Larger than life quartet, Azari & III’s latest single Manic is on the cusp of being released, August seventh by way of friends at Turbo Recordings. The EP will of course feature the original work, set to appear on the group’s album (releasing this fall), alongside some top notch remix efforts by names like Maceo Plex, as well as two different renditions by one of our favorite producers, The Finger Prince.
Lucky for anyone with the ability to hear, just hours ago, Azari & III decided to upload both Finger Prince’s Static Situation Mix, and the Faded Sensation Dub to their Soundcloud page. Now, without going to hyperbolistic on you, we’ll just say we’d being doing a disservice to our own musical sympathies if we didn’t pass them your way.
Both remixes are brilliant, with the Faded Sensation approach going more in the direction of eery warehouse acid, while the Static Sensation approach maintains a much more brute techno approach, giving way to some rigid acid elements, and those ever-s0-charming vocals. The jury’s out on which of the two is better — we love ‘em both. Oh, and before you go, check out this montage of the crew doing their live performance in Lisbon, Portugal.
It’s a relatively quiet weekend in terms of five-figure bookings, but that’s not to say there aren’t a tonne of talented bills at your finger-tips. Our WGW selections of the week include a Friday affair in Kensington Market with the ever-sketchy Dinamo Azari, as well as a Grizzly-style UK-funky Saturday evening at The Social.
After being forced into taking piano lessons for over a decade as a little bugger, I can truly appreciate a fancy lick on the ivory keys. It just so happens that the piano often makes a lot of sense in house music, bringing my appreciation and empathy to another level. New York producer (by way of Chile), Nicolas Jaar, has seemingly unlocked this combination in his production time and time again, with his latest remix of Toronto house-music-moguls Azari & III on that precise wavelength. The remix appears on yet another ambitious electronic release from Japanese car-makers Scion, and their relentless attempt to infiltrate the hipster/EDM demographic.
The remix itself is vintage Jaar, laying down a very simple yet impactful piano loop over a slow-to-develop groove. Add to that, the haunting vocals of Cedric aka Starving Yet Full, then soonafter, a thick bassline around the 4 minute 20 second mark, suddenly you have something special. This is slow-burn house at its finest.
In lieu of the magnitude (pardon the geological pun) of this live mix, we decided to make it into its own post, as it’s not every day that some one from the upper echelons of the industry puts together a live exclusive mix for us — but this was certainly the case when Dinamo Azari was kind enough to join us for our Summer Sessions monthly fiesta. The set itself is sheer brilliance, plain and simple. It begins with some of the most subtle grooves I’ve ever heard, eventually giving way to a number of the biggest acid techno cuts known today.
After an absolutely massive NxNE festival in our city, you’d think things would slow down somewhat, but that simply isn’t the case. Introducing to you, the G20 Summit/Earthquake edition of What’s Good Wednesday!?…where geological activity, far beneath the earth’s crust, isn’t the only rumblings in this town.
There is no time to be hung over from last weekend, as things don’t slow down at all. The action begins Thursday at Wrongbar with the French slashing electro duo Mustard Pimp, alongside local acts Autoerotique, and Torro Torro. Friday, Ryncologist and Keys N Krates take the stage at both Wrongbar and Mod Club, respectively. Finally, Saturday, we welcome two of the electronic music industry’s most respected innovators in Teki Latex and Orgasmic, the founders of Sound Pellegrino. Also, some of Toronto’s most storied talent is traveling to Montreal to spin with Turbo Recordings’ backbone, Mr. Thomas von Party. Check out the details below!
There were very few who believed that we could follow up our inaugural Summer Session event with a second dose on a similar level; but, just one week ago at Riva Supper Club, we did just that. We managed to enlist local DJ/Producer, now of international fame for his collaboration with Alixander III, namely Dinamo Azari, and he did not disappoint. As always, we positioned Dinamo with incomparable opening acts by the ever-so-talented boys from Faceless Management, and the rest is, as they say, history.
As was the case for the first edition of our Summer Sessions event, we will once again be uploading the top-notch live-mix recordings from each and every DJ act that performed. The live-mix recordings will drop every Wednesday, so as to commemorate our monthly Summer Session night (which goes down on the last Wednesday of every month this summer). The Summer Session for May featured the likes of Meech, Golden Gloves, Bordello and Dinamo Azari — so be sure to tune in to this space every Wednesday for the latest set release.
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DINAMO AZARI | electroTO Summer Session: May
The set itself is sheer brilliance, plain and simple. It begins with some of the most subtle grooves I’ve ever heard, eventually giving way to a number of the biggest acid techno cuts known to music aficionados. This one is as advertised; one of rarest examples of unbridled mixing talent and impeccable song selection.
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BORDELLO | electroTO Summer Session: May
This week’s edition of the Summer Session mix series features the virtually flawless track selection and steadfast ear-to-ear mixing of eTO fan-favorite, Bordello. Although this latest set is, to paraphrase his own suggestion, a tad saturated with above-the-surface material; in actuality, it’s textbook peak-hour work that balances the always conflicting realms of obscurity and mass appeal. What we mean is, Bordello consults the most trusted names in house & techno, from the highest ranks in electronic production, and does so in a way that really works for the average listener.
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GOLDEN GLOVES | electroTO Summer Session: May
If you were lucky enough to know of Golden Gloves during their thrashing electro days, you will certainly know that the duo have seemingly transformed their sound as of late into something far more seasoned, yet equally enthralling. The duo of Ben and Kev now make a habit of descending into the depths of tech house & deep house, often being sought out as the local leaders in this lucrative genre. This live mix from our last Summer Session event is a testament to their blooming sound, and draws the tangent for their craft.
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MEECH | electroTO Summer Session: May
The May edition of electroTO’s Summer Sessions was kicked off by Venezuelan-born Michel Fournier, a local favorite who has seen his musical sympathies evolve significantly over the past year. The following set speaks to Meech’s maturation as a DJ, combining unassuming groovy house vibes, with his vintage dance-floor incubators. This one is diverse, with unique low-bpm selections, so burn it on a CD-R, and bring it along for wherever life takes you.
Wednesday May 26th will mark the second edition of electroTO’s prestigious Summer Sessions monthly event at Riva Supper Club. The inaugural April edition of Summer Sessions was a massive success, filled with great music, great friends, and an undeniably chill vibe. Summer Sessions Volume Two will carry-on this young tradition, by enlisting the same great DJ talent from Faceless Management, as well as a very very special guest — namely Dinamo Azari, of Azari & III fame. Of course, our feature presentation will be joined by Faceless Management artists, Bordello, Golden Gloves & Meech — providing us with the strongest technical line-up our city has to offer. Can’t wait to see you all tonight!
What’s Good Wednesday!? (–proper noun) pronounced: whats – good – wednesday 1. A very useful and reliable resource that proceeds to document Toronto’s electronic music events each and every weekend, 2. A weekly post that can be found exclusively on electroTO, 3. The highlight of many people’s Wednesday afternoon/evening.
On to the good stuff…
As if the incredible emergence of warmer climes isn’t enough, the city is featuring a very nice assembly of events this weekend which will allow you to take full advantage. Quite frankly, this weekend is one of this weekends where it’s oh-so-easy to gloat about the city of Toronto (and it’s on-point promoting). There really is no soft spot, with massive line-ups throughout, including House legend Funkagenda on Thursday, a late-night Rave on Friday with Dinamo Azari & Friends, and of course Saturday, the Diplo & Switch collabo of Major Lazer invade Sound Academy. Add to that a very healthy helping of local talent in clubs across the city, and there is all-of-a-sudden a flavour for everybody’s fancy.
Yet another big weekend, with a full slate of events being served up in the city. Some big time appearances including a notable Fool’s Gold recording artist (Sammy Bananas), as well as a Mad Decent recording artist (DJ Sega). In addition to the international talent, there are also some very notable local acts going down with Dinamo Azari, Nacho Lovers, Meech, Golden Gloves and Bordello, all set to throw it down at their respective events. You know the drill, check out the full roster of events below.
