The second annual Pulse event by DNA Presents tore down the Ernst & Young Centre in our nation’s capital on a snowy- blowy Winter’s night on Saturday, December 29th. If I took away anything from that night, it’s this... Ottawa loves their house music!
Being that I’m from Winnipeg, I’ve travelled to a number of different cities to take in events and parties that we just don’t get at home. I’ve met a lot of people and experienced a lot of different event dynamics, but DNA Presents really performed and provided... and the good people of Ottawa took notice and danced their frozen asses back to warmth.
The doors opened at 8 and the lines moved quickly as people poured from the cold into the warm embracing arms of the party. I felt surrounded by friendly, energized and eager faces; from the party-goers to the event staff and everyone in between. I’ve often wondered if the older-aged staff members working these events are enjoying themselves, but it’s tough to argue smiling faces. I even noticed a police officer capturing some memories on her smartphone, so I’m going to have to go with, “yes.”
The night was kicked-off in style with individual sets from local stars Mister Parker who opened the night, and Ariyan who followed. With their sets stuffed to the brim with groovin’ and bouncy house and tech-house beats, the dance bug epidemic spread through the crowd like wildfire. Their sets were cut slightly short due to a late start, but that didn’t
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stop them from bringing out some of my personal favorite house bombs like, Who by Tujamo & Plastik Funk and Gimme Sum by Chocolate Puma & Gregor Salto, alongside an arsenal of other infectious tunes. I couldn’t help but notice the similarities-in-looks between Ariyan and another powerhouse producer from Ontario, JELO who also rocks a pretty epic afro. There’s a b2b set I’d absolutely love to see.
Deniz Koyu took to the stage right on-time at 9:30pm and to my surprise and excitement, his set was extended to nearly double in length, due to complications with Sander van Doorn’s luggage. According to the Twitter-verse, the snow had been causing problems for a number of DJs around the globe, but like true Canadians, we braved it and gave Deniz a true warm welcome for his first show in Ottawa. I had been dying to see Deniz Koyu since I had heard his breakout hit, Tung, which took the world by storm for the first time nearly 2 years ago, and that moment was finally here. His set was chock full of his originals and remixes, as well as some of the industries current heavy- hitting productions. His set spanned productions with low- end grinding synths to euphoric and melodic top lines, perfectly reading the crowd and knowing exactly what to administer next. One of the most memorable moments of his set, for me, was his remix with Johan Wedel of James Blunt’s Dangerous, which has been a long-standing favorite of mine. Other standouts obviously being; the 2 four-lettered dance floor destroyers Tung and Bong, one of his more recent productions, Follow You, with the lovely
Wynter Gordon, and his remix of Digitalism’s Zdarlight, with Fedde Le Grand.
Following Deniz Koyu’s amped-up set, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to sit down with him and pick his brain... look for that in next month’s edition!
The time for Sander van Doorn had finally arrived and the crowd went ballistic. I was lucky enough to hear his ridiculous electro thumper, Kangaroo, with Julian Jordan, before I had to head over to the green room to prepare for the interview with Deniz Koyu. Even though we were behind a number of different walls and doors, that didn’t stop the sounds of Sander from reaching us. As we waited for Deniz, we were able to party-down to the beautiful Nothing Inside and the insanely-powerful Joyenergizer (which nearly pulled the walls down), alongside a number of deeper and darker productions - a side of Sander that Ottawa hadn’t seen much of this year, even with this being his third visit. He played a number of releases from his own label, Doorn Records, as well as productions from Revealed and numerous thumpers that were largely unknown to the crowd and us.
The moment so many party-goers had been anxiously awaiting was finally upon us... Axwell graced the decks and a roar of cheers and screams erupted from the dark and hazy room. The way had been paved for him to take us home and that’s exactly what he did. Axwell turned out track after track, keeping the crowd on their toes and leaving us no clue