Casey MQ Is Keeping Toronto's Nightlife Alive with Club Quarantine, Isolation's Biggest Queer Dance Party

The producer "stumbled into" the project, which has quickly become a full-time job

BY Alex HudsonPublished Apr 10, 2020

One of the few bright spots of life under coronavirus lockdown is Toronto's Club Quarantine, a nightly LGBTQ+ dance party on Zoom. It's quickly become the highlight of queer nightlife in the city and beyond, attracting at-home partiers to watch DJ sets from the likes of Charli XCX, Tinashe, and a huge range of local and international artists.

The event was founded by Casey MQ, Mingus, Brad Allen and Andrés Sierra — so we caught up with producer Casey MQ about his extremely busy life under lockdown, as well as his plans for a new album of his own.

What's your self-isolation setup?

I'm currently at home in Toronto with my two roommates and boyfriend. Things are pretty chill at the house. I have a studio setup to make music, which is where I've often been as a freelance artist. I do miss going outside and working at cafés, though.

Are you working on any music while on lockdown?

When the lockdown started, I immediately stumbled into what is now Club Quarantine. It's taken up the majority of my time and I'm generally having a blast working on it. I am grateful to have a project that requires my constant attention — it's something I work on with my other co-founders every day from morning to evening. I had just finished recording my upcoming album pre-quarantine, so I've been working with David Pstuka remotely on the mixes for the album as well. I'm super excited to release it!

What are you watching and listening to?

To be honest, I haven't had much time to watch anything new — although, because Club Quarantine happens every night, I'm booking artists every day, so I've been listening to a lot of fantastic music from Toronto locals to international scenes. One of my favourite Club Q sets has been by the amazing Crystallmess. The set was so invigorating, I couldn't help but move the entire set.

How do you feel about the response to coronavirus?

I like to focus on doing my best to take the pandemic very seriously and I hope everyone can do their part. Everyone's circumstance is entirely different, so situations arise for different people that need to be handled accordingly. We've lived in a flawed system already so perhaps this might enlighten a shift for the better.

Have you picked up any new hobbies or routines in isolation?

I guess I started this new project that's looking like it will last the entire quarantine! We're still catching up to what we've started so we'll find a groove so we don't get completely burnt out.

Find out what other Canadian musicians have been up to under self-quarantine with our Isolation Nation questionnaire.

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