On his latest projects:

“I’m currently working on new releases for [my label] Accelerate including a box set anthology. There is also a 7th City release coming out soon featuring Torontonian Matt Thibideau. Also, I’m working on a new live show that will premiere at the Cabaret Sauvage in Paris in September and working to put some events together in Detroit starting with [one at TV lounge.]

On his first exposure to house music:

“The first time I went to a house club was The Twilight Zone, and I think that was 1986. That completely blew me away. Between my CFNY days in the early 80s, I got interested in hip hop, but when I went to The Twilight Zone, I was like, ‘No no no, this is cool. I want to be part of this, whatever this is.’ They had this long stairway that went up to the club, and I remember just hearing this thunderous beat and thinking, ‘what the hell is going on up there?’ because house music was fairly new at that time. The Twilight Zone was quite progressive because they were picking up on this, I feel, quite early in the game. We got up there and the atmosphere was just so incredible. I still remember it like it was yesterday.”

On being labeled a minimal pioneer:

“I never called myself a minimalist—it’s just a label given to my style of music. I’ve come to terms with it over the years. I kind of fought it at the beginning, because, personally, I feel that I have my own style. When you’re grouped in with things you don’t particularly feel a part of, it’s a bit of an odd feeling. It was definitely my mission after I had moved to Detroit to develop something that I thought would be unique. Over the years, people have appreciated it and that’s a great feeling. But you know I learned mostly from listening to Chicago house records so I feel it’s like a consistent history that keeps developing with this music. I guess you could call it minimalist, the aesthetic or something, but it’s a sound that keeps evolving and maybe I was one guy who pushed it forward for a little while. Now there have been people after me who have developed it even further.”

On staying motivated in the music game:

“I don’t have to work at it. I’m just passionate about music, not only the kind I DJ and produce. It’s just something that comes naturally. I want to be engaged. I want to be a part of music until I’m on my deathbed. It’s my life. There’s not even a question whether I am motivated or not. It’s something that I always had a passion for and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”

On the changes in music culture over the last 25 years:

“It was much more anonymous at the beginning, and purposefully so. No one tried to make big press releases or anything like that. You just did records and you put them out. And once in a while you did an interview. It was a totally different culture when I came into it. When you went to a club and you’re dancing, you’re looking at the other dancers. The DJ booths were usually on the 2nd level somewhere. That was true at The Twilight Zone, but it was also true with all the clubs in Detroit that were kind of iconic. You knew who the DJs were if you were an avid club goer but a lot of times you wouldn’t know what they looked like. It was just “this person is playing there tonight and we gotta go catch em” but you would just go. It became this kind of pure musical experience. That part is what I feel has changed the most.

There has been this whole industry that has been created. Now it’s taking its cues from mainstream music and how mainstream music is promoted. I started to see that more and more in the 90s when they started putting the DJs on stages and then shining lights on the stages. Then it became this thing where DJs would try to engage the crowd by throwing up their hand in breaks and everything like that. There was this whole switch into the DJ becoming some kind of performer. That whole part didn’t exist when I came into it.”

On the value of knowing musical history:

“It’s definitely to any musician’s benefit to know what came before them, to have a perspective on what they’re doing. If a producer doesn’t do that, and I think it’s rare, I don’t know how successful they’ll be. A big part of success is knowing where you fit it in and knowing your history and knowing the culture.”

On the music that moves him:

“There are too many to get into but of course there’s Kraftwerk, Prince, Roger Troutman, who did Zapp—all that very minimalist funk. Some of the George Clinton stuff. ESG. A lot of the stuff that came out of NYC in the golden era of 1980-81—Arthur Russell, Liquid Liquid. I still love that, and I think that’s my favourite stuff. The thing I listen to most now, however, is Nova Radio, which is a station out of Paris. I was so happy to get this on the Internet. Every time I was in Paris, I would listen to this radio station. I fell in love with it. It’s a mix of everything, which is how most music people listen to music—all the genres smashed together but kind of the best of everything.”

On his production process:

“If I keep doing the same thing, I get bored so I try to change it up. I use different a combination of machines. For me, the bassline is very important so as long as I get a bassline I like, I feel that there’s a track there. A lot times I’ve been stuck, I’ll come up with a bassline but can’t think of how to finish it so I’ll talk over it or add some vocal parts or an odd synth sound. Basically, it’s just getting the flow of the rhythm so that it flows naturally. It has to have some kind emotional impact. There’s a lot of tracks that sound okay when you’re working on music but when you play them for people, it doesn’t hit them. I just tend to discard those. If people can’t feel it, I just get rid of it.”

On the myriad genres of electronic music:

“I understand the terms house music and techno. Beyond that I don’t really make any designations. When something comes with a new name but it has the same rules as house and techno, I always feel it’s a marketing department developing something. People want something new. I understand why it happens. And it’s not hurting anything but I don’t see club music as that trendy. Things come and go, but I can play something from 20 years ago and it works fine. Things haven’t changed that much.”

On his latest favourite gear:

“The Cirklon Sequentix—it’s laid out similar to the step sequencers of the early 1980s, like an 808 or a 909. This is how I always worked, but with a 909 you’re always kind of limited by one MIDI channel out. This was a constant limiting factor, which can be okay because it pushes you to be creative, but with the Cirklon, I feel all my dreams have come true. I would think, if only I had a machine that did this. Well, now there is one that does all that.”

On hardware vs. software:

“It’s very intuitive to have knobs and buttons in front of you and knowing what those knobs and buttons do. When I work with machines, I’m not really thinking that much about the actual machine, because I know where everything is. I don’t have to think, I’m just doing it intuitively.

When I lived in Berlin, I didn’t want to bring all my equipment over so I started working exclusively in the computer. I couldn’t stand it after a couple of years. I felt like there’s just too many possibilities, which can shut you down. If you grew up with computers making music, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but coming from using one or two drum machines, one or two keyboards and then you’re into this world where you can use any sound, a million different tracks, whatever you want. I don’t know, it’s just too much. Just having a few things and trying to get the most out of those gets you further along, and to really get a unique style, you have to know those pieces of gear really well.

To know the ins and out of Ableton Live, I’m sure there’s people out there doing it and doing it well, but it’s too much for me. I’ve gone back to all hardware except for recording on Pro Tools. It’s much faster for me. And with my style of music, I don’t really need a lot of sounds to do it. It works against me to have lot of things going on. The music is very stripped down with only a few elements. I don’t feel limited by having one drum, maybe a sequencer and a couple of synths. That’s all I need.”

On the core components of a good festival:

“The music, of course, sound I feel is a big part of it, and the location. It’s so much fun playing them, getting out of a smoky nightclub. It’s a great trend that these are happening in North America. There’s one festival in Japan called Labyrinth that I played at a couple of years ago. If I ever did a festival, it would be like Labyrinth. They only allow 2000 people in, then stop selling tickets. What they do is they structure the whole day like you would a mix tape or something. They pick the DJs stylistically to fit a certain slot, and spend a lot of time to develop the flow for an entire day. It’s just one stage and they start at 10 or 11 in the morning, go until 10, then stop.”

 On his upcoming Sound In Motion performance:

“I usually don’t think about it except for a few days in advance but I’m continually developing my DJ set and trying to incorporate new, custom-made tracks that I only have access to. I’ll be bringing a crate of records and a couple of USB sticks.”

Catch Daniel Bell at this year’s Sound In Motion festival in Toronto.

by Bob Sexton

Opening the episode up with a nice track from Detroit-based Ghostly International artist Shigeto, Emily showcases a variety of other great tracks from Detroit and Toronto artists, including a great disco-laden track from recent Minced Meat guest Erno the Inferno.

Check out the archived video stream in the player above, or download this episode free from the Soundcloud player.

Visit Minced Meat on Facebook // Twitter

Minced Meat: Episode #7: Tracks Played

1. Shigeto x SKYWLKR
2. A.M. Architect – Window (Parallel Edit)
3. Lusine – Another Tomorrow
4. Solvent – Themogene
5. Superstructure – Escape
6. Karriem Riggins – Chopped Worm
7. Self Says x Shigeto – And That’s That
8. Space Dimension Controller – Space Party
9. Daft Punk – Get Lucky ft. Pharell Williams
10. Ben Pearce – What I Might Do (Radio Edit)
11. Pursuit Grooves – Code Nexion
12. Kyle Hall – Crushed
13. Dominik Eulberg – Adler (Stone Owl Remix)
14. Slum Village – Back N Forth Demo
15. Notes To Self – Used To Be Dark (w/ Lee Gaul)
16. Man In Charge – Live from Paradise
17. Phantasmagoria – Child of the Sun (Erno The Inferno Remix)
18. OktoRed – 2, 4, 6, 8
19. T&A – Two On The Pole

Included in this episode are tracks from Moodymann, Motor city Drum Ensemble, Buju Banton, Ice Cube, and many more.

Sit back and let this groovier episode of Production Notes enlighten you with sampling knowledge.

Download the eleventh episode for free from the Soundcloud player.

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Production Notes Radio: Episode #11: Tracks Played

1. Idris Muhammad – Turn This Mutha Out (Kudu, 1977) SAMPLED IN
2. Moodymann – Amerika (KDJ, 1997)
3. The Crusaders – Spiral (MCA Records, 1976) SAMPLED IN
4. Moodymann – Don’t You Want My Love? (Peacefrog Records, 2000)
5. Motor City Drum Ensemble – Raw Cuts #6 (MCDE, 2009) SAMPLES
6. Patti Labelle – You Turn Me On (Epic, 1974) SAMPLED IN
7. 12 O’Clock, Shorty Shit Stain & La The Darkman – Getting High (Elektra, 1999)
8. Curren$y ft. Young Roddy – Can’t Get Out (Jet Life, 2012) SAMPLES
9. Arthur Verocai – Dedicada A Ela (Continental, 1972
10. Deniece Williams – Free (CBS, 1977) SAMPLED IN
11. Shinehead – Woman Like You (Elektra, 1994)
12. Buju Banton – Champion (Remix) (Suite 56, 2000) SAMPLES
13. Ice Cube – You Know How We Do It (4th & Broadway, 1994)
14. Ricky General – Skettle Combo (Hot Ice, 1997) SAMPLES
15. Junior M.A.F.I.A. ft. Notorious BIG – Get Money (Atlantic,1996)

Simina, who has since returned to her stomping ground in Berlin, favours tracks with a wide variety of unique samples ranging from organic, latin-like guitar riffs mixed with soulful pitched down vocals, to the more aggressive and mechanic digital sounds similar to those heard in her previous mix for Sessions.

Download Simina’s Sessions Part II mix free from the Soundcloud player below.

Visit Simina on Facebook // Twitter

Sessions: Episode #19 Ft. Simina Grigoriu: Tracks Played

1. Sirens (Mollono.Bass Remix) – Monkey Safari – 3000 Grad
2. Utopia (Original Mix) – Danny Serrano – Terminal M
3. Where is Jack! (Scheibe & Waslewski Remix) – Matt Keyl – Gold Rcrds
4. Where is Kittin? (Dubfire Remix) – Marc Houle & Miss Kittin – Items & Things
5. Bomb Chickie feat Kevin Noel (Original Mix) – Simina Grigoriu – Bohemian Yacht Club
6. Vegas (Original Mix) – Stefano Noferini – Deeperfect
7. Funky Bitch (Original Mix) – Max Lindemann – Auftakt
8. The Best Dancer (Corner & Robeen & Jake Remix) – Alex Geralead – Flat Belly
9. Poked With Sticks (Original Mix) – Schuhmacher, Tesla – 1605
10. Check and Run (Technasia Remix) – Nakadia – Clarisse
11. D.L.A.S.S. (Nathan Barato Remix) – Ramiro Lopez – Suara

Over this hour-and-a-half mix, a varied mix of different styles of techno are traversed, from the more house laden leanings of the sounds Dick Diamonds regularly favours, to the more aggressive techno mixed by Philip James de Vries; which are then both contrasted by smoother, mellow electronic sounds from DJ Zenta.

Check out the archived video stream in the video player above, or download the free mp3 mix from the Soundcloud player below.

Visit the Deep North on Facebook // Twitter

Visit DJ Zenta on Twitter // Soundcloud

Visit Philip James de Vries on Facebook // Twitter // Soundcloud

Visit Dick Diamonds on Facebook // Twitter // Soundcloud

Deep North Radio: Episode #10: Tracks Played

Dick Diamonds:

1. Hermans – Dirt Urchins (Murr Remix)
2. ?
3. Dahmohl – Quil (Milos Remix)

Zenta:

1. Sandy Rivera – Auriel 2 (2010)
2. Basic Bastard Ft. Blake Baxter – Love Break
3. Nomambah – I Can Fly (Atjazz Astro Remix)

Philip James de Vries:

1. Philip James de Vries – Itslikea (Muzarco Remix)
2. Dole & Kom – Dada (Marquez Remix)
3. Depeche Mode – The Darkest Star (James Holden Remix)
4. Stephan Bodzin – Planet Ypsilon
5. Ryan Davis & Electric Rescue – Stroll (Ronan Portella Remix)
6. Dole & Kom – No Place To Go

Dick Diamonds:

1. Avatism – Slug
2. Dick Diamonds – Consequence
3. Derek Marin – Hercules (Dick Diamonds & Jeff Breen Remix)

Zenta:

1. 2000 And One – Wan Poku Moro
2. 6th Borough Project – Endless Night
3. Fred Everything – Back Together
4. Johnny Fiasco – Take Five

Erno, in keeping with his tastes as a DJ with ten years of experience under his belt, shares a mix that whose “backbone is funk but is adapted to modern day dance music to create a continuous experience, psychedelic even.”

Download this fantastic mix of funk and disco from the Soundcloud player below.

Visit Erno the Inferno on Soundcloud // Facebook // Twitter

Follow Minced Meat on Facebook // Twitter

A

Kicking things off with a great, spacey dub track from Melaaz’s 1995 self-titled album called “Non, Non, Non,” Sassa’le and Aram Scaram slowly build into an episode that is dominated by a combination of psychedelia and 80s-inspired dancehall tunes.

As the fifth episode of Version Xcursion progresses, Aram and Sass’le spotlight Exco Levi, who recently took home a Juno for Reggae Recording of the Year for the second year in a row.

Rounding out the episode, Aram kicks of his mini-mix with a nice reggae-heavy tune from Harvey K Tel, and later gets into one of the quirkiest tunes yet aired on the Version Xcursion show, a crazy remix of Oriol Vandela’s “Music Man” from Solo Moderna.

Check out the archived video stream above, or download the free mp3 podcast from the Soundcloud player below.

Visit Version Xcursion on Facebook // Twitter

Version Xcursion: Episode #5: Tracks Played

Intro

1. Melaaz, Non Non Non
2. Massive Attack, Teardrops (Mad Professor Mazaruni mix)
3. Manasseh Meets The Equalizer, Spirit Dance

Sound Clash

1. Michegan & Smiley, Diseases
2. Pato Banton, Hello Tosh

Return To The Classics

1. Dennis Brown, Here I Come

Canadian Spotlight (15 min)

1. Melanie Durrant, Made For Love
2. Ammoye, Radio
3. Exco Levi, Storms Of Life
4. Exco Levi, Save The Music
5. Korexion feat. Potential Kid, How Great Thou Art

Outro DJ Mix (15-20 min)

1. Harvey K-Tel, Boops Apocalypse
2. Treson meets Citizen Sound, City Of Toronto (Mash-Up)
3. Mungo’s Hi-Fi feat. Top Cat, Herbalist
4. Mungo’s Hi-Fi feat. El Fata, Mary Jane
5. Oriol Vandela, Music Man (Solo Moderna Remix)
6. Sabo Cassady, La Curura
7. Overproof Soundsystem, Fire
8. Citizen Sound, Give Thanks (Dubplate)
9. Dubmatix, Give Thanks (Citizen Sound remix)
10. Public Enemy, Don’t Believe The Hype

SMART Lab Radio focuses on current research in the area of music, mind and technology. In episode three Arla Good tells us about her experience at the Selkirk Fist Nations community in Pelly Crossing in the Yukon, where she started a traditional music education program through a local school.

Arla wanted to use music as a way of connecting children to their culture, teaching them about their traditions, and enhancing their sense of affiliation in the community.

Visit the SMART Lab at Ryerson’s website

Download this episode of SMART Lab Radio from the Soundcloud player below.

The second year of our multi-day electronic music festival, Sound In Motion, is quickly approaching. We have just announced our first wave of Canadian and international artists who have been slotted to perform at this year’s festival:

We have also switched our online home for all things Sound In Motion to www.soundinmotion.ca which will be updated regularly as we close in on the weekend of July 11-13.

Hope to see you this year!

W

Earlier last year, StudioFeed contributor Erika Jarvis outlined in detail how Toronto’s drum n’ bass scene rose the ranks on an international scale, only to be struck down by city bylaws which delivered the final blow to the now legendary parties that peppered the city’s underground musical night life. I had a chance to discuss this nostalgic period of time with Dayv, who was a consistent fixture at many of the events that so many reminisce about emotionally, on a more personal level.

Can you tell us a little bit about Rewind?

Rewind is a collection of photos taken at Toronto area jungle parties between 1998 and 2000. They document a time in Toronto’s history that made live music accessible and insanely fun for people under and over the drinking age. The warehouse party has largely disappeared in Toronto, and I think this book offers a good reminder of what it was like to party back in the 90s. The scope of the book is limited for a number of reasons, but mostly because over the years a significant portion of my photographic work has either been lost or destroyed.

It’s interesting that most of these parties were also made up of underage kids, do you think the lack of access (due to alcohol regulations) to more grassroots electronic music for young people is having an effect on electronic music culture in the city today?

Well I certainly don’t think it’s helping. From what I can tell, people under the drinking age can only go see huge acts at stadium shows, and maybe festivals like the ones at Molson Park. Barring that, kids grow into the drinking culture of bars and clubs and then maybe get into the music more in that way. In my personal opinion, I think the knee-jerk reaction by the city to ban all-ages warehouse parties had a very negative impact on what could have been a strong cultural plus for Toronto.

When did you first get involved with the jungle/drum n’ bass scene in Toronto? What years would you say Toronto was at its peak in terms of that golden era so many people idolize?

My first party was in 1995, and from then on I was addicted to ragga jungle and dope bass lines. I collected tapes, and then started going to parties more regularly in around 1996. The Toronto drum n’ bass scene had a couple of peaks. In 1998-99′ parties were getting really big and I felt like it was losing a bit of its luster simply because events were attracting people who were there simply because it was the thing to do. In my opinion, the golden age of drum n’ bass in Toronto was 1995-97′. During that period, you really got to know the crowd because a lot of the same faces showed up, and there was a better sense of community. I really liked the vibe during those years.

Can you maybe describe one or two of the people who frequented these parties that made you feel so at home as you got to know them? Are you still in touch with anyone you connected with during that era?

During those years, I was quite active on EFNET, an internet chat server. I frequented #rave and #jungle; both quite heavily populated by Toronto area people. I got to know a lot of them during those years because we’d all end up at the same parties. I do still speak with a few of them, and I like to think that if I were living in Toronto today, we’d hang out; though some of them also aren’t in Toronto anymore. I popped onto #rave a couple of years ago, but it was dead. The smartphone and Facebook made IRC irrelevant for most of us.

Can you describe a typical night of taking photos, from initially planning to leave your home to returning after the event?

After begging my mother to use the car, I’d pack up ten or so rolls of black and white film and head off to the party pretty early. I liked to get to parties early because I didn’t like waiting in line so much. On top of that, security usually went through my camera bag pretty carefully so I had to un-box film and take rolls out to show them that they weren’t filled with pills or what have you. Then I’d head in a try and find the organizers and see if I could get access to the stage or DJ area during the show. I usually offered them prints, but it became less and less a problem once DJ’s started vouching for me. I usually tried getting shots of opening DJ’s simply because they usually put out good tapes and I liked trying to support them as well. Then bigger names and MC’s would show up and I’d make sure I got pictures of them. I had this system where I would shoot DJ’s when they were setting up, walk around the space and grab some dancer photos or other interesting things, head back to the stage to get some shots of the DJ’s and MC’s doing their thing, do another circle, and then hover around the stage when their sets started rocking the house down. Once the headliners left, I usually mingled a bit, shot a bit more and then left at around 4am. On the way home I always listened to AM jazz and — once home — went straight to bed so I could be up relatively early in the morning to develop the film in the darkroom I had set up in the basement. This was pretty much the routine for every party; though there were a few occasions where my batteries would run out, or in my haste to leave the house I’d have loaded my camera bag with empty rolls of film.

Who were some of your favourite DJs or musicians from this time? What made them special?

As far as drum n’ bass DJs go, my favourites included Andy C, Kenny Ken, and Nicky Blackmarket. Of the locals, I absolutely loved Sigma7’s mixtapes, though I don’t recall ever hearing him play live. I guess one my favourite Toronto acts were Marcus and Sniper. Mystical Influence always got the crowd going, but all in all I think Toronto had a really solid local DJ scene. There were a few nights during the week I liked going to just to chill without my camera, but for the life of me I can’t remember who spun. They hadn’t graduated to warehouse party level yet, but they were decent.

Why do you think so many people who were a part of this scene during this time value it so highly?

I think most people value memories of their youth, even if at the time they thought their lives weren’t ideal or good. At the time, I really liked parties because they felt like a kind of escape from high school bullshit, daily life stresses, and all that other stuff we blow out of proportion when we’re young. Indeed, any sort of subculture that involves hanging out in groups of like-minded people end up being fondly remembered. Hippies fondly remember their experience back in the 60s, people fondly remember when they were star high school athletes, and junglists and other ravers look back at their time partying as a great time in their life. I feel truly sorry for anyone who has gone through life without collecting some fond memories.

A lot of people talk about the presently rising ‘buzz’ of the organic music culture in Toronto that seems to be slowly gaining momentum, yet the vast majority of serious electronic musicians leave the city because it still seems to lack the unified audience and supportive infrastructure that many American and European cities have. Would you say that Toronto had this infrastructure back then, or was it simply the legal loophole allowing for warehouse parties that largely created this culture?

Back then, the economy wasn’t so great, so finding warehouse space to hold parties wasn’t that hard. Calling it a ‘legal loophole’ now, in my view, accepts that it was something that should have been illegal and was overlooked by the city. In my opinion, the regional governments simply took the sensational media outcry over all-ages warehouse parties at face value, didn’t investigate properly, and simply banned them. As I said earlier, I think this had an incredibly negative effect on music culture in Toronto.

I’m not sure much infrastructure is needed to nurture music culture, and I’m really not sure what the laws regarding all-ages shows are in other cities. If city ‘A’ allows all ages shows and can then attract larger crowds (or even smaller more niche ones; think gabber [music]), and city ‘B’ does not, city ‘A’ will most definitely benefit and city ‘B’ won’t. It’s all about numbers and hype. When I moved away from Toronto, the city government was turning Toronto into a ‘B’ city.

Dayv Mattt’s photobook, Rewind, is now available to purchase as an ebook on his website, which you can visit here. He has been kind enough to offer it to StudioFeed readers at a discounted rate (simply enter the code “studiofeedbigup” to download it at 25% off discount).

Dayv Mattt was born and raised in Toronto but currently resides in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is also the author of High Street Low Street, a photobook documenting street art in Seoul, South Korea. 

Visit Dayv on Twitter // Tumblr // Personal Website

by Philip James de Vries