Salacious Sound » Embrace

YYZ Records Showcase In Review

soff — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:37:26 +0000

Friday’s YYZ Records Showcase kicked off the Canadian Music Festival weekend, and left me so disenchanted it took two days to simmer down enough to comment on the show. Granted, the rain and my poor time management skills had me arriving more than fashionably late, but the show was running behind anyways. In any case, after a few I was thanking myself for my tardiness: poor set design, rough transitions and faulty sound equipment nearly eclipsed the performances I’d been anticipating all week.

Nonetheless, we can’t fault the artists for a screeching mic, and through our bleeding ears the crowd at Wrongbar still enjoyed some superb performances: consistently creating striking material, I was glad to catch a solid chunk of Madrid. The electro duo straddled a line between upbeat pop and relaxed indie beats, performing music you could jam, work, fuck or sleep to – it’s entrancing.

Equally eager to hear vitaminsforyou, my anticipation quickly turned to irritability waiting on them to take the stage. In a morbid twist, it appears setup was so lengthy to facilitate a frightening light/fog show while the sometimes-band of talented Bryce Kushnier played in black beaked, illuminated masks. Despite having mining-helmet lamps for eyes, they had incredible stage presence and produced that stirring, haphazard sound that is now distinctively V4U: repetitive lyrics overlaying unusual sounds and a delicate melody.

By and large, because I find him somewhat corny, I’m not a huge fan of Jeremy Glenn. On the other hand, I was told his genre-blending style was well-received. Justifiable: that catchy soul vibe reminiscent of some of Marvin’s golden oldies is particularly noticeable on Mysterious Lover.

Special guest Woodhands was definitely a highlight of the evening. The pair began churning out flirty dance beats together in early 2007, and when they finally got started on Friday, everyone raged. Playing terrific tracks such as I wasn’t made for fighting off their first album Heart Attack alongside their new stuff, the energy was tangible – can’t wait to see these guys again.

TMDP was featured doing as a DJ set at the end of the night, albeit for a sparse audience.

All in all, YYZ presented some superb local talent, but the show could have benefited from a fast forward function and well placed use of the mute button. We can look forward to seeing some of these artists again at Sound Academy’s Digital Future on March 20th – here’s hoping for a smoother run.

Editors Note: Look forward to exclusive interviews with some of the acts from that night.

Simian Mobile Disco DJ Set For Canadian Music Fest 2010

The Monarch — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:13:48 +0000

The last time Simian Mobile Disco visited Toronto, they set Mod Club ablaze with one of the most explosive shows we saw in 2009. 5Gum has partnered with Embrace to bring Simian Mobile Disco back to Arcade Fridays at Mod Club for Canadian Music Fest.

The lauded production duo from the UK is one of the biggest acts coming to town for Canadian Music Week. This show at Mod Club is bound to be remembered as one of the best shows this year.

Last year their album garnered significant critical praise. Cruel Intentions is easily one of the best original Electronic songs of 2009. The live show that came with it was stunning, both visually and sonically. Check out a video of them performing, it wasn’t that different at Mod Club last time, so keep your expectations high for this Friday.

Click Flier for Facebook Event

Here is my favorite song off of the album.

Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions.mp3

Thank you Scion; for Nacho Lovers, JOTS, AC Slater, and Drop The Lime

undeadisco.com — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:57:05 +0000

Click for More Pictures

Yes yes y’all. I hope that the majority of you folks took ALL weekend to recover from Thursday night. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, shame on you.

Answer: Fool’s Gold/Trouble and Bass.

Mod Club was the place to BE.

I never knew people who made family- fun automobiles, SCION, could also be really great at bringing a grimey party to Mod, and a free one at that. The party was a super cool mix of the young cats, white-collars, flashing lights, and bubbles. Yep. Bubbles.

The night opened with Nacho Lovers, Andrew Ross and Scott Seawhale who kicked it off by playing some cooled-out Detroit techno that got hips moving the minute people stepped into the room. Bodies went from walking to bouncing immediately, I know mine did.

This Dj duo’s set started the event off on the right (dancing) foot assembling hype for the rest of the acts to follow.

Breaking in with smooth transition, AC Slater stepped in next, and turned up the heat. You know that heart-pounding bass you feel that immediately make your knees feel like Jello? Yeah, that. When he dropped Calm Down, the entire crowd moved in unison to the drops of bass that made the entire room feel like it was in waves.

The venue was a packed house by this point and as always it was really great to see a lot of support from familiar faces.

As more bodies flooded the dance-floor, Drop The Lime followed and held the crowd’s attention. This was my first time seeing Luca Venezia on the decks and he reminded me a lot of Perry Ferrell (circa Decadence 2009) when he was singing the vocals to his own tracks. Within seconds of The Devil’s Eyes intensifying through the speakers, a large crowd of girls drew to the front of the stage. Venezia towered over them, mic in hand, bubbles falling from above, powerfully grasping the hearts of us all.

To bring the party to a close, Jokers Of The Scene took control of the stage and proved time- and- time again just how gripping their sets are. They build up the dance-floor with infectious tweaks and peaks of sound and just when we cant take it anymore, they crush our skulls with creeping bass.

Mod Club was bursting at the seams from start to finish, a heartwarming sight to see on a cold February night in the city of Toronto.

Overall, Scion Canada gets an “A” in partying.

Love,

Natalie Di.

PS. Based on my observations as stated above, I’d say that the chances of Scion going on to throw themselves an annual head-office -electro- party, is 100%. Casual Friday’s now include party shades.

PPS. Catch NACHO LOVERS, BRANDON SEK, MARK MENY, and undeadisco’s own PAUL REVERED at WRONGBAR this FRIDAY FEBRUARY 19! for DEEPER

Free Show Featuring Drop the Lime, AC Slater, Nacho Lovers, and Jokers of the Scene!

The Monarch — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:40:07 +0000

I try not to post event fliers for everything I’m involved in, but this is a big deal. Free party @ Mod Club featuring 4 of North America’s top Electronic music acts.

Thursday February 11, 2010 Scion Presents:

Free With RSVP
9PM-3AM Age 19+
Must RSVP To Gain Entry @ http://www.scionnation.ca/rsvp

Facebook Event

AC Slater - BanGer (Drop The Lime Remix).mp3

Best Booker – Embrace

The Monarch — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:56:32 +0000

Somehow Embrace had their hands in everything this year. They were the masterminds behind everything from the Dubstep Sundays, to the Twelves (at both Social and Wrongbar) and a ton of live shows, including Fever Ray. That brief statement in no way does them justice; they are behind massive events in markets far beyond Toronto. Time Festival saw one of the biggest lineups to grace Toronto outside of The Guvernment. It was a party that paid homage to the forefathers of Electronic music and even included a room (albeit a poorly executed one)Â showcasing upcoming local Toronto talent. With their Arcade brand not only at Mod Club but on its way to to becoming a leading brand in Electronic music from Toronto to Miami, Embrace the music.