We’re beginning the first week of September in style, setinstyle to be exact. The trendy promotion presents the annual Clash Boat Party featuring Sean Miller and Daniel Dubb on Sunday September 5th aboard the Empress of Canada.

Just six days later on Saturday September 11th we’re hooking up with the HouseAddict crew to support the Footwork return of the growing legend Jimpster.

The Clash Boat Party is once again a LIV Events steered boat, so you know the cruise will be smooth sailing promptly from the very beginning. Last year this was by far the ride of the summer and coming off an incredible July 1st experience on the Empress decks, we’re sure to be in for an equally wicked time on Labour Day Sunday.

And speaking of amazing recent times, The Rogue Show debut at Footwork a few weeks back was a spectacular event. We almost forgot how much we love the pure club environment for a proper underground party. I can only imagine what it’ll be like to hear an international superstar like Jimpster for the very first time in Footwork’s spectacular space.

Without a doubt the tunes on the boat will be perfect as Sean is one of the best for setting the mood. He rocked it out at Footwork in the spring and he’ll most definitely groove it up for this party in the sun. Daniel Dubb is incredible in the warm up and there will be some fresh talent on the lower level to totally lay down a brand new vibe.

We all know how on fire Jimpster is and with three on target locals alongside, Matt Coleridge, Mike Gleeson and the man with the master plan irGo, Footwork is gonna be as hopping as it was for The Rogue Show.

Reserve your tickets for The Clash Boat Party by sending a request through our GUEST LIST FORM and while you’re at it, put your name on the list for the Jimpster jam. We’ll get a hold of you as soon as possible to make arrangements to get the boat tix in your hands and we’ll pass on September 11th info as soon we can.

Here’s a little taste of the Clash Boat Party:

And here’s some of Jimper’s genius tunes:

The Rogue Show was a creation we always knew had the potential to become legendary, but we couldn’t be truly sure until we had experienced the new partnership in person and on the dance floor. Yes the promo mixes of the first two episodes of The Rogue Show Podcast seem to provide the blueprint for a perfect back to back set but how could we be certain the duo could maintain a flow with direction when going a couple on and a couple off all night? Many try, but few succeed.

Well these guys did… The Rogue Show is for real! What an absolutely incredible night of music. I mean a complete night of ALL of house music. Luke Fair & Add2Basket delved deep into the full spectrum of the house genre touching upon each and every emotion associated with the style for a proper underground journey. It’s what we crave and why we still throw parties.

Subscribe via PodOmatic at therogueshow.com or through iTunes.

The Rogue Show – Episode 003 – Luke Fair & Add2Basket live at Footwork, Toronto – Part 1

Part One is all about The Rogue Show’s signature modern funk with some deeper, grittier selections also finding their way in the mix. The guys set the tone early, “Get your dancin’ shoes on, we’re in for a serious marathon!”

The Rogue Show – Episode 003 – Luke Fair & Add2Basket live at Footwork, Toronto – Part 2

The second hour is where you start to realize how much prep the guys put into this gig. Luke knows first hand what the Footwork floor is there for so as we move into peak time The Rogue Show displays the techier side to their groove… but of course there is no shortage of soul to sink your teeth into.

The Rogue Show – Episode 003 – Luke Fair & Add2Basket live at Footwork, Toronto – Part 3

What would a rockin’ bringthebeats party be without some funky progressive house setting the room a blaze? This eclectic journey continues into the “hands in the air” portion of the night with driving melodies and the epic moments that cast a spell which lasts until the lights come on.

The Rogue Show – Episode 003 – Luke Fair & Add2Basket live at Footwork, Toronto – Part 4

The final phase is for the hardcore. It’s for everyone who has followed Luke Fair and Add2Basket from the beginning and knows what’s at the core of what they do. It’s the deep and funky disco stuff that our crew loves so much concluding with our fav track of the summer.

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A huge thank you to everyone who helped put this phenomenal night together. Thanks to Footwork for going outside the box and taking a chance on a sound and style that’s not the norm for their space. Big appreciation to the The Rogue Show’s design guy, Jason Warth for providing the coolest, most unique media we’ve ever seen in this scene.

Props to the Fabricated dudes, Matt Coleridge & Steve Mack for putting on a warm up clinic, hopefully we’ll be able to share their mix soon too. Thanks to Jason Kew who was the man in the booth ensuring the sound was just right and recorded to perfection. He also put on a killer light show, something that has been sorely lacking in bringthebeats events for some time.

And a final THANK YOU to all of our friends who helped spread the word and supported us on the dance floor. The vibe in the room was incredible and memorable. It really felt like we were a family again with so many faces from the past, present and hopefully future for those who had their first Luke Fair / Add2Basket experience. It’s a night we’ll never forget and that’s because of all of you.

A match made in house music heaven, the perfect combination, the dynamic duo, the one – two punch… there is absolutely no doubt Luke Fair & Add2Basket are everything to us!!

It’s not difficult to describe their astonishing talent, but it sure is tricky to justly put to words our overwhelming excitement when it comes to what will be going down at Footwork on Saturday, August 7th when The Rogue Show comes to town. So we’ll let the music do the talking…

If you love the funkier, groovier, sexier styles of The Rogue Show Podcast – Episodes 001 & 002, then its best you mark August 7th on your calendar right now because this epic night of incredible vibes will ultimately make up the tunes for Episode 003. That’s right folks you heard it here, the next podcast will come to you live from Toronto so if you want to be a part of underground internet folklore, get your bloody butt on the Footwork dance floor.

Arriving early will provide a very special treat as we’re reuniting Luke with his old Solution crew when Fabricated’s Steve Mack & Matt Coleridge open with a very special back to back set. The significance of these two warming the decks will be understood by many old school clubbers and emphasizes how memorable this night is going to be.  We really hope to see you there.

After a stellar debut podcast Luke Fair & Add2Basket bring to you The Rogue Show – Episode 002.

Continuing with the concept of the guys doing whatever they want in the mix, it seems like both are still caught up in the summer vibes as the sets are again on the funky and soulful house tip for this second installment.

Digging deep into their archives and updating some classic cuts the duo have provided two distinct hours that induces similar emotion and energy. This partnership is shaping up to be exactly what we hoped it would be, a match made in EDM heaven.

Subscribe via PodOmatic at therogueshow.com or through iTunes.

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The Rogue Show – Episode 002 – Add2Basket

This episode turned out to be very experimental. It’s the first time I insisted to include all the tunes I wanted and even used some of my old vinyl. The flow maybe isn’t that perfect, but I wanted to make something different than usual. It’s for summer anyway and I feel it has a nice vibe to it.

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The Rogue Show – Episode 002 – Luke Fair

Nothing too different here, just a straight up house mix from start to finish. It has a bit more of a disco flavour than normal with a new bootleg remix I did of an old Roy Ayers tune. I think having no air conditioning until last week got me in the summer mood a bit early.

Summer is just around the corner; you can smell it in the air, see it in the styles. The city is coming alive and showing its true potential as the long nights are turning into sun shining days… finally.

In these parts there’s no bigger summer day than Canada Day and this July 1st is going to be unbelievably huge as two of the biggest stars in our underground, along with the hottest locals in our scene are coming together for what is most definitely going to be the boat cruise of the season.

Demi & Omid 16b will be bringing their Sex On Wax for another highly anticipated daytime adventure headed up by our partners in clubbing crime, LIV Events. Carey Britt’s boat cruises are by far the best in the city. He always runs a tight ship (pun intended) and works his butt off to ensure every last detail is covered. It is insanely difficult to put these types of parties together and despite the rare unusual circumstance, Carey’s gigs go off as advertised.

Demi & Omid are no strangers to the Toronto circuit. Demi has been blowing us away for years at some of the coolest parties this city has ever seen and Omid is a straight up legend with a discography filled with bombs. Their chemistry is undeniable and their positive energy in the booth is absolutely infectious. The top deck of this boat will be rocking, there is no doubt.

But if you’re going to need a break from the sun and are looking for some local fun, we have the Fabricated Deck as an added bonus. Four Fabricated vets, Steve Mack, Matt Coleridge, irGO and Dirty 30 Birthday Boy Jeff Button, along with a special guest from Miami, Karv ‘n Sol will be laying it down on the lower level. There’s going to be a real community vibe on this boat; the Fabricated Deck will ensure that.

Hook up with us through our GUEST LIST FORM to request tickets and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible to get them to you. At only $45 each, this is by far the best bang for your buck this Canada Day. The boat is sure to sell out, so please don’t delay and reserve your tickets now!!

Straight out the studio is a brand new podcast from ‘The Rogue Show’ featuring two incredibly stubborn DJs, Luke Fair & Add2Basket.  Two dudes who have the guts to always keep it fresh, keep it funky and actually keep it real!

Who do they think they are refusing to “play the hits,” turning their back on commercial appeal like they actually give a damn?! And where the hell are all the dark and soulless tunes?! Don’t these guys know today’s electronic music is all about monotony, not melody?!!

To make things worse they have a couple shifty accomplices by their side. First there’s this Jason Warth ‘Design Guy’… what the f-ck is he thinking making this renegade operation look so slick?! And of course there’s me, barney the big mouth, the guy who united these scoundrels so that I could have even more of the ‘rogue’ stuff to spam your inboxes with… (a sinister, hehe).

It really is a catastrophe. When this podcast takes off clubbers might remember what it’s like to smile when listening to house music. Things like groove and cool dance moves might be in demand once again. We all know relentless-aggressive-fist-pumping should never go… this revolution must be stopped!!

DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PODCAST… you might dance like it was 1999!

DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PODCAST… you may have fun with these beats!

DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PODCAST… this shit can’t be dope… (Oh yes it is!!)

We’re doing everything we can to keep the Toronto scene fresh, funky, INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND. In this spirit we bring to you our first full partnership in the I&U series on Friday June 11th when House Addict presents Volume 9 with one of the industry’s hottest producers / DJs, the UK’s Shur-i-kan.

Tom Szirtes aka Shur-I-kan, is considered amongst the top of a new wave of electronic producers thanks to his trademark blend of musicality and cutting edge production techniques. He has been a long-standing key artist for Jimpster’s Freerange Records, and has recently collaborated with Glasgow’s kingpin of house, Milton Jackson, to start Dark Energy Recordings. Representing the deeper side of house, Shur-I-kan will show Toronto his true self for the very first time.

As mentioned, this is our first co-promotion for the INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND series. We definitely couldn’t have chosen a cooler direction than with the House Addict crew’s love for deep, sexy tech house. We know both crowds will appreciate the vibe this sound provides and we couldn’t think of a better venue than Toika to host this soon to be legendary Toronto debut.

There is NO GUEST LIST for this event. Please hook up advance tickets at the extremely low price of $12 at www.gettickets.ca. Cover at the door will be $20 so save yourself a drink at the bar and grab your tickets now.

For pre-party beats leading up to the big event, subscribe to Shur-i-kan’s Dark Energy Podcast on either iTunes or libsyn. Also subscribe to irGO’s Podcast on either iTunes or PodOmatic.

A LOT of clubs have come and gone in this city, many of which are hardly remembered and have barley left an imprint on the scene.  However, there are a select group that have provided countless memories and incredible experiences for Toronto punters throughout the years. This city is recognizably known for being one of North America’s marquee party destinations, and it’s because of venues like Industry, System Soundbar, The Guvernment and Boa Redux / Sonic that we are so well known for having such great musical taste.

I believe that after five successful years in the club / afterhours biz, Footwork has now joined this elite list.  From day one this space catered to the darker, truly underground vibe of electronic music.  It’s not a place where any random Joe can just walk off the street and score some drunken babe or where sorority girls can go strut their stuff.  It’s an appointment destination for techno connoisseurs to bang it out and sport some serious moves on the dance floor.  It is THE PLACE for pumping EDM in Toronto, a space many in this scene call home.

We’re honoured to team up with the club and LIV Events in support of Footwork’s 5yr Anniversary featuring the debut of one of the industry’s all time greats.  Satoshi Tomiie is a New York House God who has fused his roots with the gritty tech sounds of today, constructing an intense, deep, dark journey with every one of his sets.  His sound is seemingly tailor made for the Footwork vibe. With a five-hour performance planned for this very special occasion, it can’t be anything but another mind-blowing experience to add to the Footwork legend.

Hit up guestlist@footworkbar.com if you’d like to join us for this once in a life time party, and download a small sample of what you’ll hear on May 8^th below.  Congrats on five great years Footwork… big props to you all.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Satoshi Tomiie – Def Mix Radio – March 2010

Just when I thought it might be winding down, the passion I feel for the underground seems to fire up again. See, I’m approaching a crossroads, a point in my life where I need to begin to focus all of my energies on only the important things in my professional life. Now I just need to figure out what it is that’s important in my professional life.

I’ve come to grips, many times, that EDM is not where I see myself in 5-10-20 years. I’ve always said that it’s too unprofessional, too random an industry to spend the rest of my life trying to make a difference and earn an honest, secure living. But really, is EDM any different from the corporate world I find myself in now? Truly, no matter the profession, isn’t the secret to professional success about choosing to work with people you respect in an environment that’s inspiring?

INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND is a great example of getting the most out of the choices we make (Check our pics from I&U v8). We’ve stayed true to the underground essence, embraced it for what it is and have never tried to make it anything more than what it should be. And by doing so, we’re creating unforgettable memories each time we fill the dance floor.

Now we’re well aware the true tests are yet to come. Will we be able to recreate the electricity of our gigs headlined by Luke & Ricky with lesser known, up and coming artists? That’s always been our primary focus and in the end, our success will be measured on how many people come to bringthebeats / INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND events, not just for any one particular DJ.

And will we be able to properly launch The LocALe and finally become a recognizable group within the Toronto club circuit? As mentioned in the promo piece for v1, our long term success throwing events and introducing new talent to this city will be implicitly tied to our ability to attract local support from others working behind the scenes.

Over the next few months these questions will definitely be answered and the results will be one of the deciding factors in whether or not we should take bringthebeats to a full time level.

Saying all this, it’s the global effort that still excites me the most. How can it not coming off such an incredible Winter Music Conference in Miami (Check our pics Part 1 & Part 2). Damn was the music ever incredible and once again we met an abundance of like-minded, equally motivated colleagues.

Our friends from Embrace have definitely become a power house at the WMC, but it’s the detail, vision and enthusiasm of the Listed crew that has once again impressed me the most. They work so bloody hard and it shows in the quality of the music, production and most of all, the people on the dance floor.

Yes, the conference is starting to look quite a bit like a Jersey Shore pilgrimage, but that also means more of the mainstream is taking notice. We all most likely entered this scene with a style that we’re not as much interested in today. Let’s hope these people similarly convert to a less party focused participation and help the continue growth of the more underground sounds we believe should be at the forefront of this industry.

All in all, things are more positive for our movement than they’ve been in a long time. Looking back to my last IMO over 18 months ago, I think bringthebeats and the underground have taken more steps forward than in reverse, a tone I was definitely not writing in back in the fall of 2008.

It remains to be seen how the rest of the year will unfold, but whatever happens, one thing is for certain, 2010 is shaping up to be an all or nothing year for bringthebeats. Is it time to follow a dream or is it time to move on? Only time will tell; but the last few weeks has me looking more towards the stars now than ever before.

bringthebeats has always been more of a global movement than a local one. Glancing over this year’s web stats, only about 13% of our visitors live in Canada. The way we see it, promoters around here focus more on partying than music, so the regular club kids of Toronto don’t take much notice of our ‘music first’ philosophies.

Don`t get me wrong, we have an incredible core in our crew. Unfortunately our crew hasn`t grown that much over the years. To some extent that’s our own fault for not embracing local talent more than we have… we`ll defer other’s faults for a future IMO post.

If we’re ever going to truly make it in Toronto’s club land, we have to establish successful partnerships with other promoters, which means supporting more local DJs. Joint ventures with irGO for INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND is the first step, our new party series The LocALe is the next.

On Friday April 23rd at Toika we host our first local event in years; The LocALe v1 will feature two of our best mates in the scene with Brad Copeland and Sean Crawford providing the peak time tunage. It’s going to be an amazing blast from the past to have these two guys in a bringthebeats booth once again.

And in a very special appearance we have Jennifer Hetherington making her btb DJ debut in celebration of her 30th birthday… again (hehe). Nobody brings a better vibe to the dance floor than our homegirl Jenn. Her energy is infectious and unrelenting; her support of what we do has always been very much appreciated. We can’t wait to finally hear her rock it out… this time, in front of the dance floor.

We hope this event will help foster an even more communal vibe at bringthebeats parties, leading to more FREE local based events at Toika. That’s right; The LocALe will be a free party series! Our Fabricated friends have proven there’s a thirst for a low key, non pretentious circuit of home grown jams; hopefully we can help quench that thirst on April 23rd.

Promo tunes coming soon…

Finally the 2010 INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND season has arrived. We have big plans for our events at Toika this year and it all begins on Friday March 19th when we take full advantage of Winter Music Conference travel by booking one of our top supported talents, Luke Fair.

We couldn’t let a trip to this side of the pond pass us by, so we’ve brought in Luke for our third consecutive booking right before he heads to the WMC. With how he ended last season’s INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND and the magic of New Year’s Eve, Luke has a lot to live up to at the eighth version of our growing series. We know he’s absolutely up to the challenge and we look forward to letting lose with everyone who can’t make it to Miami and of course, getting it started with those who are.

This opening event also marks the introduction of a true HouseAddict to the bringthebeats crew. irGo is one of the most respected figures in the Toronto club scene and we are thrilled to have him warm the Toika dance floor with his deep tech and tribal house sounds. Luke is incredibly excited to have irGO spinning alongside as he returns to his hometown for another night of super funky fun.

As always there is NO GUEST LIST for this event. Advance Tickets are available at www.gettickets.ca for the extremely reasonable price of $12.00. They are limited so please be sure to get yours now, cover at the door will be $20.00.

For pre-party beats leading up to the big event, please become a Luke Fair fan on Facebook and subscribe to irGO’s Podcast on either iTunes or PodOmatic.

We’ve finally moved into the current generation of the web world with the new and improved ‘Social Networking’ version of bringthebeats.com. As you can see above, we’ve added three new sections, SoundCloud Streams, Facebook Treats and Twitter Tweats.

The SoundCloud STREAMS page features our most recent bringthebeats exclusives as on demand streams and downloads. Our users have been requesting streaming capabilities for a long time; well finally it’s here and looking quite hot if you ask us.

The Facebook TREATS page brings our often updated Facebook Fan Page stream directly into our web space (we’re still trying to crack the FB code to make this look a little sexier). Here you’ll find quick hit downloads and articles from the global EDM community. If you’re on Facebook and haven’t become a bringthebeats fan, you can do so directly from this page… please do.

The Twitter TWEETS page is where you can follow along in my daily life. I warn you, this is a collection of my random thoughts and is not completely music oriented; though you will definitely find a lot of EDM goodies in the stream.

And finally you’ll see that we’ve added quite a few more tabs in our blog categories section. This will help you filter out what is what within the posts you find on the site. There’s been a shift in where the content will be coming from moving forward; you can read all about it in the updated version of The CREW.

Thanks for the ongoing support everybody!

Gregor D (barney)
editor, bringthebeats