3 French DJ/Producers that are worth taking a closer look at.

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Gregori Klosman​

This guy just laid down an EPIC set at Cielo in New York​ on August 9th which sent a strong message to the North American EDM scene that Gregori Klosman has arrived and you should take notice. His DJ'ing skills seem to be a lot more creative than many of his peers in the Progressive House world and I find his podcast 'Klosmania' to be one of the best on itunes. If you want to check out a live recording he has put up an entire 3 hour set from Cielo online for free:

He ​absolutely kllled it. H​e played all of the big hits while keeping the beat fresh by mixing in a few house/dubstep tracks and a fair share of mashups. Gregori Klosman will be returning to New York as part of Dirty South's 'City of Dreams' tour on October 20th. Hopefully some Canadian promoters will take notice and start booking this huge talent.

​Gesaffelstein

Ever since I've read a Dancing Astronaut article on Gesaffelstein I've been hooked. ​I'm admittedly a huge tech trance fan and I find this Frenchman's brand of techno to be a good compliment to it as his sound is a dark, metallic, and fast paced - just the way I like it. Here's my favourite track, Control Movement:

​Here's a massive 15 minute video of Gesaffelstein owning a crowd from last year:

There aren't many DJs out there right now with the same sort of swagger behind the decks. You can catch Gesaffelstein in Toronto as part of the Sonar on Tour event on November ​1st alongside other notables such as Die Antwoord, Seth Troxler, and Nic Fanciulli.

Joachim Garraud​

​A real veteran of the EDM scene, Joachim Garraud can still lay it down with the best of them live with his unique audio/visual setup. To get a better sense of what it's like to be at one of his shows check this out:

'Sonar North American tour' includes 8 tour stops (including Toronto, Montreal)

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The international festival from Spain called 'Sonar' will be taking their musical concept on the road to North America starting on October 31st. What is Sonar exactly?

Sónar is the International Festival of Advanced Music and Mew Media Art created in 1994, which is held in Barcelona for three days every June.
...At all its events, Sónar sounds out the current landscape of electronic music and its interactions and hybridization with other artistic disciplines, bringing together established artists and the emerging talent that renews and innovates in all areas of musical and audiovisual creation....​

They have previously taken their festival on the road to Tokyo, Cape Town, and Sao Paulo but this upcoming tour is more ambitious as they will travel to 8 stops in North America including Toronto, and Montreal. The lineup phenomenal as it includes Die Antwoord,  Azari & III, Seth Troxler, Paul Kalkbrenner, Tiga, Gesaffelstein and Nic Fanciulli. Here's the promo video: 

I'm really impressed with the video, top notch. I've always wanted to see to see Die Antwoord play live so to get to see them as well as the opportunity to watch some major EDM talent such as Seth Troxler, Nic Fanciulli, and Gesaffelstein is almost too good to be true. I have a strong feeling that both of these Canadian dates will sell out - tickets go on sale September 14th. ​

"Make some noise!"

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No, I won't make some noise if you want me to. No, I won't sit down on the dirty dance floor and stand up on command. ​And no, I won't lift my hands up in the air because you tell me to.

I go to a club to primarily dance and listen to great music, but not to worship the DJ​. I respect the DJ or else I wouldn't have bothered to pay good money to buy a ticket, dress up, get myself out of the house and willingly dance in a hot and usually packed club. But I feel like the DJ crosses the line when he asks you to perform certain things like a Pavlovian dog who is waiting for his or her treat.

The DJ should respect the dance floor just as much as we respect the DJ. If we want to put our hands in the air, jump up and down, or even scream in enjoyment, it should be because of the music and not because someone on a mic asks us to. ​

​/End of rant.

Markus Schulz Interview: Trance is doing just fine in Ibiza

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Solid interview of Marks Schulz from the Summer Festival Guide.

SFG: Your almost at the end of your residency at Privilege, how has that gone this summer?

Markus: Fantastic, I am part of the residency for A State of Trance night on Monday nights.  To be honest with you, I think it’s fantastic for both Ibiza and the trance scene.  Nobody really expected us to do what we have been doing, selling out the club week after week, 7000 strong.  The whole island is kind of like looking at us going ‘what’s going on, how are they able to do this’.  It’s really just put the spotlight on trance music again.

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Trance is far from dead. ​

​It was also revealed that Markus Schulz will go on a 'Scream' album tour with full production in the first quarter of 2013. Hopefully Markus will include a few Canadian dates.

(Source: Summer Festival Guide)​