- The Toronto DJ exceeds all expectations with a debut EP that nods to the many cultural influences that make her hometown great.
- Toronto's dance music scene is bubbling up but perennially overlooked. In a city that dwells in the shadows of a UK influence that brought jungle to its rave scene in the '90s, showcasing the sounds that lie beneath a cursory glance of Toronto remains a tall order. But it's an effort that Toronto resident Bambii has devoted her DJing and promoting practice to. Early into her career, she founded the bi-annual party JERK, which pulled together genres from the previously partitioned bashment, hip-hop, jungle and ballroom scenes within Toronto. When Bambii made her first stab at production, she tapped into the city's queer, femme and Black vibrancy. As she explained to i-D in 2019,"I wanted to convey the special cultural overlaps that happen—the real dancers, the queens, the Black girls, the fluidity, the artists—and how, collectively, no matter what you've heard, this is actually what makes Toronto cool."
Her momentous debut EP, Infinity Club, brings a similar mélange of influences to life. Remnants of her ambient dancehall work on Kelela's Raven album resurface on the idle "Sydanie's Interlude" before rapper Sydanie speeds up her cosy flow in sync with filtered jungle. Tacked onto its close is a cheeky ode to Toronto, when New York influencer and rapper Cleopatra hollers a Drake quote: "Bitch I'm doing me! I'm living life right now, sound familiar?" Over the blazing jungle of "One Touch," a track inspired by Bambii's experience hearing a jungle track bleeding out of someone's car in Jamaica, skippy 2-step chipmunk vocals melt into muffled patois. Bambii flips between genres like welcome DJ transitions. "Body," for example, is all grime-influenced yearning until her plea "I want to touch your body" is fragmented by an onslaught of trembling Jersey club.
With the help of a luminous cast of artists, there's a certain island breeze of Afrobeats, dancehall and pop wafting over the record, which pairs well with similarly sunny (and phenomenal) 2023 releases from Janelle Monaé and Amaarae. On "Hooked," Aluna's falsetto rides a sand-encrusted dancehall beat that moves as slow and sultrily as palm tree fronds caressing the sky. In the track's closing 30 seconds, warm chords buoy the chorus, suggesting a happy ending for Aluna's sumptuous love poem.
"Wicked Gyal'' has a darker bent, marrying grime synths with walloping rhythms and Lady Lykez's quick-lipped assaults ("When I get twisted anything goes / Drunken belligerence is in tow / Next minute my hands around your throat / Now you're getting choked"). "Slip Slide" enters striptease territory and drops all hints of a romantic gaze like a past due fling. The highlight reaches a satisfying peak as Ragz Originale's auto-tuned performance twists and spirals out. Sirens blare and villainous synths descend on a dembow beat before Bambii finally smirks, "Slip side in / Wanna get inside in / If I was a rich girl would you let me ride it?" It's a chorus delivered as deliciously as the rest of the EP, a milestone for an artist that was once known as a brilliant DJ and collaborator, and can now assuredly add brilliant producer, songwriter and vocalist to her CV.
Tracklist01. You Are Now Entering The Infinity Club
02. One Touch
03. Hooked feat. Aluna
04. Wicked Gyal feat. Lady Lykez
05. Sydanie's Interlude feat. Sydanie
06. Slip Slide fea. Ragz Originale & Lamsi
07. Body feat. Lamsi
08. Infinity Club