The DJ Mag Top 100 Results: Initial Thoughts

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In case you were living under a rock the DJ Mag Top 100 poll results for 2012 were released yesterday. ​Here are the top ten results:

1. Armin Van Buuren
2. Tiesto
3. Avicii​
4. David Guetta
5. Deadmau5
6. Hardwell
7. Dash Berlin
8. Above & Beyond
9. Afrojack
10. Skrillex

To see the rest of the rankings, click here. ​

I have a few immediate reactions:

  • Trance music and the global Trance Family are alive and well. Trance fans have come out in droves to support their favourite artists which was reflected strongly in the rankings. Armin is #1 again and 10 out of the top 30 DJs ​are what I would consider to be of the Trance variety. Maybe this year's results will stop all of the knee jerk Internet chatter on prophesying Trance's demise. I also hope that these results will give some of the biggest names in Trance some confidence in the genre again and slow down the release of 'Trouse' style tracks.
  • Hardstyle is here to stay. ​The fan support for hardstyle DJs came through once again this year which solidifies gains made from 2011. Hardstyle has fully established itself in Europe and is already starting to make inroads in North America, especially in Western Canada. To read more about topic, click here.
  • I'm a little surprised at how disappointing Dillon Francis fared (109th) considering he's one of the hottest DJs this year and has garnered plenty of devoted fans. I consider him to be one of the smartest self-promoters among the next generation of artists who can actually back it up with solid productions. ​
  • Diplo (102nd), Leon Bolier (113th), Sasha (103rd) and Boys Noize missed out on the top 100 this year. ​I'm a little surprised that none of these four cracked the top 100, especially Diplo. He's the head of Mad Decent, has his own BBC 1 radio show, created some of the best productions of the year, has major collaborations with of the biggest stars, and is very active on Twitter with a strong following. The reason why his fans have failed to vote for him remains a mystery to me.

Emotions ran high this year on social media as passionate fans (and some DJs) cried foul whenever their favourite DJ didn't place high enough. What fans have to remember is that this is only a poll. I know that's an obvious statement to make but must be repeated to some if you read some of the more heated reactions on Facebook. The DJ Mag 2012 Poll remains an influential indicator on the current state of EDM and is still a great starting point for newcomers to discover new artists and genres.

Swedish House Mafia beats Adele for top spot in UK Charts - What does it mean?

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A few days ago 'Don't You Worry Child' by Swedish House Mafia beat out Adele's track 'Skyfall' to top the UK Charts. To me this is the defining news story that signals that EDM = Pop Music.

This is a product of the success that EDM has had as it finally transcended into wider popular music appeal. But should we be celebrating or mourning this fact? If the newcomers to the scene start digging beyond the biggest EDM chart toppers then this could spur the wider EDM community as a whole and that would be a good thing.

But if EDM becomes overly commercialized with only a handful of artists playing the same tracks over and over while creating sub-par collaborations with major pop stars then this whole EDM phenomena might sputter out before it finds firm footing. Let's hope that never happens.

​(Source: Billboard)

Mat Zo is mixing up his live sets and keeping it fresh by looking back to old classics

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According to Dancing Astronaut, Mat Zo was seen playing a 9 year old house track (Junior Jack - E Samba)​ and a 13 year old Tiesto remix of Silence ft. Sarah McLachlan at the Santos House Party in New York last week.

Mat Zo has been known to be quite vocal to rile against the current state of Trance music on Twitter, and like Arty, is in a state of flux as he tries to carve out his individual style in their young careers. ​Maybe digging up tracks from the past and finding inspiration from them might be just the thing to mix things up in the current state of DJs over relying on the Beatport top 100 for tracks to use live.

Tiesto recently Tweeted his love for a Jay-Z quote saying "if you like my old shit, listen to my old albums" - well it seems Mat Zo is doing just that. ​

(Source: Dancing Astronaut)​

The Guvernment reflects on their 16th Anniversary Event

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The official blogger for the Guvernment was really impressed with Pierce Fulton: ​

"The moment I walked from Chroma to Kool Haus Fulton was in the middle of my favorite track from this past summer, Goodbye Fly from Joris Voorn.  To the average fan that song may hold no bearing, but the Ibiza anthem goes beyond an addiction for me.  I was sold on the young producer and had only heard one track. Having only a portable table to work with in order to accommodate Wolfgang Gartner’s set-up, Fulton commanded the crowd faithfully with his inspiring selection of music that included Mr. Mime from his Sink or Swim EP and US from Leon Boiler. "​

​Apparently Above & Beyond gave their fans an extra hour for their Toronto fans, lucky.

(Source: Guvernment)​

And the winning ASOT 600 cities are....

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The State of Trance 600 live broadcast on Youtube just announced the winning cities that will be visited by Armin and his Armada army as part of their ASOT 600 world tour. Next year's ASOT 600 will be branded as 'The Expedition - let's turn the world into a dance floor!' and will span from February 14th, 2013 to April 6th, 2013. The first winners are:

February 16th​, 2013: Mexico City, Mexico
March 1st, 2013: Sao Paulo, Brazil
March 9th, 2013: Beirut, Lebanon
March 15th, 2013: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
March 30th, 2013: New York City, United States
April 6th, 2013: Den Bosch, Netherlands

Please note that these are only ​the 'very first' 6 cities announced as Armin promised there will be more cities revealed in future ASOT broadcasts. Armin also stated that his team are in the process of finalizing various ASOT 600 events with promoters around the world. I certainly hope that is the case for a Canadian city because hosting an ASOT 600 in this country would be a slam dunk.

I honestly thought a Canadian city would have been announced as one of the first 6 cities but fear not Trance fans, there is still hope that 'The Expedition' will land in Canada in 2013. ​

Note for New York: Made Event, the organizers of the Electric Zoo festival in NYC, will be the official organizers for ASOT 600 in New York City. Armin was very excited to announce venue but was held back as it seems that the venue deal has not been finalized. Could they be holding at Madison Square Gardens or the new Barclays Center? That would seem like a strong possibility.

(Picture Source: ASOT Website)​