Rating: NNNNN
DJ GEMINI as part of Home at 71 Bathurst, Friday (November 23). $10 before midnight. phox007@hotmail.com, juniorpalmer@hotmail.com or djgemini@hotmail.com.
Chicago’s DJ Gemini (aka Spencer Kinsey) likes to please his audience, a refreshing change from the huge egos of some electronic artists. He knows that dance music is primarily just that — music for dancing.
“There’s one thing I want you to do: put in the article that I want people to send me an e-mail at djgemini@hotmail.com so they can tell me what they thought of my set or ask me questions or anything. Make sure they see it, OK?”
He started his career as part of Chi Town’s second generation of house in the early 90s alongside Derrick Carter, Mark Farina, Green Velvet and DJ Sneak, DJing at loft parties and working for Cajual Records.
He has since released more singles than he can keep track of as well as four full-length albums on such labels as Cajual, Relief, Planet E, Peacefrog, Distance, Panhandle, Loveslap, Classic and Cyclo. His regular appearances in Toronto have earned him a reputation as a top-notch mixer and crowd-pleaser.
“My whole vibe is to take people into a state of euphoria via sounds, grooving into and away from the normal everyday dramas of life and work,” he says from his Chicago home. “People work Monday to Friday, they might get a little stressed or disillusioned via their work scenario.
“They go out on the Friday or Saturday and replenish their energy. They say to themselves. ‘Hey, you know what? These rhythms feel good, and I feel like I’m within life again.’
“I know Toronto — you people are really into the groove-oriented songs, so I try to groove them out.”
While he’s adept at rocking the dance floor, Gemini has often pushed his albums into more abstract territory, and sometimes features live musicians at his DJ appearances.
“I basically start with the rhythm and mould everything around it. If you’re working in a creative atmosphere with live musicians, they’re going to bring their imagination to the situation and go off of your rhythms, using their imagination to come up with a different sound or a different way for the song to unfold.”
