hey there,
'The sun is shining, weather is sweet, makes you wanna move your dancing
feet...' In the words (kind of) of Bob Marley and Finley Quaye, all is
well 'n swell as the sun starts to heat up this part of the earth.
Here's hoping that lots of you are enjoying it.
There's lots of stuff to tell you all about as summer approaches, so
I'll work to keep these updates a little shorter and more frequent
(every coupla weeks or so). As always, thanks to all who take the time
to read through and to everyone who responds, replies, supports, sends
me their music and thoughts, and so on. Much appreciated. 'tis a source
of energy and light.
Here's the scoop thus far:
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.
Recent Guests have included:
~ April 30: Montreal's Freeworm (Hydrophonik)
~ May 7: Lisa Shaw (Naked Music) & DJ Swingsett (Ism, Esho), and Ben
Watt (Lazy Dog and Everything But the Girl)
Recent Picks of the Week have included:
- Block 16's Morning Sun, an unbelievably beautiful, diverse, and rich
debut album by a trio of producers involved in external projects galore
(including Faze Action, Idjut Boys and more). Guest vocalists include
Jhelisa, Jon Lucien, Robert Owens and the great Bim Sherman. Out now on
Nuphonic and easily one of my faves of the year thus far.
www.nuphonic.co.uk
- V/A: Good People, this one apparently came out late last year, but I
only discovered it (very happily) a coupla weeks back. Those of you into
dub and chilled techy grooves should like lots. It's named in honour of
a popular Stockholm club, making me way curious about the scene over
there. Flora & Fauna / King Syndrome Sounds would be the label info.
www.brilliant.nu
- Madrid de los Austrias' Amor, a super-yummy debut album by Vienna's
Heinz Tronigger (aka Don Zanuste) & Michael Kreiner (aka Pogo). If laid
back, global flavoured, percussive and vocal-laden sweets are your
thing, this is a must check. Out soon on Austria's Sunshine Enterprises,
a label, studio and series of club nights headed up by Zanuste.
www.sunshine.at
Playlists: http://ckln.sac.ryerson.ca/html/chart/logdb/pl_3.html
Archives: Yippeee! The archiving thang has been going well, with lots of
folks writing me to say that they're happy to be able to catch shows
they missed, and others writing from afar who've been enjoying the show
for the first time. Welcome aboard and thank-you to those of you who
take the time to listen. It makes the extra work worthwhile. Spread the
word ya'll! Check the Mental Chatter archives for April and now into May
at: http://www.beats.to
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WRITING:
Recently featured in my Eye weekly Extended Play column:
~ May 10: Ben Watt on he and Jay Hannon's Lazy Dog tour, as well as
tidbits 'bout Everything But the Girl.
~ May 17: Montreal DJ/promoter extraordinaire and co-owner of the
wonderful Rotation Records shop, jojflores.
~ May 24: the issue hits streets tomorrow early a.m. Look for an
Extended Play focussing on Torontonians in Detroit during the DEMF
weekend.
http://www.eye.net is the source for Extended Play, archived by issue
date as part of The Beat section. As well, look out for Beats Per Week,
the listings section I also write weekly, letting you know what's up in
T.O.
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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.
Four years strong and running thanks to people like you, glide continues
to provide great sounds for great people in the laidback lounge /
restaurant / dancebar that is Gypsy Co-op. Special thanks to all those
who've been out of late...we've had a number of beautiful weeks,
featuring guests like Montreal's Freeworm and Toronto's Manitoba and
Paul E. Lopes (who got the whole room grooving 'n moving last Wednesday.
Nice one!).
Tonight!!! A very special, previously unannounced guest: New Zealand's
International Orphan. Joseph, aka I:O, began DJ'ing at outdoor events
(parks, beaches etc.) in his homeland, going on to play at the
world-famous New Year's event The Gathering two years running. He's
since traveled much of the globe, DJ'ing in places such as Spain, San
Francisco, and now Toronto, where he's calling home. I:O is truly a
kindred spirit where music is concerned, playing everything from
downtempo and dub to breaks, house, jungle, nu jazz and all the hues in
between. In short, his sounds are sweet and his mixing absolutely
beautiful. Drop by to hear his 11:30pm set tonight if you're in the
'hood. Glide runs from 10pm 'til 2:30 (or so) am.
Other upcoming guests:
May 30: TRIPLET & MARTINO (both Gemma Records): Two thirds of the Gemma
crew come correct with the deep house and broken beats. Yum.
June 13: WATERSHELL & LEX of LEGION OF GREEN MEN (Interchill,
Post-Contemporary, Echo-Beach): Two legendary T.O. producers dig deep to
bring some seriously diverse, dubbed-out, trippy bizness.
Other gig activities:
Friday June 8 + Saturday June 8 ~ NXNE DJ Block Party
DJ's include: Roy Davis Jr. + jojoflores + Miguel Graça + Denise Benson
+ Matt C + Paul Walker + Peter & Tyrone + many more
229 Richmond Street West (at John) ~ rain or shine ~ FREE!
The North by Northeast Festival expands its DJ content greatly! Come on
out and hear some of this city's finest talents, covering the bases from
house and techno to jungle, breaks, and loads more. Lots of live
performances as well. Watch for much more info all over the city as we
get closer to the date. P.S. I'll be playing on Saturday June 8 at 4pm.
~ Friday June 15 through to Sunday June 17th: the 4th annual Om Summer
Solstice Festival. Camping, swimming, community kitchens, loads and
loads of live performers and DJ's on a multitude of stages. I'll be
playing the Sumkidz stage on Saturday June 16. Full details on the Fest
next e-mail I send out. In the meantime, check www.omfestival.ca for
more.
~ Monday June 18 through to Sunday June 24 is Pride Week here in
Toronto! I'll be doing a special Mental Chatter that Monday, having
guests in at Glide, playing at Aslan Leather's Narnia event on Thursday
June 21, DJ'ing at (and co-producing with JD) two Savour events, Friday
June 22 at Una Mas and Saturday June 23 at the Mockingbird, and DJ'ing
Saturday afternoon at one of the Pride Week outdoor stages. More details
on all of the above next e-out. Phew!
I think that about does it for this round. Not exactly short, but
hopefully sweet :-) Thanks for reading and take good care. Peace out.
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' ï Mondays 11am-2pm, CKLN 88.1FM (Toronto) (playlists & live RealAudio: http://ckln.sac.ryerson.ca Archives: http://www.beats.to) 'Glide' ï Wednesdays @ Gypsy Co-op, 817 Queen St. W.
Writer: Eye Weekly ï 'Extended Play' and 'Beats Per Week' ï http://www.eye.net Exclaim Magazine ï features & reviews ï http://www.exclaim.ca
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu May 24 2001 - 03:06:50 CEST