Canadian breakbeat superstar MYAGI is celebrating a bit of a milestone. 10 years in the game, and another new album being released soon! Our own D-Monic sat down with Mr. Mavor to get some insight on his incredible journeys around the world and back.
How does a guy from small town Ontario, Canada get into Electronic Dance Music? Who were your influences?
I don’t know really! Hahahah. I started playing guitar and bass, and discovered I loved songwriting and performing. I got into heavier music, lots of industrial and the like… I suppose way back it was Nine Inch Nails that got me into it. I remember there was a Meat Beat Manifesto remix on one of the singles (Perfect Drug, I think) and so I got into them. Freddy Fresh did a remix of a Meat Beat Manifesto tune, and thats how I discovered him. It’s quite the rabbit hole!
Do you remember your first studio set up? What did it consist of?
My first studio set up per se was a Roland Mc-303 Groovebox, a Korg Poly 800, a Yamaha SU-10, Roland Alpha Juno-1 and a Roland SH-7. The SH-7 is still with me today. After I added an Akai MPC2000xl to the mix in 1999, I started producing tunes that were worth demoing to people. The first few Myagi records that came out were actually done solely on that MPC. Before that I noodled around on Fasttracker2 and a few other mod and tracker programs, but really it was once I picked up the MPC that things gelled.
Were you one of those new producers that sent every one you know a new song clip every day?
Damn dude, you KNOW thats a yes. I used to accost you with stuff constantly. Then again, I did live in small town Ontario and so my connection with people was pretty much e-mail and the net.
And ICQ, if I remember correctly. What was your first ‘big break/signing’?
The first one I did with Freddy Fresh got really nice responses from John Peel at the BBC. Thats still a career highlight for me – Peel was one of the most influential radio personalities in the world, and one of the most influential media personalities of any type at the BBC. His “Peel Sessions” showcase some of the best performances by the likes of The Smiths, Joy Division, Bowie, etc. He opened his show up a few times with that little 7″ of mine that I produced in a university dorm. Still sort of blows my mind.
How many releases have you had in total to date? Not counting remixes.
I honestly have NO idea. Probably something in the 50 range, 25 of which are on vinyl. If you include remixes, its way higher – I’d imagine close to 100 tracks published or so.
Which one is your personal favourite?
I’m obliged to say my new album (which is sort of true – its my most focused piece to date and I’m super happy about how it’s turned out), but to be honest, I think a remix I did of a track called Stiletto by EightBall on Point Red. Its a monster track, probably the closest thing to a perfect tune I’ve ever done – in my mind anyway.
Which one do you wish never happened?
An EP I released without double checking my spreadsheets – I’d just started running Pop and Lock and wrote “Andrew Mavor” under the artist field instead of Myagi. When the release went live, thats how it showed up everywhere. As Andrew Mavor. Then I did it again. Now i quadruple check everything.
Going back to your studio set up, I understand you’re a bit of Synth junkie. Where did that start?
Way back – I think I got my first synth at about 16 and kept on adding ones to the pile. I’ve always been told my material has a definable sound, and I think that comes from knowing my gear inside and out – something that in my opinion is a lot easier if you have actual gear in front of you. I know people who are intimidated by hardware, but really, I think it’s a huge asset to learning production work – being able to physically get your hands on something.
Is it true you make your own synths? Why?
Yeah, I do, though nothing amazingly complex. I love the process. Soldering is fun, it can be a frustrating process so when you get something done its a great feeling. I like the raw, gross sounds that I can get out of some of the things I’ve made. I also like the whole fact that its sort of a luddite activity. It’s so unnecessary to make something like a single oscillator synth when you can download any number of VSTs that could do more, so its sort of an activity purely for the love of it – the nasty sounds I can get are just a bonus.
You’ve played all over the world…
- How many countries have you played in?
I’m not sure. More than 10, less than 20 I think. Lots of repeat visits to most of those places.
- How many passports have you been through?
3 – those passports are my greatest souvenir from the years I’ve travelled playing music.
- Where you have been most?
I’ve done Australia probably 6 times or so, I love it there. I’ve got a lot of close friends down there and it’s a great country to travel in. Awesome people amazing club scene.
- Where do you wish you could move to, if you could?
San Francisco, without any doubt. That place is magic and the people are incredible. It’s got some of the best food in the world just growing in the area. Amazing seafood, and after the first time there I realized I’d never had Mexican food before. I could happily move there, the only down side is I don’t really want to live outside of Canada!
You lived in BC for a while, and you’ve played across Canada quite a bit, but you don’t seem to play much in your home province of Ontario. Why is that?
I honestly don’t know. I must admit it’s something that sort of bothered me for a while, but at this point I’m not fussed about it. Ontario has always had a sort of funny scene. Toronto suffers from a “too many options” syndrome. Any night of the week there are almost too many things going on to allow a good scene to build up. When you get plethora of options you get insulated pockets of people supporting their own one thing and not getting exposed to new scenarios. A lot of other cities I play in, the night I’m there perhaps there may be one competing event, and there might be multiple different genres in one club in one night. That’s the problem I noticed about 5 years ago or so and it’s something a lot of other people have noted too – it may or may not be the case any more but it’s been a factor in the Ontario scene for sure.
You’re known primarily for making breaks…
- What do you think of the apparent global collapse of the breakbeat scene? What happened?
It for sure did collapse but that hasn’t overly bothered me. I think that things got sterile and boring and people moved on. It was sort of a perfect storm of things going wrong – Intergroove going down and taking a lot of finances with them led to a lack of faith in the sound – people branched out and many of the large artists who were good at producing breaks found they were not so good at making a name in other genres. I think it’s a good thing in some sense – it’s culled the herd.
- Most of the big breaks producers have shifted to other genres. Have you ever considered doing that?
Not really no, but thats only because I’ve always done multiple genres be default. I just write what I want to write – the fact that the word “breaks” was ever applicable to my music was sort of a fluke. As a DJ and a listener, I like good music – not whatever style is in at the time – and I feel the same about how I write tunes.
I’ve seen your ‘Cooking With Myagi’ clips on Youtube. You seem to know your way around a kitchen. How did that come about?
The only job I’ve had other than writing / playing music is restaurant work. It’s been a part of my life since I was like 16. I tend to cook for friends wherever I go, so the “Cooking with Myagi” clips sort of came out of that.
I still remember you making Teriyaki sauce from scratch in my kitchen. It was amazing to watch. If you had to pick between music and cooking, what would your choice be?
I can’t choose – they’re both so similar in the role they fill in my life. When my main source of income is music, cooking becomes the creative release – when the main source is cooking, music takes that role.
In your ten years in the biz, tell us your favorite:
- Gig of all time?
Burning Man – Sunrise, Space Cowboys Hoe Down closing set, 2010.
- Song of all time?
Myagi – Giorgio Marauder
- City to play in?
San Francisco
- Country to vacation to?
Thailand
- Little known dining spot everyone should try?
Ferris’s Oyster Bar, Victoria BC
- Piece of studio gear?
Roland SH-7 or Focusrite Liquid Mix (Tie)
- Airport?
For hilarity – McCarren in Las Vegas. It’s a horror show there. Drunk 18 year olds in sombreros and old women playing the slots and smoking in the departure lounge. For efficiency, decor, and the ability to chill out a bit, I really like Charlotte, North Carolina, or Amsterdam’s Schipol.
- Airline?
Air Canada
- Sunrise?
Standing on the roof of a restaurant at 5 AM after a random underground party let out, watching the sun rise over Bangkok. The smells of food cooking, still sweaty, having just spent one of the most randomly hilarious nights of my life with friends from all over. It was great.
Here’s the 10 Years of Myagi Mix:
Tracklist:
- Myagi – The Mothra Shuffle – West
- Myagi – Wish You Well – 2Wars
- Myagi – Release The hounds – Splank
- Myagi – Skank-o-matic – Howlin
- Myagi – Speakerhumper – Pop and Lock
- Myagi – Dirty girls (Meta.Dj Mashup) – Free Download
- Myagi – Cure for pain – Splank
- 8 Ball – Stiletto (Myagi Remix) – Point Red
- Myagi – Absent From Skull – Fight Club
- Lunar Shift – Again And Again (Myagi Remix) – 192K
- Myagi – Giorgio Marauder (Fight Club)
- Reix – Electrofunk (Myagi Remix) – Release Records
- The Crystal method – High roller (Myagi Remix) – Universal
- Sole Claw – Goth Chick Hand Job – Pure Phunk
- Myagi – Warehouse Bounce – Pop and Lock
- Myagi – This Will Make You Jump (ft Chickaboo) – Pop and Lock
- Long Range – Dispel The Clouds (Myagi Remix) – Pop and Lock
- Myagi – Staring At The Sun – Howlin
What we Canadians Have to be Proud of?
Smarties (not sold in the USA)- Crispy Crunch, Coffee Crisp (not sold in the USA)
- The size of our footballs fields, one less down, and bigger balls.
- Baseball is Canadian – 1st game June 4, 1838 – Ingersoll, ON
- Lacrosse is Canadian
- Hockey is Canadian
- Basketball is Canadian
- Apple pie is Canadian
- Mr. Dress-up beats Mr. Rogers
- Tim Hortons beats Dunkin’ Donuts
- In the war of 1812, started by Americans, Canadians pushed the Americans back past their White House. Then we burned it, and most of Washington… We got bored because they ran away. Then, we came home and partied… Go figure.
- Canada has the largest French population that never surrendered to Germany .
- We have the largest English population that never Ever surrendered or withdrew during any war to anyone, anywhere. EVER! (We got clobbered in the odd battle but prevailed in ALL the wars)
- Our civil war was fought in a bar and lasted a little over an hour.
- The only person who was arrested in our civil war was an American mercenary, he slept in and missed the whole thing. He showed up just in time to get caught.
- A Canadian invented Standard Time.
- The Hudsons Bay Company once owned over 10% of the earth’s surface and is still around as the world’s oldest company.
- The average dog sled team can kill and devour a full grown human in under 3 minutes. (That’s more information than I need!)
- We know what to do with the parts of a buffalo.
- We don’t marry our kin-folk…
- We invented ski-doos, jet-skis, zippers, insulin, and the telephone… Also short wave radios which save countless lives each year.
- We have ALL frozen our tongues to something metal and lived to tell about it.
- A Canadian invented Superman.
- We have coloured money.
- Oil was first produced in Oil Springs, Ontario, Canada. Months before anywhere else in North America.
OOOoohhhhh….. Canada !!
Oh yeah… And our elections only take one day!
It’s still not 100% clear whether there will be an actual printed magazine, or just a website or e-mail with coverage… but at least it’s coverage of the Canadian scene that MIGHT be seen on a global scale… we hope.
From their site:
WELCOME TO DJMAG CANADA!After an eventful year of musical revolutions, electronic dance music has finally come to the forefront across North America and DJmag Canada has arrived right on time!
We are extremely excited to partner and party with the brilliant talent, venues, promoters and fans across the nation while helping to keep Canadian dance music on an upward trend. We’ll be keeping you up to date on what’s hot in the world of EDM, while uniting fans from Victoria to St. John’s!
Our website is now live, along with our Facebook and Twitter pages. The digital edition of the magazine will be ready for your reading pleasure in April and the print edition will hit shelves in November of this year!
Check out our recent photos and videos from the events that have kept us rolling through the holidays, our first podcast from DJmag Resident DJ Sam.Iam, new music from Canada and abroad, news from events and the Canadian and international scene, and take a minute to subscribe to our digital and print magazines. We are happy to be here and celebrate the love of music with our fellow Canadians, and we welcome any and all feedback on our performance. Please use the feedback button on the right hand side of the page to let us know what we’re doing right, and what we can improve on.
We thank each and every one of you for your continued support and unconditional love for electronic dance music; let’s make this a year to remember!
Keep on living and breathing dance music!
-The DJmag Canada Team
Read this on We Are Your Friends:
Deadmau5 has had a whirlwind festive season to say the very least. First up, the Mayor of Las Vegas declared January 2nd ‘Deadmau5 day‘, signifying perhaps the first time in history an EDM artist had a whole day dedicated to his perpetual being. Secondly, he went on a 12 minute rant Christmas night about how Ultra Festival didn’t do things right, with the spiel seemingly set off by his realisation he was not included on the bill this year. He made some very valid points, but it was yet another in many circumstances where you can’t help but think he would be better off not saying anything at all. Either way, it all made a little more sense when on New Years Eve he came out and stated that he had been suffering from severe depression and anxiety for the most part of 2011. “I’ve been dealing with severe depression and anxiety all year.” he blatantly stated, further explaining “Taking a long time off after my birthday to hopefully get it sorted out before I say or do anything more stupid than I already have”. Its sad to see someone with such a good life still succumb to the pressures of fame and wind up on what can often be a long and lonely road. Lets hope he gets better, regardless of how you feel about the moniker he has created.
There’s been some instant response from people saying he should ‘suck it up‘, or ‘get over it‘, or to ‘shut up and enjoy his amazing life‘… even to ‘stop putting out crap tunes and things will get better‘.
We know some people that knew Mr. Zimmerman prior to his megastardom. Consider this angle before you judge the Mau5.
Word is he never really had a really solid core group of friends in the first place. Then, he starts making music that people like, and people start to latch on to him. Then he gets really famous and more people latch on to him. Then he becomes a millionaire and a worldwide star with Grammy nominations and the title of helping to ‘revive‘ dance music. Now… how would you feel if you thought that everyone around you was just a ‘fair-weather friend‘, or only wanted something from you? How would that make you feel? Depressed, perhaps?
We get it. We get it exactly. Not too long ago our DJ’s were ‘pseudo-famous‘. They were local ‘scene‘ celebrities with moderate ‘fame‘ across the country. We also threw a lot of parties too. However, once the gigs started to dry up and the parties became fewer and fewer, we noticed that the number of times the phone would ring in a day got smaller and smaller… until it practically stopped ringing at all. All the ‘fair-weather friends‘ moved on. Thankfully we had a good core group of friends prior to all that happening… but just imagine that feeling on a GLOBAL SIZED scale. We’d be depressed too.
While we may not be the Mau5′s biggest fans either musically or personally, we understand and sympathize with what he’s going through.
Money can’t buy everything…
Readers of this blog know that we are avid supporters of Shad, one of the best under-appreciated hip hop artists in Canada, if not the world.
Seems he’s recently released a mixtape called, Besides. He teamed up with DJ TLO for this 25 minute-long mixtape, which features a number of tracks that Shad has guest spotted on in the past few years and a few solo unreleased songs as well. For more information, read Shad’s description of each song below.
Last year, he released his Polaris Music Prize-nominated third album, TSOL and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a new full-length in the near future.
DOWNLOAD NOW: CLICK HERE (Mediafire)
The Tracklist in Shad’s own words:
- give you all i can: scratch bastid and i got together one time and yelled about how good stevie wonder and curtis mayfield are for about 7 hours then he pitched me this beat… i started writing about ma$e and natalie portman and ribs right away which tells you im in a good mood… looking fwd to more work with him. www.skratchbastid.com
- listen (rmx): i put a new 3rd verse on this one and dallas green gave it a chorus and spiced up the verses. love that guy… itunes.apple.com/ca/album/two-songs-single/id410142177
- notorious: kardi, skillz, ayah. jazzy jeff on the beat… my first cornell west reference is contained therein… backformore.bandcamp.com
- flawless: frank dukes gave me this heater and i felt like i had to do some deadpan punchline shtuff on there… norm macdonald flow: dirty work. www.thenewnorth.ca
- one two check (from the great eascape): joint with my dude louwop. we did a dope live remix with zaki ibrahim. sleeping on her is not advised. louwop.bandcamp.com
- rose garden (rmx): dj t lo beat is irreplaceable. i threw up a new verse and 2/3 of Tanya Morgan hopped on after i ran into don will randomly one time. www.tanyamorgan.net
- love: unreleased track from that monster named tona. coming soon… www.bigtona.com
- stereotypes: new-new from TO group The Get By. beat is bonkers. had to get on there and shout out TBTBT… thegetby.squarespace.com/music
- want you back: this was the first jawn i did with jazzy jeff. skillz and phil nash also holding it down on there. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS5nvKk2zV8
- praise da lord: with maestro… we ate some harvey’s before the session and i got to learn from the godfather. good day… www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgjr710pijk
- count your blessings (from the green light): w/ relic who is a frequent collaborator i met through my friend the runaway. the green light’s got some heat on there. relic.bandcamp.com/
- dawn song (remix): was very happy to hop on this rmx with northwest legends blue scholars. we linked up thru mutual homie dj hyphen. bluescholars.com
- paving the way: incise ft. okay city (london!) and david morin with the smooth vocals… www.lessonsix.com/2010/08/review-incises-daily-methods
- electric city (from metropolis is burning): got another track with grand analog coming soon! love these guys… www.grandanalog.com
- it’s about time: bonus track on TSOL. sometimes i forget how nice this beat is. promise does his thing on there too. www.richkiddbeats.com
- heateration: real freeeqs w/ theo3, grimace love and famous. tone mason on the beat… TeeDot underground is the best. fact. therealfrequency.com
- flux and flow (from siberia) : lights killed this. music.iamlights.com/music
- live forever (acapella): ive been doing this verse a lot at shows lately. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEx771P9TFs
Check out his blog at: shadk.squarespace.com
——-
We shot some footage of Shad live at the Jazz festival last summer. Check it:
Also, Much Music here in Canada did a profile show on him. Watch it online here: MUCH MUSIC
So, in conclusion: We really, really like Shad.
A few years ago, we accompanied our friend Myagi to some fundraiser-type event at Revival in Toronto. He was gonna play a set of old funk 45′s, so we were glad to tag along.
It was a variety show format… some lame comedians, some bands, but there was this one new band that caught our ears. She said her name was Anjulie. She was a very hot Indian girl that was just captivating and very talented. We made a note in our mind to keep an eye out for this girl because she’s “got it” and she’ll go far.
Well, wouldn’t you know it… this evening while being caught up in a youtube-watching vortex we stumbled upon some video’s from ‘Anjulie‘. Looks like she’s doing just fine.
Our sources have told us that the good people at Destiny will be announcing the dates for next summers’ World Electronic Music Festival (aka: WEMF) very, very, very shortly.
You should watch their various social media portals very closely over the next… say… 7 days. We’ve been assured that the WEMF 2012 info will start leaking out soon.
Destiny’s Website: HERE
Destiny’s Facebook: HERE
Destiny’s Twitter: HERE
Zed’s Dead. Toronto boys doin’ stuff in other cities… and doin’ it well.
Find them on Twitter: HERE
We’re already looking forward to next season!
With Remembrance Day taking place last Friday, I was reminded of a few clips I’ve seen over time that made me feel some pride in Canada and our differences from our neighbours to the South. Some are educational, some are funny…
And just to rep my town…
Oh, and an open message to Drake: Y U NO REP TORONTO LIKE KARDI?
We like DJ Spinz. We don’t feel that DJ Spinz gets enough recognition. We don’t know why that is.
He’s a great, well rounded, versatile DJ. He’s a great guy. He’s contributed TONS to the ‘scene‘ and the community. Yet, for some reason he’s not nearly as ‘in-demand’ as he should be. He can mix and scratch circles around those people playing at your party. That makes us upset.
We also love his new podcast. You should love it too.
Click here for the link to his awesome podcast!
Click here for the link to his awesome blog site!
Click here for a link to funny pictures of cats!
But seriously, if you don’t know who DJ Spinz is, you should do some research…
…or let us do it for you!
Read this official looking bio:
“For years dj Spinz has been one of Toronto’s top drum and bass selectors. The Juno and MMVA nominated entertainer is known for his intensity and showmanship behind the decks. His mixing skills are second to none and his energetic scratching rips the dance apart every time. Spinz sets himself apart with his programming skills, weaving a set through peaks and valleys until the dancefloor has no choice but to explode. Known as one of North America’s most versatile dnb djs, he can play anything and loves to test his audience with something they weren’t expecting. Get ready… dj SPINZ takes no prisoners.
Early in his career, Spinz experienced much success with hip-hop band BTK. The release of their debut album, “Birth Thru Knowledge” brought about two highly successful tours of Canada and spawned two award winning videos as well as the aforementioned Juno nomination. Destroying stage after stage opening for bands like Kid Rock and the Beastie Boys, its no wonder their music made its way into major motion movies such as Idle Hands, Never Been Kissed, Dog Park, and The Skulls.
But make no mistake, dj Spinz’ skills were forged in the jungle. The fact is, he grew up behind a set of decks, with almost two decades of terrorizing turntables under his belt. He has played supporting sets for everyone from Fabio to Dillinja to Andy C, each time further cementing his place at the forefront of the Canadian d’n’b circuit. This is evident as he’s been a regular spinning for some of North America’s most legendary promotion companies such as Syrous, Destiny and Hullabaloo, as well as headlining shows in England, Holland, California, New York and in almost every major Canadian city from coast to coast.
The latest chapter in dj Spinz’ unfolding story sees him working as Art Director for Sudden Def Recordings in the UK overseeing all aspects of the label’s identity and marketing. As well, he is one third of cutting edge promotion company Soul In Motion. As a promoter, Spinz has been responsible for a string of huge Toronto debuts including Makoto, Brookes Brothers, Atlantic Connection and Danny Byrd. This continues on the path he began with legendary Eastern Bloc Records when he brought in pioneering acts such as Stakka & Skynet, Cause 4 Concern and Aquasky.
Although his contribution to Canada’s drum and bass scene is absolutely unparalleled, dj Spinz believes his biggest accomplishments are still to come.”
Find him on FACEBOOK and TWITTER!
In Conclusion: we know he hates this, but we’re gonna bring you back in time and show you THIS:
(What is this?!? This is the infectious hit single from BTK’s debut album ‘Birth Thru Knowledge’ which was ubiquitous on Candian airwaves during the late 90′s. It’s a catchy tune and a great video!)
This was posted yesterday on Billboard’s Business site:
Live Nation Canada Debuts Electronic Music Division
November 07, 2011
By Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter
Live Nation Entertainment has hired veteran Canadian electronic music producer Ryan Kruger as managing director of a new Electronic Nation Canada division.
Kruger joins Live Nation after running since 1992 Destiny Productions, where he produced over 600 concerts and club dates, mostly in Toronto.
“With Destiny being a pioneer of the electronic music scene in Canada, it is personally rewarding to see the nation’s largest concert promoter fully committed to the world-wide culture and excitement that is coming from electronic music today,” Kruger said Monday in a statement.
The appointment was unveiled by Riley O’Connor, Live Nation Canada chairman.
Did you like this?
Then you’ll probably like THIS!
This past weekend, local artist and international sensation Deadmau5 played to 20,000+ people at the Rogers Centre (formerly known as the Skydome) in Toronto.
Years ago, there was a time where 10,000 – 15,000 person raves were commonplace every weekend in Toronto, but a government crackdown forced those crowds to disperse into the clubs, and we never saw those kind of numbers again. Many of the fans of the music disappeared forever, or were lost to other genres. It was a sad time for electronic dance music.
Thankfully, things come in cycles. This past weekend shows that there is a demand for the music out there, and even if mega-stars like Deadmau5 and Skrillex are the artists to lure them in, it’s now the job of the local promoters to grab on to those new fans and keep them coming out on a regular basis.
That’s the challenge! Lets see which promoters are up for it.
More On Shad: www.shadk.com
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