Frequently Asked Questions

Siavash (Siavash Ashrafinia), also known as DJ Siavash, is a Vancouver-based DJ, producer and the founder of the label and events company You Plus One. With more than 30 years in electronic music, he is a leading figure in the Pacific Northwest underground scene. Beyond DJing and production, he is a venue operator, entrepreneur and photographer. As a man of all trades he is a multi talented artist.

He started mixing in the early 1990s, almost by accident. Music was not a big part of his childhood home because his parents are both deaf. Yet in his youth he became enamoured by the power of music. In his preteens he worked out how to blend one cassette into another, and with no internet to instruct him, he believed he had invented mixing. He later made mixtapes for his classmates, which led to his first live sets, and he rose quickly through Vancouver's rave scene in the 1990s and early 2000s.

He was born in Tehran, Iran, around the time of the Iranian Revolution, and spent his earliest years there during the Iran–Iraq War. His family, including his two deaf parents, left Iran as refugees and lived in Madrid, Spain, before moving to Canada in 1990.

He has performed as DJ Siavash since 1997. Before that, he played under other aliases, including DJ XL during his time in the drum and bass scene.

His first residency was at Tommy Africa's in Whistler in 1999. He drove up from Vancouver every weekend, at a time when Whistler's dance music scene was growing fast.

The first gig he played outside of Canada was a rave in Portland, USA in 1999.

Bar Americas in Guadalajara gave he an international residency in 2010. He already had a large following in the city, and he returns to play the club about once a year.

He has performed across North America, South America, Europe, the UK, Asia and Africa. He plays most often in Berlin, Amsterdam and Guadalajara, as well as at home in Vancouver, and he usually adds a new country to the list each summer. Recent international appearances include Family Piknik in France in 2024.

He founded You Plus One as an events company in 2011 and expanded it into a record label in 2017, something he had always planned to do. The name was chosen overnight, because he needed a brand for an event that was already in motion. "You, plus one" was what he kept telling the friends who asked to be on his guest list. Today the name stands for the idea that music is meant to be a shared experience.

He was a resident artist and General Manager of Gorg-o-mish for over a decade and he helped shape its sound and style at the time.

He has released music on Bedrock, Get Physical, Mobilee, Global Underground and Poker Flat, with multiple tracks reaching number one on Beatport. His releases include the "Call The Hitman" EP with Pig&Dan on Poker Flat (2023), the "Secret Love" EP with Pig&Dan on 8Bit (2023), and releases on his own label, You Plus One.

He launched Plus Fridays, a weekly house and techno night at Shine Nightclub in Vancouver, in 2012. Many of the city's older venues had closed, and Vancouver had gone close to a decade without a dedicated weekly house and techno event. Plus Fridays set out to bring that scene back.

He has worked with and released music by artists including Pig&Dan, Nicolas Masseyeff, Einmusik, Theus Mago, Super Flu and Haddadi Von Engst. He also books the international artists who play You Plus One events, and being an active touring DJ helps him spot who is rising and who has a sound of their own.

He plays an huge range of house, techno, indie dance, and electronica, with early roots in hip hop and multiple electronic music scenes such as drum and bass. His sets are eclectic but always built on soul, groove and melody. Having come up in the vinyl era, he has a lot of technical skills, shapes each set so it tells a story from start to finish - a dying DJ style because of new technologies and the flooding market.

HAUSPARTY was the Vancouver event series Siavash started in 2017 at the HAUS, You Plus One's private headquarters. It set out to bring art back to a local scene that had grown stale, putting community and music ahead of bar sales. Under Siavash's direction, You Plus One made the HAUS a safe space built on music and art, filled with set design and curious objects he collected himself. The HAUS hosted 100s of international artists, bringing the worlds to acts in house and melodic techno to Vancouver over almost 10 years, each booking hand picked by Siavash.

He has been part of Vancouver's underground community for decades and has actively helped build it since the early 2010s. His experience makes him a mentor to many people who are new to the scene and he helps to facilitate the beginning of many long relationships in his community. For him, house and techno is a culture made by artists for artists, and it is where he feels he belongs.

Look for usernames @djsiavash across most platforms. Please be careful of fraudulent accounts.

Yes. He founded You Plus One in 2011 and still runs the label and its events. Read more about the label at youplusone.ca, and see his interviews and press on the About page.

Yes. SIAVASH® is a registered trademark owned by Siavash, the Vancouver house and techno DJ, producer and founder of You Plus One. He has performed under the name since 1997. Official bookings, releases and announcements come only through djsiavash.com, bookings@youplusone.ca and his verified social accounts.