EDM : Mayor Defends Electric Zoo Founder After Deaths at Music Fest

 

RANDALL'S ISLAND — Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the Electric Zoo founder who formerly managed a Chelsea megaclub shuttered in the wake of deadly drug overdoses — saying the promoter has a "stellar record."

"There's something that he was involved with about a dozen years ago, but we've been working with this promoter, organizer, for the past five years and they have a stellar record," Bloomberg said of Mike Bindra, who founded the dance music fest where two attendees died of drug-related causes over the weekend. 

As DNAinfo New York first reported, Bindra formerly ran West 27th Street nightclub Twilo, which was closed by the city in 2001 amid accusations it played a role in two fatal overdoses and hid unconscious patrons in a secret room without medical care.  

Bloomberg told reporters Tuesday that Bindra followed best practices in organizing the Electric Zoo festival, which was held on city-owned parkland on Randall's Island.

"I can tell you that when we brought it to their attention, we didn't need to — they knew they had to put in as good procedures as we could think of and have been nothing but cooperative, and I have nothing but good things to say about them," the mayor said.

Twilo became a target of law enforcement officials during Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's administration after two clubgoers died from apparent Ecstasy overdoses over a two-year period.

The club, which shuttered in 2001 after long battling the city in court, was also accused of keeping sick patrons in a back room and taking them by private ambulance to hospitals — including one of the reported fatal overdose victims.

Bloomberg blamed the weekend's Electric Zoo overdoses on the festival-goers who used drugs. 

"The bottom line here is that you see people here who are doing drugs that shouldn't be doing drugs and you see the fatal consequences," Bloomberg said.

He added that the city would analyze security procedures to see whether more can be done to prevent drug-related deaths.

"The city will have to take a look at every concert to see if the concert can be run safely," he said.

Credit : DNA Info

EDM Video : NERVO & Ivan Gough featuring Beverley Knight - Not Taking This No More

Check out NERVO's brand new release 'Not Taking This No More' featuring Ivan Gough & Beverley Knight! 

 

EDM : Amnesia Resigns Paris Hilton for 2014 Residency (Really??)

It pains me to post this...

According to a recent report from TMZ, Paris Hilton has already been signed by Amnesia nightclub to a 2014 residency in Ibiza. Much to the dismay of the vast majority of the EDM community, the notorious socialite made big headlines this summer when her first “professional” DJ stint was announced, receiving strong criticism from ex-boyfriend Afrojack and the always-outspoken Deadmau5, to name a few.
The club’s owner, however, has said his initial concerns about the performer have since been alleviated by her ability to continuously bring fans in. From a business perspective, he may have a point – their aim is simply to keep the club full. However, it does raise some questions about those attending her show and what they’re really looking for, as there is better talent to be found at practically every other club on the island.
While it’s unclear how much compensation Hilton will be receiving for the next residency, the initial report claims she has stated it’s less about the money and more about proving herself among the major industry players. However, pair the pop-up shops set up at Amnesia events to hawk her handbags and accessories, with the fact that it doesn’t appear she’s planning to hone her “skills” with additional gigs in the meantime, and her motives appear to become a bit more clear.
Upon return to the states, the hotel heiress tweeted a link to the TMZ article, stating that she had “killed it in Ibiza”.   Unfortunately for us, it’s not her DJ career that she killed.

Credit : EDM Tunes

Update : Two Die at Electric Zoo Festival, Sunday Date Cancelled

The third day of the Electric Zoo Festival today (September 1) has been cancelled due to “serious health risks,” a statement from the New York City government announced and a posting from the festival confirmed. The release on NYC.gov states that two fans had died and at least four became “critically ill” during the first two days of the festival (August 30-31), and while “definitive causes of death have not yet been determined, both appear to have involved the drug MDMA (ecstasy, or molly).”
The New York Times identified the victims as Jeffrey Russ, 24, of Rochester, N.Y., and Olivia Rotondo, 20, of Providence, R.I. Russ was reportedly attending the festival with 23 members of his Syracuse University fraternity.
“The founders of Electric Zoo send our deepest condolences to the families of the two people who passed away this weekend,” read a statement on promoter Made Event’s website, posted around 10:15 this morning. “Because there is nothing more important to us than our patrons, we have decided in consultation with the New York City Parks Department that there will be no show today.”
According to attorney Ed McPherson of McPherson Rane LLP, who represented rock band Great White in litigation over the fatal Station nightclub fire in 2003, Made made the right move.

Statement from the front of promoter Made Event's website

Electric Zoo Festival Photos

“Electric Zoo organizers have done absolutely the right thing after the fatalities occurred – and that is to close the festival,” he said. “Of course, that is a huge disappointment for everyone, and potentially a great expense for the promoters. However, if one life is saved because someone had to go home, where (hopefully) that culture does not exist, and they can make certain that nobody uses whatever drugs they have, it is obviously well worth the disappointment and expense.”

The cancellation makes Electric Zoo the first major festival of the three-year-old EDM boom to be shuttered due to drug concerns, and it comes at a particularly bad time for the industry. Its greatest test thus far, the initial public offering (IPO) of Robert F.X. Sillerman’s revived SFX Entertainment – a multi-million-dollar rollup of EDM promoters and other entities - is scheduled for the coming weeks, and trades heavily on investor’s confidence in the genre’s stability and growth potential. Made Event was listed as a “planned” acquisition in SFX’s IPO prospectus released in late June, valued at $25 million in cash and stock for 70% of the company. It’s unclear whether that deal has yet closed.

 The Electric Zoo closure also comes four days after a 19-year-old fan died of drug-related causes at a Zedd concert in Boston. “I am not sure that there is really anything that a festival promoter can do – and still maintain concertgoers’ Constitutional rights – to eliminate drug usage at concerts,” says McPherson. “No amount of security personnel, barricades, etcetera could prevent something like this. Unfortunately, however, ecstasy and other drugs have become the culture of some of these festivals.”

Made Event was known to be one of the most diligent event promoters where attendee safety was concerned. Throughout Electric Zoo’s first two days, messages broadcast over loudspeakers onsite and sent to all attendees via the Electric Zoo smartphone app reminded fans to be safe, often breaching the don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy that promoters frequently adopt in regards to drug use. “If you see someone sick or struggling, be a friend to a friend in need,” said one. “Seek out a medical professional at one of our Medical Aid tents marked with a Red Cross.”
“Putting together the safest electronic music festival possible is of the utmost importance to us, and we work side by side with NYPD and FDNY, as well as several safety experts, in order to ensure the safety of our festivalgoers,” Mike Bindra, Executive Producer of Electric Zoo Festival and Founder of Made Event, told Billboard in May 2012. “From medical staff and facilities to security, we consistently staff well above and beyond what is recommended.”
Dance culture is no stranger to tragedy: In June 2010, 15-year-old Sasha Rodriguez died from causes related to ecstasy use, after attending Electric Daisy Carnival at the L.A. Coliseum. An L.A. Times investigation, published in February of this year, revealed that over the course of 10 years, at least 14 people had died at events promoted by EDC organizer Insomniac Events. Insomniac was not welcomed back to the L.A. Coliseum, and its CEO Pasquale Rotella was brought up on civil and criminal charges related to alleged financial malfeasance around the event. But none of its events were ever cancelled due to drug concerns. Insomniac announced a partial acquisition by Live Nation this June, and the civil lawsuits against Rotella were thrown out this past Friday (August 30).
Back in 1995, when the U.K. was in the midst of an EDM revolution – the likes of which the U.S. is currently experiencing – 18-year-old Leah Betts died from similar causes, kicking off a nationwide moral panic that helped secure the passage of the Public Entertainments Licences (Drug Misuse) Act, which allowed venues and promoters to be prosecuted if drugs were found to be available on their premises. Artists scheduled to perform today included Armin van Buuren, Steve Aoki, Zedd, Krewella, Diplo, and Swedish House Mafia member Sebastian Ingrosso.

Credit : BillBoard

EDM : BREAKING NEWS - Following Deaths, Electric Zoo Music Festival’s Final Day Called Off

Both Deaths Appeared To Involve Ecstasy, According To The City

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The Electric Zoo Music Festival on Randall’s Island has been canceled after two people have died and at least four others became critically ill.
According to the city, the four sickened at the event were in intensive care at area hospitals.
The causes of death have not been officially determined, but the city said it appeared both involved the drug MDMA, known as ecstasy or molly.
The city had called on the festival’s organizers to cancel the show’s final day and the event promoters agreed, the city said.
The three-day E-Zoo festival began on Friday. Among the headliners for the fifth annual show were Steve Aoki, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta and Avicii.

Credit : CBS

EDM News : Deadmau5 Goes After Commercial House.Wins.

Joel has been on a roll lately. From a few pretty fantastic releases on his “Fuckmylife” Soundcloud page, to his big “Fuck You” to Ultra Records, and of course his twitter argument with Afrojack over what constitutes good music, Deadmau5 has frankly been killin it (if you seriously thought that Afrojack was ever ahead in that argument at any point, you need to re-check your definition of “Owned”).  Earlier today, Joel uploaded a track that can only be described as How to Troll Mainstream House 101. Appropriately titled, “DROP DA BOMB” employs the classic build up, a stupid voice saying something more or less pointless, and then an incredibly simple, staccato, tribal synth on top of a 4×4 beat.  It sounds quite similar to, well, everything in electro house at the moment. It’s the perfect way to basically state what we writers circle around with lengthy articles about bubbles, stagnation, and festival tracks: that at the end of the day, originality and a real want to create amazing and powerful music needs to trump copy cat production thats sole purpose is to be on some top 100 list. If you haven’t listened to the recent tracks that Joel has put out, you should. They are wonderful previews of music, created by a person who, at times may talk a little too much shit about the industry, but really cares about what he puts out there as an artist and as a member of the electronic music scene. P.S: shout out to Professor Meowington.

Here's AfroJack's HypeBeat

Credit : EDM Tunes

EDM News : Watch Mat Zo Call Out will.i.am at EDC Las Vegas

 

 

The whole will.i.am jacking Arty & Mat Zo’s “Rebound” fiasco hasn’t concluded, and video recently emerged of Mat Zo‘s EDC Las Vegas set where he called will.i.am out as he dropped “Rebound,” saying that he “copied this song off of will.i.am.” Add this to Above & Beyond doing a similar thing at EDC Chicago and we’re left to wonder: When will this situation ever come to a close?

 

EDM News : Spinnin’ the Truth: Copycatism and Martin Garrix’s Stuffed “Animals”

In recent years, dance music has continued to evolve and reach new commercial heights; this has allowed artists to reach broader audiences and achieve higher levels of success.  However, many fear that this commercialism, rather than fuel artistic creativity and facilitate discovery of new talent, has encouraged the growing trend of copycatism. While some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in an industry that relies on the limitless creative energy and encouragement of innovation of its major players, this trend is at best disheartening, and at worst poisonous to the continued growth and influence electronic dance music, just look at Skrillex and dubstep.  Far from disregarded by the general public, copycat tracks can be found at the top of the charts and on main stages.  While there has certainly been some fantastic work coming out of the most recent wave of releases, one cannot help but notice the inescapable presence of mediocre.  In this particular case let’s examine the Spinnin’ Records-released #1 hit “Animals” by Martin Garrix.
What is it about Martin Garrix’s “Animals” that made it shoot up to  #1 on Beatport’s main chart?  Why is it a summer anthem?  Why did Martin Garrix’s single go to #1 when his others haven’t? Is it that much better than his other tracks or any of his contemporaries? In short, no, it’s not. So then what? First, Garrix was able to capitalize on the success of his predecessors by stringing together proven elements to produce the track. To put it simply, the track “Animals” itself fits a formula.  This formula is illustrated clearly in the track’s “drop,” thereby underlining “Animals” uncanny similarities to Knife Party’s “LRAD” or Sandro Silva & Quintino’s “Epic.”  Take this a step further and compare “Animals” to Carnage & Borgore’s smash “Incredible” or the last two GTA big room collaborative bangers in “Hit It!” and “Turn It Up!”  The sonic similarities between these tracks are so glaring that once you notice them, you can’t un-notice them. In effect, he has crossed the line from notable influence, even imitation, to copying.  One wonders how long will it be until the crowds realize that they are being taken for a ride. When will they figure out that main-stage acts have begun to blend together so much so that the same description could be applied to the majority of tracks out there?
Consider that “Animals” is not Martin’s first release, and his tunes have had little impact to date, then consider the success of “Animals.”   Employing the “formula,” while a critical success factor, does not tell the full story. Martin Garrix’s “Animals” currently sits atop the Beatport charts at #1, and as result he has recently been named the youngest producer to ever have a Beatport #1 at the tender age of 17.  With a powerful social media engine, Spinnin’ Records and Martin were able to exploit the public’s thirst for information (and bloggers’ ambition) to leak information and fuel rumors.  This encouraged powerful buzz that only grew as the official release date drew near.  By the time the track released on June 17, ”Animals” had been rumored to be a collaboration of a variety of well-known artists, including GTA, Hardwell, and Sidney Samson – despite a lack of substantial evidence.  The teaser was “mistakenly” attributed to GTA and Hardwell, two of the hottest names right now in the larger dance music world.  By even associating the track with two incredibly hot names like Hardwell & GTA, Spinnin’ manufactured the buzz, creating a hype that would have otherwise not surrounded this track.  Essentially, Spinnin’ capitalized on the EDM blogosphere’s tendency to copy and paste other blogs (who got it from another blog that didn’t bother to fact check) and the unfortunately prevailing “report first, ask questions maybe later” attitudes.
Knowing how hard it is to make a lasting break, Spinnin’ resorted to the bait-and-switch tactic to grab attention rather than release anything forward-thinking or of stand-out quality. Building on past failed strategies, this bait-and-switch worked because Spinnin’ ultimately drummed up enough buzz to ultimately outweigh the track itself and as such it became a news item on nearly every blog, making the actual track irrelevant!  With a name like DJ Mag‘s #6 DJ in the world Hardwell attached, Hardwell fans were all hot and bothered like it was the second coming or that they had another “Spaceman” on their hands.  The buzz from Spinnin’s “mislabeling” set off a chain reaction of quick-reacting bloggers and dies hard fans scrambling for info on the rumored Hardwell track.  This sort of fervor illustrates the blindly supportive fans that have become the norm within mainstream dance music circle; this is not dissimilar to the way followers act within a cult.  All Spinnin’ had to do was yell “Kool-Aid!“




The case of Martin Garrix and “Animals” also reveals a very telling and disturbing aspect of the state of dance music: Why is it that a generic song like “Animals” makes it to #1 and others don’t?  This isn’t a matter of personal taste, but a matter of attitudes towards dance music.  As festivals grow in size and number, dance music has become a generational movement mirroring a concurrent generational shift in the same way album-oriented progressive psychedelic rock did in the 1960s with the baby boomers’ movement. Surely there is dance music with heart, soul, and true creative expression, but “Animals” is nothing like this, and neither are any of the tunes in this article. It’s tracks like “Animals” that emphasize a lack of artistry in current mainstream dance music.  The issue here is that “Animals” and the other tracks listed (as well as those like it) have all done exceedingly well despite a lack of originality.  It is this copycatism that seriously harms the future of dance music and potential cultural impact as a whole. “Animals” and tracks like it are doing little more than masquerading as next-level material with no actual depth or artistry. In reality, they are tawdry examples of producers looking for the shortest possible path to a main stage, a main stage that is destined to collapse if these trends continue. Yes, some of these tracks (even the ones enumerated in this article) are great in that they can destroy a dancefloor, but they’re not timeless and they’re not going to last 10 years.  They fail to push the envelope, diminishing the potential for the innovation that has fueled the growth of electronic dance music to date and as a result the opportunity for true social impact.

Credit : Do Androids Dance

EDM News : Steve Angello’s Size Foundation to run for charity at Malmö-milen, Sweden, 15th June 2013

‘Size Foundation’, established by Steve Angello, is currently preparing for their latest initiative. The twenty-strong team is set to embark on a 10K run through the Swedish city of Malmö in an effort to raise 80,000kr for the children of Fonte Boa, an isolated town in northern Mozambique. The team will join thousands of runners who will take part in the annual Malmömilen event.
TEAM SIZE FOUNDATION aims to raise the funds to build a day centre for the children of the Fonte Boa area of Northern Mozambique. The day-to-day survival of the people of Fonte Boa is hindered by overwhelming poverty, hunger, and illiteracy. The centre will bring a hopeful future to the area, providing the children with food, shelter and education, and will supply the children with previously missing links to the wider world.
Founded by Steve Angello to encourage and empower children and youth around the world through education, the Size Foundation has already helped children in the poorest regions of the world, and so far, they have spread hope across India, Africa and local Europe since its inception last August. Built upon the Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”, Size Foundation equips the world’s less fortunate children with the skills needed to build a better life for themselves and their families.
TEAM SIZE FOUNDATION will run the 10K Malmö-milen on Saturday 15th June. They hope that with your donation, the children of Fonte Boa will have a hopeful and boundless future ahead of them.

For more details and to donate:
http://www.inspons.se/Team/TEAM_SIZE_FOUNDATION
http://www.sizefoundation.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SizeFoundation
https://twitter.com/SIZEfoundation

Credit : Top House Music Blog

Music Video : Benny Benassi ft. John Legend - Dance The Pain Away

Benny Benassi made a big splash at Coachella when John Legend appeared on stage to premier the collaborative “Dance the Pain Away”. Since then little has been officially released aside from a 30-second preview. However, a black and white full length video featuring both artists has surfaced on some b-list social video sites over the past couple weeks. The video matches obvious in-production shots from Coachella’s teaser video released around the same time so one has to assume this is at very least a rough cut of the official video.
The takeaway here of course is that you can finally hear a full three minute radio cut of the track. It’s sounding like it will be pretty massive so it makes sense if they’re taking their time to perfect everything. We’ll let you know when the track drops officially, but in the meantime, check out the video.


Benny Benassi - Dance The Pain Away (Feat... by BlakMusicFirst

EDM News : Martin Solveig defends his DJ choices: “It's about context"

A couple of weekends back, U.S. big-roomer Wolfgang Gartner let fly with a flood of Tweets lamenting “high profile DJs” who stack their sets with the biggest, most obvious tracks of the moment. As he bluntly put it: “Fucking DIG, lazy ass fucks”. What set him off? Apparently watching Martin Solveig play a “straight-up Beatport Top 10 hits marathon” at the Neon Desert Music Festival in El Paso, Texas.
After the rant was over and Gartner had bowed out of Twitter, Solveig level-headedly replied, “I’m a crowd-pleaser and leave experimentation to real underground acts.” The ‘Beatport Top Ten’ debate is nothing new, but it’s still one that stirs up DJs and punters alike. In a recent interview with Billboard, Solveig was given more than 140 characters to present his perspective on the unexpected fracas.
“It’s very important to any EDM DJ to be creative, to even when you play big songs to play them in a way that is unique, and this is what I do,” Solveig told Billboard. “Anyone who knows me knows this is what I do, so I don’t need to justify anything.”
“It’s always a question of balance,” he went on. “It’s also a question of context. This is very important. I was at that time, when I got called out by this gentleman, the headliner of a festival, the biggest name on the bill, one of the only so-called ‘EDM artists’ of the whole festival. There were some indie bands, some indie DJs, but I was one of the biggest names – with Wolfgang – of this show. So my response was to end and close the show bringing the crowd what they came for and what they paid their ticket for.
“And then of course when I’m just a part of an Ultra or of an EDC in Vegas and there are the 50 biggest DJs on the planet all together, then of course I don’t need to play some of the records that I play. This is the beauty of being not only a producer and a record-maker, but to be a DJ and to be able to adapt to any situation.
“Finally, it was a two-hour set which is pretty long on a festival level when you want to keep the people really up high, which is also my mission. So yeah, on that specific show I played probably 60 or 70 records and half of them are super famous, super big, and the other half are more my personal stuff. This is how I do things – like everyone else, actually.”

EDM : Top 40 Richest Electronic DJs In The World

Top 40 Richest Electronic DJs In The World (2013)

#1: Tiesto – $75 million
#2: Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (Daft Punk) – $60 million
#3: Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk) – $60 million
#4: Paul Oakenfold – $58 million
#5: Paul van Dyk – $52 million
#6: John Digweed – $45 million
#7: Armin Van Buuren – $40 million
#8: Judge Jules – $42 million
#9: Sasha – $40 million
#10: Pete Tong – $32 million
#11: Moby – $30 million
#12: David Guetta – $30 million
#13: Fatboy Slim – $23 million
#14: The Chemical Brothers – $20 million
#15: Ferry Corsten – $19 million
#16: Deadmau5 – $18 million
#17: Carl Cox – $16 million
#18: Skrillex – $16 million
#19: Benny Benassi – $15 million
#20: DJ Pauly D – $15 million
#21: Sven Vath – $14 million
#22: Calvin Harris – $13 million
#23: Avicii – $12 million
#24: Afrojack – $11 million
#25: Kaskade – $10 million
#26: Sebastian Ingrosso (Swedish House Mafia) – $10 million
#27: Steve Angello (Swedish House Mafia) – $10 million
#28: Axwell (Swedish House Mafia) – $10 million
#29: Darude – $9 million
#30: ATB aka Andre Tanneberger – $8.5 million
#31: Richie Hawtin – $8.5 million
#32: Gareth Emery – $7 million
#33: Erick Morillo – $6 million
#34: Martin Solveig – $5 million
#35: Eric Prydz – $4.5 million
#36: Markus Schulz – $4 million
#37: Mark knight – $4 million
#38: Adam Beyer – $3 million
#39: Danny Tenaglia – $3 million
#40: Bad Boy Bill – $2.5 million
#41: Little Louie Vega – $2 million
#42: Morgan Page – $2 million
via – Celebritynetworth

DJS : Fatboy Slim’s DJ secrets: "Always be 20 percent more wasted than your crowd"

“It’s one of the basic rules of DJing. Always make sure you’re 20 percent more drunk than your crowd. Or you can be 20 percent more high than your crowd. Or just having 20 per cent more fun than your crowd. You have to lead by example.”

Those irreverent words were spoken by Fatboy Slim, AKA Norman Cook at the Ibiza IMS conference, the annual industry gathering timed around the island’s major opening parties, where Cook is helping mentor 18 aspiring DJs who are part of the Burn Studios Residency program. It’s an integral part of the conference, which sees the up-and-comers trained by an elite cast of DJ talent, with the payoff being three chosen for a residency across the season.
“It’s ironic me saying this, because I actually gave up drinking three years ago. But for the majority of my DJ career, I felt that I had to be very much ‘in the party’.”
Cook joins an elite and varied cast of DJs that also includes Solomun, Steve Lawler, Avicii and Maceo Plex; all bringing their own unique of skills to the table, with one of Cook’s trademarks being his sense of fun, and connection with the crowd.
He also emphasises the importance of actually making eye contact with the sea of people in front of you. “Some DJs spend the whole evening completely focused on the decks, which might be great for what they’re doing technically, but if you’re not actually making eye contact with your audience, you can’t judge whether they’re going for it or not.”
“And there is a certain look that you get that says, yeah, I’m really enjoying this. Otherwise you might get a look that says, ‘What the fuck are you doing?’”
Speaking later to ITM, Cook emphasised he’d taken an irreverent approach in order to get the point across to the DJs in training. “It’s not just about siting in your bedroom and doing this really clever mix, it’s also about entertaining people. It’s not such a difficult principle to latch onto.”
Fatboy Slim debuted his new audio-visual show in recent years, which was in full force when inthemix caught him at Sonar Festival in Barcelona later that year. “While the set might have been full of party tunes, and fairly straightforward in its appeal, it was still packed with plenty of exciting surprises, brimming with all sorts of bootlegs and edits that hadn’t been heard before…He garnered the best crowd response from any act all night, and it felt for two hours like the Sónar Festival had been transformed into the Big Beach Boutique, with hands-in-the air galore.”

Credit : In The Mix

EDM News : SENSATION AMERICA RETURNS TO NEW YORK; ADDS STOPS IN MIAMI, SAN FRANCISCO, & LAS VEGAS

After selling out 2 shows at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY last October, Sensation is returning for an extended U.S. tour this fall with events in Miami, San Francisco, New York and Las Vegas!
Sensation is offering a very special promotion where they invite fans to be “Club Members.” As a Club Member fans get access to the Pre-Sale and exclusive updates on Sensation. Click HERE to become a club member and stay tuned for information on show dates, ticket sales, and lineups!

EDM News : Kaskade to embark on four-stop “Atmosphere Tour”

On June 10th, Kaskade will drop his much-anticipated new single, “Atmosphere.” Many attendees of this year’s Ultra Music Festival will remember Kaskade opening his main stage set with the track. Now, Kaskade has announced that he will be embarking on a four-stop tour in the new single’s honor. The cities that will be lucky enough to host the world-famous DJ will be New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. While the venues of these locations have not yet been announced, the site dedicated to the tour reads, “Big rooms, small tour,” perhaps insinuating that Kaskade will be performing at arenas (like Madison Square Garden in New York, and the Staples Center in Los Angeles, for example). However, this is just speculation. One thing is for sure, these cities will be anxiously waiting these venue announcements. Limited pre-sale tickets go on sale June 5th at noon local venue time, and go on sale to the general public on June 7th. Stay tuned to elektro for more information to come soon. In the meantime, check out the Kaskade Atmosphere Tour official website here.

Credit : Elektro Daily

EDM: How to Succeed in Five Easy Steps!

Look at this. This is your goal.

So, you want to be an EDM superstar? It's easy! EDM is blowing up like a 17-year-old girl in a tutu. Act fast, and you can catch some of that glorious LED spotlight for yourself!
Not interested in long hours studying music theory, beat matching, or production equipment? Fuck it! You don't need that in today's dance music world. All you need is a few key elements in your personal brand package, some easily digestible tunes, a demographic of your choice ... Et voila!
Just follow these five easy steps, and you'll be well on your way to becoming the next Avicii, Skrillex, Steve Aoki, or anyone else you want! (Does not include A-Trak turntablist package.)

Be as Young as Possible
Everyone loves a prodigy, and youth is really selling right now. The kids want to hear music from their own kind. Whiz kids like Madeon, Zedd, and Porter Robinson go straight to the top. Already older than 21? Start moisturizing and lie about your age. You're not going to impress anyone with ten years of experience and a gut ... Trust us.

Have a Gimmick
Talent is overrated, but a sick-ass helmet will have you going places. No one is listening to your music anyway, they just want to see a show. Give the people a show! If you're not going to wear a sweet mask or costume, find something else. Walk out over the crowd in a bubble, throw food at them, find a way to DJ in a revolving cage. Or, If you're a woman, just put your tits out there and model. That's usually good enough.

Jump on Trains
So, you're a bass-driven producer? Make sure you stay on top of all the genres. You might have started out as a dupstep DJ, but if you don't have moombahton edits and trap remixes in your arsenal, you're out of here. And house DJs, make sure you're ready to blast them with progressive and trance. The important thing: As soon as a new fad gets hip, you attack that formula with everything you've got. It's the only way to stay relevant, and it's way easier than coming up with your own sound.

Cut Off Dead Weight
You're going to meet a lot of people on your journey to the top, but some of these people will only hold you back. Once you become "more famous" than someone, they're not your friend. Look, you're busy now being a superstar, you don't have to worry about paying your dues and thanking the little people. Porter Robinson doesn't. And neither should you!

Get a Leather Jacket
This may seem superficial, but it's the one thing all superstar DJs have in common. You might not actually be a DJ unless you have your sweet leather jacket. This will also allow the groupies to tell that you're in fact the superstar they've been dreaming of. But by no means should you ever love them hoes.
Now, mess up your hair, take a look in the mirror and kiss yourself. You've done it!

Credit : Miami New Times

EDM News : Feed Me plans to hang up the decks, ‘I’ve got a pressing feeling that it’s not what I’m supposed to be doing’

The British graphic designer and production genius behind Spor and Feed Me, Jon Gooch, has decided to – for lack of a better word – “quit” DJing after this summer festival season. Always an artist first and DJ second, Jon has developed numerous creative projects surrounding his Feed Me persona – including an animatronic version of the green goblin he designed.
Like so many producer’s in today’s dance music world, the act of DJing has simply become a means for performing his work and Jon believes that the experience is “not art.” He took to Twitter late last night to express his concerns and his hesitation to continue down the DJ path, worrying that it may force his creativity to take a backseat if he continues to pursue it further.

Feed Me        ✔ @feedme

I went to a Hip-Hop 'Beats By Dre' event last night and had absolutely no idea what was going on. Very awkward.

11:56 AM - 22 May 2013

 

Feed Me        ✔ @feedme

Having said that I went to a Dance Music 'EDC' event last week and had absolutely no idea what was going on.

12:34 PM - 22 May 2013

 

Feed Me        ✔ @feedme

I really enjoy playing DJ sets, and it's an honour to be able to call it part of my job. However I've got a pressing feeling that its not...

4:12 PM - 22 May 2013

 

Feed Me        ✔ @feedme

...what I'm supposed to be doing. Around Autumn time I intent to stop, at least for a while.

4:13 PM - 22 May 2013

 

Feed Me        ✔ @feedme

What I really love doing is making music, art, telling stories; being creative. I don't want a situation where this becomes a back seat.

Feed Me        ✔ @feedme

Seems common to assume writing music means wanting to DJ - I started by accident? It's a fun and enriching social experience but not art.

Credit : Dancing Astronaut

 

 

 

 

EDM : Electric Daisy Carnival New York: Day 1 Photo Recap

We spent our first day at EDC NY braving the massive crowd and the scorching heat as it bounced off the asphalt of Citi Field’s sprawling parking lot. Sampling the sounds and styles of the festival’s 5 diversely-curated stages, we found ourselves gravitating most to the Neon Garden tent. Tucked away deep in the corner, techno faithfuls sought shelter from the packed crowd, sweltering heat, and soundbleed that plagued the festival’s other stages.
Hop past the break to see EDC NY through our eyes.

Damian Lazarus takes a drag as he showcases new cuts from the Crosstown Rebels crew to warm up the Neon Garden crowd.

Danny Avila’s electro-centric set turned the Circuit Grounds into a steam room under the midday sun.

Mark Knight brought tech house to the Kinetic Field – extending his set over his scheduled hour after Chuckie got stuck in Manhattan’s midtown traffic.

This is what we call dedication.

EDC’s famous art installations were spread throughout Citi Field’s parking lots, giving fans more than just music to keep themselves entertained.

Canadian bass duo Zeds Dead changed the pace up at Kinetic Field with their unique brand of hip-hop infused dubstep.

Seth Troxler kept things SUPER weird under the Neon Garden tent.

R3hab gets airborne at the Circuit Grounds.

Ghost producer turned deep house phenom Maceo Plex twisted and contorted an atmospheric soundscape at Neon Garden.

La Roux performed her heavily remixed originals as the sun began to set on Citi Field.

Dubfire flexed his tech muscles, setting the stage for Richie Hawtin’s closing set.

Nicky Romero turned the energy up to 11 during his sunset set at the Circuit Grounds.

Borgore reminded fans that b*tches love cake at the bone-rattling Basspod stage.

Eric Prydz continued to assert his inevitable dominance of cerebral progressive house.

Headhunterz followed up Steve Angello with a breakneck-paced hardstyle set, sparking a fuse that set off the day’s most explosive crowd.

Closing out the ENTER stage, Richie Hawtin pieced together a flawless set of minimal techno.

ATB belts out “Smells Like Teen Spirit” during his closing set at Kinetic Field.

 Credit : Dancing Astronaut

EDM : Diplo ranked as Fast Company’s 28th most creative person in business

Fast Company have released their rankings of the 100 most creative people in business for 2013, a list of “the 2013 global leaders in technology, design, media, music, movies, marketing, television, sports, and more.” Sitting at number 28 on the list is Thomas Pentz, the DJ, producer, and Mad Decent founder known as Diplo. Highlighted for his creativity in heading his own independent record label, Diplo is acknowledged for the global success of Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” and the antics that made it possible.

Credit : Dancing Astronaut

EDM News : BT's Cautionary Tale: Mentoring Porter Robinson

 

Many young producers looking for (or who might have) an older mentor also in the production game, so when producer BT went on a long tiarade about his experience mentoring and helping Porter Robinson in his rise to popularity this morning, it seemed poignant. It’s a very interesting read and cautionary tale on how quickly relationships can disappear when fame and success come into play.
As is often easiest with a large volume of tweets, we’ve compiled them into a Storify story, below:

 

BT rants on Twitter about how his mentoring of Porter Robinson went south after Porter went big - and why it sucks to be the mentor left in the dark.

1. 

   BT@BT

   Today I'm going to tell a long story. Prepare for about 100 tweets (no but seriously) @porterrobinson you should begin reading at this one

   20 hours ago

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2. 

   BT@BT

   So about 3 years ago my then agent asked me to check out a MySpace. It's was @porterrobinson. I listened & was blown away. Actually inspired

   20 hours ago

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3. 

   BT@BT

   I asked around to my peers & friends @tiesto @arminvanbuuren @djadamk (and more) Guys, have you heard Porter Robinson? None of them had.

   20 hours ago

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4. 

   BT@BT

   So I contacted @porterrobinson & we began to strike up a friendship. Talked on the phone, talked to his parents, talked CSound, whatever.

   20 hours ago

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5. 

   BT@BT

   Told everyone I knew about him. Started playing his music constantly on #LaptopSymphony. Told @siriusXM about him. Anyone that would listen.

   20 hours ago

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6. 

   BT@BT

   And we began to plan to work on some music together. Notably Must Be the Love and Letting Go from my new album. As all of this was unfolding

   20 hours ago

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7. 

   BT@BT

   People began to take notice of Porter. He got his first big remix for Lady Gaga and then @tiesto (finally listened) and took him on tour.

   20 hours ago

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8. 

   BT@BT

   I was elated. This felt like a personal victory. I'd invested a tremendous amount of my social commodity into someone young and truly gifted

   20 hours ago

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9. 

   BT@BT

   Before long Porter was more reclusive, harder to reach, surrounded by a team of advisers. It was just beginning to blow up for him.

   20 hours ago

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10. 

    BT@BT

    Not only was I understanding of this (because I've walked it) but also excited for him. Anyway, quickly Porter seemed too cool to interact

    20 hours ago

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11. 

    BT@BT

    The music we'd began Porter claimed he couldn't finish because he didn't have time or couldn't get anything good going amongst other things

    20 hours ago

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12. 

    BT@BT

    And this put a really bad taste in my mouth and I was personally affronted by this. It honestly hurt my feelings a considerable amount.

    20 hours ago

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13. 

    BT@BT

    I've noted similar behavior in other young producers & it made me feel like the generation of guys coming up now are self focused & selfish

    20 hours ago

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14. 

    BT@BT

    Here's the thing. When I was coming up someone helped me a similar way @sashaofficial. He gave me an opportunity that can never be replayed

    20 hours ago

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15. 

    BT@BT

    And I vowed to do the same thing someday when I could and I have done it repeatedly. It feels great to pay it forward and most importantly

    20 hours ago

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16. 

    BT@BT

    To remember that whatever you do, there has always been help to achieve it that deserves acknowledgement. That & especially in dance music

    20 hours ago

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17. 

    BT@BT

    (and listen up young producers) So much has come before you to make what you do possible. It deserves your acknowledgement and respect

    20 hours ago

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18. 

    BT@BT

    I gave mine in my times of comeuppance and so should you all that walk that path.

    20 hours ago

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19. 

    BT@BT

    So for my part, the sh**tty email I wrote you when you let me down (for all the aforementioned reasons) I'm sorry for.

    20 hours ago

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20. 

    BT@BT

    Your a real talent @porterrobinson and I did then and do now want your music to be heard by everyone that will listen. It's awesome.

    20 hours ago

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21. 

    BT@BT

    So I hope you (and other young producers reading this) take this as a cautionary tale. Remember to act with respect and pay it forward.

    20 hours ago

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22. Even Tiesto chimed in to note his own observation of the same phenomenon:
23. 

    Ti￫sto@tiesto

    @BT you are so right...there's not much loyalty out there!

    20 hours ago

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    Credit : DJTechTools