Toronto Gets "Undiscovered"

Dedicated to discovering promising talent and cutting edge music in the City of Toronto, Creator's Lounge and Noise Freqs have formed a collective in which they hope to infuse Japanese and Western culture for a truly unforgettable night of entertainment.

We sat down with Toyonori Kato, Yoshimasakoga, and Stan Pavlovsky of Creator's Lounge, as well as Jason Neyra from Noise Freqs, to discuss the inspirations, ideas, and making of a one of a kind event that they believe will change the way people experience music, art, and culture.

THUMP: First of all, I'd like you guys to explain what Undiscovered is and the inspiration behind it?
Jason Neyra: Undiscovered is basically about discovering a bunch of new artists that are from Toronto, and it's about combining the Japanese community with the Westernized North American community. In regards to the DJs that we've booked, it's pretty much about showcasing new up-and-coming artists that should be getting recognition for their talent. They're all right here in Toronto. Why not come out and support them?

Yoshimasakoga: Undiscovered is like a new style in underground culture. Nowadays, when you go to the club it's just music. But humans have five senses, right? Listening, visual, smell, touch, and taste. We're trying to reach out to every one of those senses with music, art, fashion, and even food.

Now, there's a lot to this event. What was the process like for putting everything together and booking all the talent that will be showcased?
J: When it comes to the DJs, a lot of them are friends, so it was about seeing who was going to be the right fit for this event because it's such a collective effort. I wanted people who were really versatile in a bunch of genres, to cater to the demographic that we're going to be drawing. I made sure I booked a DJ that knows how to play house music and also an urban style. J-Lah is our headlining DJ and he's someone who is about to explode on the scene right now. I'm extremely excited for people to hear his music.

As you guys have mentioned, there's a lot that will be taking place at this event including many different expressions of art, dance, music, and culture. I've seen that you guys describe it as a "sensory mesh." Can you explain to people what you mean by that?
J: Basically, the idea is that all of your senses are going to be stimulated at this one event. We don't want you to just show up to the event, pay, go inside, and listen to music and drink. We want you to come inside, experience artists and bands, appreciate all types of art. Yoshimasakoga's visuals, by the way, are out of this world. We want people to leave feeling inspired and ultimately grow from the experience.

Y: Imagine after you get high. [Laughs] What do you want? You want good music, good visuals, good food, good smells, and good company. That's what I want the show to be.

J: We basically want to get you high through our event without using drugs.

#Undiscovered - Short Promo from ORGNL on Vimeo.

Let's walk through how the night is going to go. What can people expect when they walk in the door?
Stan Pavlovsky: As people walk in, we had the idea of having the models that are going to be performing in the actual fashion show by MEZU, to be a sort of backsplash like you'd get on the red carpet. The point is to make sure that everybody feels welcome, or like they're VIP. When you first walk in, you'll experience a 3D mapping show with art provided by Takenori Kikuta—one of the artists who is going to be showcasing his pieces at the event. Essentially, that'll be the first six minutes. Everything is scheduled to be very exact and precise. After Takenori's set, Lina Fouro will be performing. After Lina there will be a fashion show that also features music from local Toronto violinist, Dr. Draw.

Y: And after the fashion show one of the models is going to walk to the stage and take her clothes off and lie there on a table. Takuro Yanase, a Japanese chef, is going to be there and he will place sashimi on her body. It's called Nyotaimori, and it's considered underground Japanese art. It's been done in New York and Montreal, but never in Toronto. So we're the first ones to do it here. We're going to be taking a video of it and projecting it so people can really see the decoration of the sashimi, as well.

Can you guys talk a little bit more about the infusion of Japanese culture, and how important that is to the event? And why do you think it's important in Toronto?
S: There are a lot of artists in Japan that are very interested in Canada, but the only way to show Torontonians the skill level that is associated with people like Yoshimasakoga, is by hosting events like this. There's going to be a lot of amazing talent at Undiscovered so people are going to be blown away. And that's essentially what Creator's Lounge and everybody else is trying to do. We want to make the music scene as multicultural as the city itself.

As you guys have said, Toronto is known for being a multicultural and artistic city. How do you think people coming to this event are going to react, because this type of event doesn't happen very often.
Toyonori Kato: Toronto is such a great mix of people that I think we will create a new world inside the Mod Club.

S: The point is to break the status quo and what everyone thinks is the norm.

J: I hope that people will be fascinated by it, are interested in it, and that they would want to learn more after our event. The plan is to influence people on that night as opposed to making them feel uncomfortable.

Facebook: #Undiscovered
Twitter: @Undiscovered

Sarah Warne is a freelance music and entertainment journalist in Toronto. You can follow her at @SarWarne    

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