It’s always been a dream of ours to host a New Year’s Eve party in Toronto. However travel costs are always at their peak, and all of our favourite DJs can make mass money in large venues; we can never compete for bookings with our preferred, more intimate soirées.

However one crew’s loss is finally our gain. An unfortunate cancellation for Luke Fair in Hungary has made him available to help us ring in the new decade here in his home town for the very first time. Of course we’ve jumped all over this extremely rare opportunity.

A huge thank you to Carey Britt and all the crew at Sound Academy for making The Liberation Lounge available for bringthebeats’ first ever New Year’s Eve event. For those who’ve never been in the room before, The Liberation Lounge has the same cozy feel as Toika, but with a more wide open concept. We know we’ll be able to achieve the same tight vibe we do with the INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND’s in this space.

Only 100 tickets are available in advance for $30 at www.gettickets.ca. This is pretty much the most inexpensive ticket in town, with by far the most established DJ in the city this NYE. No bells or whistles here folks, just the best House music on the planet from Toronto’s all time #1 talent… LUKE FAIR ALL NIGHT LONG!!

Visit Austral Mixing to download Luke’s most recent promo, a serious house groove from start to finish. Definitely check out the pics and music from INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND v7, an absolutely magical night all around.  And finally…

GET TICKETS FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE! Be a part of an event that has legendary written all over it.

We’ve always left the production world to the big publications and have done our best to cater to the dance floor warriors of the scene. But there are exceptions to every rule, especially when you have an entire digital album dedicated to your cause.

We are overwhelmingly proud to present the bringthebeats album from Ricky Ryan on Luca Ricci’s Aenaria Chill. Ten tracks inspired by our deep progressive roots, Ricky has dug deep into his soul for this truly global release.

Each selection was contrived during Ricky’s spring / summer production tour in Europe and Asia, alongside some of the most revered artists in electronic music today. A passion project in the purest sense, Ricky has brought all of his vast talent to light with this album.

Thank you, Ricky, for this incredible honour. We’ll let you, the expert aka magician, tell everyone about it.

Ricky Ryan – bringthebeats album [Aenaria Chill]
Out now on Beatport!

“My desire was to produce an album with a progressive atmosphere that would remind me of my favourite old days, combined with fresh gentle beats. Simple, melodic, hypnotic, driving; a friend would call it “Musica Fantasia,” like a toy story.

When I listen to music I see colours. I will share with you those colours I see for every song and mention the influences, inspirations (such as Brazilian blondas) and all the wonder collabs!”

Ricky Ryan – Little India – Original Mix
* Produced @ Roman Rai studio in Prague, Czech Republic.
Inspired by John Digweed: A deep and dark ride with an Asian spooky vibe. [Blue and Silver]

* Produced @ Shlomi Aber studio in Ashkelon, Israel.
Inspired by Indaba and Weekend World: Another dark one, rough and agressive. [Black and Blue]

* Produced @ Shlomi Aber studio in Ashkelon, Israel.
Inspired by Sasha & Digweed: A warm up ride. [Red and Green]

* Produced @ Roman Rai studio in Prague, Czech Republic.
Inspired by Sasha: Peak time atmosphere. [Silver and Blue]

* Produced @ Patch Park studio in Vlissingen, Netherlands.
Inspired by Circulation, Underworld, Chemical Brothers and Joris Voorn: Bright and gentle. [Green and Yellow]

* Produced @ Shlomi Aber studio in Ashkelon, Israel.
Inspired by Johnny D, Tom Middleton: A Flower Bomb. [Black and Orange]

* Produced @ Patch Park studio in Vlissingen, Netherlands.
Inspired by Guy J and Sasha playing @ STATE, Buenos Aires in April 2009: Progggggg! [Black and Red]

* Produced @ Shlomi Aber studio in Ashkelon, Israel.
Inspirded by Gamma Rox: For Ibiza, dancing naked…LOL! [Blue and Yellow]

* Produced @ Patch Park studio in Vlissingen, Netherlands.
Inspired by John Digweed: Trancy and floppy sounds. [Black and Green]

* Produced @ Kosmas Epsilon in Kavala, Greece.
Inspired by John Dahlback, Dusty Kid and Sasha: Epic, magic. [Red and Blue]

After 7 years promoting parties it really has to be something special for us to want put our support behind an event. That sounds pretentious, but with so much going on in our lives, the run of the mill party just can’t be fit into our busy schedules, which unfortunately includes a lot of responsibilities outside the club scene.

When Omid 16B came to Footwork for our birthday, that was something special. It was a legend’s debut solo performance in Toronto; it was hosted by a great group of promoters and in the end, the party was as spectacular as we expected.

We’ve come across another such event on November 7th, again at Footwork. The HouseAddict crew has asked us to lend a hand with their upcoming gig featuring Toronto DJs irGo and Mike Gleeson spinning alongside another House legend making his TO debut, the genius known as Jimpster.

Jamie Odell aka Jimpster is the co-label boss of Freerange Records. His remix resume includes a who’s who of the entire musical universe, including Bob Marley, Joris Voorn, Seal and Funkagenda. And he’ll be adding Footwork to an already impressive list of clubs that he’s blessed with his Deep House styles, such as Fabric in London, Panorama Bar in Berlin and New York City’s Cielo.

Join us on November 7th as we hook up with another great group of promoters looking to take House music one step closer to rekindled prominence in the Toronto underground. As you’ll hear from the promo below, deep and funky grooves will be in abundance.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Jimpster – Electronation (KinkFM) – August 8, 2009

CLICK HERE if you’d like guest list for the event.

The ultimate compliment is to be invited to one’s home. We meet thousands of people over a lifetime, but only a fraction of them do we host in our own personal space. It takes a very special connection to open the door and make someone feel comfortable, for us music has often been the bridge to this bond.

We’ve invited many a DJ and clubber into Club 1000 and in return we’ve been fortunate enough to be hosted by some pretty amazing people as well. However, this invitation goes well beyond dinner or drinks, one of our favourite South American mates is offering up his home to our movement, bringing the bringthebeats spirit to Brazil, and boy are we ever overwhelmed by the hospitality.

On October 23rd, while we’ll be indulging in our next instalment of INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND, the first ever bringthebeats Brazil will be going down, supplying a select few of our Brazilian brothers and sisters with a little taste of how we bringthebeats north of the equator. And there’s no better person to replicate the btb vibe than I&U alum, Felipe Callado.

This past February, for I&U v3, Felipe wowed the btb crowd and made them take notice of an underground talent who’s destined for success in whatever path he chooses. An established businessman as well as DJ, Felipe is not one to over think when it comes to his sound.

Maybe it’s his cool laid back personality, or just the fact that he has so much going on in his life that he has no other choice but to DJ for the love, but Felipe’s music is always direct and to the point… get up and dance my friends! This promo he’s dedicated to bringthebeats’ intro to the Brazilian club scene is no exception to the full on dance styles we know and absolutely adore Felipe for.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Felipe Callado – bringthebeats Brazil – October 2009

bringthebeats Brazil will be taking place in a very Toika-like space called Chá Bar in the small city of Farroupilha. Alongside Felipe, will be another top Brazilian talent Alec Araujo, as well Francisco Bortolossi, a DJ Felipe tags as Brazil’s number one newcomer and the dude behind Farroupilha’s vibrant and growing club scene.

Though I’ve never corresponded with Fran, I know he’d be my kind of guy. I love hearing this kind of quality from a DJ that I don’t know. This is how you make an incredible first impression.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Fran Bortolossi – bringthebeats Brazil – September 2009

Felipe and Fran, thanks so much for spreading the bringthebeats love. We are truly honoured that you’d associate your good times with the btb vibe. Have an amazing party, we can’t wait to see and hear all about it.

It’s crazy to think we’ve been in this promotions mess for seven years now, and ironically enough we’ve also reached I&U v7. Both are accomplishments we’re extremely proud of but can not take full credit for. So many have contributed to our success, which is nothing more than some good times on the dance floor.

Most of all we need to give thanks to all of the phenomenal DJs we’ve hosted over the years, and none more than Luke Fair. Luke’s been there from the very beginning; if wasn’t for his support, we would have never made it this far. So as thanks to Luke, we’ve brought him back from his new home in Macedonia to help celebrate our Lucky Number 7 at Toika.

Luke’s fired off a ton of new music as of late. He’s definitely been on point since he moved to Macedonia. His aqua life inspired productions have already started to surface on track lists throughout the House scene and of course more of his legendary mixes are available for us non-DJ types, including Luke’s personal fav of the year broadcast on last month’s Discoteca on friskyRadio.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Luke Fair – Discoteca on friskyRadio – September 24, 2009

You can find a couple more from this summer here. And another special studio mix in the downloads section of lukefair.com.

We’ve sorted a very special opening act for this I&U. Diana Livits has been a dear friend and a Deep House connoisseur for all of our time in the underground.  It’s going to be great to have such an amazing person, with super cool musical taste to open the night for us. Expect some fresh tunes from our Lady Diana coming soon… they’ll deserve an entire piece on their own.

Thanks to everyone who has ever contributed to, or even just experienced the bringthebeats vibe one time. If it wasn’t for all of you the past seven years wouldn’t have been the best we’ve ever had. Times are sometimes tough doing this promoting thing, but two things that have never let us down are the music and the bringthebeats crew. That is what we’ll be celebrating on October 23rd.

There is no guest list for this party, but advance tickets are available at www.gettickets.ca for an extremely reasonable price of $12 each. Door cover will be $20 and we max out at 120 partiers, so please, buy advanced.

Just when the summer party season is coming to an end in most countries, in the UAE ours is just beginning. After an extremely hot summer, where temperatures approached 50C (yes hot enough where you could actually scramble eggs on the sidewalk), temperatures are slowly cooling down to more comfortable levels. This means the dance floor will be heating up again as all the al fresco bars reopen.

Its like when you are in high school and everyone takes off for the summer, then school is back in session and you reunite with all your friends. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone back on the dance floor, especially after a long month of Ramadan.

This fall season is going to be very special as the line up for Friday’s at 360 hosts an incredible roster of world class talent. The fabulous Audio Tonic residents JC, Mr Mr, Vas Floyd, and Raxon will taking back to the decks on September 25th for the official reopening party. They’ve had 3 months off to gather lots of new tracks, I can’t wait to hear what they have in store for us.

The international line up starts on Oct 2nd, with our favorite Argentinean Ricky Ryan! I’m so excited to have Ricky here for a stop on his MOB tour. You will be able to listen to his new CD full of his own productions, as we will be giving away free copies of the CD at both Cubes and 360, so make sure you get copy!

Every Thursday of the month Sugar Nights at Cubes will be hosted by Hassan in partnership with Big Al of Ready Mix Records. They will be bringing us the Ready Mix Sessions at Cubes and also at Waves. This means that we get to hear our some of our DJ’s play not once but twice!

I’ve been helping the guys book some amazing talent for these nights. I was happy to have one of my favourite Discoteca boys, Tom Morgan, back in the UAE to celebrate the end of Ramadan on the first day of Eid which was last Sunday.

It was really tricky planning this party as weren’t sure when the holiday would be. The Sheikh has to see a full moon before he officially announces the end of Ramadan, this happens the day before the Eid holiday begins. In the end it all came together well and Tom played an extremely smooth set of funky to progressive house, very suitable for the bar/lounge atmosphere of Cubes.

To keep you extra excited for future Ready Mix Sessions and Audio Tonic nights at 360 here is the official line up for the rest of the year! Hope to see you on the dance floor soon!

Oct 1st/2nd – Ricky Ryan & BiG AL @ Cubes/ 360

Oct 8th/9th – Luke Fair @ Waves/360

Oct 16th-Ralph Lawson @ 360

Oct 23rd – Hideo Kobayashi

October 29th/30th – Eelke Kleijn & BiG AL @ Cubes/360

Nov 5th- Raxon & Vas Floyd @ Cubes

Nov 6th- Funk D’Void @ 360

Nov 13th – Add2Basket @ 360

Nov 20th- Jimpster @ 360

Nov 26th- Gabriel Sordo @ Waves

Nov 27th- Scope @ 360

Dec 3rd/ 4th – Sebastian Davidson & BiG AL @ Cubes/ 360

Dec 11th- Gabriel Sordo @ 360

Dec 18th – K Bana @ 360

Dec 25th- Residents Christmas Party

Website: www.readymixrecords.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/readymixrecords
Guest List: www.platinumlist.ae

Let’s not beat around the bush, because I talk more than enough shit that anyone who knows me and is reading this could call me out in a second if I wrote anything but the truth. Footwork is not the ideal space for the bringthebeats movement. But I’m also being honest when I say it has absolutely nothing to do with the space.

Footwork is by far the best underground room in the city. It’s truly Toronto’s only proper music box. The sound is quality, the size is perfect, the booth is fantastic and it’s in a nice, off the beaten path location. When the music is just right and the people are cool, it’s an amazing place to party.

Unfortunately club politics and realities have made the venue a place that I would rather not frequent on a regular basis. The club’s undeniable connection to the Guvernment community has created a dance floor vibe that is definitely not this old dude’s thing. You wouldn’t ever catch me in The Gallery or The Drink, why would I go to a club with a similar vibe?

Saying this, there have been exceptions to this rule. For instance the Platform nights; these guys have managed to string together a really wicked underground series that is, from what I know, very popular at the club. I really can’t say for sure as I’m not a big techno fan, but the one time I did hit up a Platform gig, for Joris Voorn this summer, it was pretty awesome. The club wasn’t filled with Guvy-like sketch and the music all night was super fresh; it was extremely fun.

This is exactly what I’m hoping for when Omid 16B steps into the Footy booth on October 3rd. We have a fantastic group of promoters that are outside the club’s norm, actually many of the same people that put together an incredible crew for Sean Miller’s boat cruise this past Labour Day. And of course we have one of Progressive House’s all time greatest up front and centre.

Add the facts of  it being Adri’s and my birthday weekend, and from what I hear the Demi night in August was kind of light on numbers and there is no way we can allow another one of our favorite artists to go through that again, and this seems the perfect excuse to test the Footwork waters once again.

Amongst the stellar stream of amazing exclusives the Electronic Groove crew consistently provides, was a mind-blowing SexOnWax Session from Omid that is full on from beginning to end. If this is what’s going to go down on the dance floor on the night I officially move into my mid thirties, I’ll be groovin’ like I was 19 again.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Omid 16B – Electronic Groove 087

I hope to see you all out to wish the future Mrs. and I a happy one, but more than anything, come out to support a solid Progressive House artist, not nearly enough of them come through our city anymore.

Hit us up for guest list here.

Boat cruises have become a staple within the club scene in Toronto. Every weekend there are multiple boats blazing beats across the harbor… actually too many if you ask me.

Just like the clubs, the DJ line-ups for most cruises are over-booked in an attempt to draw multiple crowds. By any means necessary promoters are trying to reach capacity and cover the inflated costs of a cruise.

And in most cases it’s the musical program that suffers most. Fitting in three to four acts on a four to five hour sail doesn’t often create memorable musical experiences. Add the fact that you’re trapped in a confined space with groups of people you may or may not gel with, and the mystic of a groove cruise certainly wears thin.

However, when you get the right people and the proper tunes rocking the boat, some of the best times of the summer are sure to be had. That’s what we’re expecting out of the CLASH Boat Party.

We’ve joined together with our favorite promoters in the city, Carey, Nuno and Ayse to support one of Toronto’s most respected artists worldwide, Sean Miller. Sean is a DJ who’s never sold out to “get the gigs.” He’s stayed true to the music he loves and the people who love him and over the years that attitude has paid off for him BIG TIME.

From Creamfields in Argentina and Peru to Pacha in New York to Red Light in Paris, Sean’s toured all over the globe. He was hand picked as the opener for Steve Lawler’s ‘Light Out’ tour and has already signed tracks to labels headed up by Satoshi Tomiie, Audiofly and Nic Fanculli in his short production career.

As you can hear from the mix available for download below, Sean’s spinning a deep, funky tech-house sound with old school house samples and traces of the culture he’s experience throughout his travels. This super bumpy promo is the perfect groove for a mid Sunday’s cruise.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Sean Miller – CLASH – August 24, 2009

Like mentioned above, Sean could have loaded his boat with the usual suspects of the Toronto circuit, instead he’s shown some serious class and decided to support an up and coming local talent, Daniel Dubb.

Daniel is hardy “up and coming” within the production world with the likes of James Zabliela and Joris Voorn sporting his tunes. And with this mix included on a radio show hosted by Audiofly on Proton Radio, we can all be thankful we’ll be confined on this boat for a warm up sounding like this.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Daniel Dubb – Supernature – July 11, 2009

Head to www.wanttickets.com if you’re looking for tickets. Or if you want to save the service charges hit us up through our guest list form and we’ll make arrangements to get you some.

All aboard! Hope to see you Labour Day Sunday!

Since moving to Dubai I have been happily surprised by the house music scene that is continuing to grow here. Of course one of the biggest reasons I love partying in Dubai is 360, which has become the weekly refuge for me and an amazing group of passionate house music lovers.

Now that the season has come to an end, because of the crazy desert heat, I want to share my feelings about the place I hate saying good bye to for three whole months.

My introduction to 360 came after meeting Mike Bufton, who immediately recognized our shared passion and allowed me to help out with his Audio Tonic Friday’s by booking some of my favorite DJ’s. I have never found a place where week after week I’m so excited to hear who is going to take over the decks. The Audio Tonic sound has been right in line with what we have been promoting on bringthebeats, so that makes me even happier.

After going over the DJ bookings with Mike and seeing so many great names on the list, I immediately had full trust in him. If there was a name on there that I didn’t know, I should have. People have come to realize that even if they’re not familiar with the name of the DJ (most don’t), they can be sure they’re going to hear only quality Audio Tonic sounds at 360. Building that kind of trust with a crowd is a great accomplishment, something we hope to see grow in the years to come.

I’m always looking for fresh new talent, so being a part of Audio Tonic has given me an outlet for that. In this past year I think my knowledge of the music and the people who make it has expanded a great deal.

I was introduced to many talented DJ’s and producers at 360 this season, but a few really made a lasting impression on me. Like Scope, the amazing Irish producer who was nominated for Beatport’s Best Deep House Artist of the year. And Dido and Miki, the incredible Macedonian duo of Latenta Project. After hearing both of these acts for the first time I knew I wanted to hear more. Leaving with a huge smile on my face, I felt as satisfied as a shopaholic who just finished a huge shopping spree (I often have that feeling too ).

We all loved Scope and Latenta Project so much we brought them back for encores. Other acts that came back on multiple occasions were Spirit Catcher, a live act from Belgium who always shake up the dance floor, as well as Steve Mill, who I managed to miss all three times he was booked… ahhh!!!

It’s so hard to say which party or set was the best because there were so many, but the ones that really stand out for me were, of course, the ones I had a hand in creating. The first being when Luke Fair came in February. Everything flawlessly came together that night. The dance floor was packed by 7pm, right in time for Luke to take to the decks and Radio 1 airwaves.

The thing that is difficult for a lot of DJ’s is playing to a crowd of people that are usually already drunk by 7pm… lol. The sun has just gone down and the evening is getting started, so the set can’t be too hard, but it also can’t be too soft or people won’t get the energy they need to carry them deep into the night. Playing that time slot can be challenging, but Luke read the crowd perfectly. He created madness on the dance floor that hasn’t often been replicated. I can’t wait till we bring him back again!

Another very memorable night for me was my second booking,  Gabriel Sordo. After having heard so many of Gaby’s mixes I was dying to hear him live. His set grew in energy with incredible build ups and a solid beat that had the crowd sweating like crazy. Gaby can perfectly adapt his sound to any atmosphere, which was very obvious from how he controlled the dance floor that night. Bringing him back to 360 next season is a must!

My final booking for the season was my good friend Fountain from Amsterdam. After knowing him for three years and never hearing him play live, you can imagine how excited I was. Although it wasn’t a very busy night, I think the people who were there loved his set, I know I did. I think Fountain would be perfect for a return; however, next time we should maybe have him play later in the evening so that he can play those heavy bombs he keeps stashed away for the perfect moment.

I think next season there are some DJ’s that were booked for the 7 to 10 to warm up that should come back to close out the party instead. An excellent choice for that would be Tom Morgan . Tom’s dedication to finding new music is always on display; his sets are consistently stacked with the best new beats of the moment. I’d love to hear Tom close out the night on an incredible high.

Other highlights of the season include Jody Wisternoff, who played one of my favorite sets; Sebastian Davidson who had me running straight back up the stairs, skipping my bathroom breaks because each track was so great; Add2Basket because he deserves to play to a packed dance floor; Daniel Kyo because I only heard the last hour of his set and it left me wanting so much more; Acos Coolkas because I loved watching his animated energy behind the decks; and Dana Bergquist and Neil Quigley who both need a second chance to get into the 360 groove.

What is so great about the 360 crew is that every event the resident DJ’s hold their own against these international talents, sometimes playing sets that outshine the guest. Michael Daniel and JC have played some incredible sunset sessions and between Mr Mr, Vas Floyd, and Raxon, the night always ends with some of the best music of the day.

I’m really looking forward to seeing so many of my favorite DJs come back again next year and to invite some new ones as well. If possible my top picks for next season would be  Ricky Ryan, Kosmas Epsilon, Lucas Abadi,  Holsound, Eelke Kleijn, bal Erik, Paul Trelles, Hernan Cerbello and Naveen G. Hehe, I want all the bringthebeats favs on the 360 bill!

I can’t wait for out 360 reunion this fall. Until then I leave you with one of the most memorable guest sets of the season from Latenta Project’s second Audio Tonic appearance in May and Raxon’s Audio Tonic 3rd Anniversary mix that totally proves that our residents are the absolute best!

Download (left-click and unzip):
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 1
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 2
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 3
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 4
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 5

Download (left-click and unzip):
Raxon – Audio Tonic 3rd Anniversary Mix

And please check out from on my favorite pics from the 360 season.  Have a great summer everyone, Lisa.

Our site is probably more popular globally than locally. That’s why we’ve began promoting events that are going down in other parts of the world, starting with the parties that Lisa has been attending throughout her travels in Japan and Dubai.

Recently one our mates in Lithuania, Jokubas of Out To Lunch (Kaspius & Jacob Jeffs), passed on some info about a very special weekend he has upcoming with one of our favorites, Tom Morgan. Tom will be headlining back to back parties with Out to Lunch spinning alongside at each event.

I’ve heard amazing things about the scene in Lithuania. Every time Luke has spun there he’s had an incredible time and says the vibe is always spectacular. I’m sure it’ll be absolutely no different when Discoteca is once again on showcase this weekend.

Here’s some beats to get all of our Lithuanian friends hyped for the nights.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Tom Morgan – Ministry of Sound, London – April 18, 2009

Download (left-click and unzip):
Out To Lunch – April Promo Mix (Bed and Breakfast on Proton) April 9, 2009

**********************************************************************************

Also check out this awesome interview with Tom that Jokubas passed on. It offers some great insight into the DJ life of one of the underground’s most promising talents.

What have you been up to recently? From the look of your schedule, plenty of international gigs.
I’ve been lying extremely low for the last week since getting back from South America, just been camped in bed with the laptop looking for tunes. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed it more, was absolutely shattered by the time I got home. I did a fantastic club in Bogota on Friday, Cinema, and had a gig in Guadalajara, Mexico on the Saturday. Guadalajara was the first gig I played outside of the UK so it was nice to catch up with a few old friends I hadn’t seen in a while.

You started producing a few months ago, what inspired you to do so?
It has to be done these days doesn’t it? Hakim (Urban Breathe) was over in the UK for a few days and had some time to kill so we thought it wouldn’t hurt to mess about on something and Rising was the result.

Your first release on Baroque sounds like a great start. Any other tunes lined up?
Thanks a lot. I haven’t actually played the tune out and I don’t think Hakim has either, but we worked pretty well together. It was more of a learning curve to see how we got on in the studio but I think there’s definitely something there. He’s made a start on another one that we’re doing together so keep an eye out for that. I’m also going to do something with a local producer, K-Bana, when our schedules allow it. Every time I seem to be free, he’s busy and vice versa, but we’ll hopefully make a start on something in the next month or so.

You visited the Miami WMC again this year. How did you like it?
Miami was great, it really didn’t disappoint. Although it was probably a little quieter than in previous years, which is hardly surprising given the current economic climate, there were still a lot of quality parties. As usual, the SOS boat was the highlight of the week for me although our party on the Sunday was a lot of fun. I’m still kicking myself that I missed the first three hours of Howells at Bed though. We thought we’d take a 15 minute nap at the hotel and woke up at 2am – there’s definitely a moral there for anyone considering going next year. I actually ended up getting an extra week there, due to a mix up with my flight to Colombia, which worked out nicely. It gave me a few days to pull my head out my arse, catch a bit of sun, which was notable by its absence during the WMC, and even get along to the tennis, which was just along the road.

How’s Discoteca Music? What’s in a forthcoming list of the label?
Things are great with the label, we had a month or two off from putting music out but are back with probably some of our biggest stuff to date. We’ll be releasing a couple of tracks from Dana Bergquist next, and are delighted to have secured a remix from Jody Wisternoff which turned out really well. We’ve also got a remix from Lithuanian disco outfit Downtown Party Network that we’re all really happy with and one from Dutch producer Stef Vrolijk too. We’ve been working on a few parties all over the globe: I did one in Bogota recently, one in Miami and we had Luke down in Mexico too. Our website discotecamusic.com will be up and running soon as we’re branching out to incorporate a booking agency also, so there’s really not enough hours in the day at the minute.

How do you choose artists for your label?
Between the lot of us, we pretty much cover all the new releases on a weekly basis. Whenever a producer comes along that catches our ear, unless they’re already massive and out of our price range, we tend to hit them up for original tracks or failing that, a remix. That’s how we came across guys like Paul Keeley, Sendos Fuera and Urban Breathe. Collectively, we have quite a wide network of contacts so we try to utilise this whenever possible. It especially helps having someone of Luke’s stature on board, people are much more likely to sit up and take notice if they receive an email from him as opposed to one of us. We get a lot of stuff sent to us for consideration but haven’t snapped much of that up, if any. That’s not to try and dissuade any producers from sending us their tracks though – please do! We listen to everything that comes our way, so far the best stuff we’ve heard though has been stuff we’ve pestered the producer for, much the same as with Alternative Route.

How’s the London scene at the moment? Any plans for Discoteca nights there?
As it happens we’ve got a couple of dates coming up at Ministry of Sound, where we’ll be hosting the bar. The first one is this weekend (the 18th) and sees SOS and Spirit Catcher in the Box, with myself and Luke in the Bar. I can’t think of a better place to do our first nights here and here’s hoping we do the business and it opens a few doors. Either way, we definitely owe the SOS boys a few pints for getting us in there.

Can you name few DJs/producers who will break through in 2009?
Scope’s one who’s been bubbling under for a while now but I think this year he’ll properly blow up. He’s probably my favourite producer at the moment to be honest, I love the atmosphere he creates with his music. Vince Watson from Glasgow has been around for ages and has released on some of the biggest labels there is, but I feel he’s really taken his music to the next level over the last six months or so, I’m very excited for some of his new ones to come out. Oh, and Danny Howells as well. Obviously he’s a household name already and has been at the top of the game for as long as I can remember, but the stuff he’s producing just now is head and shoulders above anything I’ve heard from him in the past. He’s got one coming out on Hernan Cattaneo’s new label soon that’s easily one of the tunes of the year.

How do you imagine your life without music, label things, DJing ?
I’ve been spending a stupid amount of time on music stuff for as long as I can remember so I’d definitely be at a loose end and wouldn’t really know what to do with myself. One plus point would be the fact that I could renew my season ticket for Dunfermline. I miss that a lot, irrespective of results.

Do you go out a lot?
Not as much as I used to but that’s definitely a good thing for both my bank balance and general health. It’s funny though as I’ve got about ten times as many nights to choose from as when I was living in Glasgow. Thank god I didn’t move down here when I was 18, it would definitely have been a recipe for disaster.

By the way, what about football? You live in London for a year or so now. Do you still support Scottish clubs? What’s your favorite FA team?
Although I don’t make it to nearly as many games as in previous years, I’m still an avid Dunfermline supporter. It’s been a bit of an iffy season though; we’ve either been brilliant or terrible, so have ended up struggling a bit when many thought we’d be up there at the end of the season. Having said that though, we’re in the semi final of the Scottish Cup in a few weeks so I’ll be making the trip back for that. I’m not going to shoot my mouth off in interviews about it again though, the last time I did that a few years ago we ended up getting relegated and I ended up looking a proper tit. Lesson learnt. As far as English teams go, I can’t say I’m honestly too bothered. I love watching the Premiership as the standard is so high but I don’t really have much of an active interest in one particular team. I like to see Everton doing well as David Moyes is an ex Dunfermline man I suppose but I wouldn’t lose any sleep over their results.

What is your strongest side, as a DJ: music selection, mixing technique, interaction with audience? What is the most important for house DJs?
I was brought up under the premise that first and foremost, a DJ should have and play the best music available so have spent such an unhealthy amount of time over the last few years ensuring that applies in my case also. Although all three are important in their own way, if I was prompted to choose one I suppose it’d be tune selection. I can think of quite a few technically adept DJs who mix impeccably but if the truth be told, their music often bores me to tears. I suppose beatmatching isn’t as important as back in the day, before the invention of programs like Ableton, which enable anyone to knock together a semi coherent set. Likewise, I’ve seen quite a few whos skill doesn’t lie in their music or mixing, but in mincing about behind the decks, slavering nonsense on the mic. The only person I’ve seen who can pull that off so far is Tenaglia, his patter’s tremendous. I’d love to be able to carry it off myself but I can’t see it, haha. But yeah, give me a couple of hours of really good music not mixed very well over these two any day of the week. I’ve spent the last few months going through every Juno sample from the last few years with Desyn (Masiello), which has been a bit of a test of character. He wrote a program to grab them all and it works out at close to a million in total. Safe to say that the Mrs is pretty much climbing the walls with it all, I wouldn’t wish having to listen to that amount of samples on my worst enemy, especially given that 99% of them have been absolute drivel.

What do you think about the masses in electronic music? Is it a bad thing? Should it stay in underground?
I think the commercial side of it all is something of a necessary evil; without it the underground wouldn’t really exist. There’s always going to be nasty music out there that’s watered down to appeal to the masses, that’s the case for any genre around. However, it provides an accessible first point of contact for people getting into it all for the first time, kids especially. How many people can honestly say their first dance CD was something by Sasha and Digweed or the like? I know I can’t, there are a fair few skeletons in my closet that I’d rather not go into, haha. Maybe we can go into them next time.

What would you advise to the newcomers? As we know nowadays there are lots of people who want to become DJs.
I think you need to bring something different to the table from all the other DJs out there. Unfortunately, with the way the scene is currently, it doesn’t tend to be enough just being a really good DJ, with the odd exception. Times have changed significantly from when DJs like Desyn broke through and it’s something of a prerequisite to produce these days. It also helps if you can get the attention of the DJs above you, this has been the case since day dot. Look at DJs like James Zabiela, Des, Luke Fair – they’ve all been given a leg up by more influential DJs further up the ladder than them. I think ultimately, if you’re good enough, you’ll get there in the end, although the whole ‘who you know’ aspect is undoubtedly there.

Can you name some bad sides of the DJing? Because everyone thinks that is all about going to different countries, playing what you love and getting money for doing the best thing in the world. Tell us about disadvantages. Are there any?
I never like to moan about the job as I feel so privileged to be doing what I’m doing, although it does take it out of you, especially if you’re quite easily led like myself. It’s always quite hard to say no to an afterparty, even with a flight a few hours afterwards. I’ve had a few hairy moments in airports, largely due to a language barrier somewhere down the line, they do tend to toughen you up a bit though. I remember going to Monterrey in Mexico when I was 19 with no connecting flight from Mexico City, no credit card, no battery in my phone; just a wad of Scottish notes in my pocket which I later found out noone would even consider changing and an extremely limited grasp of Spanish. I wisened up a bit after that one, it was a bit of an eye opener. When I’m away, I don’t always eat or sleep very well – that’s easily remedied upon getting home though. Overall, that’s about it just now – the good points undoubtedly outweigh the bad ones. Ask me again in a few years when I’m a bit more jaded and cynical and we’ll see what the outcome is.

How was your first visit to Lithuania? And what could we expect from your second visit here?
I loved the last gig in Klaipeda, would be delighted with more of the same. The venue had a real industrial feel to it and the crowd seemed pretty open minded. I went along to Global the night before my gig last time, so know what to expect. It’s a really nice looking club and can imagine it having some atmosphere when it goes off. Siauliai’s something of an unknown quantity for me – I’m still struggling with the pronunciation of the place. My mates over there tell me it’s really good though so safe to say I’m looking forward to it. Musically, I feel a lot better prepared this time around as I’ve definitely been putting the hours in lately and our label’s output is a lot closer to where I want it to be. So you can hopefully expect a slightly better version of last time for anyone that made it down. For those that didn’t, just (in my eyes anyway) some quality house and techno, I’ve got a bit of everything burnt so we’ll see how it goes on the night.

I’m feeling the regret for not going to the WMC this year. Maybe not as much as I did when we skipped out in ’06, but enough to feel bummed out for missing out.

I just keep reminding myself there are valid reasons for staying in this bloody awful winter… that…. just….. keeps…… drrragging on… RIGHT INTO SPRING at this point! So in direct opposition to my attempt to “keep it real,” here are the reasons why I shouldn’t have decided to sit out what would have been another absolutely crazy time in my life.

» the extended crew » I began to lose touch with many of my friends from home when I stopped trying to convert them and started chatting online with house junkies from all over the globe. The scene created an entirely new circle for me and every year I know for sure I can hook up with my inter-web family in Miami.

The Holobunch, the Chi-Town posse, the Listed degenerates, the Tampa crew, the guys in the trunk from Amsterdam, the Harem harem, Jules, Lisa, Rob, Neil… damn! The list goes on… For the past couple years the conference was first and foremost about spending time around the inspiration, passion and warm vibes of these people.

They’re all definitely what I’ll miss most. Especially Alex who’ll be riding holo for the first time (check him on the Bentley Hotel rooftop Saturday to score Part 2):

Download (left-click and unzip):
HOLOSOUND – Winter Music Conference 2009 Sessions – Part 1

» sasha at shine » Yeah whatever! My first fav is only booked at the shitty Guvernment AND decides to play his first solo gig at Conference THE YEAR I DON’T GO!! And of course it has to be at Shine at The Shelbourne… hands down our favourite space of Conference last year. PLUS he’s playing the vintage puppet master shit again:

Download (left-click and unzip):
Sasha – Live at Sky Club – St. Julians, Malta – December 20, 2008 – Part 1
Sasha – Live at Sky Club – St. Julians, Malta – December 20, 2008 – Part 2

Geezus! This is one I really wish I didn’t have to miss.

» boats » Toronto summers are now infested with boogie cruises, but they don’t even compare to the ones that go down during Conference. It’s like an escape from the madness when you’re out and about on the Miami harbour. You have those truly cool moments stylin’ under a setting sun.

Though our regular ride doesn’t seem to be happening this year, there are plenty of stellar substitutes. Listed’s leeeky, freaky Tiki will be hosting a mad crew over three cruises and Desyn and Sander will be hosting their first (sure to be insane) boat party together. Man, I may have spent half my trip raven and rollin in the waves this year.

» the final straw » Every year I`m dead by the Sunday of WMC. Every year I miss wicked parties on the final day. But this year would have been most definitely different. It would have had to be.

Discoteca Miami is going down in a proper space on Sunday night. It`s Luke’s lone gig of Conference and Gabriel, Tom and Erik will be laying down with a solid line-up of up and comers all spinning the choons we dig most.

It`s an event I would die to be on the dance floor for and one that I hope the entire btb crew repping on South Beach will be front and centre at. Me? I`ll have to suck it up with this dope set from Tom… really, not so bad.

Download (left-click and unzip:
TomMorgan – Perspectives – February 2009

I hope everyone who’s in Miami has an amazing week. We’ll be living vicariously through your stories, pics, vids and maybe even a comment or two (below) [winking eye]. Party long and hard, but party safe, please party safe.

If you’re one of the poor souls like myself who will be missing out on all of next week’s WMC shenanigans, or if you’re just too hardcore to wait until you’re on South Beach to start partying… we have a party for you.

Jesse Potts of Recient Records is a tireless talent within the international scene. His label is constantly putting out quality releases and he’s consistently compiling mixes for his Reticent Radio podcast which is available on iTunes.

Jesse is hosting hopefully his first of many parties at Toika this Friday night (March 20th), spinning alongside another Southern Ontarian Justin James.

Between the two of them they’ve opened for some of the biggest names in the business including Danny Howells, Dubfire and Sultan and have traveled to the UK to play for mega promoters Renaissance and Twisted Audio. They’ve played big complexes such at Ministry of Sound in London and The Guvernment here in Toronto, so I’m sure they’ll rock the hell out of Toika Friday night.

To sweeten the pot a little, you can check out Toika’s brand new layout, which is absolutely amazing… exactly what the space needed.

Here’s a preview of what Jesse and Justin will be throwing down Friday night.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Jesse Potts – Reticent Radio – February 25, 2009
Justin James – OnesAndZeroesLive.com – Episode 030

For more party info check out the Facebook Invite.