Last March was my first WMC experience and definitely not my last. One of the events I attended during our jam packed week was a Varsity All Stars party at the Clinton Hotel. This is where I met Naveen G. I had a great time talking to Naveen and afterwards he gave me his WMC promo. After giving it just one listen I discovered that Naveen has a style that is all his own. I knew immediately that Naveen would be a perfect In Demand choice.

This has been a big year for Naveen. He joined the Varsity All Stars team and became a member of Feedback Bookings and he also continues to do his weekly radio show ‘Darker Shades’ on Proton Radio. To top it off he is putting in long hours at the Harlem Hospital in NY where he is doing his residency in radiology. A DJ, a producer, and a MD…he is quite an impressive guy all round!

Discover more about Naveen in Inside the IM with Naveen G & littlemissbluedress.

Naveen has no boundaries in his music. He likes to incorporate all genres of electronic music into his mixes. In his four-hour In Demand mix Naveen takes you on a smoothly mixed journey from a more housey beat (which is fitting for an early evening warm up), into a much darker, trippy mish mash of house infused with electro, minimal, tech-house and just pure dirty beats (of course suited for a dark dingy dance floor around 6am where you can find Naveen on any given Saturday).

The journey for me felt like I was being lead down a dimly lit corridor until I ended up in total darkness…scary, no, exciting, yes! No matter what your preferred style is, this mix has a little bit of everything for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed my travels down the Naveen G mind tunnel; have a listen and let us know if you did as well!

Download (left-click and unzip):
Naveen G – In Demand - Part 1 – October 2007
Naveen G – In Demand - Part 2 – October 2007

I can’t believe it’s been five years since we first put bringthebeats online. The btb concept has always been from a “dance floor” perspective; even our parties have remained relatively small, more intimate affairs. Until now… until EXPOSED.

I also can’t believe we’ve finally found a Toronto DJ that likes it as deep and funky as we do. Jeff Button is a serious breath of fresh air for us new school House lovers. To be able to walk into the room and not be immediately blown back on our heels by big banging beats is a dream for our crew. J Butts keeps it smooth and groovy and that’s exactly what we ordered for this very special night for bringthebeats.

The absolute bliss that came over all of us when Jeff handed the decks over to Ricky Ryan is almost indescribable. It’s not only about the beautiful music and high level skill that this South American wonder-boy possesses; it’s his purest of attitudes that makes him such a special person. He embraces all aspects of the scene and cherishes every moment he’s a part of it. In our opinion, he’s most definitely a cut above the rest and we were completely overjoyed to finally have him in a proper club atmosphere in Toronto.

I’ll steal a description of Ricky’s EXPOSED appearance from Andy Reid of NocturnalMagazine.net, because his 11 plus years in the biz and skills as a DJ / producer hold a whole hell of a lot of credibility.

“EXPOSED continues it’s reign as the king of fresh and rising global talent as this week none other Ricky Ryan aka Can Costa touched down all the way from Argentina for his Toronto debut. This much anticipated appearance didn’t disappoint as Ricky drove through his trademark funky progressive sounds with dashes of dark tribal and crunchy tech-house thrown in for good measure…”

Really I couldn’t have said it any better, so I won’t. I’ll simply mention that this is surely not the last we’ll hear of this amazing talent in Toronto and expect even more from Ricky when he touches down on Canadian soil once again.

Brad Copeland closed out the night and totally put together the perfect set following Ricky. He started off on a funky tip, but with a noticeable increase in pace for the late night floor dwellers. It quickly became super clubby and the hardcores totally ate it up.

I totally became overwhelmed by his versatility, as Brad transitioned into gritty Progressive and back to more melodic House. Maybe it was the harmony of the entire event that brought on such feelings, as I’ve always known Brad is a DJ that can play it all. But on this night there was something different, what he was doing up there seemed absolutely extraordinary to me.

We’ve yet to give Brad his full due at EXPOSED. With so many sounds and so many DJs lined up to play for the night, we haven’t had the chance to get Brad in the headline spotlight. But when we do, in January, expect some real floor filling stuff.

Download the event’s promo mixes (left-click and unzip):
Ricky Ryan – PROTON TOUR 2007 – Promo Mixes

Labour Day weekend is by far the year’s busiest time for clubbing in Toronto. With so many events - all featuring recognizable international talent - going down throughout the city, the pressure was on EXPOSED to put something together memorable.

EXPOSED’s experienced promo team of NocturnalMagazine.net and Till the AM came through in fine style by booking one of the hottest, young producers / DJs in the game, the UK’s James Talk.

Andy Reid opened the night showcasing his versatility with a wicked dirty House and Electro set. To me Andy is one of the purest House DJs in the city. His slick adaptation of the classic sounds of NYC and the soulfulness of the originators of that scene is what I’ve always known him for, but tonight he really got filthy with some bumpy, groovy beats. He totally got the super hot dance floor prepared for the madness of James Talk.

James took over and proceeded to set his own tone. He started off with some down tempo (definitely not minimal) tech-house to build tension. It was a contrast to what Andy had been playing, but at the same time the transition was perfect.

I bailed outside for a quick breath of fresh air just as the pace was picking up and by the time I returned the space was locked in another dimension. Pryda like bombs were being unleashed from the booth at a furious rate; however, instead of retreating, the crowd was hovering over the front of the stage in an absolute frenzy.

This was a prime example of a DJ taking over the room with tight mixing, programming and stellar track selection. The intensity was next level but it wasn’t exhausting. Actually, it was the most exhilarating dance floor experience I’ve had in Toronto this year. Huge props to James Talk.

Simon Jain had the unenviable task of following up the Talk barrage and had no problem picking up on the vibe. He dropped big room stuff right from the beginning and had The Mod Club hardcores jumping for the rest of the night; great stuff from a really great EXPOSED asset.

Download the event’s promo mix (left-click and unzip):
James Talk - DJ Mix - August 2007

Luke Morrison, who resides in Edmonton, has been virtually running shit out west and in the process has developed a sound that he can truly call his own. I learned tonight that not only is he only 25 years of age, but he’s also knee deep in his academics… law school at that. Apparently him and Brad Copeland have had some pretty insane nights together both in Alberta and Ontario, and tonight held true to that trend.

I was slotted to play the opening role and I couldn’t have been happier. There’s nothing more rewarding than to lay down a set and have the headliner thank me for setting the table for him/her to do their thing. I had picked up a lot of nice groovy tech gems, and just wanted to set a constant pace to build some momentum for Luke and Brad to take over and deliver the goods. At around 12:30, I dropped my last track, and the boys took over to unleash a solid back to back session.

Brad started things out as he usually does - steady, pumping Progressive, that instantly got the crowd moving. No longer than two tracks in, Luke plugs in his headphones and drops two of his own. This continued for a good hour or so, just constantly feeding off of each others tracks while maintaining a constant flow throughout. They had the crowd drooling the entire time.

The thing I liked best about the chemistry between these two was the fact that they played the crowd to a tee. When it seemed the crowd was slowing down, a melodic track would be dropped. When the crowd was ready for something a bit more pumping - one of them would answer the call. This back to back set was the most consistent display of tag team DJing I have ever seen live… seriously.

As the place thinned out towards the end of the night it left a really wicked group of ‘heads’ to rip up the floor. Luke played a beautiful encore and the crowd responded with a warm, sincere applause of approval.

A lot of people said it reminded them of Sonic. There were also quite a few people who said it reminded them of System. It reminded me that there is still a large demand for the Progressive genre in the city, and that this will be the type of quality night people will come to expect at The Mod Club on Fridays.

Review by Jeff Button

Download (left-click and unzip):
Jeff Button - EXPOSED.live - September 7, 2007

Download the event’s promo mix (left-click and unzip):
Luke Morrison - EXPOSED - August 2007

This was an excellent way to start off our guest appearances for EXPOSED. Despite some untimely bad weather The Mod Club dance floor was busy all night and the vibe was really fresh and full of energy. Jeff Button played a fantastic deep Progressive opener. He’s not afraid to play the warm-up role and properly set the tone for the headliners to come. We all really appreciate this patience and love hearing this dude’s overall DJ skills develop.

Brad Copeland stepped up earlier than intended and was forced to jump right off a plane and directly into the booth, something that’s never easy to do. Brad pulled it off like a complete professional and totally got the floor moving. All summer long he’s been blazing dance floors and this night was absolutely no different.

Our headliners NYC’s HOLOSOUND (Alex Fish and Noah Becker) had one hell of a trip to get Toronto. A three hour delay inside JFK and almost another two on the runway waiting to take off had the duo a little on edge as they made their way into the city. However, as soon as they walked into The Mod Club and took in the very comfortable EXPOSED atmosphere, they settled in and proceeded to drop the trademark ‘Illectro’ we’ve waited two years to hear live.

The set was a hybrid of all things House, Electro and Progressive; there were even some melodic Trance-like segments. It was definitely a much different composition than we’ve been hearing in Toronto clubs in recent months. I love the confidence they have in their selections; Alex and Noah’s enthusiasm behind the decks is proof to how comfortable they are when rocking the big room. We couldn’t have asked for a better premiere guest appearance.

Download (left-click and unzip):
HOLOSOUND - EXPOSED.live - August 24, 2007

Download the event’s promo mixes (left-click and unzip):
Holosound - August ‘07 Promo
Holosound - EXPOSED - August 2007

That’s how you launch a night! A huge thank you to everyone who made it out to EXPOSED’s Grand Opening. The event was a huge success, as the place was hopping all evening and the vibe was unlike anything we’ve been within over the past several months.

Addy rocked it out for his beloved following and his fans energized the place in return. Neno also set the tone perfectly. Plus, The Mod Club proved to be the ideal backdrop, as expected.

Unfortunately the night didn’t go off without its fair share of hiccups, and we apologize to anyone who was negatively affected by the initial delay getting things started or with any other issue incurred throughout the event. We as a team see several ways in which we can improve the night, and truthfully, that’s just as exciting as the opening party itself.

Again, thanks to everyone who supporting the EXPOSED Grand Opening and we look forward to providing a proper end of the week release every Friday; one the Toronto underground most definitely deserves.

house.music.re-evolution

After months of preparation EXPOSED has finally launched! On Friday August 17th the official Grand Opening for EXPOSED at The Mod Club Theatre went down and completely off as expected!

For us it’s been since the early days of Breathe at System Soundbar. For others it’s been since the beginning with Industry or maybe the legendary 270 Spadina space and Boa-Redux. Regardless of wherever or whenever, for all of us, it’s been way to long that a Toronto club night be truly dedicated to the underground.

LIV Lifestyle Marketing, Energie Entertainment, NocturnalMagazine.net & Till The AM and bringthebeats have joined forces to put together a weekly event that’s not just about booking the big names… over and over and over again. EXPOSED is about bringing it - the music - back to the forefront once again.

EXPOSED hosts four distinct events each month. Four Fridays focused on pushing the boundaries and providing the fresh names in House music centre stage in a major market.

bringthebeats books the first event each month, presenting a Funky Progressive House sound that has been unjustly lacking within the Toronto club scene. The night will highlight talent from the sensational Feedback Bookings roster (… stay tuned), as well as many of the wicked DJs that have supported btb over the years. This most definitely includes our first two bookings, NYC’s Alex Fish & Noah Becker (Holosound) on August 24th and Edmonton’s Luke Morrison on September 7th.

Brad Copeland makes his long awaited return to a Toronto residency as the top jock for all bringthebeats’ bookings. Brad has been a number one at three of Canada’s all-time top underground venues: Stereo in Montreal, Atomic in Ottawa and System Soundbar in Toronto. We are extremely proud to have such an accomplished artist share the booth with our new and exciting guests.

Warming the room will be one of the city’s newest hot commodities, Jeff Button. All summer Jeff’s been rocking Sunset Sessions at The Docks’ ‘The Next Level’ with deep, sexy and soulful Progressive House. He’ll definitely ride this momentum into some memorable opening slots for EXPOSED.

Energie Entertainment is known for putting on some of the most stylish events in the city, showcasing some of Toronto’s most popular DJs. They have the biggest of them all lined up for the second Friday of each month.

For all who like to bang it out and bang it hard, the legendary DJ Addy is back in the saddle. Spinning with him is his own hand picked resident DJ Neno. Neno has been working with Addy for years and knows exactly how his crew likes to warm it up and cool it down.

The cornerstone of EXPOSED, LIV Lifestyle Marketing will be supporting the Tribal and Classic House sounds that fueled the Sonic, Boa-Redux and now Sunset Sessions faithful. Expect many appearances from within the world-renown Stereo Productions roster including Richie Santana in September. Addy will return as resident for these nights.
The mighty NocturnalMagazine.net & Till The AM round out EXPOSED each month
showcasing an array of Soulful Vocal House to Dirty Tech & Electro. Armed with residents Andy Reid and Simon Jain and with EDIT Bookings securing their guests, this crew is poised to make a major impact throughout the Toronto scene. Their first booking - the UK’s James Talk on August 31st – is a perfect example of the up front talent this team is supporting.

How great is EXPOSED’s venue? It’s so nice to be out of the congested downtown core of the Entertainment District and into the more mature, fashionable area of College St West. And of course… the space is built for music!

Host to one of the city’s longest running and most successful weekly events - ‘The World Famous’ The Mod Club Saturdays - as well as a rocking live-to-air on Thursdays - The Mod Club has been begging for a solid EDM night for Fridays. With proper VIP areas, a massive hardwood dance floor, front and centre DJ booth, spectacular visuals, big room audio, slick décor and overall sexy-and-sophisticated vibe, EXPOSED could not have found a better home.

www.EXPOSEDmusic.com is the place for everything EXPOSED, including event listings, guestlist, party pics, resident info, promo and live set downloads and much, much more. The site’s blog style will keep you informed on events to come and those that have already gone off! News and features on performing DJs will be available, as well as multiple ways to give us feedback. EXPOSED knows the opinions from the dance floor are The Most Important.

Join us at the underground’s next great venue every Friday night and party with the city’s hottest residents and emerging international guests. EXPOSED invites you to the The Mod Club Theatre and the re-evolution of House music in Toronto!

Well if one week of rough-rough recovery is an indication of anything, the August long weekend festivities were off the hook!! I truthfully haven’t felt such energy in Toronto in a long time. A huge thanks to everyone who made Cruise Control with Demi and Sunset Sessions featuring Brad Copeland and Jeff Button a MASSIVE success.

What a sight to see over 500 super hyped punters waiting on the Harbourfront dock at noon. The mad scramble for tickets foreshadowed what was to be an incredible afternoon. This was most definitely the hottest ticket in town, as the boat quickly hit capacity and it was off sailing.

Demi was on the tail end of a four city tour (Washington, NYC, Detroit, Toronto) but like the pure trooper he is, he was all smiles and raring to get rolling. From the first track it was super Housey, perfect for the absolutely gorgeous summer day. I was expecting a bigger, more commercial set (I have no idea why), but to my delight, Demi kept it totally underground for all 4.5 hours. It was Deeper Substance in all its glory. This guy is definitely atop the House music scene right now.

After we got our feet firmly planted underneath us again, we made our way over to The Next Level where Jeff Button had the place going off! I can’t tell you how many super impressed people there were on the dance floor. Jeff was playing proper Progressive House; deep and funky, exactly what an opener should be dropping under the sunset sun… okay it was a little overcast at this point but you get what I’m saying.

By the time Brad hit the decks there was an incredible buzz filling the room. Luke Fair made the trip over with us and he was amazed by the awesome reaction the Sunset Sessions crowd was giving with each and every bomb Brad was unloading. And rightfully so, Brad was right on point spinning a big room set like only Brad can deliver. This was the perfect after party to round out an absolutely phenomenal day.

Unfortunately we were too all over the place all day to get any decent pics. However, there are tons from friends on Facebook…

Facebook | Tara Seucharan’s Photos - demi boat cruise
Facebook | Kris Knox’s Photos - Demi Cruise and Docks - August 5th 2007

Pre event promos…

Download (left-click and unzip):
Demi - Room Service Pt 1 - Standard Hotel, LA - May 12, 2007
Demi - Room Service Pt 2 - Standard Hotel, LA - May 12, 2007
Demi - Room Service Pt 3 - Standard Hotel, LA - May 12, 2007
Demi - Room Service Pt 4 - Standard Hotel, LA - May 12, 2007

Thanks Traffic Events.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Jeff Button – Sunset Sessions – Summer 2007

When I look back at all the places I have traveled I’m always reminded that Toronto has one of the best scenes in the world for electronic dance music. The T.O. scene is kept alive because of people who are passionate about the music, including DJs like Isaac S, who is continuing to champion a solid, steady Progressive House sound with this latest In Demand exclusive.

I first heard of Isaac S six years ago when I was attending the University of Waterloo. During that time I worked at a restaurant beside the Revolution nightclub, where Isaac held a five year residency. During my late-night breaks I would sneak out to the venue’s House space, the Purple Room to catch some of Isaac’s high energy sets.

Since that time Isaac has kept himself very busy both as a DJ and in the production side of EDM. DJing Isaac has spun at many of Toronto’s most well know and beloved clubs such as System Soundbar, Roxy Blu, Element, The Docks and the Guverment. He’s also been booked for some of the city’s most high profiled one-offs including the world renowned Fashion Cares benefit.

On the production side, Isaac has released several tracks and remixes both internationally and domestically and has recently established his own label, “Dirty Deluxe Records” with his new production partner Jeff Hurst aka J-Groove. His production is such high quality he’s had tracks featured on John Digweed’s Kiss 100 UK based radio show.

Isaac started DJing during the early Toronto rave scene when he was 18 and now 13 years later I think it’s safe to say Isaac is a veteran! Within seconds I knew this exclusive In Demand mix was going to be a great one. Right from the intro beat I wanted to clap my hands… you`ll hear what I mean. So turn up the volume because what you’re about to hear is full of chunky build ups and killer vocal tracks; it definitely has a big club feel!

Carrying on with the In Demand tradition I survived a Japanese typhoon to sit on my porch and find a wireless connection so that Isaac and I could have a chat. What came out of it is really very entertaining…

Inside the IM with Isaac S & littlemissbluedress

More about Isaac S

Download (left-click and unzip):
Isaac S – In Demand – July 2007

Sorry for the lateness of this review, but we’re finally back in business with our home computer. If heaven is on the Internet, we have a quick, efficient connection to the pearly gates… knock on wood.

On to the real business and the absolutely mad party this past Sunday at The Docks. We’ve been super pleased with all the Sunset Sessions events so far this season. Even when the weather isn’t cooperating, the clubbing massive has been in to support.

And when the weather is stellar, like it was on Sunday, the parties have been insane. I’m sure having American House legend Hector Romero behind the controls helped the cause considerably.

It was my first time catching Hector live and I was pleasantly surprised with how well his selections suited the environment. The set we FINALLY have available below is quite techy, as is the sound of the day; however, on Sunday Hector did an excellent job of mixing tech with some sexy soulful beats.

The absolutely gorgeous dance floor was up for everything he played and even pushing the event an extra hour didn’t have people clearing the space. It was tough not to immerse yourself in the incredibly positive vibe that took over The Next Level.

Props to Jonny White who I heard warmed up the room really well. From the look and feel of the floor when I walked into the space about 20 minutes into Hector’s set, Jonny did a perfect job getting things started.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Hector Romero - Giveaway Mix - June 2007

Brad Copeland’s first appearance at Sunset Sessions definitely lived up to the hype. The weather was perfect, the space was rammed; it was a perfect setting to start Brad’s summer residency at The Next Level.

Jonny White started things off on a techy tip. He does his thing well, but I don’t think I’ll ever be up for minimal, especially when the sun is shining. Regardless, it is the “in” sound right now and many seem to dig his style.

Brad came on and picked it up immediately. Sunset Sessions is full of party people and Brad tailored his selections to suit the super up for it dance floor. The place was shakin’ throughout his set and the event was pushed a little beyond the scheduled closing because the floor was still rocking when the lights were supposed to come on.

Check out our photos of the party.

And here’s a set of Brad’s from March. It’ll give you a good idea of the pace and feel of peak time this past Sunday and what you can expect on July 8 when he headlines Sunset Sessions again.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Brad Copeland - Live at O Lounge - March 2007

My introduction to Tom Morgan happened not too long ago when I logged onto my MySpace account and was pleasantly surprised to find that he had requested me as a friend. I didn’t know Tom or his music but I had heard his name on a few occasions so I knew I needed to find out who this guy was with the crazy Scottish accent. I downloaded Tom’s most recent mix and instantly knew he was someone I wanted to learn more about.

Tom bought his first set of decks at the age of fourteen and seven years later he is still one of the youngest, yet hardest working DJs out there. His dedication to the search for only the highest quality music and his obvious ability to mix it caught the attention of Desyn Masiello who coined Tom “a DJ who’ll break through” in the 2006 DJ Mag poll.

Tom assumes the role of A&R for Desyn’s label, Alternative Route. For those of you who don’t know what an A&R is - as I didn’t until recently - it’s a job that entails seeking out tracks that would be a good fit for the label, as well as listening to any demos that are sent to the label for possible signing.

His keen ear for the highest quality House music has constantly pushed Tom Morgan to new levels. His most recent achievement being the release of his own label Discoteca, which was founded by Tom and three other Feedback Bookings talents, Dana Bergquist, Erik Molthe (BalErik) and Somnus Corp.

Stockholm’s Dana Bergquist is creating his own “Dana House” style, a fusion of funk, electro, techno and ultrafresh disco.

House and Techno enthuisiet BalErik, whose name comes from the word Balearic i.e. Balearic Islands, hails from Oslo, Norway. Desyn labeled BalErik “a DJ to watch out for” in the 2005 DJ Mag poll. Erik is also an A&R for Alternative Route alongside Tom.

Somnus Corp. comprised of Gabriel Sordo, Jorge Lopez and Beto Rodriguez of Mexico completes the Discoteca crew. This trio, best known for their mix “Black Love Magic” brings a darker, minimal Tribal House influence to Discoteca.

With this range in talent and taste, the Discoteca collective is sure to give us some dance floor bombs! You will soon be able to check them out online at discotecamusic.com.

Take an insiders look into my conversation with this incredible Scottish talent…
Inside the IM with Tom Morgan & littlemissbluedress

And after weeks of searching for the perfect tracks, Tom has mixed us an exclusive set of the freshest House available today. Every time I hear a new mix of Tom’s I get so excited because I know he’s put a lot of thought into it and it always comes out sounding so smooth. This set is no different, enjoy!!

Download (left-click and unzip):
In Demand - Tom Morgan - June 2007

Click Through for individual special event flyers and Click Here guestlist.

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