@edentates brought this top 30 list to my attention yesterday, it's worth a look but really this topic is far too subjective to be taken that seriously. This list probably reveals more about the author and his age than anything. Full disclosure, I own a few of the top ten albums as listed and still love them to this day.
Super8 & Tab - Fiesta
This track is generating a lot of controversy among the Anjunabeats faithful as the old guard are brushing it off as just more 'trouse/trance 2.0' stuff. I personally like the track; it's geared for the dance floor and there's really nothing wrong with that. What do you think?
Spin just came out with a list of Lollapalooza acts that they found notable enough to give their two cents on. Zedd's set was tagged as 'Best Way To Cure an EDM Hater', Bassnectar was given "Best Earthshaking", while Porter Robinson received the unfortunate title of "Best Fulfillment of EDM Cliche".
Bonus: Spin also reviewed day 2 where they gave Calvin Harris the title of "Best Medicine For A Long, Scary Day", "Creepiest DJ Booth" went to Avicii, and "Worst Attempt to Get The Crowd to Remember Your Name" was given to Skream & Benga.
It's been a little more than an hour since the Gareth Emery event in NYC ended and already they have the 6 hour stream available on Youtube - impressive! Other acts include Blake Jarrell, Jerome Isma-Ae, and Ben Gold:
The crowd was outstanding.
Wanna watch some fresh A&B and Mat Zo live sets? Want to do it for free? Well you've come to the right place as both of them just laid out a nice live set for a special Mixmag event the other day:
Sean Tyas gave a great interview at the Luminosity beach festival:
The entire interview is well worth a listen but especially the part where he explains what makes a DJ stand out from the rest in today's packed EDM landscape. The guy speaks his mind and I respect him for that.
Sean Tyas feat. Lo- Fi Sugar - The World (Original Mix)
One of my favourite trance tracks at the moment, so good. It's getting full support from the Subculture crew so expect it to be dropped once or twice on August 31st at Circus Afterhours.
Mean't to share this a few days ago, better late than never:
Lots of interesting ideas.
Flux Pavilion took the time to do a Ask Me Anything (AMA) on the EDM production subreddit and I think it's necessary reading for all of those that are trying to create the next level tunes.
Simon Reynolds wrote an excellent article about the history of EDM in America and how we got to this point of popularity. Here are some points that I found interesting:
While festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival have amplified the fantasy and fancy dress side of 90s rave, other sectors in the resurgent scene have gone in the opposite direction, concentrating on the music. Hard Festival's Richards wanted to lose the "goofy fashion" side of rave that EDC revels in. "Why do we have to dress up like idiots to listen to this music? All those girls in the furry boots, they look like Clydesdale horses!" As "hard" suggests, Richards presents electronic music as modern rock: an old spirit encased in new digital flesh.
There seems to be dividing phisolophies here but overall this battle can only benefit the consumer with more choice and variety of events.
Origins of the term 'Brostep':
A key moment was another widely circulated mix, this time created by the Vancouver-based deejay Excision for the 2008 Shambalaya festival. "Excision isolated the most aggressive, industrial sounding tracks around," says Best. "Nothing but the hardest dubstep. People here ate that up."
Meanwhile, many original dubstep believers were recoiling from the rowdy, macho atmosphere that had descended on the scene. "Brostep" was the derisive term coined to discourage the masculinist tendency, mock it out of existence. According to Best, "bro" brings to mind steroid-stacked frat boys and truck-driving dudes into Monster Energy drinks.
I never liked the term brostep and never will. The term is a favourite among internet hipsters who use it to put down whatever dubstep sound they don't like. FYI - the Excision set a few weeks back in Toronto was some of the hardest dancing I've done all year.
Check out the article, it's a long read but well worth the effort.
A Tribe Called Red 'Electric Pow Wow Drum' track was chosen by listeners via a CBC Music poll to be the official Championship Anthem for Canada's athletes - how cool is that? The track evokes a primal and powerful energy that should get any of our Canadian athletes pumped up while serving to intimidate our opponents all at the same time. Selecting this track is a pretty bold statement and is yet another step in the right direction as Canadians have progressively embraced electronic music.
I wouldn't be surprised if 'Electric Pow Wow Drum' track is used one day as a UFC walk out song or played before a major Canadian sporting event giving us our own version of the All Blacks haka intro. Love it.
A Tribe Called Red - Electric Pow Wow Drum
You can catch A Tribe Called Red every 2nd Saturday at Babylon at their 'Electric Pow Wow' event. Their next one is on August 11th, here are the deets:
Location: Babylon Nightclub, 317 Bank Street, Ottawa, ON, K2P 1X9
Time: 11:00 pm - 2:30 am
DJ: A Tribe Called Red (DJ NDN, Bear Witness & Shub)
Tickets: Check the Babylon page for more info.
But wait, there's more! You can also check out DJ NDN, who is a member of A Tribe Called Red, at Babylon's Grillz and Glam events alongside Brains4breakfast. Their next event is on August 10th:
Time: 11:00 pm - 2:30 am
DJs: DJ NDN & Brains4Breakfast
Tickets: $5 before midnight
And finally you can also get a free A Tribe Called Red album which includes 'Electric Pow Wow Drum' by following the link at their site http://www.electricpowwow.com/. Show your support Ottawa!
Zaphod's has been around for a long time and has seen its fair share of musical trends come and go. I remember when I used to frequent Zaphod's at the time when the Strokes were at the top of their game and all of the kids were dancing around wearing their skinny jeans before it was cool.
The music has always been eclectic at Zaphod's as the DJs would effortlessly mix in anything and everything they wanted on any given Saturday night. But let's face it, Zaphod's is really well known for catering to the indie music scene and hosting live bands as the establishment has gained the reputation of being fiercely independent due in part to the guidance of its owner, Eugene Haslam. So when Zaphod's announced an EDM night I thought it was a really big deal and everyone should take note. Lowpass will be the DJ of Electronic Mondays which will debut this Monday (July 30th)!
This is the very first interview conducted by EDM Ottawa so I hope you all enjoy:
Eugene: I look at my job as a curator in some ways. An artistic endeavour in its own right. Much like an art gallery presents artists according to its mandate, we do the same at Zaphod's, bringing in musicians and DJs we believe the audience will appreciate.Lowpass: Very much! Zaphod's is all about keeping abreast or even a little bit ahead of what's going on in music and Electronic Mondays will continue that tradition. There's no time to bother with boundaries.
Lowpass: Once Monday nights opened up I think Eugene was waiting for the right DJ to come along. There's a lot of really excellent DJs in Ottawa but my speciality has always been brand new electronic music. Back in 2008 I started a mix tape/podcast series (mixes.lowpass.net) where each episode is made of music that's new to me since the last one. Over 57 episodes and counting it's forced me to built up a pretty good repertoire. That music combined with some classic favorites and whatever other cool shit is what I'll be playing at Electronic Mondays.Eugene: Lowpass was recommended to me by my staff. As with most of Zaphod's staffing we tend to hire people that hang out at the club, so they know the club's history and vibe and bring their own spin to it. What struck me about Lowpass is his range of tastes and his genuine desire to create something new in his own right.
Lowpass: When we were discussing how to promote the event I tried to come up with a list of all the generes I like. I came up with "Breakbeat - Disco - Dubstep - DnB - Moombahton - Trap - Electro - 2 Step - UK Funky - Big Beat - Jump Up - Garage - Acid - Deep - Progressive - Tech - Italo - Baltimore - Baile - Bassline - Grime" but there isn't anything I won't play as long as it fits the vibe in the room. No gabber? No promises. I probably won't play Levels.
Lowpass: I just want people to have time of their lives! Any eduction is incidental. I think it's a huge part of the job to try and figure out what's new and good and what's just too damn weird for the dance floor right now.
Lowpass: Been digging on the moonmahton for a minute and trap is *so* fun it's becoming dangerously addictive. Progressive/Trace/Tech/House is great too. I think it'll all meld together and the distinctions between the generes will continue to get more and more ridiculous; which is fine with me.
Lowpass: If the first few monthlies go well I think there's a serious possibility of moving to a weekly event. Personally I like the Monday slot, it leaves me free to go to other shows on the weekend.
Eugene: Heck, I'm already thinking this should be a weekly! Audience response will drive this forward.
Lowpass: Zaphod's is the place to see acts before they become major, but booking the right up and coming producer/DJs is certainly something they'd do.
Eugene: Anything is possible.
How do you feel about this year's Ottawa Bluesfest experiment with EDM?
Lowpass: I had a blast! A lot of pleasant surprises, no disappointments and they did an admiral job at booking excellent local DJs too. Looking forward to next year!
Lowpass: Paul Oakenfold, Diplo and A-Trak. Many other AMAZING performances but those three sets were my favorites. It can be hard to get a good vibe at bluesfest with all the daylight and what not but I danced my face off to those three sets.
What do you think of the EDM phenomena in general? Is it here to stay?
Lowpass: Yes, but like any style it will continue to change and evolve. Dance music has always been most at home in the club and that isn't going to change. EDM is struggling though an awkward time with the whole 'just pressing play' issue at festivals but I'm confident it will find its feet there too.
What do you think of the notion that EDM might become the new Rock as suggested by a recent article in The Atlantic? http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/07/buy-the-hype-why-electronic-dance-music-really-could-be-the-new-rock/259597/
Lowpass: I thought that was an excellent article. I read so many knee jerk responses to musical culture that it's SO refreshing when an author actually knows the history of american music in 20th century. EDM might be the new rock but it's not like the old rock is going away any more than any other genere goes away. There's still a huge classical music hall downtown and Ottawa hosts folk, country and chamber festivals.
What are your thoughts on these major EDM DJs and do you think they can be thought of on the same level as other major bands or musicians?
Lowpass: A very hard question to answer that without raising somebodies ire. I don't think it's an issue of levels. Music, like any art, shouldn't be judged that way.
Lowpass: There's dozens and dozens of them but for favorite producer of all time no question it's Theo Keating AKA Fake Blood AKA DJ Touche. Guy has been producing totally amazing stuff since the 90s and continues to be right on point with every track today. Plus he's an epic DJ, can and does scratch vinyl live, does bonkers cool graf, runs a great label and still manages to be a generally classy dude. Really big fan.
Lowpass: The one that feels right. That's never static.
Lowpass: We're 8 months in, that's getting hard to remember but a couple come to mind from the last few months. Bauuer and Ryan Hemsworth at Babylon. Dillon Francis and Tommy Trash at Escapade. Diplo and Tokimonsta at Bluesfest. Paul Oakenfold blew my mind. A-Trak never disappoints. Any given Tribe Called Red or Jon Deck set.
Location: Zaphod Beeblebrox, 27 York Street, Ottawa, Canada
Time: 8:00 pm - 2:00 am
DJ: Lowpass (Breakbeat - Disco - Dubstep - DnB - Moombahton - Trap - Electro - 2 Step - UK Funky - Big Beat - Jump Up - Garage - Acid - Deep - Progressive - Tech - Italo - Balitimore - Baile - Bassline - Grime.)
Tickets: Free Admission
Note from the Facebook event page:
"Very happy to announce the guests for the inaugural edition of Electronic Mondays at Zaphod's! Your evening will begin with outlaw guitar toucher Lefty McRighty, freshly returned from his week long song writing sabbatical in the dark woods of Petawawa. After Lefty we've got space surf trip wave sensations The Yips! And then round 11 ol' Lowpass will play a bunch of crazy music for your dancing pleasure. Surrounding all of this fun we've got the ever surprising, always alluring, SIN SISTERS! Monday's gonna be a blast!"
