album1 of many… San Holo's Toronto Concert Review

By Sinejan Ozaydemir 

Toronto fans had the pleasure of escaping the cold to enjoy an evening with San Holo and friends on his 'Album 1’ tour this past Wednesday at The Danforth Music Hall. The evening started with three acts: Eastghost, Taska Black and BAYNK, each bringing their own unique energy to DMH. What was most interesting, however, was the serious shift in energy from the moment San Holo took the stage. It wasn’t your classic uproar that you commonly expect from the crowd welcoming a headliner, it felt more like a huge shift in energy and attention, almost like re-awakening that was extremely welcoming and free. Within minutes, we would find out why and how this happened. 

If you are a fan of San Holo’s music, you will know that he loves to combine organic sounds/live instrumentals as well as the electronic elements to create his dreamy soundscapes. 'album1' is a great example of his innovative sound that clearly stands out within the electronic music world today. In my opinion, the Album 1 tour echoed this theme and showcased his signature sound very well. 

There were many elements that made this show successful and memorable. The main one being San himself. Anyone who has been able to witness him on this tour thus far, can easily agree with the fact that the energy he brings to the stage is not like any other. The room was in a bit of a meditative/trance-like state from the moment he started performing and later, after the show was over, and I was able to review what just happened and snap out of my own trance, I was able to understand that it was mainly due to his energy. 

His genuine personality, which has made his fans fall in love with him and his music, easily comes across while watching him on stage. Given the same setup and songs, I don’t think that another musician could have been able to replicate such a performance. He was not just "in the moment" in the sense of seeing how the crowd reacts and having the typical back and forth that happens between an artist and audience. The fact that he is the person who knows the ins and outs because he has worked so hard and put so much energy into creating the music is one thing.  Seeing him experience the music so deeply and feeling like he was genuinely inviting us to be in that moment with him was a different and refreshing feeling.  

Even though the room was full of people, because of this feeling, his planned and rehearsed set seemed almost like it wasn’t planned or perfected at all. It actually felt very organic, as if we were almost getting an exclusive sneak-peek of San prepping for this tour. Everyone was in their own world, having a one-on-one experience with San-you could tell by the smiles on their faces! 

His 1.5-hour set was full of highs and lows that were impactful, while the transitions between songs were fluid. It felt like we were almost following a storyline from start to finish, but it was overall quite mellow and enjoyable and it really kept us in the moment. The crowd grooved along with him as he played guitar live, singing melodic lines in his songs, jumping and dancing to the explosive drops, erupting in spontaneous clapping and chanting the lyrics. San didn’t stop moving for a moment, he was expressive on the guitar and the mic, the quick changes to and from the live instruments and the electronic control instruments were well executed. 

We were able to hear a great mix of hits and tracks from 'Album 1'. It all seemed to fit in very cohesively, which reminds us that he really has established a clear revolutionary sound of his own within the electronic music community. The combination of the cinematic sounds and other elements such as lyrics that resemble catchy pop hooks really captivate his audience. His fans seem to be a growing niche of individuals who welcome a more complex new sound in electronic music that’s building a bridge between many other genres. 

All of these vibes were accompanied by an awesome light show and great visuals, which many electronic music fans are very used to. I think his team did a great job at utilizing the stage at Danforth Music Hall and incorporating various elements without making it seem like the main attraction and allowing the live and musical elements to shine. 

Judging by their reactions, his fans would definitely want to see him perform again in Toronto and look forward to seeing bigger and more from him in the future. He made what could have been a very standard, dry performance that was super laid out and planned, into something that was individual and unique: definitely something you had to be there for to truly understand- which I think is a true sign of a great live performance. Looks like this is Album 1 of many to tour for San Holo. 

EDM Canada sits down with Juno Award winning DJ and Producer Nick Fiorucci to talk about his award winning track 'Closer', his experiences in the forever evolving music industry, and more!

By Sinejan Ozaydemir 

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down to talk to Nick Fiorucci, the JUNO award winning DJ/producer and veteran from Toronto about his many years in the industry, his love of Canada and Canadian music and his latest win at the Juno awards! Here’s what he had to say:

First of all, Congratulations on your Juno Award win! You mentioned you were surprised to win, even after having so many nominations. How do you feel about it?  

Nick Fiorucci (N): You never really expect it, you know, in my head I had written off winning because I was in really great company with the other nominees this year. I was just happy to be going to lovely Vancouver and enjoy the events and being nominated is an honour in itself. And then when my name was called... I was like, oh wow, really?  I was totally caught off guard to be honest. But it feels good and it’s an honour to be recognized by your peers.

What do you think it was about the track “Closer” that makes people want to listen and dance and that made it stand out and earn you the nomination?

N: I think it’s a damn good song (lol)! I think it has a great lyric and a great melody and Laurell’s vocals on the track are fantastic. And I think it just clicked with the right sound and it obviously resonated with the judges and the voters.

You said how it was extra special to win in Vancouver because the co-writers of Closer are from Vancouver, did you work on it there or here in Toronto? How did the track come together?

N: So the way it went down is that I had an instrumental and sent it to Mike James who is one of the co-writers along with Laurell who did a top-line and when they sent it back I was like...yeah…this works! And then the Luca Debonaire mix was born and it all came together.

You’ve been nominated for a Juno 13 times? 

N: Yeah, I’ve sorta lost count (chuckles).   The nominations were not always under my own name as I’ve had many aliases and side projects throughout my career and my record label. 

What do you like most about being around Canadian artists at an event like the JUNOS? 

N: I love it! I am proud to be Canadian! Like I said, I was just happy to be going to BC and I love to meet other artists and I always support our own. I have always pushed Canadian, even when I am DJ'ing internationally.

Were there any special moments or performances throughout the week that left you feeling inspired? 

N: Yes, many in fact. The Warner Music party for one, they have always been about featuring live talent and I loved that night and the performances were awesome. It was amazing to see artists just jamming and improvising on stage. Then of course the Juno night…Jessie Reyez was a highlight for me. I think her performance was spot on. Seeing live shows are always inspiring for me. 

You seem to have done it all over the last 25+ years, From DJ'ing, to Producing, to Hi-Bias, to zipDJ, to radio shows and podcasts, signing new acts, doing promotion and marketing and more. 

Which of the things have brought you the most joy? 

N: In this industry, I think wearing all those hats is what has helped me thrive and remain in the game for as long as I have.  I think in any industry, you have to be able to shift with the times and whenever possible stay ahead of the curve. The music industry has changed so fundamentally in the last 15 years, it’s been both terrifying and exhilarating. But, for me what has brought me the most joy is definitely making music, I find an inner peace when I sit in the studio and my creative juices start flowing.

Would you say that this scenario is common for most artists? 

N: I think in today’s music industry the expectations are impossible to meet.  Over my career, I’ve been able to write music, while playing gigs, while running my label.   But in today’s digital era, artists need to be releasing a lot of music to stay relevant.  Most of the time it’s humanly impossible, so fortunately or unfortunately – depending on how you look at it - ghost writers and producers have become common.     The ones that are successful are the ones that keep at it, and surround themselves with a good team. Work hard, surround yourself with good people.

Is there something that you haven’t done that you want to do in the music business? As far as a role you haven’t yet taken on or as far as backing a certain type or artist? 

N: I have always been done A&R for my own label. But that is one role that I have always thought of doing for a major label.  I think I have the ability to not just discover talent, but also work with the artists, develop them, so that they find their own sound and let who they are come out in their music.  But wow, there are so many other things I’d like to conquer. I mean my podcast that has done really well, its hit #1 on iTunes in the UK and US, I would love to see that become an internationally syndicated radio show.

With regards to electronic music specifically, is there a sound right now that you are really into that you put into your sets? 

N: For me, I have always been a house music guy, through and through. I have seen a million break out sub-genres but at the end of the day, house is house and dance is dance and that what I love to play most. You can call it what you want, whether it is tech-house, future house, or deep house. But at the end of the day for me, it is all about the song, the melody, the groove. I like to play a lot of vocals and even though hip-hop is what is mostly top 40 these days house music never really goes away. You know, they say House originated in Chicago in the early 80’s but it has actually evolved from Disco and the 70s.  Nowadays many producers just sample records from the 70’s and 80’s. Sadly not many people in dance music are writing real songs. 

For an up an upcoming artist, what advice would you give them on how to stand out? 

N: Do what is naturally your thing. Don’t try to jump on someone else’s sound.  Artists need to have their your own signature sound. Of course, we all get influenced by other music and artists that came before us but the artists that shine are usually the most original.

What was your biggest challenge when you started out in Canada? 

N: Sad to say, Canada was always one of the hardest markets for me. I discovered that really early in my career. The way I started the label was really by fluke. At the time I was making some music and it was my early days of not knowing what I was doing like any artist. And I was trying to put songs together and get a record done. I shopped it to labels, and at the time you would mail a cassette demo and you would hope to hear back. If you were lucky you would get a letter back saying they are interested. But it was at that time, I decided, I am going to find out what it takes to put out a record myself. So I ended up starting a Label purely as an avenue to put out my own music. By some kind of luck and hard work, it kind of took off. I started by selling at local shops then getting international distributors. The UK, for example, was a huge market for Dance music at the time.  I started by getting a thousand vinyl records made, and they would come in and then I would say now what? 

So I would hang out at record shops and look at the sides of the boxes and it would say “Distributed by so and so” and I would call up that Distributor and they would say sure send us the record and I would mail the copy and then you hoped to hear back. And luckily orders started rolling in. The next thing you know I am getting demos from artist and producers from all over the world. That’s virtually how Hi-Bias Records was born.

Would you recommend that artists start their own labels too instead of finding someone to discover them? 

N: Times have changed.  Today you go to a digital aggregator and they upload your record and it is available on every platform just like that. For me I had to very work to get physical product distributed so it was very different. There are a fraction of the labels today compared to 15 years ago.  The challenge for artists today is to get their music to stand out, and that’s why I was saying they need to find their own signature sound. But I do believe good Labels play an important role and it ain’t easy to do it on your own. 

Having the podcast and radio show, how do you feel those avenues make or break artists these days? 

N: Every avenue counts. In the case of my podcast, I started zipCAST out of the love of spinning and introducing new music which comes primarily from my online music pool zipDJ.com. Having a

Podcast has helped me build my brand and followers.

Looking back, do you have a moment where you can say: “That was the best set I have ever played!”? 

N: I think the year was 1995, Ministry of Sound in the UK.  Early 90’s Dance music in the UK was on another level in general, and spinning a club like Ministry of Sound was certainly a highlight for me. It was such a great room with a fantastic sound system. There were also some raves back in those days that were astonishing. One was called Raindance, which was held in an outdoor field with thousands of people and an amazing sound system and even an amusement park…people going crazy. This was the start of what we now call EDM “Festivals”. And of course, I have done so many gigs throughout the world that I can’t remember all the club names but Switzerland was a big market for me as well and I remember doing some great gigs there.

Where can people find you and come dance? 

N: In Toronto I am currently doing a residency at a cool place called Goldie on King West right at the heart of the entertainment district. I am there on Saturday nights. It’s wonderful intimate room! Of course I do other gigs which you can always find more out about on my social media channels :)

I think we all want to know what is next for you. Where is your focus right now? Any new releases coming up or the newest things you have been working on that we can share with your fans? 

N: I always have new music coming. There is a lot in the pipeline! I will be launching a new brand shortly called “All House” and I encourage everyone to follow me on Spotify and even check out my new Spotify playlist called Nick Fiorucci zipCAST which is a spinoff of my radio show. But again, you can always find out what I’m up to me on any of my channels

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Thank you to Nick Fiorucci for taking the time to chat with us here at EDM Canada. You can find what’s new with Nick on all his socials below and can see him live during an intimate Purple Disco Machine show in Toronto next week Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at Goldie nightclub!

Get your tickets here

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3YPMYCdGVCZz2xLDUbR3TY
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nickfiorucci
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/nick.fiorucci
Instagram: http://instagram.com/nickfiorucci
Website: http://nickfiorucci.com

Why we're all chanting "EDX!" in the dark - NOIR event review inside Rebel (18/11/2017)

The 1 year anniversary/birthday celebration of Rebel Toronto was under way as EDX took to the stage inside the NOIR room. EDX’s dedicated fans enjoyed the lavish yet intimate set up in the NOIR room, which was subtly lit red by a gorgeous central chandelier in the center of the room.

The room was filled with many enthusiastic EDX fans as they danced and clapped along with EDX throughout his set. Spontaneously screaming and chanting “EDX! EDX!” from time to time. 

The transitions were very smooth as the experienced DJ read the room. The set was filled with steady house beats with a few lyrical tracks thrown in just at the right times. Out of the lyrical tracks, his tracks like “We can’t give up” and “Voyage” were of the many well known and well received.

He really knew how to use the element of suspense in the tracks chosen to keep the crowd in anticipation. A great example of this was when he transitioned in and out of “Trailblazer” by Nora En Pure. The crowd was really tuned in with anticipation, almost saying “I don’t know what’s coming next but I’m ready and excited!” Heavy bass remixes of hits like “Selfish” by Fixon (Keith Carnal Remix) kept the crowd in the moment as they were all very friendly with eachother, dancing in and out of different groups. He himself also kept dancing, excitedly clapping and doing spins in the booth as well as reaching his hands out towards the crowd.

His simple but geometrically designed visuals which featured “EDX” and “NO XCUSES” were the focal point in the room, giving everyone a reason to get a closer look and also get a little closer to party with the man himself. The people who ventured up to the front of the room were able to interact with him, take a few pictures and bask in the happy vibes up at the booth.

The room was filled with dancing fans all the way till the end of his set where he finished off strong with “Lefty” by Monstergetdown.

With such a great vibe in the room, it felt like we were all invited to an intimate house party at EDX’s house and there really were NO XCUSES to not enjoy the night with EDX. 

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Written by Sinejan Ozaydemir, follow her on Twitter or Instagram.