CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK 2024 – NO NEON RECORDS
@ 255 RICHMOND STREET WEST, TORONTO
JUNE 6, 2024
The No Neon Records launch party was a surprising addition to the Canadian Music Week lineup. It required a password to enter and mandated an all-black dress code. Phone cameras were taped off upon entry since the event featured a no-photography policy. Once admitted past security, guests ascended the fire escape and entered a small room containing a Murphy door disguised as a bookshelf. Inside, they discovered a dimly lit lounge and bar featuring a small DJ booth tucked into the back corner. Techno music blasted through the air, contrasting the room’s intimate setting but nonetheless adding to its classiness.
No Neon Records is a Toronto-based record label focused on the dark and melodic side of Techno, House, and the space. Though it has been around for a while, founder and Juno Award winner, HNTR, explained that the label has been dormant for the last few years. Thursday’s event signaled a re-launch in partnership with Physical Presents, another Toronto-based record label specializing in Electronic Music genres.
The event included multiple DJs, who kept energy high and a consistent population on the dance floor. In the early night, Geoffrey Murdock highlighted a consecutive flow of skilled performers. His use of melodies at 120 BPM had people impatiently finishing their drinks to get on the dance floor.
At around midnight, the night’s standout performance took place. Maddmon entered the booth with a very clear goal, to make people move. The live set was filled with aura, with some of the meanest-sounding basslines and breaks I’d ever heard. Crisp and unexpected transitions kept the audience on their toes, eliciting unrestricted movement in even the stiffest dancers. The concentration on his craft was evident on the dancefloor, as people stuck their heads into the booth to see him at work.
Following Maddmon, HNTR kept the crowd on their feet with help from a talented engineer. His set had people vibing for hours into the late night and early next morning. As a Toronto techno mainstay, HNTR tapped into his experience of engaging crowds and did a phenomenal job building drops and creating suspense. During the set, I was invited into the booth to see the magic being made first-hand. Three individual decks sat on an incline with a mixer below. Both HNTR and the producer beside him were locked in, treating the system as a command centre for the dancefloor, only glancing up momentarily to see the audience’s reactions.
No Neon Records is a definite must if you are a fan of Dark House or just EDM in general. The launch party was one of the most impressive shows of Canadian Music Week thus far. You can sign up for future events on their website.
(Photography by Arya Gunde)
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SPILL FESTIVAL REVIEW: CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK 2024 – YSN FAB @ THE PAINTED LADY, TORONTO
