EDM Canada's Top 5 DJ Performances of the Year

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2012 has been a busy year for electronic dance music in Canada in general as the boom continues unabated. Here are EDM Canada's top 5 DJ performances of 2012, enjoy! 

Top 5 DJ Performances of the Year


5 - Nero (DJ Set): Identity Festival, Toronto July 2012

Any fan of Nero should see them live at least once in their life. To hear their hits in a live setting with a whole crowd also as into it as you were was a special experience. I can't wait to see them again in 2013 after their next album release.

Click here for my full review.

4 - Tiga: Sonar Festival, Toronto Nov 2012

Tiga was put on the secondary stage at the Sound Academy which turned out to be a room with a curtain separating itself from the main stage. The room was almost completely pitch dark except for the food bar at the side and the rotating pizza tray being 10 feet away from where Tiga was spinning. The room was so dark that you could barely see Tiga himself even if you were in the front row. To some my description above might be disconcerting but to me it brought back memories of a time when only the music mattered and what was truly important was your direct experience on the dance floor with the people around you. Tiga delivered a blistering set of unrelenting techno that had me moving for his entire set. He capped it off with just a bit of trap and Major Lazer's 'Get Free' which felt like the cherry on top of the cake.

Click here for my full review.

3 - Skrillex: Full Flex Tour/Bluesfest, Ottawa July 2012

I don't really have to describe my experience because someone in Ottawa was good enough to tape the entire thing in HD for your enjoyment:

The production value of the Skrillex mothership cannot be underestimated - it is incredible which added another layer to the whole Skrillex experience.

Click here for my full review.

2 - Markus Schulz: Stereo, Montreal June 2012

Markus Schulz performed one of his famous rabbit hole sets in Montreal this year at one of my favourite clubs, Stereo. Stereo usually doesn't invite Trance DJs to spin at their club as they usually cap Trance events to only 3-4 a year. With that in mind this event was sold out at least a month in advance so the anticipation for it was huge. Fortunately there was good reason to be excited as Markus Schulz played for 7 hours straight which delighted the Montreal crowd. It was a real mutual love fest at the Temple that night as the crowd chanted his name numerous times a throughout the set while Markus acknowledged it every time. After finishing off his epic set with 'Airwave' by Rank 1 he was good enough to give autographs and pose for pictures as if he didn't just spend 7 hours standing without taking a break. This was an unforgettable night.

Click here for my full review.

1 - Birdy Nam Nam: Mansion (OWSLA Tour), Ottawa November 2012

It's usually the events that you don't know what to expect that really blow you away. Birdy Nam Nam certainly did that and more that night in Ottawa. BNN was the first act from the OWSLA Tour to play which was not easy because the dance floor was virtually empty at the beginning of their set. There have been a few occasions this year where an empty dance floor would spell disaster for a DJ as it would assure a mediocre set for the rest of the night. But Birdy Nam Nam rose beyond all of that by transforming a hesitant crowd at first to one that had the entire dance floor dancing thanks primarily to the encouragement from DJ Pone. Seeing Birdy Nam Nam play in such an intimate setting really added to my enjoyment of the evening. I can't wait to see more from them in 2013.

Click here for my full review.

Sonar on Tour Review (Toronto, November 1st, 2012)

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The Sonar on Tour at the Sound Academy in Toronto has just finished and brought multiple DJs that you wouldn't normally get to see in North America together for one night to show off their style of music to Canadian fans. The lineup for Sonar was spectacular as it combined Die Antwoord, a rap duo that has generated significant buzz, with DJs that are currently enjoying much bigger success in Europe and may be looking at the Sonar Tour as a stepping stone to wider North American popularity. 

I arrived as Paul Kalkbrenner was deep into his set and the one thing you notice right away is the deep passion he exhibits for his music. The crowd was treated to his best hits as the German techno icon showed off tracks from his albums like 'Berlin Calling' and 'Icke Wider'.

Paul Kalkbrenner

Even though he managed to produce a good set I had hoped that he could have stayed to play for a little longer as the 1 hour time slot was not enough to see what this immensely popular artist can do. What hurt was the 30 minutes I had to wait for the stage crew to set up for Die Antwoord while pondering how many tracks Kalkbrenner could have played in that time. Fans of Die Antwoord had to wait in silence before the South African viral sensation were to take the stage.

Judging from the random chatter heard while waiting in line I would estimate that at least 20% of the attendees were there only to see Die Antwoord. The duo has garnered significant buzz from recent public spats against Lady Gaga and for their crazy music videos. Thankfully Die Antwoord were able to live up to the hype by delivering a blistering performance that brought all of their unique dance moves and massive energy to life on the Sound Academy stage. The crowd ate it all up as they turned an entire section of the dance floor into a mosh pit shove fest.

Die Antwoord

The front row received special treatment as Ninja was giving away a ton of high fives, Yolandi spat water on others, and one fan even managed to slap Yolandi's butt as requested. All of their hits were played to their adoring fans while it was their latest tracks 'Fatty Boom Boom' and 'I fink U Freeky' generated the largest crowd reactions. After 45 minutes it was time to head back to the other room to catch the enigmatic yet highly interesting Gesaffelstein.

Gesaffelstein was an artist on a mission to show off his significant mixing skills. Like Paul Kalkbrenner, Gesaffelstein was very much in his own world and grooving to his own beat as he artfully manipulated any track any way that suited his mood at any particular time. The Frenchman is a master mixer which was fun to witness but hard to dance to as he couldn't leave a single track alone. While playing 'Viol' Gesaffelstein must have changed the BPMs on it at least 3 times from a very fast tempo to slowed down all the way to something that resembles a Trap beat. To do something like this in the same track and make it work is certainly impressive but you'll be hard pressed to dance to it.

Gesaffelstein - The second room was incredibly dark with only the lights from the CDJ's coming through to make the DJ visible. Skream would have been proud.

I liken Gesaffelstein to a young Roger Federer who had too many shot options in any given situation in his youth who had to eventually edit himself before he became a Grand Slam winner. Gesaffelstein is a master tinkerer behind the decks and brought Toronto fans a fantastic show that managed to showcase his immense talent. I just wished that I could have danced a little more.

Azari & III

After taking a breather to sit down and watch Azari & III perform on the main stage I came back to the second stage to catch the rest of Tiga's set. Tiga is a straight up DJ that let the music do the talking. There was no jumping around hijinx behind the decks, no Jesus posing, and no commands on the crowd to 'make some noise!'- instead he let the music speak for him and the music spoke volumes. He played a peak time style performance with a clear sense of flow and build that made you feel that he was taking you someplace good. The last ten minutes he surprised the crowd with some Trap music worthy of a Flosstradamus set and ended with Major Lazer's 'Get Free ft. Amber of the Dirty Projectors'. Best set of the night.

Seth Troxler finished the night off in the main room infront of the few hundred faithful fans that had stayed to see what the Berlin transplant had up his sleeves. The look and feel to the stage was quite different than the previous acts as there were no spotlights focused on the DJ while a giant video screen provided a visual escape in hue's of blue and red.

Seth Troxler

Seth Troxler wasted no time in bringing the crowd into his world as he overlaid vocal samples from the Gorillaz and Depeche Mode with tech house beats. Hearing him for the first time on a booming sound system and not on the Internet via Be-At.TV was a real personal treat. Unfortunately for everyone the party stopped at around 3 am even though it looked like Seth Troxler was more than ready to continue on down his musical rabbit hole. Nonetheless, Seth Troxler made a definite impression and I cannot wait to see him again for a longer set.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Sonar on Tour prior to the event, but after witnessing the diverse styles and clear passion in all of the performers I can say that I was delighted to have seen the inaugural North American tour first hand and I'm looking forward to see who they bring next year.

Set Times for 'Sonar on Tour' tonight in Toronto

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Set times courtesy of Embrace Presents:

Main Room:
 8pm – Nitin
 9:30pm – Paul Kalkbrenner
 11pm – DIE ANTWOORD
 12:30am – AZARI & III
 2am – Seth Troxler

 Room 2:
 8pm – Meech
 10pm – Nic Fanciulli
 11:30pm – GESAFFELSTEIN
 1am - Tiga

This is going to be a very fun event to attend. If you are around the Toronto area tonight then you shouldn't miss this one.

'Sonar North American tour' includes 8 tour stops (including Toronto, Montreal)

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The international festival from Spain called 'Sonar' will be taking their musical concept on the road to North America starting on October 31st. What is Sonar exactly?

Sónar is the International Festival of Advanced Music and Mew Media Art created in 1994, which is held in Barcelona for three days every June.
...At all its events, Sónar sounds out the current landscape of electronic music and its interactions and hybridization with other artistic disciplines, bringing together established artists and the emerging talent that renews and innovates in all areas of musical and audiovisual creation....​

They have previously taken their festival on the road to Tokyo, Cape Town, and Sao Paulo but this upcoming tour is more ambitious as they will travel to 8 stops in North America including Toronto, and Montreal. The lineup phenomenal as it includes Die Antwoord,  Azari & III, Seth Troxler, Paul Kalkbrenner, Tiga, Gesaffelstein and Nic Fanciulli. Here's the promo video: 

I'm really impressed with the video, top notch. I've always wanted to see to see Die Antwoord play live so to get to see them as well as the opportunity to watch some major EDM talent such as Seth Troxler, Nic Fanciulli, and Gesaffelstein is almost too good to be true. I have a strong feeling that both of these Canadian dates will sell out - tickets go on sale September 14th. ​