We’ve engineered into our live PA the opportunity for mistakes to happen and things to go wrong, because sometimes things go wrong and they’re actually the most right thing that could happen.

The project of Adam Marshall and Christian Andersen (aka XI) – two Torontonians who met while living in Berlin – Graze smoothly and seamlessly blends minimal techno and D&B influences into something that sounds both new and familiar. It warps time, but you’re not sure if you’re being pulled into the past or are fast-forwarded into the future. Wherever Graze is taking you, you quickly find yourself mesmerized by the simple elegance and rhythmic grace of their music.

Marshall still lives in Berlin, where he also runs his New Kanada label, while Andersen moved back to Toronto about five months ago, but they came together in Montreal last month for Graze’s live debut at MUTEK. Société Perrier met up with them for a chat at the SAT, with Andersen’s rapid-fire responses proving to be akin to a staccato D&B rhythm next to Marshall’s laid back, more minimal responses. You can see the dynamics of their music reflected in their personalities and the ease of their relationship.

“We both have a lot of shared history: not only did we both grow up in Toronto but we actually grew up really close to each other but at different time periods,” explains Andersen. “There’s a lot of relatability there, which is probably what made us so comfortable with each other right off the bat, coming from that same micro-area of Canada.”

That said, both came out of different Toronto scenes, musically and socially. “Adam was instrumental in getting the underground techno and house scene really off the ground, selling records, having a label, playing a lot and curating nights in the late 90s,” says Andersen, about Marshall’s importance to the Toronto scene. “Me and a small group of friends were the first people to bring any dubstep through Toronto and expand on the D&B culture that was very well established there.” In Berlin, they met through friends, found themselves hanging out after everyone else had gone home, and so Graze was born. “You put two musicians in a room together and you’re going to get some music out of it,” says Andersen.

Though technology makes their long-distance collaborations and music possible (even when both lived in Berlin, they’d work by passing their creations back and forth rather than in the studio together), neither is particularly hung up on having the newest or shiniest toys. “We’re not trying to appease the gear nerds. We’re both very utilitarian producers,” says Andersen. “A lot of the stuff that we all love, the prototypical electronic music, was fucking hard for those people to make—there wasn’t syncing or any of that stuff, they had to hit play on the machine at the right time or it would all go to shit.”

“We’ve engineered into our live PA the opportunity for mistakes to happen and things to go wrong,” says Andersen about their approach to both making music and playing live, “because sometimes things go wrong and they’re actually the most right thing that could happen.” Marshall adds, “We have our setup right now but I wouldn’t say that either of us are attached to the tools. Next time, I could see it being different.”

For all this talk of limitations, accidents and utilitarianism, Graze’s music (both live and recorded) sounds clean, tight and very, very right. It’s beautiful and fluid, yet hard and sharp and on-point. Oh, and it makes you want to dance your ass off, which is the whole point of rhythmic music made by men with machines. Graze is living proof that it’s not about what you’ve got but what you do with it. And what Graze does, with their combined experience and talent, is a joy to experience.

The self-titled Graze EP is out now on New Kanada.
Lead photo by Caroline Hayeur for MUTEK. 

One of the oldest traditions in the country is making beer and rye whiskey. And historically, our climate is much more in tune to growing grain than grapes. It’s like northern Europe.

The spirits are alive at this vintage spot in Toronto’s Distillery District.  Burrowed inside an old retrofitted tank house stands Mill Street Brewery’s brewmaster extraordinaire, concocting the brews he knows best. But that’s no surprise, seeing the craft brewery resides where whiskey was once king.

It helps that Gooderham and Worts was at one time hailed as old Britannia’s largest whiskey distillery. Now the Mill Street Brewery has become highly sought-after, chalking up awards and big accolades. So Société Perrier talked to Joel Manning for the malt of it all.

So are Canadians good at making beer?
One of the oldest traditions in the country is making beer and rye whiskey. And historically, our climate is much more in tune to growing grain than grapes. It’s like northern Europe. If you see where they grow grain, it’s in northern parts like Holland, Belgium, even northern France. They make grain spirit out of it.

Where did you develop your passion for the industry?
Here in Toronto. I didn’t know I was meant to do it (brewing) until I started. I’ve been to brewing schools in England and in the States. It’s just a funny mix of art and science. It’s right down the alley for me.

Your career spans a couple of decades. Roughly how many beers do you think you’ve developed at Mill Street?
Yeah, I’m one of the original Ontario craft brewers. Craft brewing really started in 1983 with Brick Brewing. I started at Mill Street in 2005 so for sure I’ve made at least between 40 and 50 types of beer.

What’s been the biggest award winner?
The Tank House, named after…the tank house, because we’re in the Distillery District. We’ve won both Canadian and Ontario brewing awards but the biggest single beer award we’ve won is for the Belgian-style Wit beer. We won bronze for this at the World Beer Cup in 2008. It’s like the Olympics, literally three medals are given and a lot of Belgian breweries were shaking their heads, thinking ‘who the heck is this Mill Street Brewing in Canada’? I think we beat out around 40 other breweries.

So what’s your definition of a good ale?
A balanced beer. I have favourites of every imaginable style but what makes me take notice is quality. No single point of it should stick out. It doesn’t dominate. It should be well balanced. Beer is a small beverage. Beer is very interesting beverage. It doesn’t have the acidity or the alcohol content, that’s what I mean about small. It doesn’t have the intensity of flavour like wine. It should mesh with food quite well. Sometimes, brewers make beer way over the top and it compromises the drinkability. Beer is meant to be drunk, not tasted.

The sheer volume of shoes is breathtaking and will satisfy every shoeaholic's fix.

“Put on your red shoes and dance the blues – let’s dance.” This ‘80s Bowie classic elevated the Brit legend to even greater superstardom, with shoe lyrics to boot! Now imagine what a show about Louboutin and his shiny, red-lacquered soles could do in Toronto for the Design Exchange (DX).

Toronto is in the midst of experiencing high heel bliss with the Design Exchange scoring the North American premiere of this sublime shoe artist’s work, which frankly spans toe-to-heel (sometimes even ankle) and is worn by the ritziest feet around the world. Société Perrier caught up with DX’s President Shauna Levy to get the inside scoop on the sought-after show that first premiered at London’s Design Museum.

When we say Christian Louboutin, what comes to mind?
Elegance and sophistication. It is the ultimate in power -provocative yet elegant footwear.

How did you convince Louboutin on making his North American exhibition debut in Toronto?
Toronto is an important market. He also loved the Design Exchange's historic trading floor.

Love how summer’s been chosen – any reason on the timing?
It's much easier to walk on the sidewalks in stilettos without snow and ice! It’s also a popular time of year for tourism in Toronto so it gives prospective visitors one more reason to come! And it's a time of year for celebration – and Louboutin's shoes are clearly a celebration.

For those who can’t make it, walk us through the exhibition. Will the Design Exchange look like one big shoe box?
It is theatre, entertainment, style, fantasy and magic. It is a multimedia experience with lots of touch points, great eye candy and lots of moments that catch your breath.

250+ shoes, displays and artefacts – any gems we should be watching out for?
The central piece of the exhibition is a stage shaped like a shoe and at the top, one of Christian Louboutin's muses, Dita von Teese is captured in a magical performance. The sheer volume of shoes is breathtaking and will satisfy every shoeaholic's fix. Also, Louboutin's fetish collection was launched with a David Lynch film, which also forms part of the exhibition, so you’ll see the interplay between fashion and film. It’s very of-the-moment.

Can visitors take a bit of Louboutin home with them?
Yes! We will be selling a few limited edition items in SWIPE DX, the DX gift shop. There’s a fantastic limited edition scarf, notebooks, tattoos and more.

Why did you want to bring this show to the Design Exchange?
The DX's new mandate is to highlight the relevance and importance of design in everyday life and contemporary popular culture. Fashion is certainly a design discipline that is well understood and does not require much explanation. Christian Louboutin's interplay with theatre, film and art also clearly communicates the interrelationships between creative disciplines.

Christian Louboutin, on view at the Design Exchange from June 21 to September 15. 

There’s been a big upswing in tequila drinkers and we don’t have a bad one here.

Chris MacNeil is into spirits and bevies at the Trump Hotel Toronto but he’s not the one mixing them. He dabbles in designing the cocktail menus that patrons sift through at the Stock Restaurant Bar & Lounge and Suits Lobby Lounge, besides overseeing the restaurant and beverage scene as the general manager of these two significant portfolios.

So what turns his crank? Admittedly, those flashback moments we all have of our school days when we had way too much tequila have sparked him in another direction – an unadulterated love for tequila. Heavy tequila-based cocktails like his take on the Old Fashioned using tequila instead of bourbon are a hit, he says, at the eye-popping Stock Bar with its fab city views.

What gives? The Tromba Tequila is flying off the shelf, hands-down. And this boutique product has helped the 100 percent pure agave spirit’s overall popularity surge, adds Chris. “There’s been a big upswing in tequila drinkers and we don’t have a bad one here.” Call it a Renaissance with tequila-based cocktails.

The other change in drinking habits comes from the Sunday brunch crowd who like to sip on their Caesars or the Margarita. Sure, these two favourites are big brunch hits, but now Chris says that we can expect them with plenty of garnish fixings at the Trump property. “Everybody likes Caesars or a Margarita at brunch time, so we’ve decided to put a different twist on both. We have six different garnishes, but what’s different is the garnish bar itself. We have 20 different garnishes,” he adds, explaining that the bar staff will help make garnish suggestions.

“Like our Simply Canadian, which comes with celery and cheese whiz, bringing everybody back to when they were growing up. But we also do wasabi with stuffed prawn, salted baby corn with pepper, lemon roasted garlic. We have something for everybody. It’ll give you a nice little kick-start to your Sundays,” he laughs.

“We’re not just making Vodka-based Caesars. Our most popular ones are with Tromba Tequila – so a Tequila Caesar with Clamato juice, muddled lemon, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce and then what we suggest for a garnish with that is a very salted pickle.” Next time you hit the Sunday brunch scene there, don’t be surprised to see a sea of Caesar or Margarita drinkers. The ones with the big coffee mug-like beer stein are the Caesar totalers.

If you're shooting people, disarming them, making them laugh, and developing some kind of kinship and trust are key.

Toronto photog Dave Gillespie packs more personality than all of his on-cam talent combined. He’s hard to miss with his long strands of dirty blond hair, snakeskin boots, partly unbuttoned shirt and Carrera glasses. But despite his eccentricities and tell-it-like-it-is brand of humor, Gillespie never steals the spotlight from the subjects he carefully frames. Société Perrier spoke to Gillespie about Nan Goldin, analog versus digital and bringing out people’s essence for the whole world to see.

Tell us about a few of the standout clients you’ve shot for over the years.
Toronto Life is amazing – a really great client that hires you for your own vision and then doesn't get in the way. They actually trust you to execute.

Moose Knuckles is a clothing line that has allowed me to realize a creative vision and brand direction that few other clients would. Very rarely does a client, especially a larger commercial one, relinquish that much creative control. They're an exceptional brand that way.

Did you complete any formal training in photography before pursuing it?
Not so much, I’m pretty much self-taught. I did an intro to black & white photography at Concordia, which kick started my interest in taking photos. Never really shot much before then.

What is it about film photography that gets you going?
I love film. Always will, but that’s not to say I'm somehow ANTI-digital. If I had to choose only one for the rest of my days, I'd still go with film. It’s what I started with. I know it. I love it.

What do you think the future holds for analog as digital photography keeps improving?
Niche. Hipster shit. It’s never going to come back commercially on any real scale. It will exist like vinyl does in the audio market. As a film user and fan, all I can really expect and hope for is that they will continue to produce film stocks and have labs available to process it.

Which three photographers have influenced you the most?
I'm going to pretend you asked for my top 6: Helmut Newton, Nan Goldin, Joel Sternfeld, Guy Bourdin, Robert Mapplethorpe and Stephen Shore.

I try to maintain a certain emotional access in my work, which maybe comes from Nan Goldin, who made a brilliant career of shooting her own life and friends. Sometimes there's a sexual aspect from Newton and Bourdin, but these guys still maintained brilliant composition and use of colour or humour.

I'm not into sex for sex's sake in photos. I find these new-school guys pretty one-dimensional that way. I love the formalism and choice of locations that Sternfeld and Shore use. Basically, if I could only shoot ONE thing the rest of my life, it would be "people in places". I could live with that.

What do look for in your subjects to determine how you’ll shoot them?
Having now shot for 15 years or so, I try to be, at least appear to be, as un-pro as possible. It’s that whole “unlearning what you've learned” thing. If you're shooting people, disarming them, making them laugh, and developing some kind of kinship and trust are key. Sometimes, you get people who don't really get on board and you just want to make them believe you know what the fuck you're doing. Not everybody wants to blast April Wine and get day drunk on a photo shoot!

What's next for you?
Another beer? Want one?

Lead photo by Jennifer Toole.

It is definitely a blog, but to me it is now a personal diary of my experiences and the projects I am working on with various brands.

A local social media addict (he’s everywhere!), Jay Strut never seems to get tired of dishing out fashion notes. Latest case in point: he was in NYC last month live hosting Donatella Versace’s very first Google+ hangout, then flew to Stockholm as a guest of Microsoft with a very small group of fashion and style editors. He’s got 28,000+ followers and counting. Société Perrier reached out to Jay to explore his plugged-in lifestyle.

Tell us about the Google+ hangout experience: how hard was it to connect in real time with the other bloggers, plus the studios and Donatella?
I have a great relationship with Google and have done many hangouts – my first was with Tyra Banks. I also did a project with them during New York Fashion Week from Milk Studios hanging out with designers. But this was definitely one of the most intense ones. A full production and camera crew accompanied by an earpiece with four other bloggers, one of them being among the most iconic designers in the world (Donatella). Exciting!

Why did you start JayStrut.com? What opportunities have come your way as a result of your blog?
I created JayStrut.com a few years ago and started fashion blogging. Since then, I have had so many amazing opportunities and have been able to experience some of the most magical moments in my life – hanging out with Donatella being one of them. I've also walked the Cannes Red Carpet, which I did again this year. There are so many wonderful things that have happened so it’s so hard not to want to talk about it all.

What does ‘influential blogger’ mean to you?
‘Influential blogger’ isn't something I relate to; I barely relate to the ‘blogger’ title anymore. It is definitely a blog, but to me it is now a personal diary of my experiences and the projects I am working on with various brands.

Where’s home for you?
Home is Toronto for me but my heart belongs to New York.

Where do you like to shop in Toronto and why?
When I’m in Toronto, I am usually out at events in the city or visiting The Room. It’s the only store that carries women's runway pieces from Balmain. I've gotten some of my favorite pieces from there.

What one tip can you offer to up-and-coming fashion bloggers?
I live vividly by a quote I take pride in assuming I made up: "the cure is not to care." It’s not that I don't care about anything, but that I stop caring about what everyone else is doing and really concentrate on myself and my own goals. Once I started to believe in this mantra, things really began to change.