I was bobbing like a cork in one of Ottawa’s oldest swimming pools when someone declared that being in the water with music playing was just like aquafit.
“More like aquaFUN,” I replied, no offence to my mother and her crew of Barrhaven octogenarians who spend an hour in the pool exercising to an oldies soundtrack almost every morning.
But, this was an evening downtown, and instead of following the orders of an instructor, I was one of dozens swim-grooving to the electro beat of a DJ spinning tunes from the second-floor mezzanine at the historic Champagne Fitness Centre on King Edward Avenue. The event featured a headlining set by the Toronto-based artist Eejungmi (aka DJ Katie Lee), with an opening round by Gatineau DJ/musician Yolande Laroche.
It was organized by Debaser, a non-profit, underground-arts organization founded more than a decade ago and still led by Ottawa’s Rachel Weldon. Their mission? “We enjoy doing events in unconventional spaces and feeling inspired by how sound would fill different types of spaces, and how artists can interact with it,” Weldon said. Churches and art galleries are some of their favourite spots.
The indie-arts producer and her Debaser teammates (Maeve Tavakoli and Katie Manners) are best known as the driving force behind Pique, a quarterly showcase of underground music and art that takes over every corner of the Ottawa Art Gallery, Arts Court and the rest of the downtown arts hub at Nicholas and Daly. Born during the pandemic, Pique has blossomed into a joyously diverse, multi-stage festival that starts early and runs late. The fifth-anniversary edition happens June 13.
When she’s not curating shows, Weldon swims at Champagne Bath and loves it, despite the cramped change rooms and cool water temps of the old pool. On the day of the DJ show, her ‘fit of long shorts over a one-piece was accessorized by an amazing pair of realistic-looking fish flip-flops.
Event organizer Rachel Weldon wasn’t the only person sporting fish-shaped flip flops at Champagne Bath.
“I was immediately really excited and inspired by the space,” Weldon said of her first impression of the pool, “because it’s an old art-deco building, and the architecture is really interesting and beautiful. There’s also this amazing mural on the wall.”
Completed in 1924, Champagne Bath was one of the first two indoor swimming pools in Ottawa. The other was the Plant Bath, constructed the same year, on Somerset Street. In the aftermath of the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, and before the advent of indoor plumbing, city officials believed public baths would go a long way toward improving the health and hygiene of working-class residents. They were named after two mayors of the era, Frank Plant and Napoleon Champagne.
As for the mural, the remarkable work was designed and installed by two local artists, Mimi Cabri and Jill Elder, during a renovation in the late 80s. Titled Swimming at Champagne, the colourful tiles depict turn-of-the-century figures in vintage bathing costumes, lending a sense of whimsy and history to the space.
In contrast to the full coverage of those vintage garments, the swimsuits worn to the event displayed plenty of skin, not to mention an abundance of tattoos on both men and women. The mayors of the past, who forbade the sexes from swimming together, would have been scandalized. Today, no one blinks an eye.
Touted as an “immersive” experience, the event lived up to the billing. With the lane markers removed, I spent most of my time in the water floating in aimless circles, buoyed by a pool noodle, trying to make out the shape of the music under too-bright lights, which were necessary for the lifeguards to do their job.
In truth, it was a challenge to hear anything over the enthusiastic chatter in the first set. People were excited to hang out in a pool with their friends; many had arrived early, formed a line to get into the building and another line for the change room, where they jostled for space — politely, of course. They couldn’t wait to get in the water.
Meanwhile, the audio engineer had his work cut out for him in getting the levels right in the echoey space. Possibly because he wasn’t working from the middle of the pool, to my ears the sound was best on the upper level, and hard to hear in the pool. It would have been cool to hear the tunes underwater, too, but the underwater speaker conked out early and no amount of tinkering brought it back. (Interestingly, the speaker was purchased by the city a few years back for synchronized swim practices.)
Gatineau musician/DJ Yolande Laroche spins tunes for an audience immersed in the water of Champagne Bath.
This was the third sold-out DJ event Debaser has presented in the King Edward Avenue facility, but it will be a few months until the next one. The building is closed for the summer, from May 1 to Aug. 31, for repairs to the roof.
Casting back to her initial pitch to city officials, Weldon was pleasantly surprised at the reaction to her urge to throw a pool party. “It seemed like a wacky idea at the beginning but now that they see how much the public enjoys it, they’ve been really easy to work with and great at facilitating it,” she said, noting that Debaser has been working with the city for the last five years while organizing Pique.
“We have a good relationship with the city and facility managers,” she added. “I think that helped ease any concerns.”
Still, there were some lessons along the way. One, for example, involved the number of beats per minute of the music in relation to the temperature of the water. Because it’s considered a fitness pool, the water is noticeably colder than recreational pools.
“Our one complaint from people is that they get really cold even with the sauna,” said Weldon, describing the music of the first two pool shows as “minimal, ambient drone music” and recognizing the need to pick up the pace. “This time we’re doing something with more of an electronic pulse.”
Indeed. Between the chill of the water and the flow of the tunes, I had to invent some expansive, underwater moves to stay warm. A few of Champagne’s regular lane swimmers could be seen darting among the crowd, but most of the time there were too many bodies to swim lengths. About 120 people turned out.
Music fans filled the pool for the third sold-out DJ event at Ottawa’s historic Champagne Bath.
Due to capacity regulations, not everyone could be in the pool at once so latecomers were directed to the mezzanine until spaces opened up. They didn’t have to wait long; sooner or later, the frigid water prompted everyone to cram into the compact, poolside sauna. Also on hand were urns of hot tea, courtesy of David’s Tea, a nice touch but there should have been more of it. Wisely, alcohol was not available.
I spent the first set alternating between the water and the sauna. During the intermission, still in my damp bathing suit, I explored the second level, where there’s a weight room and boxing club.
Just when I was starting to feel uncomfortable with the dampness and wishing I’d brought a second swimsuit, my friend insisted on going back in the pool for the second set. I was reluctant, but by this point, the crowd had dwindled and there was room to swim a few laps. I took the plunge.
This time we could hear the music better, including the water sounds Eejungmi had woven into her new tracks, which were evidently inspired by the therapeutic effect of water on difficult emotions.
In the end, it was a lot of fun for a $35 ticket. I went home feeling a bit wrinkled from the chlorine but confident I would have a great sleep that night. And it was hard to imagine Eejungmi getting a better celebration for the recording she called Water is a Shifting Mirror.
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