A Tri-Cities native who uses his Port Moody hometown as his stage name collected the Juno award for Electronic Album of the Year last weekend.
David Pimentel — who goes by the stage name Pomo in the club music scene — is still recovering from the shock of the win (and, possibly, the ensuing celebrations).
"It was crazy. It was cool because it was the second or third award of the night so I didn't have to wait around all night," Pimentel said. "It all happened so quick."
When Pimentel — who lived in Coquitlam before moving to PoMo, where he graduated from Heritage Woods secondary — learned he was nominated, he figured the prize would go to the Vancouver-based group Humans. That combo was established in 2010 and has a more experience under its belt but the Juno nod went to Pomo.
Described as a multi-instrumentalist and producer, Pomo is known for crafting tunes that hint of his longtime interest in early funk music, hip hop and jazz.
"I describe it as mainly electronic dance music but I listen to so many different types of music and I like to do different styles," Pimentel said. "It's kind of house-y, jazzy electronic dance music."
It's not all electronically crafted, however. Pimentel's roots lie in childhood piano and guitar lessons, and, these days, he's exploring the mix of live instruments with electronic staples. His recent DJ gigs have featured Pimentel on keyboards and drum pads, with guest musicians pitching in.
Pomo's next album will focus more on collaborations with musicians and rap artists like Anderson Paak, Pimentel said, describing it as "more loopy dance music."
In fact, the Juno win may already be coming in handy for just that.
"It's perfect timing," Pimentel said. "I'm working on my next album so it's going to tie into that really well hopefully… I met a lot of great musicians on the weekend."
• To hear Pimentel in action, visit soundcloud.com/pomobeats.
