EVENT REVIEW: Len Faki at Wrongbar 05-04-14 by Tim Crutchley

Saturday nights in Toronto are usually overflowing with tempting events to lure in teeming EDM fans craving a release from everyday life. This past Saturday, however, a truly nefarious event was plotted by FLOH Entertainment; to lure in unsuspecting Torontonians and imprison them for six hours of Techno darkness. Those brave enough to withstand the onslaught were rallied to witness the obliteration of Wrongbar and meet their unequivocal doom. The master smith, the infamous Berghain resident Len Faki, was the one responsible for our undoing.

The night had a rapid pulse to it; a vicious energy that consumed the crowd and led them along through a perilous journey of utter debauchery. I unfortunately missed Gruber’s set, arriving just as Greg Gow stepped up to the decks. Gow, a Toronto local and no stranger to flattening crowds with his notorious style, began his ruthless introduction as bodies quickly filled the room. Gow is well known for his bouncy sets at Toronto afterhour venues and The Guvernment Complex, but at Wrongbar we were exposed to his darker side.

Gow guided us through an outstanding opening truly fitting for a titan of techno. Len Faki, techno smith of darkness, deserves nothing less. Faki rose to his forge of destruction and the crowd roared in thrill and excitement, black sheep united with their shepherd. Without pause Wrongbar was torn wide open and transformed into something dark and faceless; congruous of the European underground scene. We were given a true taste of the unknown; ID’s continuously smelted together masterfully by this Berlin resident. Each thump of the bass was heavy and aggressive, echoing madness throughout the room like a smithing hammer to an anvil. The hammer struck, over and over, making the crowd shudder; yet we were enthralled by his mastery of his craft as he wrought dark and vigorous tracks like hot iron into a blade. Faki forged these foreign weapons of energetic Techno and exposed them to us as if he were Tyler Durden giving us cold hard truths of life.

Some may have ventured to Wrongbar seeking a set with more familiar and signature Faki tracks. These individuals would have found themselves a bit out of their element, but for me it was an incredible surprise. In an age where everything is captured and recorded in an effort to continuously relive past memories, Faki managed to force us to (hopefully) live in and enjoy the moment. He gave us a truly heinous and enigmatic set that you simply won’t find replicated elsewhere. A one of a kind set such as this one is a rare beast to encounter in 2014, which is why I fell in love with the night so easily. While it seems Faki is constantly aware of the energy of the crowd; however I believe the style he employed on Saturday shows just how polarizing he is willing to be. To some, such a nebulous experience can be frightening, they should be warned; Faki’s forge is not the place for the faint of heart.

This is one of the many incredible tracks dropped during Faki’s set: