The label’s 12-inch records with trademark Japanese-style obi strip designs have earned them coverage from tastemaking outlets like Pitchfork, FACT and Resident Advisor. In just two years, Séance Centre has stacked up 20 releases, from Mexican ambient artist Eblen Macari to San Francisco boogie funk vocalist MJ Lallo to a 2019 collaborative album from Toronto experimentalists Joseph Shabason and Ben Gunning. I mainly just want it to be a label I myself would be interested in.” “I still love digging and finding old things that I feel have currency today, but I’m inspired to create a conversation between archival reissues and contemporary artists. “That’s why we’re publishing books of poetry and also releasing new music. “I decided to focus on music that wasn’t necessarily dance-floor oriented and just do things that were unexpected,” he says. Yet when Hocura discovered Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s 1986 electronic New Age album, Keyboard Fantasies, he found a catalyst to split off and do things a bit differently. Together, they travelled the globe to dig up beautifully obscure sounds ranging from Caribbean disco to South African bubblegum. Hocura first learned how to run a record label as one half of Invisible City, which he co-founded in 2013 with Gary Abugan. With the installation of a high-end sound system, they’ve begun hosting DJ sets from fellow rare groove diggers, with plans to expand into an art gallery and possibly even a street festival. “It’s more of a casual hang-out spot that’s all about discovery.” “People can just message us if they want to drop in,” says Hocura. It’s also open on weekdays by appointment. It’s one of the city’s most steadily developing strips, and while sharing their space from Monday to Friday with unusual events such as dog yoga and ecstatic dance, they open their doors for weekend pop-up shops. Séance Centre set up shop on Geary after losing its headquarters in the basement of the sadly shuttered June Records. “We needed an office space and storage room for our stock, but also wanted to regain a presence in the city to interface with our community.” “It’s not a record store, per se,” explains Séance Centre founder Brandon Hocura, who runs the label with his wife Naomi Okabe. The label has opened a multi-purpose retail and event space on Geary – and it’s more than just a shop filled with crates of vinyl. Now the Toronto record label’s founders are working backward to reconnect with listeners on a local level. Since its formation in 2017, Séance Centre has gathered a ton of international acclaim. And Séance Centre Pop-Up Shop at Séance Centre (165 Geary), Saturday (February 28), noon-6 pm. Friday Night Séance featuring Henry Jones (Smiling C) at the Little Jerry (418 College), Friday (February 28), 8 pm.
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