There’s a Reason Jeff Button Has Played With Every Deep House Headliner

His name may be Jeff Button but the Toronto deep house mainstay could be better likened to a switchboard, because if there's one thing he can be depended upon, it is to make a connection.

He started out his career in 2005 as a promoter for one of Toronto's best sounding nightclubs, the short-lived (and much missed) Boa Redux. But influenced heavily by Boa resident Sean Miller, Toronto compatriot Luke Fair and international figures such as Danny Howells and DJ Shadow, it was only a matter of time until Jeff got behind the decks himself.

Fitting for the sports nut that Jeff is, he had a 'rookie of the year' campaign in 2007 as he quickly locked down a Sunset Sessions residency at The Docks with the likes of future Art Department star Jonny White. But that was just a prelude to bigger and better things; for it was also the year he became one of the local pillars of Footwork, another of Toronto's legendary after-hours establishments. He used this platform to develop a distinguished, complex melodic style that switches from deep house to disco to hip-hop at a moment's notice.

It's a style heard throughout his exclusive Northmix for THUMP, where the submerging sounds of Justus Kohncke, Black Light Smoke, Oscar Rocha and Andre Salman are effortlessly mixed against names like Santé, Adriatique and Gui Boratto.

His notable approach has earned him a reputation as one of Toronto's most reliable openers, frequently setting the stage for an A to Z litany of international headliners including Audiofly, Benoit & Sergio, Dennis Ferrer, Guy Gerber, Josh Wink, Lee Foss, Maceo Plex, The Martinez Brothers and Soul Clap upon many others. It's even taken him to Mexico's BPM Festival three consecutive times as a performer.

Warming up for so many top acts, you can only imagine the kind of stories Jeff has to tell. Amongst them all, one particularly stands out.

"Guy [Gerber] was in town and I was on the bill as the closer. Had to have been a full moon. Someone pulled the fire alarm at 2 AM. The club evacuated for 20 minutes, then everyone rushed back to an empty dance floor and Guy was back where he left off. A couple of hours passed, then around 4 AM his laptop crashes! With no hesitation, he begins playing his keyboard while the computer reboots. The place is going off, he continues to go at it until roughly 4:45 AM. I only got to play for 15 minutes, so I proudly hold the record for the shortest set in Footwork history!"

Footwork may be gone now, but with the rest of Toronto's underground dance movement, Jeff's relocated to its successor Coda.

In true Jeff Button fashion, he's been maintaining a relentless schedule. His lauded DigDeep Podcast and DigDeep Disco Series continue to roll on, he's launched a new hip-hop program called Parkside which celebrates rap's 'golden age' two decades later, he's been killing his second season as an Electric Island resident and his collaboration with Room 303, "Blow My Mind," dropped in May.

If that's not enough, Jeff's dance card is rounded out by an upcoming EP on LoveStyle Records called Get Up In It and a Corona SunSets showcase this Saturday, where he shares the stage with Thievery Corporation, Moby, Cajmere, Wolf + Lamb, No Regular Play, Lee Foss and more.

You can follow Christopher at @theCMprogram and Jeff at @djjeffbutton.

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