakers and help in any way we can to make our clients', customers' and fans' jaws drop,” says Bridge about the unique PK experience, which now includes building and installing sound systems in night clubs.
Paul Magnuson, PK’s director of sales and marketing, who has been with the company for six years, has a similar mandate: “First and foremost, we make badass sound systems.” He still remembers his first PK Sound experience.
“Jeremy invited me out to Shambhala Music Festival in Salmo, B.C., as a technician to see the system and the lights,” he says. PK’s reputation for production and sound preceded the trip and Magnuson’s employment with the company. “When I saw the setup and subwall at the Village stage at Shambhala for the first time, I was impressed just by the sheer size of the system and the look of it.”
But Magnuson witnessed the real power of PK Sound when it came time for a Village tradition.
“[PK plays] the Darth Vader theme to test the sound system,” he says. “It’s really funny because other stages and people on site come to the gates, which are closed, to hear the system turn on. As soon as it was turned on, I couldn’t have imagined hearing something more evil and devastating.”
Shambhala also helped launch the company’s relationship with Skrillex and the Blood Company crew.
“When Skrillex was just starting to blow up, Jeremy and a couple of other guys on the crew were interested in connecting with him,” says Magnuson. With Skrillex on the Shambhala 2011 lineup, it fit to have him experience what PK could offer.
“That kind of sealed the deal for a lot of the stuff we’ve done,” says Magnuson. “We’re still working with him to do the Full Flex Express tour here in Canada and on a bunch of other projects he’s doing in L.A.”
As EDM works its way into the mainstream, criticism of these events and festivals is on the rise (again). In February, The L.A. Times investigated the track record of a well known American rave and electronic music promoter, Pasquale Rotella, who works with Insomnia Inc. and is affiliated with the Electric Daisy Carnival festival. Critics questioned the security of these events in connection to drug overdoses and deaths.
But Bridge says that this happens with every major genre in music.
“Humans are typically resistant to change and often fearful of the unknown,” he says. “Elvis’s dance moves were unspeakable, hip-hop was seen as nothing but a bunch of gangsters and, at one time, even the waltz was considered to be dirty dancing.”
Trends change but one thing is constant: “Kids are going to party,” Bridge says. “We can make the choice to help keep them safe and do our part to educate rather than alienate.”
Related:
Sights and sounds from Shambhala 2012