March is an unpredictable month for dance parties. On one hand, the weather is finally starting to heat up, resulting in clubs often benefiting from all that spring fever. On the downside, the annual Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival in Miami tend to keep many of the biggest names in electronic music occupied, not to mention how many locals also make the trek south. Nevertheless, there's no shortage of big parties to hit up this March across a wide variety of genres.
Jimpster / March 1st / venue TBA / 10pm / $20
UK deep house DJ/producer Jimpster is the son of jazz musician parents, and he brings much of that sense of musicality to both his DJ sets and productions as well as the music he releases on his label Freerange. This event is at an undisclosed secret location for extra old school warehouse authenticity, so make sure you get on the mailing list if you want to attend.
Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton / March 6th / Coda / 10pm / $20
Stones Throw Records enjoys a cult-like following among underground hip hop heads, and for good reason. The label (founded by Peanut Butter Wolf) has been home to legendary acts like J Dilla, Madvillain, Aloe Blacc and many more, and is the subject of a new film called Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton, which screens March 6 at the Bloor Cinema. As you may have already guessed, the event of the same name later that night at Coda is the official afterparty, and features DJ sets by Peanut Butter Wolf, J. Rocc, Jonwayne, and Knxwledge.
A Tribe Called Red / March 7th / Hoxton / 10pm / $25
Ottawa DJ collective A Tribe Called Red have been enjoying an extremely busy year thanks to the success of their second album Nation II Nation, which got them nominated for two Junos this year. Their reworkings of powwow music with club friendly beats has a timely political undercurrent, but their gigs are still full on parties.
Foundry / March 14th to April 5 / Tower Automotive / 10pm / $99.50 series pass, $19.50-$49.50 single nights
Last year Foundry took over Blk Box for a month, and brought together a wide network of underground dance music promoters and scenesters to throw an eclectic mini-festival. This year they have an even more impressive venue: the Tower Automotive Building (recently used for the Promise Heart Party), and another talent-stacked lineup, including the unpredictable experimentalist Four Tet, Detroit techno veteran Carl Craig, UK house pioneer DJ Harvey, and Canadian electronic duo Purity Ring.
Kraftwerk / March 29th / Sony Centre for the Performing Arts / 7:30pm / $71.65 - $99.64
Given the venue, there probably won't be that much actual dancing in the audience for Kraftwerk's highly anticipated 3D concert, but since electronic dance music wouldn't exist without them, we couldn't omit this one. The original robot band, and a huge part of why drum machines are so important to both hip hop and techno.
Writing by Benjamin Boles. Photo of Foundry 2013 by Conrad McGee-Stocks
by Staff via blogTO
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