[Toronto, Canada. March 16th, 2010] -- Who knew? Toronto could very well be the new front for deep house music. Growing up in and out of records shops,
Stuart Li (Basic Soul Unit) shows us a few things that you may or may not have known about the new Canada. Read on as he touches a bit on a career in graphic design,
a musical upbringing intimately influenced by a proximity to Chicago, NYC, and Detroit, and the subsequent purveyance of his very own sound. You’ll then find his podcast
below all this, which is indeed a real treat to say the least...
You've noted that Toronto is a city at a "point of convergence and absorption" when it comes to its dance music culture,
and that while there might not be a distinctive "Toronto sound," since the city is in-between Chicago, Detroit, and New York, you've been able to
take in all the influences and sounds coming from those places. Why though haven't more producers emerged to emulate these sounds as you have?
Most think of Toronto as a home to quality heads like Noah Pred and Mike Shannon, who typically purveyed techno and minimal.
I'm not sure to tell the truth. There are definitely heads into that spectrum of the sound. Maybe its just a matter
of time. But we've also had a lot of different influence over the years at different points in time. Toronto is a very diverse city culturally so rather
than a "scene" coalescing or one sound taking over the city, its kind of like a mosaic with a bit of everything.
In Toronto in the 80's you had The Twilight Zone club, which you described as Toronto's answer to the Paradise Garage (New York)
or the Warehouse (Chicago). And while you might have been too young to club at The Twilight Zone at the time, you took incredible influence to local
college radio stations on shows like "Dave's Dance Music" in Toronto. Would you liken these to the Electrifying Mojo or The Wizard shows in Detroit,
being as expansive and penetrating? Feel free to elaborate on exactly how important these local college radio stations were for you and your peers.
It would be hard to compare since I haven't experienced a Mojo or Wizard show first hand. Maybe it wasn't as mythical
or professional and it wasn't like the presenter had a strong personality (I mean it was basically volunteer underground DJs like me and you) but to be sure
it had an influence. There was and still is no commercial radio support for this music in Toronto, so it was the only source we had. That and the record
stores (Star Sound, Carnival & Play De Record) that we would gather and hang out at every Thursday (when they put out the new stuff). They had a newsletter
with the radio tracklistings that we would study religiously every week. Also being the only source of dance music on the radio, they played a range of
music including, house, hip hop, freestyle, RnB, Reggae & Soca. I guess at the time it was the one of the few voices of the minority communities.
What would you say your "musical origins" are? How did Basic Soul Unit begin and come to fruition?
It was just one of those "lets just put it put out there and see what happens" moment. I was dabbling and playing around
on my computer (with free sequencing software from a magazine I got!) for awhile. Then I let my friend John Kumahara hear it who decided to release one of
the tracks on his Iwanai imprint as part of the first EP. As Torontonians (and maybe North Americans in general) we never thought or imagined it was
possible to release our own music and make it out there. Everything seemed so far away and happening in Europe or Japan (pre internet era any way). Then
I was working at Cosmos Records in Toronto and met a lot of traveling DJs coming through. Only after talking to them and realizing they're just as down to
earth and in the same struggle we are that maybe it was possible. Anyway, after another release on local label Do Right!, I contacted Gilb'r from Versatile
to thank him for playing my stuff (from hearing it on his radio show), and that lead to my releases on Versatile. I guess from there, one thing led to
another until I got to where I am now.
Which Basic Soul Unit records are you most proud of? Are there any specific ones that you have a profound connection to?
I always find it hard to judge for myself, but it was definitely cool to see my first release on an actual slab of wax,
that being the one on Iwanai (Basic Soul). Also I liked the Mathematics release, it wasn't the most successful numbers wise I think but Jamal Moss really
pushed me to try harder and reach further with my music, to challenge myself. So I was quite happy with the results. I mean actually every release amazes
me in a way because it still seems unreal that someone out there believes in me enough to put it out and someone else actually likes it enough to buy it.
What does your studio look like? (Maybe you could answer this question with a photograph.)
Haha, I won't even front on this one. I am a laptop producer. Never been a gear head or studio wiz. But I believe if
you got ideas, then whatever tools you can get your hands on, you can still get that idea across as long as you do it with an honest approach. For the
most part I use Reason, and sometimes rewire it through Logic or Ableton. What I would like to do though is to try to improve my sound, by that I don't
mean sound more "professional" but to get the beats to sound "phatter" and with more depth. So when I can get together the money then maybe that's
what I will research.
I totally dig this mlat podcast you put together. How would you describe it, and how did you mix it?
Hmm, just some tracks I'm into lately. I mixed it at home using Serato. I still use and buy vinyl sometimes and prefer
it but can't afford the money or space to buy much these days. Digitally, Serato is preferable because I still like to use the turntables as opposed to
CDJs. One thing I do hate about digital though is looking for tracks during a set. I like the feel of flipping through a crate of records rather than
getting bug-eyed looking at the screen or flipping through CD books. Also with mixes I try to plan them out a bit more as far as the programming and I
like to try to create a flow, so hopefully that is apparent as you listen. In a club setting, it's the opposite where I play it by ear and react to the
crowd.
Apparently you're a "working man" with a family as well as a musician. Which path do you think you'll take over the next 10
years? Perhaps another alias or different outlets like sound design or soundtracks? Are you going to start the next underground
movement or go to church every Sunday... or both?
Fortunately at the moment I work from home doing Graphic Design. That gives me some flexibility schedule-wise. So basically
I'll just take it as it comes. If music gets busy I'll spend more time doing that. If not, then as least I have a fall back which I also enjoy. And in any case
I'll probably still do music to some extent just for the love of it. I do have a project under the alias "Herman". The first ep will be coming out from Fine Art
Recordings soon. It's a little less 4/4 focused. As my reason to produce was inspired by the dance floor, that's where my head is at now. I don't know if I could
see myself doing sound design or soundtracks but sure I might try doing other music at some point in the future. And lastly, I will start the next underground
movement in the basement of a church ;)
| MYSPACE |
1. I Cube - Un Dimanche Sans Fin [Versatile]
2. Lerosa - Pulsar [Uzuri]
3. Motorcitysoul - Deliver Me (Prosumer Reprise) [Simple]
4. Pawel - Laredo [Dial]
5. Tevo Howard - Yes You (Acid mix) [Beautiful Granville]
6. Julian Jonah - Jealousy And Lies [Cooltempo]
7. Rick Wilhite - Drum Patterns & Memories (Ricks Morning Service Mix) [Rush Hour]
8. Mark Henning - The Right Time (Chris Simmonds Remix) [Hypercolour]
9. Kris Wadsworth - Deep Inside [Dark Energy]
10. Ken Ishii - Let It Ride (Orlando Voorn Mix) [70 Drums]
11. Martyn - Seventy Four (Redshape Remix) [3024]
12. Iron Curtis - 80 G [Mule Musiq]
13. Herman - April Skies [Fine Art Recordings]
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