Did Arty give clearance to Will.i.am's new album? *Updated

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Interesting new developments on the Will.i.am story as Laidback Luke took to Twitter tonight to shed a little more insight from his perspective:

Based on this alleged information from Laidback Luke, there now appears to be a disconnect with Arty's tweets from yesterday. I'm sure I'm not the only one who will be closely watching as this story unfolds.

Update: ​

Arty responded to Laidback Luke's tweets this morning: ​

Laidback Luke later responded with: ​

Meanwhile Quintino has also taken to Twitter to shed light on will.i.am's Bang Bang track which contains similarities to Quintino/Sandro Silva's Epic:

Will.i.am vs. Deniz Koyu's 'Tung' and Arty's 'Kate': You decide

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The website EDMlounge has found more Will.i.am tracks that have similarities to popular EDM anthems. Listen to them below and you decide: (VIA @MonsterLum)

​Will.i.am - Great Times Are Coming (Fast Forward to 3:20)

VS.

​Deniz Koyu - Tung!

Will.i.am - #thatPOWER (ft. Justin Bieber) (Fast forward to 0:40)

VS.

Arty - Kate​

Will.i.am vs. Mat Zo/Arty and Sandro Silva/Quintino *Updated

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​The controversy over Will.i.am's new single with Chris Brown 'Let's Go' has been raging over social media all afternoon. If you want to get caught up, check out the articles from Dancing Astronaut and YourEDM, as they explained the situation regarding Will.i.am's highly questionable production choices in his new album #WILLPOWER.

You can compare the tracks yourself below: ​

​Will.i.am - Let's Go (ft. Chris Brown)

VS.

Mat Zo & Arty - Rebound​

YourEDM has also uncovered another Will.i.am track that features strikingly similar progressions to Sandro Silva & Quintino's 'EPIC':

Will.i.am - Bang Bang​ (Start it at 2:16)

​VS.

Sandro Silva & Quintino - Epic​


​Update: Mat Zo has taken to Facebook to release a statement about the whole Will.i.am situation: (VIA @dancingastro)

​"(Im really glad I deleted my twitter account so that I'm not inclined to say what I'm about to say in under 140 characters)

I really and truely appreciate all the support you are giving me and Arty in response to Will I Am's copyright infringement. However, this doesnt excuse the horrific abuse youre sending the way of Will I Am and Chris Brown, and it especially doesnt excuse being racist.

You dont need to defend me or Arty. Producers often wait their whole careers for a commercial act to fuck up and sample their track without asking permission. Arty and I are not bitter about this, more suprised. We knew Will I Am was interested in this track, but we declined working with him at the time.

To conclude, perhaps it is better to invest your energy into supporting 'Rebound' instead of spewing shit at Will I Am and Chris Brown. The reason I left twitter was to aleviate myself from outbreak the verbal diarrhea which I had caught and which im seeing all over the internet today.

Thank you :)"

WEMF 2013 is cancelled *Updated

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​The World Electronic Music Festival (WEMF), the annual EDM festival that resided at Algonquin Park, Ontario every August, has been officially cancelled this year.

From Destiny Events Facebook page:

​"It is with a heavy heart that after 17 years of great memories and hard work, WEMF will officially be put back on hiatus from this point forward.

To say that the decision was difficult to make is an understatement. WEMF was the first multi-day outdoor EDM festival in Canada and it was the longest running event of its kind in North America. Many people poured their heart and soul into it for many years but unfortunately the economics no longer make sense and we have no choice but to focus our energy on other projects.

So now what you may ask?
Well, 2013 happens to be the Destiny 20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY so we obviously need to throw a party! We are extremely happy to announce that we will be celebrating this milestone with our favourite DJ who in turn will be doing something very special for the important day. Of course, we are talking about The world's Number 1 Drum & Bass DJ, the one they call The Executioner… the one and only ANDY C! To ensure it is truly a special night, Andy will be performing a full 4 HOUR SET for the first time in North America for everyone on Saturday August 17 at the Kool Haus in Toronto. Beyond the special birthday celebration, Destiny and our friends at Embrace will continue to be the leaders of bass music in Canada for many years to come.

All tickets will be fully refunded at point of purchase, including service charges. If you purchased through Ticketmaster, The Rogers Wireless Box Office (RWBO) or Wantickets.com, your credit card will be refunded automatically and likely already has. You should see the refund appear on your statements no later than this Monday April 22, 2013.

As a thank-you for your on-going support, we would like to offer anyone that bought a ticket a discount to The Digital Dreams Music Festival happening in Toronto on Canada Day weekend. You will be able to purchase up to two (2) General Admission tickets @ $99 +SC each or two (2) VIP tickets at @ $199 +SC each at www.Ticketmaster.ca. Both offers provide a significant saving over current ticket prices. These special prices will be available for 1 week from today. We will also offer a special pre-sale for the Andy C event that will only be able to be accessed with the PIN code.

There will be more details on this offer soon.

Thanks again for supporting us over the past 20 years. We hope to still see you on the dance floor this summer and beyond!

Destiny, Embrace & Electronic Nation"

(VIA @TranceInTor)

This is another sad news day. I was excited to see what this year's lineup would bring because I was planning on experiencing WEMF for the first time. Now that opportunity is probably gone forever.

​Update:

@WEMFCity, a fan run unofficial WEMF Twitter account, engaged Destiny Events on Twitter today on what might be the underlying reason why WEMF has been put on hiatus:

It would seem in an ever changing electronic dance music scene, WEMF is a victim of the new economic realities that face the industry.