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Music in ones and zeros

John Straathof of Qualicum Beach working hard in Electronica
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John Strathof is putting together a video and is looking for extras to act out a club scene.

Taking music beyond the turntables and creating cool house beats has kept John Straathof busy over the past five years and the electronic artist is hoping to take his craft to the next level.

Electro house music is designed for the dance floor and Straathof admitted there are not many venues in Oceanside to perform his new genre of music so he is working on getting his work out there on You Tube.

The 31-year-old Qualicum Beach resident is shooting a music video at a studio in Lantzville and he is looking for extras. About six to eight young people are needed for the shoot which will take place on Dec. 28 and Jan. 4.

Straathof said he is filming a club scene that will involve dancing and the volunteers need to wear dark club attire.

He said the music video will be partly animated using a green screen.

“I need people who like to dance and have fun. They will be recreating a club scene with a hard hitting club song. The footage will be finished by an animator,” he said.

Straathof said he will be releasing a CD next month with four original instrumental songs. He said his project has been several years in the making.

“I am putting together an hour of music. I am doing something very different. I have worked on this project for five years.”

He said every single beat on the CD is his and while there are no vocals it has involved a lot of skill programing the instruments. He said the CD will be available on his website at www.notch21.com.

Straathof said Vancouver Island has some significant electronic music festivals but admitted it is hard to get into them.

He said his idol in the industry is Italian disc jockey Benny Benassi. The Grammy Award winning DJ has received worldwide fame and his recordings have earned him the crown “Godfather of Electro.”

The demand for Benassi as a DJ is incredible and he headlines major festivals and venues around the world.  If Straathof has his way, his CD will also be a chart topper but he admits it will take a lot of work.

“It’s a hard market to break into. I need to play my music live,” he said.

Anyone interested in being an extra in his music video can e-mail Straathof at john@notch21.com.