Having been talented-spotted by Avicii‘s record label LE7ELS, young Estonian DJ/producer SYN COLE is quickly making a name for himself. This awe-inspiring track definitely will satisfy any progressive house junkie, even if it does slip a taste or two of dubstep into the recipe. An intriguing production, and one that has roused my curiosity to see this up-and-coming talent on the decks.
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
EDM has exploded onto the Canadian scene in the past few years, and this summer will almost certainly be remembered as a history-making moment, dominated by a series of electronic music tests that fans will be talking about for years.
Last weekend brought the inaugural VELD Music Festival and its mind-blowing lineup to Toronto’s Downsview Park, courtesy of INK Entertainment. An interesting name for a festival, no?
Veld – (noun) the open country, bearing grass, bushes, or shrubs…
The anticipation for this fest was absolutely mind-boggling, fed by a YouTube video designed to get you wanting more and the posters and billboards plastered all over the city. Happily, VELD went above and beyond expectations. I was blown away and left speechless. Just about every performance was noteworthy, but a few will stay permanently imprinted in my memory.
All praise to the brilliant Steve Aoki — a true performer. He rocked that crowd, delivering not only smashing tunes but a jaw-dropping show. From crowd-surfing in an inflatable boat to soaking the audience in champagne, he is by far one of the most commanding performers I’ve ever had the pleasure to experience.
I hadn’t had the chance before to see Krewella live, so I’m grateful to have experience their impressive performance in the Bacardi tent at VELD. The trio work harmoniously together, cranking out skin-crawlingly ecstatic tracks precision-tooled to galvanize the crowd.
Steve Angello turned in an awe-inspiring set. His music selection was absolutely infallible and kept the crowd moving in a frenzy.
VELD’s headlining acts were Deadmau5 on day one, and Avicii on day two. Deadmau5 dazzled the hometown crowd, even in the pouring rain, dropping a selection of his classic tracks along with some new beats that fell intriguingly on my music-hungry ears. But it was Avicii who surprised and impressed me, played some hard, bass-pumping stuff that left me hungry for more, even after two exhausting days.
All in all, VELD was a great success. INK did a phenomenal job with this event, and I’m excited to see what they will bring to the table in summer 2013. Till then, be sure to check out some of their other notable events, including CONTACT and Labour of Love at Toronto famed The Guvernment/Kool Haus complex.
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
So. VELD. Wow. That was just … wow. I mean, the music and the crowd and the spectacle … it was all just … you know … wow.
Screw it. There’s no easy way to describe an incredible experience like that. You know what they say about pictures and words? If you really want to know what last weekend at VELD was like, check out the massivephoto gallery posted by fearless bpm:tv bloggeuse Gosia Mrugala.
Last week Vegas got to me. There was no time to get to my computer, let alone sleep. But with great privilege comes great responsibility. The good news about my adventure last week is that I got to see some sick DJs play brand new tunez. And therein lies my responsibility: to relay these hot tracks to you while they’re still poppin’ fresh. Let the baton passing begin.
SWEETS
This week brought a double dose from Montreal hit men Adventure Club. One track takes the vocals from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ “Maps” and chops it up quite nice, while the other is the background sound for the new Krewella track. Both go hard. Both are free.
The next comes from Ado. Part of the Blood Music stable, he has switched teams to Twin Turbo for the release of Pressure. This new EP is full of raunchy electro techno that will keep you up all night — but it’s the track “Right On” that has me on the edge of my seat. Worth the purchase all on its own. You can get it on Beatport HERE.
The latest Boysnoize Records release is exactly what you’d expect from BNR: innovative, different and completely mental. Les Petits Pilous always seem to find a sound nobody is messing with. You might not like it at first, but like a fine wine…
And speaking of Boys Noize, I have an absolute gem from him right hurrrr. He has created a four-minute tribute to Donna Summer, in a style I could only describe as: washy flossy techno. I think it’s absolute fire. Perfect for your next party!
Shook, possibly the coolest cat in the game, has released a track that lives up to his reputation as one smooth hustler. If you got the one you’re crushing on in the car, this is the tune your mojo is dying for you to play.
Sticking with that sexy vibe, we got something here from two of the most soulful artists in the game. Ellie Goulding takes on The Weeknd‘s humungous banger “High for This” and puts her own adorable touch on it, while Xaphoon Jones from Chiddy Bang gives her a different beat to play with. Together, they come up with something simply breathtaking.
Get used to this one. Avicii gives away a brand new track as a thank you to his fans for hitting 2 million likes. Hate if you want, but there’s a good reason Avicii is maybe the second or third biggest name in EDM — and this song is living proof.
Speaking of big name DJs: Afrojack has taken on a classic and given it his trademark electro touch. I’m always a little hesitant when I hear a Michael Jackson track remixed, and to be honest I’m not 100 percent on board with this one. But decide on your own — you may well find yourself giving it more than one listen.
This song has been remixed, like … what? A million times? Hip-hop, rock, dance — it doesn’t matter, the strings in Phantom of the Opera have been tried and tested. Many times the result have been indifferent, but this time it’s done right. It feels like Ryan Enzed makes music every second of his existence. And why not, right?
Aaaaaaaand … I’ll stop there. Be sure to check in next week. In honor of UEFA EURO 2012 kicking off in Ukraine and Poland on June 8, I’ll be breaking down group by group, country by country. Soccer, you say?!? No, amigo … we’re going EDM with this. We’re going to take a look not at the footballing ability of the competing countries, but their music-making ability. Sweden, Spain, Italy, England, France, Germany, Netherlands — all home to heavy-hitting, world renowned DJs. To say nothing of Ireland, Portugal, Croatia, Denmark, Russia, Greece, Czech Rep, and Poland — all with hidden gems of their own, all capable of competing with the big boys.
So grab your flag and lift it high — cuz bpm:tv presents The real Euro 2012!
Canadians are more than lucky this year. Usually, festival season means having to venture to some distant location to see our favorite acts in the flesh. But not everybody can afford the cost of a trip to Coachella or Electric Daisy Carnival.
This year, happily, some of the best fests are taking place right in our own backyards. WEMF you know about already — an automatic must-see. Then we have Digital Dreams, which promises to be absolutely sick: Duck Sauce, Afrojack, Kaskade — ’nuff said. And, of course, there’s the much-publicized Full Flex Expresscross-country train tour, featuring Skrillex, Pretty Lights, Diplo and Grimes.
Also on the agenda: HARD Toronto on August4, featuring M83 and Justice along with locals Austra. Another must-see, right? But wait! Turns out the VELD Music Festival , featuring Deadmau5 and Avicii, is going down the same day. R’uh r’oh!
So Toronto goes from having no electronic festivals to having too many — a great problem to have, right? I dunno. Sure, we’ve got a large number of EDM fans in the city and province — but enough to support two festivals on the same weekend?
Granted, the music on offer isn’t exactly the same. Justice appeals to more of a rugged, indie-based crowd, while the VELD fest lineup is the definition pure EDM. (I mean, the mau5 even made a song called “The Veld.”) But for most fans, it’s not going to be a question of preferring one over the other. It’s more of a scheduling conflict that could end up costing one or the other of these fests a lot of audience — not because the promoters failed to assemble a good show, but because your average EDM fan just can’t physically be in two places at once.
I kind of think this problem sucks — but I also figure it’s better to have too much choice than too little. Either, it’s going to be a helluva festival season. A lot of people will be wearing out their summer tires that first weekend in August, shuttling between Hard and VELD. And I’ll be one of them.
Everybody’s favourite Swede, Tim Bergling (a.k.a. Tim Berg, a.k.a. Avicii) is back with some stellar visuals to accompany “Silhouettes” — perfect for those of us who just can’t get enough of those club lights. This is one of his lesser-loved tracks (if such a thing even exists), but I have the feeling it will pick up a lot of steam on the strength of the video.
This isn’t the only happy news from Avicii today: he’s released the listings for his Le7els tour. Hello Quebec City, Montreal, Saskatoon and Calgary! If you live in one of these cities, be sure to take this opportunity to check out young Timothy!
Avicii – Le7els Tour: DATES
* May 17 — Houston, TX @ Reliant Arena
* May 18 — Fort Worth, TX @ Fort Worth Convention Center
* May 20 — New Orleans, LA @ UNO Lakefront Arena
* May 22 — Detroit, MI @ Joe Louis Arena
* May 24 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
* May 25 – St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena
* May 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
* May 27 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
* June 6 – Atlanta, GA @ The Arena At Gwinnett Center
* June 7 – Tampa, FL @ Tampa Bay Times Forum
* June 8 – Miami, FL @ AmericanAirlines Arena
* June 14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ CONSOL Energy Center
* June 15 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
* June 20 – Buffalo, NY @ First Niagara Center
* June 21 – Quebec City, QB @ Colisee Pepsi
* June 22 – Montreal, QB @ Bell Centre
* June 26 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
* June 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
TGIF on what has been a sluggish week. Most people I’ve talked to are still trying to get out of that holiday slump and get the gears moving again. Last weekend, the city of Toronto was pretty much a ghost town where concerts were concerned. While this week definitely has more in the way of shows on offer, the winter grind is in full effect; it might just be easier to turn on the iPod and invite a couple of friends over.
And if that’s your choice, wicked! I got a couple of tracks to keep you warm and toasty!
THE SWEETS
While searching my gallery of songs I noticed that I didn’t have a single remix of this track. For some reason, that surprised me. Natalia Kills‘ anthem “Mirrors” takes on a whole new persona courtesy of Omega.
A track that definitely deserves some recognition. Tommie Sunshine adds a nice up tempo backbeat to what is already an amazing song. Arcade Fire are indescribable.
A little pop never hurt anyone. This track is made for both clubs and radio. With luck, a video will accompany this — because I personally wouldn’t mind seeing Neon Hitch provide some visuals specifically for this track …
Sweden, Sweden, Sweden! They don’t even know how to make an ordinary track. It’s either go big or go home. With industry hotshot Nervo teaming up with Mister-Stadium-Anthem-Only Avicii, there was only ever one possible outcome.
Want to be a successful producer/DJ? Follow the R3Hab formula: consistency! Drop so many tracks that even your haters will be believers. I can smell Pacha in this song!
Two of your favourite artists (kiddddddddddding) … but let’s be honest: Chris Brown and Pitbull are two of the industry’s biggest acts right now. So if you can’t avoid ‘em, join ‘em — preferably with extra bassssssss! Clinton Sparks is a G!
Last but not least, something to really rock to. I love anthems like these: they seem to put a smile on my face no matter where I’m at. Hope it does the same for you! Sound Keepers don’t play around!!
Continuing our tour of 2011′s best visuals, we head to Vegas for the Electric Daisy Carnival. Now, this festival has always been on the map, but something was different this year. Moving it from its usual home in southern California to Las Vegas was the perfect example of location, location LOCATION. The city and the festival brought out each other’s energy and insanity. This year brought the biggest crowds ever for Electric Daisy Carnival, and I expect that if it continues to be held in Vegas it will grow in stature. Hands down, the most amazing festival of 2011! See it here through the eyes of Avicii:
A lot went down this week. A wicked Toronto show by Hamburg’s finest, Digitalism, was the highlight. Though it came on a damp and dreary day, the place was brought to life by the sounds from I Love You, Dude. Real humble, honest and talented is the way to describe this German pair. When I got to interview them, I was impressed by how open and forthcoming they were. They even offered to send us some T-shirts to give to bpm:tv fans. We’ll let you know as soon as they arrive.
Also, congrats to all the EDM artists nominated for Grammy Awards. This is a true example of how our genre is taking over the world. I’m not much of a Grammys fan, but you have to at least appreciate the gesture. Deadmau5 really better win one, and I’m crossing my fingers that Skrillex will claim best new artist, though he’ll have stiff competiton from J Cole and Nicki Minaj. The most interesting category will be Best Dance Recording. The nominees:
* Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech – “Raise Your Weapon”
* Duck Sauce – “Barbra Streisand”
* David Guetta & Avicii – “Sunshine”
* Robyn – “Call Your Girlfriend”
* Skrillex – “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites”
* Swedish House Mafia – “Save The World”
Those are all big songs, buuuuuut … well, it’s kinda the reason I don’t like the Grammys. But I’ll keep that to myself. In my opinion, this has to go to Duck Sauce; that song was way more than an anthem. The Robyn track is a close second — and the rest, in my opinion, aren’t even the best songs these artists put out in the past year. But I digress. With luck, we’ll see some killer performances on the show.
The leak of Bowski‘s Poppies EP is definitely the other highlight of my week — but I’ve already talked about that. So here are a few other things to take you into the weekend. Enjizzzoy!
First up: our hometown boys are killing it. Killabits in Belgium, Zeds Dead tearing up North America … Dec. 17th at Kool Haus is gonna be wickkkkkkkkkkkkked. This video is nutz.
GRiZ is fast becoming my favourite producer. Detroit What!
Friday Friday Friday! 11-11-11 is todays date, and a numeric coincidence this special needs to be an occasion. Carl Cox is playing tonight at Downsview Park, Studio 3. If you happen to be around, I would definitely advise you to take that in — Cox never disappoints. This Saturday, meanwhile, Toronto will get its first look at a man I’ve spoken highly of before: Porter Robinson. Porter the Prodigy is going to be playing at The Hoxton tomorrow, and I expect him to serenade the Big Smoke. Once again Embrace Presents is the machine making this possible, so if you’re in the Toronto area be sure to grab some tix and head down to Bathurst and King!
On to the rich stuff. I got a couple of bangers for you and your crew that should fill your craving. A brand new track from a brand new artist on Fake Blood’s cult symbol and ever addictive Blood Music label. I also have remixes by some pretty influential DJ’s and a mini-mix of epic proportions. A quick warning, however: too many sweets will leave you only craving our beats! Straight heat!
SWEETS
First comes from a man who is touring with Skrillex and almost stealing the show. 12th Planet released his new singles this week and they scratch that dark-dub-itch perfectly.
Next up is a track that will sound very familiar if you’ve checked my mini-mix already. Kaskade takes Zedd’s “Shave It” and makes it his own. Honestly, I don’t even think this should be called a remix — so polished!
Next up, on Fake Blood‘s Blood Music label is a young man named LeBreton. I have no idea who this guy is, but he sounds like the perfect fit for the label. His EP Glass was released on Tuesday but it’s “Ghoul” that had me wearing red all week. (Makes me wonder if this is a Fake Blood alias — and that’s a compliment.)
Who is GRiZ?!?! This mid-Michigan kid is an absolute beast on the boards. I’ve never heard a young producer drop so many soulful tracks. I guess that’s the Motown in him. This track is a therapeutic experience.
Adam Björnberg is a Swede who was born in … 1994! This is getting ridiculous. The Swedes are like the Detroit Red Wings of the EDM world: they just keep inventing new talent and staying at the top of the charts. Try this big room banger!
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
