A Guy Called Gerald and Mehdi Ansari: Experimental Link

A special live jam session unites the iconic figure in dance music, A Guy Called Gerald (UK), known for his consistent innovation and refusal to compromise, with Mehdi Ansari aka Shemroon (Iran), credited with birthing Dubai’s dance music underground (Scene Noise). Local support Caleb Klager aka MMRI and 999ADJ start out the night, each with their own set of techno and electro. Experimental Link Series forays exclusively into the electronic and underground for this powerful edition.

Breaking beats since 1988, A Guy Called Gerald has been a respected name in the electronic music scene worldwide for over 30 years. A trailblazer for black British music, with tracks like the ‘99 classic “Voodoo Ray” and as founding member of 808 State with “Pacific State,” he is one of the UK’s finest, most forward thinking electronic music producers. With nine albums and over 50 releases, be prepared for beats ranging from acid house to jungle and electronic that push the boundaries with “true school” flavour.

Mehdi Ansari returns to Toronto as a life-affirming dancefloor beat-dropper. The founder, chief promoter and resident at Analog Room has collaborated with artists such as Vakula, Pier Bucci and his brother Salar Ansari who has the Machine Machine project. Ansari’s Bachelors degree in audio engineering nicely compliments his vast experiences with and knowledge of music production. His tireless championing of electronic musicians have won Analog Room the respect and endorsements of some of the most influential figures.

Caleb Klager, the home-grown artist whose array of samplers, synthesizers and acoustic instruments produce lush experimental and evocative soundscapes ranging from hard techno to the experimental offers classic yet trippy originals. The producer and live PA artist celebrated his first techno release, the EP “Kinetics”, via the label Nodding Heads in July.

Ghanaian Toronto-based DJ, producer and curator 999ADJ brings their magic bag of sounds for open format DJing with a jungle slant that lays the foundation for grooves to come along.

Link Music Lab acknowledges presenting partner Kaleidoscope and the generous support of Canadian Heritage and Canada Council for the Arts.

Experimental Link Series contemplates the Persian-Canadian experience by reinvigorating, re-exploring and re-imagining Persian traditional music within contemporary and cosmopolitan Toronto by inviting different musicians from the diaspora to collaborate and perform together. The series will explore connections between identity, culture, and musical creation.