This is yet another good article which should be a wake up call to all of those DJs that think they can get away with playing the same track list in the same order for months at a time while cashing in for big bucks. I think EDM fans deserve better.
Ever wondered what PLUR or Kandi mean't? Well this article is for you! The Beat Mill does a good job summarizing both concepts in their article. I must admit that I'm sort of a noob when it comes to whole kandi phenomena but now I've got a good idea after this read.
If you're a fan of Paul Van Dyk you're going to enjoy these exclusive pics taken for Rolling Stone.
Location: Sotto Nightclub, 290 Dalhousie St., Ottawa, ON K1N 7E5
Time: 10:00 pm - 3:00 am
Opening DJs: King Louis
Tickets: $10 + $2.50 SC at Want Tickets. Click here to buy your tickets.
While checking out what kind of sounds Mischa Daniels plays I found these recent tracks:
Fuzzy Animal - Shock Volume (Mischa Daniels Re-Work Radio Edit)
I had no idea that Armada released house tracks until now. At least this track offers something new to listen to, lots of originality.
Mathieu Bouthie feat. Sophie Ellis Bextor - Beautiful (Mischa Daniels Radio Edit)
EDM Insider recently sat down with Rebecca & Fiona for an interview in Chicago, check it out.
Notable quotes:
..."most famous DJs are really ugly, but people don’t notice because they are so starstruck.".
Who are they referring to? I wonder.
"Who knows though with trends, what is popular changes so quickly. If somebody really good looking comes along and makes a good punk song, punk can become popular again. But we feel that it’s best for people to just make their own music in the genre they love best.."
Rusko is pretty damn candid about his drug and alcohol use, here's a snippet:
“You know they have the one litre bottles of Grey Goose, the big fat giant ones? I do a whole big one a night. It’s a combination of tolerance and being more fucked up. Every day I wake up more and more hung-over and more and more bruised and tired, so I have to drink more to get myself in the right frame of mind to get back on stage. I’ve been drinking vodka for the last 22 nights in a row, so you build up a tolerance to it. Now I’m just necking it out of the bottle."
Here's a thought exercise for you all: re-read the article but take away Rusko's fame, touring and music away.
(Source: US DJ Mag Edition, via Pulse)
At this pool party the VIP clientele use $200 champagne bottles to spray each other rather than drink it.
I've never been to a multi-day camping EDM festival before but I just might so I can check out a silent disco:
At this point, it was after 3:30 in the morning, and the option to go to silent disco was still on the table. If you’ve never tried a silent disco, it’s a common nighttime activity at camping music festivals where two DJs spin separate sets in the same room, and people wear headphones provided by the silent disco in which you can pick which DJ to listen to. You can tell who is listening to which channel based on how they’re moving to the music – it’s quite entertaining, actually.
Sounds hilarious and fun to watch. Does anyone know if they have this set up at WEMF?
A-Trak posted a lengthy but worthwhile article on the current state of live EDM shows which is being praised by a lot of people on Twitter. While he makes a lot of good points about DJ'ing I really thought his view regarding Dancing Astronaut's article on the dangers of major DJs phoning it in for their live shows to be especially on point:
For the DJs who bounce from venue to venue, playing the same set without the redeeming quality of a personalized stage production, there is no excuse. This laziness is actually giving "live" performances more value! After any big EDM festival, look up the DJ playlists. They're frighteningly similar. This scene is turning into a caricature. Explosions, private jets, standing on tables (I plead guilty to the latter), and now carbon copy playlists... The hair metal soap opera of EDM risks devaluing a culture that has waited for its big break for 30 years.
This is the big threat. I consider EDM fans a bit more savvy than the rest of the hoi polloi so I wonder how much longer are we as consumers of this scene are willing to pay good money to hear the same set and tracks being played over and over? Not me. The technology should be used to surprise fans and not to encourage lazy DJs from cashing in.
According to Mark Monahan (Via Ottawa Citizen):
The biggest nights of this year’s headliners were Skrillex, Iron Maiden, Snoop Dogg, Nickelback, LMFAO and Blue Rodeo. The underperformers were Bad Religion and Tiesto. In the middle were John Mellencamp, City and Colour, Norah Jones and Metric.
I had a feeling that Tiesto wasn't going to be as massive as Skrillex judging from my Twitter feed the night prior. But it was far from a disaster as there were plenty of enthusiastic people there that numbered in the thousands. One thing that could have boosted the Tiesto night was if they booked a solid opening act beforehand.
Later in the article Mark Monahan said something that made me scratch my head:
he (Mark Monahan) didn’t set out to put a DJ on the main stage. “It was just a function of what’s available.”
This statement sounds like it was created to coddle all of the 'get off my lawn' types that were opposed to the 'Electro-fied' EDM injection into the lineup. Please Mr. Monahan, just admit that you put Tiesto and Skrillex on the main stage deliberately and try not to appease the detractors. You did the right thing by including EDM in your lineup and I hope you continue with the same next year.
As for the Electro Stage Mr. Monahan was much kinder in his synopsis:
“In terms of the electro stage, I would say it’s been a resounding success in terms of attendance,” said Monahan. “People definitely responded to it, and it wasn’t really a teenage crowd. I’d say the bulk of the crowd was twentysomething. It did look like a big nightclub. When you came over the hill, looked like a big dance floor and people filtered up the hill.”
His comments are pretty much spot on from what I've seen first hand on that stage. I think the small Electro stage is perfect for EDM because it's located in the back without any musical interference with any other stage which felt like a secluded outdoor club right next to the Rideau river.
As for next year here's what I'd love to see:
I wouldn't mind if we saw Paul Oakenfold again as he really brought a nice trance set in the second half of his performance with great crowd interaction and support. Bringing Skrillex back to the main stage is totally warranted after breaking a few attendance records that day.
Here's my wishlist for Bluesfest in 2013: (assuming they haven't been earlier in the year):
Electro - Zedd
Trance: John O'Callaghan, Orjan Nilsen, Ferry Corsten, Leon Bolier
Progressive House: Dada Life, Gregori Klosman, Sebastian Ingrosso
Dubstep: Knife Party, Zeds Dead
Moombathon: Dillon Francis
If Tiesto is out for 2013 that means there's space for a potential new headlining act for the Main Stage but I wonder - who could fit the bill? If you take it from Mark Monahan's perspective then you have to think who could be booked that can pull off Skrillex like attendance numbers? Can Armin do it? How about one of the members from the soon to be defunct Swedish House Mafia like Axwell or Ingrosso? Like I said, I'm not sure. If you ask me I'd personally love to see some kind of Anjunabeats (Above & Beyond headline) or ASOT themed day (Armin headlining) invading the main stage like they did for Skrillex and OWSLA this year. The Above & Beyond event was a hot ticket in early 2012 with a sold out show in Barrymore's and Armin's name was heavily promoted to draw in EDM fans to buy tickets for Bal en Blanc in Montreal.
Overall I really enjoyed this year's Bluesfest lineup and I hope they pull off another exciting EDM infused event next year.
