Toronto producers Andre E-R (better known as Sylvermayne) and Jordan Gardner come together to create ÈBONY, a project formed due to a newfound musical synergy between them.The duo met while playing back to back at Bambi's, a very small spot in Toronto regularly hosting proper names in underground music. That night they discovered how perfectly their styles and tastes complimented each other. While André leans more towards sounds of aggressive techno, Jordan adds smooth, soulful touches of house music behind the decks maintaining a strong balance and good energy.Earlier this month I met up with ÈBONY for an intimate living room disco party to talk about their roots in the Toronto music scene and for a quick lesson on the use of CDJs.For this installment of NORTHMIX, enjoy a melodic and warm arrangement of tracks the duo is loving right now along with some unreleased singles of their own.THUMP: How did you first get into listening to electronic music, when were you first exposed to it?
André: I first started listening to hip-hop and as I dug further into it I started to get hungry for more. I wanted hip-hop that no one has heard yet, so I kept digging into the underground artists like early EL-P and Handsome Boy Modelling School. But I always had an ear for something different and that's what lead me into into early drum and bass and trance.Jordan: I first got into it through my older brother. He used to listen to Tiesto's Club Life mix CD's and podcasts; my sister and I would joke that he was the only black Gino in the GTA. I used to looked up to him a lot so I would always be hanging in his room and he would either be listening to trance or Radiohead. I didn't really know I liked it at the time or that it would end up influencing my musical taste to this degree.What brings you two together as producers?
J: I personally think it's that we both came from backgrounds of loving the nostalgia of old R&B music. I was raised with a lot of Janet Jackson, Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sade, Blackstreet. Again, I never knew it was influencing me at the time, but it's definitely changed the way I listen to music and I think it helps give us something unique when we combine those elements with the abrasive percussions of techno.A: We both play different types of house and techno, but sometimes I'll get really heavy and dark because that's what I'm into. Jordan will play a bit smoother which keeps me cool headed behind the decks.You guys have really deep roots in the Toronto music scene. How did you first got involved?
A: I started as a bouncer in Toronto, and I would go to shows when I was in university. There were more venues back then and acts that are really big now like Aloe Black or Boyz Noize weren't so huge. My friend Thanh (Kid Epic) taught me most of what I know as a DJ producer and introduced me to Traktor. I had my first gig at my girlfriend's art show and since then I've been using the contacts I made from going to parties and working security to get bigger ones.J: My very first gig was at The Social, which is now The Dog & Bear. I was in university at the time so the condition was to fill up party buses from Humber North campus and bringing them downtown. I used to DJ in a duo with my friend Dave, called Sonos. That eventually snowballed into us getting booked at Mod Club and a few other cool places, meeting a lot of awesome people who helped us get our feet in the door.André and I have a monthly at Bambi's now. The owner, Mikey, saw me DJing in a sneaker store and heard me playing "The Sun Can't Compare" by Larry Heard. I noticed he was shuffling through shoes close to me, eventually introduced himself and asked if I wanted to do something at his bar. Our one year anniversary party is actually coming up in September and we have something special planned for it!What are your goals for the ÈBONY project?
J: Right now we want to focus on making good music that we genuinely love. A tour and running a label would be fun, but we really want to finish up our first EP for now.A: I would definitely like to see it grow outside of Canada, which has recently started happening. At Dekmantel festival in Amsterdam, FEELMYBICEP played out one of our newest releases. We knew Bicep was playing the track regularly, but when some random posted a video of it being played at the it at the festival and Shazam held no answers, we got some pretty good buzz building over the weekend, so hopefully the rest of this year and next will be a busy one!Do you think there is anything specifically about Toronto's electronic underground scene that makes it special?
A: I think the most special thing about Toronto is that we were sort of in the shadows for a while, it has made our underground dudes really have to fight for their place in the game. Artists like XI, Kevin McPhee, Nautiluss, Gingy, even Zeds Dead, Hunter Siegel, Egyptrixx, Skeleton Bone, BWANA and BSMNT are working so hard to have their place in dance music and I have so much respect for them and many others for their perseverance, there are still so many more out here!J: I think what's special about our scene is that it's still growing, it's still finding it's identity. We lack facilities to host parties that could put us on the forefront of dance music culture. We don't have a Berghain, a Tresor or a warehouse project or anything near that yet. The city doesn't support the growth of underground subcultures otherwise a series like Foundry would have happened in that automotive warehouse and it would have helped do something unprecedented. There's no go-to hub where you can expect to hear eclectic house and techno consistently. It's a lot of DIY by like-minded DJs and promoters, but what makes it great is that a lot of the people programming these shows aren't just trying to create experiences for their own interests, it's becoming more of a collective effort to help push the culture forward as a whole.Catch ÈBONY tomorrow night at Bambi's with Gingy and Metoux for their monthly party. And make sure to head back in September for their one year anniversary celebration.Tracklist:
Interude: Twisted Elegance - Janet Jackson
Crackdown (Remix) Psyche HC-2 - Analogue Man
Brotherhood - itsnotover
Buchla (Seven Davis Jr Remix)
Take Your Time - ÈBONY
Log In - Gemini
Smile (Shur-i-kan Future Vox + Harmonic Dub) - Mistura feat. Kendra Cash
??? - Sylvermayne
20002-B - Wax
Packet Of Peace ( The Jeff Mills Deep House Mix)
Mukunda - Eduardo De La Calle
Day Laborer (H.S Recast) - Rawaat
Moribayasa (DJ Kaos Re-Edit) - Abstraxion
Selio - Itamar Sagi
Automatic - Psyk
??? - ÈBONY
Streetways - Taraval
??? - ÈBONY
Untitled B1 - K. Hand
Technasia - Tropicala 2
African Spirits - The African Dream
Never Thought I'd See the Day (L-Vis 1990 Sunrise Edit)Christine wishes she could make beats like ÈBONY. Instead she posts about music on Instagram and Twitter. Follow her @xtinediam.For more ÈBONY:SoundCloud // FacebookRelated articles:Smoking Ironic Rooftop Joints With HugsnotdrugsThe City of Toronto Forced Foundry Festival To RelocateThe Curators of Foundry Bring Toronto a New Event Series: Otherland
Advertisement
André: I first started listening to hip-hop and as I dug further into it I started to get hungry for more. I wanted hip-hop that no one has heard yet, so I kept digging into the underground artists like early EL-P and Handsome Boy Modelling School. But I always had an ear for something different and that's what lead me into into early drum and bass and trance.Jordan: I first got into it through my older brother. He used to listen to Tiesto's Club Life mix CD's and podcasts; my sister and I would joke that he was the only black Gino in the GTA. I used to looked up to him a lot so I would always be hanging in his room and he would either be listening to trance or Radiohead. I didn't really know I liked it at the time or that it would end up influencing my musical taste to this degree.What brings you two together as producers?
J: I personally think it's that we both came from backgrounds of loving the nostalgia of old R&B music. I was raised with a lot of Janet Jackson, Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sade, Blackstreet. Again, I never knew it was influencing me at the time, but it's definitely changed the way I listen to music and I think it helps give us something unique when we combine those elements with the abrasive percussions of techno.
Advertisement
A: I started as a bouncer in Toronto, and I would go to shows when I was in university. There were more venues back then and acts that are really big now like Aloe Black or Boyz Noize weren't so huge. My friend Thanh (Kid Epic) taught me most of what I know as a DJ producer and introduced me to Traktor. I had my first gig at my girlfriend's art show and since then I've been using the contacts I made from going to parties and working security to get bigger ones.J: My very first gig was at The Social, which is now The Dog & Bear. I was in university at the time so the condition was to fill up party buses from Humber North campus and bringing them downtown. I used to DJ in a duo with my friend Dave, called Sonos. That eventually snowballed into us getting booked at Mod Club and a few other cool places, meeting a lot of awesome people who helped us get our feet in the door.André and I have a monthly at Bambi's now. The owner, Mikey, saw me DJing in a sneaker store and heard me playing "The Sun Can't Compare" by Larry Heard. I noticed he was shuffling through shoes close to me, eventually introduced himself and asked if I wanted to do something at his bar. Our one year anniversary party is actually coming up in September and we have something special planned for it!
Advertisement
J: Right now we want to focus on making good music that we genuinely love. A tour and running a label would be fun, but we really want to finish up our first EP for now.A: I would definitely like to see it grow outside of Canada, which has recently started happening. At Dekmantel festival in Amsterdam, FEELMYBICEP played out one of our newest releases. We knew Bicep was playing the track regularly, but when some random posted a video of it being played at the it at the festival and Shazam held no answers, we got some pretty good buzz building over the weekend, so hopefully the rest of this year and next will be a busy one!Do you think there is anything specifically about Toronto's electronic underground scene that makes it special?
A: I think the most special thing about Toronto is that we were sort of in the shadows for a while, it has made our underground dudes really have to fight for their place in the game. Artists like XI, Kevin McPhee, Nautiluss, Gingy, even Zeds Dead, Hunter Siegel, Egyptrixx, Skeleton Bone, BWANA and BSMNT are working so hard to have their place in dance music and I have so much respect for them and many others for their perseverance, there are still so many more out here!J: I think what's special about our scene is that it's still growing, it's still finding it's identity. We lack facilities to host parties that could put us on the forefront of dance music culture. We don't have a Berghain, a Tresor or a warehouse project or anything near that yet. The city doesn't support the growth of underground subcultures otherwise a series like Foundry would have happened in that automotive warehouse and it would have helped do something unprecedented. There's no go-to hub where you can expect to hear eclectic house and techno consistently. It's a lot of DIY by like-minded DJs and promoters, but what makes it great is that a lot of the people programming these shows aren't just trying to create experiences for their own interests, it's becoming more of a collective effort to help push the culture forward as a whole.
Advertisement
Interude: Twisted Elegance - Janet Jackson
Crackdown (Remix) Psyche HC-2 - Analogue Man
Brotherhood - itsnotover
Buchla (Seven Davis Jr Remix)
Take Your Time - ÈBONY
Log In - Gemini
Smile (Shur-i-kan Future Vox + Harmonic Dub) - Mistura feat. Kendra Cash
??? - Sylvermayne
20002-B - Wax
Packet Of Peace ( The Jeff Mills Deep House Mix)
Mukunda - Eduardo De La Calle
Day Laborer (H.S Recast) - Rawaat
Moribayasa (DJ Kaos Re-Edit) - Abstraxion
Selio - Itamar Sagi
Automatic - Psyk
??? - ÈBONY
Streetways - Taraval
??? - ÈBONY
Untitled B1 - K. Hand
Technasia - Tropicala 2
African Spirits - The African Dream
Never Thought I'd See the Day (L-Vis 1990 Sunrise Edit)Christine wishes she could make beats like ÈBONY. Instead she posts about music on Instagram and Twitter. Follow her @xtinediam.For more ÈBONY:SoundCloud // FacebookRelated articles:Smoking Ironic Rooftop Joints With HugsnotdrugsThe City of Toronto Forced Foundry Festival To RelocateThe Curators of Foundry Bring Toronto a New Event Series: Otherland