hellooooo there everyone,
Warm enough for you out there? It's been hot, hot, hot in Toronto, and
it's only getting more so as Pride Week and TWO major Jazz Festivals
take over the city. I'm involved in tons of gigs and activities over the
next while (read on to find out more), and also encourage you to seek
out info on upcoming gigs by folks like Cinematic Orchestra, Fertile
Ground, Gilles Peterson, Bobby Matos, Jazzanova, Pharoah Sanders, DJ
Smash, Osunlade and LOADS of others. Feel free to e me for dates on any
of those shows as I love to help in the spreading of word where
beautiful music is concerned.
Before getting into what I've got on the go, I wanna send a shout out
and thank-you to the folks who organized this past weekend's OM summer
solstice Festival. Though this was OM's fourth year, it was my first one
attending and, having done so, I feel so honoured to have been invited
to DJ and take part. The vibe was incredibly warm and friendly, the five
outdoor stages all looked and sounded wicked, things were wonderfully
organized, creativity could literally be felt in the air and yeah, did I
mention the beautiful vibe? Now I understand why thousands of people
plan their summer around Om!
That said, here's the info I have to share this week about my radio,
writing 'n club gig activities. Thanks, as always, for reading and
taking part.
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
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:
- 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
- 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
- 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 on Austria's Sunshine Enterprises, a
label, studio and series of club nights headed up by Zanuste.
www.sunshine.at
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WRITING:
Recently featured in my Eye weekly Extended Play column:
~ May 31: Herbert, discussing his personal manifesto for production,
love of challenges and more.
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_05.31.01/thebeat/extended.html
~ June 7: Montreal house producer and DJ Miguel Graça of Bombay Records
shared the scoop on his history and hopes for future.
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_06.07.01/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
~ June 21: look out for this one... a feature on a very special,
Baltimore-based soul/jazz band, in Toronto soon for the Downtown Jazz
Festival. Strong enough hints? ;-)
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.
Last week's guest sets by Legion of Green Men's Lex and Jay Irwin aka
Watershell made me a very happy grrrl indeed. Lots of quirky, dub-heavy
sounds, many musical surprises, much dancing 'n great vibes. Thanks to
all those who came out.
Drop by tonight if you're out and about. We're kicking off Pride Week in
a Glide stylee, and also wanna invite those of you looking for a place
after (no doubt) being happily turned out by Jay Swinscoe and his
Cinematic Orchestra. Don't forget, Cinematic and crew perform outdoors,
for FREE, down at Harbourfront, with things getting underway at 8pm and
ending by 11. We'll be going strong at Gypsy Co-op until well past 2am.
Other gig activities:
SAVOUR PRIDE 2001: HARMONY
DJ's Denise Benson + Edryin + Wasabi + James St. Bass
spin deep ~ soulful ~ classic & funky 'n filtered house ~ garage ~
futuristic disco
Friday June 22, 2001 ~ 10pm-4am
at Toronto's newest + sexiest downtown lounge + nightclub
UNA MAS, 422 Adelaide St. W. (west of Spadina)
$10 advance, $12 at the door
limited advance tickets at Toronto Women's Bookstore, 73 Harbord St
and at This Ain't the Rosedale Library, 483 Church St.
Part proceeds to Positive Youth Outreach and their women's drop-in
program. (416.979.9295 to reach PYO)
All queer men, women, trans folks & our friends welcome. 19+ event.
SAVOUR Info: 416.760.6110 or mentalchatter@sympatico.ca
** I have two pairs of tickets to offer to SAVOUR: HARMONY, to the first
two people to e me back at this address. I'll write those two people
back to confirm. **
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SAVOUR PRIDE 2001: MELODY
DJ's Denise Benson + Nikki Red spin
nu jazz. deep house. r+b. reggae. soulful grooves
Saturday June 23, 2001 ~ 10pm-4am
at the stylin', warehouse flavoured dancebar + patio
MOCKINGBIRD, 580 King Street W. (west of Spadina)
All women, trans folks + friends are invited to join us for the third
annual SAVOUR Pride event at the Mockingbird.
Please note: the limited advance tickets all sold in less than a week!
However, the event itself is NOT sold out. There WILL be admission for
$12 at the door.
Part proceeds to Camp Sis and to Leslie Forrester, queer mom fighting
for child custody.
Other Pride gigs I can be found spinning at:
~ Aslan Leather's 'Play,' a trans-positive party for women featuring
myself, DJ Switch, DJ Nikki Red and the Throbbin Rods. Thursday June 21,
from 9pm at 160 Spadina Ave. $12 advance or $15 at the door. Info:
aslan@interlog.com or www.aslanleather.com
~ Outdoors, on the 'Love Garden' stage from 3:30-5pm. The Love Garden is
one of four official Pride Stages on Saturday June 23, and can be found
on Church Street, just South of Maitland. FREE.
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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! **
Other upcoming DJ dates include:
~ Friday July 6: Kruder & Dorfmeister return to town! The duo perform at
the grand opening of Kool Haus aka the former Warehouse (1 Jarvis
Street), all done up with brand new sound and staging. Also
DJ'ing/performing in Kool Haus and 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. 416.202.8839 or
www.milkevents.com for more details.
~ 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?
And so on and so forth. More details on the latter two gigs and more in
two weeks' time. Thanks once again for reading this and being there.
Take good care all.
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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