“We’re doing it for a good cause, but we might say fuck it and turn all the way up on a Wednesday!”

-Grandtheft

The best nights are the spontaneous ones. Sure, it may throw you off the following morning, especially if you have to work since it’s only the middle of the week. However, at times it can be for a good cause, along with some of the best memories.

Grandtheft and Embrace had a massive turn-out at The Velvet Underground for their event, Relief – which was only announced a day in advance, and with very little promotion compared to other events going on in the city. Nonetheless, the venue was packed well before midnight, and there were really no set times – just upwards of 10 different artists, from Strangerman to Pusher to JayemKayem to Skratch Bastid to Keys N Krates‘ turntablist Jr Flo to Hunter Siegel to Shaun Frank to Grandtheft himself, between 4 CDJs and 2 turntables – spinning one after the other (sometimes together) for 4 straight hours as one crazy back-to-back-to-back-to-back, with free reign over what was played. There were also a few appearances by Delaney Jane, who was on the mic singing her collaborative songs with Grandtheft and Shaun. Overall, the party vibe very much resembled that of Hunter Siegel’s No Neon series.

The set starts off with some funky disco samples, to help groove/warm up the crowd as people were trickling in to the venue at a moderately fast pace. As the first hour progressed, the vibes already started getting much harder. We were bestowed with trap, hip-hop, future house and bass house alike, as well as classics like Daft Punk’s ‘Around the World‘. Whatever it was, it was always a song to ensure the energy was kept high until the very end. There was even a solid segment of dubstep, which caused the room to go absolutely bonkers for a solid 10-15 minutes.

At intermittent moments, Delaney would cause a break in the madness to spread some inspirational words to the crowd, which further lifted everyone’s spirits. At one point, she even admitted to having never crowdsurfed, and the crowd fully supported her and helped her float around the room.

There were some repeat tracks, as is to be expected in such an occurrence – A$AP Ferg & Future‘s ‘I’m on a New Level‘ played at least 3 times; Travis Scott‘s ‘Antidote‘ dropped a couple of times as well. More than once, I hollered out “BAYBEEEEEEEEEH” in unison with Ferg’s ‘Work REMIX’.

After the b2b concluded, a few artists and Delaney turned to the mic and gave praise to those who turned out, and took a moment to talk about the devastation left behind by Hurricane Maria, not too long ago. All the proceeds from that night went to Global Giving and International Relief Teams, to give aid to Puerto Rico.

The event left us all energized afterwards, which felt sort of weird, yet rejuvenating for a mid-week evening. Nonetheless, knowing that proceeds were going towards helping Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, we felt like it was very justified, helping out fellow human beings. If this were to happen again, or even become a series based on good intentions, I’m sure that the cityfolk would most definitely be down to help show some support once more.

The post Grandtheft & Embrace Brought Relief on A Wednesday appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

This event will take place at Velvet Underground (Queen St. W) on October 11th, and is set to help raise funds for two charities – Global Giving and International Relief Teams, who will be receiveing all proceeds. The roster consists of some local all-stars, including Grandtheft himself, Delaney Jane, Hunter Siegel, Skratch Bastid, Keys N Krates, and likely some special guests as well, for the perfect mid-week turn-up to help out a great cause. You can buy tickets via TicketWeb, and RSVP on Facebook. Join us for a night of good will and good times!

The post Grandtheft & Co. Provide Relief for Hurricane Maria Victims appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

In order to properly say goodbye you know they had to throw one last rager to go down in history. It was only fitting that Hunter Siegel’s No Neon took over the club one last time. The event series has been a staple in the city for the past two years with Hunter bringing through some of the best new talent and throwing down legendary impromptu B2Bs. With Hunter scheduled for an open to close set and special guests practically a given, the club was packed from the time it opened. I arrived before 10:30 and the line-up was already massive. There was a bittersweet energy in the air; a mixture of excitement and sadness. There was a huge buzz outside with everyone talking about who might show up for a quick guest set and discussing their disbelief that this was truly the last night out at The Hoxton. Every person you talked to shared the same sentiment, “I can’t believe this is it”.I got in just before 11 and it was already filling in nicely. Fast forward 30 minutes and it was packed with Hunter Siegel throwing down heavy. If it were any other night, you would of thought that it was easily 1:00 am. Considering the size and intensity of the crowd, he didn’t need to hold back, saving things for later, he just let it flow. This was underscored by him joking on the mic about wanting to save ‘Bad and Boujee’ for later and then dropping it before midnight. Although the special guests were a highlight to many, it needs to be mentioned that Hunter deserves an incredible amount of respect. Not many DJs can murder a party for 6+ hours and he did just that. Now on to the special guests. Going to the event everyone knew the finale was destined to see another iconic B2B session featuring some of Canada’s finest. Things kicked off with Grandtheft and never slowed down. From them debuting Hunter’s ‘Easy Go’ remix to Zed’s Dead’s DC straight up slaughtering things. The stage became a revolving door of incredible acts. Omar Linx hopped on the table to deliver some classics before getting into his most recent smash ‘Keep It Mello’. Oh and Sleepy Tom and Keys N Krates decided to drop in, cause why not right? In many ways the event was legendary but also felt like another night at The Hoxton. I say that not to disrespect the finale, but rather to highlight the fact that incredible B2Bs, guest appearances and overall amazing vibes are what made The Hoxton the best club in Toronto. Although it’ll never be replaced, let’s the hope its spirit can live on (likely at Velvet Underground). To all the DJs, organizers and staff, I thank you for 6 incredible years and a very special finale. #RIPHoxton.

Check out some of the pics below and head over to our Facebook album for the full gallery. All photos by Eryn McCarthy.

The post #RIPHoxton appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

The post The Hoxton Announces Closure And Final Parties appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

The night starts off with openers Nu Alias, warming up the crowd with some mid-energy tracks, such as Durante’s ‘Full Moon’ – something to limber up to while waiting to throw the fuck down very soon. As midnight approaches though, the bass gets progressively heavier – up to a point where the crowd is losing their minds to Endor’s ‘Be Mine’ at the stroke of midnight.

Photo by Kevin Gallant

During that, Hunter Siegel pops up on stage, and takes over on the decks, and not too soon after is accompanied by fellow producers such as Grandtheft, Shaun Frank and Autoerotique, who take turns mixing songs for the crowd. Before long, there are signs floating about in the crowd, with a fire emoji and the message “IT’S LIT FAM” – which seems like it’s becoming a staple for No Neon.

Photo by Kevin Gallant

After about an hour or so, Troy and Basie arrive, with big grins, as if they’re about to unleash a tremendous force upon us – which, of course, they end up doing. One of their opening tracks is ‘Rock the Party’, their infamous smasher with Jauz, and right off the bat, the crowd easily loses their shit – headbanging and throwing down to the sheer depth, filth and stupidity of the bass being pumped out.

Photo by Kevin Gallant

In the middle of the crowd, a mosh pit forms – one unlike any mosh pit I’ve witnessed before. This one doesn’t seem to die out, instead it gets progressively wilder as the night goes on. The huge smiles on the patrons’ faces throughout justified the unity and collective enjoyment from such orchestrated catharsis.

Truth be told, it was my first time coming to terms with my dormant inner basshead, and being as sore as I was the following morning was so fucking worth it!

Written by Christian Kwamie. Check him out on Twitter and Facebook.

The post REVIEW: No Neon Stays Lit With Ephwurd appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

Shot by FUXWITHIT.com

Hunter Siegel has teamed up with Embrace entertainment and the Hoxton to bring you an event series featuring some of the hottest up and coming dj/producers in the game. The No Neon event showcases some of the most forward thinking and musically diverse DJs making a splash on the scene. The event typically features a house / deep house / bass house vibe, but this latest event hit hard, with some of the most bass heavy sets we’ve heard. It’s remarkable to witness the diversity that each performer brought to the stage, whether it was dubstep, bass house, UK garage, trap, hip-hop, deep house or jungle terror.  The packed house was a sure-tell sign that this event is constantly growing in popularity.

Shot by FUXWITHIT.com

The latest instalment featured sets from Mikey Palermo, HolloH, Hunter Siegel,  and my two personal favourites; California natives, Ghastly and Dr. Fresch. Mikey Palermo opened up the night with a smooth deep house set to get people warmed up and bouncing. HolloH followed up with bass heavy deep house vibe with a touch of techno. The Duo surprised some with current rap tracks including Trap Queen’s ‘Brush Your Teeth’. Soon after it was midnight and the club was packed!

Hunter Siegel took center stage and thanked the crowd for coming out to be part of the No Neon event series that he started just a year ago. Hunter Siegel’s set was nothing short of amazing. This was by far, one of the most exciting sets I’ve seen this year. The diversity Hunter Siegel puts in his sets is second to none. He demonstrates range in his productions but watching him spin live is some next level shit. Hunter got the crowd bumping to his collab with Wax Motif ‘All Night Man’ which was beautifully transitioned into Wuki’s latest ‘Get Down’, which had everyone in the crowd doing just that (getting down).

The Skrillex x Jauz- ‘Squad Out! Ft Fatman Scoop’ track really got the crowd going crazy, but it was the moment that I heard Skrillex’s ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’ come on that I completely lost control. The dude next to me tapped me on the shoulder and said “Yo this drop is gonna make your dick explode!” I was like, “Dude, I love this track, I’ll be alright.” Just as the vocals came in, I foolishly put both hands in the air as the teenage sample screams “Oh my god!”. Seconds later, the tempo winds up and I’m hit with a barrage of trapped out low frequency basslines and sure enough, my penis was severed right at the base. The onslaught continued when Hunter dropped Kanye’s West’s ‘All Day’ quickly mixing that out to a completely unexpected nose-bleed techno banger ‘Chained To A Dead Camel’.  Hunter completed the night by introducing fellow Torontonian; AutoErotique and unveiling their latest collab. It was the perfect track to end the set and pass the torch over to Ghastly.

After a quick introduction, Ghastly opened up his set with the familiar ‘Insane In The Membrane’ by Cypress Hill. The track is quickly transitioned into an up-tempo dance edit, followed by his signature smash ‘Every Night’. Ghastly hit hard with an onslaught of dubstep style drops and banging baselines. The level of energy Ghastly had on stage was absolutely infectious and could only matched by some of dubstep’s giants like Skrillex & Zomboy. A couple of head-splitting drops got the crowd in a frenzy and sure enough the pit was opened up front and center for those the really wanted to get crazy! After an hour long set I was thinking “what a night so far,” fully aware of the fact that there was still another set on the way.

Topping off the night was another energetic set from Dr. Fresch. Fresch has truly been killing the bass house / G-house scene for a while now and the man can really showcase some skill behind the decks.  Fresch opened up with his signature remix of ‘Kryptonite’, swiftly mixing it into the classic Dutch house tune ‘Polka Dots’. Fresch continued the night with a set built for the dance floor. Later, Dr. Fresch fans finally got to hear the highly anticipated collaboration with Jackal ‘Netflix and Kill’. The new track did not disappoint and neither does a Dr. Fresch set.

Shot by FUXWITHIT.com

If you haven’t been to a No Neon event yet, I suggest you cop tickets now for the upcoming event, as this show is only getting bigger. Once again Hunter Siegel and the crew have opened up this city’s ears to exciting new sounds and introduced many to the DJs and producers of the future. Keep the mission alive and keep the party going!

Big thanks to Darryl for his contribution.

The post Hunter Siegel Does it Again with No Neon appeared first on FUXWITHIT.