VELD – Day 2 – Bassnectar, Avicii, Nicky Romero
HARDFest Feat. Justice, Buraka Som Sistema, Austra, M83 and MORE!
I woke up Saturday noon to a simple one line email from my editor at Spinner, “Can you interview Justice at 330 pm?” Obviously, the answer was yes, I would say yes even if I was in a quadriplegic full body cast. There was no reason to miss out on this opportunity, especially since our initial interview request was oddly denied.
Buraka Som Sistema – Candonga from Jesse Ship on Vimeo. Don’t miss Blaya with the bootyquake on the 3 min mark!
Despite being held at Fort York on what passes for festival ground, Hard Fest TO was not a fest per se, but more of a long extended arm of the LA-based 2-day multi-staged event. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t have a good time. Most exciting for me was crossing off three bands from my must-see bucket list, Austra, Buraka Som Sistema and M-83.
Brewing storms held off until the very end of the night, and broke just prior to Justice’s set, delaying them by 20 minutes or so. Maybe they were scared that the rain would screw up their new hydraulic dj stage / organ contraption which no EDM act these days can be without!
Scion Sessions – Nosaj Thing, Doldrums, Jesse Futerman & More
The last time I saw Alphapup’s Nosaj Thing was about a year ago at a packed show at the Drake Underground. You’d think that a free show would have even more packed-er results? Oddly no, but good for us who had lots of comfortable dance space on the floor. The tunes were a lot more upbeat and tech-inpsired from his last set which I remember being more on the groovy, downtempo funk side of things. I also got a chance to see the much hyped Toronto Doldrums, and my favourite RL Steiner, Mr. Jesse Futerman. And, it wouldn’t have been a real party with friends like Raymi The Minx, Michael Kim and the gang.
There are still a number of other Scion Sessions events left in the week with a free post-hardcore band show from Young Widows at Parts & Labour as well as HardFest, headlined by Austra, M-83, Justice, Buraka Som Sistema, and more!
Buraka Som Sistema Just Discover EDM Scene is Real: ‘I Thought it Was a Joke’
Posted on Aug 1st 2012 3:00PM by Jesse Ship
Scion Sessions Week is actually launching a slew of musical events, you can sign up for chances to win VIP passes on their site, and follow directions below:
How to get into Happy Endings w/ Scuba, Egyptrixx & Exeter:
1. Win your way in for free via Scion Sessions:
http://scionsessions.ca/happy-
2. Buy a ticket for $15. Tickets available at the door or in advance via Ticketweb.
Win a trip for 2 to Toronto for Sessions Week & TIX/VIP to any and all shows on the calendar: http://
Evening Hymns Spectral Dusk and Downpour
I’m breaking the silence of my inner peace by sneaking notes, and it reminds me of the time I spent 10 days in silence at Suan Mokh, a Buddhist Vipassana retreat at a temple in Southern Thailand. But I’m not in Thailand; I’m in the courtyard of an upscale condo on Queen St W., across from Trinity Bellwoods park. All around me, music journalists sit pensively with their headphones on. The sullen voice.of Jonas Bonnetta, of Evening Hymns, and his autumnal Spectral Dusk album, (supported by members of The Wooden Sky, City and Colour and Timber Timbre) surrounds us communally through our synchronized ipods and mp3 players. Like the old marmalade cat poised on the upper balcony to us, my mind ought to wander with the droning country soundscape. Attached, yet detached, we sit as one.
The gray skies that threaten to burst only add to the delicate tension of the album that deals with the death of Jonas’s father. Songs of sorrow and fat wet raindrops fall like tears on my arms. Another few splatter my screen. It’s not fair to compare but I’d liken him to a mournful Leonard Cohen, with less cryptic lyrics and a focus on life lessons and longings like, the line from Spectral Dusk the title closing track, “I need you if I’m to be a man.” Followed by two minutes of field recordings taken from a country spot known as The Burn, where his dad’s ashes were a scattered. The blowing wind and rushing water do their best to sweep away the spectral catharsis that has set in.
“It’s terrible to put yourself thru the wringer every time you get on stage,” Jonas tells us after during an intimate Q&A. “I’ll be in front of a thousand people in some beautiful hall in Europe and then when I hit the first note, it strikes me ”Oh ya… I don’t have a dad.” Jonas actually can’t wait to release his next album, (he’s got two in the bag even), so he won’t have to keep pouring salt over old wounds. I imagine he’s gone through a whole shaker by now.
When was the last time I actually listened to an album from start to finish with headphones and no distractions? My last conscious memory brings me to high school, maybe TOOL’s Aenema album, but my pride insists it was more recently. Regardless, this exercise made me realize how much a lost past time it has become and how age and time are wearing away at our focus. As Jonas said earlier during his talk, “living out in the forest makes SO much sense.” I only wish I could return to that place inside myself as well.
PUMA® PRESENTS TORONTO’S MAD DECENT BLOCK PART – SET TIMES NOW POSTED
Waiting to speak to Simian Mobile Disco backstage at the Hoxton, I got to meet Chris, Diplo‘s tour manager who gave me this pithy hair advice. “Dude, it’s like a mushroom cloud on the sides but I wanna see it more nuclear on the top! You need MORE volume!”
What a perfect way to lead into this huge announcement!! This summer marks the fifth installment of the incredibly successful cross-country phenomenon that is the MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY, this year presented by Puma®. Tearing through the USA with stops in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and new addition Toronto Mad Decent is joining forces with Puma, Red Bull, Heineken and SPIN to provide a day of musical performances with FREE admission, delicious food, carnival games and a party for families and club kids alike! Every block party will have a completely different lineup with surprise guests popping up in each city. The block party tour kicks off in Toronto on July 28, 2012 and concludes in Los Angeles on August 25, 2012.
MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY TORONTO:
Check out the full list of artists that will be performing at the various stops as well as the details for Toronto including location, time and featured artists.
TORONTO INFO:
7/28/12
Yonge Dundas Square, Toronto
1pm-11pm
Lineup:
Zeds Dead 9:30-11:00
Claude VonStroke 8:00-9:30
Nadastrom 7:00-8:00
Jacques Greene 6:00-7:00
BADBADNOTGOOD 4:45-5:45
Riton 4:00-4:45
A Tribe Called Red 3:00-4:00
Smalltown DJs 2:00-3:00
Grandtheft 1:00-2:00
**NOTE: Despite earlier announcements, Bosco Delrey will unfortunately not be making it to the Toronto show. Calgary’s favorite sons Smalltown DJs have been added in his place.**
Flying Lotus @ Red Bull Music Academy – Lecture Series [2009]
[Apparently a lot of people have been asking for this one. The file links didn’t transfer properly when I changed the name of the site, but that’s now been fixed. Here we go again. Enjoy – Cap’n Ship]
I was fortunate enough to attend this intimate Q&A with dubstep/bass music/glitch-hop-what-have-you producer Flying Lotus, at the Toronto Red Bull office. In case you are wondering the interviewer was his opening tour dj, My Man Henri.
Below is most of the recording. It’s about 80 minutes in length, divided in to three parts. What its missing is mainly the plug for the Red Bull Academy, which is a two week long retreat sponsored by, you guessed it, Red Bull, where artists get to cultivate their musical talent amongst other worthy, up and coming artists, at no expense to the artist. Sounds dope? Apply yourself. Be warned, the application is a good 50 pages long and is as arduous and wacky as a Scientology intake form, but with way better benefits…trust me! So go apply now! You have until July 27th.
A-TRAK – FormatMag Archives
My very first featured Q&A, everrrrrr. Done on the cusp of Fool’s Gold Records as A-Trak had just wrapped up with as Kanye’s DJ tour. What a fine young label magnate you have become. Thanks for the memories FormatMag!
A-Trak
Known as one of the most stylish turntablists in the game, A-Trak has been messing with the fashion industry for a minute now. Collaborations with key players in the street-wear industry such as Zoo York, Kid Robot and Crooks & Castles are all set to launch within months. With the momentum of three new album releases, a new record label on the horizon and the success of his latest album/DVD Sunglasses is a Must, Stussy has agreed to drop a signature pair of A-Trak specs. And that’s just the start of it. At 25, with 10 years under his belt in the music industry, there’s no telling where this kid might go.
Format: How would you define your style?
A-Trak: I knew you were gonna ask me this question, they told me it was for a fashion thing. I don’t really define it as this one look or whatever – I’m so bad at this. Let’s go from the bottom up. I’m pretty much always checking for classic and classy sneakers. I like hi-tops, a lot — like hi-top 180s or Jordan AF1 style. I think jeans are the first thing you might over look when getting into a certain style. I’m always trying to get a key pair of jeans that you might not really know if you’re not super into denim. I try to find the perfect fit for the sneakers I’m wearing. I don’t rock that many pairs. If I have a rotation of three really ill pairs that I think are good for me then I’ll just stick to that. I like to buy a pair of jeans that I’m in love with. I like raw denims that fit just right and I’ll just stick with those and go with them for a long ass time.
Format: What brands do you like?
A-Trak: Nudie, Neighborhood, Rag ‘n Bone. I was in to Roca for a bit but they’re kind of baggy and this year isn’t so much into that, but I still like them a lot. T-shirts, I’m always going for something kind of flashy and original design. People that checkout my pics on my website look at my T-shirts are always like, ‘Yo, what’s your closet like?’ I like the T-shirt to be the centerpiece of what I’m wearing. And, I’m always rocking a fitted hat. Every day of my life there’s a New Era on my head. To sum it up, I like it clean cut yet flashy. A little bit into the street-wear, but also in to the classic early `90s Beastie Boys.
“When you are subject to that much visibility that increases in your head, you’re like every fucking minute my shit’s gotta be on point!”
Format: Has touring with Kanye had an effect on your style?
A-Trak: I think I started buying more clothes when I was touring with him. Also, maybe a question with how old I was and getting in to that phase where I was more conscious about how I present myself. I definitely don’t think I dress like Kanye, I don’t think that since traveling with him that I’ve felt, ‘Oh, I need to rock this brand or that brand.’ But it’s like when I’m touring with him and we’re liable to be on TV or in pictures on any given day and you’re traveling with people that pop tags all the time, well if you already have that mentality of wanting to stay G’d up and wanting to have fly shit on any given day. When you are subject to that much visibility that increases in your head, you’re like every fucking minute my shit’s gotta be on point! But at the same time when you get used to that it’s not really an issue anymore. It’s more just in the back of your head when you are getting dressed in the morning, but it’s not like a formula or anything. I don’t want to make it seem like it’s calculated.
Format: Do you feel that there is some kind of uniform that you have to rock for hip-hop or is that changing as things get more globalized?
A-Trak: Well, I think that the street-wear phenomenon has gotten so big, that it’s kind of funny, that in any city in the world on any continent you can go into a little shop and find the sneaker with limited color ways, and a handful of T-shirt brands and bandanas or whatever else. And of course, the all-over hoodies, how can I forget. That’s been the sign of the last year. That to me looks like a uniform, so I’m trying not to get too into that. I went almost two years straight with a fitted hat, sunglasses and a fancy T-shirt. That was like a uniform to me. But that was also, with the whole Sunglasses Is A Must concept – it had a little concept behind it.
Roadsworth
First seen in Format Magazine
ARTIST, FEATURES
Roadsworth
September 28, 2009
by Jesse Ship
During the period of 2001-2004 Roadsworth went ballistic on his home town of Montreal, enforcing a new visual language upon its streets. A language of road lines turned in to electrical wiring, barbed wire, fishing hooks, birthday cakes, animals hanging off of shadows and more. Like so many street artists, he was busted and persecuted to the full extent of the law. Lucky for him, community support was unanimous and he got off with mild community service term, forced to paint his public patterns only when commissioned to do so by the city. Roadsworth has since been invited to paint in numerous countries, and even has even been commissioned to paint Montreal’s city hall. Behold the words of the original street-preacher. Not enough for you? Check him out at his website, or in the new, highly acclaimed film Roadsworth: Crossing The Line.
“I’m not against corporations as a concept, I’m not even against advertising. It’s part of selling of goods and exchanging goods is part of culture and survival. It’s the monopolies and the extent of capitalism that bothers me.”
Format: A lot of your work has an anti-corporate vibe.
Roadsworth: Well I guess, ya, indirectly. When I started, and at my peak of illegal activity, I was feeling sort of anti-corporate. But I think it’s more a question of balance. I’m not against corporations as a concept, I’m not even against advertising. It’s part of selling of goods and exchanging goods is part of culture and survival. It’s the monopolies and the extent of capitalism that bothers me. It’s become almost synonymous with consumerism. It’s caused some progress, but It’s also been very damaging. I think we are consumers because we are encouraged to consume as much as possible.
Format: When you were starting, you were known for turning road lines in to electrical outlets or plugs, a reference to the ‘myth’ of the electric car. Now, many countries are close to implementing road side electrical fill up stations. How does that make you feel?
Roadsworth: Well it’s funny, because when I started doing this, back in 2001, there was a certain amount of denial when it came to certain realities including the nature of war, oil, its finite-ness, global warming, etc. People had been talking about these ills for a very long time but it was never very mainstream. The environmental movement is being used by companies to sell products now even. Global warming is pretty well espoused, and has become a mainstream concept. I started with the electric car stencils because it seemed like it wasn’t cool to talk about it. It was sort of alarmist. I had also seen a documentary about it called Who Killed The Electric Car. I guess I was compelled by that flick.
Format: You once turned an intersection outside your parents home into a birthday cake for your dad’s birthday. How did he react to that one?
Roadsworth: I think he was a little shocked. My parents didn’t know I was in to that. I had been in to music for most of my life and dabble a bit in art. I think he was pretty surprised. I think he also thought it was a bit of a one-off. He liked it, my parents are pretty easy going, definitely not overbearing “you have to be a doctor or lawyer, or you’re dead to us” kind of people.
Format: Have you thought of doing anything other than roads?
Roadsworth: Ya, there are so many ways to use the city’s infrastructure. I’ve been thinking about it, but I haven’t really decided on anything. I have been thinking about sculptures. Or taking a pre-existing motif that appears across a city and tweaking it some how. You can do that to anything. I’ve been very fortunate to have been invited to paint in places like France and the UK, but, to be honest, I’m getting tired of all the requests that I’m getting to work on the ground. It’s always the ground. You might say I’ve become typecast as that ground guy.
