Bassnectar announced as a headliner for next year's Shambhala Music Festival

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It doesn't get much bigger than Bassnectar as the Shambhala Music Festival have announced that he will be coming back in 2014! Huge news for bass fans as Bassnectar is a festival favourite and his name alone will attract many of the faithful next summer. To remind you what kind of mayhem he created in past performances, check out this clip from 2010:

The Shambhala Music Festival will take place from August 8th - 11th, 2014 in B.C, click here for ticket information.

Watch the official video for "Blow" starring a ton of famous DJs

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The build up for the official "Blow" video has been building for a while with the release of 4 teaser videos, but finally we can see the official video in its full glory. Starring Laidback Luke, Martin Solveig, and Dillon Francis, "Blow" also offers a ton of cameos from other famous DJs like Tommy Trash, Benny Benassi, Carnage, and Madeon. Check it out:

If you live in Montreal, Laidback Luke will be a part of the Lumen festival at New City Gas on December 27th, click here for ticket details.

Interestingly enough, he will also make an appearance at the Solaris Music Festival in Toronto on the same night.

Interview preview (2/2): Gunz For Hire on why hardstyle is still in its infancy here in Canada and the U.S.

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Photo by RUDGR

Gunz For Hire is an alliance between two of the biggest names in hardstyle, Adaro and Ran-D. This Holland duo has been taking over some of the biggest stages that hardstyle has to offer including this year's massive Qlimax event which attracted tens of thousands of fans in an audio/visual experience almost unmatched in the rest of the electronic dance music world. In this year's DJ Mag top 100 poll, Gunz For Hire managed to snag the 63rd spot while Adaro occupies the 75th spot, and Ran-D is at #100. Known for their more raw tracks, listening to a Gunz For Hire set will almost certainly feel like a trip to the harder style of this popular genre.

In this final interview preview, read on as both Adaro and Ran-D explains why hardstyle is so big in Holland/Europe and why it's still in its infancy here in Canada and the U.S:

EDM Canada: Hardstyle is so massive in Holland and Europe yet it's in its infancy here in North America – why is that?

Adaro: People just don't know it yet.

Ran-D: I think even electronic dance music is still fairly new to America as compared to Europe in terms of attracting a big crowd. Of course there has always been dance music in America, but mainstream EDM is a little more easy to adapt to than hardstyle. I think it's always going to be a little bit more underground and I think that's where it belongs.

EDM Canada: In Holland, is hardstyle the mainstream sound or still considered underground?

Adaro: I don't think it's mainstream but it's the biggest undergound scene.

Ran-D: Yeah true.

EDM Canada: Yeah that makes sense. The stages over in Holland seem to rival the stages that we currently see at TomorrowWorld or even at EDC Las Vegas.

Ran-D: There are a lot of people that go to an event like Qlimax because they've heard of it, and events like Defqon and Decibel – they have a lot of visitors that go there for only day with friends and check out the event. There are a lot of smaller parties for the real hardstyle lovers.

Adaro: The die-hards.

The full interview will be released later today, so I hope that you'll all read it when it's ready.

In the meantime, enjoy one of my favourite tracks from Gunz For Hire called "Massacre":

Deadmau5 flips out over ticket prices to MTL show, but thankfully New City Gas/Mau5 make good

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Today was an interesting day to say the least when Deadmau5 tickets went on sale at noon time for his January 3rd show at the New City Gas in Montreal. The drama started immediately as some fans balked at the $100 price tag for General Admission tickets and $175 for VIP tickets for the unhooked Deadmau5 show. In a surprise move, Deadmau5 himself went on Twitter to break his self-imposed hiatus from social media to clarify his position on the matter:

Luckily a few hours later both New City Gas and Deadmau5 have found a solution that would not only save the situation, but bring two shows to Montreal at reduced prices:

Deadmau5 (Show #1) at New City Gas Montreal

Deadmau5 (Show #2) at New City Gas Montreal

This is one of the best and fastest turnarounds that I've ever seen so hats off to the organizers from New City Gas and Joel for making this happen! $50 is a lot more reasonable for fans wanting to see the return of Deadmau5 to Montreal. This is especially good news for EDM fans after the holiday season where pocketbooks might be hurting, a more affordable ticket price goes a long way.

New City Gas has never missed a step since it's creation a few years ago, and has quickly established themselves as one of the best venues in Canada (Click here to read my review on NCG) . So if you're a fan of Deadmau5 and you live in the Montreal area, then pick up your tickets starting on Saturday, December 21st at noon for both shows. Click here for more information on the January 2nd show, and here for the January 3rd show.