I Love Bass Music is a facebook page which operates as a blog and extension of the The New Toronto. To celebrate One Year since its launch, I Love Bass Music has put together its first full length compilation. Released today for FREE, the compilation features 17 tracks from producers from around the world including a number of Canadian and Toronto based producers. The release is available now as a free download via bandcamp and it features tracks from Look Like, Henry Krinkle, Lohko, Exeter, Jesse Futerman, Sp3ktre, Dro Carey, Rommek, Pále, Goldenboy, Heim, Royce Rolls, George Jetson, Rewrote, VLSONN, Cure, and Ryan Hemsworth.

“Launched in May 2011, I Love Bass Music operates as a central aggregation site for all things bass music. Dubstep, House, Techno, Juke, Garage, 2-step, Trap, Hip Hop….. if it has a fat low end, chances are it has been posted on the page.

Now transmitting from various areas in Canada, we look to feature artists from around the world that are making interesting music that operates in our desired frequencies. Over the last year we have had the privilege of sharing amazing musical projects from all sorts of artists, familiar favorites and upstart producers alike. We’ve spent countless hours scouring the internet, listening to the radio, and sifting through record stores, and we’ve been lucky enough to have loads of promos and demos sent our way so that we enjoy the music ourselves and, in turn, share it with our readers.

So as a way to give back to you all for your support over the last year we’ve compiled a compilation of some of the artists that we have had the privilege of learning about through this page and in our daily digs for new music.

Clocking in at 17 tracks and 73 minutes, ILBM001 explores all the edges of the bass world spectrum. Crazy drum edits, weird Moog-led soundscapes, chopped up and re-pitched vocals, syncopated percussion, and a wealth of low frequency experiments. World wide representation on this one.

Big thanks to all the listeners, readers, and contributors.”

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The latest edition of BBC Radio 1′s Essential Mix series is quite an expansive affair. Composed by the American-Chilean minimalist DJ/producer Nicolas Jaar, this adventurous mix spans across a wide range of the musical spectrum. A quick skim of the tracklist will reveal that Jaar is very open-minded when it comes to music. Everything from hip-hop (Jay-Z) to film scores (Jonny Greenwood) to gospel (Lashun Pace) to folk (Feist, Bill Callahan) to Top 40 pop (NSYNC!?) are present in the mix. On paper, Nico’s set appears to be all over the map, a jumble of varying genres with no overt compatibility. However, upon first listen, you will find that Jaar’s mix is truly coherent. With masterful poise and tact, Mr. Jaar layers ambient sound washes over multifarious vocal samples and minimalist drum patterns. Jaar is greatly indebted to fellow Chilean and electronic pioneer Ricardo Villalobos. Jaar’s lush, downtempo, classically-inclined approach to electronica is highly reminiscent of Villalobos’ distinct style of IDM. In this day and age, it’s rare to find a musician with such diverse musical knowledge and styles. Nicolas Jaar‘s music is a refreshing change of pace in a present-day electronica scene obsessed with maximalism and redundant club music conventions.

Tracklist

01. Nicolas Jaar & Maceo Plex – Gravy Train (Nicolas Jaar Remix) [Get Physical Music]
02. Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise [Clown & Sunset]
03. Laxx & Farkas – Creature
04. Nicolas Jaar – Don’t Break My Love [Clown & Sunset]
………………………………………………………………………………………..

05. Angelo Badalamenti – Conversation On Twin Peaks [Warner Bros]
06. The Brothers Four – Greenfields [Columbia]
07. Jay-Z – My First Song (Acapella) [Roc-A- Fella]
08. Jonny Greenwood – There Will Be Blood [NONESUCH]
09. Los Ángeles Negros – Tu Y Tu Mirar… Yo Y Mi Cancion [Harmless]
10. LaShun Pace – It’s Me Oh Lord (Acapella Praise) [Shanachie]
11. Jonny Greenwood – Open Spaces [NONESUCH]
12. Pearson Sound – Footloose [Pearson Sound]
13. The Electric Prunes – Holy Are You (There Is No God Edit) [Reprise]
14. Aphex Twin – Ziggomatic 17 [WARP]
15. Keith Jarrett – Tokyo, November 14 (Encore) [ECM Records]
16. My Girl And Me – Always Back To You (feat. Lorraine) [Unknown]
17. Vera November – Last Night Together (You’re Coming Back Edit) [Rough Trade]
18. Nikita Quasim – L’amour L’après Midi [Clown and Sunset]
19. Nikita Quasim – The Way I Felt Today [Clown and Sunset]
20. Feist – Caught A Long Wind [Polydor]
21. Shigeru Umebayashi – Yumeji’s Theme (In The Mood For Love) [In The Mood For Love OST, Higher Octave OmTown]
22. *NSYNC – It Makes Me Ill (Edit) [JIVE]
23. Unknown – Unknown
24. Charles Mingus – Myself When I’m Real [IMPULSE]
25. Bill Callahan – America! [DRAG CITY]
26. The Field – The Little Heart Beats So Fast [Kompakt]
27. Sneaky Sound System – Always By Your Side (Nicolas Jaar Remix) [Modular]
28. Just Friends – Avalanche [Unknown]
29. Pavla + Noura – Don’t Owe Me A Thing [The Prism, Clown and Sunset]
30. Acid Pauli – La Voz Tan Tierna [Clown and Sunset]
31. Igor Wakhevitch – Taddy’s Dream: Ramallah’s Road [Pathé Marconi EMI]
32. Nikita Quasim – Derridu [Unknown]
33. Beyoncé Knowles – 1+1 [Columbia]
34. Anouar Brahem – Vague / E La Nave Va [ECM]
35. Rio Grande – Let’s Groove (Tonight Edit) [Unknown]
36. Gonzales – Manifesto [Sunnyside]
37. The Grass Roots – Let’s Live For Today (Learn To Live Edit) [Dunhill]
38. Marvin Gaye – Inner City Blues (Sk Edit) [TAMLA]
39. Man Friday – Real Love (The Paradise Garage Mix) (feat. Larry Levan) [Nite Grooves]
40. DJ Slugo – What That Do [Subterranean Playhouse]
41. Ricardo Villalobos – What You Say Is More Than I Can Say [Playhouse]
42. Untitled – Untitled [Unknown]
43. Nicolas Jaar – The Student [Wolf & Lamb]

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As always, you can find the full archive of free Jeffrees releases here.

If you were down at SXSW this year you would have noticed the strong trending towards trap-infused house music, whether you were at a bass music party or the Moombahton Massive.

A label that’s leading that movement right now is called Jeffrees. They’re a sub-label or “extension” of Mad Decent, and as Diplo puts it:

Jeffrees, is the best new music -the most progessive, the most amazing. the deepest underground and subterranean sounds from the Earth’s crust; the best sounds available and it’s free. It’s what Mad Decent was originally made for – new artists thinking outside of the box

Twice a month, they put out a new EP for free on Thursday, with plans to sell a compilation every two months containing higher-quality versions. Cool, right?

But make no mistake, we aren’t talking about a collection of demos here. So far the label has released music by Diplo x Nicky Da B, Zeds Dead, Paper Diamond, and many more artists spanning, bending, and breaking sub-genres.

This week’s release comes courtesy of Baauer, a Brooklyn-native with rap and UK garage influences. Honestly I’m struggling for my own words to better describe him than the release on the Jeffrees blog “Baauer has found himself smack dab in the middle of the electronic renaissance”, because it describes at once his own unique fusion of disparate influences, and the change which, if you’re attentive, is happening in dance music right now.

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The Wheel Wells are back with another track, this time it’s an edit that they made for their live sets.  They take the classic Daft Punk song ‘Something About Us’ and spice it up by adding the catchy vocals of LA producer/songwriter Goldroom.

As you might know, Goldroom (aka Josh Legg) was in Toronto to play Mansion’s Pop Kult party, which was a great time all around.  Rumour has it that after the show, he went over to the Wheel Wells place for an after party and put this song on.  If you haven’t heard Josh’s new song ‘Fifteen’, I recommend you check that out.  Pitchfork and HypeM both seem to think it’s worthy.

Now on to the Wheel Wells. These guys have been ripping up the Toronto scene lately. If you haven’t made it out to one of their shows, I would highly recommend doing so.  They are the Friday night residents at Czehoski and the Saturday night residents at Wrongbar.  Both places have been known to get crazy.

Here are a few upcoming Wheel Wells shows that I would recommend hitting:

May 18th they are bringing San Francisco producer Viceroy to Czehoski to play with them
May 19th w/ Juan Maclean @ Wrongbar
May 26th w/ Lindstrom @ Wrongbar
June 9th w/ The Magician and Plastic Plates @ Wrongbar for Pyramid Club

Word has it that they have a new original that will be out in a few weeks.  Definitely look forward to this one.

Related posts:

1. UB40 – Can’t Help Falling In Love (Wheel Wells ‘Glovearm’ Remix)
2. Saturday Mixcast #77: The Wheel Wells
3. Meet indie-dance duo The Wheel Wells

Trance prodigy Matan Zohar‘s latest single “The Sky” first premièred on the 419th instalment of Above & Beyond‘s ‘Trance Around the World’ podcast series. Today, “The Sky’ was officially released as a Beatport Exclusive by way of A&B‘s renowned Anjunabeats label. Here’s what they had to say about it:

“With his recent “The Bipolar EP” picking up support from DJs as diverse as A Trak, Above & Beyond, Afrojack, Steve Aoki and Arty, the London sensation Mat Zo delivers another impressive release with the classy vocal track “The Sky”; featuring the distinctive vocals of Linnea Schossow.

With two contrasting mixes that showcase Mat’s ability to master different vibes, “The Sky” also sees the London-based producer deliver his first ever vocal track with serious aplomb.

A dancefloor killer and musical journey rolled into one, the extended mix of “The Sky” builds elegantly with a symphony of synths and leads into a sweeping breakdown full of warm melodies and Schossow’s distinctive, searching tones. Lifting off with an epic thrust on the drop, “The Sky” is a classy, crossover anthem that brings together elements of house, progressive and trance into a unique blend.”

Purchase “The Sky” here.

As a bonus, Mat has released a “North American Fun Bus Mix” in support of the ‘Language’ tour with Porter Robinson and The M Machine. Check the dates for that here (FYI: I’ll be covering the London, ON show). If the ‘Fun Bus Mix’ is any indication of what Zo‘s live set will be like, June 21 is going to be the wildest night of my life.

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Felix Cartal is a Vancouver Producer / DJ and long time SalaciousSound favourite, with a penchant for vocal electro house, and a talent for making popular tracks out of the unexpected. He just released a fantastic full-length effort in March titled ‘Different Faces’ – you can pick that up on iTunes here.

He’s been touring on a hectic 2-4 date per week schedule with another Salacious favourite, Clockwork. It’s my great pleasure to present to you today an exciting new collaboration between the two which features the lovely vocals of Miss Palmer. The track is called Black to White, and is an absolute banger, as you will shortly hear. It will be released as part of the Black To White remixes release coming out May 29th on Dim Mak Records.

Finally, as the title suggests, I was able to sit down with Felix for a half hour to shoot the shit about his tour, the album, and what he’s got to look forward to this summer.

I’m grateful for the opportunity, and can’t wait to catch him at the festivals – look for him at Sasquatch, EDC Vegas, WEMF, and lots more. Full dates and more are available at his official site.

Cal: Hey Felix, thanks for the chat. Where are you right now?

Felix: I’m just at home in Vancouver.

Cal: Do you have a break in the tour?

Felix: Yeah, I’ve kindof been playing Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat, and been home late Sunday til Tuesdays.

Cal: What are you up to in Van between tour dates?

Felix: Well I’m working with a rapper who just got signed to RCA. She’s really talented. I just got introduced to her, and I think we both come from totally different places, and that’s sortof why what we have come up with works. I’ve been doing beats for her. It has been cool to get away from the usual.

Cal: Freshening up the ears huh?

Felix: You know it. It’s nothing that’ll ever come out as Felix Cartal tracks though.

Cal: You have some Canada dates coming up?

Felix: Yep, Victoria, Kelowna, and then Vegas.

Cal: Have you played in Vegas before? Your performance at EDC last year was great, by the way!

Felix: Yep, I’ve done the Hard Rock pool and rain. I’m doing a residency at the Hard Rock pool this summer, three different dates over three months.

Cal: Looking forward to seeing you at EDC and WEMF this year!

Felix: Should be fun!

Cal: So for the Different Faces tour, it sounds like there have been a lot of different production arrangements. What has been the most interesting so far?

Felix: The Avalon show in Los Angeles was really cool – they brought in some additional production, these giant triangles that have a bit of a Daft Punk pyramid vibe, and the stage was really commanding. I have this video loop that I use at the shows, and it looked great.

Cal: So you’ve had Clockwork supporting. How has the vibe been?

Felix: Yeah he’s great. Super chill, and he likes to party, and he’s an awesome DJ. Very flexible, and always plays different every night. It’s great to have someone on tour who pushes things forward. All his productions are on point too. I see big things in his future.

Cal: Any chances to collaborate while on the road?

Felix: Yep, we actually started something before we went on the road, and we just had the chance to finish it. It has a big vocal on it. It’s pretty different, and I’m excited for it!

Cal: On that note, there’s a perception maybe that you just make bangers – how do you think that was addressed by your album?

Felix: For me, records are a good chance to spread your wings in a way that you wouldn’t normally get to do if you did a group of singles. I think the biggest thing is that I had the ability to collaborate with a bunch of different vocalists at one time. That sort of, in one statement, can lay it down, in the fact that ‘Ok I’m not just gonna make thirteen versions of The Joker’ and make that a record because I don’t think that would make any sense.

Cal: So my roommate has really been in to the album, playing it on repeat most nights. He loves Don’t Turn on the Lights.

Felix: I’m glad somebody likes it. That one person out there likes it. I’m happy.. haha

Cal: Yeah it’s been really well received – we ran several pieces on Salacious, and the album review killed it.

Felix: Little songs have surprised me more than other ones which I thought would do well. It’s always like that with a record though. It’s hard to predict which ones will go off the most. It’s made me happy to see that people are willing to try something else.

Cal: I expected the Sebastien Grainger track would do the best, but there was a track last week..

Felix: The sounds?

Cal: Yeah, that had a huge response! I guess that speaks to the flexibility of the album, and like you say, different vocalists will have different effects.

Felix: Oh yeah.

Cal: Back to the tour for a second, you have a date in Vancouver on May 20th. Is that something of a homecoming?

Felix: Well.. it’s the official date for the tour, and I haven’t done one. It’s the long weekend, it’s the Sunday. It’s going to be a great vibe, and it’s a great party weekend for Vancouver. Homecoming? Not particularly, but every time I play in Vancouver it’s absolutely awesome.

Cal: I try to touch on Vancouver as much as I can with artists.. I was talking to, we’ll say a “well-known” producer, and he had nothing to say of the scene. Didn’t feel like he had access, didn’t know anyone, didn’t want to talk about it at all.

Felix: Was it ___________?

Cal: Yeah

Felix: So there’s a promotional company out of here called Blueprint. They’re one of the best that I work with, and I don’t mean that in a biased way. They grow artists. They bring them in when they’re young, and are willing to take gambles, bring them up through the ranks, and I think that’s really important in a promotional company. A lot of promoters just book you, the show happens, and that’s the interaction you get. I think the fact that Blueprint is like that is really positive towards our scene, because most of the DJs I’ve heard who play for them have nothing but positive reviews because of that.

Cal: To what extent is that because of their following, or the fans that they attract?

Felix: The best place to be is where your fans respect the company and know the events they throw is quality, so even if they don’t know a particular artist on a week, if they respect the curation they’ll be willing to take a chance because there’s trust there.

Cal: So on that note, with respect to how artists are earning a living these days, I mean musicians have this sort of relationship with their fans that’s much more personal than it is like they’re a product which is marketed. So if their favourite artist has a show coming up or news they’re excited about, they’ll share it with their friends.

Felix: For sure. Twitter has the ability to humanize people you wouldn’t see in that light. Even the way Deadmau5 wrote his latest song on ustream with people watching, that totally flips everything around. Back in the day, Metallica was in the studio for five weeks at a top-secret location, no connection to the outside world, no reporters. To flip that on its head and do it the opposite way is so cool.

The artist model now, even news, everyone gets it from their peers rather than the ‘official’ news sources. And you can apply that model to the music industry too. The effect is just that you don’t have more freedom to take different paths.

Cal: What’s the most insane thing you’ve ever had in a rider?

Felix: heh. On my own rider?

Cal: Yep.

Felix: I don’t know.. it’s not that crazy. I have a coke slurpee on my rider. So when I played in Taiwan once, they misread it, probably because of the language barrier, and they just bought me a bunch of coke.. and it was reallllly awkward. It’s really sketchy to get that stuff in Taiwan.

Cal: Ok well thanks again Felix. Can’t wait to see you this summer!

Felix: Cheers! You too Cal.

Related posts:

1. Listen to Felix Cartal’s 30,000 LFOs
2. Listen to Felix Cartal feat. Sebastien Grainger – H.U.N.T.
3. Felix Cartal – The Joker EP

Simian Mobile Disco have become synonymous with tasteful and top quality production. This hotly anticipated LP lives up to all expectations of the duo. Carefully crafted electronic dance music, the album manages to transgress boundaries between genres at blending contemporary trends and musical maturity.

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Glaswegian, new-school hip-hop producer Hudson Mohawke is the man of the moment.  Earlier today, female rap sensation Azealia Banks  sent the blogosphere into a frenzy with the release of her new HudMo and Nick Hook-produced track “Jumanji”. As expected, Azealia is on-point as she transitions from confrontational rapid-fire rhymes to melodic sing-song vocals. Nevertheless, it’s the production that really blew me out of the water….and onto the island. The track opens with breezy windchimes and a clattering snare roll, immediately conjuring visions of tropicalia. HudMo’s stuttering rhythms glide along seamlessly with Hook‘s piercing string samples. however, it’s the steel drums that really made me fall in love with this song. I don’t know about you but I’m a sucker for those ringing pans. Try to resist…you can’t.

In other awesome news, Hudson Mohawke and like-minded Montreal-based hip-hop producer Lunice announced that they will collaborate for a five-song EP under the name TNGHT. The EP is set to be released on July 23/24 by way of Warp Records and LuckyMe Records. You can stream the bass-heavy single “Bugg’n” below. It sounds like a precisely coordinated blend of dripping water and the clang of metal cans. That’s a good thing by the way.

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Unfortunately,  lead single “All I Know” sounds like an attempt to infiltrate the mainstream with Luke Bingham’s cheesy boy-band/Mike Posner-esque vocals and M&B‘s uncharacteristically watered-down proudction. Fortunately, however, Viper Recordings uploaded a free download of “Biology (feat. Cat Knight)” to their Soundcloud in concurrence with the release of “All I Know”. “Biology” comes from last year’s incredible “Worldwide 001″ compilation and its heavy basslines mixed with Cat Knight’s invigorating interpretation of The Prodigy‘s oft-sampled “No Good (Start the Dance)”  is the furthest thing from ‘cookie-cutter’.

Related posts:

1. Wackland Re-Edits Mark Knight & Wolfgang Gartner’s Conscindo
2. Mark Knight & Wolfgang Gartner Collab on Track Conscindo
3. Daily Tracks: Sonny Wharton, Mark Knight & Funkagenda, Timo Garcia, Funkhameleon

John Roman has finally come out of reclusion. The second edition of his Reclusion mixtape series is finally available. It includes a wide range of new material that manages to blur the lines between genres. This edition of the mixtape features no remixes or edits and is 100% Roman. As an artist his evolution over the past 3 years has been something special to watch. From a hypemachine hitmaker who rose to the top of those charts to someone who has become firmly routed in the dance music community.

The last time I, like many others, was this excited to see Roman perform was for his debut at The Social in Toronto 3 years ago at Monday Meetings (RIP). You can catch Roman this Friday at Course of Time. RSVP HERE

Related posts:

1. John Roman set to release Reclusion 2
2. When Roman Goes Into Reclusion
3. John Roman Releases Sing! EP

Yoann Hebert has been balls-deep into music since picking up his first violin at 5 years old. At age 10 he was playing with an orchestra and by the time he was 12 was collaborating on mini-operas. By 2000 he was playing as a self-taught drummer in a metal band and began composing electronic music with the 3-man collective ADAPTEK. This led to the creation of the band ANTROPOD and the live performance known as Polakatek.

Following departure from the collective in 2008 he began to pursue his own projects.

Last year he set forth on a Dubstep project in order to create something more personal and untrodden. His knack for percussion is evident throughout the track, and I especially appreciate the well thought out breakdowns.

Expect big things from this man.

“I think this is what robots would f*ck to.” -Ben

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The phase two lineup additions were announced by Made/Plexi today, and the additions are large, to say the least.

The biggest announcement is that Diplo will be joining Zeds Dead on headlining duties in the Riverside arena Sunday, and additionally Benga, Bart B More, Paper Diamond, Zedd, Krewella, and Eliot Lipp will also be joining that lineup.

Riverside is also looking very attractive on the Friday now, with several additions to the Fool’s Gold Clubhouse lineup. Joining the tent are three personal favourites, Jack Beats, Kavinsky, and Treasure Fingers.

The other announcement that I’m truly excited about is Z-Trip. This guy is a serious DJ.. we’ve run a ton of articles on him, but there’s one from 2009, his Soundclash of the Titans mix, which I return to quite frequently. Really looking forward to seeing him in person!

List of additions in phase 2:

Alvin Risk
Andrew Bayer
Angger Dimas
Bart B More
Benga
Brass Fergie
Brodinski
DallasK
Diplo
DJ Bl3nd
Eco
Eliot Lipp
EOTO
Jack Beats
Jaytech
Kavinsky
Krewella
Kyau & Albert
Nervo
Norin & Rad
Orjan Nilsen
Paper Diamond
Sleepy & Boo
Treasure Fingers
W&W
Z-Trip
Zedd

Related posts:

1. Electric Zoo 2012 Phase 1 lineup has been announced!
2. WEMF 2012 Phase 1 lineup announced!
3. Saturday Mixcast Special Year End Edition: The Top 24 Most Popular DJ Mixes of 2010

What was the designated party time last night in Chicago?

Well, if you were at Studio Paris, Joel Zimmerman would say ‘9:30’. He performed an up close and personal, two and half hours long set, for a small but frenzied crowd.

With fewer than 400 people in an intimate setting, Deadmau5 took to the main stage with only a MacBook Pro, a pioneer mixer, effects unit, and a crowd within arms reach. The mix of close proximity and no LED cube to hide behind gave the party-goers a peek at the wizard behind the curtain, though still no one could figure out how he was making everyone’s heads vibrate in such a manner.

The set kicked off hard, with no iconic Mau5head in sight – just an explosion of signature fat drum and squashy bass sounds that sent the crowd wild. About a third of the way through, as if flown in from above, an all black Mau5 helmet was lowered from the retractable ceiling for Joel Zimmerman to give the partygoers what they came to love, a Deadmau5.

The entire set was a mixture of previous banner hits like, Some Chords, Ghosts N Stuff, Sofi Needs a Ladder, Cthulu Sleeps, Raise Your Weapon, Sometimes Things Get Whatever, Brazil, Complications, remixes with Tiny Dancer, Rage Against the Machine, and Daft Punk, and some of his new work, including the newly released The Veldt. (played twice). The whole night came to an end with an epic build up of I Remember.

One of the most ironic things of the night was not the fact we were all in a small nightclub with a retractable roof watching one of dance music’s biggest stars, but the fact that several of the patrons were there the previous night doing the same thing with Tiesto.

But that’s another story.

Related posts:

1. DeadMau5 Comes Home!
2. New Track Limit Break by Deadmau5
3. The Monarch Presents Deadmau5

Mat Zo and The M Machine have had a dizzying rise through 2011, and Porter’s touring with Tiesto and Skrillex have seasoned him well beyond his years.

10-Jun Las Vegas EDC
11-Jun Reno Knitting Factory
12-Jun Portland, OR Roseland Theater
13-Jun Seattle Showbox at the Market
14-Jun Vancouver Commodore Ballroom
15-Jun Calgary Flames Central
16-Jun Edmonton Edmonton Events Centre
17-Jun Saskatoon Tequila Nightclub
18-Jun WinnipegThe Garrick Centre
21-Jun London, ON London Music Hall
22-Jun Toronto Sound Academy
23-Jun Montreal New City Gas
24-Jun Philadelphia TLA
25-Jun Silver Spring, MD The Fillmore
26-Jun Charlotte Neighborhood Theater
27-Jun Altanta Masquerade
28-Jun Nashville Marathon Music Works
29-Jun New Orleans The Howlin’ Wolf
30-Jun Houston Stereo Live
1-Jul Dallas Granada Theater **
2-Jul Albuquerque Sunshine Theatre
3-Jul Tempe Marquee Theatre
5-Jul Salt Lake City In the Venue
6-Jul Boulder Boulder Theater
7-Jul Denver Ogden Theatre
8-Jul Tulsa Cain’s Ballroom
9-Jul Lawrence, KS Granada Theater
10-Jul St Louis The Pageant
11-Jul Minneapolis Epic Events Center *
12-Jul Mariaville, NY Camp Bisco *
13-Jul Detroit Elektricity *

*Mat Zo not appearing
**The M Machine not appearing

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Live-remixing trio Keys N Krates sure don’t publish many recordings, but when they do, they’re tight as hell.

Well, they’ve just released a remix of ‘No Prayers’ by fellow Torontonians Zeds Dead and Omar Linx, a track off a free EP released by Mad Decent sub-label Jeffrees a little over a month ago called Victor.

KnK have a big summer ahead of them. They are currently on a US tour, will be hopping over the pond to Barcelona for a set during Sonar (jelly, this is the festival I wanted to go to most this summer), and will return to North America for several more tour dates and festivals, including Osheaga, Shambhala, and WEMF.

Keys N Krates on Facebook

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My recollection of M83‘s sold-out performance at the Sound Academy this past Sunday is somewhat of a hazy blur, thanks in part to a wisdom teeth operation I underwent the day after. Admittedly, I can’t remember much of what happened yesterday (other than drinking half of a chocloate milkshake from McDonald’s) however, I couldn’t possibly forget the euphoric rush that surged through my body as Anthony Gonzalez and co. dove into the sublime opener “Intro”. Although Zola Jesus was not present to deliver her howling vocals, Morgan Kibby (whom also has a fantastic solo project called White Sea) astounded with her flawless rendition of Zola‘s eerie croons. For a minute there, I was convinced that Zola in fact, had made a guest appearance.

After the rousing ‘Intro’, the euro synth-poppers didn’t waste any time, immediately launching into their enchanting classic “Teen Angst”. As soon as those arpeggiated synth tones hit my eardrums, I was overcome by a wave of nostalgia. M83‘s music has a very wistful and nostalgic feel to begin with but every time I hear “Teen Angst” or for that matter, anything off of “Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts”  my thoughts instantly harken back to March of 2010,  where I’m staring out of a bus window at the Autobahn highway, snow lightly falling, and nothing but M83 echoing through my headphones. There’s just something about their gauzy, dream-like sound that really strikes me emotionally. I just can’t help but swoon over the heartfelt sincerity of Gonzalez’s lyrics mixed with his exultant synths, the cascading guitar riffs of Jordan Lawlor, Kibby’s gorgeous incantations and Loïc Maurin’s reverberating percussion. To see them live was truly a revelatory experience.

The only thing that I found disappointing about this show was its runtime. M83 blasted through their set in just about an hour (including the encore). It really was quite a condensed show with the opener, Swedish M83 sound-alikes I Break Horses playing for only about half an hour and M83 themselves playing from about 10:00 to 11:15. However, I didn’t mind it too much considering that they managed to concentrate the majority of their crowd-pleasers into just one hour. They played basically everything I was hoping they would from “Graveyard Girl” to “Steve McQueen” to “Skin of the Night”. The only songs I thought they snubbed were “Unrecorded” off of 2003′s “Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts” and “Kim & Jessie” but overall, their set-list was quite satisfying.

What really astonished me about M83 was their versatility. Gonzalez, being the musical mastermind that he is, effortlessly transitioned from bass, to guitar, to synths, and back to bass, all the while cooing breathy lullabies. Morgan Kibby manned keyboard and synths while belting gorgeous vocals and whoa-oh-oh’s. Lawlor played his part impeccably, thrashing about with his curly mop of hair and black skinny’s stopping only to pummel the drum machine now and then . Being a drummer myself, I was thoroughly impressed with Loïc Maurin’s spot-on fills and downright thunderous beats. Live, M83‘s sound is very tight and a number of the songs they played (“Reunion”,”Wait”, “Midnight City”) sounded almost exactly the same as the studio recordings. This proved to me that M83 are technically skilled musicians but what I really wanted to hear was some variation. Sure enough, on “We Own the Sky” Maurin threw in a new drum beat and they added an atmospheric segue into “Steve McQueen”. Sure, it wasn’t total improvisation but it showed that M83 are capable of manipulating their sound in a live setting.

As expected, the song that sent the crowd into a frenzy was hit single “Midnight City”. If you weren’t there, you can watch the mediocre quality fan-shot video above. It was certainly one of the highlights of the night but I was surprised that they didn’t save it for the encore. In any case, I was actually glad that they didn’t; instead they happened to play two of my favourite tracks off of “Saturdays = Youth” for the encore: “Skin of the Night” and “Couleurs”.  ”Skin of the Night’s” spacey drum pads and seraphic vocals of Gonzalez and Kibby enveloped the crowd in a meditative reverie before propelling into the rapturous 8 and a half minute dance number “Couleurs”. Almost entirely instrumental and one of M83‘s clubbier tracks, “Couleurs” was a perfect song to cap the night off. Swaying and nodding along to the four-on-the floor beat, flaring guitar, and star-like synths, I felt as if I was drifting off into a narcotic haze. Hmmm…sounds familiar.

Full Setlist:

1. Intro
2. Teen Angst
3. Graveyard Girl
4. Reunion
5. Sitting
6. Year One, One UFO
7. We Own The Sky
8. Steve McQueen
9. Wait
10. Fall (Daft Punk Cover)
11. This Bright Flash
12. Midnight City
13. A Guitar And A Heart

Encore:

1. Skin Of The Night
2. Couleurs

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1. Show review: Sound Pellegrino vs Body High showcase [SXSW2012]
2. If It Bleeds It Leads — Knife Party at Ministry of Sound [Show Review + Photos]
3. Reflection Eternal Plays Sound Academy June 5th 2010

The ‘swaggest” hip-hop collab of the year now has an equally ‘swag” accompanying video (I know I sound super white but just deal with it ok?). For the most part, this hyperkinetic video consists of Swizzy zooming around in what I believe to be a Porsche (sorry, I don’t know my cars too well), A$AP Rocky showing off his gold teeth while wearing what seems to be a Scream face with weed leaf eyes sweater (?) and an Allen Iverson appearance! However, my favourite part has to be when AraabMuzik works an MPC being held up by Swizz Beatz. 

If you haven’t already, grab the mp3 below:

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A Locomotive across the great white north is certainly not how I expected an Electronic tour to go, but, well, here we are.

The Fullflex Express Canada Tour is bringing Skrillex, Diplo, Grimes, Tokimonsta, Koan Sound and Pretty Lights on a cross-country tour that will ship the artists on, you guessed it, their own private party train. The concerts will act as their own mini-festival, featuring a number of stages holding simultaneous performances.

Quoting Skrillex

“we were really inspired when Mumford and Sons and Edward Sharp and those guys did a train tour. We wanted to do it as well and share this music with people across Canada. Just to do it and have fun.”

It really is an insane summer for Electronic Music in Canada this year. Dates are below.

07/13 – Toronto, ON @ Fort York
07/14 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Fest *
07/15 – Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean Drapeau
07/18 – Winnipeg, MB @ Shaw Park
07/20 – Edmonton, AB @ Kinsmen Park
07/22 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Coliseum

* = w/o Grimes

All aboard!

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3. Team Canada DJs Release New Album, Launch Promotional Tour

Out today on T&A Records Calgary’s finest, the Smalltown DJs, have put together a six-track EP today titled Loving the Vibe. The vocals, provided by Toddla T’s live emcee Trigga Nom, give it a jump-up feel very much in the style of the duo’s cross-genre DJ sets.

The original mix is a tropical summer party hit, which borrows from a number of influences like UK Funky and Garage, and the remixes on the package are yet more eclectic.

You can listen to the whole EP below, and cop it on Beatport.

Smalltown DJs on Facebook

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Warrior Music has been busy in the studio lately. His latest track “Joust” produced in collaboration with former Knight Riderz (RIP) member Jake Robertz shows a lot of growth for the upcoming Canadian producer. As an official resident Bassmentality alongside The Killabits and Zeds Dead he slowly demonstrating the potential to become a much larger entity. Catch Warrior Music at this weeks Bassmentality.

He has also posted a preview of his forthcoming single “World War Z”. We have high expectations for this young Warrior.

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