Davies is originally from Manchester and is currently residing on the Isle of Wight, where he started his own label, Wight Label Records. Today he hosts the Wight Label Records Radio Show and tours Europe, DJing parties. With Bestival originating in the UK, it made perfect sense to have Martin Davies as a special guest. While his usual repertoire consists of melodic, deep, house, his beach-side set was built on disco undertones, with tracks like Faze Action’s “I Wanna Dancer” causing waves on the sand.

By the time Rob Da Bank entered the DJ hut, the path to the beach turned into a line quickly regulated by flanking security guards. The main stage was host to Born Ruffians, with a tight crowd of people singing along to “Needle,” “same as everyone spinning underneath the sun.”

On the other side of the park, the Big Top stage was beginning to fill up for Cashmere Cat and what would turn into an exploding party in a few hours. Magnus August Høiberg, a Norwegian DJ/producer who goes by the name Cashmere Cat (not to be confused with Cajmere) is one of those performers with a humble attitude. Similarly to Jamie xx, Høiberg didn’t interact with the crowd at all, but his set of skills is nothing to be shy about. With a solid bunch of appearances at the DMC World DJ Championships, Cashmere Cat was masterfully going through the Mirror Maru and Wedding Bells EPs.

Immediately following Høiberg was Lodewijk Fluttert, a Dutch producer known as Bakermat. Over the last couple years almost everything Bakermat released became a summer hit, so much so that he had his own stage at Tomorrowland in 2014. Joined on stage by his usual saxophone player, Fluttert went through his hits from “Teach Me” to “Another Man,” with an ear to ear smile on his face from the beginning to the end.

The next artist crew to take the stage was local success story, Keys N Krates. Having exploded onto the mainstream dance music scene with the track “Dum Dee Dum,” Keys N Krates have recently dropped an equally successful Every Nite EP. The main track from the EP, “Are We Faded,” has already been remixed by a variety of people, on multiple stages and was a sure way to pack in the tent with shouting, jumping fans reaching for the sky. Having a gift for crossing genres from various decades, Keys N Krates are also regular guests at the Red Bull Thre3style, so these guys really know how to get the crowd going. This set was alive.

A newcomer to the music scene, ZHU, was second last on the Saturday night bill. No one knew who Steven Zhu was until sometime last year when “Faded,” (and subsequently it’s remix by ODESZA) exploded on the internet. ZHU is one of those artists who prefers to be seen for his music alone, he doesn’t do many interviews and performed behind a veil which stretched across the entire Big Top stage, serving as a screen through which you could occasionally get a peak at Steven Zhu.

In less than a year, ZHU has acquired a massive fan base. The mosh pit for ZHU’s set ended a few meters outside of the Big Top tent and those who could not get close were scattered, dancing in the nearby area on the grass.

With photos still flooding, one by one, onto Instagram and people reminiscing about the weekend, it is clear that Bestival has made an epic entrance into Canada. We hope to see you back next year U.K., let’s make Toronto Island your second home.

photos by Erik Shaw

The post Bestival Saturday: you’re home now appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Jackie Willson: Let’s start with something basic – where did your love for music come from?

Lodewijk Fluttert: I listen to a lot of different genres. I started doing this thing where I listen to dance records and jazz records at the same time and I combined them. I couldn’t find any jazz or blues elements in dance music, so I started doing it on my own.

JW: How old were you when you started doing that?

LF: I think twenty.

JW: Did your parents influence you at all? 

LF: My mom is an opera singer, and she taught me classical music. So I have that in my collection, like every piece of opera music.

JW: Would you say that’s where it all started?

LF: I guess, when I was young I didn’t appreciate opera music at all. I hated it, but now I love it. My dad was a big fan of soul music, like James Brown. James Brown was the first record that he showed me.

JW: Do you still have it?

LF: No, I don’t. I am going to go buy his record.

JW: You tend to sample a lot, where do the samples come from – live musicians, records…?

LF: YouTube. I browse through YouTube and go to, like, page thirteen where nobody goes. I type in, like “rare gospel”, and you will find something, like, with three views, and that’s it. I try to find the original record, buy it, and then sample it.

JW: You’ve said before your dream is to tour with a full orchestra… 

LF: Yes, I did this in Europe already, in Paris and London. For the U.S. it’s complex for me because it is such a distance. If I am going to be playing here, it takes a lot of organzing because it is a seven man band. I am working on it, and I really want to do it. I have to select the right festivals for it, I really want to.

JW: How is the tour going so far? 

LF: So far so good. The travel was good, the plane ride took me about eight hours.

JW: Where are you going next?

LF: California, to Palm Springs.

JW: Have you ever been to Coachella? 

LF: Never. I do really want to go.

JW: It would be great to play there.

LF: Yeah, it would be awesome. A dream come true.

JW: Are you excited for your upcoming set, back here in Canada?

LF: Yes, I’m so excited. I love the crowd in Canada, especially in Toronto and Montreal, which are bit like Europe. I am really familiar with playing in Europe, I love it, it feels like home.

JW: I was having a conversation recently with an artist about how much Toronto loves music and really supports their artists.

LF: Yes, they come for the music. That is what I love. It is exactly the same in Amsterdam, they come for the music and they know all the tracks.

JW: Do you remember having a moment, if you had one, when you were like “Damn, I guess I’m famous now”?

LF: Umm, that’s a good question. I guess for me, I was like fourteen and I already watched a video of Laidback Luke, you know, he was already doing this stuff back then, and dance music was not that big. He was touring the world, and I saw that and said, I want that.

JW: So was there a point where you thought that you made it, or are you still working towards something more?

LF: Yeah, I think I had those moments. These are pretty good questions, I was just going to go on autopilot. But yeah, I have definitely had those moments, I’ve done a tour in Europe with all the big cities like Paris and London and all the capitals. It was huge venues and I was really nervous about selling out. I was like “I can’t do this yet, I’m just internet famous.” But it sold out, like big time. In Paris there was even a line, the police had to come and swipe people off the streets. That was when I was like, “All right, this is pretty good.”

JW:  Are you working on anything new right now?

LF: I am coming out with an album in September, I have some singles and remixes coming up for the summer. Basically, I learned in life, and it’s very deep, but it’s true, you have to do whatever you want. You have to do something, I don’t have a grand plan for life, I make the tracks that I like and that’s it. I will see how it goes.

JW: You really need to believe in your music, and a lot of people hesitate and don’t do that.

LF: Yeah, exactly. I had those moments. Now I’m like “Fuck it, I’m going to release whatever I want.”

JW: When did those moments where you were unsure happen?

LF: Right after Vandaag, the IT record. It was number one in Europe. I thought, “Okay, people want that, they want another Vandaag.” I got that a lot and I didn’t release anything because of that. But now, I don’t care.

JW: Do you find that your music suffered because of that? Because you didn’t believe in it as much?

LF: Maybe, I don’t think so. I would never release something that I don’t agree with. At the moment, I think I am really free in what I do. I really don’t care. I am confident about what I like. If people don’t like it, I don’t really give a shit, because this is what I want.

JW: Out of curiosity, what do you plan to do with a degree in psychology, is that a backup plan? 

LF: Yeah, I didn’t have any plans for my life. I just started studying psychology. It was never my idea to become a full time musician and in my third year of studying I was bored. I took a semester off, went into stand-up comedy. That went pretty well, but not as good as I thought. So then I thought, “Okay, what’s going to be the next challenge? Let’s make some music.” I downloaded software, made music that week, put it on YouTube and it kind of became a hit.

JW: Ok, so no psychology then?

LF: Well, I am still studying psychology officially, I am just not attending. I want to finish it, but I’m not going to do anything with it. This is the best job ever, I would not want to be a psychologist.

photos by Erik Shaw

The post Early afternoon one-on-one with Bakermat appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Earlier this year Bakermat (real name Lodewijk Fluttert) released “Teach Me,” a track that a few months ahead of the summer season begun to spread sunshine across the dancehall of North America. Needless to say summer is yet to sweep the country but being in the right place for the right show surrounded by a few hundred of happy people can certainly make it feel like the beach is real near by.

Bobby Love started the party with some original tracks and well rounded remixes ranging with samples from old school deep house, to early decade pop tracks like Jennifer Lopez’s “Waiting for Tonight.”  In what felt like a blink of an eye, the room filled wall-to-wall with people hailing from not only all corners of Toronto but Europe. The entire venue felt like a moshpit, including the very limited space behind the DJ table.

By the time Bakermat came on stage the audience was exuding a healthy amount of medicated joy. Accompanied by a live saxophone player Fluttert went right into the set with an insane amount of energy and what can only be described as obvious happiness. Inspired by jazz, early deep house and musicians like Moby and Miles Davis, Fluttert brings together a wealth of samples into his tracks which carefully cut and mixed come together into harmonic productions that you cannot help but dance to. After playing out his chart-topping tracks from “One Day” to “ Teach Me,” the set went a little darker and deeper into house as every single body in that room was having a wicked time “Aaal night long.”

Toronto has opened it’s mind to EDM with festivals like Veld and Digital Dreams but melodic house while it has fully become a major genre in Europe is still secluded to DJ/Producer shows. Standing on par with the likes of Klingande and Robin Schulz, Bakermat and friends will without a doubt make our dance floors just a tad more friendly.

The post Summer beats sunny vibes: Bakermat live in Toronto appeared first on Quip Magazine.