DiRTY RADiO

Where Vancouver R&B trio Dirty Radio’s breakthrough Debut and last year’s Cassette had infectious hooks and sturdy beats, their new EP LiCK 1.0 is funkier, grittier, and practically arena-size. It’s the first installment of a set of three EPs to be released this year, and it marks the return of Data Romance’s Ajay Bhattacharya (their unofficial fourth member) on production duties, on the sweaty “Refreshin’” and the floor-shaking “Fall Back”.
“Conceptually, the LiCK TRiLOGY is exciting for us because it constantly keeps us on our toes as songwriters, performers, and producers,’ remarks Anthony “Tonez” Dolhai. ‘With each release, you’ll be listening to the freshest sounds we can create”.
See how fresh and funky it gets at http://www.pickalick.ca/ with a free track download and customizable album art. - New Canadian Music

Saying that alternative pop music could be reminiscent of good taste is to assume that there is still originality in pop music; Vancouver’s DiRTY RADIO are a living example that such a wild thing does exist.
Let’s call this bunch a modern twist on a classic boy-band bettered by well synced keys and drums. Now also might be a good time to slow clap for a real band here,something that generic pop boys in matching wife-beaters doing a synchronized dance could never aspire to.
DiRTY RADIO consist of Farshad Edalat on vocals and percusssion, Anthony Dolhai on piano and
synthesizers, and Zach Forbes doing drums and production. Last Friday night the band set the stage at Wrongbar for a Canadian Music Fest show, preceding Nightbox and Diamond Rings.
From the slow jams to a sit down solo, DiRTY RADIO played a solid set of tracks from their upcoming album In My Head and some good oldies from Cossette. The crowd couldn’t seem to get enough of it either; if it weren’t for some awkward table placement at the front of the stage, the room would have very likely turned into a sweaty moshpit. Instead, there was some solid dancing, head bobbing, shouting, and arm waiving. “When I say Dirty, you say RADIO! Dirty ...”
All in all the dancing, the singing, and the chanting along came together to form a pretty rad show. Vancouver, be proud.
Let’s hope that the brief popularity that comes with MuchMusic doesn’t run this one into the ground of mediocrity. - Quip Mag

Once upon a time in Vancouver, nothing less than divine intervention compelled musician Zachary Forbes to approach Farshad Edalat at a nightclub and ask him to sing. Having just moved from Edmonton less than a week before, Forbes was on the prowl for fellow artists following the breakup of his last band and something inexplicable about Edalat drew his attention.

“He just looked like a singer,” Forbes explains.

As it so happened, Edalat could sing—extremely well, in fact.

“I sang that “Hustler” song [by Cassidy],” Edalat recollects, laughing.

That was enough to knock Forbes’ socks off and the two began an instant musical partnership that grew in the coming year to include mutual friend Anthony Dolhai. From there, the concept of Dirty Radio—a pop group that churns out infectious, toe-tapping dance tunes, was born.

“Ever since, we’ve been together every day for the last three or four years,” Edalat says.

They’ve certainly made the most of that time. Over the last year, the trio released their first album, Debut—off which three songs: “My Heart”, “Wanna Ride” and “Groundshake” received heavy radio play—co-founded music production team SEX-ED, remixed for K-OS and laid the groundwork for the release of a new EP in February.

“[2012]’s going to be at a whole different level,” Edalat enthusiastically says of the group’s upcoming plans.

“More than anything, creating timeless music is what we want to do,” adds Forbes.

Fortunately, the threesome’s not afraid to put a lot of hard work into taking Dirty Radio to new heights. For months now, the group has spent 12 hours a day, six days a week in their East Vancouver studio putting the finishing touches on their latest album (which at press time remained untitled).

“We’re constantly working on music,” says Forbes, who, while on vacation in Hawaii last winter, insisted he bring his keyboard along so that he could compose. “No matter where we go, even if we’re not together, we’re always creating.”

Oddly enough, their workaholic natures cause them to feel a kinship with a certain notorious band that everyone loves to hate.

“We have nothing but respect for Nickelback,” declares Forbes. “From a work ethic standpoint, you might not like their music…but those guys work their asses off.”

“They built this whole empire on their own—and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Edalat adds.

In terms of stardom, however, the spotlight is, for now, focused entirely upon Edalat. All the group’s marketing, including Debut’s cover art, focuses on the Iranian-born singer.

“We purposely wanted it that way,” explains Forbes. “I’m better at sitting in the studio on my laptop. I think Farshad’s strength is being more in the limelight.”

“That’s going to change because we’re sick of seeing Farshad’s face!” Dohai jokingly adds.

All kidding aside, the three performers are content with their respective roles within the group and have cultivated a deep friendship that appears untouched by petty jealousy. As Edalat humbly states, “I wouldn’t be where I’m at without these guys!” And on that note, here’s hoping Dirty Radio continues down the path to happily ever after. - Vancouver View Magazine

Vancouver’s Dirty Radio scores the biggest point increase on the Canadian Emerging Artists chart, jumping 22-20 with “Ground Shake, “in its fifth
week on the chart. The band, who has previously reached the chart twice, including the No. 14 “My Heart,” is currently bubbling under at CHR/Top 40 and had a strong download week as well. Scotty James, who was spotlighted last week in this space, has the lone debut on the Canadian Emerging Artists chart, entering at No. 24 with “Wanna Be Loved.” The track is very close to debuting on the Hot AC format chart. The biggest chart move of the week belongs to Dru’s
“Gettin It In,” moving 16- 12 in its seventh week on the list. The song, which is currently bubbling under both the CHR/Top 40 and Hot AC charts, is the first single from his second solo album, due in 2012. This is his third solo song to reach the Emerging Artists chart, including the No. 10 “Stay With Me” in 2008. He was
also part of Doman & Gooding’s 2009 No. 4 hit “Runnin’.” - Billboard

Despite naming itself after the broadcast medium, local electronic trio DiRTY RADiO is surprisingly disparaging of the airwaves.

“When we first started DiRTY RADiO,” keyboardist Anthony “Tonez” Dolhai tells the Straight, sipping a tea with bandmate Farshad “Shadi” Edalat at Starbucks, “it was just a project that we put together for Shadi. Virgin Radio’s music director came across our CD, found some songs he really liked, and he started playing them. Then all these other stations starting picking us up. We had three songs chart in the Top 50, and suddenly the phone started ringing—labels were calling us, managers were calling us…”

“But the radio’s just not really relevant anymore,” chimes in Shadi, DiRTY RADiO’s singer. “They’re not breaking music, and they’re not really tastemakers. And Canadian stations are kind of afraid of us. We want to launch outside of Canada—and we’re going to do it using blogs and the Internet.”

The band poured resources into perfecting its “SoundCloud game”, and its digital approach is already paying off. Along with drummer Zachary “Waspy” Forbes, DiRTY RADiO’s unique brand of “future house R&B” is lighting up the online world. With recent harmony-drenched single “Numbers” boasting over three million plays on Spotify, and new club banger “Curious” racking up over 47,000 listens on SoundCloud alone, the band is mastering multiple modern platforms in its quest to spread its upbeat synth-pop across the globe.


DiRTY RADiO, Numbers
“Every time we put a song out, there’s a great reaction online,” Waspy says. “And not just from the fans, either. We’ve found that the more people start hearing Shadi’s voice, the more really great international producers have started sending us stacks and stacks of beats. By the end of this year, we’ll have a full record of collabs. We’re writing all the time, and those tracks are blowing up on the Internet.”

That’s no exaggeration. After DiRTY RADiO released seven singles over the past year, its online presence grew dramatically. But despite its obvious aptitude for producing tracks in the studio, the band attributes much of its burgeoning success to live performances.

“We have a really unique sound,” Shadi proudly suggests, swirling a Frappuccino. “We’re the only three-piece Canadian band that plays electronic music live, really. Other than Humans—but they’re a duo, and they’re using drum machines. Nobody plays instruments right in front of you in the same way we do. It’s great that we’re not just DJs, because we can actually perform.”

The band has honed its explosive live set by touring alongside a number of up-and-coming artists. Spending much of 2015 on the road with Australian indietronica group Miami Horror before jumping in a van with Toronto favourites Dragonette, DiRTY RADiO has finally brought its show back to its hometown of Vancouver. And with a set list perfected over a year of travelling, it promises to be a triumphant return.

“We’ve purposely stayed away from playing this city,” Waspy says. “We were really experimenting and changing our sound, and we didn’t want to perform on our turf during that time. We had a whole record, and then we scrapped it. We weren’t feeling the sound, and we didn’t want to play here until it was perfect.”

“This is our first big headline show in Vancouver for three years,” Shadi adds. “It’s going to be really special in that sense.”

Despite the band’s clear enthusiasm, its homecoming gig nearly didn’t happen. After hastily moving it from May 13 to avoid a scheduling conflict—not, as Waspy jokes, because “he had to go to rehab”—DiRTY RADiO will take to the stage this week with locally spawned supporting acts the Life Times, I M U R, and SaveMeBoots.

“We’ve got some exciting things planned for the night,” Tonez says. “Normally, we have a really simple stage rig—it probably takes us about 15 minutes to set it all up. But we’ve customized it for this show. We’ve rigged up synchronized LED lights on our stands, and we’ve got a lighting designer who’s going to come down and dial in some really cool patterns.”

“We’re pulling out all the stops now that we’re back performing in Vancouver,” Waspy adds. “We’ve got big ambitions to go global, but this will always be our home. It’s where we started. And right now the scene is amazing. Everybody’s just killing it—look at Sleepy Tom, Vanic, and Humans. This community is just blowing up, and we love being a part of it.”

Fortunately for the city, DiRTY RADiO is dedicated to maintaining its base in Vancouver—at least for the near future.

“The idea is to keep putting music out online, and keep building the catalogue from our studios here,” Tonez describes. “We have enough stuff in the vault that we can keep releasing tracks every month for the rest of the year—both singles we’ve written ourselves and collaborations.”

“And we have a few more shows coming up in Vancouver this summer, too,” Shadi jumps in. “Honestly, we’re really looking forward to them. We’re proud to be from here. This city better watch out, because you’ll keep seeing more and more stuff from us.”

DiRTY RADiO plays the Imperial on Friday (June 3). - The Georgia Straight

I've been following Vancouver dance producer Pat Lok for a while now; I was first introduced to him two years ago with his uptempo edit of GEN F alum Cashmere Cat's song "Kiss Kiss." Since then Pat Lok has come into his own style of disco/funk-influenced house, and his latest track is a great example of that. Featuring fellow Vancouver musicians DiRTY RADiO, "Your Lips" has a seriously hypnotizing groove to it. Stream below, and check for tour dates near you after the jump. - Fader

Normally, I’d say if you’re looking for a stand-alone groove with something to say, good luck. But fortunately for us, someone either spilled their Lucky Charms or there’s a hole in some Leprechaun’s pot of gold, because we’re feeling luckier than a field of four-leaf clovers stumbling upon DiRTY RADiO who are here to help guide us safely from an endless night into the sunlight with “Killin Me 2.0.” - Kick Kick Snare