Armin Van Buuren & W&W - 'D# Fat': Is it a sign of a style change for Armin?

Labelled as 'Progressive House' by Beatport, Armin Van Buuren's collaboration with W&W is available now: ​

To put this latest release into context, I have found a few choice quotes from Armin regarding house music in his DJ Mag interview:

"I've been really impressed by a lot of the new house guys..All that new energy that they're bringing, I thought 'OK, this is the future'."​

​ "Of course, I 'm jealous of some other DJs and their sound, but I can't change my sound. It would be too far away from my heart. I can't do something I can't love."

And on W&W: ​

​ "Some guys like W&W are playing a more house-based strand of trance, and all the styles are merging. Some people call Swedish House Mafia trance. But people are still experimenting with the harder edge of trance. It is not just one sound."

Could 'D# Fat' be a signal of the beginning of a style ​change for trance legend Armin Van Buuren? We've already seen Armin dabble with more Progressive House sounding tracks in 2012 such as 'We Are Here to Make Some Noise'. With a new album already finished and promised by Armin to be "very different" because he's been "drawn to different musical styles", trance fans should brace themselves as we could see a very different Armin Van Buuren in 2013.

(Source: DJ Mag, ASOT, inthemix)​

Read this: Rukes AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit

Rukes is probably the most well known EDM/DJ photographer in the world with so many amazing photos available to see at rukes.com. He's taken the time to answer a lot of questions on Reddit that every aspiring EDM photographer should read. Most of these AMA's tend to be fluff but this one turns out to be pretty good, read it here.

Robert Sillerman's SFX Entertainment buys Beatport

As reported by New York Times:

​"Mr. Sillerman declined on Tuesday to reveal the price. But two people with direct knowledge of the transaction, who were not authorized to speak about it, said it was for a little more than $50 million."

Like I stated in a previous post, Beatport stands at the heart of the online electronic dance music world and Robert Sillerman's ​SFX Entertainment now owns what is likely to be the most valuable EDM property on the web. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, SFX Entertainment will do with Beatport, but this purchase is a bold move that now puts Robert Sillerman at the forefront of the EDM boom.

(Source: NYT, VIA @elektro)

Avicii's collaboration with the world is now available for listening

​Avicii - 'X You'​​

I like a lot of things about this project: the concept, the official site, the producer credits for the best submissions, and even the official video. But the results are a little disappointing as I find the final track to be on the bland side. There was really nothing about 'X You' that grabbed my attention as many aspects of this track used common sounds found in the genre. Hopefully Avicii's star power will be enough to sell a lot of copies of 'X You' because part of the royalties go to a good cause.

Two beautifully animated EDM videos worth watching

In the past 24 hours two brand new animated videos have been uploaded for fans to enjoy. What's interesting is that both videos feature an evil robot attacking a female hero.

The first animated video is Kaskade's & Swanky Tunes (feat. Lights) - 'No One Knows Who We Are':

The M Machine - 'Tiny Anthem':

​I hope these two beautifully made videos will set a trend among top labels and producers to be more creative and invest more in their official videos.