In the world of dance music, the club is an almost mythic entity: a refuge that feels like it exists beyond time or space. On her new EP 鈥淚nfinity Club,鈥 海角社区官网DJ and producer Bambii aims to capture 鈥 and distil 鈥 the thrillingly immersive energy of the dance floor.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to evoke those very transient, fleeting moments, and make a statement on why they鈥檙e transformative,鈥 said Bambii over the phone, days before the EP鈥檚 release. 鈥淲ith the direction the world is going, and how difficult it is for people to access joy or freedom or imagination, this project is speaking to those moments when we can truly be ourselves.鈥
The result is a genre-obliterating album that melds elements of dance hall, jungle, U.K. garage and rave music into a high-octane alloy that sounds both global and uniquely Toronto. You can almost feel the sweat dripping from the lead single 鈥淥ne Touch,鈥 which stacks chopped up dance hall vocal samples on top of blistering breakbeats and thunderous basslines. On 鈥淲icked Gyal,鈥 Bambii enlists North London rapper Lady Lykez for a performance that makes Azealia Banks sound languid by comparison.
鈥淎 lot of 鈥業nfinity Club鈥 is about breaking rules around genre,鈥 explained Bambii, whose real name is Kirsten Azan. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also about bridging the gap between Caribbean music and electronic music.鈥
鈥淚nfinity Club鈥 is Bambii鈥檚 first major studio release, but she鈥檚 been a key figure in Toronto鈥檚 music scene for years. Inspired by queer and alternative local parties like 鈥,鈥 she took up DJing at 23, quickly becoming an influential creator and curator within the city鈥檚 underground electronic spaces.
In 2013, Bambii founded JERK, a biannual rave that celebrates Caribbean culture and global dance music while carving out a space for people of colour and the LGBTQ community within the city鈥檚 predominantly white scene. The party, which has toured to Montreal, New York and Los Angeles, celebrates its tenth anniversary
鈥淛ERK is an expression of what 海角社区官网feels like to me,鈥 said Bambii. 鈥淕rowing up, Caribbean music was something that was in my blood and a part of my heritage, but it鈥檚 also so much a part of 海角社区官网鈥 it鈥檚 shaped the city鈥檚 cultural landscape since the 鈥80s.鈥
Bambii鈥檚 talents eventually took her beyond Toronto: she鈥檚 toured extensively as a solo artist and a supporting DJ for Mykki Blanco, BbyMutha and others, absorbing the sounds and ideas of the global electronic scene.
She鈥檚 also honed her craft as a producer. Most recently, she worked closely with the American alternative R&B singer Kelela 鈥 whom she connected with over Instagram during the pandemic 鈥 on the artist鈥檚 highly acclaimed 2023 album 鈥淩aven.鈥
鈥淚nfinity Club鈥 marks the culmination of those various influences and experiences.
鈥満＝巧缜偻鴌s a perfect place for an artist to incubate,鈥 said Bambii. 鈥淭o just put your head down and work, to get support from your friends and to experiment and try new things. But a big part of that EP comes from travel and my tour life. I鈥檝e spent the last four years intensely, like, touring, and I spent a lot of time in Jamaica and the U.K., so those two places are definitely huge reasons why that EP sounds like it does.鈥
The project鈥檚 intercontinental origin is also reflected in its list of feature artists, which includes Sydanie, a 海角社区官网rapper whom Bambii grew up with 鈥 鈥渋t was really important to get her on a track鈥 鈥 Amsterdam producer Lamsi and Aluna, the London-based singer-songwriter from the electronic duo AlunaGeorge.
鈥淭he Aluna feature is crazy,鈥 Bambii said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a full circle moment because that鈥檚 somebody I was listening to even before I even started DJing, and she鈥檚 just such an important vocalist in the dance music space.鈥
But ultimately, Bambii is concerned with blurring, rather than categorizing or creating borders between different styles of music. That work begins by recognizing the interconnectedness of the various scenes she draws from.
鈥淭he mass immigration of Caribbeans to the U.K. influenced and basically created jungle and grime and garage,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut now, when we think about electronic music, we place Caribbean music outside of it.
鈥淔or me, making a jungle track like 鈥極ne Touch,鈥 but having it break down into more of a dance hall esthetic, or having something like 鈥榃icked Gyal,鈥 which puts a dance hall vocal on top of a decidedly electronic 130 BPM track 鈥 it鈥檚 these kinds of choices where I鈥檓 stating that these thing do not exist in opposite worlds. There are relationships between them.鈥
鈥淚nfinity Club鈥 is poised to be a successful release: the EP鈥檚 advance singles have already racked up hundreds of thousands of streams. This is a feat within a genre in which women are woefully under-represented.
鈥淭hings are changing,鈥 said Bambii, 鈥渂ut on an infrastructural, institutional level it鈥檚 quite slow.鈥
鈥淚 always focus on what鈥檚 local to me: my friends, my surrounding community. I feel like that鈥檚 kind of the only space I can exact change and that deserves my energy.鈥
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