• the operation or function of the senses; perception or awareness of stimuli through the senses.
• a mental feeling, especially a state of excited feeling.
It was an invasion. Seriously, for a while you couldn’t walk or drive around Toronto, listen to the radio or even watch TV without seeing an ad for the Canadian inaugural of Sensation White.
Founded in the Netherlands and organized by promoter ID&T, Sensation is a massive indoor EDM event inspired by the P-Man and Dangerous Dave. When it originated, back in 2000-2001, there was just a single edition, but since then it has now been divided into two separate events: Sensation Black and Sensation White. The idea was to differentiate the shows musically: Sensation Black focuses on the darker sounds of hardstyle and hardcore, while Sensation White is a celebration of house music. (You can find plenty more information HERE.)
This past February, it was announced that Sensation would make its Canadian debut, presented by Bud Light Canada. The date: Saturday June 1. The place: Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
Come early Saturday evening, you could see excited-looking people dressed in white all over downtown Toronto, heading for the city’s famous domed stadium. The party, with its “ocean of white” theme, had been years in the making — and oh, what a night it was! Every element was exquisitely conceived: the waterworks and fireworks, the scantily-clad beauties on stage, and — of course — the lineup of amazing artists. From first to last, Sensation went beyond our wildest expectations, fantasies and dreams.
The night began with a set from the enigmatic Mr. White, who also serves as Sensation’s host. With his deep house grooves, he did a stupendous job of hyping up the crowd as it began to flood onto the dance floor. Mr. White was followed by Dutch DJ 2000 and One (aka Dylan Hermelijn), who further set the tone with his impressive electro dance tracks. 2000 and One’s set really typified the whole evening: an incredible connection between the artists and crowd. The DJs were the puppeteers; we were the puppets.
Next up: Dutch duo Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano brought their funky house and tribal sound to the stage. Swedish House Mafia’s Axwell was quoted last year as saying “If there were a Dutch version of Swedish House Mafia, it would be Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano.” And on the basis of this duo’s incredible sound and awe-inspiring performance, I’d have to agree. I haven’t experiencing anything like it since … well, since I saw Swedish House Mafia at the Rogers Centre earlier this year. CHECK OUT bpm:tv’s WEB EXCLUSIVE interview with Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano HERE.
The Dutch invasion continued with Fedde le Grand, whose mind-blowing performance drove the crowd absolutely wild. I’m ashamed to admit this was the first time I’d seen this bpm:tv Hot 20 mainstay live, and I’m kicking myself for that, because … well, WOW!
Then came one of the night’s most anticipated moments: a rare Canadian appearance by Swedish legend Eric Prydz (a.k.a. Pryda, Cirez D, Sheridan, Moo, AxEr, A&P Project, Hardform, Dukes of Sluca, Groove System …) The vibe: licentious! Prydz played some new tracks, then stole my heart by dropping some classics! The set peaked with the kaleidoscopic “Lazer Beams” by Green Velvet & Harvard Bass: the lights synched up perfectly with the track’s dirty, underground-style rhythms, and my senses politely parted way with all conscious control. Or to put it another way: HOT DAMN DIGGIDY!
I couldn’t think of a better way to end the night than with a set by Sweden’s Otto Knows. This was a triumphant return to Toronto by the Scandinavian wunderkind, who was here in the winter as part of Swedish House Mafia’s sold-out farewell tour. Fittingly, he finished the night with SHM’s anthem “Don’t You Worry Child.”
And that was that, as they say. At the risk of indulging in hyperbole, Sensation White was the best event of its kind I have ever attended. The work that went into it warrants a standing ovation — and kudos, obviously, to the Bud Light team and Live Nation. Let’s hope that Sensation’s Canadian debut is the beginning of a long tradition.
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Just two days left to show your support for DJs across Canada by voting to pick the winner of the Bud Light DJ Battle. You can listen to tracks by the contenders and cast your vote at the Bud Light Sensation home page. When you vote, you’re entered for the chance to win tickets to Bud Light presents Sensation — plus you give your chosen DJ the chance to receive the ultimate VIP treatment at this massive international dance event, which touches down at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on June 1.
So who are the DJs vying for the crown? Just click on the names below to find out who’s who.
There’s still time to snap up tickets for Sensation, an epic-scale affair that will feature sets by Mr. White, 2000 and One, Otto Knows, Sunnery Jamesand Ryan Marciano, and Fedde Le Grand — plus a rare Canadian appearance by Eric Prydz. Dress in white and help LIGHT IT UP June 1 at the Rogers Centre!
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Here we go again. Back to Echo Beach — this time to see a man who hasn’t traveled to Toronto … scratch that, Canada … no, wait, scratch that, North America … in 12 years. Eric Prydz is headling the Identity Festival in Toronto on Saturday, and I am amped.
I really don’t know what to expect. We’re talking about one of the pioneers of this genre. Somebody who was bending boundaries in the studio before the term EDM had even been invented. Who was making his mark as a live performer when DJs were still mainly associated with hip-hop acts. Who’d established the pseudonymous Cirez D as a household name well before alter egos became all the rage in dance music. Basically: if you’re in Toronto this Saturday there is only one destination.
And the awesome doesn’t stop with Pryda. Other heavy names featured at Identity include none other than Nero — currently number one on the bpm:tv Hot 20 Dance Chart with their single “Must Be The Feeling.” It’s a while since I’ve seen this UK duo perform, and I’m excited about how their sound has evolved. The latest album, Welcome Reality, has been a massive success, I’m looking forward to this set — not just to see the crowd’s reaction, but to hear their choice of remixes. Should be a performance to remember.
Then there’s Madeon and Le Castle Vania: Both young, both heavy electro — and both awesome. The 18-year-old Frenchman Madeon has built a rep in Europe as something of a prodigy, as been a favorite on BBC Radio 1 for quite a while now. The Atlanta-based Le Castle Vania, meanwhile, is part of the tide of fresh blood from North America blood sweeping across face of the EDM world. Both should be great sets, so be sure to check them out.
And then there’s Excision. Canada, stand up! The dubstep demon from Kelowna, BC will definitely be excited to play such a high-profile fest in his home country. And whenever you get a bass DJ hype to play for you … well, consider your pants soiled. Be prepared to get grimy.
So with all that said, I think it only fair that this week’s Sweets should showcase the artists performing at Identity. Enjoy!
Day 5 action on the RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest Electro Stage kicked off at 2 pm with a lineup that included Toronzo Cannon, Flight Distance, Lukas Nelson and Drastik (another Red Bull Thre3style finalist).
But it was local heroes A Tribe Called Red who really blew me away.
One of the benefits of a festival setting is the opportunity to discover an unknown act. Since hearing A Tribe Called Red perform live, I’ve become mildly obsessed, to the point of downloading their free album. For a taste of what these guys are like, CHECK OUT THEIR SOUNDCLOUD.
A Native Canadian trio, DJs Bear Witness, Shub and NDN are into “mixing pow wow with contemporary club sounds,” as their Web site describes it — but that understates their impact. Performance-wise, they juxtapose politically charged visuals of First Nations culture against remixes of Adele and UK bass drops. All in all, a bass-heavy set with some truly organ-shifting moments.
“The set felt good, though very different from a club gig where you have four hours to get it going,” they told me afterward. Still, the crowd clearly appreciated their hard work. “The applause at the end was overwhelming; I had Goosebumps on my arms.”
On the other Bluesfest stages that day, the acts included Orgone …
… Down with Webster for the shrieking pre-teen set (a suitably PG-13 set with no thrown underwear) …
.. and Seal — who, for all his MOR rep, delivered an impressive performance and remixed a lot of his hits (but, thankfully, stayed true to “Crazy”).
Day 5 Electro Stage closer Chromeo turned in the BEST set I’ve heard all week — one that will go down as one of the standout performances of this festival. Sunday’s crowd showed no signs of fatigue and “raved” harder than previous nights.
Dave 1 and P-Thugg were generous in their selection and full-on with their performance, even coming around from behind the decks a few times to join the party. “When The Night Falls” and “Heads Will Roll” were big favorites, but it was the extended full mix of Duck Sauce’s “Big Bad Wolf,” with accompanying visuals, that had everyone jumping and howling.
Toward the last half-hour, the set shifted gears into “Ball So Hard” and a steady hip-hop interlude featuring the likes of Kanye, DJ Khaled and Rick Ross. It all wrapped up stunningly and had the crowd begging for an encore — a sentiment clearly appreciated by the band — but once again the strictly enforced injunction against music after 11 pm left those hopes dashed.
More Bluesfest Electro Stage recaps still to come …
Toronto’s first two-day EDM festival, Digital Dreams was exactly that: a dream. The community that came together for this event was just awe-inspiring. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, more heart-pumping beats, and more enthusiastic fellow music lovers.
Anticipation for this event was high. For weeks beforehand, just looking into store windows and seeing the Digital Dreams poster brought euphoric goose bumps. The team behind the festival was nothing short of the best. And they couldn’t have chosen a better venue for this historic EDM event than Ontario Place, a famed local landmark that opened to the public more than 40 years ago.
I wish I could have morphed into three people with a single mind and been at all the stages, experiencing each and every artist’s set. Instead I found myself running from stage to stage, trying to experience a bit of everything.
Can I pinpoint one set that I favored? In all honesty, I can’t. Every artist on the bill brought something unique and extraordinary to their performance. Still, there are a few that keep replaying in my mind.
Saturday, walking towards the Dreams Stage, feeling your mind and body pulled forward by the sounds dancing through the air, getting closer and closer to where BT (a.k.a. Brian Wayne Transeau) was rocking the crowd. A veteran of the scene for more than two decades, he knows how to keep an audience moving and cheering.
After BT’s set, Montreal-born A-Trak stepped in and quickly had the crowd under full control. Local hero JELO not only dominated the crowd during his own day-one set on the Dreams Stage, but returned later to fill in for Afrojack, who couldn’t make it for the first day due to travel delays, and once again gave a stellar performance. Meanwhile, over on the sandy dance floor at the Echo Beach Stage Hed Kandi DJs Andy Warburton and Sarah Louise gave noteworthy sets.
Back on the main stage, rising star R3hab turned in a set that people would be buzzing about for days to come. It was mind-blowing to watch the young Dutch DJ interacting with the crowd, standing up on the decks, and sharing his extraordinary passion for the music. British veteran Steve Lawler rocked the stage as one knew he would, and was followed by the equally well-traveled Canadian stalwart Richie Hawtin. Throughout the day I’d been hearing people talk excitedly about Lawler and Hawtin, and the prodigious sets from these two elder statesmen more than justified the anticipation.
The second day was a continuation of the madness. Mother Nature continued to lavish us with perfect summer weather. The bodies slowly began flooding into Ontario Place, and by 4pm the stages were absolutely swarmed. Entranced by the beat and the bass, by the ecstatic atmosphere, I couldn’t help but feel proud looking around and seeing the community that EDM creates, the shared love for the music flows through everyone. It’s so admirable to see people coming together this way to be a part of musical history.
The artist schedule for the Dreams Stage on day two was thrown off quite a bit by Afrojack’s travel mishap. He finally arrived on Sunday to give his fans the set they were eagerly awaiting — and Live Nation generously offered those fans who’d bought a single day ticket for Saturday free entrance the next day to return and see Afrojack.
Thunder Bay native Sydney Blu rocked her performance, and reminded the audience several times during her set how proud she is to be from this country.
The one set from day two that really stands out in my memory has to be Dubfire on the Echo Beach Stage. He was so hypnotizing, his musical selection so spine-tingling, he kept the crowd in a trance throughout. I have to say, every time I’ve seen him live I have been impressed; that kind of consistency is rare.
This was a weekend I spent dreaming in digital. I can’t speak for the organizers, but in my eyes the festival was an absolute success: a primo experience for the fans and music-lovers — and judging by their comments on Twitter, for the artists too. Check out some samples:
The explosive popularity that EDM has acquired in the past couple years is beyond belief. But the spectre of commercialism hovers over it now, and I pray the genre doesn’t lose it’s magic. Here’s hoping that we can look forward to more festivals and events like this that offer an opportunity for new appreciation and shine a light on some of the artists that you won’t necessarily encounter on Z103 or MTV.
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Quietly — or rather, in point of fact, not so quietly — Provoke has been dropping some real bombs: in terms of tracks, events, and everything in between. Their latest release, which landed just a couple of weeks back, has more momentum than the LeBron in game five against the OKC Thunder.
The combination of Gabe Gallucciand Jed Harper on the track “Falcon” is hotter than anyone could have even expected. A minute of thumps get your pulse racing at 128. Then the keys. Strings interweaving — a slight echo, a touch of reverb, but a powerful, ringing presence. It’s the big-room feel Jed Harper is known for. And Gallucci steps in with the “air shartz,” as I like to call them, and the rest is just plain insane, mayn.
“Falcon” is big-room heavy duty all the way; add four stellar remixes from the likes of Kim Fai, Northend, Stranjah and yes, Jed Harper himself, and this release is an absolute must-have. While Stranjah’s remix takes things in a drum-and-bass direction, Kim Fai and Northend stick to that progressive template. But it’s Jed’s own remix that takes the cake here.
Sometimes you’ll get a release where the remixers try to do too much, aiming for wholesale renovation rather than a simple add-on or enhancement. Happily, this is not one of those times. Each of these artists takes what’s best about the original and adds a distinctive personal touch. You can hear their creative additions, but the track you love still shines through, intact. Maybe nothing to you, but this is something I greatly appreciated.
I couldn’t possibly wait for Friday’s” Sweets of the Week’” to share this one. DC and Hooks — better known as Zeds Dead — are back in the lab brewing up some remix shit. This time they’ve taken a personal favorite of mine, “The Fight Of My Life” from Colin Munroe and Lil Wayne arch-enemy Pusha T, and slathered it with grime sauce till it sizzles.
Right, I know I’m being corny as f*ck — but this track is massive. How massive? So massive I’m doing a post just for the f*cking two-minute preview. That’s how massive.
Tonight’s the night!Porter Robinson will drop the bomb on Toronto this evening at the Sound Academy, courtesy of Embrace Presents. To get you in the mood, and to wrap up our week-long spotlight on the North Carolina prodigy, we’re re-posting bpm:tv’s frontline report from his last TO appearance.
They say you never know the true quality of a producer until you see him live, a phrase I have lived by for the past five years. On Saturday, thanks to Embrace Presents, I finally had my opportunity to see Porter Robinson in the flesh. And I can say with 100 percent conviction that the boy did not disappoint.
It was a good vibe all around. The crowd showed up by the hundreds with plenty of enthusiasm. The line was incredibly long but — as with all shows at The Hoxton — it moved really well. And once you got in the scene was perfectly balanced: a blend of knowledgeable fans, there to catch a memorable performance, and the requisite contingent of gorgeous girls. The chant of “Porter, Porter” rang out before Mr. Robinson approached the tables. Once the young man reached the platform … BAM! A surge of excitement from the crowd, and then it started.
One thing was obvious from the get-go: this kid loves him some Wolfgang Gartner. Many times he used slight remixes or re-edits of Gartner tracks, feeding the crowd perfectly. It’s something I’ve been preaching for a while now: this new wave of American artists take pride in where they come from, and really want to establish their own sound. The set had a strong North American feel — and right now that really is the sound of quality.
Without going into details on each song — because if you weren’t there I wouldn’t do it justice — I’ll just say that it was a proud moment to see how Toronto turned up for Porter. I believe it was his first show in TO, and the city really welcomed him, with a crowd response that would have pleased some of the world’s top DJs.
The concert was so good it took me an extra day to write this report. True story! Just another absolute beast of a show courtesy of Embrace Presents.
Happy June! The warm weather’s here, and that means one thing: festival season. Hope you can get out to at least one of the summer’s big fests — but if not, just remember that bpm:tv is always here, 24-7, to fill all your dance music needs.
Oh, and here’s some good news. If you’re an MTS customer, you can enjoy bpm:tv in free preview until June 30. That’s a whole month of Grand Benders, the Hot 20 Dance Chart, Back @ Ya!, Pop Profiles, The Stafford Brothers and more, all free free free of charge.
During the free preview, you can find us on channel 30. Our regular channel listing is 312, and we’re part of the Music theme pack. Go to MTS.ca or phone 204-225-5687 (204-CALLMTS) to subscribe.
Don’t forget to visit bpmtv.com or our Facebook page for programming highlights and other updates.
The first-ever multi-day EDM festival in downtown Toronto, Digital Dreams will feature full sets by Kaskade, Afrojack, Duck Sauce, Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Steve Lawler, Alesso, Major Lazer, R3hab, and many more.
bpm:tv wants to send you and a friend to Digital Dreams! We’re giving away five pairs of tickets – plus, as a Grand Prize, one pair of VIP tickets! (Travel not included.) CLICK HERE to find out how to enter our Digital Dreams contest.
Contest closes Monday June 18, 2012.
CLICK HERE for more information on the Digital Dreams Music Festival.
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
