From the team that brought Foundry to Toronto, Otherland promises to bring the "pioneers and innovators" within electronic music. The Mansion crew continuously strives to remove the 'bottle service' mentality from the electronic music scene within Toronto. As the line-ups have been announced for five Otherland event series'—all of which will be held at Tattoo on Queen St. W.—it has yet to be determined if they will in fact waft fresh air into a somewhat saturated electronic music scene. If their Foundry parties are any indication of what they hope to achieve, this new event series could become one of the most stimulating sets of parties to hit Toronto this year. We caught up with Konrad Droeske to discuss the motivation behind Otherland.THUMP: What was the inspiration for this party? Where did Otherland come from and why Tattoo?
Konrad: A lot of inspiration came from institutions like Stattbad in Berlin, Corsica Studios in London, and Output in NYC. One thing they have in common is that they don't cut corners: sound quality, artist selection, branding, and people that care about music are all seen as equally important parts of the club experience. We hope to bring that same standard to Otherland.As for Tattoo, you can probably imagine we had our reservations given its history as a rock venue, but in the last few months we've witnessed an incredible turnaround that has seen tasteful renovations, sound improvements, a clean re-brand and thoughtful programming. In our opinion, it's become the best mid-sized concert venue in the city. And I think most people who checked out the Red Bull NXNE showcase or a recent show there would agree. The new team there has done a phenomenal job.What do you think Otherland brings to Toronto that it doesn't already have?
It isn't necessarily one thing, but many simple, often ignored concepts all coming together. Things like properly tuned sound, uncompromising curation, opportunities for our most promising locals, a no-harassment policy, and of course, no bottle service. We want people to feel comfortable and we want people to come for the right reasons.Not to say this type of vibe doesn't exist here yet, but we're hoping to create a year-round series that understands and acts on these small, but important details.With the line-ups for the first five shows announced, what are you most excited about for this new series?
There are a lot of reasons to be excited. Model 500 is a big one. We got really lucky because they rarely play together—about one or two shows a year, usually in Europe or Japan. To be honest, it almost feels historic. A lot of people are really into us bringing Paul Johnson and Parris Mitchell from Dance Mania. On a more recent tip, we saw Iron Galaxy kill it at Mutek and knew we had to bring him. We've also witnessed the evolution of Simian Mobile Disco's sound, from pop electronic to some very respectable house and techno.I could go on and on, but if you look at any artist that we've booked, there is a wonderful and interesting story, as well as a track record for pushing the boundaries of electronic music for the better. And that's what really matters.Win tickets to Otherland featuring Model 500 by emailingcontests.canada@vice.comwith your name, address, and phone number. Contest ends Thursday, July 24th.You can follow Geoff on Twitter: @gpharricksRelated Articles:The City of Toronto Forced the Foundry Festival to RelocateFoundry: Canada's Most Interesting Underground Dance SeriesMontreal's Mutek Festival Turns 15
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Konrad: A lot of inspiration came from institutions like Stattbad in Berlin, Corsica Studios in London, and Output in NYC. One thing they have in common is that they don't cut corners: sound quality, artist selection, branding, and people that care about music are all seen as equally important parts of the club experience. We hope to bring that same standard to Otherland.As for Tattoo, you can probably imagine we had our reservations given its history as a rock venue, but in the last few months we've witnessed an incredible turnaround that has seen tasteful renovations, sound improvements, a clean re-brand and thoughtful programming. In our opinion, it's become the best mid-sized concert venue in the city. And I think most people who checked out the Red Bull NXNE showcase or a recent show there would agree. The new team there has done a phenomenal job.What do you think Otherland brings to Toronto that it doesn't already have?
It isn't necessarily one thing, but many simple, often ignored concepts all coming together. Things like properly tuned sound, uncompromising curation, opportunities for our most promising locals, a no-harassment policy, and of course, no bottle service. We want people to feel comfortable and we want people to come for the right reasons.Not to say this type of vibe doesn't exist here yet, but we're hoping to create a year-round series that understands and acts on these small, but important details.
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There are a lot of reasons to be excited. Model 500 is a big one. We got really lucky because they rarely play together—about one or two shows a year, usually in Europe or Japan. To be honest, it almost feels historic. A lot of people are really into us bringing Paul Johnson and Parris Mitchell from Dance Mania. On a more recent tip, we saw Iron Galaxy kill it at Mutek and knew we had to bring him. We've also witnessed the evolution of Simian Mobile Disco's sound, from pop electronic to some very respectable house and techno.I could go on and on, but if you look at any artist that we've booked, there is a wonderful and interesting story, as well as a track record for pushing the boundaries of electronic music for the better. And that's what really matters.Win tickets to Otherland featuring Model 500 by emailingcontests.canada@vice.comwith your name, address, and phone number. Contest ends Thursday, July 24th.You can follow Geoff on Twitter: @gpharricksRelated Articles:The City of Toronto Forced the Foundry Festival to RelocateFoundry: Canada's Most Interesting Underground Dance SeriesMontreal's Mutek Festival Turns 15