Arnej - True Lies (Original Mix) - I don't get all of the hate for this song on YT but I believe this is tune is a real killer on the dance floor. This is the best tune I've heard for this type of trance style since 'Me' by Leon Bolier. FYI - Wait for the drop at around 3:35, so worth it.
Greg Downey Pres. R.I.C.O - Afraid of the Dark (Original Mix)
Norin & Rad - Pistol Whip
Snatt & Vix - So Far Away (Leon Bolier Remix)
Setrise - Odysseus (Raneem Remix)
Markus Schulz Pays Tribute to Danny Tenaglia - I only got to see you once at Electric Zoo and I hope to see you back behind the decks soon!
Can't believe it's already been 3+ weeks since this event took place! On April 13th Paul Van Dyk (PVD), a true trance legend, took the stage at Barrymore's Music hall and brought Ottawa some banging tunes to get everyone dancing. Paul Van Dyk gave us a night to remember as he performed a very energetic 2 hour set with only a few melodic breaks in between.What I really appreciated about this night was that in the past you would usually have to travel to the Circus Afterhours club in Montreal to hear this kind of sound but since the EDM scene has exploded in 2012 trance fans can be treated to a very special night right here in our city.
Paul Van Dyk played a lot from his latest album 'Evolution' which was more than fine from my perspective because I've been digging his Verano track for well over a month now. Another strong track from the album that's been getting some traction in the EDM world is 'The Ocean (feat. Arty)' which is a beautifully melodic track mixed in with some dirty trance beats:
This is the Paul Van Dyk that I love and I really respect him for sticking to his roots throughout his career. Speaking of sticking to his roots, here's another track that I feel was one of the reasons I danced my butt off that night:
Paul Van Dyk feat Ummet Ozcan - Dae Yor
This track alone stands up well to the kind of beats PVD has been delivering his entire career and evocative of what he brought us on that night.
If you're interested in reading more about Paul Van Dyk you can check out a few enlightening articles I've read on him since his gig in Ottawa:
The dubstep stage got a lot of love today as The Killabits, Vilify & Bold Equation were all added to the lineup. Today's announcement by Escapade makes it more clear (but not 100% confirmed as far as I can tell) that the dubstep stage hosted by Bassmentality will only be active on July 1st and not June 30th.
The organizers also announced Overwerk will be headlining the 'Oh Canada!' stage. Also joning him on the Canadian stage will be Marco G from Quebec City. There are plenty of talented young DJs in Canada so this will be a good opportunity for them to have their own stage and be introduced to the Ottawa crowd. Personally I'd be happy to see Raneem or Offset be added to the Canadian stage, fingers crossed!
Given how high of a billing that Excision had received on the Escapade's latest poster (putting him right below Afrojack) should indicate how important of a role dubstep will play on Canada Day. This should come as no surprise as the dubstep genre as a whole has released some of the most interesting and innovative new music in the EDM scene.
Individual tickets are now available for sale on the Escapade website: $89.00 for GA tickets and $139 for VIP passes. After the first thousand are sold the prices will go up so if you're thinking of doing this you better not think too long and get them now.
Yup it's true, a true DJ legend will be coming to Ottawa in only 2 short weeks! He's been very busy travelling around the world DJing as he's in South America at the moment and from there he will do a gig in the UK at the Ministry of Sound and then jump on a plane to North America for a 3 city stop that includes Ottawa. Isn't it great that Ottawa has become this great EDM hub? Pretty astounding if you ask me.
Here's Eddie Halliwell's radio show called 'Fire it Up' and in this episode you will also get to hear a guest mix from Mark Knight who was here earlier this year, check it out:
Location: Barrymore's, 323 Bank Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 1X9
Time: 10:00 pm - 2:30 am
Opening DJs: Manufactured Superstars
Tickets: If you bought your Escapde tickets then you will receive $5 off your purchase via email for your Eddie Halliwell ticket. Regular priced tickets will start at $10 at Want Tickets.
So the guys at the Escapade Music Festival have released the daily lineup breakdown and at first look it seems like it's pretty evenly distributed. The trance lineup is split with Aly & Fila/Ben Gold on the 30th while Gareth Emery is appearing on Canada Day. Another interesting tid bit announced today is that there will be a dedicated dubstep stage which will be associated with Bassmentality. Therefore the possibility of an appearance by Zeds Dead and the Killabits on this stage is much higher.
There are still a ton of acts yet to be announced so stay tuned as I try to keep up with all of the news releases.
In honour of a few key dubstep events coming to Ottawa (Zomboy this weekend and Going Quantum on May 11th) I'm going to post some tracks that I've been jamming to tonight:
Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (Gemini Remix)
Nero - Must be the feeling (Kill the Noise Remix)
Sam Obernik & The Str8jackets - Love & Oxygen (Xilent Remix)
The M Machine - Shadow in the Rose Garden (Original Mix)
Solid track selection, feels like a beach in Ibiza:
Here's a video recap of the Detox @ Club Addiction night which featured Bass Machines, JC Boom, Ean Skizzle, and Madd Fresh. This will be a regular event held every last Wednesday of the month. Found the video to have a serious retro 90s vibe to it for some reason, maybe it's the bottom left rotating logo or dude wearing the suit - can't put my finger on it:
Here's a bonus video profiling the Bijou nightclub where you can check out Mister Parker tomorrow:
I almost couldn't believe me eyes when I saw the 2 pm announcement that Eric Prydz was added to the Escapade Music Festival lineup. Eric Prydz is almost single-handedly helping to sell out the Idendity Festival North American tour alone so having Eric Prydz join the already stacked lineup is just extraordinary. This addition couldn't come out at a better time as Prydz will be releasing his much anticipated record called 'Eric Prydz presents Pryda' which will be coming out on May 21st.
DNA Presents must have been reading my mind because this song has been on permanent repeat in the last few days:
Eric Prydz and Adam Beyer - Live at the Exit Festival 2009
I was a big time Radiohead fan back in the day so hearing this song gives me plenty of goose bumps.
Here's a live set from Soundcloud - Eric Prydz Presents EPIC - Alexandra Palace, Nov 26th, 2011:
Hat's off to the Escapade guys, this is a serious booking. What's amazing is that apparently Eric Prydz is only the 19th artist out of a total of 40 EDM artists that will be ultimately booked for the big 2 day festival. If that's true then here's my wish list: John O'Callaghan, Leon Bolier, and Sied Van Riel. If you have someone that you'd love to see why don't tweet it over to @EscapadeMF and @edmottawa!
Looks like Marcus Schossow was added to the Escapade Music Festival lineup which means that almost every Swedish DJ in the world has been or will be coming to Ottawa in 2012! This is yet another huge trance booking announcement as DNA Presents have been hard at work of bolstering the trance ranks with the recent additions of Aly & Fila and Ben Gold. The amount of EDM talent that will be coming to this city over the next few months makes my head spin.
