Saturday was the perfect day for a beach party and the WKD Beach Party did not disappoint. With an impressive line-up of DJs from across the tech-house music spectrum, the afternoon delivered an unforgettable back-to-back dance party.
My Favourite Robot, a local Toronto DJ trio, enjoying some deserved international accolades at the moment, was on when we arrived mid-afternoon. Jared Simms, represented MFR with some appropriate beach vibe, down tempo beats.
Next up was a DJ set from Juan Maclean. Off the popular DFA Records label, Maclean brought his stack of records and spun a dance-worthy set of electro-inspired house.
Boston’s Soul Clap took us into their EFUNK groove with some deep funk, disco, house beats. A real highlight for us, we love their jams and seeing them in Toronto on a beach was a treat. The crowd really got into their booty shaking beats.
Pat Mahoney, James Murphy’s long-time music collaborator in LCD Soundsystem and DJ gigs, took up where Soul Clap left off. Mahoney’s stoic expression didn’t fool us; he was getting into his mix busting out a few grooves himself.
Embrace and Modern Love Affair collaborated to put together a fantastic party. The timing of the DJ sets really started to shine as the late afternoon sun of Soul Clap’s smooth funk set rolled into Pat Manhoney’s sunset, beat heavy session.
The real excitement was for Lee Foss. One half of the Jamie Jones, Hot Creations label / Hot Natured duo, was coming into Toronto to play Sugar beach in the middle of a bi-coastal weekend of DJ gigs. Foss did not disappoint. We saw him twice in Detroit this year and, despite being probably a bit tired in Toronto, he gave the crowd what they wanted.
The evening closed with minimal house set from Matthew Dear. The beach was a bit of a departure from the normal venues we’ve seen his sets, but certainly welcome as he kept the crowd going with some bouncy beats. From what we hear the party kept going at Footwork and Wrong Bar, but a day of hot sun and dancing was all we could handle. We hope this becomes a yearly event; it was certainly a highlight of the year so far.
