audioJeremy NathanMay 26, 2021house music, house dj, deep house, deephouse, housemusic, dj, dj mix, tech house, techhouseComment

Audio: Osgoode Station

audioJeremy NathanMay 26, 2021house music, house dj, deep house, deephouse, housemusic, dj, dj mix, tech house, techhouseComment

In the history of dance music in Toronto, few places carry a sense of nostalgia like, Osgoode Station. For many, it’s less a subway station than it is a gateway. In the early days of warehouse parties, Osgoode was the closest subway stop to the epicentre of street culture, the intersection of Queen St and John St. From that station you'd head west to meet friends, grab flyers (remember this was well before the internet), or buy tickets and mix tapes. While the scene and the culture evolved, Osgoode Station always remained a star on the city culture map.

When meeting points for shuttle buses to large events moved from Union Station to Nathan Phillips Square, Osgoode’s importance only increased in providing nearby subway access off the main Line 1. Then as the underground culture went mainstream - moving from warehouses to nightclubs - Osgoode was still a key entry and exit point for then then ballooning club district. The city had permitted a cluster of nightclubs and bars in a small nearby section of the downtown core, and it exploded in popularity. So on Friday and Saturday nights there'd be a steady stream of people emerging from below street level to walk the short trek, or grab the 501 car to legendary spots like System Soundbar, Turbo, Limelight, Element, Bamboo, and later on, 99 Sudbury and to Footwork that would soon follow. But all things come to an end. At the behest of new condo residents and business tenants of the burgeoning condo construction also going up in the neighborhood, the city cracked down and drove house music out.

You can take away the clubs, but you can't kill the music. And you can't take away the memories. For me in particular, there are a few songs that stopped me dead in my tracks. The kind of songs and sounds that open a new chapter in your biography. For me, one of those sounds was the dubbed out tech house style of, H-Foundation. This duo made up of producer/DJs, Halo Varga and Hipp-E, came together to make a new sound that would set the tempo for an important period in Toronto’s house music scene. And I made it a point to be there every time they came to town. Each time they put something out on Siesta Records, I grabbed it.

Now 20 years on, I still love that sound just as much as I did then. So when H-Foundation released a set of 20 year anniversary remixes for their track, Hear Dis Sound, I got to thinking about how to reimagine what it might sound like if Halo and Hipp-E got back together for one more night.

This train is now arriving at, Osgoode Station.