Invisible City Mixes

Both as a DJ and via his impeccable Invisible City reissue label, Gary Abugan brings new life to the disparate forgotten curiosities . Keen to give these unknown and inaccessible records airplay, Invisible City Sound System's sets are as much about celebrating the overlooked music of the past as they are about just straight up having a good time." Moony Habits/Restless Nights LA

Gary Abugan [Day Curated by Floating_bstrd]

Long time pal and driving force behind Invisible City it's Gary Abugan (@invisible-city) from Canada serving up the 29th mix in the series. Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hey Gary. How's life in Toronto today? Did you manage to do some more gardening? :)

IC: We have a really nice garden in front of the shop and also at home in my backyard, both get some nice sun and shade and are where I spend all my time. So yes, gardening everyday ;)

MFM: (Before the pandemic hit) You've seen quite a few bits of the world by now while touring. How would you describe Toronto as a city if you had to promote it to the readers who haven't been there yet? 

IC: It’s summer here now in Toronto and we’re in the middle of a heatwave. We’re lucky to have an island with nice beaches as a nearby getaway via ferry. Toronto is a very large sprawling city compared to most European cities. Our multiculturalism definitely sets us apart. We have heaps of reggae and island music here along with lots of record shops, and the variety of food here can’t really be beat. I miss giving guided Invisible City tours of the city to any traveling DJs passing through.

MFM: Would you say it's a good place for an artist to be, whether being a young upcoming talent or professional and all in between?  

IC: Sure you can make it here if you’re skilled/talented and not overbearing, the problem is that there isn’t that many music venues to play. Between the crazy expensive visa you need to play the USA and the costs of flights to Europe, we are kind of isolated musically. Rent is crazy expensive here and most artists have another job, but I’m not sure if Toronto makes it specifically harder or easier compared to other cities. 

MFM: People may know you as the driving force behind Invisible City, the record store and label. How much time do you spend with the one compared to the other? 

IC: I would say pre-Covid more focus was on the shop and getting that to a sustainable level and stocking the store. We didn’t even have a sign for years until recently. During Covid, when the shop was closed for about a year and a half, a lot of focus was on development and signing artists paying advances and getting back into production. I learned alot about Music Publishing too… Laura helps me a lot with organizing everything, label and shop, I would be lost without her.

MFM: Looking back on running a record store and label for over 10 years now, what would you say are some key changes that took place over time?

Back then there were not that many reissue labels and it wasn’t as competitive or extensive, now everyone has a reissue label. I only wanted to put out records that I was strongly connected to or somehow found on a whim. If someone showed me a record, I would ask them if they were planning on reissuing it, now people just go ahead. It’s crazy how many reissues there are so it’s challenging now as a label to dig even deeper. The record shop also was really niche and specialized in the past and now there’s just more in each genre. It’s still pretty curated, but I am finding that I didn’t know a lot of good common records, so we like having “high end cheapos”. I like that most people can just come off the street and buy records now, although we still have some niche stuff too. It feels overall more balanced and varied and for the people.

MFM: The label seems to run at a nice and slow pace. Is it on purpose to not have a heavy and steady output? 

IC: I like to only do a couple records a year, it’s only me and Laura who do it all and it takes me ages to figure out artwork, I’m very picky. The shop, DJing, and occasionally throwing parties also takes up a lot of our time. We always have a lot on the go. I also like to focus on one or two artists at a time, but also it costs a lot of money to make a record! Now things are totally slowed down and our plant says I can’t get pressings out till next March!

MFM Mix 029: Invisible City

"A mellow mix of some of my Canadian faves, reggae, hip hop, chill out, r’n’b, plus Kashif and Richard H. Kirk! Still haven’t left Toronto in almost 2 years and haven’t been DJing much, so I’m a little rusty. Lots of chess, skateboarding and gardening lately. Hanging out with the possum that moved into my backyard. Miss my friends, crews, record shops and fave clubs in other cities!" - @invisible-city

B.P.T. Radio 038: Invisible City

Our guest for the last Worldwide FM show of 2021 was Gary Abugan aka Invisible City, representing Toronto with a guest mix in the second hour. Alongside being an incredible DJ, he’s the head of both Invisible City Editions, the record label responsible for some of our favourite reissues of recent times, and also the mouth wateringly good Invisible City record shop.

Heels & Souls with Invisible City (WWFM)

Toronto-based record store, label and soundsystem Invisible City is back with an hour of slow and sexy tracks ! 

🌐 "Outsiders" is our daily show hosted by global independent record labels
📡 Connect with the Outsiders, every day, at 9 am or 9 pm CET
🔗 kioskradio.com

Outsiders: Invisible City @ Kiosk Radio 08.02.2022

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Re-opening weekend PART II
Special with a capital S.

Sandy B LIVE, Invisible City Editions, Telephones & Milch serving up an eclectic and fruity mix of New Beat, Wave, House, Street Soul, Kwaito, Disco and Balearic oddities.... Until the moon has passed and the sun has risen.

@sandybworld
@invisiblecity_
@teflonhenning
@sameheads
@lauraschutte

Special thanks to @trash.jimmy for hooking us up with Sandy....

Rare & Groooooovy. Check it.
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Invisible City @ Sameheads 2022 - 08 - 13

Invisible City is the pseudonym of the Canadian DJ, Gary Abugan. Starting out as an online shop and reissue label (Invisible City Editions), the brand has expanded over the years with a Toronto based brick-and-mortar shop (Invisible City Record Shop), online community radio (Invisible City Radio), and event series (Invisible City Presents). With a focus on the overlooked, cross-over genre fluidity, and often questionable music, Invisible City is about building community and having a good time.

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WORK REDUX MIX is a collection of mixes made to be listened to while working. We work closely with local and international DJs to assemble thoughtful music that will carry members throughout their day and introduce them to new sounds. They are created to lift our members up when they need it, or calm them down when concentrating.

WORK REDUX MIX 015 - Invisible City

Invisible City Editions is a cult reissue label based in Toronto, Canada. Run by Brandon Hocura and Gary Abugan, it puts out long overlooked or lost gems, much needed reissues and rare disco delights that immediately get snapped up by record collectors around the world. The men behind it are obviously avid diggers themselves, and really know how to pull out amazing records from many different genres. As such they also make for an amazing DJ team who surprise and shock, delight and entertain whenever they play. 

The sun scorched mix they have put together for us proves that: it is a truly worldly selection that marries off kilter funk with organic hand drums, afro futurism with house music’s sense of groove. Despite touching on so many diverse and hard to describe styles and left of centre melodies, it is all expertly tied together and perfectly sequenced so as to make for a truly different and distinctive ride. 

Dekmantel Podcast 055 - Invisible City Sound System

First Outsiders appointment for Invisible City Soundsystem.

Record label, shop and DJ Soundsystem based out of Toronto (Canada), Invisible City puts out long overlooked or lost gems, much needed reissues and rare disco delights that immediately get snapped up by record collectors around the world.

#KioskRadio #Outsiders21 #StayConnected

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🌐 "Outsiders" is our daily show hosted by global independent record labels 
📡 Connect with the Outsiders, every day, at 10 am or 10 pm CET
🔗 kioskradio.com

Outsiders: Invisible City Soundsystem w/ Gary Abugan

Invisible City is the pseudonym of the Canadian DJ, Gary Abugan. Starting out as an online shop and reissue label (Invisible City Editions), the brand has expanded over the years with a Toronto based brick-and-mortar shop (Invisible City Record Shop), online community radio (Invisible City Radio), and event series (Invisible City Presents). With a focus on the overlooked, cross-over genre fluidity, and often questionable music, Invisible City is about building community and having a good time.