Victoria day on the Toronto Island marked the first edition of Electric Island 2015, and although Lee Burridge had to cancel last minute there were a number of underground heavyweights such as Pan Pot, Seth Troxler & The Martinez Brothers, and Tom Trago ready to step in and fill the rest of the bill with extended sets. Walking through the gates of the festival we quickly became aware of the vast improvements made to this year’s 4 part(y) edition, located at a bigger park area at Hanlan’s Point. As the crew behind Electric Island (Toronto’s famed Footwork/CODA family, Embrace, and Platform) continues to put together another outstanding party at the grassy island paradise, we’re going to tell you why Canada day is going to be even bigger.
Starting the day off with a round of some of Toronto’s finest local DJs has been a common approach to kicking off the island, and this time is no different with CODA resident/right hand man Jonathan Rosa opening things up. Following will be Toronto deep house staple Jeff Button, before Greg Gow takes to the stage for the final warmup. If you’ve been to one of The Guvernment’s Restructured parties with Greg Gow, you’ll understand why he’s been everywhere, including Luciano’s party in Ibiza and Detroit’s Movement.
To carry forward the energy created by the Toronto residents, house master himself Dennis Ferrer will take over the sound with a blend of house music that will kick the party into full force. As the bodies continue to fill up under the sun, Hot Creations superstar Lee Foss will take over the decks with what is sure to be music perfectly fitted for a summer afternoon on an island, though likely slipping into something stranger as the night approaches.
I’m hoping I don’t speak for myself when I say I have my fingers crossed in hopes the sun sets just as Marcel Dettmann hits the players. With an overwhelming selection of raw, heavy, and dark techno that graces Berlin superclub Berghain on a regular basis, we can’t wait, at all. It’s been a couple of months since frequent back to back partner Ben Klock played at Coda for a night nobody will ever forget. We’ve been itching for more since, and with the surprise announcement of Marcel Dettmann joining the Electric Island roster at the last party we couldn’t be happier.
As if the festival couldn’t end in a better way, we’ve been blessed with the euphoric sounds of global phenomenon Sasha. The head honcho at Last Night on Earth has been a big player in the techno scene for years, being one of the first DJ’s along with John Digweed to begin touring across North America. His crafting of both the underground and pop has held him at a high standard from the beginning and last years remix of "Hey Now" by London Grammar was a reminder why. If you’ve listened to an Involver set front to back you know how good this man is when it comes to playing music.
Have fun and stay safe.
- ElectricIsland.to or kg@earmilk.com for hard tickets
