After my amazing and unique experience at Innerdance: The Reunion, the news that Mentis is hosting Innerdance II, featuring headliner NineSense, immediately pushed this event to the top of my list. Although the original venue secured for this event was abandoned due to soundproofing issues, the event is now set to take place at 160 Bartley Dr. (near Eglinton Ave E & Victoria Park) and this space seems much better suited to Innerdance’s vibe. The sheer size will allow for two stages, creating space for more artists to participate in this event. The lineup for this event is absolutely not to be missed: the Dance stage will host headliner Ninesense along with Sara Dopstar, MagicMushroom, Trancisco, Cosmous, and Atheria, while the Chill Out stage welcomes I’m mortal, Discrete Infinity, Modula, Downimalium, and Mustafa Ismeel. Aiming for an inside-festival atmosphere, Innerdance II will run for 11 hours, from 9pm on Dec 10 to 8am the next morning. With a bar, kitchen and vendors like Acid Math, Mentis hopes to provide a comfortable space for participants to enjoy psychedelic music and art as a community.
Hailing from the USA and the Azores, Portugal, Headliner Ninesense, Nuno Cabral, was first entranced by psychedelic music as a listener. His first project, Manipulation, caught the eye of several labels as he developed his mixing and producing techniques, and is associated with Kinematic Records and Zero 1 Music. With this latest project, Ninesense, he released a debut album, Spectrum, in April of this year under Blacklite Records and has been topping charts since. He specializes on creating intense, sensory soundscapes that are not restricted in style – ranging from progressive to forest, and many places in between – or geographic location; Ninesense has spread his influence through the USA, Mexico, Australia, Canada, and is now reaching into Europe.
Sara Dopstar grew up in Toronto’s underground rave scene, and first began to spin deep techno and tech-house, boosting her name through taking slots at friend’s events. She began to expand her skills and interests into psychedelic music in 2013, debuting at the festival Manifesting Magic in Ottawa, and has since played at some of the most prestigious venues in Canada, including Eclipse festival in Quebec, The Guvernment, and Circus Afterhours. Last year, she took her unique musical style overseas, playing the Sonica festival in Italy, and the 24/7 Records Label party in Salzbug, Austria, while continuing to maintain her presence in both the Canadian and Columbian festival and event circuits.
Born in Portugal, MagicMushroom has held a deep passion for Psytrance from a young age. Driven by a desire to participate in the scene, he began mixing at 16 and within a few years was playing in clubs and then festivals with popular DJs in his native Portugal. After moving to Canada, MagicMushroom dove straight into the emerging Toronto Psytrance scene, involving himself in many events and developing his name as an artist within the community. Often mixing progressive and full on, MagicMushroom brings the best of psychedelic trance to every event he plays.
DJ Transisco, John Fransisco, was born in Portugal and raised in Toronto. Introduced to the scene in 2007, he has since connected intensely with the Psytrance community. Three years later, he began to spin as a way of participating in the energy and vibe he came to enjoy so much. Over the past six years, since 2010, he has developed his skills, integrating elements of full on, progressive techno, tech house, and deep house at events like Manifesting Magic, Om Reunion Project, Eclipse, and even playing overseas at Ressonar & Universo Parallelo in Brazil.
Bringing some amazing deep forest vibes to the dance stage, Atheria comes from Toronto, Canada and holds associations in the Psytrance scene with Organic Family, Neuromantix, and Glitch Doctors. He is best known for driving bass lines and crystalline notes that develop his psychedelic forest sound. Atheria has performed at events and festivals across Canada and overseas, but is best known for his involvement in All Stars Festival.
Celebrating his birthday, I’m mortal will be bringing two hours of wonder to the Chill Out stage for Innerdance II. The brainchild of Nikhil Khedar, who has been spinning for over a decade, I’m Mortal draws inspiration from his time spent in Mumbai and Goa in the early 2000’s and his experiences expanding his name through the east coast Canadian music scene. Recently, he has performed at Wild and Timeless Festivals, as well as other events. He has also launched a website to promote underground music and highlight events in the techno and Psytrance scenes.
Discrete Infinity, also known as Christian Mutikainen, developed an interest in Psytrance through events put together by the Black Light Activists (BLA) and Shakti Collective in the early 2000’s. After attending Eclipse festival several times, he also took an interest in techno, attending events in Montreal organized by 64hz, Digital Garden and Noerg, and observing the rise of the Neuromantix collective. Inspired, he began his own participation in the scene, mixing House, Techno, and Progressive and involving himself in events, including helping to organize four All Stars Festivals.
Modula, the electronic duo Jason Gardiner and Scott Hunter, are well-versed musicians from the Humber College music program. Although their first love was jazz, both also harboured a deep interest in electronic dance music which further united them. Embarking on Modula together, they found an outlet to apply their considerable skills with live synth and electric bass techniques. Modula has since performed at many events and venues across Toronto, including Wild Festival, embedding itself in the psychedelic music scene with their unique blend of Psytrance and techno elements.
Downimalium, the downtempo project of Phillip Pereira, will also be performing at the Chill out stage. Influenced by artists from his native Portugal, he created his first project, Animalium, out of his deep love of Psytrance, specifically, full on. Developing his name and skills in the underground Toronto scene, he has played at downtown venues and Wild Summer Festival. Downimalium developed more recently, a result of expanding his musical horizons through attending downtempo-focused stages at festivals and psytech events, and focuses on a lower bpm range while maintaining that entrancing ‘psy’ feel that is his signature.
Mustafa Ismaeel will also be joining the rest of this talented lineup. Born in Iraq, this DJ/Producer grew up in India before moving to Canada and counts the influences from each of these countries as important to the development of his personal sound. Blending techno and house elements, Mustafa enthralls audiences through building an atmosphere of connection.
Mr. Sun will be managing decor for the night. This Montreal-based visual artist has always been fascinated by optical illusions, fractals and psychedelic patterns. Gaining a reputation for his skill with string art, Lycra canopies, air-brushing and projections, Mr. Sun has worked for many well-known musical artists, including Spacey Koala, Zentrix, Sensient, White Bear and Evil Oil Man, and participated in designing and building many stages for various music festivals in his native Quebec.
Bringing her body paint skills to this event, Stephanie Stella, a dancer and makeup artist, will be adding her own colours and textures to the atmosphere.
Tickets are available on Early Bird ($25) and Interprise (30$) tiers. Entrance is 30$ before midnight on the day of the event. Etransfers can be sent to groupmentis@gmail.com. Please use your full name (as shown on your ID) and include the etransfer password.
LINKS:
NineSense (Manipulation) USA
Website
Blacklight Records
Facebook
Soundcloud
Sara Dopstar
Magic Mushroom
Website
Facebook
Soundcloud
Mixcloud
Trancisco
Mixcloud
Cosmous
Soundcloud
Atheria
I’m mortal
Downimalium
Mustafa Ismaeel
Modula
Discrete Infinity
Soundcloud
Mr. Sun
Jade – EDM TOR
