Just before midnight last November, I climbed a set of steep stairs leading to Forestview Chinese Restaurant, barely squeezing past a massive bouncer and queued-up club kids. Along one side of the dark, wide room, smiling servers stood behind tables pouring eyeballed shots of liquor into plastic cups and dishing out dim sum bites. At the back, green lasers beamed over the DJs and across the assemblage of young, city types quickly filling the converted dining hall to capacity.
Androgynous fashion kids, frat boys, hoodie-wearing music nerds, stone-faced dudes in doo-rags, shirt-and-tied restaurant staff, and lots and lots of pretty girls were all head-nodding and dancing and making friends in the treacherously long line for the bathroom. It was a posi-vibes, scene-spanning, truly diverse thing to see, and it reminded me of why I love this city.
Over the past year, the Mansion crew — 20-somethings Konrad, Matt, Nancy and Thomas — have introduced and returned to Toronto some of the club world’s best rising DJs through these raucous raves. And, in keeping with the series’ convivial vibe, Mansion is celebrating Happy Endings’ one-year this Friday by teaming up with equally influential fete squad Yes Yes Y’all for a collabo jam at a new, larger Chinatown venue, Dim Sum King. Aside from a deathly line-up of DJs Kingdom and Dubbel Dutch, I asked Matt and Konrad to illuminate why you really should go. And if you need a sonic incentive, check the new Yes Yes Y’all mix below.
First off, why did you guys start Happy Endings and why choose a dim sum spot?
Matt: The first Happy Endings was in March 2011. Before that, most of our partying happened at concerts, live events and house parties. We found club events, especially those with interesting talent, were often held in the same few venues. So we decided to take the producers/DJs that we love and provide something unique that our friends have never experienced before.
It’s not always easy to pull amazing, new-ish talent and get a fun crowd out. Why do you think people come to Happy Endings?
Konrad: It’s the combination of talent and atmosphere. It feels surreal being in a dim sum restaurant that’s partially converted into a club. There’s huge sound, lasers, hundreds of people dancing. Meanwhile, there’s the restaurant décor and the generous staff. It’s a vibe you won’t find elsewhere. And, in the end, the DJs steal the show. Every show ends with the lights on, well past last call and a round of applause from diehard fans.
I like that you team cool, international headliners, like Nguzunguzu or Manare, with young, local talent, like Vlsonn or Zodiac. It’s eclectic, but it somehow works…
Konrad: Poirier (MTL) incorporates dancehall and soca, while Brenmar (NYC) plays R&B/hip-hop-influenced house, and Chrissy Murderbot brought in footwork and jungle elements. But they’re all pushing the limits and boundaries of genres with their productions, while displaying the same ingenuity and diversity in their live performance.
Why did you guys team up with Yes Yes Y’all for the one-year party?
Matt: We both have a great sense of unity within our respective crowds. From the moment we stepped into our first YYY party, we felt the same level of energy, open-mindedness and mutual respect you’ll find at any Mansion event. And it just so happens there was a huge overlap in our personal tastes. Happy Endings is heavily influenced by our love of dancehall, hip-hop and R&B, which happens to be YYY’s bread and butter.
You’ve also started recording DJ sets and posting them to Soundcloud and Vimeo. Kind of like what Boiler Room does.
Konrad: We’ve heard so many incredible sets at Happy Endings and wanted to relive the magic and do our guest artists and Toronto’s music community justice. DJs spin different sets based on many factors — location, crowd size, time slot, how drunk/jetlagged they are, etc. — so even if we bring in the exact same artists, it’s likely you’d get a very different experience. We want to reflect this in our recordings.
Coming up next month is a CMW party with (Azealia Banks’ “Needsumluv”-producer) Machinedrum. That’s a new, big step for you guys…
Konrad: Yes, the next Happy Endings will be an official CMW-recognized party! Currently the line-up is Machinedrum with Monolithium (BC) and Kevin McPhee (Toronto). A lot of thought can go into curating shows so the official CMW status does seem to legitimize what we’ve been doing. At the same time, we’re lucky to have a huge amount of emerging talent to choose from. It’s great to see the artists we work with get that recognition.
Craziest Happy Endings moment so far?
Konrad: This is hard. We’ve had people show up in ninja costumes and panda suits. Lobsters have escaped their tanks. One of our favourite moments was at Happy Endings #007 when Peaches dropped by to see her friends, Nguzunguzu. We didn’t recognize her at first and wouldn’t let her on stage. However we realized our mistake pretty quickly! It was definitely an honour to have a legend at one of our events.
[iframe src=” http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F37313135″]
Mansion and Yes Yes Y’all present Happy Endings 1 Year Anniversary with Kingdom, Dubbel Dutch and the Yes Yes Y’all DJs. Friday, February 24 at Dim Sum King (421 Dundas Street West)
____
Anupa Mistry writes about music for Toronto Standard. You can follow her on Twitter at @_anupa.
For more, follow us on Twitter at @torontostandard, and subscribe to our newsletter.
