MARY ANNE HOBBS at the Social (1100 Queen West), tonight (Thursday, May 6), 10 pm. $10. wantickets.com.
BBC radio personality Mary Anne Hobbs might be the only person to turn being stranded by Iceland’s volcano into a positive.
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“I was supposed to be here for a day and a half,” says Hobbs from a friend’s place in Ventura, California. “I’m now going to be here for about six weeks, so it’s been a bit wild.
“Ninety-five thousand flights into the UK were cancelled because of the volcano, so I see myself as the most blessed of all refugees to be stranded in sunny Los Angeles.”
She’s not just talking about the nice weather either. Hobbs has taken the opportunity to throw together an impromptu DJ tour, while also broadcasting her weekly radio show from the road, including specials on the West Coast’s emerging bass-heavy electronic scene.
“Even an ocean away, I had the sense of this incredible creative momentum building. I can genuinely say that my experience at [the acclaimed L.A. club] Low End Theory back in January completely changed my life and the whole trajectory of the Radio 1 show.
“I found more incredible young artists in one night at that club than I had for months and months scouring the world on the Internet. I came home with a whole suitcase of discs that people gave me.”
It’s not surprising that she gets swamped by producers when playing club gigs. After all, Hobbs is best known as the woman behind Dubstep Warz, the seminal 2006 Radio 1 special that broke dubstep to the world and is still regarded as essential listening for anyone trying to understand the genre.
“In 2005, if there were 10 people at FWD it was a big night. The scene was absolutely tiny, and mainly all you’d find were producers checking each other out. I remember being so profoundly moved by [dubstep], though, that I was convinced if it had the right platform for people to discover it, it could have that same impact across the world. Having said that, I don’t think any of us had any notion of how quickly that would happen.”
Hobbs’s DJ gig at the Social will be her first trip to Canada, and she’s excited about filling up her suitcases with the city’s sounds. Clearly, you don’t need to be a big name to get love from her, which means even the most introverted bedroom producers might summon up the courage to slip her some tunes.
“Just please tell people to bring music on a memory stick, not a CD. I can’t afford to throw away all the clothes I had to buy for this trip.”
Interview Clip
Mary Anne Hobbs discusses the problems with pushing club-based music like dubstep on the radio
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com
