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blogTO: Hatiras Weighs in on Toronto's Scene

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Coming out of Toronto, how would you describe our 'electronic' music scene? I feel that Toronto used to have the best scene in the world but lost a lot of the magic, innovation and variety when independent promoters got replaced or swallowed up by just a handful of mega-clubs. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything the big clubs are doing in this city, but we need more one-off events, small venues, underground parties, variety in the music, local support, infrastructure and world class festivals if we want to compete on a global scale. A lot of people might hate on me for saying that but, trust me - a city like Tokyo, cities in Australia and South America generally have more excited crowds, massive parties and variety. There still are lots of great events and a huge interest in electronic music in Toronto - but I feel that we really need a good shake up in this city to get back to where we used to be on the global scale - we need to regain the sense of excitement, fun, community and sharing that should drive and define this scene. So are raves dead, or did something else happen to the rave scene? The rave scene isn't dead - it's really struggling in Toronto but it can be revived. Ultimately, '90's culture is having a renewed influence in a lot of new music and forthcoming fashion - you can hear a lot of old rave breaks, stabs and samples in current electro, fidget and techno tunes. In that sense, rave culture is simply being morphed into something new. In terms of one-off events, raves are pretty much dead in Toronto because there aren't enough independent promoters throwing events that cater to the all-ages crowd anymore. It's difficult here because most venues are more concerned about alcohol revenue over ticket sales. That's not to say that there isn't a massive "rave" scene (if you want to call it that) in other cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, throughout South America, etc. They seem to be thriving out there. I would absolutely love it if we got a resurgence of the original rave spirit in Toronto again and am optimistic that it will happen.

I couldn't agree more.. the rest of the article can be found here:
http://www.blogto.com/music/2009/04...torontos_scene/

There are some amazing underground parties happening in this city...

you just have to look for them and dig a little.

sad thing is many people here just dont want to invest that effort.

psst http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...9&forumid=77&s=

oh how much I miss the good ol days

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we need to regain the sense of excitement, fun, community and sharing that should drive and define this scene.

very true... although I don't necessarily agree that the answer comes in the form of "all ages raves"....(at least not for everyone)

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South America

fuck I'm dying to party in South America, everyone rants about how insane the crowds are there...

I agree...the scene in Toronto has gone down hill and its no longer one of the greatest cities for the scene. There is a great scene waiting to burst out but too many things will prevent this from ever happening again in Toronto.

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Originally posted by jon jon very true... although I don't necessarily agree that the answer comes in the form of "all ages raves"....(at least not for everyone) fuck I'm dying to party in South America, everyone rants about how insane the crowds are there...

I agree....all ages raves are not the answer. In order to put Toronto back on the map it needs a massive festival....but current laws will not allow this to happen.....and I don't see the city of Toronto ever changing things so it can happen.

I have a friend who has been running old school type raves over the last couple of years. He told me its getting difficult to find places to hold these events without police getting wind of them....most of his parties are now being done outside the GTA.

This is why hatiras is one of my Fav DJ's in the world. He's different and different is good.

I won't comment much on the scene but what he states is one of the reasons I don't go out much anymore. The Toronto crowd imo sucks.

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Originally posted by knacker There are some amazing underground parties happening in this city... you just have to look for them and dig a little. sad thing is many people here just dont want to invest that effort.

+1

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Originally posted by ChemEnhanced I agree....all ages raves are not the answer. In order to put Toronto back on the map it needs a massive festival....but current laws will not allow this to happen.....and I don't see the city of Toronto ever changing things so it can happen. I have a friend who has been running old school type raves over the last couple of years. He told me its getting difficult to find places to hold these events without police getting wind of them....most of his parties are now being done outside the GTA.

Right, I was going to say... hasn't the city made it impossible (or VERY expensive) to throw said "raves"... I don't blame the promoters for not wanting to take the risk...

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Originally posted by ChemEnhanced I agree....all ages raves are not the answer. In order to put Toronto back on the map it needs a massive festival....but current laws will not allow this to happen.....and I don't see the city of Toronto ever changing things so it can happen.

It's funny since an EDM festival is subject to the same guidelines and laws as say a Rock or HipHop festival that's held in the city. I believe anything held after 3 PM on city owned property is considered "after hours" and subject to the same restrictions regardless of the genre of music.

So why doesn't an EDM promoter throw a large scale day time event a la Rogers Picnic, V-fest, or Edgefest? The only thing that comes close is the B.B.C. festival held at the Harbourfront Centre part of World Routes. I'm sure there's a myriad of reasons, but would be interesting to find out.

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Originally posted by knacker There are some amazing underground parties happening in this city...

+1

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Originally posted by dEsidEL So why doesn't an EDM promoter throw a large scale day time event a la Rogers Picnic, V-fest, or Edgefest?

$$$$$

The starting capital to get something like this going is probably really expensive. Whoever would run this would probably need corporate sponsors to help pay for the event, attract people, and get media exposure.

Also would a lot of people pay for an event like this? You would need a (or a few) headline DJ that everyone would want to see and go to.

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Originally posted by Invasionmix $$$$$ The starting capital to get something like this going is probably really expensive. Whoever would run this would probably need corporate sponsors to help pay for the event, attract people, and get media exposure. Also would a lot of people pay for an event like this? You would need a (or a few) headline DJ that everyone would want to see and go to.

Yet people are willing to pay $$$ to attend events like Rogers Picnic, V-fest, and Edgefest. So there you have it, either EDM here simply isn't popular enough (or commercial enough as some might argue) to attract the kind of corporate sponsorship needed to stage events at that level, or EDM fans aren't willing to fork out the cash needed to make said event profitable for the promoter.

What I find interesting is that it's common of other festivals around the world to have EDM integrated into lineup along with other genres, whereas here, save for events like V-fest, the festivals tend to be segregated along musical styles.

Agree/Disagree?

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Originally posted by dEsidEL So why doesn't an EDM promoter throw a large scale day time event a la Rogers Picnic, V-fest, or Edgefest?

Rogers Picnic
Virgin Festival

= sponsorship

even when they did an electronic stage at Virgin it got sponsored separately by Bacardi if i recall correctly.

Edgefest is radio station so self-sufficient promotion and sponsorship, plus probably cuts deals for artists in return for supporting their tracks into heavy rotation.

i doubt there is a sponsor confident enough to handle an electronic festival of that magnitude and no radio station in toronto playing electronic music that is strong enough

finding a venue isn't easy either... look at all the drama w/ regards to that Lawler New Years eve party...

I think the city has made it difficult when it comes to throwing large scale events, but at the same time I completely understand why... I mean fuck, like 10 years ago we had 5 thousand people illegal raves every other weekend lol It got pretty insane, people died, and drama ensued. The people called for action...

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Originally posted by dEsidEL Rogers Picnic, V-fest, or Edgefest?

Is that a fair comparison? Is our scene really that big? I think we're way too fragmented to have a party the size of V-fest... it would have to be one helluva lineup man... like Tiesto vs. David Ghetta vs. Luciano lol

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Originally posted by chico i doubt there is a sponsor confident enough to handle an electronic festival of that magnitude and no radio station in toronto playing electronic music that is strong enough

I totally agree with you, yet when EDM hits the airwaves on mainstream radio stations like Z103 some people are crying foul when clearly having it broadcasted solely on late night radio like 100.7 FM isn't reaching the wider audiences needed to make holding larger public venue events sustainable.

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Originally posted by jon jon Is that a fair comparison? Is our scene really that big? I think we're way too fragmented to have a party the size of V-fest... it would have to be one helluva lineup man... like Tiesto vs. David Ghetta vs. Luciano lol

you're right, probably not, but I guess that's where we need to get it if it's going to be feasible for any one promoter. I suppose those events are made possible due to the fact that the music they showcase is popular and in the mainstream.

Also Hatiras is talking about underground parties, not giant commercial festivals w/ sponsors lol

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Originally posted by jon jon Also Hatiras is talking about underground parties, not giant commercial festivals w/ sponsors lol

well, he does mention it as being (one) aspect..

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"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything the big clubs are doing in this city, but we need more one-off events, small venues, underground parties, variety in the music, local support, infrastructure and world class festivals if we want to compete on a global scale."

No disrespect to Destiny (I loved the Ascension parties of yore), but I don't know if WEMF would be considered "world class"

lol I said this in a thread a year or two ago about having a one day event at like Yonge-Dundas square. It costs about $3000 to rent the square for a day plus fees for stage, electricity, etc. Add a popular mainstream DJ like Bob Sinclar, David Guetta, Tiesto, etc to attract people. I'm sure City TV would cover the story, and have a few sponsors to help pay the event, shouldn't be THAT hard to plan something like this lol.

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Originally posted by Invasionmix lol I said this in a thread a year or two ago about having a one day event at like Yonge-Dundas square. It costs about $3000 to rent the square for a day plus fees for stage, electricity, etc. Add a popular mainstream DJ like Bob Sinclar, David Guetta, Tiesto, etc to attract people. I'm sure City TV would cover the story, and have a few sponsors to help pay the event, shouldn't be THAT hard to plan something like this lol.

see that's what i mean! but no one does! or do they?? and fail?! lol

(credit to Newmindspace though for trying something new)

so being in dundas square the event is free? how do you charge admittance? or is this just a 3 hour company sponsored day party on shitty speakers...

(again, we couldn't be further away from what Hatiras is talking about lol)

Guys back up on your scene discussion, IS THAT CRIBBY IN THE PHOTO?



Guy is everywhere!

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Originally posted by jon jon so being in dundas square the event is free? how do you charge admittance? or is this just a 3 hour company sponsored day party on shitty speakers... (again, we couldn't be further away from what Hatiras is talking about lol)

here's all the costs and legal redtape that one would have to go through..

http://www.ydsquare.ca/index.php?op...id=17&Itemid=58

Nickelback and Janet Jackson did it.. could Tiesto!? lol

haha that's not our favourite dinosaur

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