Friday’s lineup included Plazas, OBUXUM, Bossie, MI Blue and Brendan Canning; all Toronto acts, showcasing the diverse range of original music available in ‘The 6’ (urgh – part of me always shudders when I say ‘The Six’).

We arrived on Saturday, which Odonis Odonis were set to headline. It was sure to be a night of déjà vu – I was blessed to have been present for their ‘No Pop’ album release show at the same venue only a few months ago. If they were half as good, the night would be worth attending.

First things first, the visual art and projections inside the venue across the weekend were awesome as always. Colours dipped and swooped; twisted and turned; bubbled and oozed. Supplied by Roxanne Ignatius and General Chaos Visuals, they deserve a massive shout out because they really help to give Wavelength events a distinct feel.

Prog-punk act Luge opened the Saturday show. A Toronto four-piece with bags of potential, their jaunty mix of funky basslines, peaky guitars and off-kilter time sequences back Kaiva Gotham’s punky vocals. I would throw them into the same marble bag as New Fries, who are up there with my favourite bands hailing from ‘The 6’ (shudder – why do I do this to myself?).

Tough Age is a Toronto/Vancouver band (god knows how they make band practice work (Dad jokes for the win)). They were interesting; punky, rocky with powering drums and a real urgency. There were a few standout tracks in the set, to my taste at least. They sat on the edge of angry teenage rock and something a little more funky.

Following some research, it seems they have a back catalog to rival The Fall, and I’ve been unable to identify which tracks were my highlights – perhaps they’re new? I’m pretty sure it was the last track that had a very groovy looped bassline… heck I’ll say it, the bass playing was the best part all round and added a real TWANG!

Odonis Odonis put a stop to some of the swirly visuals for a while as they brought a more industrial, mostly red light show, with their iconic pyramid of bar lights pulsing between them. They played mostly material from their latest record (it’s a beauty), but jammed some tracks out a bit in a way which you could argue would push them closer to hardcore electronic music than the other acts on the festival roster.

What I love about their approach to music is how they sculpt the sound through their control of frequency and effects; low (and high) cut filters are important to what they do, as are big distortions. They’ve got a great energy live and sometimes they get a bit more bandy as screams start ringing out. The whole thing occasionally becomes quite hard to consume, not that that’s a bad thing because it actually creates a nice contrast when they then drop into what I would call ‘tech-noir’ club grooves.

All in all, it was a set that showcased the power of synthesis and it’s ability to literally rock the shirt on your back (not to mention parts of the Garrison that probably shouldn’t have been vibrating like that!)

Sunday saw an interesting set from You’ll Never Get To Heaven. Featuring Chuck Blazevic on bass and Alice Hansen on vocals and violin, it was ethereal, beautiful and quite rainy! In fact, rain featured through the majority of the set, if not all of it.

Fusilier also brought his one-man band, pop-funk show on Sunday. It was thoroughly entertaining, as he made good use of the looper pedal to create impressively complex rhythms and backing tracks with which to sit his songs on top of. It was a confident performance, showcasing someone with true talent.

Wavelength Winter Festival 2018 was another feel-good event, delivering an enjoyable and diverse range of music in what I have always found to be a very friendly space. Put simply, there’s a good vibe… it’s a real community of appreciative music fans who are there to enjoy a taste of what the city has to offer.

I would recommend saving the date for Camp Wavelength, scheduled to be the weekend of the 18th-19th August. For more information about Wavelength events, visit their website.

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All aboard! With the boat horn still fresh in our ears, Pony opened proceedings below deck. This Toronto indie quartet is twee and grungy, akin at times to bands like The Breeders. Pony got the boat rocking as punters watched on eagerly, swaying from left to right in lake Ontario’s cool waters, which at times did make things slightly nauseating.

Pony over, Vallens were next to grace the lower deck stage. Never judge a book by it’s cover; although they looked like nice, normal people, it soon became apparent that all was not as it seemed. Dread. Dread. Dread. And then when you didn’t think there could be any more dread. Dread.

The dread outlined was mostly sculpted through huge distorted chords, executed with a suave groovyness. These are troubled waters indeed. In addition to the songs spiraling into unwavering dread, the bassist had some dead nice riffs, which swung around gloriously (behind the bellowing dread). Bravo, they were awesome.

We then staggered up the stairs, finding ourselves in the middle of a very literal storm. Luckily the top deck was fully covered so the show went on without a problem. TIKA is a very sassy and soulful singer. She was supported by her DJ/producer, backing vocalist and a chap on brass. It was an interesting mix of pop and electronica. At times the tracks were melodic in a traditional sense, but at others there were some interesting production tricks with drum machines being used to drive a distinction between verses and chorus purely using timbre.

Back below deck, Greys then dropped anchor. This Toronto four-piece is bloody heavy, but with pop punk breaks to get that foot a tapping. The drummer has real stamina, well they all do – it’s driving, balls-to-the-floor rock.

Closing the show was Edmonton’s Cadence Weapon, whose sharp lyrical skills cut through the air like the effervescent beam of a lighthouse. All in all, throughout the course of the cruise Wavelength proved once again that they are always capable of putting on a great night, and also in pairing musical acts successfully that you might otherwise have considered impossible.

Camp Wavelength takes place this weekend from Friday 18^th until Sunday 20^th August. For more information and to book your tickets, visit their website.

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The first wave of musical artists for 2017 has just been announced and the lineup includes Deerhoof, Dilly Dally, Jessy Lanza, Rich Aucoin, Duchess Says, DATU X HATAW, DJ Shub, Un Blonde, The Luyas, Emilie & Ogden, Ice Cream, Os Tropies, Zuze, and more.

A three-day celebration of art, music, community, and beach fun, Camp Wavelength embraces the DIY spirit that have put Wavelength and Toronto on the world map for independent music. Proudly championing local, homegrown, sustainable, and community-run culture, Camp Wavelength invites you to immerse yourself in the escapism of the Toronto Islands for a weekend of summer-camp nostalgia, balanced with forward-looking programming. Through art installations, pop-up performances, and interactive group activities, the grounds of Artscape Gibraltar Point will be transformed into an alternate dimension of creativity and chill vibes, only a 10 minute ferry ride – but also a million miles away – from the bustle of downtown Toronto.

Read our review of last year’s Camp Wavelength 2016 festival here.

Takes place August 18-20 2017. Be sure to get your Early Bird Passes that are currently on sale via wavelengthmusic.ca.

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The first thing to understand, is that Camp WL isn’t all about the music; it’s about the overall experience. One minute you’re down on your haunches driving a tent peg into the rich Earth, the next you rise up to overlook the stage in all its tree surrounded glory, only a matter of meters away. From there, you can wander nonchalantly through the festival site and up a sandy path through fun installations and onto an open sandy beach… yes this is reality.

The festival kicked off at 5pm, but unfortunately we were unable to catch the first few acts despite bounding down to catch the ferry as quickly as we could following the end of a working day. In spite of that, I still had the same sense of excitement as a 14 year old on their final day of school before the summer holidays.

Operators, a Montreal band featuring Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade brought their blend of jaunty indie pop to the stage as the sun set on the first festival evening. A packed audience crowded around, with revelers throwing their sparklers in the air like they just didn’t care… but obviously holding onto them tightly in the name of health and safety.

Latasha Alcindor (aka LA) brought her energetic and expressive style to the party, in what felt like a very personal performance. Latasha paused between songs to talk about all matter of things, like being thrust into the limelight and the affects that had on her. With such a friendly and compact audience in attendance, it made the whole thing feel even more special.

As the sun rose on Saturday morning, we took a quick dip in the little ocean that is Lake Ontario. What a novelty and what a view, surrounded by quirky festival goers having a fantastic time. It was these moments that really cemented Camp WL as a special weekend for me, and I was ready for an action packed Saturday of music.

It started with Hex, three young alternative rock females from Toronto. Their shy rock escapade was an entertaining start to the day and there was an immaturity conveyed in the music that was strangely appealing. You definitely felt like you were watching just the beginning of a journey.

Casper Skulls graced the stage next – they’re a more polished, grunge-indie outfit, channeling elements of Sonic Youth. The guitars are big and they switch up the vocals between the lead male and female nicely to create an entertaining balance.

It’s not long before we find ourselves on the beach watching a synchronized swimming performance… and why the hell not? As a bearded man plays a double bass, a shimmering silver stranger taps a long metal pole with a spoon and four silver fishes fling themselves around in the water. As yachts drift by, onlookers stare in disbelief at what must look like a strange sparkly swimming cult.

At a festival where in just a single hour you can see a grungy rock bank and a synchronized swimming performance, Spek Won then arrived on the scene to switch up the vibes once again. Backed by a soulful band of classy musicians, this hip-hop whiz supplied some laid back tunes for what was turning into a beautiful summer’s day.

At points it felt like the audience, grazing around the stage on picnic blankets supping their obligatory Steam Whistles, zoned out altogether. Spek Won had to grab everyone’s notice mid set – “I ask for only one thing – your attention”. He didn’t need to worry though, because I’m pretty sure everyone was enjoying it.

“Should we go lie on the beach for a bit?” No, because LAL were next, a band formed in the late 90s but still going strong, built on subtle Kraftwerk inspired dance beats… though I guess who isn’t inspired by the German electronic maestros? The soulful vocals on ‘Rules Were Meant to be Broken’ ripped through the festival site like the lightning that had haunted us the previous night. Fifteen minutes in and I could feel the dance atmosphere tickling down my spinal cord to my feet.

Odonis Odonis have really changed up their style recently. The trio has gone pretty hardcore with the new record, which is built around aggressive arpeggiating synth lines and haunting repeating vocals.

I caught their ‘Post Plague’ record release party earlier this year, but here at Camp WL they seemed a lot more relaxed… or maybe that was just me riding the festival buzz? Either way they took us on an eerie journey that I was more than willing to get on board with.

As we disembarked the Odonis Odonis train, we scurried back down to the beach to catch Atlantic. Now, I’m not sure that I am really qualified to assess Atlantis’s performance, writhing around in the sand naked and angrily shouting, “This is our island”. Instead, I’ll simply let this picture do the talking.

Still on Saturday, though into the early hours now, it was Scott Hardware’s time to shine. I saw him play earlier this year at the Smiling Buddha when we were treated to some live sax, but this was a more simplified setup with synths, drum machines, a classic keyboard and the vocals. It’s the sort of synth driven music that floats my boat, overlaid with dulcet vocal lines and laid back electronic grooves.

At one point Scott Hardware inadvertently threw half of his synthesizers off the stand, declaring “who cares” before occasionally glancing back worriedly as people tried to repair the damage. We care, Scott – check out his new EP, ‘Mutate Repeat Infinity’ now.

Petra Glynt and Guerilla Toss closed the night, but by that point the beer was getting to me. I challenge anyone to experience Camp WL and remember everything… there’s so much going on and so much fun to be had. What I can confirm is that a lot of dancing took place on Saturday night before again, a small storm came.

Everything felt a little damp in the morning, apart from our spirits, because that’s what camping is all about and I was so very happy to be able to wake up on the beautiful Toronto islands. The Sunday program was to be little more chilled than Saturday.

Cue Bart, best described as a psychedelic prog rock band that has the feel of Tama Impala but with a really unusual edge. I’m a huge fan of prog rock but it’s not for everyone, however Bart manage to take the good bits (like interesting time changes and unusual compositions) and package them into 3-4 minute pop songs. Think Hocus Pocus by the band Focus, but way cooler. Anyway, they were a real treat and one to watch for the future.

Bruce Peninsula followed, featuring a choir/backing vocalist section that created some very dense sounds. In case you’re thinking that this day doesn’t sound arty enough, don’t panic because shortly after we were diverted to the beach to watch people wrapped in foil and fairy lights writhing around on the warm wet sand.

Young Galaxy was the final band of the festival, packing a synth pop punch that had the audience jiving. They have plenty of interesting dance moves to boot, during a set consisting of their 2015 record, Falsework.

Vocalist Catherine McCandless has a strong voice that I could quite happy listen to over and over. That feeling was only heightened when the generator cut out half way through the set, plunging the festival into darkness. She dealt with the situation like a true professional, choosing to sing a song unaccompanied and I for one was glad that we lost power for that moment. Bravo.

Camp WL is squarely focused on promoting and supporting local artists, a benefit of which means that the admission fee is a fraction of the price compared to the larger festivals. You’re not going to see Arcade Fire, but there is more than enough entertainment on offer and if you’re into the experimental arts, you’ll gobble it up.

One thing that they could definitely improve on for next year is the food offering, with campers told not to bring their own supplies to the site, but then vendors either closing early in the day or running out of food completely; a small gripe.

Put simply, Camp Wavelength is little hidden gem for music and art lovers alike. There’s no stress, the audience is super cool and you’re not bombarded with advertising. Plus people, they have a beach. Come for the experience, the performance, the bravado and to share an awesome weekend with a group of people that should all be your best friends.

Check out their website for more info about them.

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