EVENT REVIEW: Frequency ft. Sam Jones and Paul Denton @ Nest – 24-03-18

Last Saturday Rapture debuted their first ever Frequency event at Nest, and what an impression they made. They had a huge entry into the scene by introducing two huge names in Trance to Toronto. I have so much to say about this event, so here goes!

I arrived at Nest around 10:15PM, a hot minute after DeeCee opened the event. As usual, there weren’t many people there at this point, but DeeCee didn’t seem to care. I always enjoy watching him spin, as he always seems so immersed in the experience. He was playing some driving progressive stuff, a perfect intro to what the rest of the night had in store. This was quite different from what I’ve heard him play recently, so I was pleasantly surprised with the change-up. I had my fibre optic whip with me, and decided to take advantage of the space on the dance floor while people started trickling in, feeling the flow of the music slowly pick up with the entry of each new person.

I was lucky enough to join in on the Meet and Greet that the Rapture team had organized for the winner of their contest. This meant that I was in the green room with the organizers and the DJs for a portion of DeeCee’s set, although I could still hear his driving beats turn from dark progressive into full-on trance, with tunes such as MaRLo’s Hold It together, Tiesto’s Lethal Industry, and Cosmic Gate’s Exploration of Space pumping through the venue, getting everyone ready for the rest of the night’s madness.

This was my first Meet and Greet experience at a Trance event, and it was rather chill, I have to say. The organizers made us feel welcome, and the lucky winner of the Meet and Greet, Alex Shefler, was over the moon to be there meeting Sam Jones and Paul Denton. It was a great opportunity to be able to chat with Jones and Denton before their sets, as well as getting some personal feedback on my interview questions from them! (Did you miss those? Check out Jones’ here and Denton’s here!). Take a look at some photos from the Meet and Greet below.

While I was still in the green room, Denton got ready to take the decks for the very first time in Toronto. He seemed excited, which was great to see. I decided it was time to join everyone else on the dance floor, and as he started his set off with his own track Blizzard with David Forbes, it became clear that this night was going to be a complete banger. At this point I was happy to see that the club had filled up considerably, too.

Denton played quite a few of his own tracks, which I always appreciate a DJ doing, such as Revolution, Curtain Call, and my personal favorite, Zombie. There were only a few lulls in the beats with lyrical songs such as Flynn and Denton’s Say My Name and Sean Tyas’ Twilo ringing through the speakers, prompting the crowd to sing along. His one and a half hour set flew by, and as he closed with Sneijder’s Love of My Control, I remember thinking “what, already?!” He certainly set the stage for the next debut, and if you were unfortunate enough to miss it, you can listen to his full set below!

1AM came fast, and next up was none other than Sam Jones, and boy did he ever make it known. His first track was Shugz’s All Systems Go, and he kept that energy throughout the entirety of his two hour set. Jones was relentless with psy and hard style trance, never once giving us a break from the powerful, driving basslines. I would go so far to say that this was the best set I’ve witnessed so far this year.

I haven’t seen a crowd that genuinely happy on the dance floor in a very long time (and keep in mind I go out almost every weekend!) – It was absolutely magical. Everyone was having the time of their lives, including me. Each transition and track in Jones’ set was perfect, but a few favourites that made me lose my mind were Jones’ own Keep On, Buckle Up, and of course his personal favourite Good Love, as well as Simon Patterson’s Roll the Credits (Jones himself said SiPatt is one of his influences… and dear god, how can you not love this track? It has everything you could possibly want!). I could have easily had Jones play another two hours – that’s how good his set was. If you missed it, you sure as hell don’t want to miss the next time he’s in town!

To close out the night, local duo Gattai, comprised of Rapture co-founders DJ David Ferrara and DJ FraktL, took the decks. They had to follow a hell of a set, but they pulled it off. Playing tracks such as Alex Di Stefano’s What’s the Catch, Renegade System’s Definition, and Phil York & Technikal’s Antivirus, they kept the momentum going while also ensuring that their own sound finished off the night. It was quite obvious by the smiles on their faces that they were happy with how the event turned out, which made watching them spin that much better. As people began leaving in scattered clusters, the dance floor was open once again and I had a great time whipping to their tracks. It was a pleasure to see them for my first time.  

I know I say this a lot, but this night really was one for the books. It was the best time I’ve had at an event in a while, and most of that was thanks to the incredible music put on display by three Toronto debuts: Rapture, Sam Jones, and Paul Denton. The Rapture team really pulled off an incredible event that provided a unique, breath-taking experience to those in attendance, and I couldn’t have been happier to be a part of it. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in store for the Toronto Trance Family in the future – I will certainly block off my calendar as soon as they announce their next lineup! If you missed out on this one, don’t miss out on the next, as I can assure you it will be 100% worth it.

LINKS:

Sam Jones

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Paul Denton 

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DeeCee

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Gattai 

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Amber Wilkinson – EDM TOR