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Revelstoke DJ celebrates streaming milestone and brand-new single

Mitch McKinnon, stage name Shylow, has been producing music in Revelstoke for 13 years
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Mitch McKinnon, stage name Shylow, is a future bass artist from Revelstoke. (Josh Piercey/Revelstoke Review)

A Revelstoke-based electronic artist is celebrating a major accomplishment this week and looking ahead to an exciting future after one of his most popular tracks surpassed 1,000,000 listens on Spotify.

Mitch McKinnon, stage name Shylow, is a future bass artist from Revelstoke. McKinnon launched the Shylow moniker in 2016 with the help of Nick Middleton, CEO of Westwood Recordings and one-half of B.C.’s own Funk Hunters.

The track, which is a remix of Moontricks’ popular song Mountains, was originally released in 2017. The song debuted at Shambala Music Festival, an annual electronic music festival held each year at the Salmo River Ranch, a 500-acre farm, in the West Kootenay mountains near Nelson, BC.

Nationally renowned electro-folk duo Moontricks have been a staple in the B.C. electronic scene since their debut in 2015. They’ve reached huge success even outside of the electronic world, crossing outside of the boundaries of their genre and mixing in bluegrass, folk, and mainstream sounds.

Shylow noted that in the creation of the Mountains remix, the duo gave him the freedom to flex his creative muscles on the track and imbue it with his sound.

“I’ve been friends with Nate [Gurley] and Shawn [Rodman] in Moontricks for quite a few years now,” said Shylow.

Since its debut in front of roughly 3000 people at Shambala in 2017, the remix has become a staple of both Shylow and Moontricks’ sets.

Shylow has now been producing music for 13 years. “Eventually, you will get some recognition for that,” added Shylow.

According to Shylow, he’s grown a lot as an artist since he first signed with Westwood Records back in 2016. Shylow said that the external pressures during the early parts of his career led to blocks and kept him from releasing as much music as he wanted to, focused on releasing a ‘perfect’ track.

Now, Shylow said he has to tools to deal with the pressure and treats the creation of music like he did when he first burst onto the electronic scene.

“If you’re not having fun, it’s not worth it,” said Shylow. “Hitting a million doesn’t seem that crazy to me now.”

“Let’s try and get more millions and grow the project more than I’ve been able to in the last few years.”

Find You, Shylow’s latest single, comes out on Thursday (Dec. 15) on most streaming platforms.

The single was born out of a chord progression Shylow had stored in his back catalogue. With a fresh set of eyes and ideas, he fine-tuned the track to better reflect his current style.

Following this release, Shylow said he’s ready to ‘hit the ground running’. On top of booking a number of festivals for the summer of 2023, Shylow is also collaborating with a variety of well-established artists, including Vancouver-based MC Def3, Denver’s electronic artist Maddy O’Neal, and D Funk out of Calgary.

“Working with these artists is a huge goal of mine, and it shows that I’m reaching into that next territory,” said Shylow.

To check out more music from the Revelstoke-based artist, visit Spotify, Soundcloud, or Apple Music.

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@josh_piercey
josh.piercey@revelstokereview.com

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