hey there,
Well, as I was saying last week, this city is wonderfully, crazily full
of brilliant gigs to attend and chock full of local talent as well! On
that note, reminders of Jazzanova in town at Fez Batik tomorrow night,
Osunlade in tomorrow at Una Mas, Ron Trent in for a full RNB-hosted eve
at the Sunnyside Pavilion on Sunday and loads more. You can always check
my Beats Per Week column in Eye magazine for as many T.O. club listings
as we can fit on one page! http://www.eye.net then head to the Beat
section.
And on the topic of both local talent and Eye weekly, check the results
of Eye's first annual DJ poll to see who people in the local
scene/industry have voted as 'the best' in a pile of different
categories. Really exciting to see names in there which I hadn't
previously heard, and to know that the poll only scratches the surface
of the pool of creative DJ's and music lovers out there, sharing their
vibes 'round town. Props and congrats to Kenny Glasgow who deservedly
won the top DJ honours. Thanks to all of you who voted me 'Best
Downtempo/Lounge DJ' and for making me a runner up in categories such as
'Most Trend-Setting/Innovative,' 'Most Soothing Sets,' and 'Most
Politically Active.' For the full results of the poll, check here:
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_06.28.01/thebeat/survey.html
Alrighty, let's get on to the goods then, shall we? Below is info on
recent and upcoming Mental Chatter radio programming, writing stuff, and
gigs galore. Look out for giveaways to tonight's Decks 'n Divas Downtown
Jazz Festival event, starring Nicole Willis + Jimi Tenor.
RADIO:
Mental Chatter airs Mondays from 11am-2pm EST on Toronto's CKLN 88.1fm.
Tune in live via your radios or 'puters for super-fresh releases
(including advance goodies), local and international guests,
community/gig info galore, and loads more.
Online Archives: listen any time you like http://www.beats.to Audio
Archives section. **These archives will be updated to included June 11,
18 and 25 shows asap. It's been crazy lately, so do forgive! They're all
worth a listen so please check the archives over the weekend and beyond.
**
Playlists: http://ckln.sac.ryerson.ca/html/chart/logdb/pl_3.html
Recent Guests have included:
~ May 28: Herbert
~ May 28: Triplet & Martino (Gemma Records)
~ June 11: Lex from Legion of Green Men + Watershell
~ June 11: Nick Holder
~ June 18: Anna C. of Supporting Our Youth, DJ Wasabi, and DJ James
St. Bass in this Pride Week special.
Recent Picks of the Week have included:
- June 25: New Sector Movement's Download This (Main
Squeeze/People/Virgin) Oh my goodness! I expected good to great from
I.G. Culture and crew, but this album is nothing short of phenomenal.
"The Sun" lead-off single only scratches the surface of this beautiful,
moving and incredibly soulful full-length. There's been no doubt that
I.G. is an innovator, but this album places he and his crew of Kaidi
Tatham, Julie Dexter, Bembe Segue and others in a category all their
own. Absolute Top 10 of the year material! The album is being released
in the U.K. in early July. Hold tight for a Canadian release date via
Virgin. http://the-raft.com/nsm.html for more info.
- June 18: V/A: Abstract Afro Lounge III, the fine folks at Nite Grooves
come absolutely correct with this incredible collection of African
inspired gems. Percussion and rhythms are right up front, and the mix of
sounds is stellar. With a list of contributors including Anthony
Nicholson, Kerri Chandler, Blaze, DJ Spinna, Ananda Project, Grupo
Batuque and others, how could it be otherwise? www.kingstreetsounds.com
- June 11: Micatone's Nine Songs (No Zession/Sonar Kollektiv), a sweet
collection of modern day jazz as big band boogaloo meets bossa,
breakbeats, and string quartets, naturally morphing into a free-floating
sound all Micatone’s own. This four-piece band creates from the ground
up, all the way live, and with the vocals of Lisa Bassenge sliding
sweetly over doublebass, crisp drums, rich keys and more, it's something
special. Much niceness indeed. www.sonarkollektiv.de
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WRITING:
Recently featured in my Eye weekly Extended Play column:
~ June 28: Jazzanova's Claas Brieler and Alex Barck are in at Fez Batik
tomorrow eve, DJ'ing a lengthy set as part of the Downtown Jazz Fest's
Nightlife series. A new EP and debut full-length are in the works.
Here's the scoop:
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_06.28.01/thebeat/extended.html
~ June 21: Baltimore's Fertile Ground have been capturing many minds and
hearts around the globe of late. Here's a peak into the word of this
beautiful soul-jazz band, in town this past Wed. for a Jazz Fest gig.
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_06.21.01/thebeat/extended.html
~ June 14: I was lucky enough to catch up with super-busy producer,
remixer, DJ, label-owner and Body & Soul resident François K.
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_06.14.01/thebeat/extended.html
Also, a reminder to check the June issue of Exclaim mag before it makes
way for the July ish, on the streets and on the web immanently.
Bits that I contributed to the June issue, include this piece on
Herbert: http://www.exclaim.ca/common/display.php3?articleid=677
as well as a lengthy review of Riz Maslen aka Neotropic's latest
soundtrack and film creation, La Prochaine Fois, out now via N-Tone.
Read about it here: http://reviews.exclaim.ca/search-results.php3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLUB GIGS:
glide Wednesdays with DJ's Denise Benson + Andrew Allsgood
weekly at Gypsy Co-op ~ 817 Queen St. West ~ 416.703.5069
lounge. dance. chill. do what'cha like. no cover. just great music.
Andrew and I can be found in the main Gypsy lounge, each 'n every
Wednesday, bringing the musical goods straight from our hearts to yours.
No cover. No attitude. No worries. Just great music and great music. See
ya there!
plus.....tonight!!
Decks 'n Divas ~ starring Nicole Willis + Jimi Tenor
plus Nicky Lawrence with Mr. Kicks + Denise Benson
Friday June 29 at Una Mas, 422 Adelaide Street West
$15 at the door ~ doors open 9pm ~ performances from 11pm
Info: 416.703.4862 or mentalchatter@sympatico.ca
tommygrl productions teams up with the Downtown Jazz Festival for this
Toronto debut by New York born soul vocalist Nicole Willis and quirky
Finnish saxman Jimi Tenor. The unlikely couple and frequent musical
collaborators share very different backgrounds. Nicole fronted NYC acid
jazz band Repercussions for six years, and sang with the likes of Curtis
Mayfield, Leftfield, and Deee-Lite. Jimi has released numerous
mind-altering albums for labels such as Warp, cleverly combining jazz,
funk, soul, house and techno into a sound all his own. Together with
deep house innovator Maurice Fulton, the pair produced Nicole's debut
solo album Soul Makeover, a unique meeting of old school r&b and
jazzified house which The Face magazine called "the best soul album of
the year." Now calling Barcelona home, the duo come into town for a
full-on live show featuring their seven member band, specially assembled
for their date here and two dates at the Montreal Jazz Festival. This is
an absolute once-in-a-lifetime type of show!
** I have two pairs of tickets for the first two people to write me
requesting them. I'll write you back if you're one of the two! **
and....
Kruder & Dorfmeister ~ with visuals by Vienna's Fritz Fitzke
plus Abacus + Felix & Gani + Lex + Denise Benson + many more!!
Friday July 6 at Kool Haus ~ 1 Jarvis Street
$30 in advance ~ tickets all over the city
Info: 416.202.8839 or www.milkevents.com
This is gonna be a huge one. AlieninFlux, milk. and Kool Haus (formerly
known as the Warehouse) are teaming up to bring Vienna's G-Stone masters
Kruder & Dorfmeister back to town! Their gig a coupla years back at Roxy
Blu sold out quickly (and was one of the most fun moments I've ever had
dancing in this city), so advance tickets are recommended. The sounds
that K&D provide will be accompanied by visuals courtesy of their friend
and multi-media collaborator Fritz Fitzke. Also DJ'ing/performing in
Kool Haus as well as the satellite Orange Room are Legion of Green Men's
Lex, da Escola de Samba de Toronto, Abacus, Felix & Gani, DJ Shine,
Sourfly, Freedom, Jarkko and myself. Advance tickets are on sale now for
$30, at Uncle Otis, Metropolis, Rotate This, Play de Record, Vice,
Mothership, Soundscapes, and others.
~ Friday July 13: I'm very happy to be guesting alongside Dino & Terry
at their 'Heart & Soul' weekly at Aria, 457 Richmond Street W. This
night of soulful and funky house music is hosted by Gigi and crew, and
boasts a very mixed crowd, positive vibes and boom sound. What more
could a music lover ask for?
There's much more to come so do stay tuned. Thanks, as always, to ya'll
for reading this. Have great days 'n nights and take good care
'specially in this heat.
If you would prefer not to be on this mailing list, just lemme know and
off your name shall go! Thanks!
-db-
-- -denise benson-Radio & Club DJ: 'Mental Chatter' • Mondays 11am-2pm, CKLN 88.1FM (Toronto) (playlists & live RealAudio: http://ckln.sac.ryerson.ca Archives: http://www.beats.to) 'Glide' • Wednesdays @ Gypsy Co-op, 817 Queen St. W.
Writer: Eye Weekly • 'Extended Play' and 'Beats Per Week' • http://www.eye.net Exclaim Magazine • features & reviews • http://www.exclaim.ca
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