It’s Juno season and this year, the Electronic category will turn four years young. It’s kind of hard to believe since the section speaks to one of the top performing musical categories in Canada, especially when it comes to the artists’ successes abroad. With past victories from Montreal’s beloved Grimes, the outlandish and ambient techno of Tim Hecker and infectious rhythms of Dan Snaith, aka, Caribou, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to where the jury’s weight might fall.
This year, it seems like taking up a residency in Berlin or appearing on a Boiler Room showcase was almost a mandatory requirement for making it on the short list. Let’s break things down and discover this year’s range of artists.
Graze is what happens when two unrelated Torontonian producers independently take off for the Berlin experience, meet at a club, and realize they both harbor secret crushes on each other’s music. Adam Marshall was a regular in Toronto’s techno community, while Christian Anderson, aka XI, carved a name out for himself in the dubstep, drum n bass playing fields. Their powers combined lead to an atmospheric, cinematic, and groovy experience that’s making big waves under the New Kanada label.
This Montreal duo skirts the border of traditional dream pop band and experimental techno act, powered by the ethereal vocals of Raph Standell-Preston and abstract currents of her lover, Agor Cowan. The shivery instrumentation seems to bask in the afterglow of a complex electro-shock therapy session that may, or may not, have driven out the demons.
Noah’s name was familiar in Toronto’s rave scene from the late 90s and onwards as the founder of the legendary Fukhouse parties. Hell, he deserves an award just for that name alone. The album also features a couple deep and sultry house tunes featuring Toronto tenor, Rosina Kazi of Lal, and other guests moaning, oohing and aahhing seductively over fluid beats. Released under his own label, Thoughtless, like the bawse that he is.
A Tribe Called Red – Nation II Nation
Possibly sick and tired of the rest of hipsterdom appropriating headdresses and tribal battle cries, Canadian DMC champ, DJ Shub, with DJ NDN and Bear Witness (that’s a double entendre for y’all) emerged. They’ve not only risen as one of the only electronic acts to heavily sample their heritage and do it well, but they’ve even penned their own genre called moombahwow, or powwow-step, derived from First Nations pow-wow parties.
Unofficially born in Canada and officially born on the Internet, Ryan Hemsworth aka Bad Gyal Ry Ry, is Canada’s unofficial MASTER Pokémon Trainer, having successfully ensnared 99.67% of all roaming beasts. When he’s not busy training, he’s tearing up dance floors with clever hip-hop, trap and Internet culture mash ups. This debut album was however a surprising curveball, featuring all new original content. Aside from a couple rap bangers, the album is mostly made of introspective ballads and floaty oddities, copyright
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