Salacious Sound » Show Review

Dillon Francis @ The Hoxton [Show Review]

Sasha — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:00:23 +0000

It’s a Thursday night in Toronto and the beginning of Easter Weekend as our lovely photographer, Kat Kwan and I head down to The Hoxton. It’s also, coincidentally, almost the end of Bass Week and ravers are lined up outside expecting a hell of a show.

The anticipation had been building inside and this sense of expectation was perfectly cultivated by the openers, Oliver.

The Los Angeles-based duo opened with a slew of French electro as original anthems by Justice and Daft Punk set the tone for the evening. Snapbacks and glowsticks were littered throughout the venue and The Hoxton was at seemingly at capacity midway through Oliver’s set.

U-tern and Oligee took turns on the CDJs and sent the crowd into a frenzy by ending their set with arguably the best Trap song at the moment, RL Grime’s remix of ‘Satisfaction.’

Chants of DILL-ON began to fill the room and blow up cats with red eyes appeared on either side of the stage. The acronym I.D.G.A.F.O.S appeared on the screen and Dillon Francis took to the platform.

He opened with a rendition of Forever Young and transitioned seamlessly into his recent remix of Justin Timberlake’s Suit and Tie. I also noticed that the ‘girl sitting on guy’s shoulder’ quota was relatively high for a show like this.

There were a bunch of cat faces and cutouts of Francis’ head throughout the crowd and it was obvious that people didn’t bring them from home. Whoever came up with this idea deserves a mention as it really elevated the whole experience.

He went through most of his back catalogue and seamlessly switched between Moombahton, Trap, Dubstep and Electro throughout the night. He departed the stage to a round of applause and duly came out and played an encore. He ended up closing with his new single, Messages, featuring Simon Lord.

Thursday night was yet another classic Dillon Francis performance in Toronto. His last two visits were as the opener for Nero and Rusko respectively, and he really rose to the occasion as a headliner.

Dillon Francis on Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter

View all the photos on our Facebook

Check out more of Kat Kwan’s photography

Sasha Kalra

Two Fresh @ Wrongbar 01.23.13 [Interview & Show Review]

Sasha — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:43:01 +0000

On the night of January 23, 2013, I had the opportunity to have a chat with Two Fresh. The twin brothers, Sherwyn and Kendrick Nicholls, were about to begin their winter tour and Toronto was the one of the first stops where the duo were due to headline Bassmentality. The talented duo were without their trusty laptops, but that didn’t make their set any less amazing.

Their set was a mixture of sounds focusing mainly on Trap, Hip Hop and their unique brand of electronica. Some of the more well-received tracks were by DJ Sliink and JWLS but the highlight had to be when they dropped Baauer’s “Coke in my Nose.”

We managed to catch them right before they went on and talked about everything from touring with Skrillex to who their favourite member of the A$AP Mob was. Our conversation is below:

How’s your guys’ day going so far? Are you excited for the tour?

Aw man it’s been good. This is the first night so yeah, definitely!

How excited are you to be playing with Baauer and Just Blaze?

Yeah man, I mean we never caught a Just Blaze set but we got to catch Baauer’s. We’re pretty stoked about that, he’s a legend in the game.

What are some shows and festivals that you haven’t played yet that you guys really want to play in the future?

We definitely want to play Shambala, Bonnaroo, and definitely Red Rocks. We just gotta keep going bigger. We moved to Colorado this year so Red Rocks would be dope.

Right on. Did you move there after they legalized marijuana?

Nah, we moved there in January. It was the icing on the cake.

How big was touring with guys like Skrillex and 12th planet on the Mothership Tour?

It was good to get out there. Our music wasn’t really geared to those listeners and it was good to get our music out to a different, younger crowd. They were packed out every night and it was a different thing. Straight up, kids younger than 18 were listening to boom-bap when they’ve come to see dubstep. It was dope.

Did you guys always have the live drums going on in your set?

It’s always been there. We’re now doing more sets with just us two.

You guys have a new EP coming out soon.

Yeah! We have an EP coming out on Monday (Jan 28). It’s called Watch This . It’s all of our new stuff which is a lot more upbeat which is a totally different realm for us. It’s what we’ve been on in the last year.

What’s the creative process like when you guys make music together?

It works both ways. Sometimes one of us will start something and we’ll come together in the studio and finish up the idea. Sometime’s we’ll just start from scratch together in the studio. There’ll still be tracks with one of us mostly on it and the other just puts the finishing touches on it.

If you could do a track with anyone, who would it be?

Right now it would have to be Schoolboy Q or A$AP Ferg. Ferg’s ill. Rocky’s awesome too. Ferg’s that next dude to come up. He’s got the most different flow out of all of those cats. I feel like he’s one of the most unique out of the A$AP Mob. The track ‘Work’ is amazing. We’re trying to come out with some more records with rappers this year. If we could ever work with Dilla, we would. He’s one of the reasons we started making music, you know. Tupac, Miles Davis, Curtis Mayfield. If we could have a week with any of the legends, make some shit, and cut it up. That would be a dream for us, man.

Last question. Who wins the Superbowl?

49ers

Two Fresh on:

SoundCloud | Facebook | Twitter

[Special thanks to Constance Chan for helping out with the photography]

Sasha

Madeon @ The Hoxton 12.27.12 [show review]

Sasha — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:50:02 +0000

On Thursday, The Hoxton played host to Madeon. Toronto had been hit by its first major snowstorm of the year a day earlier, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell by looking at the crowd. We arrived just after 10 pm and found ourselves hanging out with a bunch of other fans in line. The anticipation was clearly building and you could tell that something special was about to happen.

The opener wasn’t even halfway through his set, and the venue was packed!

We managed to catch most of Andy Ares‘ opening set and it did not disapoint. The Toronto-native set the tone for the evening and managed to successfully pump up the crowd. This was one of those rare occasions where The Hoxton was filled with people relatively early on in the night. Instead of hanging out by the bar or sitting on couches, the majority were in the middle of the dance floor throwing up their arms and “vibing” to the music.

Andy Ares gets the crowd warmed up

The room began to get a bit anxious towards the end of Ares’ set and there were a few “MA-DE-ON” chants circulating. The anticipation had reached a boiling point and we were in for a treat. Madeon emerged and immediately sent the The Hoxton into a frenzy by opening up with The M Machine’s remix of “The City.” His command of the stage and audience was impressive and belittled his age. The 18 year old Frenchman didn’t say a word all evening yet managed to maintain a strong stage presence and controlled the crowd with relative ease.

His set was a mix of his own musical influences as he incorporated various tracks by Daft Punk, Justice, Nero, and Birdy Nam Nam amongst his more memorable tunes. He went through most of his back catalogue but surprisingly opted not to include “Que Veux Tu.” The night ended with a double entendre of “Pop Culture” and “Finale” as Madeon departed the stage in the same manner in which he entered – with a presence.

[Special thanks to Ellie Mclaren for helping out with photography for the night.]

Wintersalt Music Festival – San Francisco 12/28 + 12/29 [Review]

Icarus — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:58:55 +0000

Obligatory front-row shot

This last weekend, on Friday and Saturday nights, Eye Heart SF and BLAP Productions put on a New Years Eve (almost) festival called Wintersalt. They outfitted a huge warehouse in Fort Mason, an old military base on the north side of San Francisco, with all sorts of festival essentials; two stages, a 40-foot bar, food trucks, and art installations. It was the first year they put on Wintersalt, but you never would have known.

The layout

The first night’s headliners were Dillon Francis, Mix Master Mike & Travis Barker, and Zedd. The second night featured Theophilus London, DJ Shadow, and Diplo. There were other incredible acts, like St. Lucia, Revolvr, Paper Diamond, and many more; Wintersalt certainly launched with a bang.

Dillon Francis was everything I was hoping he would be. His mix was perfectly structured; he had the energy of the room totally under control. He started out slow, the first few songs let the audience adjust from Paper Diamond’s high energy finale into the more subtle swagger of Moombahton. Francis was killing it, and when the first synth line of “I.D.G.A.F.O.S” broke through, the crowd lost their minds. He grinned wildly, and dropped into a remix, sampling Kanye’s “Mercy”. From there his set turned downright ridiculous, and he had the whole audience jumping and bouncing for the next 40 minutes. And he was still grinning as he left the stage.

Dillon Francis takes the stage

Next up was Mix Master Mike. I’m not sure if this was on purpose or not, but he wasn’t joined on stage by Travis Barker until close to 30 minutes into the set. And honestly, I’m kinda glad. Mix Master Mike is one of the DJ elite; as a competitive turntablist he won more than five World Championship titles in the nineties, and he put this skill on display. His performance was a master class in scratching, and when he went on a 30-second long beat juggle in the middle of his mix you could all but hear the sound of jaws hitting the floor. Travis Barker was quite impressive too, once he took the stage, but that first section of turntable mastery by Mix Master Mike is what stands out in my mind.

Mix Master Mike

I’m a huge Zedd fan. I’ve probably listened to Clarity, his most recent album, 30 times from beginning to end, and have yet to get tired of it. So you can imagine my excitement knowing that I’d get to watch his live set from the photo pit. And when the little German guy took the stage in a blue button-up shirt, grin on his face, it quickly became clear that everyone else in the building was just as excited as I was.

In a word, Zedd’s set was fun. It was upbeat, it was happy, and Zedd himself was obviously having a great time. He began the set with some house tunes; big, ear-crushing chords to help jolt you into his fast and uplifting set, and continued the cheerful vibe for the entirety of the mix. Everyone sang along with him to all of his songs, and it was 2 am before I knew it. It was a great experience, and finally getting to attach a person to the music I’d listened to so many times was incredibly rewarding; his personality was on display, and everyone loved it.

Zedd, loving life

One night down.

Then there was Theophilus London. As one of the few performers at Wintersalt that didn’t perform from behind DJ equipment, London had a special energy around his performance. Then again, that could have just been Theophilus London. From a performance standpoint, I doubt there are many people who could outdo him. He was running and jumping around the stage for his entire set; I got tired just watching him. And while I have a few of his songs buried in my iTunes, I’ve only ever listened to them a few times, so getting to see him do his thing was a very fun way to experience his music for what was effectively the first time.

If you’re unable to read the giant sign behind him, this is Theophilus London

Next up was DJ Shadow. True to his name, he performed on a very dark stage, with minimal light effects and only the occasional glimpse of his face. Despite the frustration of getting a good picture of him in the gloom, it was one of the most amazing exhibitions of musical know-how I’ve ever seen. Known for his use of obscure samples, every twist and turn in his mix felt like it was something new and extraordinary, something that had never been done before. And while the audience was dancing less than they had been for Mix Master Mike, there was just as much enthusiasm. It felt more like observing art than being in a club.

DJ Shadow

While everyone seemed to enjoy DJ Shadow’s artistry, we were all quite ready for the next artist to take the stage and get us all dancing again. And so when Diplo appeared in the spotlight, he was greeted by a roar of approval from the hundreds of people beneath him. He wasted no time, and quickly carried the audience into a bass-induced trance. Diplo wove in all of the essentials, running from Top 40 hits to obscure Moombahton songs, but by the time he mixed Pon de Floor with Flosstradamus’ remix of Original Don, the entire warehouse was going nuts. He then did a stagedive across a five/six foot gap of equipment and photographers, commanded everyone in the room to take off their shirts, and invited a group of girls on stage to twerk on the front of his table. So that was awesome.

Hey it’s Diplo

Diplo takes to the crowd

Women

If it isn’t already clear, I had a great time. I was amazed by the quality of the event, especially considering that it was the first year of the festival. If I had to choose, I’d say Diplo had the best set, for his combination of showmanship and DJing prowess, but both Dillon Francis and Zedd come close behind him.

Thanks for reading!

View my photos from the event HERE

-Icarus

Bassnectar @ Sound Academy 10.11.12 [Show Review]

SYDNEY J — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 03:57:40 +0000

Nine o clock on a Saturday night in Toronto. The pier is quiet, and the Sound Academy is dark. The doors haven’t opened yet. A few are already in line to get into the venue, but they’re few and far between. It’s in the dead of night when the busses and vans start to roll in. They’re filled with diehard fans who have travelled for days (weeks?) on end, jumping from show to show in every city they can. There’s soon a gathering in the parking lot of people in colourful clothes, dreadlocks, holding handmade signs and smearing face paint on each other in swirling day-glo patterns. These are the nomads of bass music, the Grateful Dead gathering of Generation Y, and they’ve come for Bassnectar.

My partner in crime Jiani (you may remember her photography from our WEMF 2012 report) and I made it just in time to see every opener straight from the beginning. Neither of us had seen any of the acts that were performing before, so it was a bit of an adventure.

Gladkill opened up the night with his room-filling brand of airy, floating bass that got the entire crowd vibe-ing right along with him. I don’t usually find that enough people pay attention to the first opener of any night, but this set commanded attention and drew crowds away from the bars and onto the floor. The art of the opening act is a widely debated topic; Gladkill’s set was a perfect example of generating interest without overshadowing other acts.

Gramatik’s southern-born mix of jazz, hip-hop and blues really got people moving to a unique brand of funk all its own. A live guitarist got down and dirty over throbbing basslines, prompting some fancy footwork by quality dancers in the crowd. Of course, they left the crowd wanting for more, with a bit of an abrupt set time. Of course, this could only mean one thing.

There isn’t always such a build up to a headlining artist, but in that moment the anticipation was palpable. No calls for anyone to come on faster, no rumbles of dissatisfaction with the stage as it was set up. Like some mysterious leader of a music revolution (in a whirlwind of hair), Bassnectar took the stage, said hello to the crowd, and started into one of the most intense two hours of music I have ever experienced.

Onstage, Lorin Ashton has a commanding presence. Like some mad conductor, he darts between two laptops and several customized mixers, intertwining bits and pieces of tracks both old and new to create a rush that never really stopped. He’s definitely called Bassnectar for a reason; several rows of speakers, previously deactivated for the openers, kicked in right for the first rush of bass. I swear that I’ve never been so aware of my sinuses vibrating inside of my skull. The added oomph to the sound system really makes a difference. It pays to feel the music rattling through your bones.

Taking flight to the upper balcony, I was instantly stricken by the sheer size of the show and enthusiasm of the crowd. The people undulated in waves, thrashing to recognizable hits like Bass Head and Vava Voom, and responding just as well to older tracks in the Bassnectar library. The visualizations were top notch, filling the entire space of the stage with images of psychedelic trees in full bloom, clocks dictating the flow of time, and optical illusions meant to mesmerize during tracks like Timestretch.

Bassnectar managed to create a world in which there were no lines between genres, melding dancehall, dubstep, drum and bass and rock in such a way that even the most metal of my friends didn’t notice the shift from synths to guitars and back again. Perhaps that’s where the magic of the show really existed; the blurring of lines, the perfect sort of crowd, the euphoria you always expect when confetti cannons go off and balloons fill the air but so rarely actually get.

There was a real connection to the crowd, exemplified by all the encores and the fact that Bassnectar stayed after the show to give autographs and say hello to every last fan who came over.

It’s so rare that I get quite that happy from shows of that size anymore. My hat’s off to Ashton. After over ten years of touring and a career that goes back even longer, he’s still got it and then some.

[Thanks to Jiani Liu for helping out with photography for the night]

Crystal Castles @ Kool Haus 11.03.12 [show review]

totem — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 03:36:49 +0000

Flashing lights….sweaty bodies….Alice Glass…..flashing lights….spilled beer…..Alice Glass’ turquoise hair…..d- bags fist-pumping….Ethan Kath…..flashing lights…..Alice freakin’ Glass!!! These were the thoughts running through my head last night when the Torontian synth-wave duo Crystal Castles took to the stage of a steamy Kool Haus. The ecstatic hometown crowd managed to successfully ‘hotbox’ the spacious venue as evidenced by the synthesis of humidity and pungent wafts of ‘maree-joo-wana’ drifting through the air. Now, take that, add a bunch of people on drugs other than weed, a few Jared Leto look-alikes, the sort of lightshow epileptics have nightmares about, Alice Glass’ hot bod and you’ve got yourself a good ol’ fashioned rave!!!

With the cancellation of L.A. noise-rockers HEALTH, the bill consisted of solely Toronto-based performers. Thus, it was truly a homecoming for all the acts involved, which included the up-and-coming electronica collective Hugsnotdrugs, techno phenom Tarantula X, former Crystal Castles drummer Cam Findlay’s cold-wave pr0ject Kontravoid and well, Crystal Castles themselves. The opening acts were well-matched and all sufficiently warmed the crowd up for CC‘s exhilarating set.

Ethan, Alice and touring drummer Christopher delivered an onslaught of shimmering analog synths, pulverizing bass drums, and warped vocal refrains. Opening with “Plague”, the haunting first single off of their new record (III), they continued to rifle through a number of old and new crowd-pleasers for a good hour. There was very little verbal crowd interaction on the part of front-woman Alice Glass but, in typical Alice fashion, she made up for it with generous physical interactions (i.e. crowd-surfing). She did this for several songs throughout the night but most notably on the oppressive chip-rave anthem “Baptism” and the chaotic “Alice Practice”. I was particularly impressed with her ability to keep balance amongst all the groping hands and maintain the volume of her piercing vocals at the same time. For all of you that were lucky enough to touch Alice Glass with your own two hands, I must admit, I am jealous.

From a fan’s perspective there was nothing not to love about Crystal Castles’ performance. They played nearly all of their hits from “Crimewave” to “Wrath of God”, their lightshow was absolutely magnificent, and general intensity levels were extremely high. However, speaking from a critical standpoint, there were two aspects of the show that I found displeasing. For one, the mixing was somewhat off, at times all I could hear was the incessant thud of the kick-drum and nothing of Alice’s vocals or Ethan’s synths. Other times, Alice’s vocals would rise above everything else and cymbal crashes would envelop any melody. I found this to be somewhat irritating and a few songs suffered because of sub-par mixing but it didn’t really affect the overall performance.

The one other problem I had with the show was its length. It was too damn short! I don’t know if it was just me but it felt like they zipped through their 13-song set, barely leaving time for breaks in between songs. They did play a 3 song encore but it didn’t even really feel like an encore because they weren’t really gone from the stage very long. It was almost like they rushed off stage, downed a glass of water and rushed back on. In their defense, they do play a very energetic set and everyone looked pretty beat by the time it was over. Oh well, I guess time does fly when you’re having fun.

Despite these two minor complaints, Crystal Castles still put on a magnificent show. Everyone was clearly psyched to have them back in town and they really did not disappoint. There is no other act, electronic or rock n’ roll, that puts on a show like Crystal Castles. They get the blood pumpin’, the heads bangin’ and the serotonin spikin’! Go ask Alice, when she’s ten feet tall.

Crystal Castles third record (III) will be released on November 13. Pre-order here.

Special thanks to:

Embrace for putting this show on
Tyner Murphy for contributing photos
Cal for being a rad dude!

Red Bull 3Style Chicago World Finals 2012 Wrap-up

erock — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:31:36 +0000

Four Color Zack took first place at the Red Bull 3Style World Finals
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

I, personally, have never heard a crowd chant “USA! USA! USA!” at anything other than a drinking competition, or an air show. The crowd at Metro sure as f*** were yelling patriotically as Red Bull 3stle World Championship winner Seattle local Four Color Zack took the gold and was thusly proclaimed best party rocker DJ in the world.

That is the pertinent info- but here is the other noteworthy stuff from Saturday night at the Metro in Chicago.

The crowd at the Red Bull 3Style World Finals looks on in awe
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

It literally felt like we had arrived at an international summit, the G20 of turntabling as it were. I guess we had.

The crowd watches with anticipation during the Red Bull 3Style World Finals
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

We got there just in time to hear Cosmo Baker’s set. Now, my team has heard a whole bunch of Kanye West samples this week, but none even held a candle to what Baker was doing. “Can We Get Much Higher” straight into “Get Em’ High”. As this was happening I looked up into the proscenium and saw a row of flags hanging down that would give O’Hare’s intl welcome terminal a run for it’s money.

Cosmo Baker utilized some of the most heavily selected samples of the week, but with superior creativity
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Right smack dab in the middle of these flags sat our venerable judges, Skratch, Jazzy Jeff, and after his set, Cosmo Baker. We made our way upstairs and that is where the real internationalizing began.

Diplomats from every round of the competition were finally all in one location and were more than happy to talk about the trials and tribulations of the week. We caught up with New Zealand’s DJ Scissorhands first- a totally nice dude who spoke about his Grandparents being the source of his musical aptitude.

Spain’s DB was on deck. Like a good Spainiard, he dropped the international futbol fan favorite Zombie Nation – Kernkraft 400 after a masterful electro mix of Dead Pres’ “Hip Hop”.

Spain’s D.Beam on the decks at the Red Bull 3Style World Finals
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

The coolest part of his set, and actually one of my favorite things that happened all week was his outro. Martin Luther King jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech mixed with Aloe Black’s “I Need a Dollar”.

Our hometown hero, Canada’s DJ Shub came on after this hard act to follow. I got to sit with Shub’s family during this set. They were all wearing shirts that I thought said “Subway” all week- I figured…they were really into subs? Shub-way was what they said upon closer inspection, duh.

Canada’s DJ Shub ripped a mean set at the 3Style World Finals
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Lurking close by was Four Color Zack (winner and American contestant) which was fortunate for us, because we got to see him react to the Shub dissing him (calling him out by name!) on the tables. When I asked 4CZ what his reaction was to this he called Shub his “buddy” while grinning ear to ear. It made me instantly fan girl status like him. Million dollar smile? Try trillion dollar smile. There were a whole lot of smiling and partying as everyone seemed to finally relax for this last night.

What is a great way to keep all the positive energy in the building? Bring Jamaica’s “DJ Nicco” to the stage.

I mean, I could practically smell the Jamaican patties just listening to this guy spin. It was one of the bigger crowd reactions I had seen all week- everyone singing along to Bob Marley samples. Then the obligatory Damien Marley stuff…Jam Rock etc…but wait no, is that, Welcome to Chi-Town?! Yep. You got it. He also gave well deserved props to each of the three judges. Perhaps I am biased- he played the sample I ache to hear when in Chicago- Chief Keef’s “Shit I Don’t Like”. You know when you get texts from people who are out at awesome shows and need to text you about how awesome it is? Sorry if you got one from me at that moment that said “Chief Keef, King Louie, This is Chi right?!”; I sent a lot of those. Well played Nicco, well played.

Jamaica’s DJ Nicco garnered some of the biggest crowd reactions of the entire week
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Dj Drummer from Chile, my personal winner- his the decks after this. He intro’d with “Sweet Home Chicago” and dropped samples from Queen and Fun as well.
Drummer came up to the balcony and hung out with the rest of the Latin DJ’s who were all dancing around having drinks; Drummer looked concerned as he watched wild card pick Four Color Zack step up to the table.

DJ Drummer at the decks during the Red Bull 3Style World Finals
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

His concern was warranted. The American DJ suddenly changed the nature of the entire conversation with patriotic samplings of Bruce Springsteen et al. Now this was clearly between Chile and the good ole’ USA.

Four Color Zack
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

While waiting to hear what the judges had decided we got to experience ?uestlove.

?uestlove was a guest DJ at the 3Style World Finals
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

As soon as Four Color Zack was announced as the winner at the end of ?uest’s set, the whole place erupted, literally. There were cannons of red confetti; kind of like a blizzard.

Four Color Zack celebrates his win
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

The perfect way to cap it off was to finally see main man Jazzy Jeff (West Philadelphia, Born and Raised!) perform. A long week, a ton of DJ’s, 1 world champion; it’s been a slice folks. Catch you on the other side.

DJ Jazzy Jeff closed out the 3Style World Finals Saturday night
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Red Bull 3Style World Championships Prequalifiers Night 3 Recap

erock — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:21:36 +0000

Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

We are scaling a mountain, and as your personal 3style Sherpa, I think it only fair to tell you that while it looks like we have arrived at the peak (the most outrageous night; how could it get any better?), we are merely at the summit.

Last night we were at Reggie’s on the South Side, a venue that I have a particular affinity for. If you are in the market to see performances by teenage Chicago rappers on the brink of notoriety then Reggie’s will be your jam.

Reggies was the site for night 3 of the Red Bull 3Style World Finals
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Our first man Nedu was interesting – he was the slowest of all the Latin dudes so far. It almost seemed like his effort to appeal to a Western, American crowd really slowed him down.

He sampled Aretha’s timeless “R.E.S.P.E.C.T” and Yay and Jigga’s “N***as in Paris.”

Next up we had DJ Kostek from Poland. God DAYUM this guy spins like a European club DJ. He was a great hype man to boot, and I enjoyed his tiny pseudo fedora (you know the type).

Poland’s DJ Kostek
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Oh yeah, he also sampled Aretha’s classic “R.E.S.P.E.C.T” and The Louis Vuitton Don’s and Hova’s “N***as in Paris”.

Next up our Canadian competitor DJ Shub literally, had to quit his set 1 minute in because the DECK STARTED TO SMOKE. He literally brought so much heat to the stage that the decks started to smoke.

Canada’s DJ Shub was the victor of night three’s qualifying battle.
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Like Wayne Gretsky’s birthday or that day that they “burned down the white house,” yesterday was a big day for Canada; and it started with this set. The crowd was going ape for all things Canada last night, We Stand On Guard For Thee, indeed!

Shub just merked it. Even walked off stage with a minute to spare, guess he didn’t need it – cos he took home the gold for Canada.

Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Oh yeah, he also spun the Queen of Soul’s masterpiece “R.E.S.P.E.C.T” and Mr. Carter and Mr. West’s “N***gas in Paris”.

Next up New Zealand’s DJ Scizzorhands. He dropped that heavy Chi-town anthem (a sample of Chi-City by Common, finally!). To which my buddy says “Now that’s, a fucking entrance.” His set was dope, a little long – but he tied the whole thing together with a nice homage to MCA.

Oh yeah, he also played Lady Soul’s paradigmatic “R.E.S.P.E.C.T” and Evel Kanyevel and Jayhova’s (okay, I kinda used that one already but he doesn’t have that many nicknames, alright?) “N***as in Paris”.

DJ Scizzorhands
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Respect must be the new “Let Me Clear My Throat”.

Lastly, from Boliva DJ Bmau. I’m not gonna waste your time and I’ll just say this: Jazzy Jeff was on his phone for the entire set. Womp Womp.

Z-Trip was amazing, as he without fail always is.

Z-Trip is, without fail, always amazing
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Last and certainly red-headed, we had the baddest ginger on the wheels of steel. Our boy, Skratch Bastid.

Skratch Bastid
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

I think I might be in love. He played to his audience, he was innovative, he was charismatic, and he spins better than a Dyson dryer.

We thought it was all over too. Until Z-Trip came back on stage and demanded that Bastid re-drop “Ante-Up” (his crushing set ender) so that he could get in on it. The two riffed off each other and we got to see some real ill old school freestyling on the tables…

And then Jazzy joined in.

Enter Jazzy Jeff
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Remember when I said ships were gonna sink yesterday? It’s turned into an Armada.

-E

Red Bull 3Style World Championships Prequalifiers Night 2 Recap

erock — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:45:22 +0000

Outside Double Door Chicago on night two of the Red Bull 3style World Finals
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Chile, you had me at hello.

And by “Chile” I mean DJ Drummer, and by “hello” I mean the Chicago Bulls theme song. These Latin Djs, amirite?

DJ Drummer took the top spot at night two’s qualifier battle.
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

I could end the recap there and it would be a pretty honest recap. I won’t though, because since you probably couldn’t be there last night I feel like it’s my duty to tell you how dope-on-plastic this show was.

The Double Door is a grungy place. On top of that, it is not kind to the vertically challenged among us (read: Can’t see!), so I gave up on trying to take in the technical aspects of all the DJs.

It was perfect. The vibe there was so radically different from the first night. You know the music video for Snoop Dog “Gin and Juice?” The one where it’s just a bunch of kids jamming out at the world’s most fun looking house party? That’s what was going on last night.

The crowd, venue, and DJs provided a distinctively “house party” vibe
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

The competitors took a step back from trying so hard (they probably were trying really hard, but it came off as effortless) and instead the DJ’s better spent their time rocking an awesome party. It was a solid choice.

After Drummer (the winner of the night) left the stage; (floated away on a cloud of being epidemic level sick?) we had the DJ equivalent of Ryan Lochte on deck- Repping the Red White and Blue was Four Color Zack. This DJ is as American as PBR and childhood obesity. That is to say, very American.

Four Color Zack holding it down at the Red Bull 3Style World Finals
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

If it hadn’t have been for his talent on the 1s and 2s, I might have mistaken him for a member of O-Town, or One Direction. Good thing boy had table chops though; his charisma was on the brink of being off the charts; which took his pseudo predictable set to the next level.

There is less to say about the Netherlands DJ DNS (a solid enough DJ in his own right) and South Korea’s DJ Pandol (should be DJ “breakbeats” Pandol).

Netherlands DJ DNS at the 1s and 2s
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

South Korea’s DJ Pandol on stage
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

We were into that dirty, filthy underground hip hop vibe all night, so it was only fitting that we welcomed (with open arms I might add) Jurassic 5’s own DJ Nu Mark. He did exactly what we wanted and needed him too – pumped out that old school ish.

Tomorrow night we get to witness the brilliance that is DJ Z-Trip and Skratch Bastid – (I will be there chatting up my fellow Canadian ginger, so keep your ears to the streets people).

It has already been a loud couple nights…tip of the iceberg, ships are gonna sink.

Red Bull 3Style Night 1 ReCap

erock — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:47:38 +0000

Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

If, at any point you were nervous about there being a lack of youth in brightly colored clothes and flat brimmed hats out dancing their asses off on a Tuesday night in Chi City, fear not; cos’ it’s time to talk about the RedBull 3Style World Championships Night 1 prequalifiers.

The event title alone could max out my word limit, but I think it’s safe to say that the real verbiage will come in the 4 nights still ahead (sets from Flosstradamus, Skratch Bastid, ?uestlove and Jazzy Jeff amongst others…you kidding me?!).

Last night was everything you’d want from a DJ set. Guest DJ’s Nadastrom and Drop the Lime set the groundwork. It was turned up in Lincoln Hall, and the lights were on our side.

Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

The first competitor was India’s DJ Skip- I mean, nothing new or especially innovative here but like every DJ last night, the tunes were solid, the beats were heaaaaavy and the timing was on point. What more can you really ask for from a DJ?

Turns out, a whole lot- The Latin guys were the ones who really worked it out. I was practically dizzy just watching Spain’s D.Beam and Argentina’s Hernan Paredes hands move. It was kind of like watching a pair of piano virtuosos. In fact, I had to run upstairs to the balcony to make sure I could see everything they were doing. (I almost feel like hearing it was secondary, save a few monster dark horse tracks from the likes of Queen).

Spain’s D.Beam destroyed the competition Tuesday, and was crowned round 1 winner
Photo credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

Aerial view was a good move because that’s where judges Skratch Bastid, Cosmo Baker and Jazzy Jeff were taking everything in including South Africa’s Tha Cutt; who may have been my favorite by virtue of his swagger.

South Africa’s Tha Cutt, on on 1s and 2s at the 2012 Red Bull 3Style World Finals.
Photo Credit: Andrew Vaughan for SalaciousSound.com

All the DJ’s paid homage to the Chi, (which, Chicago brats like me appreciate obviously) making sure to drop samples from Kanye et al (“Mercy” from Cruel Summer being the winner in my books).

I’m here all week and excited for what’s on deck, pun intended. I’ll make sure to say “sup” to ?uest Love for y’all as well.

Check out the official photo gallery from last night here.

Exit Festival Serbia day 4: Little Dragon, Knife Party, Buraka Som Sistema, Maceo Plex & more [photo gallery & editorial]

French Vanilla — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 19:30:38 +0000

Editor’s note: This one got seriously lost in the mix, but the festival and work that French Vanilla did was just so good that we thought you’d still enjoy reading about it.

I began the fourth and last day of Exit listening to Little Dragon’s performance at the Fusion Stage, which probably could hold about 1,000 people, and was pretty full for their 10:30pm performance.

The group describe their sound as “dreamy, rhythmical, shifting, moody rainbow sounds.” I don’t think there are better words to explain Little Dragon’s electronic, downtempo synth-pop sound. Lead singer Yukimi Nagano lays sultry and soulful vocals to beautiful melodies in songs that tell a story. Their live show was all that and then an even bigger bowl of cherries. Yukimi was so loveable and so engaging, which made every sound that came out of her even better. The extra amazing thing was that they were all so happy and they really fed off the crowd, who couldn’t get enough.

Little Dragon on the Fusion stage at Exit

Little Dragon are a four-person electronic music band from Gothenburg, Sweden. Erik Bodin, Fredrik Wallin, and Yukumi Nagano were all high school friends who later added Håkan Wirenstrand to the group. Electronic music performed live is pretty much always fantastic, but they are all that and then some. As chill as their music is, their performance had fantastic energy and set an amazing tone for the night for anyone who had the pleasure of attending.

Little Dragon on the Fusion stage at Exit

Here’s some of their new stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yeb3q5nqWA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXn02jofXGk

After warming up to Little Dragon, I headed back down to the Dance Arena for Knife Party, which was a mission in itself because rock legends Guns n’ Roses were playing the main stage, and we had to pass the main stage to get to the Dance Arena. Although the band that was on stage looked like and kinda sounded like Guns n’ Roses, it really was just Axl Rose and a bunch of guys playing Guns n’ Roses cover songs. But it seemed like half of the country showed up for this show because there was no chance of getting anywhere near that stage. There were people everywhere. It was insane. In preparation for the possibility of an overwhelmingly huge crowd, concert organizers revamped the main stage area and pushed the boundaries back to be able to accommodate more people. And people still seemed to spill over everywhere. Typically, the main stage can comfortably accommodate about 40,000 people, but there really was no way of standing comfortably during the GnR show. We managed to find an express route to the Dance Arena, which took us past the main stage, but didn’t allow for even the slightest view of the stage. We passed by as they played “Welcome to the Jungle,” and although I was really excited to hear it as the mean introductory guitar riff was being played, I cringed when Axl started singing. He sounded terrible, and well, old and tired. I heard mixed reviews about the show afterward. Apparently they showed up 45 minutes late, and played “new” stuff for the first hour, which no one seemed to know or care about. They finally got into their greatest hits collection, and then the show was kick-ass.

Knife Party ended up going on a half-hour late because Art Department was a no-show and festival organizers had to re-jig the nights’ schedule in the Dance Arena. As the only true new-school electro representation at the festival, I had huge expectations for Knife Party and was really excited to see him live. He played an awesome variety of Electro, Dubstep, Drum n’ Bass and even some Moombahton, though his set didn’t really flow well for the first half and his mixing was noticeably off at more than a few points. He was great at working the mic and getting the crowd hype, but he seemed to give up on a few of his tunes early if the energy in the crowd was low, and pretty much go straight to the bangers in a really choppy way. He played Tourniquet, Internet Friends, and his remix of Swedish House Mafia’s “Save the World.” He also played Skrillex’s “Bangarang” and “Promises.” The second half of his set was just crazy. The crowd went insane over everything, and everything he played was just hard—much harder than anyone else who had played during that timeslot over the past three days—and perfect to really get the last night of Exit going.

Dance Arena crowd during Knife Party

As a result of Knife Party going on a half-hour later, I sadly had to pry myself away early so that I could catch some of Buraka Som Sistema, which proved to be a fantastic decision. Buraka Som Sistema reminded everyone why music was awesome. They were already halfway into their set when I arrived with my friends and it was like we had stumbled onto the most fun party ever. As we approached, every single person was dancing and jumping around and going crazy. Standing still just wasn’t an option. Buraka Som Sistema have a couple of great studio albums, but their live act is just absurd in the best way possible. The group is comprised of two producers from Portugal and three MCs from Angola. One of the MCs is an incredible female hip hop vocalist (MC Petty) who not only spits fire when she raps, but is also a great singer as well. For their performance at Exit, they were also bookended by a couple of drum kits being wailed on by a couple of brilliant drummers. Their style of music is a fusion of electronic music and Kuduro, a type of hard-hitting, percussive, new-school tribal music from Angola. The lyrics were almost completely in Portuguese, and I doubt that anyone in the crowd had any clue what they were saying, but it really didn’t matter. They were a living example of how music transcends borders and brings people together. Portugal and Angola live and direct at an 18^th century fortress in Serbia. My face hurt from grinning so much.

Buraka Som Sistema on the Fusion stage at Exit

I had seen them before in Toronto at Wrongbar, and the performance started with one of the MCs asking the crowd to help him crowd surf to the bathroom at the back because the place was packed and he would have never made it any other way. When he was ready to return, we helped him body surf back to the stage, and the show began. The Wrongbar show was also amazing, though they didn’t bring along their drummers. At Exit, their performance was a non-stop party, with the Fusion Stage near capacity but with people spilling onto all walkways leading up to the stage area so that they could have more room to dance. Anyone who was anywhere near the front of the stage came out dripping with sweat. A friend of mine who had never heard of them and was a bit reluctant to leave Knife Party told me that she would never question my taste in music again. After the show, they actually came out to take photos and talk to their fans. I can’t remember the last time I saw a group actually do that. Their entire presence was just so amazing in every way.

Exit could have ended right there and I probably would have been okay. Though there was still too many good acts to come and we missioned it back down to the Dance Arena for Laurent Garnier LBS.

We found the rest of our ever-growing group and tried to get into Laurent Garnier’s tunes, but just couldn’t. It was boring, but to be fair to Laurent, almost anything after Buraka Som Sistema would have been. We were on such a musical high after that show that we had to go find something more energetic than tech-house, which would have been great otherwise, except it just felt so bleak sounding at the moment.

In the adjacent Happynovisad Stage, I managed to catch the tail end of Skream and Sgt. Pokes, who seemed to be pretty well-received by the crowd, but were really only a warm-up for what came next. Dubstep was still a new concept to the majority of Eastern Europe, but they really loved their Drum n’ Bass and welcomed DnB pioneer Goldie with open arms. Goldie played a mostly old school, liquid Drum n’ Bass set to a packed crowd of a couple thousand. It was heavy, intense, chill and inspiring all at the same time. The crowd went off when he played “Inner City Life,” his original banger from 1994. Goldie was actually supposed to play the main stage, but Guns n’ Roses apparently had some really elaborate special stage set up, and they decided it was easier to just relegate Drum n’ Bass legend Goldie to a smaller stage. It ended up working really well, because the Happynovisad stage was wedged in between a couple of 30-40ft. stone walls, and there was just enough room for the people who really wanted to be there, and the party was fantastic. Goldie was dope and even better was listening to classic DnB tunes while watching the sun rise over the fortress walls.

I left his set early to catch a decent amount of Maceo Plex, who had people going crazy to his special blend of funky-hard-soulful-deep-and-techy house. He was the second last act to play the Exit festival and didn’t want to get off the decks when his time was up. His set felt quite tame at times, but it was because he was taking us on a brilliant musical adventure. He just kept a steady flow of awesomeness going for about two hours and was really really well received by anyone still left standing at 7:00am on the fourth and final day of Exit. While he’s got more than a few amazing tracks that everyone’s undoubtedly heard more than regularly at club nights in North America and all over Europe, he treated us to a ton of unknown gems in addition to a few of his own genius tracks. I don’t think I had seen a DJ smile more at Exit than he had.

Maceo Plex on stage at the Dance Arena at Exit

The last DJs to play the Dance Arena were Marko Nastic, Dejan Milicevic, and Marko Milosavljevic, The three DJs, who are Serbia’s biggest club DJs, traditionally played back-to-back-to-back to end the Exit festival every year. They played some amazing techno to close out the festival and there must have still been a few thousand people there still going hard until well after 8:00am. Behind them, the stage was full of the people who worked the hardest to put the festival together, all dancing behind three of the guys who helped build the electronic music scene in Serbia. It was probably the nicest vibe the Dance Arena had seen all weekend, and reminded us that we could look forward to experiencing it all again next year.

Local legends Marko Nastic and Dejan Milicevic playing their traditional closing set

Exit Festival Serbia day 3: Plan B, Erykah Badu, Richie Hawtin, Claude VonStroke & more [photo gallery + editorial]

French Vanilla — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 19:29:36 +0000

Editor’s note: This one got seriously lost in the mix, but the festival and work that French Vanilla did was just so good that we thought you’d still enjoy reading about it.

By Day 3, we were all walking wounded, but had no intention of slowing down. It wasn’t so much the constant partying that had people worn down, but mostly the fact that this festival had 15 stages spread out over a kilometer. And this kilometer had all sorts of elevation changes, cobblestone and dirt paths, steep inclines and declines, and a schedule that just didn’t allow for any breaks because everything was just too good to miss.

I arrived early enough to catch Plan B’s band going through their sound check, and it was interesting to see and hear what the main stage looked like with myself being the only person in attendance. Something else really interesting was how clean the place was. There were very few garbage bins around, so people had no other option but to toss their plastic cups on the ground. The saddest thing about the end of the festival each morning wasn’t that the party was temporarily over, but the garbage that covered the majority of this soon-to-be UNESCO world heritage site. Each morning though, scores of people with massive rakes came in, and worked for hours to make sure that the place was virtually spotless for the next evening.

Plan B on the Main stage at the Exit Festival

Plan B on the Main stage at Exit

I wandered for a bit to explore the rest of the fortress, and came back for an incredible Plan B performance. For those who don’t know, Plan B is England’s latest hip hop export, who is an amazing MC and loves to sing. And oh my, can he sing. After a quick warm-up by his beatboxer Faith SFX, he took the stage wearing a sharp-looking suit and tie and told the crowd “we’re gonna play you some soul music.” His set was done in two parts, with a bit of an intermission in between. In addition to a few of his own tunes such as “The Recluse,” (we all know and love the remix by Chase and Status) and “She Said,” he also sang a couple of brilliant covers of soul classics. Accompanied by a five-piece live band, he sang “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers and “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King. For added brilliance, his beatboxer Faith SFX joined him during “Stand by Me” by beatboxing a dubstep beat and they made the song theirs. “Ain’t no Sunshine” transitioned into Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose,” and then they capped off the medley with “Forgot about Dre” By Dr. Dre and Eminem while everyone in the crowd cheered their faces off. Faith SFX started the show with some awesome hip hop beatboxing before the band took the stage. He was also left alone to entertain us once the “soul” half was over, while Plan B left the stage for a couple of minutes to get ready for the “hip hop” half of the show.

Faith SFX put on the beatboxing performance of a lifetime. He started off with some solid hip hop, dropped some dubstep beats, and then went into some pounding house and electro. He would beatbox some dirty basslines, add in the melody, and then he’d get the whole crowd to sing. We clapped to the beat and sang the words and/or melodies to “I Like to Move it,” “Zombie Nation,” and “Barbara Streisand.” He then explained that he was going to try a different scenario. “You’re in a night club, and you’ve just been outside for a phone call, but the music is still playing in the background,” he explained before following up with how he was going to put it all together. He put the microphone against the side of his throat, and beatboxed all the parts of “I Like to Move it.” It sounded perfectly muffled, impressed anyone within earshot, and we screamed some more. It was freaking awesome.

Plan B came back dressed in jeans, a skater chain, and a t-shirt, and proclaimed this half of the show as the “hip hop” half. When it was time for him to play “Ill Manors,” he encouraged everyone to start a mosh pit, to which the superfans in the front obliged. Other than the epic hiking at the festival, the only other really trying aspect is that fact that the ground is made up of really dry and dusty dirt, and you end up breathing it all in. The mosh pit was intense, and it drove a lot of people to the back because it was impossible to breathe. The crowd kicked up a dust cloud so fierce, that you couldn’t see the stage from the back. It was a small inconvenience though, because the energy from Plan B, the band, and the crowd was amazing. I couldn’t have picked a better way to start my evening.

Plan B on Main stage at Exit

Please please please listen to Plan B. His style is his own, though he seems to be following in the footsteps of other British rappers such as Dizzee Rascal and Mike Skinner from The Streets. They created a whole new style of hip hop and a sound that came definitively from across the pond, and so far Plan B has been able do the same. He’s like England’s answer to Drake, except he really does keep it real and is so much more versatile. I don’t mean to hate on Drake, but unlike him, Plan B actually talks about social and political issues in his music, and not about how much money he has. And he can really really really sing. His soul songs are amazing and really demonstrate his adaptability as an artist, and his live set is boss.

Here’s a couple of clips I filmed of Faith SFX Beatboxing:

Here are his most recent singles and a really cool interview on BBC1:

After Plan B, I stuck around to listen to Erykah Badu for a bit. I liked a couple of songs of hers as a kid, but she kinda fell off the radar years and years ago. Nevertheless, the main stage was packed and she was greeted to huge applause. One cool thing about shows in Eastern Europe was that artists seemed to have a bit more immortality. While acts like Erykah Badu, New Order, Duran Duran, and Guns n’ Roses are almost forgotten in the western world, they still have fans in other parts of the world. Fans who didn’t get the chance to welcome them when they were too big to tour anywhere but North America and Western Europe, and are elated at the fact that they can hear them live now. I moved right to the back, sat down and enjoyed a bit of the show, and also enjoyed the fact that so many people were enjoying the show. I also thought about how cool it was I was chilling to some late 90s R&B, was off to hear some Nigerian afro funk next, and would eventually get my Techno fix with Richie Hawtin later on. I just couldn’t get over the phenomenal programming and fantastic variety of the festival.

Erykah had a seven-piece backing back who were tight as hell, and they all put on a kick-ass show. And Miss Badu was still eccentric as ever. I recognized her classic tunes “On and On” and “Love of My Life,” and loved that it was all still relevant and beautiful.

Erykah Badu on Main stage at Exit

I headed up to the Fusion Stage to hear this year’s Kuti family representative do his thing. I learned last year just how much Serbs love their Nigerian afro funk after dancing my tail off to Femi Kuti and the Positive Force at Exit last year. I guess it was expected that they would bring in his brother Seun to make sure that genre was covered at this year’s festival as well.

The entire Kuti family is no doubt Nigeria’s most famous family, and if not the most famous family in Africa. They are well-known for their contributions to art, education, religion, politics, and medicine. The late Fela Kuti was the musical genius known worldwide for pioneering the Afrobeat genre, and Femi and Seun Kuti are his sons.

Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 threw down about an hour-and-a-half of some fierce afro funk at the full 2,000 person capacity Fusion Stage. Seun sang and played the alto saxophone, while a couple of female backup singers provided fantastic backing vocals while shaking their asses. I’m not sure who exactly make up Egypt 80, but also on stage were two guitarists, a bass player, a drummer, a keyboard player, and a couple of other percussionists. Not only were they musically awesome, but there were so many people on stage that it looked like the best party every. And there was so much heart and soul in the performance that the whole place was going crazy. By the end of their performance I was sweaty and panting because they just made everyone move. Despite standing in the shadow of a giant, Seun made sure everyone knew his name, playing the show like it was his last.

Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 on the Fusion stage at Exit

I decided the best way to cool down would be with some chuggy Detroit and Berlin techno, brought to us in Novi Sad, Serbia by a guy from Windsor, Canada.

I made a mad dash back to the dance arena so as not to miss any of Richie Hawtin’s set. I showed up to a completely packed Dance Arena and waded through the crowd to one of the media towers because it was the only spot I could find to dance. What makes Richie Hawtin such an amazing DJ is his talent for turning a potentially monotonous sounding eight-minute techno track with basic sounds into the most aurally delicious thing you have ever heard. He brilliantly strings together drum loops and layers several simple sounding sounds to create deeply engaging symphonies. To be completely honest, while I’ve always enjoyed sitting back and throwing on a pair of headphones to listen to Richie’s mixes, he’s been hit or miss with me at parties (though to be fair, I think he was playing a lot more minimal at the time, which I don’t have much of an interest in). This time however, he really impressed me, and anyone who was privileged to hear his set at Exit. I couldn’t tell you what he played, but the point of listening to Richie wasn’t to play “Name That Tune.” It was more about getting lost in the sounds and really listening to what was going on, because the point was the journey and not the identifiable rest stops along the way.

Richie Hawtin on stage at the Dance Arena at Exit

Richie Hawtin and two badass robots

Here are some decent amateur videos of the performance.

Claude Von Stroke played a cool set very well suited for the wee hours of the morning. He played some really cool melodic tech house and his mixing was tight. He didn’t do anything overly spectacular, but the tunes were well-selected and programmed, and it was a beautiful way to greet the morning. Richie Hawtin was a tough act to follow, but Claude kept everyone moving.

Claude VonStroke on stage at the Dance Arena at Exit

Here’s a decent amateur video of Claude Von Stroke at Exit.

WEMF Festival Report

SYDNEY J — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 21:13:13 +0000

Thomas Gold opens up the Time Stage at WEMF.

WEMF is definitely a name that goes far back into Canadian Electronic history. It’s one of the events that signals the waning of summer, but always ends it with a bang. In its second year of resurrection, has had a chance to return in full force to a bit of its former glory (aided in no small part by the popularity of all forms of bass music). Our Salacious crew loaded up the car and started the journey to South Algonquin in the dead of night; it’s a long drive, but the transition from city to forest only helped build the anticipation. There’s nothing quite like a change in scenery to feel like you’re going into another world just for the strange state of un-reality that is any festival.

Gathered in front of the Tower of Destiny

The Friday of WEMF was a slow day for some travellers, who got caught in lines overwhelmed by sheer numbers picking up wristbands (which looked and felt awesome on our wrists — cloth bands go a long way for comfort and appeal!) and having cars checked as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Getting in was a well-run process, but an army of ravers appearing at one place at one time can make anything slow down. We managed to get into the festival relatively quickly after checking into our hotel (we suck at roughing it) and helped some WEMF-ers set up their tents (they’re great at roughing it) before checking out the music that was just starting to float through the air.

The Tower of Destiny at WEMF

We showed up to catch Dr. Ozi, Toronto Natives, who charmed the crowds that had made their way to the stages with bass-y sounds that were a great warm-up for the long nights to come.

Dr. Ozi at WEMF 2012

We’ll just say the wind was pretty strong.

Dr. Ozi got the crowd hyped early at WEMF 2012

We also managed to catch Course of Time resident Mr. Charlton, spinning an extremely funky tech house set.

Mr. Charlton manning the Time Stage

Mr. Charlton on the Time Stage at WEMF 2012

And visited our friend Charlie Darker in the Center Camp tent, who packed out the intimate, very well-equipped locals stage.

12th Planet brought his trademark energy to the crowds, lifting spirits in the cold weather and forcing us all on our feet to dance. He provided one of the highlights of the night during his sunset set: the theme to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air over a dubstep bassline. I don’t quite know what to say, other than this is a story all about how WEMF got flipped-turned upside down. Awful jokes aside, his set featured the start of some great stage production at the Tower of Destiny. Projection mapping has come a long way, and the light show provided by some scaffolding and fabric stretched in layers was nothing less than dazzling. It’s this sort of large-scale production that there needs to be more of at electronic festivals; it’s easy to see and looks great from any angle or distance, giving everyone in the crowd an equal level of enjoyment from the set.

12 Planet played to sunset at WEMF

Keys & Krates, one of the only live bands at the event, layered samples and instrumentals to build a roaring flow of music that washed over the crowd in waves, sending out some major breezy, positive vibes. They left the crowd feeling good and ready for more. The Time Stage was well suited for acts like this; lower to the ground than the Tower of Destiny, it let the crowd get a bit more personal with the musician while still packing a heavy punch with some great lighting and smoke effects.

Jr. Flo triggering samples on his MIDI-controller during Keys N’ Krates’ WEMF performance

Jr. Flo’s turntablism is a signature part of any Keys N’ Krates’ performance

Matisse manning the keys and adding vocal touches and hype during Keys N’ Krates’ WEMF 2012 performance

Adam Tune hard at work on the drums

Tune and Flo play off each other constantly, keeping time and each adding their own percussive touch to a Keys N’ Krates performance

Fans celebrate during Keys N’ Krates WEMF 2012 live performance

And Boy, did WEMF deliver. Over at the Tower, Datsik and hometown favourites Zeds Dead played back to back sets, while Thomas Gold brought up the energy and Wolfgang Gartner brought the house down with some major electro.

Thomas Gold gets the crowd going on the Time Stage

Thomas Gold performs on the Time Stage

All musicians were strong contenders for some of the most fun sets of the festival, but I’m going to say that hearing Illmerica live next to Prime time of Your Life and Music Sounds Better With You made Cal and I absolutely throw down. Literally. I think we lost a good pair of sunglasses.

Wolfgang gets started on the Time stage, playing tons of fan favourites.

Great to see such a great producer at work at WEMF.

Day two was surprisingly relaxed during the day, but that seems to be a by-product of WEMF itself. It’s a festival of open spaces, where dedicated electronic lovers come from all around just to have a good time. It helps when there’s a good amount of Toronto representation in a Canadian event; Warrior Music, The Supermaniak, Hydee, and The Killabits each had a turn at the Tower of Destiny, keeping the Bassmentality crews going throughout the day and straight into the night.

The Killabits play at the Tower of Destiny

At the community stage our very own Cal laid down some “Real Trap Shit” (in his own words). Somehow, we wound up with an impromptu performance by not only one but two MCs, who plugged in their microphones and away they went. It was a tent filled with some happy campers (so to speak) and some even happier dancers who brought their best moves with them.

Cal plays some Trap (and prepares the air horn) for the Community Stage

We were joined by a few enthusiastic MCs during Cal’s set

Montreal natives Adventure Club played all sorts of fan favourites, from their remix of Crave You to some Youth Blood to a bit of screamo here and there.

Adventure Club rocked an incredible, high-energy, late day set that attracted a huge crowd not quite captured here

Adventure Club at the Tower of Destiny

Adventure Club’s fans were heavily engaged in the WEMF 2012 performance, singing along, and gladly following the duo’s calls for hands in the air

Trolley Snatcha followed up with a nice dose of UK Bass, and Pendulum followed up by bringing the crowd right back into Drum and Bass.

Ed Rush & Optical brought the crowd right back into Drum and Bass

Ed Rush & Optical at WEMF

Chase and Status gave one hell of a performance, featuring one of my personal favourite tracks Blind Faith. One of the most interesting sets of the festival came from Dub FX. Their expert use of sample looping and effects pedals created a unique experience which truly works best in a live environment.

Ah, Moby. One of the legends of electronic music — I was personally introduced to his work growing up by my dad with Everything is Wrong, and later the legendary album Play — and a dj with well over 20 years of experience by now.

The crowd was absolutely ready for Moby to start at the Time Stage.

There was a presence brought to the stage I haven’t seen the likes of in a very long time. It’s really amazing how a single bald guy in glasses can strum up such enthusiasm just by standing on a table; he stalked the stage, putting a few tracks on to loop just to build energy in the crowd and shoot photos of the crowd. I was amazed at the reaction of even some of the younger members of the crowd; thank goodness they know his music is all I’m going to say.

Moby tore the proverbial roof down at WEMF.

I didn’t really know what to expect from Infected Mushroom’s new stage production, but once they started to perform, I was entranced.

Some Smithson-Martin technology at work during the Infected Mushroom set at WEMF.

Spheres set up at either side of the stage featured some seriously cool technology at work directly alongside some great bits of projection mapping and lively performances by a vocalist who absolutely loved running around a stage.

Infected Mushroom brought quite the stage show to WEMF

Some impressive projection mapping at work during Infected Mushroom

Andy C, Figure, and The Crystal Method rounded out the night at the Tower of Destiny with some amazing performances, and we managed to stay awake and dancing all the way through the Torro Torro performance. It helped that they opened their set with a bang, featuring their remix of Go Deep.

Torro Torro starts off a 4AM set at the Time Stage

They kept the energy going all the way to sunrise.

Overall, WEMF definitely improved on procedures from last year. Effort was clearly put into design and materials for the fest, and it was easy to spot all sorts of fans in festival merchandise wandering around the area. A personal favourite addition was the schedule postcards handed out to attendees at the entrance. They’re less clumsy than a full brochure, and it was quite easy to see what was going on at each stage at any point in time. Security was present, but not overbearing; attendees were kept happy and safe and each area seemed carefully regulated.

There’s nothing quite like absorbing a live show in the wilderness

It’s important for a festival to strike a balance between police presence and concert security, and it was nice to see cars being checked on the way home to make sure that drivers would get themselves home safely. Those who chose to camp were given many places to do so, and with a bit of stage shuffling each area had a relatively quiet experience. Unfortunately, due to the placement of the stages, there was a tiny bit of sound bleed, but if you were closer to one stage or the other the problem disappeared in the face of pure sound. I will say it made for a few funny breakdowns at the Time stage, where a quiet moment would be filled with pounding bass from the Tower of Destiny at the other end of an extremely large field.

I have a personal bias in that WEMF is one of my feel-good festivals. It’s a place that music lovers have space to dance, have access to a wide variety of acts that aren’t overpowering the festival circuit, (this year’s lineup was one of my favourites) and are free to simply have a good time. The long journey home wasn’t even a little daunting. I’d gotten all I needed: Good people, good music, and good times. What more can a person ask for?

Thanks to Jiani Lu for making her Salacious Sound photography debut at WEMF 2012! We’re going to see a lot more work from her in the future, so keep an eye out for galleries and video footage coming soon.

Mid-Season Report: Ibiza’s newest party, ENTER.

Geoff — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:52:32 +0000

Every Thursday in the heart of Ibiza you could go out and dance to numerous international DJs in the best clubs the world has to offer. Guetta has his F*** Me I’m Famous evenings at Pacha, showcasing other large top 40 acts (ex. this week happens to be Afrojack). Amnesia has the legendary Cream Ibiza parties which would give you a good insight into the true roots of the island (this week is Paul Van Dyk and Laidback Luke, among others). For the big room ravers you may spend your early mornings in Privilege (largest club in the world) and experience their self-proclaimed Face of Ibiza parties. With only three clubs mentioned, in one night, on one island, and just this week, we have already listed 4 of the top 20 DJs of 2011 (ranked by DJ Mag – a list produced by votes from its readers), including the number one ranked DJ of last year David Guetta…

BUT if you’re like me, and you love your techno, then you already know that none of this matters because on any given Thursday of this summer, if you happen to be in the Valhalla of partying, you’d be at the legend of minimal’s first Ibiza residency. Thats right, our homegrown hero decided to darken the Ibiza shores and for this season has taken Thursdays at Space Ibiza, providing its inhabitants with what he calls the perfect mix.

“Music. Sake. Technology. Experience.

ENTER. will be a point of entry into new experiences: from new music and DJs through to technology and the Sake we introduce people to.”
– Richie Hawtin

Having started only a few weeks ago (July 5th) he has already burned through the M_nus family and churned up line-ups that make techno lovers shiver. Dubfire, Hawtin, Matador, Magda, Ambivalent, and Maya Jane Coles… in one night… with a fully loaded sake bar?? And yes, there is a rooftop patio with his own brother Matthew Hawtin spinning his air-like ambient grooves. Hell they even called that area Air. If anything could have even imagined to top the Cocoon creations of Papa Sven and Richie going back to back in the old days of Ibiza, this would be it.

As it is a natural progression for any international DJ to achieve their own residency in Ibiza. Noting the other techno parties on the island, Hawtin said that he chose Thursday nights to give Luciano and the Cadenza crew and Carl Cox’s own recurring residency at Space their, well, space. Who wants to travel all the way to Ibiza to be deciding between M_nus, Vagabundos, or the Cox? It gives the island a perfect set of techno legends per week without any stressful overlaps and provides the people with a diverse set of parties each night. Bravo Hawtin.

Shifting to the presentation of the residency, we see Japanese influence within his addition of the sake bar and the circular black logo that could be interpreted as a dark Japanese flag. Having been described as a man who could never be fully understood unless you are aware of his obsession with the Japanese culture, he has stated that it was indeed inspired from his travels in Japan, but the logo resembles something more. The Rothko-esque dot is the ascension into the mental groove that is his music, a state of mind that he has based his entire life and career on controlling and with this party he can once again share with the world. He has not only created a sub-genre within the techno/minimal realm of the electronic world, he has created a unique experience that has been mastered, re-made, and mastered again. As his live shows are constantly changing and have been since he started in the early 90s (ex. F.U.S.E., Plastikman) you can see his true devotion towards not just music, but the experience, and it has created something more then just a party. Sound similar? I doubt we’ll see Hawtin scaling the walls of Ibiza in black rubber, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to call him and his ENTER. misfits a couple of dark knights.

ENTER. is almost halfway through its season. The first of many to come we hope. Such a strong and unique addition to the Ibiza world is a prime example of why the island is what it is, and why electronic music is thriving not only there but all around the world. With supreme originality and inimitable presentation, Hawtin has yet again set himself apart from other DJs by creating an alternative to the once alternative electronic dance scene.

Some final words from the man himself, Richie Hawtin:

“As electronic music continues to develop around the world it becomes more important to invite people into its very core, where music, technology and ideas interplay to create unique and wonderful new worlds. Ibiza is the perfect place to further explore my event concepts that have been developing since the early Warehouse parties I threw in Detroit and more recently with CONTAKT & Plastikman Live. It is my hope that by combining many different elements together I can heighten the experience of the audience and place a significant memory into their subconscious. Ibiza is the perfect location for continuing this long-term experiment and ambition of mine.”

HARD Toronto Review: Justice + M83

Larratt Vaughan — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:36:44 +0000

The French successfully invaded Fork York this past Saturday, leaving the local populace in disarray with ringing ears and dizzyingly good vibes.

Leading the invasion were Generals Xavier De La Rosenay and Gaspard Auge, fighting their battle “For Great Justice.” A cavalry brigade led by Colonel Anthony Gonzalez of the M-83rd division led up the rear receiving supporting fire from Charli XCX, Buraka Som Sistema and Austra, and a rallied local militia ranging from over-enthused teens to the upper echelons of the Toronto hipster scene took their arms to the front line.

Proper photos by Wyatt Clough

The Openers
The Main Event — Jousteece
The Afterparty — chez Hoxton

The Openers

The sun was scorching in the mid afternoon when Charli XCX took the stage. Despite a sparse crowd (half of which were taking refuge in the shadow of a tree), Charli kept the energy high in her set, dancing around stage in platforms. Her sound was catchy, and definitely nostalgic — “Nuclear Seasons” sounded like No Doubt’s “It’s My Life” by way of 80s Madonna production.

She’s also a total babe.

Following Charli were the noteworthy Buraka Som Sistema, the Kuduro-techno champions hailing from Portugal.

For those of you who might not be familiar with the Kuduro, it’s basically fast Reggaeton that doesn’t totally suck. To compare:

VS

Their set was tight. I couldn’t help but thrust my hands up when they were throwing down. What impressed me even more was the live instrumentation — these guys weren’t spinning their set, they were producing all of their sounds with keyboards and midi drums.

Buraka and security were even nice enough to dispense some free water to the parched crowd.

The purple-haired girl on stage lit up the scene with humor, energy, and incredible hip control. She just brought the people to the next level.

Buraka owned their set. They deserved twice the crowd they actually had, but they made it happen regardless (and then some).

Three costumed ladies set the tone for the Austra set when they came out — I don’t know if they were going for medieval-chic or what, but the look complemented the timbre.

Lead singer Katie Stelmanis’ voice pierced through the dark transcendent synth. Especially in “Lose It,” her ability to sustain her notes was stunning. The crowd was into it.

Anthony Gonzales and co. came next, accompanied by the night’s first worthwhile light show.

Like Anthony’s haircut — M83’s set was very tight, with no loose ends or ragged edges. Compared to Justice, the band delivered a technically spectacular and focused set, but by the end I felt like he should’ve let loose a little more on stage.

“Midnight City” was awesome, but “Reunion,” where the band dropped an altered live version, playing out arpeggiated synth extrapolations of the original, was the set’s most glorious moment. Not bad would be a serious understatement.

Not in attendance was regular touring saxophonist for the band, Bill Clinton.

The Main Event - Jousteece

A few strikes of thunder brought about a torrential downpour as Justice was setting up, leaving the question of cancellation up in the air. But luckily the storm cleared, and Justice got started.

Genesis-into-Helix (with a little bit of Prince’s “Kiss,” I should add) kicked things off as the classic Justice cross lit up, along with two stacks of Marshall amps.

Since their last show, Justice has been keeping their visuals team busy tricking out the amp towers with lights. In “Horsepower,” the engine’s roar was really complemented by the stadium lights — it was like being face to face with the infernal machine itself.

Notable in their set was the deconstruction of the Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” remix into the sample The Jigga Man used for “On To The Next One.” In fact, the whole thing sounded pretty familiar…

Jay-Z and Justice – On To The Next Dance (Terry Urban and DJ Eloy video edit) from Eloy Garcia on Vimeo.

Musically, the set was similar to their first tour stop in T.O., with “Audio Video Disco” taking centre stage (single and album in equal measure). Justice’s recent attempts to position themselves as prog rockers has received mixed reviews, but their lack of proper instrumentation relegated their prog rock status to a Instagram-like tint atop an electro foundation, in performance at least.

The Afterparty – chez Hoxton

Meech and Erol Alkan threw down at the afterparty — with Sapporo sponsoring and offering free beer and sushi to select VIPs (including yours truly). I had no complaints.

Salacious Sound coverage of the event below.

Mad Decent Block Party 2012: Toronto [show review + photo gallery]

totem — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:21:50 +0000

Salacious crew rollin deep

Strap yourself in folks, because this one is a doozy! While we’re at it, why don’t you check out the Mad Decent Block Party 2012 Mix provided by Paul Devro:

This past Saturday, Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square played host to the first Mad Decent Block Party of summer 2012 and I think I speak on behalf of everyone in attendance when I say, “dat was tight”!!! I know that may seem an insufficient recap of what was arguably the hottest free event of the summer, however, ‘tight’ is actually quite accurate in describing a number of the proceedings, from performer transitions, DJ mixes, and crowd density to the clothing of many fine females present. Oh yes, tank-tops and short-shorts were out in full-force for this glorious day of sun, sweat, and sexy ‘choons’.

Aside from a few missing persons, (*cough* Claude VonStroke *cough*) some kooky crowd-members, and ridiculously over-priced alcohol, the day went off without a hitch. Bros, gals, goths, hipsters, punks, rastas, toddlers, crack-addicts, and even one robot came out to bask in the sumptuous sounds of several first-rate DJ’s (and a jazz trio!). Indeed, it was a party for the ages.

I arrived at Yonge and Dundas Square around mid-afternoon and luckily, I was able to catch the majority of Riton‘s set. As I emerged from the air-conditioned enclosure of the Eaton Centre and out into the scorching Toronto streets, a booming moombahton rhythm coursed through my body.

Immediately ecstatic, I jostled my way to the centre of the medium-sized crowd in order to locate the source of this palpitating beat. The audience was noticeably exuberant thanks in great part to the lively back-up dancers generously spraying the front rows down with water and the multitude of beach balls being tossed around.

Sporting a navy-blue dress shirt with white paisley patterns, Riton and his thin tuft of bleach-blonde hair occupied the decks, exuding laidback summer vibes while enthusiastically pumpin’ out an assortment of moombahton, trap, and even techno. In Diplo‘s honour he dropped “Original Don” amidst a flurry of gyrating bodies followed immediately by the Flosstradamus remix because well, why not?

This was the only aspect of Riton‘s set that I found to be somewhat gratuitous and exploitative but that’s a minor complaint. He managed to get people moving and amped up so I have to give it to the guy, he did his job well.

Next up was Montréal native and R&B connoisseur Jacques Greene of whom I am very fond of. I had been looking forward to his set possibly more so than any other artist on the bill and thankfully, none of the Salacious crew in attendance were disappointed.

Jacques’ mix consisted of deep techno primarily, with some funky R&B and a few of his garage-centric originals sprinkled throughout. I felt that he commanded the decks masterfully but unfortunately, the refined subtlety of a predominantly techno mix was, for the most part, lost on the all ages crowd. Clearly, people were hungry for more of the fun-loving, dance-friendly tunes that Riton banged out earlier.

I think that Jacques may have overestimated the maturity level of the crowd. His set was better tailored to a hip nightclub or at least an older, more sophisticated crowd. Nonetheless, at least a few people took notice when he worked a vocal refrain from the stunning Frank Ocean tune “Pyramids” into the mix.

Thereupon, I wouldn’t say that Jacques’ set was a total bust. Obviously, some people enjoyed it (this guy over here certainly did!) and were able to grasp his artful blend of techno, bass, and R&B. Oh well, I guess IDM is just more of a UK thing.

Before I go into detail, let me just say that BADBADNOTGOOD killed their performance. Having never seen them live, I was astounded by the young three-piece’s chemistry and just downright skill. You’d think it would be difficult for a local group of technically trained jazz musicians to fit on an otherwise DJ-only bill but BBNG pulled it off.

The lads opened with a menacing cover of Waka Flocka Flame‘s dirty south anthem “Hard In da Paint” inciting pandemonium amongst the Toronto faithful. For those of you who weren’t in attendance, I can only imagine your incredulity upon picturing a jazz trio covering Waka Flocka at a block party in the middle of downtown Toronto. Nevertheless, this is exactly what happened.

After the heavy-hitting opener, BBNG teased the crowd with a slow-building original before rifling through several more impressive hip-hop covers. Notable inclusions were TNGHT‘s “Bugg’n”, Kanye‘s “Mercy”, “Flashing Lights” and the BasedGod‘s legendary “Motivation”. Jazz music never sounded so thug.

Energy levels were high as dusk began to set in and moombahton pioneers Nadastrom took the stage. The shaggy-maned Dave Nada received a warm reception from the crowd upon his entrance. Everyone seemed to know what was about to go down and you could almost feel the buzz of electricity surging through the air.

As expected, Nadastrom delivered with a massive set of hip-shakin”, face-melting, heart pounding moombahton! I was especially thrilled that they dropped “I!!” as well as their brand new remix of Zeds Dead & Mavado‘s dancehall-dub tune “Undah Yuh Skirt”. Judging from the mass convergence of jittery and jivin’ human bodies, it was apparent that everyone else was equally thrilled.

Nadastrom‘s set seemed to last an eternity, much to the delight of all those in attendance. Don’t quote me on this but I believe it was actually extended due to the curious absence of one Mr. Claude VonStroke. The tech-house mastermind and Dirtybird Records head simply did not show and no explanation was or has been announced.

Nevertheless, people didn’t seem to take much notice due to the fact that Nadastrom put people in the zone for the most anticipated act of the night, Zeds Dead.

Yes, it was a majestic homecoming for DC and Hooks, the illustrious, Toronto-based dubstep duo. As the crowd steadily grew and the square filled to capacity, it was clear that this was the act everyone had been waiting for.

Torontonians love their Zeds Dead just as much as grandmothers love pie (cause that’s a scientific fact right?). As you can see for yourself, the entire crowd was skankin’ their asses off to the heavy bass wobble and agonizing over the flawlessly executed drops.

A personal highlight was the transition from “Mercy” (this was the song of the day apparently) to Skrillex and Damian Marley‘s reggae-step anthem “Make It Bun Dem”. Everyone instantly recognized the tune, inciting crowd-surfing and boisterous chant-a-longs.

Another noteworthy aspect of Zeds Dead’s mix that I feel I should mention was their inclusion of Wolfgang Gartner‘s electro-house party-starter “The Champ”. As Cal expressed, this is not a track you hear very often in DJ sets. “The Champ” was one of the more underrated cuts from Wolfgang‘s full-length album “Weekend In America” and up until now, it didn’t quite get the attention it deserves.

So, to that I say “good on ya Zeds Dead!” Those dudes really know how to throw a party.

In summation, I’d just like to say thank you to all the folks at Embrace and Mad Decent who toiled to put this event on. Your collective hard work and planning may go totally unnoticed, but it was evident to us in the *lack* of problems and drama, the very laid back attitude of the crowd, and the relaxed + positive attitude of the security staff, who were focused on crowd safety over easter-egg hunts.

Shouts out to all the back-up dancers, vendors, security guards, A/V dudes, and of course the performers….y’all done good!

Exit Festival Serbia day 2: New Order, Luciano, Netsky & more [photo gallery + editorial]

French Vanilla — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:05:10 +0000

I began my second night chilling to Hercules and Love Affair’s performance. Their three vocalists were awesome and put on a great performance for the crowd. Their down tempo disco, nu disco and old-school electro was good fun to groove to and although the crowd was pretty small (a few thousand people), everyone was really into them. It was hot as hell, so one of the females took off her dress and did her thing in mangled nylons and a bra. They ended with their biggest tune “Blind.” A good time was had by all.

Hercules and Love Affair played third on the main stage at 10:30pm Saturday and it was nowhere near as busy as it had been the night before. I heard more than a few people comment that Friday’s programming wasn’t as good as Thursday’s lineup. The truth was that there actually was nothing bad going on anywhere ever at Exit. Friday’s lineup just didn’t happen to have names as big as on Thursday, though the field in front of the main stage was completely full by midnight for New Order. And the field holds about 40,000 people.

It was the first time that New Order had ever played in Serbia, so for most people in the crowd, this was huge. “Sorry it took us 30 years to get here,” was lead singer Peter Hook’s apology as he stepped to the mic. But no one seemed to care because they probably had every single one of their Eastern European fans in attendance.

They pretty much rolled through their greatest hits collection and everyone sang along. While I think “Blue Monday” is one of the best songs ever, I was never a big fan, nor do I know much about the New Wave genre that they pretty much developed and defined. But I knew just about every one of their songs, and have always loved any of their remixed stuff. I recognized “True Faith” and “Bizarre Love Triangle,” and a few other tunes that I’ve enjoyed at 80s-themed parties and retro throwback jams. I didn’t stick around for Blue Monday, but I’m gonna guess that they probably ended with it and that everyone sang along and that a few people saw Jesus.

If you don’t know the tune, you need to familiarize yourself. It is a timeless banger.

I was feeling pretty mellow after Hercules and Love Affair, and New Order, though I was really looking forward to everything that came next. I was already feeling really tired, and just couldn’t find the physical energy to match my psychological excitement. Netsky and Dynamite MC completely changed all that.

At 2:00am on the main stage, there were only about a quarter of the people that had been there for New Order. But those that were left were an awesome reminder of why Drum n’ Bass is a fantastic genre, especially when done right. I hadn’t known much about Netsky, though I had been a fan of Dynamite MC since he was a part of Roni Size/Reprazent. With the explosion of Dubstep in the last couple of years, Drum n’ Bass hasn’t been as relevant as a genre. Netsky reminded everyone that the genre wasn’t dead, but just undergoing changes.

Dynamite MC was stellar. He’s incredibly engaging, and pulls out a mean freestyle when he’s not hyping the crowd with empty banter that is equally awesome. Netsky’s song selection was fun. Very very fun. He dropped grimy roller after grimy roller and had everyone moving, playing some really happy sounding melodic DnB. He had this awesome combination of filthy basslines, rolling drums, and bubbly melodies that was so incredibly fun to move to. Everyone in attendance seemed to think so as well, as it was by far the most energetic crowd yet at Exit with everyone going bananas.

While I wanted very badly to stay, Sneaky Sound System were on at the same time, and I figured that I’ll probably see Netsky in Canada sooner than I will Sneaky Sound System.

Sneaky Sound System are one of Australia’s hottest exports. They’re comprised of DJ Black Angus, who makes the beats, and Connie Mitchell, a fierce female vocalist who absolutely owned the joint that night. They’re basically a progressive house, electro and electro house act with a live singer, and it ads so much more to the performance having Connie sing their tracks live. They’ve done a track with Tiesto, have been remixed by Wolfgang Gartner and John Dahlback, and every single one of their tracks is fantastic. They are absolutely massive in Australia and truly deserve to be a household name in electronic music everywhere.

They played at 2:00am at the fairly small Elekrana stage to a full crowd of a couple thousand. We danced, we cheered, we bowed down. Connie’s vocals were incredible, programming was spot-on, and the stage was at one of the highest points of the fortress, which treated us to an incredible view of the city of Novi Sad below. There were a very large number of Aussies in attendance representing for the home team, with a big flag on a big stick just in case people weren’t sure. Some were obnoxious, some were cool, and most sang along with Connie’s every word. Their second last song was “I Will Be Here,” and they played the Wolfgang Garter version for extra awesomeness. It was my personal favourite performance of the night.

Listen to Sneaky Sound System. They’re bloody awesome.

After Sneaky Sound System, I was hurrying back to the Dance Arena to catch the second half of Reboot’s set…but I never made it. As I was passing the Reggae Stage, I heard some killer ragga jungle freestyling by a female MC. The actual billed performer was the DJ, Wenti Wadada from England, but the vocalist completely stole the show. She sang and rapped for a pretty small crowd of people mostly chilling in the grass, but she absolutely brought it. After going totally buckwild with her crazy ragga rapping, she slowed things down by singing a chill roots-reggae tune that she said “was #1 in Canada.” I stayed for one more track which was some more upbeat reggae with her singing again. Definitely a very cool discovery.

Homegirl, if you’re reading this, please tell us who you are. Would the real MC lady please stand up…

I ended the night dancing my ass off to Luciano in the Dance Arena. He played on four decks, using a Native Instruments S4 controller, and threw together an incredibly intricate and musically diverse tech-house set that had the place going off.

I arrived when it was still dark and watched the sunrise above the fortress walls, while dancing to rolling drum lines laced with occasional snippets of familiar vocals, like Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” and Les Rhymes Digitales’ “From Disco to Disco.” His flow was brilliant and the way he would slowly work in smaller percussive lines into his tunes was just so subtle and incredibly entrancing. I danced until my body was furious with me, having once again been starved for hours and not allowing myself any down time to rest. There were just too many amazing acts to see, and too much dancing to do. Food and sleep were a distant afterthought, but I left at around 6:00am, ate some delicious corn on the cob that I bought just outside of the fortress gates, and rushed home to host an afterparty.

Listen to the set live on Mixcloud:

Luciano – Live @ Exit Festival 2012, Novi Said (Serbia) – 14-07-2012 by Technolivesets on Mixcloud

Exit Festival Serbia day 1: Avicii, Jacques Lu Cont, Sub Focus, TEED & more [photo gallery + editorial]

French Vanilla — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:50:41 +0000

Before I begin with my reviews of individual acts, I must make a correction with regards to my festival preview article. We inappropriately called Exit “Serbia’s biggest music festival,” when really it’s one of the biggest and best music festivals in all of Europe and maybe even the world.

That’s what’s up. Please read on.

I didn’t think there could be any other way that the festival could have a better start than with The Gossip. Beth Ditto has an incredible voice that has such a commanding presence, that they were a great act to play second on the main stage and really warm things up for what was probably about 25,000 people. They began the show big with “Love Long Distance,” their first single from their most recent album, and the energy from the crowd was strong. Beth engaged in some cool banter, she sang awesomely, but the performance felt a bit lacking from what their sound can truly deliver. They ended with “Standing in the Way of Control,” which, as brilliant as it is, I couldn’t get into. The 2007 remix by Soulwax destroyed any chance of you ever liking the original ever again.

I was really looking forward to seeing TEED (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) play his “live” set. As I waited in the huddle of photographers, listening to the photography rules for TEED’s performance, he came over and rudely told the woman in charge of photography and filming that no one was allowed to film him because it was going to be “madness” and “chaos” and that there would be “loads of girls dancing on stage” that we would be a problem. She coolly reminded him that we wouldn’t be a problem, and that we kinda had to be there. What she probably meant was “you’re just here to perform and my boss is paying you.” By the way, he was also wearing his dinosaur suit (that kinda makes him look like whatever a centaur would be called if it were half-man, half-armadillo), and had kind of a bowl-job hair cut going on. All that combined with his otherwise kinda-cool British accent, just didn’t come across as cool as his music and other perfomances would indicate. And the “chaos” and “madness” amounted to four girls coming on stage to dance some rehearsed choreography about halfway into his set.

He spoke/sang into the mic as he fiddled with knobs and pushed buttons on controllers. Regardless of seeing the real “TEED” on stage prior to the show starting, his set was just boring. His programming wasn’t very interesting and his set just came across as flat. I took some photos. They came out terribly. Show was meh. I was sadly disappointed.

Sorry for the bad news cause he’s really good otherwise.

Back at the Main Stage, Sub Focus was tearing everyone a new one and the crowd was incredible. MC ID did a sub-par job freestyling over Sub Focus’ filthy drum n’ bass, but he was stellar at getting the crowd hype. At one point he had everyone crouch down and managed to get the majority of around 20,000 people to jump up at the same time, which looked amazing from the photo pit at the front of the stage. Only a couple of songs in, he dropped “Rock It,” and the place went off.

Sub Focus played drum n’ bass bangers and just consistently had people going crazy. He played a drum n’ bass remix of Deadmau5’ “Ghosts n’ Stuff,” the place went berserk, and I left while I still had a chance to get away. He was so good, and made it really hard to leave, but Sub Focus makes fairly regular stops in Toronto, and Jacques Lu Cont (who was on at the same time at the Dance Arena), has never played in Toronto to my knowledge, nor do I think he ever will.

It’s sad that he’s never been big in North America, because homeboy knows how to rock a party.

Jacques Lu Cont had the place bumping about a half-hour into his set, and I was greeted with some amazing funky house music. In fact everything he played had that kind of feel, though he took the crowd on a really cool electronic music journey. While some is his best-known work has mostly been interesting flavours of French-influenced house, he has been around for quite a while, with his first release having been in 1996.

His real name is Stuart Price and he has made tunes under the aliases Zoot Woman, Les Rhythmes Digitales, Paper Faces, Man With Guitar, Thin White Duke. He produced Madonna’s Confessions on a Dancefloor album, and did a pretty kickass remix of The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside (which he ended his Exit performance with).

His stuff is always good, and he’s always reinventing himself. While I don’t often expect a great DJ set from too many producers, Jacques Lu Cont was a phenomenal DJ. He had the entire crowd of around 15,000 people dancing, didn’t play many of his more recognizable tracks (as long as I had been there), and didn’t really play anything recognizable at all.

I had no idea what most of his tracks were and it was fantastic. There was nothing predictable about his set, and he covered everything from house, to electro, tech-house, techno, and everything in between. Tragically, regardless of how awesome his set was, Avicii was up next and that’s what everyone started chanting as soon as Jacques Lu Cont was finished. Poor Jacques. He was so freaking good.

The crowd sang the melody of “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes, while Avicii was escorted up the stairs and past us. He took the stage to the sound of approximately 20,000 people chanting his name.

Last year, Deadmau5 played the same timeslot on the opening day, and maybe only had about half the amount of people. Usually, the first day of the festival has the lowest turn-out, but the compound that is the Dance Arena was completely rammed from end-to-end. He wore a snap-back cap backwards and looked like Leonardo Di Caprio from his days as an 80s family sit-com actor. But his set absolutely destroyed the place and he himself couldn’t stop moving from the tunes he was playing.

He set an awesome tone for his performance with the melodic classical intro of “Clubbed to Death” by Rob Duggan, a song from The Matrix soundtrack, but it was a dope break-beat version full of thick basslines. And the crowd roared.

He eventually got into a really varied set that was brilliantly programmed. He threw down a good combination of a few of his own tracks (Avicii and Tim Berg), such as “Alcoholic,” “Bromance,” and his remix of the classic Cassius tune “Feelings for You,” along with your usual festival bangers like “Otherside” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Mark Knight remix of Florence and the Machine’s “You’ve Got the Love.”

The crowd was into it the entire time, and he played enough unrecognizable stuff to give him that extra credibility as a good DJ. While it was a typical set from him, it was nevertheless great, and once again refreshing to see a big producer who is more than a human jukebox and actually knows how to properly DJ.

The low point, funnily enough was when he dropped “The Veldt” by Deadmau5. It killed the buzz in the crowd a bit, and he let it run way too long. But the sun continued to rise and he quickly got everyone back with a good buildup to “Levels,” and as expected, the place erupted. Every single person within the fortress walls sang along. It really was one of those times where you got a good feeling.

After Avicii, Felix Da Housecat had big shoes to fill. But it was Felix Da Housecat, and he’s awesome, and therefore that was not a problem. Those who chose to stay received the pleasure of another amazing DJ set.

Felix Da Housecat has been around forever, has always stayed relevant by reinventing himself, and is just awesome. The sun was up, he stuck to mostly tech-house, but brought us back a few years with some mid-90s electro bangers lightly sprinkled with his own biggie “Silver Screen Shower Scene.”

He also brought the crowd back for a proper education in house by mashing up classics like the vocals of “The Bomb” by The Bucketheads (“The second most-popular game that we played as children was house…”) with Hatiras’ remix of “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer, while he had something else going on a third deck. Awesome.

I left to eat pizza and made a quick stop at a smaller side-stage.

A friend and I took a small break at the “Urban Bug” stage, the official stage of the magazine of the same name. Locals played whatever they wanted to people who had no expectation of what they were going to hear, and were totally good with that. It was small (maybe 70 person capacity), and down a very easily missed path, which was a detour from the path to the Dance Arena. It was fantastic though, and reminded me that what makes this festival really great is the hidden treasures on the smaller stages, and what an adventure it is just walking around the Petrovaradin Fortress.

A DJ from Belgrade named DJ Kibz dropped an incredible chill house track, with some sort of African vocals and a touch of tribal drumming. And there was no place I would have rather been in the world than eating Serbian-style pizza and sitting on the side of the hill listening to him play that track. There were only about 20 people there, but the majority were dancing and everyone clapped for him when he was done.

I went back to the Dance Arena to catch more of Brodinski, who was really good, but we were spent and it was time to go home. Good techno. Go see him when he’s in your hood!

Stay tuned for more reviews on:

Hercules and Love Affair
New Order
Netsky & Dynamite MC
Reboot Live
Luciano
Sneaky Sound System
And whatever other awesomeness I find.

Full Flex Express tour ft. Diplo, Skrillex et al steams through Ottawa

dara — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 23:41:07 +0000

The second last night of the Bluesfest in Ottawa was quite possibly the loudest and most mesmerizing thanks to the tour’s conductor Sonny Moore (Skrillex).

If the night was metaphorically speaking a train journey, as suggested in the tour poster, you started in economy class with Hundred Waters, Diplo bumped you to business class and the show ended with first class treatment.

Hundred Waters, the Florida band, is considered “folktronica” and while the melodies were soft and ambient it felt jarringly strange when followed up by Tokimonsta and KOAN Sound.

Hundred Waters hit the stage first.

Tokimonsta (Jennifer Lee) busted out some classic hip hop including: ‘The Next Episode’ (Dr. Dre), ‘The Message’(Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five) and ‘Simon Says’ (Pharoahe Monch). Lee mixed a bit of everything into her performance including hip hop mash-ups, ambient lounge, reggae and dubstep. It was pretty evident that her classic training in piano probably helped her read the audience.

Tokimonsta kept smiling and brushing her hair throughout her performance.

In the late afternoon, Diplo (Thomas Pentz) also performed sonic acrobatics by including pop, dubstep and hip hop in his set. It was great to see Diplo, Pretty Lights and Skrillex all pay homage to the Beastie Boys (‘Intergalactic Planetary’, ‘Fight for Your Right’, and ‘Sabotage’ were played in order of artist appearance). Pentz did not shy away from spinning like a hamster in his inflatable Major Lazer plastic bubble. His key strength was interacting with audience and having years of touring experience as founder of the Mad Decent record label.

Diplo proves that hamsters aren’t the only creatures who like balls.

As the evening progressed, Pretty Lights (Derek Smith) gave his own funky rendition of hip hop to the audience with his tracks ‘Out of Time’ (samples Carol Anderson’s ‘Tomorrow Is Not A Promise’) and ‘I Know The Truth’. Smith’s sets tend to epitomize the saying – something old is something new again.

Pretty Lights gestures to the crowd “give me some more”.

Anticipation was strengthened for Moore’s performance when a five minute countdown flashed on the screen.

10, 9, 8, 7… (It felt like New Year’s Eve…is Skrillex the new Dick Clark?)

The 24-year-old Grammy-winning producer provided a sensory overload to Bluesfest attendees. Plastic flutes shot smoke into the air from time to time and colourful lasers danced across the field. As he played ‘They Call It Murder’ (Ini Kamoze) the ship raised off the stage and pyrotechnics shot out from under the wings.

The spectacle that was Skrillex went well past 11:05 p.m. and was an anomaly during the festival. He apparently didn’t mind playing past the curfew. It wasn’t quite a midnight train to Georgia but close enough.

Skrillex prior to take off.

All aboard.

LMFAO finish off North American tour party rocking Ottawa

dara — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:43:24 +0000

The second night of Bluesfest in Ottawa was heavily pop-infused with performances by tween favourite Carly Rae Jepsen, Dragonette, and half of the crew from LMFAO.

Redfoo performs without his partner in shuffle, Sky Blue.

Redfoo, the one with the “big ass fro,” explained that his partner Sky Blu hurt his back from “wiggling” so was not at the festival. Earlier this year the group had to postpone shows in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Despite what would have been a set-back for most musicians, the dancers and musicians in the LMFAO entourage put on a great show.

You can’t really have a party without fake dumb bells, a costumed zebra, confetti, and one of North America’s best breakdance groups – the Quest Crew. Costumes weren’t limited to the stage, plenty of home-made shuffle bot costumers, leopard print spandex and fake afros were present.

So what happened earlier in the day?

It was a relatively tame affair during Jepsen’s 45 minute performance. A veteran of ‘Canadian Idol’, Jepsen seemed at ease gesturing to the side cameras with waves and smiles.

Carly Rae Jepsen strikes a pose.

Not shying away from self-promotion she mentioned she is finishing up her new record with a planned release in the fall. She gained the most applause from a down-tempo version of ‘Call Me Maybe’.

Would I pay to see Jepsen on tour? Probably not. Part of the spectacle that is pop music was missing from her performance. Don’t get me wrong, Jepsen wasn’t shy; she has toured with her mentor Justin Beiber and obviously has performed in front of larger audiences. However, she didn’t command the stage like Madonna or Katy Perry. For now the pop star will have to be happy as an opener for large stadium tours.

Next up was Dragonette who went against the common concert conventions and started their performance with their most well-known hit ‘Hello’.

Martina Sorbara, the group’s lead singer, said this was their “biggest Ottawa audience so far” as she surveyed the crowd. In 2007, Dragonette play Zaphod Beeblebrox, a small club in the market area of Ottawa, to promote the release of their debut album Galore. It was a strong performance and solidified the group’s fanbase in Ottawa.

“You guys are good at dancing to the lesser-known jams, too,” said Sorbara following the song ‘Animale’.

Martina Sorbara hides behind her sunglasses for the first two songs.

While Jepsen had over-powering vocals during her performance, Sorbara was battling the synth and drums of her bandmates the entire time. All in all, it made me wish I was seeing them inside a club again. Sorbara’s energy and movement across the stage were excellent, but her vocals were off point.

The best performance of the night was given by headliners LMFAO who used hits like ‘Sorry for Party Rocking’, ‘Put That A$$ To Work’ and ‘I’m in Miami Bitch’ to get the crowd into a frenzy. Redfoo did not shy away from cheesy opening remarks between each song.

“After I do it, I like to get a hot dog and put mustard on it and put poutine on the side,” he said with a grin. “I’m gonna get a hot dog” he said, before the song ‘Hotdog’ started.

Time to put “dancing hot dog” on the resume.

Of all the song on their setlist ‘One Day’ was the most prolific and included a breakdancing interlude by the Quest Crew (a series of headspins and flips were completed over a medley of Michael Jackson’s ‘Remember the Time’ and Steve Aoki’s ‘Earthquakey People’) .
Raunchy lyrics, silly stage banter and a key member missing didn’t seem to deter people from having a good time.

LMFAO could have ended the night with ‘Shots’ and the guitar-heavy cover of the White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’, but came back for two encores. The first one included ‘Party Rock Anthem’ and ‘Champagne Showers’. Redfoo ran along the fence between the soundboard and the stage spraying chamapagne. For the second encore, he got down to his skinnies (Full Monty moment) for ‘I’m Sexy And I Know It’.

Black and white confetti rained down towards the end of the show.

Although Blue Sky wasn’t there, Redfoo proved the show must go on and when it does, it can still be a good.