Guide to Toronto, with STRANJAH

Who is STRANJAH? Tell us a bit about yourself. (Not that you need introducing!)

I am a Canadian electronic and drum and bass music producer active since the late 1990's. I'm now known as a music production educator across social media platforms.

Tell us about the Toronto drum and bass scene in one sentence.

Toronto drum & bass has been going strong for over 30 years, with deep roots and enduring ties to the UK.

Where did your journey in drum and bass start? Are there any particular people you met that showed you the ropes and introduced you to drums?

It started when I first heard about D&B jungle on Toronto underground radio and reading about it in Mixmag magazine in the late 90's when Goldie's Timeless album came out. A friend who now goes by Fringe helped me earlier on learning about UK Jungle culture, and later on DJ Steppa and L Double from Flex Records UK would give me my first break in 1999.

How would you compare the scene then to now? Would you say it has grown significantly?

The scene has changed, it's gone through a couple revolutions. Some diehard fans still come out since day one, but there's also a lot of new faces coming out. It's not as big as in the 90's where we would get 10K - 20K raves, but I think it can grow again if we keep pushing and investing in the next generation.

Are there any collectives/labels/artists you think are responsible for the growth of the scene in the city - past or present?

Marcus Visionary, Jungle PHD, Medicine Muffine, Mystical Influence, Sniper, Slip & Slide, DJ Lush, Vinyl Syndicate, Empire Productions, Destiny amongst many others were hard pushing the sound in Toronto in the early days. Now there are some smaller newer companies such as Roost, Toronto DnB, Levels, NEXA pushing the sound.

We know that there's a fair amount of radios that are/have been active in the city that are focused on drums, The Prophecy is a name that many people recognise. How do you feel about Marcus and what he's done to help put Toronto on the map?

Marcus Visionary is a legend and staple to the Toronto jungle scene. I would listen to his show in the 90's along with Medicine Muffin's show on Saturday's to get a weekly dose of jungle inspiration. Marcus has always stuck true to his roots in original jungle culture which I have a lot of respect for.

Favourite venue to play in? Or a venue where you've played one of your best sets?

My recent gigs at History (opening for Zeds Dead) and McCormack (opening for Dimension) have been my most memorable sets. But I also remember early sets in the Y2K era at The Warehouse, and Luxor Nightclub, which were legendary nights such as when Empire brought Future Cut down.

Any venues people should check out if they are visiting the city? When Brad (Rigside crew) was in the city he noticed that other than CODA, there wasn't really a fixed location for Electronic music.

CODA is great, Nomad is another favourite. A smaller club that has been getting good reviews is called Standard Time for its intimate space but proper sound system. The McCormack space has been legendary for recreating that underground warehouse vibe.

Any subgenres of drum and bass that crowds respond particularly well to? Any producers' tunes that you play that make you surprised when people react well to them?

Our city loves jungle and rollers, thanks to our long history in D&B. Anything with reggae vocals seem to resonate, but the newer fans love the up front jump up and neuro too.

Living in Toronto, it's clear that hiphop is really dominant in the music scene - do you think this impacts what kind of music you produce? (In the ways of hiphop samples/vocals)

I guess it has an indirect impact - I've worked with a number of hip-hop artists in Toronto doing full out hip-hop tracks as well as incorporating vocals in D&B. I like the melting pot of influences you get exposed to in this city with the diversity of people.

Favourite Toronto based DJs and Artists to take inspiration from/link up with? Any people who you are watching in particular at the moment?

Our DJ's and artists are worldclass and some of them are signed on proper d&b labels, some people to check out include Polaris, RMS, Gremlinz, Jesta, DJ Lush, Capital J, Pachelle, Bensley, Schematic, Marcus Visionary, Dungeon Kru, ACE, Tyr Kohout, flowanastasia and many others. Also watch out for young guns such as my protege SZETO, Mazzy and Hyuujeen.

What are some artists in Toronto that are on the up right now that you want to put a spotlight on?

SZETO, Hartland, Mazzy. They're bringing a new sound to Toronto DNB.

You've been making educational videos for 7 years on a consistent basis, this is something that a lot of artists don't do. What inspired you to start this, and remain motivated to stay consistent for all this time?

Someone taught me when I was starting out, so I think it's like passing on the torch. The greatest reward is when I hear that my videos have helped someone progress in their journey.

If you had to make just 3 recommendations to anyone getting into music production, what would you say?

1. Practice as much as you can.
2. Take notes from the greats.
3. Don't be hard on yourself, even the best producers feel like crap on some days.