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The Zapatistas of Chiapas, Mexico, aren’t your typical rave crowd. Then again, Boulder-based DJ Royale isn’t your typical DJ. The founder of Dope Recordings (birth name Roy England) used his compassion for other people’s struggles to organize and headline the 2000 fundraiser, Zapatismo, raising over $4,000 to support the Mexican group’s peaceful way of life. Local techno-heads probably know Royale better as the beat behind their sushi — his weekly residencies at Hapa locations in Boulder (Thursday nights 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., 1117 Pearl Street.) and Denver (Friday nights, 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., 2780 East Second Avenue) are a great way to get a regular fix of Royale’s trip-hop and pumping house mixes. Last year’s Bubble Bath party offered three decks of the groovin’ production master, adding another notch to Royale’s extensive, and ever-growing, resumé. Future plans include developing other Dope artists, promoting his first record, and, of course, more trips to Mexico.
