The JetSet Crew came to Vancouver on May 15 for its annual House of Buddha party at District 319. Equipped with Terrecota warrior statues, red plush cushions and an enormous Buddha statue, the venue couldn’t be more fitting for the occasion. To capture the setting and bring it to life required the works of a DJ, not just any DJ – but one that could translate the element of the foreign lands where Buddhism itself is widely practiced into a cadence for dancing.

This Canadian-born DJ fuses together ethnic elements with the beat of electronic and house. The mesh creates a rare sound that perspires movement into the crowd. His name: DJ Timka, head resident DJ in New York’s highly-acclaimed Buddha Bar

Five hours before the party began, while crew members were working on setting up the dance floor, testing the lights and decorating the entrance, I sat down with Timka, to discover how serendipity played an underlying role in his journey to a successful career and why he prefers the sound of house music over any other. Plus, why this, once-avid hip-hop fan believes hip-hop is dying.

Who is DJ Timka? My name is Timur Karabilgin, Timka is my DJ name. It comes from a combination of my first name and my last name. My father is from Turkey … so I grew up between Turkey and Vancouver. Well, I was born in Edmonton and eventually we settled in Vancouver.

How did you get your start as a DJ? I was going to SFU and lived in Kitsilano and really got into the rave scene. I was pretty much a club goer, and then I started promoting, and then I got my own space and did the afterhours with DJ Monk (Kelvin Noel). I learned how to DJ, just for fun. I was about to leave for Japan, before I left for Japan [DJ Monk] gave me a bag of records as a going away gift. I had no intensions of being a DJ, I was more into song producing.

What were your adventures in Japan like? Basically, I took the bag of records with me to Tokyo, and when I got there I met a bunch of DJ’s. They were all playing the big clubs in Tokyo at the time and they were all from Canada, and they said ‘do you want to open for us?’ I really had not that much experience but I said, sure, and that’s how I got my start: being a DJ in Tokyo.

Where has this career lead you to? I went to Bali in 2000 and Istanbul for six months, and then back to Japan and then New York to further being a DJ. I started working the boutique hotels: Hudson, Morgan, the Stanley. Bed opened up a residency there, which lead to a place called Kush lounge which is known for their world fusion music. That’s where I got my taste of using my background music, being Turkish, and the music I already knew and loved which is electronic music and watch the two worlds fuse together.

What do you admire about that particular sound? I thought it was a really neat sound, it was fresh. I mean, house has been around for a long time. For me I saw that as a progression into electronic music. Taking ethnic examples of various cultures and putting them into electronic music gives you an endless source of inspiration to draw from.

How did you find yourself at Buddha Bar? I tried to get a job there and they said ‘No, no no, we already got our own DJ’s from Paris.’ This is the cool thing about New York: you never know who you’re going to meet and where it’s going to lead to. I met this really cool couple, and they became very good friends of mine. They called me up one night after Buddha Bar opened and said, ‘We just had dinner with the DJ from Paris at the Buddha Bar in New York and he’s looking for another DJ, and we were talking about you.’ I made a sample for Sam Popat (Buddha Bar’s music director), and he ended up choosing me. Popat got hired to open up all the Buddha Bars in the world as the music director, so he left me in New York as the head DJ.

What is it about Buddha Bar that made you want to DJ there? It’s very unique and it has a spiritual aspect that I feel drawn to. It’s still electronic music at the end of the day, so I can identify with both aspects.

That’s been quite the journey. None of that would have happened if I hadn’t taken a risk. Moving to New York made me explore and get out of the comfort  zone, which is a good thing because it gets you to meet people you wouldn’t necessarily meet, and that’s when I find those serendipitous moments.

So, why did you move to New York? I did an album (in Istanbul), it was an EP, it almost got picked up by Universal Music, then they had a really bad economic crisis, so that basically put the whole album on hold and that’s why I went to New York. I thought I’ll go to New York, work on my production skills.

What do you enjoy more: being a DJ or producing? I have more moments of satisfaction from being a DJ, just because I do it more often. I get moments when working in the studio and a song just goes well, then you get that amazing feeling , it doesn’t happen that much because it takes longer to reach that level.

What sets you apart from other DJs? There are so many talented house DJs and producers, the only thing that sets me apart from others, is the fact that I play more ethno-house … I tried to create a niche in this ethno-house world which I hope others will appreciate.

You’ve been a DJ all over the world, in which country is your favourite dance floor located? Bali. Just the venue itself: cliff top party, overlooking the Indian Ocean, and the sun rising. Just thinking about it now I’m getting goose bumps, you can’t top something like that.

How would you describe the lifestyle of a DJ? I’m not going to say it’s easy, there’s times when you’re broke and you’re not making enough money. You either evolve and are able to make a living from it, or you don’t. I’m pretty lucky right now. How long it’s going to last? I’m not sure, that’s why I’m focusing on other areas. I’m gonna ride this train as long as I can, ‘cause I love it.

Do you DJ a lot in Vancouver? Every couple of months and it’s almost always with the JetSet Crew.

How’s working with The JetSet Crew? It’s a lot of fun. It’s funny, Jamie and I go way back. He use to throw parties, and I use to sell tickets for him, and then we lost track. Seven years later, he shows up to New York because he wanted to bring Buddha Bar out to Vancouver, with a Buddha Bar DJ, and he found me through Google. We did the Olympics together most recently.

How were the Olympics? I was really lucky to be here during that period. It was amazing to see my hometown as the star of the world.

How would you compare the Vancouver night scene to other cities you’ve been to? I think Vancouver is very advanced, per capita it isn’t any different than New York or Tokyo. Maybe a little more focused on hip hop than say, Japan. In Japan they’re more into psychedelic trance. Europe is predominately house, especially in Rimini, Italy. It’s nice to play with people who love house so much.

Would you like to see an evolvement in North America that focuses more on house/electronic? I would but I don’t know if it’ll ever go that way. I feel like that era has gone and past and something completely new is going to come. I think that even hip-hop is dying in a way.

Why do you say that? I think it’s imploding in on itself, because it lost its soul. Even though I don’t like hip-hop now, I am a big fan of old school hip-hop, it sounds so cliché, but I love KRS-ONE, Tribe Called Quest, Eric B and Rakim, because to me it had a message that made you think and also there were a lot more jazz elements that were infused. For me, now [hip-hop] is just a giant commercial for luxury brands, and they wrap it up in music that’s about stimulating your ego, it just doesn’t do it for me. That’s what I love about house, for the most part it’s uplifting, positive music.

How has the clubbing scene evolved between now and 10 years ago? I feel like in the 90’s, people were more open to unusual kinds of music, whether it was drum and bass or trip-hop. Whereas now, it has gone to ‘safe hip-hop,’ Lady Gaga, I mean nothing wrong with that genre, but for me going out clubbing was so you could hear stuff you never heard before and dance your ass off. It wasn’t about going to hear the same music you hear on the radio and just standing around posing or sitting, drinking a bottle. And that’s what I feel the clubbing industry has turned into.

Besides house and electronic, what other genres of music do you listen to? I’m a huge jazz fan, and classical, especially when I’m studying.

Who are your influences? DJ Monk and more recent DJs like Sander Kleinenberg and Axwell. My biggest influences are DJ producers, because they don’t take their job so seriously, they’re having fun. As well as Sam Popat, because he really schooled me in the Buddha Bar, ethno-electronic sound.

If you weren’t a DJ you would be…? I would actually really want to get into international relations and conflict resolution. In a weird way being a DJ fulfilled that role because it allows me to go to different places in the world and at the same time I can speak a language to them that they can understand, which is music. There are no barriers, so in a way it’s almost better.

I guess you’re fulfilling every aspect that you’ve had a passion for. It’s a journey, I don’t even know where it’s going to end, and I don’t want to know, it’s better not to know sometimes.

Did you ever think you’re career would lead you to where you are right now? Absolutely not. Being a DJ is not something I planned on doing, it was a very natural evolution of where I came from in terms of the club world.

What advice would you give to upcoming DJ’s breaking into this industry? Three things: lose your ego, find your niche, your sound that defines you and most importantly never give up.

What satisfies you the most about being a DJ? Watching people go bonkers. Some people have pretty bad jobs, to be a car insurance person and tell someone their claim got denied? That’s got to be a tough job to do. So I feel lucky to have a job that makes people smile.

Favourite quote? It’s from an old house song, ‘Music is the answer to our problems, keep on dancing and you’ll solve them.’

I was never a fan of the ‘unts unts unts, baby’ type of beats, I always thought it was just a compilation of sound thrown into a blender. However, that changed after talking to Timka. I was immediately inspired by the passion he inherits for what he does, and the music that fuels him. I guess you could say I’ve developed a soft spot for the edgy, 130 beats per minute that is, house and electronic.

-Interview by Kyla Corpuz

Visit DJ Timka’s Website – http://www.djtimka.com

Myspace – http://www.myspace.com/djtimka