Alison Wonderland’s Reaches Out To Fans Through WONDERVERSE Concert Experience

By Ryan Hayes

Alison Wonderland’s Wonderverse was a successful experiment in interactivity. Its aim was to connect die hard fans around the world, and in a time of isolation give them something to rally around—a reason to come together and celebrate their love for dance music.

It’s difficult to compare Wonderverse to other digital experiences; the Digital Mirage festivals were free and featured a bevy or artists, Tomorrowland’s visuals stand in a league of their own, and individual artists have been pumping out weekly streams for months on end. From a visual standpoint Wonderverse conjured a fun world of whimsy. While relatively simplistic, and a tad cheesy, the visuals were the vehicle allowing the show to deliver key interactive moments.

Whether you were voting to transport AW to mushroom/forest realms or smashing a button repeatedly to send her blue orbs of spirit energy to help he reach her final form, you felt connected to the show throughout the entire event. Even more directly fans were able to send AW answers to questions she posed during her set, which she would then react to live. Attendees could also opt to switch on their cams and videos of them partying popped up in both the virtual word and the studio AW was streaming from in L.A.   

From a musical standpoint the set was not as fast paced as regular AW fare, likely because she was splitting her attention to interact with the crowd. However, unlike most digital events—it was a real live performance. AW’s genuine energy permeated her entire set, and it was clear she was legitimately enjoying herself for the duration of the event. The ID’s she dropped ranged from Flume energy, in the style of her latest single ‘Bad Things,’ to heavy DnB inspiration; she purposely drew attention to one heavily DnB slanted ID she called ‘Eyes Closed.’

The event wasn’t perfect, you could feel the digital growing pains, but it brought fans together in a unique way during a period of prolonged isolation. It provided thousands with a direct link to AW who ended the event with a rapid-fire Q&A session. As a platform WAVE is on to something with their live interactive performances, but the true success of Wonderverse stood squarely on the shoulders of AW’s personality. Her charisma and passion made the event a success, and a rewarding experience for diehard fans.

Get hyped for Alison Wonderland's Wonderverse happening this Friday

By Ryan Hayes

As 2020 comes to a close the majority of us are looking back at a year with little to no live entertainment memories.  With the pandemic continuing its relentless push forward the unfortunate reality is that 2021 will remain event free for quite some time. While the freeze on live events has meant the loss of a fundamental fragment of identity for many fans with deep roots within the music community, it has resulted in the complete loss of livelihood for many of our favorite artists and their teams. The fallout has been catastrophic for much of the music industry, and our support is more important than ever.

When artists stand up, and, through sheer force of will, creatively adapt to the wide array of obstacles they are currently facing; there is still space for them to present fans with unique experiences. As fans of an artist it is our job—if you are able—to jump on board and support the acts who are now trying to find new ways to reach out and appeal to their base. They have given us so many memories—it’s time to make some new virtual ones.    

Friday February 5th Alison Wonderland is stepping in to the WONDERVERSE for a one of the kind immersive experience. The event is set to take place in a “fantastical underworld forest,” and will be performed live, in real time, with Wonderland interacting with fans. The interactive show promises to be “filled with magic, awe-inspiring spells, and transformative visuals.” As a “one-of-a-kind immersive event where virtually anything can happen,” fans should expect the unexpected.

Perhaps most importantly Wonderland has promised a set riddled with new music, exclusive behind the scenes access, and the ability to interact directly with her throughout the event.

Wonderverse is being held in collaboration with Wave; a live and immersive media company that embraces technology to provide “interactive concert experience to help fans and artists more deeply connect with each other and express themselves in innovative ways.” Previously they have hosted events for The Weeknd, Rezz, Jauz, and Galantis.

Tickets to Wonderverse are $15 and the event runs from 6-9pm PST on February 5th.

Tomorrowland's NYE Reigns Supreme

By Ryan Hayes

For the second time this year Tomorrowland has set a new gold standard for the industry, pushing the limits of what a digital festival can be. With twenty-four performances over four stages, the seven-hour festival exceeded its predecessor in every way. A slew of small details sold the festival’s authenticity.

The production and direction that went into editing over twenty-one hours of performances into a tight, true to life, festival experience is staggering. Gone were the close-up shots of horribly rendered CG crowds; replaced with panoramas from behind the DJ booth and sweeping footage of a packed, flag-filled, stadium. The audience got increasingly thinner the closer you got to the back of the venue, and when the stream did cut to a close up shots of festival-goers they were real extras dressed in full festival attire, singing along as they danced away to the DJs set.

Aside from the events stunning cinematography and impeccable stage design there were an array of new sounds which were implemented to magnify the viewers perceived sense of live immersion. Ambient noise plays a live part in all live recordings. From the pure white noise of crowds mulling around, to cheering/clapping/whistling, and singing along—this time around the sound design took a big leap forward. Everything popped at the appropriate time, whether it was a crowd reaction to pyro, or a spontaneous sing-along to a festival anthem.

The acts themselves seemingly felt more comfortable in their virtual setting. Altering their audience interactions; Armin repeated “let me feel those hands up,” more than once while also shouting out fans who were chair raving all around the world.

With Tomorrowland NYE the global brand has managed to successfully transfer their full relevancy and clout into the digital realm. The festival was taken seriously by the artists because it provided them with an unparalleled spotlight, and springboard into 2021. With four stages each lined with top tier talent scheduling was suddenly extremely important. Lost Frequencies held down opening duties, and for the first hour he was the only artist being broadcasted. He knew that all eyes were on him, he put in the work, and it showed.

Meduza played the beautiful Atmosphere Stage; a perfect iteration on July’s Freedom Stage. Brighter, and more immersive, the full realization of a virtual house super club. Meduza dropped 4 IDs during his set, positioning the trio for a strong start to 2021. Martin Garrix somehow topped himself—during July’s digital Tomorrowland he dropped 8 STMPD RCRD IDs—dropping a whopping 10 IDs, effectively showcasing the first quarter of his label’s 2021 release calendar. This was the largest stage to date for Tchami to showcase his diversified Year Zero sound; after years of waiting his debut album, Year Zero, dropped on October 23rd, and with no album tour Tomorrowland NYE was the albums largest release party.  

Even the festivals gimmicks received an upgrade. For its inaugural endeavour fans received a 15 minute performance by Katy Perry. This time everyone was treated to forty-five minutes with DJ Snoopadelic. He may not have been the most logical follow up to Duck Sauce, but clouds of digital smoke & a few Snoop Dogg classics can go a long way.   

Although Armin van Buuren’s set may not have been as riddled with as many IDs as his peers, the perennial favorite performed an impeccable set. High energy, easily accessible, and uplifting. Armin allowed synths to do the heavy lifting and cleanse our palates for the year to come. It has been years since I’ve placed Armin at the head of the pack, but he brought trance to Tomorrowland NYE in a big way, and it hit the right cord.

The main stage closed out the night with Charlotte de Witte, followed by Jack Back. It was the precise transition towards after hours energy the night needed. Ultimately Tomorrowland NYE was a big improvement on a predecessor that already stood leagues above the rest. The artists all brought their A-game, and an astute attention to detail made sure the festival delivered on its true to life virtual promise.

Why you should get excited about Tomorrowland's NYE event

By Ryan Hayes

NYE is just around the corner, and this year things are looking a little different. With COVID-19 restrictions in full effect across Canada our usual winter festival offerings have all been cancelled, we’ve been sequestered to our homes for the remainder of the holiday season. Under these unprecedented circumstances Tomorrowland’s digital NYE offering is the perfect, and only, true alternative for dance music lovers who are currently suffering from the winter blues. With long, dark, and cold days piled on top of a lackluster summer—we all need a shot of pure serotonin—and Tomorrowland is here to deliver.

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The digital festival is set to feature 24 sets, across 4 unique stages, from 8pm to 3am local time (adapted across 27 time zones). While July’s Tomorrowland Around The World took place in the digital wonderland dubbed Pāpiliōnem, Tomorrowland’s NYE offering has shifted to the newly minted NAOZ. Advertised as a ‘revolutionary and future-proof virtual entertainment world,’ NAOZ is the world's first virtual super-club.

For their summer festival Tomorrowland built four green screen studios around the world, each with 38 digital cameras. Jointly they amassed over 300 terabytes of raw footage, the result was a wildly successful virtual experiment and proof of concept for all future Tomorrowland events.  

The absolutely stacked lineup features mainstage legends like Martin Garrix, Armin van Buuren, & David Guetta; while branching out with acts like Duck Sauce, Boys Noize, Maceo Plex, & Charlotte De Witte. There is even a performance by Snoop Dogg AKA DJ Snoopadelic…because why not. Both Diplo and David Guetta are holding down double duty; with Major Lazer playing earlier in the night hopefully Diplo is freed up to explore his Higher Grounds house side when he hits the Planaxis stage just before midnight. Guetta has a mainstage timeslot, which promises to offer a mixture of classics and Future Rave, as well as after-party duties; he is closing out the festival on the Melodia  stage as Jack Back from 2-3am.

Tomorrowland has proven that their artists take their sets seriously, treating them exactly the same as they would a top tier festival on the global circuit. Garrix has promised 9 new IDs for his set, stating; “I’m going to play so much unreleased music and I really want to take people on a journey, playing some different sounding stuff and new things.”

Tickets are twenty Euros, approximately $31 Canadian, or the price of two overpriced festival drinks. If you want to relive all of the sets on demand for two weeks after the event it’ll cost you an extra five Euros. Round up your household bubble—or Zoom with your festival crew—find your best speakers, dress up, order some LEDs from Amazon, & keep the drinks flowing. The more stock you place in digital events like this, the more you get out of them. This is your excuse to go all out—fully overboard—and rave from home.

It’s time to celebrate the end of a turbulent year, and this is as close to the real thing as you are going to get. I promise.

Just dive in….because why not?

State of the Music Industry: State of Clubs

By Dominic Wren

Nightclubs have long been at the core of the electronic music scene. Without nightclubs, EDM might not have thrived as much as it did. Well in 2020, nightclubs are facing one of its biggest challenges for survival as clubs stand against the health and economic challenges of a pandemic. This article focuses on clubs specifically as I have mainly talked about music festivals in the past articles of this series. Since March, clubs have been forced to shut down due to safety concerns for the attendees during a pandemic. In Canada, clubs have stayed closed and have no sign of reopening until later deconfinement stages, though those stages depend on the province you live in. Generally, for large gatherings in large clubs, it will be the last sector of the economy to open again. Though other countries have tested models where clubs can remain open, such as in South Korea. Unfortunately, as reported in Time Magazine, that glimmer of hope for Korea is dwindling as spikes in coronavirus cases have sourced from nightclubs and forced them to shut down again.

“Nightclubs are gone. Gone. One million per cent. Until a vaccine is found. Maybe.”

In Canada, the situation does not seem much better. Much of Canada’s nightlife is facing closures left and right and it does not seem like there is anything to stop it until a vaccine comes around. Charles Khabouth, owner of some of Toronto’s biggest nightclubs, doesn’t have high hopes for the future of Toronto’s nightlife. He told the Financial Post “Nightclubs are gone. Gone. One million per cent. Until a vaccine is found. Maybe.” In cities where rent is through the roof (pun not intended), like Vancouver and Toronto, clubs facing the even harsher situations as some establishments are having to pay million dollar rents with no income, says Nate Sabine to Vancouver Is Awesome, director of business development for This Is Blueprint, which itself owns 4 nightclubs in downtown Vancouver. Sabine adds that he expects that 50% of nightclubs in the city won’t even reopen. In the same article, Dave Kershaw, owner of Cabana Lounge in Vancouver, mentioned that for the clubs that will be able to open again, proper operation would not happen before 2021. To help these incredibly tough times, the Canadian government has come forward with some relief packages to help clubs pay rent, though access to funds came later (too late for some).

Canada’s Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small business requires landlords to offer a 75% minimum rent reduction for the months of April, May, June, and an extension to July. Adding to this, on July 8th, the Canadian government announced that for-profit live music organizations could gain access to a $20 million fund. This is great news many clubs and other live music organizations. Some believe that this crisis will force nightclubs to adjust their “terms and conditions” when buying concert tickets in the future. Ali Shafaee, director of Escapade Music Festival, discussed in an interview with EDM Canada the future of ticket purchases. In those next acquisitions, extra insurance costs will have to be considered on top of extra costs for hygiene appliances and more. When buying your next concert tickets, it is highly suggested you read through the “terms and conditions” to be aware of what you’re paying as there will be new costs. Nonetheless, clubs need our help and we are the only ones who can actually save them. When it is safe to attend clubs again, going out and buying those tickets is the revenue streams that clubs desperately need.

DJ Kärl K-Otik, a well-established Montreal trance DJ, told EDM Canada in a interview: “I believe that supporting the small clubs around you can keep the base afloat and gradually rebuild the industry.” This is definitely one of the hardest times facing nightclubs and their survival. Though the idea that new clubs and venues will appear in the future is a reassuring one, the support for the current clubs is crucial for keeping the culture that we love alive and authentic. Their future is in your hands!