Today was another full day of fun, starting off with a session with Grandtheft, Jr Flo (of Keys N Krates) DJ Ayres, and Hedspin coming to check out the new software and gear and have a jam. It was really cool to see these guys go in. They are all such proficient DJ's they picked up the new features right away and flipped it with their own style.
Jazzy Jeff invited us up to his suite on the top floor, where he was going in on classic breaks overlooking the city of Toronto. He came down a little later to jam on the new gear. Again, like the other guys, taking to the new tools with ease.
Earlier in the week we had the opportunity to help Cosmo with a certain piece of music technology which he used in his set tonight, along with another surprise when he brought out the legendary Greg Nice (of Nice n Smooth).
The first contestant of the night was DJ Bazooka from Switzerland. Playing a charismatic set containing such highlights as a latin mix of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky", Jimi Hendrix's "All Along The Watchtower" and Just Blaze & Baauer's trap banger "Higher". He kept the crowd engaged with an incredibly energetic performance, leaving the stage to loud applause.
Following this was DJ Vicky representing Albania. Using CDJs as his preferred battle weapon, as well as busting out his drumming skills, he played an eclectic set which went from Will Smith to Bon Jovi to Whitney Houston to Major Lazer. With his set over, he bowed to the crowd and made heart hands to charm everyone in attendance.
Coming on third was DJ Laese from Spain. Playing with flair and pomp, he ripped through a set which included Aretha Franklin, Serato favourite French Montana, and surprised the crowd with Los Del Rio's 90's heater "Macarena". He also executed some great tone play to recreate the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army".
In the fourth spot was Marqinhos Espinosa. He got a great crowd response by exercising flawless body tricks, drumming and using brazilian percussion. Playing selections including Canada's own Keys N Krates, Daft Punk's classic "Da Funk", The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" and Baile funk rhythms, he finished strongly to roaring approval.
The last contestant of the night was DJ Madfingaz from Belgium. Using everything from Big L acapellas to Drum n Bass routines, he finished off with a cheeky reworking of Jay-Z's "Tom Ford" with soundbites from Toronto's embattled Mayor Rob Ford, leaving the local crowd in stitches.
Ali Shaheed Muhammad (ATribe Called Quest) and Maseo (De La Soul) were the evenings guests of honour, and came on stage to close out the night. We had spent some time with them earlier in the day providing answers to some technical questions, where were lucky to get a preview of this set. However we were still in awe when they provided the packed house with everything they could want from the classic vaults of each respective DJ's catalogue. Maseo then had the crowd going wild when he brought out a surprise guest, and introduced Posdnuos (aka Plug One) providing 2/3's of the legendary De La Soul on stage. Performing classics such as "The Bizness", "Oooh", and many more, it had us and the crowd rapping along. It was really impressive to see the control Posdnuos has on the mic, making us say "itsoweezee".
Taking a small break from the set, the finalists came out on stage to find out who was tonights winner. Marquinhos Espinoza was the lucky one, earning his place in tomorrow nights grand final.
