Randomland R.I.P.
WITH A.D/D., BARBI, ANDY ARES, VANESKA, FOULHOUSE. FRI, AUG 14. THE MOD CLUB, 722 COLLEGE. $15.
The closing of A.D/D. Events’ popular Randomland Fridays at Circa Nightclub was announced very suddenly, but the writing has been on the wall for some time. After outgrowing earlier host venues, A.D/D.’s Mario J and Eve Fiorillo launched Randomland at infamous club impresario Peter Gatien’s CiRCA in October of 2007. The timing was perfect; it was “the apex of the ‘nu rave’ explosion” says Fiorillo, who explains that Gatien “let us have free rein and allowed us to do something completely unique and uncommon, music and atmosphere wise, in the superclub (or any club) world.”
Randomland drew well over a hundred thousand “incredibly magical, creative, colourful people” through its doors and had a reputation as a high-octane, circus-like affair.
“Randomland was like a living party-art-random theatre installation that featured many of the best DJs and artists in the city and in the world, and we haven't been any other night like it,” says Fiorillo.
According to Fiorillo, Gatien left CiRCA in March and chaos ensued while new management got sorted. There were rumours of bankruptcy, public airings of unpaid bills and a mass staff departure. A.D/D. was asked to stay on board; in return, they were given two days’ notice of Randomland’s cancellation. This party serves as the official closing event as the A.D/D. partners look towards future projects (Mario will focus on music and film projects while Eva will design and open “a fun champagne-themed lounge called FOMO” this fall). They’ll also host occasional special events.
“Our love of music and creative culture remains as deep, if not deeper, than ever.”
Glimpse (LIVE) WITH DJS NITIN, JONNY WHITE, TERENCE KISSNER. FRI, AUG 14. WRONGBAR, 1279 QUEEN W. $15.
Although it’s the birthplace of many a great musician, DJ and musical trend, Britain is not known for its techno. London’s Christopher Spero a.k.a. Glimpse may just change this. Heavily influenced by jazz, blues and early techno, Glimpse sculpts soulful slices of tech house for primo labels including Carl Craig’s Planet E, Ben Watt’s Buzzin’ Fly, Get Physical and his own Glimpse Recordings. His warm, meticulous productions — all created on analogue gear — have found favour with many of electronic music’s most influential figures, and have taken Spero to clubs around the globe. Toronto’s future-minded No. 19 crew hosts him here.
The Main Ingredient’s First Anniversary WITH DJS MENSA, AGILE, SEAN SAX, WRISPECT, MERCILLESS, HOST WAN LUV. SAT, AUG 15. REVIVAL, 783 COLLEGE. $10 ADVANCE TICKETS AT PLAY DE RECORD, LIVESTOCK, TICKETPICKET.COM. $15 AT DOOR.
It takes a lot of devotion to build a recurring party into something solid. Kudos to The Academy and Shaman crews as their soul monthly, The Main Ingredient, turns one year old. In the last twelve months, the core DJ trio of Agile, Mensa and Sean Sax has brought their blends of soul-infused sounds spanning the decades to ever-increasing audiences — joined occasionally by out-of-town guests, including Rich Medina and Neil Armstrong. Here, they keep it local, with turntable talents Mercilless and Wrispect presenting The Big Slick downstairs in the Stone Lounge.
Boy 8-Bit @ Timebomb WITH TEENAGE BAD GIRL, GOLDEN GLOVES. TUE, AUG 18. TATTOO ROCK PARLOUR, 567 QUEEN W. $5.
While Parisian electro-distorto duo Teenage Bad Girl is headlining here, I’m buzzing about South London’s Boy 8-Bit. Born David Morris, the computer-based producer has matured massively in the four years that he’s been putting out releases. His remixes for the likes of The Black Ghosts, Chromeo and South Rakkas Crew showed Boy 8-Bit could put a unique, stuttering, club-steeped spin on any sound, while last year’s The Suspense Is Killing Me EP for Mad Decent caused many a jaw to drop. Now he returns with the fantastic, genre-smashing Baltic Pines EP, which is even getting props from the BBC’s Pete Tong.