Summertime, and the living is easy — and the music keeps beating like the rays of a hot sun. Some of the best comes courtesy of Bambii, whose music, both via her productions and her rather awesome DJ sets, runs the full expanse of dance music motifs through the prism of her Caribbean heritage for a sound that’s hard to resist. Last year’s Juno Award-winning ‘Infinity Club’ was one of the highlights of 2024, but for the genre-agnostic Toronto-based artist, that’s just a stepping stone to clubland nirvana — and thanks to hard work and ambition, she’s inching ever closer to that realm. The founder of her hometown’s seminal Jerk party recently sat down for a wide-ranging chat to talk about her beginnings, her life in music, and her dreams for what’s to come.
We’re in the steamy midst of festival season, and while it’s been a rough environment for those let-loose-for-days-on-end throwdowns we so love ever since the pandemic, one answer is to keep things simple, keep it small, and keep it among friends. It’s not a formula that works for everyone, of course, but it sure seems to be doing the trick for Kory Sasnett, the music fan and “regular American dude” behind the new NV’D Island. He recently held the first edition of the mini-fest in Croatia’s, and Megan Venzin made the trek to find out more.
And the music never stops. Read on to catch up on the spiritual sounds of Jenifa Mayanja, South Africa’s burgeoning hardcore rave scene, Barcelona’s long-running Sonar fest and the UK’s even longer- running, none-more-house Faith crew. That’s just scratching the surface of what this issue has in store — grab a fan and an ice-cold beverage, and dig in.
Bruce Tantum
Editor