Review: Freedom 2011 @ The Guvernment

A year ago I promised myself : no more raves, no more raves- I'm getting too old. Then, last night- there I was- back again inside the Guvernment jumping up and down and sweating profusely.

Review: Bal en Blanc @Palais des Congres de Montreal

So this past weekend I had the opportunity to check out the White Party also known as Bal en Blanc in its 17th year in all it's glory. Having gone a couple of years ago, I kinda knew what to expect in terms of set up , but what really surprised me was the commercial line-up of DJ's- especially in the house room. Montreal is known for its love of electronic music but this time it failed to deliver.

Top 10 Things You'll Need for WMC via Miami Nights

We absolutely loved this particular article about how to best prepare for Miami during the WMC. We could not have put it better ourselves so we have decided to repost it as is. It's from a brilliant website/blog called www.miaminights.com and written by one of their contributors, B.A.C.  So here it is, enjoy!

Review: Hernan Cattaneo@ Circus, Montreal

My favourite little party city in Canada is Montreal, hands-down. So for my birthday weekend, you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear that one of my favourite international Dj's was going to be playing there.  Yep, non other than the Argentinian dark king himself, Hernan Cattaneo, graced me with his presence. 
    The setting for this story happens at a renowned  afterhours club called Circus. It was my first time going here and I gotta say its not too shabby. There's a dangerous fleet of stairs to get into the club and the security guys doing their extra frisking was a bit uncomfortable, but other than that it's not bad. We arrived at the cozy hour of 4:30 am just in time for the set. The main room was crowded to the max, but it was amazing to  feel the vibe of the crowd, knowing that everyone in the rooms knows who this guy is, and are all there for the love of the music ! Respect. As Hernan got warmed up, so did the room. It was hot as **** in there. The great thing about the place was that it was small enough for one to move quickly to open air at the back. Whew.


Having seen Hernan in Toronto before at This Is London, I was still uncertain in my expectations. A few years back he had played a very chilled out , deep and groovy set. I guess that's the cause of of regular clubbing hours. In Montreal, the man was another story entirely. He was obviously fantastic, keeping it deep, dark and heavy all the way through. I thoroughly enjoyed the tribal touch of his set and finally realized that this man could dance me to death. I was totally sober, for those of you who are wondering, but I honestly could not stop dancing, and jumping, and screaming. Enough said. It was awesome. Go see Hernan play afterhours 'cause you'll never regret it! 

Miami Winter Music Conference : 20eleven

Year after year, this monster festival has been the highlight for dance culture mavens world wide. The reason behind it is: It just is. The Winter Music Conference is the pinnacle of any dance music festival stretching over a week of madness with the best  in music, technology and sizzling people. (I'm not joking!)

photo by: ilovedjme.com

It's strange for me to be writing about WMC, as I have never actually been. Next year will be the first time for me, as press, to be attending the event to provide you guys with mad coverage. For now, I'm just gonna tell you what is going on, what the main events are, and what to expect according to my peeps who have been down every year!

From the outside, the WMC looks like a huge party that never stops. However, what most people don't know is that it is so much more than a party. They didn't call it a "conference" for nothing. The week is full of opportunities to learn and network for people looking to break into the business. Dj's, producers, managers, journalists, and musicians alike gather here for education and serious schmooze time. 

For the more academically inclined there are seminars and panel discussions which address and discuss issues facing the industry these days. This years panel discussions topics include: Music and the industry, innovations in DJ and production technology, distribution, radio exposure, legal issues and advice, media, foreign markets, and revenue streams. Beyond these panel discussions, there are the South Beach Sessions (SBS) which present a "bold new perspective on the traditional panel program". Their mission here is to create greater exposure for artists and ideas, bringing together the most influential people in music, fashion, technology, business , education, and the environment. (I love this idea!)  

photo by: housejunkz.net

Beside all this , there is the more hands approach through workshops help throughout the WMC. These include remixing and editing workshops as well as demo listening workshops. There are exhibits of new technology, the WMC Record Collectors Show, a DJ Spin-Off, parties and networking events, not to mention the club events!

Perhaps the most prestigious event at WMC are the International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) If you get tickets for this one, you're set. Celebrity performances in the past have included Lady Gaga and Rihanna. This awards show is the only one of its kind on the entire planet, and you can expect a myriad of surprises. This years host is Daniel Glass along side Naughty Natalia de la Cruz. It's always a star studded night!

As you can see, there is so much more to the WMC beside the parties (and how we LOVE the parties!!)   It's going to be heaven on Earth for those of us who adore dance music !

Check out : http://wintermusicconference.com/ for more info and tickets!

Insight and Nonsense : The Editor Rants

Hector Fonseca

   So here we are, July is upon us and so rather quickly. We were in the midst of planning a major fundraising event for the past few weeks and thus the hiatus! But, we are back and excited for the rest of summer.

Today in history:  Netherlands has dominated Brazil in the quarter final matches for the world cup. This must definitely be one of the biggest upsets for many people today. Party on, Netherlands! Personally I love the change.

 In the world of music, Drakes face is pasted on the side of Richard Branson's private jet. No further comments


In the world of electronic music, The festivals lined up for this summer are endless!  Eclipse is coming up ( Quebec City), Dance ValleyAmsterdam is going to be a killer with Sander Kleinenberg headlining the show, by far one of my personal favourites.

    I was in Montreal just a few weeks back as well, checked a huge array of nightclubs within 3 days. Stereo sure does have a great sound, but I wasn't too impressed. However Steve Lawler played a grand set, and I loved having the VIP arrival time of 5 am. But again, nothing beats the Guvernment for me.     Speaking of clubs, Digital Deep is throwing an unofficial launch party late in the fall season.Date and time TBA my friends. The DJ line-up is all ready to go, everything will of course be underground. The venue will be Nocturne Lounge on Queen Street in the notorious party city : Toronto. We'll spill more details on that soon so stay tuned!

   Pride Parade 2010 starts this weekend , lots of great parties happening all around town. We will be at the Adam K and Soha show, and its 100% free. In fact there are several parties happening all over the place for no cover .

    We have some great interviews coming up with big shot toronto djays and industry , so tons will be spinning on the pride stage tonight! For more acts checkout http://www.nowtoronto.com/guides/pride/2010/ tons and tons happening!! Okay, thats the end of my little unstructured rant for you guys! I'll be back with more! Much Love, peace!

Ash

digital deep™ Loves Quebec : MUTEK_11

If you live in Canada , you know the place to be when you really want to experience the best night of your life : Montreal. The city is an epicentre for Canadian club-goers with its friendly atmosphere,beautiful people and absolutely astounding house music .With its cafes and busy shopping centres by day to the highflying after-hours clubs by night, Montreal definitely has something to say about how one should  party. From this stunning atmosphere was born one of the most historically noted festivals of all time: Mutek

Mutek began its run as a music festival 10 years ago by  Alain Mongeau, as part of his mandate as Director of New Media Programming at the Ex-Centris complex. The purpose of the festival is to bring together all ideals of electronic sound,images, and new media. It started off with 34 acts and 2000 attendees in the year 2000. Last year the festival averaged an overall attendance of 68,000 attendees over a period of five days. Mutek Hosts conferences, tutorials, music nights and so much more. The festival is a more scientific and deeper approach to how we enjoy electronic music ,making it one of the world most prestigious gatherings. Mutek has expanded from a festival to an international phenomenon with versions of the festival in Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Chile , Germany,France, USA and many more. 


“MUTEK was the most interesting, the best, and the most inspiring thing that I have ever been a part of - and that I've ever seen - that had anything to do with electronic music.” 
– Richie Hawtin, in Exclaim! (2003)

This year will mark Mutek's 11th run. Don't miss it!
For More information check out :http://www.mutek.org/




Ash


**Also please checkout this amazing article written in Dancecult : The Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture called  Convergence & Sonic-culture : Mutek_10 http://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/journal/article/view/27/37

digital deep™ Loves Quebec : Eclipse 2010

If you are still hanging around in the country this summer , you're in luck. Festival after festival, Canada will be pumping out some serious music throughout the whole summer. One very important festival to mention is Eclipse 2010 which is taking place in the beautiful province of Quebec.

Music and the Environment : UN and EXIT Festival 2010

Recent updates from the United Nations claim that the highly coveted Exit Music Festival will be working in close collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Programme and UNESCO. The campaign is called "Music and the Environment" aims to bring into light environmental promotion and protection by bringing together the most key figures in the music business in a collective initiative. According to Exit Corporation, it also aims to at improving the music industry's relation to the environment.