It's a wise bet that if you're part of the Toronto techno community, you already know Jonathan Rosa.Besides being a resident at the renowned Comfort Zone, the Northern Ontario native was the right-hand man at the city's legendary Footwork nightclub. Having Jon greet you with a smile and beer before he'd go and rip a set was as common as the headliner playing into the morning or the powerful Co2 cannon blasting out the crowd. And he now takes over the same duties at venue's successor CODA.In other words, he remains a cornerstone in Toronto's underground foundation. And in a scene that's been compared to Cheers—where "everybody knows your name"—Jonathan Rosa would be akin to bartender Sam Malone. Simply put, he's a central character around which so much of the circus revolves.But surprisingly enough, it was actually over in the United Kingdom where Jon cut his teeth, learning the DJ craft in London for three years while getting his education at some of the most prominent clubbing institutions on the planet. "To this day, I've been to Fabric more times than I've been to The Guvernment," he remarks with a grin.Determined to make his mark back home when he returned to Canada, he was then guided by another Toronto figure whose name you might be familiar with."I absorbed the most about being a DJ and programming from watching and studying Nathan Barato, who later on became a big studio mentor to me." And the influences didn't stop there, with local house and techno stalwarts like Carlo Lio, Manzone & Strong, Addy, Deko-ze, The Junkies and Jayforce all providing him direction.The rub certainly worked, because thanks to a non-stop schedule of both playing and promoting Toronto's most important after-hours venues, Rosa himself now firmly stands on that same hometown echelon with the rest of those guys. And it's a stature that continues to grow thanks to a steady stream of releases on Incorrect, Recovery Tech, longtime friend Sydney Blu's eponymous Blu Music and more.The distinction has also come with one very enviable perk of the job, and that is the opportunity to perform alongside all sorts of visiting international talent."I've opened for lots of artists that I really respected—Solomun, Hot Since 82—but Lawler was different. I've probably seen him play over 20 different occasions, from London to Ibiza, Miami, Montreal and Toronto. So many times I lost count. I never try to miss him if I'm in the same city. I'm a huge fan, so that was a big honour. Turned out to be a crazy party, one of the best at CODA so far."His position in the scene has also afforded Jon some pretty out-of-the-ordinary experiences with the biggest names in the business, like when conducting an 8 PM soundcheck at Footwork with Napoli techno king Marco Carola. "I asked him if he wanted a drink, like a water bottle type of thing, and he goes, 'Champagne?' I chuckled because this is Footwork, it's not something that we'd have regularly stocked in the fridge, right? But I found a bottle in the back and opened it. We had to use wine glasses because, needless to say, Footwork didn't have champagne flutes. Meanwhile, Marco is playing the most amazing tech records to test out the system. Just a wild 'Where am I, is this real life?'kind of moment."Jon's got more anecdotes like that than he can keep track of and is likely to add a few more after his big upcoming gig with Maceo Plex next Saturday night, a show that sold out almost immediately and has the T.O. fixture counting down the days in excitement.Above is Jonathan's blazing Northmix for THUMP. The 60 minute compilation is a showcase of passion for every record he drops."For a song to make the cut, I have to be in love with it. This selection not only highlights a handful of unheard label promos I've got on frequent rotation, it features two of my own productions. I'm loving everything deep these days and it's got some big moments. So enjoy!"Follow Jonathan Rosa on: Twitter / Facebook / SoundcloudYou can follow Christopher on Twitter at: @theCMprogram
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