Junglist’s Convention: Echelon.to Ignites Bass Line with Weekly Drum and Bass Night

Featured image: ARACHN1D during his set on Aug. 2

Jul. 10 – The bar at Bass Line rumbled with the sounds of sampled breakbeats and rolling basses, as part of a new weekly series at the venue, organized by local rave collective echelon.to. Held each Thursday, Run into the Jungle showcases echelon.to’s new initiative to diversify their events, adding drum and bass to their usual house music line-up.

Drum and Bass, more commonly called “dnb” for short, has always been near to my heart. I’ve been seeking it out in the city for a few months now, so I was excited to see Echelon’s and Bass Line’s post about the then-upcoming show on the 18th. My passion and background with DnB/Jungle began during the 2010-12 dubstep craze, where I branched from the blue UKF channel on YouTube to the yellow UKF channel on YouTube. I’ve been a fan of drum and bass for almost as long as I’ve known what electronic music was.

I remember during the 2010-12 dubstep craze, my friend sent me a yellow UKF video and I felt like I’d discovered a new world, barely on the heels of encountering Dubstep. Jungle remains the only electronic music genre to give me the stereotypical “musician stank face”. At least one other person had the same idea on Spotify.

Some photos from the night a few weeks ago. Check out our Instagram and Facebook for future photos of upcoming Run into the Jungle nights.

Cultivating the Toronto junglist scene

Different electronic music genres have their own cultures, and while all electronic dance music has a history of inclusivity, drum n’ bass (along with perhaps, trance and hardstyle) is more tightly knit than others. This isn’t to discount house as a genre – this writer loves it too and it was a house DJ (Chazzy) who conceived of this very series. The fact remains that house music has commercial appeal – indeed, house-adjacent pop music and rap dominate the Toronto club scene.

Run into the Jungle replaces a bi-weekly Wednesday setup that wasn’t working out cause it competed with another place, and echelon’s creative forces don’t want to split the community – the more the merrier. The weekly series features local, underground talent, and sometimes has open decks for aspiring DJs to come and test their skills. Check echelon.to or chazwagger on Instagram for weekly details and line-ups.

Being underground, with shows like these you have the added benefit of being able to grab a drink with the DJs before or after their set and being Drum & Bass, you have the benefit of joining a welcoming part of the tightly-knit electronic music community. The DJs play multiple varieties of dnb, from classic jungle to jump-up to neuro and liquid funk.

So, if you’re a junglist in Toronto who’s passionate about cultivating a local scene, come down to Bass Line Music Bar at 865 Bloor Street W. Thursday nights are dedicated to local DnB DJs, but the rhythm doesn’t stop there – you’ll find an eclectic mix of electronic music every night of the week. Join us for a vibrant night out and be part of the growing jungle scene in the city.