Posted by Scott Willats

Something brand new for you and your crew. But first and foremost, a quick word on last weekend’s VELD extravaganza.

Naturally, it was a massive success. However, the fact that French electro kings Justice — one of the reasons that massive EDM events like this even exist — were playing at HARD, a completely different festival taking place at the same time on the other side of the city … well, missing that made the whole thing a bit bittersweet for me.

Now, judging by the reported turnout at both VELD and HARD, there were plenty of EDM fans to go around. But still — if we’re going to have festivals like this, why force fans to choose between competing events on the same weekend? Why not do as Rogers and Bell have done with Olympics coverage: establish a consortium and have a single event that the world will envy?

Just my opinion. Anyway, enough politics; more music.  We got something brand new-ish today from Dillon Francis and Jack Beats. Dillon and the Jack duo have both established their own signature sound over these past two years, winning followers one track at a time. This new offering is a little different, but just as sick.  I don’t know how to explain it except to say: it sounds like a perfect blending of both artists. Wicked.

Jack Beats Feat. Dillon Francis – Epidemic (Original Mix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

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Posted by Scott Willats

Dunno about you, but this weekend feels like Christmas to me. The dance music season is in full swing, and Canada is playing host to the best parties in the world! Can you feel it?

This is our weekend. There’s Bassmentality — sorry a Super Bassmentality happening in Ottawa, along with the Escapade fest. As for Toronto … well, you may have heard about a little something called the Digital Dreams festival. Homie! Iz going down. I said, can you feel it?

In this spirit of celebration, I’ve put together an extra-special “Sweets” — not so difficult, when you consider that this has been one of the better weeks of 2012 in terms of new music. Special praise for The Knocks, Zeds Dead and, of course, Dillon Francis. CAN YOU FEEL IT?

THE SWEETS

I love Ryan Enzed. If ever there was producer who deserved to be famous worldwide — as in right this minute — it’s this guy.

Ryan Enzed – Mission Accepted: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Dropped it yesterday, dropping it again today, might even drop it tomorrow. Zeds Dead are making next-level music. Canada. Does. It. Better.

Colin Munroe feat. Pusha T – The Fight Of My Life (Zeds Dead Remix): LISTEN TO THE PREVIEW HERE

Dillon Francis tweeted, while making this track, that it was creepy and awesome at the same time. Been waiting a while for a fresh Dillon track with quality — and man, is it good to have him back!

Steve Aoki – Control Freak feat. Blaqstarr & Kay (Dillon Francis Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

The Fool’s Gold Clubhouse mixtape dropped this week, with nine quality tracks. Highlights go to the Donovans and our homie Meech.

Donovans – House Of God: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Meech – Somethin: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Don’t know much about Elliott Porter … but I know this is massive!

Elliott Hamilton Porter – Flamingo

Don’t know who I’m more excited to see this weekend: Afrojack or R3hab! Anybody for a joint set?

Afrojack & Shermanology – Cant Stop Me Now (R3hab & Dyro Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

French excellence.

Madeon – Finale (Original Mix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

A shout-out to Provoke for throwing this li’l ditty on their SoundCloud.

Gabe Gallucci & Jed Harper – Falcon (Kim Fai Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

Mister Bashmore, you so special …

Julio Bashmore – Troglodytes: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Only a preview, but that’s not gonna stop me posting this soon-to-be-colossal hit.

Kaskade feat. Neon Trees – Lessons in Love (Fareoh Remix): LISTEN TO THE PREVIEW HERE

Montreal madness!

Adventure Club feat. Kai – Need Your Heart: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Feel-good track of the week and my personal fave!

Santigold – The Keepers (The Knocks Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

VISUAL SWEET

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Posted by Scott Willats

We take a break from Porter Robinson week to give you our latest edition of Scott’s Selections. Our mini-mix for June is 17 minutes of the freshest bangers on the planet: a collection of tracks that will turn your party into a rager in a matter of minutes. Brodinski, Felix Cartal, and Pleasurekraft are just a few of the artists to make this month’s cut. Download the mix from SoundCloud, then grab the tunes you like at Beatport.

Scotts Selections June: LISTEN TO IT HERE

TRACKLIST

Brodinski ft. Louisaaaah – Nobody Rules These Streets

Moguai – Lyme (Moguai’s Crushed Lyme Mix)

Autoerotique – Roll the Drums (Felix Cartal Remix)

A-Trak and Dillon Francis – Money Makin’

Pleasurekraft + Belocca – Murdered Out

EDX, John Williams – Give It Up For Love (Mysto and Pizzi Remix)

Joe Garston – Forever

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Posted by Scott Willats

Across Canada this week the weather is into the plus-20s, which means forget about June 20 — summer starts NOW!

With EDM kidz from far and wide searching for that special tune that says “summer of 2012,” many producers will be pumping their tracks out there, all hoping to score the next “Barbra Streisand” or “Leave the World Behind.” Some will be amazing, yet fail to get the love they deserve. In other cases, the opposite will be true.

Every year a specific sound comes to the fore, and I’ve been waiting for this year’s to drop. BAM! We got it yesterday.

For the past year or more I’ve been professing my love for Dillon Francis — and naturally, I figured if that if anyone was going to define the sound of this summer, it would be him. And it is. Teamed up with 50 percent of Duck Sauce, he has delivered a track that is 100 percent awesomeness. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you “Money Making,” by A-Trak and Dillon Francis — a tune so perfectly addictive it will be an immediate download.

A-Trak & Dillon Francis – Money Makin’: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Best  of all is the video that accompanies this track. Watch out for cameos from P-Thugg, Natalia Kills and my favourite rapper of the moment, Action Bronson.

This tune is bananas.. I’ll be keeping count of how many times I hear it this Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas — which is where I’m headed right now. Stay tuned for updates!

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Posted by Scott Willats

A Tuesday to celebrate for fans of French house (and really, aren’t we all?). One of bpm:tv’s — and Canada’s — favourite European DJs, Martin Solveig has released the latest instalment in his “Smash” series of videos.

“Smash” has proven a massive success, and has really demonstrated what good music, clever filmmaking and savvy use of social media can accomplish for an artist. In addition to which, it has revealed a charmingly vulnerable and human side to one of EDM’s true superstar DJs — something refreshing for all of us “ordinary” people to see.

This new episode, “The Night Out,” features cameos from Sidney Samson, A-Trak, Porter Robinson, Dillon Francis, Laidback Luke, Zedd and many more. The offbeat humour of the story, the pause-worthy guest appearances, the stellar cinematography — there’s something in here for just about everybody. Enjoy the show!

Previously on “Smash” …

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Posted by Scott Willats

First and foremost a Happy Good Friday and Easter Sunday to all of bpm nation. Amidst all your ragin’ this long weekend, try to take a few minutes to remember the meaning of the holiday.

Thursday is one of the biggest nights in the club world. Even the people who don’t enjoy clubbing — because of the crowds, because of the price it exacts on your wallet and your body — will be out and about tonight. I think it’s a great time to hit a club that has a resident DJ and see what he or she is playing. Are they sticking with the tried-and-true crowd-pleasers, or pushing the boundaries with some creative new sounds? All questions worth answering, while indulging in a few drinks and the occasional taste of eye candy.

With Coachella coming up, next week’s Sweets will be dedicated to that infamous festival, which showcases some of the best acts in the world in a three-day clusterf**k. Meantime, this week’s helping should hold you all the way to 4/20, when we will get high together. Figuratively speaking, of course .

SWEETS

Return of the Mizzack! Best tune of the week

Mark Morrison – Return Of The Mack (Viceroy “Jet Life” Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

After seeing these guys perform two weeks ago, I’m really wishing I could have been in Miami when they made this!

Tocadisco feat. Julian Smith – That Miami Track ( Bassjackers Remix ): LISTEN TO IT HERE

Couldn’t believe I hadn’t posted this yet. Hugeness from Zedd

Zedd – Shotgun: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Very proper!

BeatauCue – Slow Down: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Been a while since I heard the Japanese Popstars. Very much missed them. BTW: Not Japanese. Not pop stars. Now you know.

BeatauCue – Slow Down (The Japanese Popstars Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

Came across these just a couple of days ago. Thought I would share. Different, yet utterly irresistible.

C2C – Down The Road: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Get used to these guys.

These Vile Creatures – Helicopter Showdown feat. Lea Luna: LISTEN TO IT HERE 

VISUAL SWEETS

Keep an eye out for that Steve Aoki Web exclusive coming soon!

Dillllllllon Francis and Nero Tomorrow!!!!!!

…enjoy the Easter eggggggggggs!

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Posted by Scott Willats

A crazy night last night, what with running back and forth from The Cobra to The Hoxton to check out Jack Beats, Annie Mac and Kim Fai. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way: loads of great music, and even better people to celebrate it with.

Mind you, between last night, Bassmentality on Wednesday and Nico Jaar at Revival tonight, there hasn’t been much time to spend polishing my prose to perfection. So let’s just get straight to the point: SWEETS!!!!

Fun. – We Are Young (Alvin Risk Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

The S – Apology (Original Mix) WMC 2012 Exclusive: LISTEN TO IT HERE 

Zedd – Stars Come Out (Dillon Francis Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

Eptic – Like A Boss (Neversaydie)

SWEETEST OF THE WEEK 

Hyper Crush – Werk Me (OVERWERK Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

If you’re in Toronto tonight, get your ass to Revival to see one of my top-five-dead-or-alive producers tear up the club: Nico Jaar. Info and tix HERE.

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Posted by Scott Willats

For EDM junkies, March is kind of a wet dream. All of our favorite artists seem to be leaking new tracks that you can expect to hear during their sets at Ultra Music Festival and throughout the Winter Music Conference. Every day seems to offer up enough new material to fill a “Sweets of the Week” post. From Deadmau5 to Dillon Francis to an entire mixtape from Skrillex‘s OWSLA label, it’s like being a sugar fiend with a fresh bag of Gummi Worms.

I won’t go into detail about all of these tracks; we’ll save that for Friday. But I do want to highlight one specific track — ’cause Boys Noize and Erol Alkan are at it again! The twin kings of techno are back on their combination game, and haven’t lost a step. Based on the preview, their two new tracks, “Roland Rat” and “Brain Storm,” may actually be even better than “Lemonade” or “Avalanche,” if that’s possible. These two acts have some sort of telepathic connection, and it works so so well. Another treat from the mad geniuses at BNR.

Roland Rat & Brain Storm (Preview): LISTEN TO IT HERE

Here’s Deadmau5 experimenting with a new DAW.

Deadmau5 – Yay Cubase: LISTEN TO IT HERE

And here’s Dillon making us all jump — just in time for South Beach!

Sinden – Pull Up Wheel Up (Dillon Francis Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

And finally: 19 tracks — all free! Your speakers are gonna be so mad at you for downloading this.

OWSLA Presents Free Treats Vol 2: DOWNLOAD IT HERE

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Yesterday being Valentine’s Day, all my thoughts were focused on a very special someone. Oh Dillon Francis, I sighed. When, oh when, is this EP going to drop? Like Juliet on her balcony, I sat staring blankly at his Soundcloud, Facebook and Beatport pages, refreshing every 10 minutes or so minutes in the hope I’d be able to post in the afternoon. Oh Dillon, where art thou? Sadly, I was left spurned and heartbroken. And as you can see on you could see on his Facebook wall, a lot of other people were waiting impatiently too. Dillon’s EP with Cory Enemy had been such a success that it left us all salivating for the new one. But it seemed our hopes were to be dashed for another day …

… until around 7 pm when, in the midst of a wonderful Valentine’s Day dinner, my BlackBerry informed me that the EP had finally dropped. And it was on like Donkey Kong.

I immediately asked permission to slip on my earphones give a listen. My date rolled her eyes, but graciously gave her blessing. And what I heard was exactly what I ‘d expected: high temp electro, with precisely timed build-ups, all at a relaxed yet amped pace. Dillon oh Dillon, you bless us.

However! Only three tracks, one of which had been previously released — it left me wanting … scratch that, craving more. There’s an ongoing debate out there about the death of the album, and as EDM fans I think we have to acknowledge that it’s our genre leading the massacre. Long gone are the Tuesdays when your favourite artist would drop off 14 tracks on a bright, shiny new CD. Now it’s all little bits and little nibbles throughout the year. Does that suit you better? Would you rather hear one or two new tracks every month, or get a lump sum of 14 new bangers all on one day, once a year?

It’s definitely something to be discussed. Dillon kinda gets a pass, because everything he seems to drop is, as Dylan would say, “hot fiiiire.” Check it out and send me your comments here or @SAWStruck.

DILLON FRANCIS – SOMETHING, SOMETHING, AWESOME: BUY ON BEATPORT

Download Dillon Francis Now Hear This (Original Mix)

Download Dillon Francis Falling Up (Original Mix)

Dillon Francis & Kill The Noise – Dill The Noise: LISTEN TO IT HERE

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Posted by Scott Willats

So what happened? Did Skrillex win a Grammy? No, please don’t answer that. The biggest sign of the EDM takeover isn’t the awards these artists are winning — it’s the sheer volume of buzz that gets uncorked when these awards go down. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were a veritable orgy of Skrillex and Deadmau5 praise on Sunday night, and that will always elicit a wry smile. But of course, congrats to Sonny for bagging three awards –and  to all the other winners, too.

Let’s jump back into it, shall we? On Friday I was bemoaning what a slow week it had been for new releases, and the production gods must’ve heard, because on the weekend I came across an abundance of new tracks — enough material to be talking about for days. But It’s only Tuesday. Let’s just check ‘em out and discuss later. Highlights include Jacques Lu Cont, who is worth the price of admission to Coachella alone!

Today is the eve of Dillon Francis Day, which we’ll be celebrating by checking out his brand new EP. In the meantime, Dillon has a nice fresh remix for us. So sick!

Clockwork – Hulk (Dillon Francis Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

Felix Cartal is a beast — always has been, always will be. Whenever there’s anything new from him, it’s instantly news. Cop this on Beatport asap.

Felix Cartal – Domo: LISTEN TO IT HERE

After his huge night on Sunday, Skrillex served up a brand new joint with vocals. Seems about right. However this song is a litttttttle too emo for me.

Skrillex – My Good Bye: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Came across this thanks to Toddla T. It’s wibbly-wobbly-funky … catch-up?  Naw, ketchup! Very tasty!

Justice – Canon (Erol Alkan Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

… and I have plenty more. But you neeeeeed to really hear these two tracks. Here we go!

Anthem status!!!

Jacques Lu Cont – Church: LISTEN TO IT HERE

Miike Snow – Paddling Out (Jacques Lu Cont Remix): LISTEN TO IT HERE

Jacques Lu Cont also put out a pretty crazy mini-mix on Annie Mac‘s show last Friday. CHECK IT OUT if you have a chance.

And a visual, mais bien sur.

Should have clips of my encounter with Dennis Ferrer up sometime this week.

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