A-Trak's Take

A-Trak posted a lengthy but worthwhile article on the current state of live EDM shows which is being praised by a lot of people on Twitter. While he makes a lot of good points about DJ'ing I really thought his view regarding Dancing Astronaut's article on the dangers of major DJs phoning it in for their live shows to be especially on point:

For the DJs who bounce from venue to venue, playing the same set without the redeeming quality of a personalized stage production, there is no excuse. This laziness is actually giving "live" performances more value! After any big EDM festival, look up the DJ playlists. They're frighteningly similar. This scene is turning into a caricature. Explosions, private jets, standing on tables (I plead guilty to the latter), and now carbon copy playlists... The hair metal soap opera of EDM risks devaluing a culture that has waited for its big break for 30 years.

This is the big threat. I consider EDM fans a bit more savvy than the rest of the hoi polloi so I wonder how much longer are we as consumers of this scene are willing to pay good money to hear the same set and tracks being played over and over? Not me. The technology should be used to surprise fans and not to encourage lazy DJs from cashing in.

(Source: Huff Po)

Tomorrowland will be broadcast 7 hours a day on Youtube

Watcha doin' between July 27-29th? I'll most likely be sitting on my butt all weekend watching this free Tomorrowland broadcast as I try to stay cool with my AC unit. If you didn't get a chance to go to Tomorrowland this year then this is the next best thing as Youtube will be streaming the festival live 7 hours a day. My hope is that they will offer 3 live feed channels as they did with Coachella this year so I can quickly switch to my preferred DJ. I doubt that will happen but one can hope!

(Source: Dancing Astronaut)

Axwell will focus on up and coming talent rather than working with established pop stars

Axwell stated in a recent interview with the Daily Record that he would prefer to focus on new talent rather than work with R&B artists that have jumped on the EDM bandwagon:

He said: “The big names are not the future. There are more American R&B artists wanting to meet people like us and wanting to learn our world. They want to come to our world and that is all fine but, for me, that’s not what I’m chasing.

“I’m introducing what is new and what new producers and completely unknown singers we have. I’m interested in the new Adele, the new Gotye. Who is the next guy? That is really the future. Just meeting big name people for the sake of it is not what I’m looking for.”

Out of the three members of the Swedish House Mafia I will be following Axwell the closest as I believe he has the most potential to give us something new and fresh to listen to.

(Source: Daily Record)

Deadmau5 interview on CBC

Deadmau5 sat down yesterday with Jian Ghomeshi for an interview and here are my notes:

• Deadmau5 admitted that he only had a handful of 'A' list DJs in mind when he criticized the EDM scene with his  'We all hit play' tumblr post. 
• He was asked about the whole 'I can teach anyone in an hour how to DJ like me in the cube' and he re-emphasized that you have to know ableton and midi first. By the way my guitarist/indie/rock friend used both arguments above yesterday to basically dismiss the whole EDM scene which ultimately escalated into a 40 minute debate. Thanks Joel.
• He didn't back down with his remarks on Madonna. Good! 
• Admitted that he 'sold out' when he produced his singular dubstep track as he flirted with jumping on the trend bandwagon. Hi Gareth. 
• He <3 Hans Zimmer and strongly hinted that he'd like to do something in his sphere one day.
• Joel finishes off the interview by actually answering his mobile live on radio, lol.

(Source: CBC Radio)

A small movement can turn into a big thing with time

More Skrillex but this time via Rolling Stone:

When did you realize that the music you were making was part of a movement?
It was underground when I first started, especially bass music. In L.A., no more than 200 people came to local dubstep shows – this was around 2006, 2007. At Smog in LA, it was a big night if 150 people came. I feel like it started out without any major marketing promotion, singles, pop songs or anything.

If I was a young producer/DJ I would get a lot of inspiration from that answer. Do not be afraid to find your own sound and create a small scene around it that might someday catch on to a wider audience.

(Source: Rolling Stone via Reddit)