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Richmond Records Pool Profile: DJ Kevin Shiu |
Richmond Records Pool Profile:DJ Kevin Shiuwords DJ Kevin Shiu 
Kevin Shiu has been a part of Vancouver’s dance music scene as long as anyone can remember. Shiu is the most sought-after DJ in Vancouver, whose progressive sounds have been laid down in almost every venue in the city. He opens for Tiesto and John Digweed every time they are in town. “Both have put in a good word for me, which helps” says Shiu. Not only have they put in good words for Shiu in the local market, but in last year’s DJ Mag Top 100 DJ’s special edition, Tiesto mentioned Shiu as his favourite warm-up DJ in the first line of his interview with the magazine.
Shiu has devoted his life to music. Traveling all over the world, Shiu recently returned from an Asian tour including Korea and Thailand. “The best venue for sure is GWK Cultural Park, Uluwatu in Bali… it’s on top of the mountain.” Say Shiu. “As far as the best club that I have played at is concerned, that depends on who the promoter is, what the sound system is like and what type of crowd they have, but Fabric in London is in the top 5.”
Every Friday night Shiu hosts Focus at a local night club. Buried deep underneath a grungy rock club, Lotus is dark, dirty, loud and perfect to host Focus each week. Residents are rotated weekly between John Morgan, Kristian Littmann and DJ Chloe. Focus has held world renowned DJs such as Phli KJosh Wink, Dysyn Masiello, Jimmy Van M and Chris Fortier. “We play music we want to play,” states Shiu. “We’ve been doing it for three years and it’s been a great run and has no signs of slowing down. We play deep house, tech house, progressive house, electro and breaks. The club holds 300 people, so it’s always a nice, tight vibe.”
Shiu explains his take on the dance music industry in Canada. “I still use both CDs and vinyl when I play out. When I am traveling, the convenience of CDs is preferred, but I still pack 40 records to be on the safe side. I get a lot of good promos from the Richmond Records Pool and labels directly. This service is great for not only Canadian DJs, but for the label’s exposure too. Canada is an untapped market.” He continues, “CDs and MP3s are here to stay, but I don’t think for too long. Something new will come along eventually. I still think that vinyl and raw media files like WAVs and AIFFs sound better than MP3s. But the ease of MP3s makes them great to use.” Indeed, but Shiu still buys music and promotes the sale of music everywhere he goes. He understands what it’s like to be a producer and the necessity for the producer to have his/her music purchased to further their efforts.
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