Miss Raquel's Month in Review!

Join the electronica Facebook Fan Page.



Chus & Ceballos



DBR Recordings Launch - Our House, Toronto
During a beautiful snowy night in January the launch of DBR Recordings took place at a cozy venue on Ossington Avenue in Toronto called Our House. DBR is the sister label to PBR Recordings headed by "The Voice of The Underground" MC Flipside and label manager Chris Vench.

You'll be able to catch all the action on an upcoming episode on the Scenester Channel where I had the honour of interviewing the likes of Robb G, Hatiras, MC Flipside, Chris Vench, Jeff Mason and Nick Cenik.

DBR Recordings will bring a deeper, tech-influenced flavour to dancefloors, DJs and punters alike. With a finely crafted vision, Flipside and Chris Vench visualize a tech-influenced sound inspired by the jacking and bumpy roots of house music. Already armed with an impressive array of releases, DBR is ready to make an entrance into the electronic world.

bpm Festival - Various Venues, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

This year's bpm Festival held 10 events with a line-up consisting of the best of exponents of electronica music from around the world.

It's estimated approximately 25,000 were in attendance at more than 50 parties which took place during the day and evening. Some of the names heard and danced to were Richie Hawtin, Damian Lazarus, Marco Carola, Loco Dice, Steve Angello, and more.

This is one of the many EMD events you should attend; at this one you can wear a bathing suit every day.

Chus & Ceballos - This Is London, Toronto
Chus & Ceballos (C & C) was held at Toronto's This is London (TIL) presented by Adnan Media who has been a promoter within in the scene long enough to know what makes a good event.

The music was awesome, but the common dancefloor confession was it lacked the magic C & C usually cascades onto their masses. The reason is simple: although TIL is a great venue it wasn't the right fit for C & C; they require a larger, spaced-out venue.

We had bottle service which cost a whopping $1000 -- yes, you read that right. And there was no barrier to our booth, or any booth for that matter. I've had bottle service at many clubs and I have to say this one was the worst because my crew constantly had to watch to see if anyone was sneaking into our area trying to steal a drink! One a good note our hostess was the best; attentive, right there to fill up mix, water, ice and bottles.

TIL is the type of venue to splurge and get bottle service especially for such an event as C & C.

I worked out so much dancing and going up the long flights of stairs to the washroom its no wonder girls sit and chill within the lovely white lounge area in the washroom. There was a hair straightener available to use for only $2 for two minutes!

I will say C & C are a must see. I simply love them and go whenever they come.

UPCOMING EVENT
Houseaddict presents: Jimpster
Saturday February 28 at Footwork Bar & Afterhours, Toronto
4-hour extended set!
Alongside Dirty Dale, Arsenault and irGO

Poppycock
Read my Poppycock blog on GayGuideToronto.com were I rant and rave all about the club scene and industry as a whole.

SEE YOU ON THE DANCEFLOOR!

-Miss Raquel

Keep in touch with Miss Raquel on Facebook and Twitter.

Miss Raquel's Month in Review!

Vitalic - Birds

Miss Raquel December Month in Review

Join the “electronica” Facebook Fan Page

Happy New Year to you - and thanks again for reading yet another year of me blabbering on about the electronic music happenings here in Toronto and Canada. And thanks for watching electronica this past year. Remember if you have videos and/or events, please hit me up at info@scenestermagazine.com.

We’ve kicked 2010 out the door and let in 2011. As far as music is concerned I have to say 2010 was a good one, with tech-house as the dominant force. We heard less minimal and more house and deep house than in 2009. There have been risks taken in rhythms, vocals and basslines, and deepness. 2010 was the year for all that was deep-sounding.

Creativity and boundaries were pushed with videos from such artists as:

* Vitalic - Birds (my pick of 2010)

* The Bloody Beetroots ft. Steve Aoki - Warp 1.9

* Paul Kwitek - Katun

* Goldfrapp - Rocket

* Jamiroquai - White Knuckle Ride

Some standout tracks were:

Pendulum – The Island (Steve Angello, AN21, Max Vangeli Remix) – Size Records

Cari Golden/Pan-Pot – Captain My Captain (Original Mix) – Mobilee Records

Lee Burridge, Matt Dekay – Wongel (Original Mix) – Cecille

Pfirtr– The Dub Track (Len Faki Remix) – Figure

John Tejada – Sweat (On The Walls) (Martin Landsky Remix) – Poker Flat Recordings

Funk D’Void – Flealife (Christian Smith Remix) – Outpost Recordings

AFMB – Backup Days (Original Mix) – Drumpoet Community

And this is to only name a few,as there was a lot of goodness in 2010.

The only downfall to this past year was the influx of DJs coming out of the woodwork thinking their snizzle is the sizzle. For this I have the perfect the blog to read from The Lowler Agency in L.A. You can find the link at the bottom of this review.

What I saw this past year musically was of course the usual club politics, which I feel year after year always hurts the EMDS. We need to step back for 2011, dig into our musical crates and pull out P.L.U.R.: Peace, Love, Unity, Respect.

Photo: houseplant.dj

DJ Dan - Footwork Bar & Afterhours, Toronto, ON

On this night Robb G (one of my favourite crazy deck ducks) opened. Then Jelo (a sheer deckician) and DJ Dan tore it up!

I can't say any more than this was a dirty filthy good mess!

Make it Funky 5-Year - Revival, Toronto, ON

This was a great Make it Funky (MIF) 5-year anniversary.

Musical selectas were QBERT, who laid down a 2.5-hour set, Big League Chu, Mikey D, Farbsie, Thunder, Lady Linsee, Sunpredictable, Travis Robinson, Dave Saddler, Zirca, ill Gates, Dave Dub, Red Turtle, Dirtyred and Robb G.

It’s great to see a crew such as MIF putting on events as solid as this for the past five years.

Too bad there’s haters on a particular message board slamming Jay and Farbs (MIF) for reviewing their own event, which to me was more of a huge thank-you to those who came, saw and have been solid attendees throughout the years. What ever happened to P.L.U.R.?

Avicii and Glenn Morrison NOT at 99 Sudbury, Toronto, ON

I believe greed reared its ugly head for the So, We Dance? New Year's Eve bash with Swedish DJ Avicii and Glenn Morrison at Toronto's 99 Sudbury (a restored glass factory), which police shut down before the countdown due to safety issues outside the venue.

According to the Toronto Star, only 300 of the 1,500 people with tickets made it into the venue when DJ sets by Avicii and Glenn Morrison were cancelled around 11:30 pm, said Jennifer Love, a spokesperson for the organizers of the event.

Love said according to The Star the special events venue at 99 Sudbury St. can accommodate 1,500 people and the event was cancelled because people without tickets showed up and tried to force their way in. My sources said the majority of people in line had bought advance tickets and weren’t allowed in, and this is what caused the mad New Year’s mob.

According to Toronto's 14 Division, which showed up on the scene with at least 20 officers, the organizers could be at fault.

Avicii said there were lots of people waiting outside when he arrived at the venue around 10:30 pm. “I felt very bad. I was really excited to play, but they did not let me,” he said. "It's horrible, horrible. I hate not playing for people."

What happened to P.L.U.R.?

For 2011 I feel we need to step up and remember that the music is the reason we love being in the EMDS, and to kick greed, hate and entitlement to the curb.

UPCOMING EVENT

Join me for one of my favourite DJs Chus & Ceballos – This is London – Friday January 21.

Presented by Adnan Media with residents DJs Manzone & Strong.

Celebrating This is London’s SOHO Anniversary Party Friday January 21 at This is London, Toronto, ON.

I’ll be there, so if you see me come please say “Hi.” I’ll be in the bottle service booth beside the DJ booth.

For list and information contact Adnan at (416) 274-2753.

Here’s the blog I mentioned at the top of my review, Writing a Cover Letter and Submitting a Press Kit By David Lowry.

SEE YOU ON THE DANCEFLOOR!

- Miss Raquel

Keep in touch with Miss Raquel on Facebook and Twitter.

Don't miss electronica: every Saturday @ 8 pm ET.