All Entries Tagged With: "Dana Bergquist"

Dana Bergquist and Ian Pooley in Toronto

It’s strange how great club nights always seem to arrive in bunches. We waited months for a good party and within three weeks in the spring Scope, Demi and Desyn Masiello were in town for killer jams.

Well it’s happening again this summer. Mark August 5th and 6th on your calendar, as we’re helping out with one of the coolest back-to-back party weekends in our promoting history.

It all starts off on Friday when our deep house hero Dana Bergquist touches down in Toronto for a proper headline gig. Dana first visited the Tdot a few years back when he was touring with Eric Prydz, opening for his fellow Swede at the Guverment. Not the ideal environment for Dana’s sound, but definitely a cool experience for him.

For this visit, thanks to the great tastes of Kevin Turner and Rich Hope, Dana will be returning to perform in the most perfect of conditions, on the terrace of the ultra-stylish School Bakery in Liberty Village (70 Fraser Ave). If you’ve ever been to one of the spēk-ē-zē parties at School you know it’s a spectacular summer venue. And I don’t think there’s ever been a DJ better suited to play the space than Dana.

It’s going to be a night of deep and sexy vibes. A night I know I’ve been waiting a long time for. Check the Facebook invite for more info and here’s a couple of Dana’s most recent sets to get you even more excited for this long-awaited booking.

Mix For Autobrennt 20.07.2011 by danabergquist

Dana Bergquist & Andreas Hansson – Spirit Soul Disco Session 004 by danabergquist

On Saturday we’ll be hanging at Toronto’s home to house music for a milestone event. Houseaddict provides yet another night of upfront tunes as they host the Lazy Days Recordings Five-Year Anniversary featuring deep house legend Ian Pooley and Fred Everything. 

There’s massive hype surrounding this party going down in the main room of Revival (783 College St.), as it’s been way too long since Toronto has had the pleasure of indulging in Ian Pooley’s genius.  And of course Fred Everything has always been a local favourite.

irGO has put his heart and soul into this one, and he’s never thrown a bad party, so it’s definitely worthy of a double-header weekend.  Again, check the Facebook invite for more info and of course the sets below to further convince you of this party’s must-attend status.

Ian Pooley @ Bob Beaman Munich 22.1.2011 by ianpooley

LZDPodcast19 FredEverything June2011 by fredeverything

Fresh Beats w/ Dana Bergquist

It’s almost impossible for me to pinpoint exactly what my favourite genre of house is. I love the methodical style of Ricky Ryan and the funky progressive of The Rogue Show. I can’t get enough of Terry Lee Brown Jr.’s tech or the full-bodied sounds of Omid 16B.

But if I was to log listening hours over the past year, I’d have to say the likes of Dimitri From Paris, The Revenge and of course Dana Bergquist would top the list. It’s not because I like these DJs more than the others, it’s because of the accessibility of their music and how it accommodates the changes that have occurred in our lives since we started listening to it.

Back in the day when we were in clubs every weekend and house music was everything to us, it didn’t matter the pace or vibe, we blazed whatever was hot at the moment. Who we were with was never a concern because everyone around us was always in the know.

Nowadays, as we spend more of our free time with family and friends outside the scene, we need to be more selective with our queues. Especially when introducing people to real underground sounds for the first time.

Most people struggle to connect with tunes as complex as what you’ll find on this site.  Commercial music doesn’t contain the layers and depth of underground house.  It’s difficult for people who casually enjoy music to get into what they’re hearing when tracks are constructed in a more challenging manner.  Most only want one catchy hook, and that’s what commercial songs provide.  They’re easy.

The simplest way to bridge the gap that exists between the underground and the casual listener is to find mixes that incorporate vocals.  There’s something about a human’s voice that makes all music more accessible.  Even I must admit, a groovy verse can take any good track and make it incredible.

As you’ll hear in this Fresh Beats exclusive, Dana Bergquist is the master when it comes to featuring vocals in his sets.  Every one of his mixes can be played for any one of my friends or family members without fear of overwhelming ears.  He always compiles with a deep, smooth pace and uses selections that we all can relate to.  Dana’s music is the ultimate compromise.

Right away Dana drops this mix into some sexy Pillow Talk and continues the vocal symphony to its first climax, a pumping Hot Toddy remix.  There are so many cool moments wrapped around stellar transition tunes, but none are more amusing than the Cold as Ice apex.  And before you gather yourself, Dana’s back into the groove, closing things out with accessibility no other DJ I know can pull off.  No Matter What You Say, everyone can relate to a mix ending with Prince.

Dana Bergquist, Andreas Hansson and Luke Fair – Live @ Oh – Esque Stockholm – April 19, 2008

I know this set has been floating around the web for quite a while, but I absolutely love it so much that I had to host it here as well. The back story is just too cool not to.

Dana Bergquist has been a favorite of ours for the past couple years. His production is incredible and his brand of house has a sexiness and class that stands completely on its own. Plain and simple, Dana is one of the best talents out there right now, no question.

So of course when Luke Fair went to Sweden to play alongside him at ‘Oh!’ at Esque in Stockholm I was all over him for a report. He actually said it was an embarrassing situation for him because each time Dana loaded in a track Luke was up his back asking him the name of it. From the sounds of the entire two hour warm up he could have been asking Andreas Hansson the same question.

From time to time you get a hold of all the music from a night, start to finish (you can find Luke’s headline set here), and it reconfirms your faith in the underground. Sweden seems to be a place to be if you like the music we’re into.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Dana Bergquist, Andreas_Hansson & Luke Fair – Live @ Oh! – Esque, Stockholm – pt1 – April 19, 2008
Dana Bergquist, Andreas_Hansson & Luke Fair – Live @ Oh! – Esque, Stockholm – pt2 – April 19, 2008