Best Electronica Sets of 2006

2006 was no 2005 but I still managed to party my face off. Here are my top five dance floor moments:

5. Hernan Cattaneo @ The Red Room
My love for progressive house fizzled out ages ago but holy shit did I ever love this set. It's not the shared citizenship and it's certainly not the rugged good looks (actually he was in dire need of a haircut that evening). Or even the music, per se. It's the way he works it. I swear, it sounds like he's kneading the beats; he pushes the sounds out of the speakers in the most unreal of ways. And it's all with CD-Js nowadays, too.

4. Kirk mfV @ Dicht Kann Partei
When it's just you, the DJ and the DJ's brother in a gravel pit and the DJ is indulging you and his brother in a very personalized set which includes at least half an hour of The Hacker into The Bloc Party mixes, dude, you have a set of epic proportions. The DJ's brother dancing in a life preserver gave Kirk mfV an unfair advantage but you'd be an idiot to think I am unbiased. This was certainly my all-time fave set by a local DJ.

3. djjamese @ Tight Afterhours
Time and time again djjamese has left me weak in the knees, calves, ankles and feet. Just like Hernan, it's not just the tracks that he spins but the way he does it. It's just unbelievable. My favourite set of his (and, basically, they're all faves) is the time he was literally passing out while searching for records in his bag and somehow making it to the turntables and somnambulistically placing the vinyl on the deck and doing the best mix EVER. This guy is a fucking genius.

2. Kim Moyes @ The Presets afterparty
You know, you might love Kim because he makes amazing music as one half of the amazing band The Presets or maybe you love him because of the way he wails on the drums or maybe it's because he works those maracas like no other white boy you know of or maybe it's because there's no one else out there that adds that certain je ne sais quoi to the electro rock genre by adding cowbell or maybe it's because he makes nice electro and then gives them stellar titles like Fistogram (yeah!) or maybe it's because he can be super freaking drunk and mix music on a laptop like nobody's bizness. Did I tell you about that five minute Italian Fireflies mix? Because if I didn't I can.

1. JoJo de Freq @ Celebrities
Did you know that JoJo is from Vancouver? Yeah, she is. And she's also one of the main people that started Nag Nag Nag, the most important electro incubator in the world. Well, I had just come back from BsAs, it was beautiful summer weather, I was injected with a huge shot of adrenaline due to the hostile bid at work (which we fended off, thank you very much) and I just needed to DANCE. The set that this chick delivered was just over the top. I tried my best to get as many of you out on the dance floor because I knew it was going to be good but I didn't think it was going to be so great it was going to make my #1. But it did. This chick's track selection, demeanour and mixing is tops. Can't wait for her to come back to Vancouver.

Photo courtesy of The Afterhours Club