Livestreaming During the COVID-19 Crisis: Electronic Music Reviews From Isolation #2

Words by Hollie McGowan

Another week in quarantine, another week of live music streaming. As the world continues to hold their breath and wait out the Covid-19 crisis, the global electronic music community continues to connect through online platforms in an attempt to stay united. Although nothing beats real physical contact and the feeling of being immersed in an audience at a music venue or festival, live streaming certainly has been a little light coming through the cracks. The sound quality may not always suffice, but the solidarity through computer screens has become vital. Below is the second installment of live DJ set reviews caught streaming throughout the week from around the world. Note: all time slots set to PST.

Beginning on Tuesday March 31st, Virtually Nowadays, the virtual equivalent of the New York bar, Nowadays, Vancouver’s D. Tiffany had joined in alongside other worldwide talent to stream her set. Throughout the pandemic, Virtually Nowadays has provided viewers with music sets from artists around the globe, music production tutorials, and other virtual experiences such as DJ Marcelle’s ‘Tour of New York City’. They have also set up a Patreon account to raise funds for their staff and others in the community affected by COVID. Starting with some trippy, chill house beats broadcasting from Berlin, D. Tiffany waved to her listeners, sparked up a joint and “handed” it to those on the other side of the screen before elevating her set into more energetic tribal rhythms. The next day, April 1st, Vancouver based record label, Mood Hut, temporarily took over the virtual music stream for Nowadays. Representing the label was Planetarium, who proceeded to play a loungy, experimental set with sprinkles of hip hop accompanied by kaleidoscopic visuals. 

Thursday April 2nd, early in the afternoon J-E-T-S duo Jimmy Edgar and Machinedrum popped up on Instagram, each sharing the feed together from their individual homes. Although not a live set, the two appeared to be in a music swapping session, a self-isolation lock-down B2B set of sorts.

Later in the evening at around 6:00pm PST, Twenty Twenty Global, the virtual event produced by Ivy Lab’s record label, 20/20 LDN, had emerged via twitch. Every Thursday, a new episode will broadcast during the pandemic. This week’s installment consisted of Sumgii and Chunky, DJ Craze, and head honchos, Ivy Lab. In keeping with the music label’s sound, the tunes for the evening concentrated around hip hop and bass music. Visuals of moving patterns and color provided by Justin Conte, L.V.D.F., and Nadine Olmo contributed to the deep, dark, and heavy sounds while dancers moved their bodies to the rhythm.

Over at Virtually Nowadays at around 7:30pm PST, Peach and Shanti Celeste were leading the global dancefloor as viewers were instructed to “beam in with two hours of feel good fire from London.” Things went up a notch with some fun house while the chat room, otherwise known as the ‘virtual bar stools’, got lively.

By Friday April 3rd, Boiler Room’s Streaming From Isolation provided viewers with a real treat by enlisting Four Tet to play a live set. Beginning at first with a shot of the woods outside his humble abode, Four Tet appears onscreen, through the trees like Fred Penner in the opening of Fred Penner’s place. With a small stroll in the woods before heading into his home for some music making magic, Four Tet welcomed his viewers and sent his well wishes out to the world, hoping everyone was safe and healthy. Beside his music set-up, artwork by a child hung on the wall.

At about 1:00pm PST, the second installment of Virtual Pow Wow began for another two-day online festival with another stacked line-up, this time featuring Dj Kookum and DJ Shub. Starting this weekend off with a bang, NEON Natives played in front of a desert landscape. Discussions in the chat room revolved throughout his set as to whether or not he was actually in the desert, or if the image was the result of a green screen. The remainder of the weekend ran the gamut of electronic sounds, while the virtual pow wow community continued to show their steadfast support online.

At around 2:00pm PST Zed Bias popped up on Instagram playing his usual rave worthy house, appearing to broadcast from his bedroom while chatting with his partner who was celebrating a birthday.

Back over at Boiler Room’s Streaming From Isolation, Berlin based DJ and producer, Dixon, began with some lively piano experimentation before moving directly into a techno set. He performed live from a digital 3D environment created by Transmoderna, his Ibiza residency. While he played, he began morphing into a pixilated exploding mass of tiny particles which eventually became an otherworldly underwater universe from another planet.

Later in the evening over at Virtually Nowadays, NYC based DJ, Ron Like Hell, played new wave 80s electro inspired sounds over top colorful moving images of cars and nighttime city driving. He then handed the baton over to DJ Voices who played a techno set while projected images of the Nowadays logo and smiley faces continued revolving overtop.

Saturday April 4th brought another onslaught of self-isolation festivals. Canadian based music label, Westwood Recordings, teamed up with BC electronic music festival, Shambhala, to bring the mass quarantinized an evening of music a la Shambs style. Opening with their song, Mountains, Moontricks banjo player and lead singer, Sean Rodman, played an acoustic set from his studio. Next up on the roster was K+Lab, streaming from the land down under, who played a funky glitch hop set with tastes of a little d ‘n b and his own usual finesses using a keytar as cartoon images floated behind him on a green screen.

At roughly 6pm PST, Vancouver based DJ, Sweet Anomaly began his set from the Dreamberry Studios. His performance was a part of the AloneTogether.Show, a one-day online festival designed to bring together the West Coast festival community with yoga, talks, workshops, and live music and DJ sets via twitch and zoom. Playing a diverse set ranging from soothing bass to minimal techno soundscapes, Sweet Anomaly kept listeners grooving while mixing amidst a pink space-age backdrop surrounded by crystals. Pretty West Coast indeed.   

Back at the virtual Kootenay-esque party from Westwood and Shambhala was Dunks of The Funk Hunters, playing from the comfort of his home where 45’s lined the walls. In very high spirits, Dunks rinsed some funky tunes, at one point playing a remix of, Bill Withers’, Ain’t No Sunshine. Withers had passed away on March 30th. “The only thing more contagious than this virus is love, so spread that everywhere,” called out Dunks to his audience though the screen.  

Over at the AloneTogether.Show from the Dreamberry Studios, Canadian DJ, Shiny Things played a dirty, grimy bass set. A lawn gnome stood smiling beside him as he bopped to his tunes.

At around 8pm PST, Vancouver based event curators, Digital Motions Events began their third installment of SUBculture Sessions, an online event that has been taking place during the pandemic in place of their usual SUBculture Saturdays night at Vancouver nightclub, the Red Room. Playing a range of bass sounds from drum ‘n bass to grime, the line-up consisted of Beatmool, Ray Black, Damage, Flawless Victor LKC, Kermode, and Walter Wilde. Throughout the night, they were giving away prizes to those active in the chat.

Another online party was underway this Saturday, Quarintized Live Stream Festival, which sought to bring 14 hours of music from 14 DJs succeeded in its endeavor. The event was also another initiative set up to raise funds for performing artists who have lost money due to the virus. On the extensive line-up for the evening starting at 3pm and ending at 5am, familiar faces such as Mat The Alien, Handsome Tiger and Levrige showed up from around the province of BC on the West Coast of Canada. Beginning his set at 10pm, birthday boy Handsome Tiger played a heavy bass set to the masses who wished him a happy festivities. Later on, Mat The Alien performed his signature scratching wizardry while psychedelic cats and the well-known Mat The Alien ‘alien face’ floated around his turntables. By 1am PST, Canadian DJ duo, Levrige appeared on the Quarintized twitch livestream, rinsing out some drum ‘n bass, grime, and footwork while SpongeBob SquarePants, an Elmo engulfed in flames, rolls of toilet paper, a cat in a bath playing bongos, and a dancing man in a unicorn onesie all danced around their screen.

As the hours become days, and the days become weeks, we continue to collectively wait out this pandemic in self-isolated unity. Although in many ways a detriment to our livelihoods and general well-beings, it has also proven that humanity ultimately desires to be together, to persevere, and to find connection despite all odds. Even the introverts would agree that these live streams have been crucial to our survival. Check back in with Citrus next week on Blursday, the fortyteenth of Maprilay for another review of the weekend’s livestream during the pandemic 2020 events.