At around 11:30, local DJ/producer Harrison took the stage. With a newly nurtured Tom Selleck mustache, Harrison looked like a whole new man – far past that kid who played 1 pm shows at local summer festivals to gain recognition. Some of his success might be attributed to the people he’s been working with (i.e. Ryan Hemsworth); however, most of it is due to his growing talent and skill.

Harrison’s recently released original album, Checkpoint Titanium, is a keeper. The kind you’d play during sexy times, at a house party, maybe even to your mother. While it lacks not in variety, it comes together in complete cohesiveness. Knowing this, one would’ve expected a killer set – especially knowing it was a cherished warmup for Romare.

Harrison calmly played through his DJ set for a bit over an hour, going through his favorites and classic top 40 – “Crazy In Love” by Harrison? Why not! The complete set, however, lacked a bit of love and enthusiasm; messy transitions and choppy cut-throughs made this a less-than-best performance.

Romare nonchalantly set up while Harrison was wrapping up. The two exchanged a brief conversation and friendly hug as Fairhurst combed through his box of vinyl in preparation.

After a brief lyrical intro track, Romare dove right into “Work Song” from Projections. The crowd immediately went wild. Having already been going for an hour, the audience was fully warmed, dancing and sharing moves with one another. Sipping on his Canada Dry, Fairhurst played out tracks from his recent couple albums Projections and Love Songs: Part Two, from “Nina’s Charm” to “Who Loves You?“.

The set came together into a vivid and engaging performance. Not at all fazed by the impeding cold weather outside, the audience embraced every string of disco and every song. This was a modern disco at its best and the crowd loved it!

photos by Matt Stratton

The post Harrison and Romare live in Toronto: Disco’s back, and it’s not going anywhere appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Projections is one of the early 2015 releases (02/23) but even with the months gone by it’s an album that has a consistently growing number of plays in my iTunes. Romare (cover image) is influenced by Romare Bearden, a well-known cut’n’paste artist/collagist, and that influence comes through vividly in Projections. The album is subtly adventurous with atmospheric opening sounds, vivid vocal samples, heavy hooks, and full of surprises. Highlight tracks are “Lover Man,” “Motherless Child,” and “Work Song,” though the collection needs to be heard in order – at least the first time.

Lane 8 Rise

Lane 8 is known for his collaborative skills with both vocalists and other producers. Whether it’s a remix of a well-known ODESZA track or a Lane 8 original, his tracks have a certain je ne sais quoi. Rise is a great example of his multiple talents bringing together his signature instrumental sounds and the voices of Solomon Grey, Matthew Dear and Patrick Baker into a single journey. The record starts on a high note with “Loving You” and takes you on an emotional roller coaster with tracks like “Undercover” (give it time to grow on you) and “Hot As You Want.”

Maribou State Portraits

The debut album of Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, aka Maribou State, Portraits is like a box full of pleasant surprises. The album was released on Counter Records, a Ninja Tune imprint, and it is immediately clear why the label took interest in the duo: their sound is a combination of emotive instrumentation and clean rhythms with an occasional oriental influence and rich textures. Start this listen out of order with “Steal,” featuring Holly Walker.

Marcus Marr & Chet Faker Work EP

This four-track release came as a bit of a surprise. Marr and Faker bring the best out of each other – punchy dance beats and balanced, imprinting vocals. It’s hard to tell how many times I went through the EP, but I can shamelessly admit that “Birthday Card” was played on an aggressive repeat.

Yppah Tiny Pause

Yppah took a break, a fairly long break since his last record in 2012 (Eighty One) but the time lost was more than made up with his latest release, Tiny Pause. The album is an intimate collection of tracks built around his signature sound (a blend of electronic, psychedelic and rock influences). The tracks are a progression of sounds from chill background music like “Spider Hands” to faster songs that need to be heard loud, like “Bushmills.”

Until The Ribbon Breaks A Lesson Unlearnt

Having had just listened to the album on the day of the release, I had the pleasure of attending a UTRB show the night of it’s release. Since that night this trio holds a special place in my musical soul. Clean, emotional, at times political and surprisingly adventurous in their collaborations with Run the Jewels in “Revolution Indifference,” UTRB are what pop music should grow up to be.

Humans Noontide

Humans are one of those bands you probably know about because a friend insisted that you listen to “Ennio.” Or maybe you accidentally saw them at a festival, one of many they appeared at this year. Who knows, maybe you discovered them all on your own because you’re cool like that. However you learn about Humans you are likely to keep tabs on them in the future. The bottom line is that this BC duo are why local producers should not be overlooked – Noontide is an expertly produced, dramatic and memorable record that comes to life in full color during a live performance.

Bob Moses Days Gone By

Bob Moses dropped their debut album Days Gone By on September 18th, but by then their fan-base was already filling club venues around North America. This is a band that went from zero to a hundred in a year and undoubtedly will keep surprising the music industry in the future. Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance bring together organic band sounds into an all-electronic production project fronted by a live guitar on tour.

Khai If You

Khai has been dropping tracks one at a time for a few months, each one repeat worthy so when the full EP came together in a single release as If You it was one to add to the favourites. Khai’s voice is calming and the music itself is very gentle, ethereal in a way, but don’t mistake if for background music – If You is an early party staple, something you can play before breaking into the two previously mentioned albums. 

Tora High Enough

Another full release from Australia, Tora make lush, lyrical electronic music. At times giving way to vocals without any musical accompaniment, the band is playful and adventurous with their mixes. This is easily the year’s most overlooked release.

The post Editor’s pick: 10 best albums of 2015 appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Projections starts with a soft entrance – “Nina’s Charm” features light vocals and a jazzy feel. A shorter track in this album, this song suddenly launches into the second track, “Work Song,” which is much heavier and funkier than the first. Romare introduces heavier beats from this track onward, often using vocal samples and layers of drum and bass, funk and soulful melodies.

Different moods are thrown into the mix; “Motherless Child” sounds spacey and strange, “Roots” is composed almost entirely of one creepy, ominous beat, and “Jimmy’s Lament” brings us back to the softness that the album began with. One track that seems like an odd addition is “Rainbow” – sounding like an early 90’s house beat, this song seems almost too modern. Lacking in any ethnic influence, it really doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest.

Romare’s sound is incredibly sophisticated, yet the album is inconsistent. Of course, his talent is made obvious, as nearly every track is likeable and offers a very danceable, complex beat. However, as a whole, the album seems rough-hewn and almost too inconsistent to be considered one collaged “art piece”. As an artist, Romare takes his namesake very seriously, although we are left wondering if Romare’s next album will offer a sound that we could recognise as distinctly “Romare” versus a collection of unique sounds thrown together to form a loosely formatted album.

Release date: February 24, 2015 via Ninja Tune

The post Romare’s “Projections” are a collection of unique tracks appeared first on Quip Magazine.