Pacific Coliseum (Jamison Isaak) is a Vancouver-based DJ and producer with releases on Coastal Haze, Let's Play House, SlothBoogie & Noire & Blanche. His first release, Ocean City (2017), became an instant classic in the balearic/lo-fi house world, with its title track racking up over four million streams. This year sees his return to the project (after spending the last few years releasing music with his other project, Teen Daze), with the release of his Breeze FM EP (on SlothBoogie Recordings), and multiple singles on the Bordeaux-based Noire & Blanche label. 2025 is shaping up to be his biggest year to date, with more releases planned (including a full length on Noire & Blanche) and DJ sets across the globe.
Hey Jamison, great to have you, how are you doing?
I’m doing great! I’m presently at LaGuardia Airport in New York, waiting to board a flight to Montreal. I played Elsewhere in Brooklyn last night, tonight it’s Systeme in Montreal, and then off to Toronto to play Paradise Grapevine in Toronto! Big weekend!
Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background, perhaps where you grew up and what first got you interested in electronic music?
My name is Jamison Isaak, and I’m from a town outside of Vancouver, BC, called Chilliwack. I was born here, lived in a bunch of other spots across Canada, and ended up back here when my wife and I had our first child! I was first exposed to electronic music through watching hockey games on TV (there’d always be some 90s Euro House / Jock Jams that would play whenever someone would score a goal), and from listening to the radio. I grew up obsessed with this station in Vancouver, Z95.3 FM, and between that and our version of MTV, MuchMusic, I was turned on to so much 90s dance music.
How and when was Pacific Coliseum born, and how does it differ from your other project, Teen Daze?
Pacific Coliseum came about in 2017: I had made a Teen Daze record called Themes For Dying Earth, which had lots of singing on it, and was more like an ambient pop record. At the same time, I started getting really into the Rhythm Section International catalog, and was turned onto this world of “lofi house”, for lack of a better term. I made a bunch of demos, and was put in touch with the guys from Coastal Haze (a great label from London). We compiled the record, and it connected with people in a way that I really couldn’t have predicted.
Initially, I thought of Teen Daze as my outlet for more traditional songs, and Pacific Coliseum would be dedicated to more club-focused music. At the end of the day, it’s all still me.
You live in Vancouver. How would you describe the music scene there, and how does it differ from some of Europe’s clubbing hotspots, such as London or Berlin?
It definitely operates on a smaller scale than spots like London or Berlin, but that means that it’s much homier/cozier. There may not be a large quantity of producers / clubs, but the quality is really high. The relative isolation of the city also means that the dance music that gets made here is really in sync with the feeling of the city. A great example is the Mood Hut label, who have really defined “the Vancouver Sound” for the last decade or so. Mood Hut’s catalog really does sound like what Vancouver feels like!
You recently put out your „Breeze FM“ EP on SlothBoogie, congratulations! How did the idea for the record come about?
It all started with an email from Patrick from SlothBoogie! I’ve really treated Pacific Coliseum as a side project, which means that I’m usually free / open to work with folks on a new release. I hadn’t put out a proper release as Pacific Coliseum since 2020, and I happened to be in the middle of making a lot of dance music. It was perfect timing!
Can you tell us a bit about the process?
So I had probably 5 or 6 demos that I initially sent them. They picked the few stand outs, and then I started honing in on the final mixes. I had them listen to, and give notes on, each mix, and after a month or so, we had the finished EP! Then we reached out to Tech Support, to have him contribute a remix. All things considered, the whole process went incredibly quick, and the record was out maybe 3 or 4 months after the first email came in!
How is your studio looking and which pieces are your favourite at the moment? How do you start a new tune?
Well, the one side of the studio is very, very messy. My home studio also serves as a bit of a storage area in our house, and organizing it has been on our to-do list for a while now. Other than that, I’m so happy with the setup I have right now. I run all my equipment through a small mixer, and then into the interface. I tend to work pretty quickly, so having access to everything at a moments notice is really important. Before we moved into this space, I would always work out of the guest room, and would be setting up and breaking down gear all the time, so needless to say, this is a much more efficient situation.
My favourite pieces of gear are the Juno 106 and the Roland TR-8S. Not much needs to be said about both these pieces: the Juno can do everything, and having a proper drum machine has really changed the way that I program / arrange drums. I can’t explain it, but when I record drums coming out of the TR-8S, they always sound better / more powerful than samples.
When it comes to starting a new tune, the process looks a little different every time. Sometimes it starts with drum sounds / percussion samples, sometimes it’s something more melodic that kicks things off. It can even be as simple as a melody I have in my head; I’ll put it down, and start to build something around it. I’ve been making music for so long now, that I can usually see through a small idea to a full arrangement in one sitting!
What are your preferred methods for finding new music—do you still enjoy digging around in dusty crates, or do you prefer to buy online?
I still love going through a dollar bin, when I have the chance, but lately I’ve been exploring genre tags on Bandcamp and Discogs, which has yielded some really amazing results. I buy a lot of music off Bandcamp, and will usually have a pretty stacked Wishlist collection on Discogs. I’m also an avid NTS listener, which is where I discover a ton of music.
How do you approach a DJ set? Do you plan what you will play, or do you decide spontaneously?
I like to do my homework before a gig: what’s the space like that I’m playing, what time am I playing, who’s warming up, who played the club the night before, am I playing CDJs or vinyl. All these things will inform what I put together for my set. Once I’ve got a good idea, I try to prepare at least double the amount of music I’ll need, for example, if I’m playing a 2 hour set, I like to make sure I have four hours of music on a playlist. For my set at Bar Part Time in San Francisco last year, I played for 5 hours, and have a minimum of 10 hours worth of music on a playlist. When I’m in the middle of a mix, there’s going to be moments where I want to be spontaneous, but it’s nice to have a general idea of what I want to play.
Can you tell us a bit about the mix? Were there any particular thoughts or themes behind it?
It probably sounds simplistic, but I've really been drawn to dance music that incorporates a lot of percussion. Usually slower, deeper sounds, with lots of congas. Any time I hear a track with prominent congas, my ears immediately perk up. So that's the direction I went with this one!
How is your release schedule looking right now? Do you have anything on the horizon you can share with us?
It’s going to be a very busy upcoming 12 months! I’m going to assume that by the time this is out, the first single from my next LP will be out! The single is called Games, and I made it with my friends Eternal Love. The LP is called Voice Wave, and it’s coming out next spring. There’s other things in the works at the moment too, but more on that later!
Tracklist:
Spooky - Aqualung
Tornado Wallace - Zorn Gottes
Cando - Sundown
Axel Boman - Forever Latino
Opal Sunn - The Mystery Of Mr Lee
Rhode & Brown - Everything In Motion (Kornél Kovács Remix)
Knopha - Grove Emulator
Dave DK - Don't Eat The Homies
Salomo & Reece Walker - D a F Punk
Wallace - M'bira