Pusher ft. Mothica - Clear (Shawn Wasabi Remix)

The second official remix of Pusher's track "Clear" with Mothica, dropped today, one week ahead of the full remix EP's release on Black Butter Records. First Graves upped the intensity with rattling future bass slaps, now Shawn Wasabi has added his trademark kawaii sensibilities. Like the beyond brilliant lyrics, these remixes are great combinations of "so dark but delicate" and "rough around the edges" production from the original that lends so perfectly to both Graves and Shawn Wasabi's styles. I had thought Henrik The Artist's remix of Shawn Wasabi's "Burnt Rice" was the best combination of producers, but Wasabi's remix of Pusher and Mothica might just have upped the game. Pitting artists and tracks against each other is actually the opposite of the ethos of these tracks. These artists share the same taste and often share each others tracks. Most recently I caught Pusher pressing play on Henrik The Artist's "Lose You" during his set at Bestival. In fact my dream lineup would feature those three alongside Mija, Vindata, Mura Masa, Flume, Ryan Hemsworth, Chet Porter, Lido, LH4L, Danny L Harle, Dombresky, SteLouse, and Wave Racer. If only I had to power to bring all these people together; that's the dream. Anyway, get excited for next Friday, as there's sure to be even more exciting remixes of the already incredible "Clear."

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Bestival Recap

Via Bestival Toronto Facebook Page

My body is worse for wear, but my mind has never been so satisfied. This year's edition of Bestival exceeded even my grandest expectations. From Maddmon's opening set under the Big Top Saturday, to The Cure closing down the Main Stage Sunday, and all of the surprises in between, the ethos of Bestival Increase The Peace rang true throughout. I've never been to any festival that can rival Bestival's family-friendly inclusiveness, genius curation and undeniably loving atmosphere.

I was disappointed to leave the island venue, in spite of the frustrating ferry service, but Woodbine Park actually ended up being as good, if not better than last year. The stages were significantly closer than last year, with a little bit of sound bleeding from the Big Top to the Main Stage; enough to cause Robert Smith to have his headphones at maximum volume, so he could stay on beat. The Bollywood stage was a brilliant reprieve, removed from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the venue. Even further removed, in a quiet, wooded corner of Woodbine Park, the Sunday Best Balearic Beach Bar was the ultimate chill zone for people to relax, lie under the shade of the trees and refresh your soul with therapeutic, ecstasy inducing vibes. Rounding out the Bestival atmosphere were a Dr. Suess-esque bicycle with dozens of drums and noise makers for people to play, the infamous Inflatable Church and Cosmic Commune, which hosted plays and other intimate performances. Standing on the hill that held the I<3BESTIVAL sign, you could take in all three stages with Toronto's skyline in the distance.

Via Bestival Toronto Facebook Page

The sound system under the Big Top was quite simply bonkers, and although there were less 'bass acts' and less room under the tent (than the previous year), the lineup utilized it to the fullest with standout sets from locals Maddmon, Thugli, Shaun Frank, HRMXNY, and Pusher, legendary live performances from Porter Robinson and Madeon, banging bass from Smalltown DJs, 4B, Malaa, Unlike Pluto and Tchami, welcome changes of pace from Giraffage, Skylar Spence, Classixx and Thomas Jack.  But the standout performance from the Big Top came from Reeps One, who absolutely blew me away with his unfathomably awesome beat-boxing skills.

The Bollywood Stage's visual marvel was only surpassed by its monstrous musical magnitude. Throughout the weekend I found myself going back to Bollywood more often than I had planned; its open air allure was led by an anything goes, never-ending dance-off. On my first journey around, exploring the festival grounds, I caught the end of Jonathan Rosa's set and the beginning of Rob Da Bank's which, apart from Lee Foss dropping MK's "Reverse Skydiving" remix, was my Bollywood highlight. Welcoming the early crowd, the Bestival founder led off with Prince's "I Wanna Be Your Lover," in perhaps the most fitting set starter possible.

What sets Bestival apart from other festivals, is its unwavering commitment to fostering rising and local talents, and showcasing acts that otherwise would not play Toronto festivals, especially alongside electronic acts. The Main Stage saw alternative, rock, new-wave and cross over acts from Tame Impala, Odesza, Jamie XX, Grimes and The Cure. It would be nearly impossible to put together a lineup that so perfectly bridges the gap between the sounds of the Bollywood and Big Top stages, while maintaining a slightly more rock focus. I don't know that the real EDM heads would venture from their bubble, but I can say that those five acts mentioned above strike me as the perfect stepping stones, to a wider appreciation for music and art as a whole. For in the end that is what Bestival does best, showcasing the infinite possibilities of art in all its forms, and expanding your mind.

I went to Bestival to see The Cure, among a number of electronic acts, but came away having rekindled friendships, met dozens of like-minded music lovers, and sharing in the experiences of a lifetime. I cannot wait for next year's edition of Bestival; if there were such a thing, I'd buy a lifetime membership.

Bestival: Plan Of Attack

My most anticipated weekend of the summer has finally arrived. Ever since Bestival announced their day splits, the buzz has been all about the Saturday lineup, and I plan on taking advantage of every second of it. I'm hoping I can manage to get up and arrive at Woodbine Park for the opening set, as I've been wanting to see Maddmon for some time, and his forthcoming BADLQQK track "Diagnose That" has cemented his status as a must see. Obviously I'll be spending a lot of my Saturday under the Big Top, only leaving for Joris Voorn and a touch of Bestival founder Rob Da Bank's set. Following Maddmon, one of my favourite duos Smalltown DJs have been on fire as of late, and I wouldn't dare miss them. My love for Thugli is also well established and I'm tremendously excited to see how they handle the festival atmosphere. Following a brief respite with Rob Da Bank, I'll be taking in Giraffage in hopes he'll be this years surprise act, energizing us with a second wind. Having already seen Shaun Frank, I've made the tough decision to take in Joris Voorn in his stead, in part because of latest remix of Florian Kruse & Hendrik Burkhard's "The Ground." I'll be back under the Big Top for the three-headed monster of Malaa, Madeon and Porter Robinson. I've also got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to catch one of those three at The Hoxton's after-party, specifically Porter as I hope to relive last year's Monstercat Showcase DJ set (the last track in the playlist below). Of course the Sunday can also boast a number of big names, Dubfire, Tchami and The Cure headlining their respective stages, but after the most jam-packed day of likely the whole summer, it's going to be interesting to see how early I can get back to Woodbine Park. I hope to start my day once again under the Big Top, with either HRMXNY or Pusher, two great Toronto talents that are poised to explode. After that I'll be looking to the Bollywood stage for some Catz 'N Dogz and Lee Foss. But if you've read my post when the lineup was first announced, it is The Cure, ahead of all electronic acts that I'm most excited for this weekend. Once again I leave you with a playlist, and The Cure's full set from Bestival on the Isle of Wight back in 2011.

Bump In The Hump Sneak Peek: BADLQQK RQQKIES

The BADLQQK love affair is set to continue this week on Bump In The Hump, Radio Humber. After receiving an exclusive interview and mix from WWRD last week, we've re-upped for another double dose of forthcoming RQQKIE goodness. This week, I spoke with Montreal based production and DJ duo, Ponsolo and Ledisko, whose track "Hurtin Me," you can now hear in its entirety below. Less than a week from the EP's official release (June 14th, exclusively on Beatport), you can now stream the entire EP from BADLQQK's soundcloud. Furthermore, you can checkout fellow RQQKIE, Maddmon, who is playing Bestival this Saturday from 12:45-1:45 under the big top. Don't forget to tune in to Bump In The Hump tonight from 6-7 EST to hear directly from Ponsolo and Ledisko, and their mix alongside an hour of the best new Canadian electronic dance music.

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Bump In The Hump: WWRD Interview

Today's the day! Bump In The Hump returns for its fourth season on 96.9 FM Radio Humber. As promised, I've got three tracks to get your hyped for this groundbreaking, episode. Two weeks ago I had WWRD in studio for an interview, in which we chatted about her connection to Anna Lunoe, who she would most like collab with, how she got signed to BADLQQK, and her forthcoming track "Blitzen," among other things. Below is a quick snippet of what you can expect from our laidback conversation. I'll also be uploading a behind-the-scenes, uncut version of the interview later tonight.  As I have been doing all week, I've once again uploaded another Kenan Habibovic produced promo, the third and final for the fourth season. This one showcases something I'll be focusing more heavily on this season, festivals, and with it a new weekly feature replacing the Fire Finale. That new feature is called the Weekend Warm-up. Always ending Bump In The Hump with a track from a Canadian artist that will be performing at a festival or club night that weekend, in the immediate area, whether it's Ever After in Kitchener, Wayhome in Oro-Medonte, Osheaga in Montreal or Bestival right here in Toronto. As a final teaser for tonight's season premiere, you can listen to this week's Weekend Warm-up, Rezz's remix of Kill The Noise "Without A Trace." You can catch Rezz at Ever After this Sunday, and you can pick up her remix free, now. Don't miss the fourth season premiere of Bump In The Hump live tonight from 6-7 EST on 96.9 FM Radio Humber, alongside the Weekend Warm-up, WWRD interview and mix, as well as the best new Canadian electronic dance music. Get it all, follow along as I live tweet, and listen live here.

Bestival Lineup Annoucement

Screen-grab from www.bestival.ca approx. 2PM March 14

Bestival's Canadian cousin returns for a second Toronto edition with it's new Woodbine Park location, June 11th-12th. Friday they announced The Cure and Tame Impala as headliners, while the additional 33+ were named today. Once again Bestival can boast one of the most forward thinking, cohesive combination of progressive, boundary pushing artists, spanning a number of genres, while managing to cultivate an exquisite overall aesthetic. Last years engrossing aura tied everything together in it's omnipresence and is the only thing I think may suffer from this mainland edition. Crossing to the island last year was a rite of passage, inevitably invoking an unconscious suspension of disbelief as one stepped off their boat onto the island. The lineup however remains a draw for many different musical subcultures, yet again rivaling any other festival in Canada.

The combination of artists fills every box you could possibly check off. Massive, time-tested, legendary headliner (The Cure), incredibly hot, uber hip, legend makers (Tame Impala), progressive live acts (Odesza, Grimes, Porter Robinson, Madeon), genre leading DJ/producers (Tchami, Dubfire, Thomas Jack, Joris Voorn, Lee Foss, Giraffage, etc), trusted taste-makers (Anna Lunoe, Rob Da Bank) and swath of the best local talents (Art Department, Shaun Frank, Thugli, Pusher, HRMXNY, etc.).

After TRC made their predictions Thursday, I was determined to buy tickets if The Cure were announced. Despite being woefully unaware of The Cure, apart from what local radio and Hollywood had pushed, (Friday, I'm In Love and of course Robert Smith's Not In Love with Crystal Castles) I found I couldn't get enough of "Halo" after hearing it in a car one fateful afternoon. "Halo" seemed to strike a chord with me and quickly became one of my favourite songs, but for some reason I didn't venture any further into The Cure's massive library, at least until South Park suggested it. 

Taking Stan's word I listened to Disintegration one night on the bus ride from St Catharines to Toronto, and despite being between waking and sleeping it instantly became familiar and spoke to me through its incredible arc. It's become my go-to, after-the-club, come-down music, as I ride the red vomit comet home. So obviously I'm dead excited to see The Cure live in person; fingers crossed they play some amount of Disintegration.

Despite not going to Digital Dreams, one of my favourite sets from last year was Porter Robinson at the Monstercat showcase at Tattoo. I was moments away from going to bed and shutting down my computer when the my final twitter check discovered a live stream from inside of Tattoo. I ended up raving to the light of my computer screen for the next hour and a half, assaulting my keyboard, punching in the endless tracklist of awesomeness Porter dropped deep into the night. And although Bestival says he's doing a live set this time (see here), you can relive last year's rainy-day respite below.

Another act that I'm excited to see for the first time is Giraffage, I've only heard great things about his sets and love what I've heard specifically "All We Need" and "Lionhearted" from fellow Bestivalers Odesza and Porter Robinson, as well as "All Hands On Deck" "Impression Of You" and "So Cute!"


Then of course are those that I've already seen but know play amazing sets, Madeon, Tchami, Anna Lunoe, Shaun Frank, Thugli, Pusher and HRMXNY. Much like last year I'm sure I'll have to make tough choices as to who I see when, and bounce between stages. If the comparison to last year holds true, I can only hope the weather is more like the second day, not the first. That being said, as long it's not cancelled in some way, it will have beat both Veld and Digital Dreams. I sense there will be more names added to the list and since the price of tickets never go down, the earlier you act, the less of a financial commitment you'll have to make. I'd be surprised if word hasn't got out about how good last year was, and if the biggest headache (the ferrying) is out of the way, tickets will likely be moving quickly.

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Grandtheft - Quit This City EP (Review)

This past Friday (October 30th), Grandtheft finally released his much anticipated Quit This City EP on Diplo's Mad Decent label. Ever since his performance at Bestival on Toronto Island this summer, it was clear that Grandtheft was sitting on a bunch of unreleased gems, the first of which he premiered via a recap video. Of course, I've been a fan of both Grandtheft and Sleepy Tom for years now, so the thought of these two working together was something I could have only dreamt of. When I first saw the video I immediately reposted it on my friend's wall with the caption "best collab ever?" I think we have our answer. These guys are incapable of disappointment.

While "Hold On" was the lead single, and standout track from the EP, the second single and title track is simply amazing. With flawless vocals laid-down by Lowell and the combination of atmospheric synths, Grandtheft's inimitable drums and badman bass stylings all wrapped around seemingly biographical lyrics, "Quit This City" is a picture perfect illustration of the ethos and sound of this brilliant release from one of Canada's biggest and brightest DJ/Producers. Enjoy the video for Quit This City below.