Jun. 14, 2006 - Issue #556: Hot Summer Guide 2006

Cup finals not the only Icey gig in E-Town

Despite having a name that might suggest otherwise, Orlando’s DJ Icey doesn’t have much of an interest in hockey, and is, unlike the rest of us, showing a bit of immunity to the Oilers fever so many Edmontonians have been stricken with as of late.

“I don’t follow hockey,” he admits, on the phone from his South Florida home. “I’m into the NBA playoffs at the moment, and basketball is what I watch and follow the most.”

Fair enough—big guys on skates with sticks aren’t for everyone. But Icey is hoping that Edmontonians are as wild for break-beats as they are for breakaways, and that the fever will cross over from sport to music.

The man who originally got his start by mixing and dubbing tapes—a technology that is now just as dead as the eight-track—is now known as a seasoned veteran in the electronic music scene, having been involved for over a decade now.

“I began DJing once a week when I was in college, and continued it all the way through. I didn’t know this would turn into a full-time job,” Icey says. “I remember getting my first proper gig at a dive bar. I bought a mixer at a pawn shop for $20 and an extra belt driven crap turntable, and started from there.”

In town this week promoting his ninth and latest album Y4K, the DJ and infamous producer plans to dip into his esoteric and encyclopedic catalogue of influences for his E-town show.

“I’m literally all over the place,” he laughs. “I personally love to listen to all sorts of music from indie rock to metal from the ’70s, from AM Gold to underground hip hop.

“The Y4K mix is a solid lock-down vibe from beginning to end,” he adds. “It is less in-your-face than previous mix CDs that I’ve done, but it gets the business done nonetheless. It is actually my favourite CD I’ve made.”

Come Saturday, Edmontonians with Oilers’ fever should rush to the dance floor and break it down to Icey’s Y4K funky beats for relief. It’ll be more grooving than Whyte Avenue, and, if nothing else, is guaranteed to be less infected with the Edmonton Police Service, anyway. V

Sat, Jun 17 (8 pm)
DJ Icey
With Jen Lasher
Decadence Martini Lounge, $15

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