Seven Lions: The Dubstep Remixer of Choice for Trance Producers

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​Seven Lions has become one of the hottest Dubstep producers thanks in part to the recognition given for winning Above & Beyond's remix context of 'You Got To Go' a few months ago. This California native has transformed his musical hobby into a full fledged career which will be further boosted by his upcoming EP release backed by OWSLA.

Seven Lions aka Jeff Montalvo is known for his excellent blend of beautifully crafted Dubstep beats fused with some of the biggest trance tracks released including Velvetine's ​'The Great Divide', Tritonal ft. Christina Soto's 'Still With Me', and Paul Van Dyk's 'I don't Deserve You Ft. Plumb'.

Seven Lions sound is successful because he's managed to maintain the beauty and essence of Trance music while creating Dubstep drops that serve to enhance rather than detract from the overall melody. Seven Lions started as a Trance producer before turning to Dubstep so that might explain his ability to create beautiful Dubstep tracks that would appeal to the Trance and Dubstep fans alike.

Seven Lions recently finished a gig in Vancouver at the BLVD 22 for his Canadian debut and sat down with Van City Buzz for an interesting interview. ​His next Canadian stop will be in Ottawa on Oct 12th at the Ritual Nightclub.

It's hard to predict how high Seven Lions career will go but given the fact that he has a current Beatport #1 Dubstep track​, massive Trance producer support, and an upcoming EP via OWSLA, I believe Jeff Montalvo is in for a fast ride.

Latest track release: Pretty Lights - 'So Bright' - Available for Free

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​I made a lot of noise about this new Pretty Lights track yesterday over Twitter.

​This track is available for free to download on his website so you can pick it up now for your listening pleasure. And while you're at it you might as well download every Pretty Lights track because it's all available for free download.

I've been listening to his entire discography and all of it is just brilliant. The music he was creating back in 2008 is just as interesting and worthy as his recent releases.

Armin Van Buuren is coming to Canada this weekend

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Armin Van Buuren will be stopping in Canada this weekend with dates in Montreal (Friday), Toronto (Saturday), and Calgary (Sunday). According to the Guvernment's blog post about the upcoming event, Armin will not limit himself with a specific set time for his show and will personally decide when he is finished. Armin has been known for his legendary 6 hour extended sets in Ibiza so if you're going to see him in Toronto make sure you are well rested and wearing good shoes.

For more information on all of his upcoming dates this weekend: ​

Spin: Deadmau5 Interview

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Deadmau5 is always interesting ​for a good quote or two.

On​ working with big-name collaborations:
Deadmau5: "We've got big names working with us, but they're not on my ‘suck list.’"
​On the Forbes "Highest Paid DJs" list:
Deadmau5: "I got an opinion about that too. It's bullshit. I had to call my manager and say, "Yo! Where’s the other 10?"

On his thoughts regarding the "We All Hit Play" blog post:
Deadmau5: "Sometimes you just gotta kick over the beehive and it brings up shit like that. It educates and infuriates..."

(Source: SPIN)

Zedd's New Album 'Clarity' is out now - Here are some initial reviews (Including mine)

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Zedd's new album 'Clarity' is now out in the US, you can pick it up from the iTunes music store here. ​Or you can wait until Oct 9th where it will be available to purchase from Amazon:

The EDM blogosphere was out in force giving Zedd's new album their full support: ​

After giving ​this album a good listen last night I must respectfully disagree with the reviews above. With the exception of two tracks I found the overall album generic and pop driven. Take the track 'Clarity' for example, how is this song any different from anything Katy Perry or other Top 40 artists have released recently? For somebody as respected as Zedd for being on the cutting edge of EDM, this track is as generic as it gets. Sadly, I essentially share the same thoughts for the tracks 'Follow you Down (Feat. Bright Lights)' and 'Lost At Sea (feat. Ryan Tedder)'.

Now for the tracks that I actually liked. I believe Zedd & Lucky Date's 'Fall Into the Sky' featuring the vocals of Ellie Goulding to be a beautiful track with an innovate drop that immediately sets it apart from the pack. As you hear Ellie Goulding's haunting vocals, 'Fall into the sky' slowly builds taking you on a journey that eventually crescendos into a powerful electro infused drop that leaves your body no choice but to jump up and down in joy and excitement. The other track of note is 'Codec,' which was one of the hardest hitting tracks of the non-vocal variety in the album, will be sure to please the fans looking hear something more raw from Zedd. 'Codec' in it's original form is already ready for the dance floor but I am looking forward to hearing some remixes that might give the track an even faster pace. 

It gives me no pleasure to write a negative review on an artist that I respect like Zedd, but given the overwhelming love for this album from the other blogs I felt it was important to give my two cents in rather than simply joining the chorus.  I'm not quite sure what I was expecting out of the 23 year old wunderkind, but 'Clarity' wasn't it.

P.S. I'm not including the tracks 'Shave It Up' and 'Spectrum' in my review because they have already released prior to this album.​ To give Zedd's album a listen please visit Dancing Astronaut for full track listing.