Highlights from day one of FVDED In The Park (Review)

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By Ryan Hayes

Another year of FVDED In The Park has come and gone. Although we were unfortunately only able to attend day one of this year's event there were still plenty of dance music highlights. The main difference at this year's addition was the massive overhaul to the Northwest stage: with literally double the production & a brand new tent structure. As almost every other major festival in the lower mainland has collapsed over the last few years FVDED continues to expand and at this point very little stands in its way as it strengthens its hold on Vancouver's festival market.

Although day one tended towards the rap side of FVDED's overall lineup attendees were treated a world class stretch of uninterrupted dance music. Four and a half straight hours of fantastic music by true dance music artists—Ookay, Duke Dumont, Kaskade, AC Slater, & Rezz. By the last drop I could safety say that the day's offerings more than justified the ticket price.

Keeping it a step above the rest, here are our day one highlights:

AC Slater

With one of the few sets running for eighty minutes AC Slater kept the people dancing from start to finish. Headlining a packed FVDED Lab—the audience was literally overflowing—with his unique blend of bass laden UK infused house music Slater kept the night's theme of all things house alive and well. In the past every stage at FVDED has drawn a different audience, however, this year was a unique experience. As the day progressed I slowly began to notice the same crowd gravitating from stage to stage following quality music. Everywhere I went the crowd travelled with me: there was the guy with a giant inflatable plastic straw, a girl and her boyfriend who had seen Kaskade six times, the crew with the full sized Night Bass flag, and a handful of others. Spending the time to create a truly immersive experience AC Slater's set started relatively calm and picked up speed and playfulness as the night progressed. It was by far the most cohesive set of day one

Kaskade

Lets start off by saying Kaskade was the real headliner of day one—Future may have been billed higher, but the night's energy reached its fever pitch during Kaskade's absolutely packed main stage set. It wasn't the most tight-knit Kaskade set I had ever seen, but the decision to play it fast and loose and just have fun seemed to be very conscious. Rolling through his melodic hits stitched together with dancing music anthems like Reload while working in a few pop mega hits like The Killer's Mr. Brightside insured that everyone left Kaskade's set with a big smile on their face. There was even a section near the end of his set, which he embarked on by playing his 2008 hit with Deadmau5 I Remember, where he took the tempo down and skirted around some redux vibes. Twenty thousand people singing and jumping in unison; forgetting their problems awash in a sea of euphoric energy. Isn't that what main stage festival dance music is all about? As always Kaskade was the gold standard.

Rezz

Without a shadow of a doubt no audience was more hyped for an act than the thousands of FVDED attendees who crammed themselves in to the Northwest tent to see Rezz. Having seen Rezz play BC Place I was worried this would seem small and anticlimactic by comparison, but each and every person in attendance at FVDED was a die hard Rezz fan. Every twist and every turn elicited a thunderous roar of approval from the audience. Cellphones high, everyone was ravenous to capture even a few seconds of new material. With Contact having taken place just over six months ago there was also the risk that Rezz' set would be too similar to her previous offering—that wasn't the case. With new productions from her upcoming album, Witching Hour & Hex, along with countless ID's Rezz somehow managed to sounds entirely fresh and surprising all over again. I am not sure how she does it but she continues to get better with every live set. Unequivocally Vancouver agreed.

Aside: Where Rap & Dance Meet

It is absolutely worth mentioning that Noodles early DJ set at the FVDED Lab represented the perfect blend of what FVDED In The Park is attempting to achieve as a festival. Rolling through Rap and R&B hits both old and new combined with heavier festival oriented bass heavy beats Noodles managed to meet everyone right in the middle. She drew in both sides of the festivals overall audience, and for that she deserves major credit.

The beach & the beats: Favourite sets from Dreams Music Festival 2018

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All photos and GIFs by Jason Lynch

By Sinejan Ozaydemir (Toronto Correspondent) 

Dreams Music Festival is one of the biggest EDM festivals to happen in the city of Toronto each summer and 2018’s festival was great fun! Although the weather was at times a bit wet and fairly gloomy during the two-day festival, but the fans did not shy away from enjoying some great music and partying with fellow electronic music fans. Real proof that if there is a party, especially on the beach - Toronto fans will be there! This year’s festival featured 3 stages fun-filled with great artists, each of whom brought with them their own energy to the city of Toronto. 

Here are a few of our favourite sets from the festival: 

Andrew Bayer

I don’t know who danced more during this set, Andrew Bayer or the crowd. The crowd by the waterfront stage had enjoyed a couple of good sets and was filling up the floor and the hill by the time Bayer got on stage. From start to finish, he brought a great energy-there was a lot of fist pumping and a lot of jumping. The fans at the front of the crowd near the stage had even more fun as Bayer interacted with them, at one point Bayer signaled to a fan that he liked what I believe was a stuffed toy they won from one of the attractions at the festival- and the fan threw it up at him. He then proceeded to dance with the toy before throwing it back to the fan in the crowd. Another impressive part of Bayer’s set was how prepared he seemed to be. He knew the transitions and the tunes he was playing extremely well, almost playing along to them with his hands (which I call:air-guitaring for DJs). Sometimes a set can feel like it blends into one big song if we aren’t in tune to the changes and because Bayer was so in tune and was guiding us through the subtle changes, we enjoyed them even more. Although it wasn’t dark yet, Bayer’s set was pretty hype and his Toronto fans really seemed to enjoy it!

Ookay 

The perfect way to describe Ookay's performance at Dreams Music Festival would be: the most "live-ly" and entertaining. Having an artist that breaks up the whole DJ after DJ schedule was really quite refreshing and just what the crowd needed on the Saturday evening. It is wonderful to see an artist at a festival like this who is clearly in the moment and active on stage, giving the crowd an experience that is different than many other DJ sets. He also balanced controlling his instruments and interacting with the audience very well. The set was mostly full of Ookay’s own songs that got the crowd active and ready for the remainder of the night. Overall, Ookay helped us experience some serious happy beach vibes by the main stage as the crowd danced, sang along and threw around beach balls. 

Tchami x Malaa

Following the fantastic live set by Ookay, Tchami and Malaa took to the main stage and the crowd was immediately re-energized after a long first half day at the festival. The "No Redemption" set was full of songs that we couldn’t help but dance along to, with no dull moments. It felt like the set was a bit of a greatest-hits album feel between Tchami and Malaa and they, in my opinion, were so great at giving the crowd what they wanted. Their mixes were smooth and they were focused on and flawlessly delivering an enjoyable experience the whole time they were up on stage. Their performance style really seemed to vibe well with the audience as it was quite clear that the two DJs were really well known and liked by their Toronto fans: lots of Malaa masks and prayer hands up in the crowd throughout the set! 

Kaskade

What a great performance to end day one of Dreams Music festival. Many people we spoke with on on day one were big Kaskade fans and were really looking forward to the set... And man did Kaskade deliver. From the effortless transitions to the throwback moments, it was a true celebration with Kaskade playing his melodic hits and easily capturing the audience’s attention. One of my favourite moments were the singalong's to his popular tracks, its always impressive to see thousands sing at the the top of their lungs and show an artist love on stage. It was a great vibe with bright beautiful visuals and FXs followed by fireworks-one of those typical, energetic, feel-good sets that you would imagine in your mind’s eye when thinking of an EDM festival. 

Brohug

Wondering what happens when the bros hit the beach? : Lots of dancing in the sand. The crowd was building up on day two of the festival as the trio Brohug took main stage. The three guys were all smiles clapping with the Toronto crowd during their set. The crowd didn’t seem to need much encouragement to dance however because the tracks Brohug had lined up were enough to start some shuffling and get hands up in the air. Their bright visuals were active and fun really setting the vibe for the early evening dance party. They had a lovely tribute to Avicii which got us all emotional and singing along, sending our gratitude and love to Tim. 

Galantis

Toronto has some serious Galantis fans. The main stage was packed by the time they came on and everyone seemed to be very entertained. This doesn’t come as a surprise because Galantis’s performance was definitely high energy. They have a great performance style incorporating live drumming and really moving around the stage. The pros of being a duo are really having more connection with the crowd and these guys really know how to do that well. I mean, you try not moving along to their infectious tracks while seeing them have that much fun on stage. It was impossible for the Dreams Festival Crowd not to dance. 

Armin Van Buuren

Everyone from the front to the back was jumping with Armin and having a great time! He really knows how to build the crowd up and even after two full days of raving, the Toronto crowd did not stop being in the moment with Armin until the set was over. AVB’s light show never disappoints and I think was easily the best of the festival. This caliber of visuals and excitement is an experience that EDM fans know and love and it was great to see it end off the festival with a bang. Toronto was proud to also have Loud Luxury make an appearance during Armin’s set to say hello to their hometown fans. Armin excitedly played their hit single Body while the three jumped on stage and celebrated by waving the Canadian flag around. The main highlight for me was his love for the audience. EDM concert goers are usually well versed with DJs guiding them to jump and dance along to the music but Armin seemed to have this genuine connection with individuals in the crowd. Even though there were thousands there, he spent his set pointing out individuals near and far who were dancing and trying to get their attention to dance and clap along with them: show them he was connected with them. This connectedness is always so wonderful to see from DJs (especially even more impressive from big names like AVB) and a fantastic heart warming experience as a viewer/fan. 

We really enjoyed watching Toronto fans have a great time on the beach at Dreams Music Festival. Check out our slideshow of photos here and watch more more highlights from the festival our Instagram Dreams music fest featured story and feed. 

More highlights: 

7 sets I liked from Escapade Music Festival 2018 (Review)

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By David Mann

2018 was another glorious year for the Escapade Music Festival. Set at the Lansdowne Park for a second year in a row, it really felt like the festival has found a new long-term home in Ottawa as the spacing in between the stages was perfectly balanced. The bass stage was set within the historic Aberdeen Pavilion and was well attended all weekend. The trance/underground stage was at TD Place, which provided a proper dark environment to dance away virtually anonymously. But the the biggest party was to be had on the mainstage, which the majority of the crowd congregated all weekend. The guys from DNA Presents organized yet another almost flawless event that continued on despite the testy weather conditions. Last year the rain shut down the mainstage for one day, but this year the music and fans braved on as the rain couldn't damper their high spirits. Below you'll find the 7 acts that really stood out from this year's Escapade: 

Armin Van Buuren

Armin t the best set of the festival as he proved once again how he's the king of the festival mainstage. Through the years I've seen him use music from a variety of genres to pump up the crowd - but this time he relied on the music that he has promoted tirelessly through his popular ASOT radio show - trance. 

He started off strong with dropping psy-trance, a genre that a few years ago would be an unlikely candidate to be played at a mainstage at any festival. But with Seven Lions, the sudden popularity of Vini Vinci and now Armin, psy-trance has become a mainstay. 

Armin has been busy in the studio for the past year and it showed on the Escapade stage as he played all of his latest tracks which were all well received. Some notable tracks included "The Last Dancer" with Shapov, "You Are" with Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano, and "Blah Blah". Armin asked the crowd if they wanted to be in a state of trance, when the crowd roared in the affirmative, the Dutch legend gave them exactly that and more. The last track played was "Take Me There" by Militia, which was last week's ASOT "tune of the week", a fitting end to a brilliant set. 

Chus + Ceballos

The most dancing to be had at the festival was during the Chus + Ceballos set on day 2. The Spanish underground duo are no strangers to the scene as they have played in all of the best venues, including the much beloved Stereo nightclub in Montreal. They felt at home at the underground stage as they rocked TD Place with a consistent yet intense beat that gave you no choice but to move your feet in unison. Fixated on their monitors, Chus + Ceballos kept it to the basics, which was to craft and create the absolute best set they can do within the time given. And did they ever do that and more as the beat never dropped as a continuous rhythmic beat which reverberated within the stadium which allowed fans to dance for the entirety of their set. These guys know what they’re doing and it was an absolute pleasure to have watch the craft of DJ'ing at the highest level. Highlights included the Shaf Huse remix of "Stupidfly" by Daniel Dubb, "See La" by Prok & Fitch, "Grush" by Danny Serrano and Mendo, and "Easy Star" by DJ Fronter. 

Purple Haze

When Sander Van Doorn announced his Purple Haze project a few years ago, which saw him return to trance and the underground, I was so happy. Having seen him on numerous live streams, including a few A State Of Trance appearances, my anticipation reached fever pitch by the time Escapade rolled around. His vibe was distinctly dark as he dropped driving trance with hints of techno.  He started off with the deeper "Voice of Silence" by Cristoph, and slowly built it up to trance with "Desire of Ages" by Joseph Areas, and the recent trance banger by Orjan Nilsen "Simulator". The set was rhythmic, had a driving energy, and most important of all - delighted the fans. Once of the last tracks included Standerwick's remix of "Coming Home" by Dash Berlin, which brought chills.

Cosmic gate

The trance didn't stop as the German legends Cosmic Gate owned the crowd as they played fresh tracks from Vol. 2 of their latest Materia album. A highlight was when they dropped their remix of a personal favourite track of mine, "Only road" by Gabriel and Dresden. Cosmic Gate got the crowd moving by giving them driving trance beats at a higher BPM mixed interspersed with their well known vocal melodic classics. The guys were animated behind the decks which is always fun to see. Cosmic Gate gave a lot of love to Anjunabeats as they played a multitude of tracks from the likes of Above and Beyond, with special mention to the excellent track by Ilan bluestone and Major Levi called "Will We Remain". When "Fall into you" played, the haunting vocals by Jes was goosebump worthy. 

Rezz

Following Carnage and Ty Dolla $ign came the recent Juno award winner Rezz who wow'ed the crowd with her beautiful visuals and her unrelenting bass beats. Needing only her tracks to get the crowd where it needed to go, Rezz unleashed her powerful tracks including her latest "H E X". When she took a break from her discography, Madeon's evil edit of "Shelter" stood out. 

Sydney Blu

The dreambox stage, tucked away behind the action, was rocking all day long with a great vibe and fans committed to dance. Sydney Blu killed it by dropping rhythmic house music for almost her entire set. She didn’t hold anything back as she never stopped moving behind the decks, being in lock step with the dancers at her side. 

Slander

By far some of the biggest bass drops and crowd reactions were had when the Los Angeles duo Slander took the stage. Slander delivered a ton of bass including the "Knockout" by Krimer with a mix of hip hop like a trap remix of "God's Plan", and random throwbacks like "Yeah!" by usher. Slander punished the crowd with non-stop nastiness that brought the Abderdeen Pavilion to fever pitch. Did they eventually bring it down to give themselves the room to play their chill "Superhuman" track. Fun set that stood out from the rest.