John 'OO' Fleming year end thoughts on Trance and more

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John 'OO' Fleming has never been shy about sharing his thoughts in the past and even though this year's address is a little more sedated it's because he has a lot more to be happy about, here's why.

On the state of Trance: 

"At the start of 2012 I made a bold statement stating that 2012 would be the resurgence of the more pure form of Trance. Many DJ's and producers have certainly been active forging ahead with new projects and tour concepts. DJ’s like Solarstone, Paul Oakenfold, and Simon Patterson have all been quite vocal. Even M.I.K.E. seems to be turning back to his Trance roots, just a few examples of many. We've seen many clubs nights moving away from the usual mainstream acts, and going back to their club roots."

On reporting a shift in musical direction from many promoters/DJs/producers:

"In the depths of inside the industry, I'm getting a lot of chatter from promoters, producers and DJ's wanting to change their musical direction. Many felt they were stuck just going with the flow of the masses copying their business models thinking this was the way to make their ‘big break’ and also how to survive. After a while they knew they were just another number. These artists/DJ’s/promoters now want to reach for that inspirational side again and start doing what they always believed in. So from my eyes, I'm seeing huge change already, this will certainly surface in 2013."

I'm not quite sure if this is a European trend or something that's also happening in North America but it's good to hear that some promoters/DJs/producers out there are willing to take a few more chances. Let's hope this trend continues. 

John 'OO' Fleming will be playing a 5 hour set in Toronto this Friday, January 25th at the Toika Lounge in Toronto, click here for more information.

(Source: Facebook)

Are Back 2 Back DJ sets the way forward in 2013?

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A couple of days ago I remarked that many festivals tend to play it safe by booking the same talent every year, well, Gotta Dance Dirty might have a solution: more B2B sets:

"Never underestimate the power of friendship. Cheesy, I know, but for the sake of dance music and live performances, it’s what’s gonna save this year from being another circuit of the same festivals with the same stage lineups and the same sets…"

I agree. Back to back sets are one way to keep it fresh for the DJs and the fans. There are successful examples of B2B combos including Ferry Corsten/Markus Schulz, Sasha/Digweed, and the Steve Aoki/Afrojack set at EDC Las Vegas. The Dog Blood collaboration between Skrillex and Boys Noize has the potential to unleash a burst of creativity.

Not only do we get to see our favourite DJs playing together but we get to enjoy tracks created from these alliances such as 'Loops and Tings' by Markus/Ferry, 'No Beef' by Aoki/Afrojack, and 'Next Order' by Skrillex/Boys Noize.

It's hard not to talk about successful collaborations without mentioning the 800 pound guerrilla in EDM, the Swedish House Mafia. Arguably the SHM has created the biggest releases in Progressive House/Big Room in 2012 with 'Greyhound' and 'Don't You Worry Child'. Their 'One Last Tour' is currently circling the globe and selling out venues wherever they go.

If Gotta Dance Dirty is correct then I'm crossing my fingers for future B2B sets with Justice/Boys Noize/Gesaffelstein in 2013.

(Source: Gotta Dance Dirty)

Flosstradamus 'Underground Nights Tour' with 4 Canadian stops

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Flosstradamus will be touring North America this Spring and will be making 4 Canadian stops in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. In anticipation of this tour, the trap duo from Chicago have released their well received mixtape 'B⚠NNED 2' which has had 72,000 plays in the past 24 hours:

This mixtape isn't only good, but it's most likely the best trap mix I've heard so far. For the full track listing, click here.

Click below for full event details: (All Canadian dates will be supported by DJ Spinz)

3 mixes, 3 different styles

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Ever wanted to hear a peak time trance set from the Circus Afterhours club in Montreal? The Montreal DJ duo Project Offset uploaded their set from Circus on Soundcloud:

Big fan of this mix.

Tommie Sunshine created a house mix named 'Where's The #EDM':

I featured this mix because it was good and stands alone on its own merits. It comes with a strong message from Tommie Sunshine.

Flosstradamus just released their latest mix named 'B⚠NNED 2' and it already has 37,000 plays on Soundcloud:

Huge.

No ASOT in Canada? No problem! We've got it covered with Bal en Blanc

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Armin van Buuren released the full lineup for one of the most important A State of Trance shows ever at Madison Square Gardens today with Armin, Markus Schulz, Ferry Corsten, W&W, and Alex M.O.R.P.H. A few people on Twitter noted that this lineup bears strong resemblance to the Bal en Blanc lineup. Except for one thing: the Bal en Blanc trance lineup is much better.

The Bal en Blanc lineup has almost the exact same lineup plus it adds the talents of Andrew Rayel who's had a red hot in 2012, and Cosmic Gate with special guest Emma Hewitt.

If you were one of the trance fans that were disappointed by Armin not selecting a Canadian city for ASOT 600 you can now take heart in knowing that the Bal en Blanc in Montreal will feature virtually the same trance talent and more than the ASOT lineup in New York City.

For Bal en Blanc ticket info, click here.

(Source: ASOT VIA Dancing Astronaut, @TranceinTOR)