Mutahdi Drum Festival & Cherry Beach Promise Event
Sunday funday in the parks with the Mutahdi Drum Fest, now at Woodbine (no longer in Queens Park) with the Capoeristas to T-DOT Batú and and a happy hoopin’ good time at Cherry Beach.
TRENTEMØLLER PENS ‘ABSTRACT SOUND CLASH’ SOUNDTRACK TO 15TH CENTURY PAINTING – AOL Spinner
Courtesy of Audiomatique
Danish electronic DJ/producer Trentemøller is currently working on a soundtrack to an apocalyptic painting hanging in the Danish National Gallery. The 15th century piece of unknown Spanish origin depicts a scene from the book of Revelations where the angels of God follow Lucifer, rather than the archangel Michael, indicating that enemies of the true faith must be killed.
“The painting is naturally quite dark, and by the looks of it, it seems like Satan might actually win the battle,” Trentemøller tells Spinner. “It’s very dark and not very positive, but its psychedelic imagery really caught my eye. I didn’t have so much art education in school so I will definitely learn something here. The tune is coming out as a bit of an abstract sound clash.”
Trentemøller’s musical education started in his youth playing drums and guitars in various Danish indie rock bands but he found the trouble of finding a coherent sound difficult with so many other parties involved. Then he went solo.
“People always have different ideas that compromise yours when you’re working in a group, it’s a challenge to make a sound that way. So I started on my own with a sampler and an Atari computer with just 1MB of RAM; I made my own music and rules, so to speak. After 10 years, I released my first album [as Trentemøller], ‘The Last Resort,’ and started to play instruments again — physical ones, not just computers.”
While his songs originated in the discotheques, Trentemøller’s music has a signature moodiness, his soundscapes typically brooding. “It’s not like I’m always crying, but many people have said that my music has a melancholic feeling, and it’s true,” he says. “I put many layers of feelings into my songs. Yes, I have been inspired by stuff like the Cure orJoy Division or Mazzy Star — and it’s quite natural and typically Scandinavian to have this dark feeling in the music, maybe because it’s always raining here. But there are bands like Sigur Rós, and their music is not sad at all, but it still retains a subtle melancholic yet beautiful sound.”
Trentemøller is also about to release a new album, ‘Reworked/Remixed,’ comprised of covers from past albums and various remixes by the likes of Andrew Weatherall,Modeselektor, Efterklang and Sting’s daughter, the up-and-coming I Blame Coco. The remix component to the album is no surprise given the producer’s favourite form of collaboration is the remix swap.
“Sometimes I’ll remix a song it for free, especially when it’s a remix swap. Like on this album, I did one for UNKLE [for ‘The Answer, feat. Big In Japan’] and they do one for me [with ‘Neverglade’]. There was no money between us and we are helping each other — I really admire this kind of exchange, when it’s from artist to artist, and not for the label itself.”
JOHN DIGWEED’S NEW MIX WILL HAVE YOU ‘MASHING YOUR HEAD INTO THE GROUND’ – AOL Spinner
Ben Hider, Getty Images
After more than two decades as a DJ and 12 years as the label manager of Bedrock Records, it can said that John Digweed is a constant over-achiever. He’s persistently pushing himself, and crowds, with his signature progressive house and techno sound, which you can check out on the latest release, ‘John Digweed: Structures 2.’
“There’s always going to be challenges,” Digweed tells Spinner. “Once you become successful, you’re in the spotlight, and then they expect more. As a DJ, I’ve always wanted to give 110 percent because that’s my nature. The reason I’m still here is because I have that mindset of giving it all; I want to play the best new music that I’ve got.”
As a savvy label owner, Digweed is extremely selective of the music he releases. Focusing on house and techno, it’s rare that he would venture into the slower bass-heavy dubstep or drum’n’bass sounds. But with technology so easily accessible these days, it’s not difficult to produce something that sounds good. He has his sights set on promoting original sounds and creative ideas.
“I don’t want there to be a traditional Bedrock sound, I just want the label to represent good quality music. I think that’s something that’s taken a few years, but people now look at the label and trust my judgment. They know that I’ve probably played out the track for a few months on the dance floor to test it out before it’s released. I only put out a dozen or so [tracks] a year.”
The Bedrock label was born in 1999, a time when the rave still raved strong, and Sasha and Digweed were ambassadors of the house music revolution, enjoying mainstream success for the first time in the U.S. The first release, ‘Heaven Scent’ (produced with label partner Nick Muir, released under the moniker Bedrock) was appropriately placed as a feature track in the rave-y feature flick, ‘Groove.’ His music direction may have evolved since those days but Digweed feels that it’s the fans and their passion for the unexpected that keeps the electronic music culture alive.
“For the true fans, it’s never always been about the venue; it’s about the people and the experience,” he says. “If you have the right people or a good sound system, that’s all you need. You could have a party in a cave if you want to. For some, it’s about the adventure of going somewhere with a bit of edge or excitement.”
To keep excitement levels up, he’s released ‘John Digweed: Structures 2,’ following the extremely positive feedback from the first comp. The triple CD package features a downtempo mix, great for listening to on hot summer days by the pool or, as Digweed quips, “at 5AM after the club whilst mashing your head into the ground.” It also features a live set recorded at club Avalon in L.A., and a track-by-track disc of fresh Bedrock tunes for the DJs.
Like any perfectionist, Digweed records every set he plays. But when it came to selecting one for the comp, he knew the Avalon gig was the obvious choice. “The gig was just amazing from start to finish. It could have come from London, or Beijing, but that one really stood out. I also play in L.A. regularly and bring out a very special crowd, so it’s a bit of a thank you to the fanbase over there.”
NIN + DFA = WTF? – The Hand That Feeds remixes
In anticipation of the new NIN album ‘Hesitation Marks’, I did some digging around for new tracks and instead came across this obscurity from 2008. It makes me feel like there might have been a time when Trent Reznor and James Murphy hit it off at a rooftop party in Williamsburg and they became BFFs for a few weeks.
Anyway, as you can hear, the remixes produced were more like disco-boogie dancefloor burners, V1 and V2 go on for a wild and crazy 14 minutes of repetitive loops. The original tune is almost imperceptible save for some of the bass lines. There’s also a woman’s vocal sample with some Blondie undertones, that may or may not be Trent’s voice processed and distorted. It’s very much made for the DFA-camp of hipsters and obscurity-philes. Most dedicated Industrial fans wouldnt be caught dead playing these. It’s no wonder that two out of three of these are still under 1,000 views.
Sensation Global Party Map!
The task was to highlight some of the world’s biggest parties and compare them to the insanity that was Bud Light Sensation in Toronto. While Sensation may have been just one night, what we have below is timeless!
Click to expand.
James Perse Boutique – Yorkville “Launch”
James Perse has been steadily building his brand of ultra-comfortable LA-styled pima cotton chic basics across North America since 2003, but his presence is fairly new in Canada. I was at the Toronto store “launch” last month. I say “launch” because it has actually been at 18 Hazelton Ave. since November, but maybe the beachy de luxe clothing shop needed an outspoken oomph to let their brand be heard. I actually first came across the designer while perusing the local Winners aisles (the shock! the horror! But seriously, Winners is actually a great way to keep up with lesser known brands and trends since most of their stock comes from US vendors), and I’m happy to know that they’re available now in Toronto.
Tasty snacks were served and music by Toronto’s up and coming indie rock band Cai.ro was performed. Sadly there wasnt enough room on the floor to include their second guitarist, Dante Berardi Jr, but Cai.ro have been in high demand for their easy listening and wide audience reach, and I had a great time chatting with him about the music biz and their invovlement with Audioblood Media.
OH NOES! Toxic Belly Bugs!! – From the Spambox
If you get this email in your spam/inbox, you would be most wise to NOT click on it, but luckily for weirdos like me who live for the bizarre underbellies of the internet, the contents of the mail were a harmless .jpg. I imagine following through on the proposal would link to something far nastier than tummy bugs for your beloved pc.
Are toxic tummy bugs the next wave in shock internet advertising? Remember the attack of the white teeth people? Let me know where you think this is all going.
Bloody Beet Roots break the speakers at the Phoenix – BlogTO
If you were looking for vitamin rich vegetables at the Phoenix when the Bloody Beet Roots rolled through town, then you had come to the wrong place. If you had a hankering for big, bloody, over the top beats, however, then this was indeed the venue you were looking for.
Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo has been crafting his gothabilly EDM luchadore act for a number of years since entering the electro scene with his high-energy remixes, but I get the impression that this was never enough for him. He needs Venom-inspired masks, stage dives, drop kicks, electric baby grand pianos and microphone stands to hurl around. A male fan mounted the stage and it seemed he lost his nerve because before he had time to make the move, Sir Bob, ever the trickster, gleefully made up his mind for him and pushed him over the edge.
Material from his past Dim Mak albums like Romborama, were treated with intense manic energy, cycling from soft piano to high energy EDM stabs, to Rob Zombie-esque psychedelic surf thrash, to full on punk songs. After one particularly epic drop, he rushed back to the piano, only to find it horribly out of tune.
But he played on, feedback and all, until the speakers gave way entirely to crackling feedback. Oh the drama… the horror! Shouldn’t he be terribly embarrassed? OK, so the sound recovered and we realized it was just all just a gimmick, but an incredibly clever one. While the cycle of manic energy became a tad repetitive, if anything, it was a metaphor to say if a routine ain’t broke, then don’t fix it.
Photos by Jesse Ship
Natasha Kudashkina “DOTS” show @ Cabal
Natasha Kudashkina is an award winning visonary artist/body painter/tattoo artist and doer of many things! Check out some shots from last Friday night’s art show. In 2011 she placed second at the North American Body Painting Awards in Dallas, Texas (yes this exists!) In 2011 she placed second at the North American Body Painting Awards in Dallas, Texas (yes, this exists!). She’s also a very funny and lively creature and I’m glad that I know her :)
Max’s Restaurant aka Max’s of Manilla – Canadian Philippine Fashion Week
I went to a press announcement last week for the first ever Canadian Philippine Fashion Week (June 10-15), hosted by the extravagant and eccentric former MTV Philippine’s host and media personality, Jeff Rustia and went home with a lunch box from Max’s Restaurant aka Max’s of Manilla, aka Max’s Chicken (yes all three titles exist in their branding separately. Consolidate guys! ;p) . I’m not as experienced in Philippino food as I’d liek to be and I’ve never heard of Max’s but from what I gather they have quite the following in the community!
The rice came wrapped in paper like a Big Mac, but actually reminded me more of the rice burgers you’d get from fastfood joints in Asia like Mos Burger or, just plain old McD’s even. Adobo chicken with a few chunks of beef and some stir fried noodles both came in tupperware-styled containers. The food didn’t stand out in a big way but it was tasty none the less. You never know who’s going to be attending these media events, so I guess they wanted to keep it safe.
The fashion week it’s self looks quite promising, with major funding from the Philipino telecom giant PLDT, Philippine Airways, Mary Kay and others. Proceeds from the event will all go to the Kol Hope Foundation, a society that Mr. Rustia set up in memory of his own son Kol, who was born with Trisomy-related disabilities and chromosomal disorders.
