Posted by Gosia Mrugala
A gloomy Thursday here in Toronto, but Electronic Nation brightened the day with the announcement that WOLFGANG GARTNER will be joining the 2013 Digital Dreams Music Festival lineup. Less than three months now to the Canada Day long weekend!
Tix ‘n’ info HERE. DD Facebook thingy HERE.
Check out Wolfgang Gartner on bpm Spotlight:
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Posted by Gosia Mrugala
It keeps getting better. Today’s news from Electronic Nation is that PAUL VAN DYK has joined the lineup for the 2013 DIGITAL DREAMS Music Festival. The German trancemeister — who has twice topped the prestigious DJ Mag Top 100 — is a great addition to what’s fast shaping up as a spine-tingling artist roster. Stay tuned for more names to come.
Looking for tickets? HERE, my dear.
Check out a clip of Paul van Dyk from our series bpm Spotlight:
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Posted by Gosia Mrugala
Just in case you weren’t already stoked for the return of the DIGITAL DREAMS Music Festival this coming Canada Day weekend, the folks at Electronic Nation are going to be releasing one of the names on their lineup every day for the next 13 days.
Just confirmed: one of the brightest young lights on the EDM scene today! Yes, ladies and gents, I am referring to Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s own electro house wunderkind, PORTER ROBINSON! Woot! Seriously, when I heard this news I got goosebumps. And if you’ve listened to his debut EP Spitfire or last year’s smash hit single “Language,” or if you caught his monster of a show at Toronto’s Kool Haus a couple of weeks ago, then you’ll know why.
One suggestion you, gentle reader: GET YOUR TICKETS forthwith. This is gonna be one event you will never forget! If you’re not dreaming in digital come June 29, you’ll be trapped in the nightmare they call reality!
Oh, and while we’re on the subject of Mister Porter Robinson, here’s his brand new thang: a collab with fellow up-and-comer Mat Zo:
“Easy” is a joint release from Anjunabeats and Ministry of Sound, dropping April 14
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Posted by Gosia Mrugala
Toronto’s first-ever two-day downtown EDM festival is coming back! What better way to spend the Canada Day Weekend than with sunshine, euphoric music and an all-around amazing atmosphere! Yes, ladies ‘n’ gents, the DIGITAL DREAMS Music Festival is returning to the Ontario Place for 2013!
Electronic Nation is already stoking the anticipation, dropping teasers and hints. Yesterday came the tweet “Are you ready for tomorrow?” Well, tomorrow is here, and — drum roll, please! — RICHIE HAWTIN AND TIËSTO are the first two artists confirmed for Digital Dreams 2013.
This is just the start of what promises to be a prodigious lineup. For further updates, follow Digital Dreams on Twitter HERE.
And if you missed last year’s Digital Dreams — or were there and want to re-live the excitement — check out this excellent recap:
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
On February 1 and 2, Toronto’s EDM community set out to take back winter, braving frigid temperatures at the inaugural Brrrrr! Winter Music Festival, an outdoor electronic dance spectacle featuring live performances by Moby, Osunlade, Dubfire, Deniz Koyu and many more.
Check out a sampling of Brrrrr! Festival images below, courtesy of photographer Jason Hanns Kwan and Electronic Nation. (Special Thanks to bpm:tv blogger Gosia Mrugala.) CLICK HERE to see the complete photo gallery.
Posted by Gosia Mrugala
SEE GOSIA’S COMPLETE PHOTO GALLERY HERE!
Toronto’s first two-day EDM festival, Digital Dreams was exactly that: a dream. The community that came together for this event was just awe-inspiring. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, more heart-pumping beats, and more enthusiastic fellow music lovers.
Anticipation for this event was high. For weeks beforehand, just looking into store windows and seeing the Digital Dreams poster brought euphoric goose bumps. The team behind the festival was nothing short of the best. And they couldn’t have chosen a better venue for this historic EDM event than Ontario Place, a famed local landmark that opened to the public more than 40 years ago.
I wish I could have morphed into three people with a single mind and been at all the stages, experiencing each and every artist’s set. Instead I found myself running from stage to stage, trying to experience a bit of everything.
Can I pinpoint one set that I favored? In all honesty, I can’t. Every artist on the bill brought something unique and extraordinary to their performance. Still, there are a few that keep replaying in my mind.
Saturday, walking towards the Dreams Stage, feeling your mind and body pulled forward by the sounds dancing through the air, getting closer and closer to where BT (a.k.a. Brian Wayne Transeau) was rocking the crowd. A veteran of the scene for more than two decades, he knows how to keep an audience moving and cheering.
After BT’s set, Montreal-born A-Trak stepped in and quickly had the crowd under full control. Local hero JELO not only dominated the crowd during his own day-one set on the Dreams Stage, but returned later to fill in for Afrojack, who couldn’t make it for the first day due to travel delays, and once again gave a stellar performance. Meanwhile, over on the sandy dance floor at the Echo Beach Stage Hed Kandi DJs Andy Warburton and Sarah Louise gave noteworthy sets.
Back on the main stage, rising star R3hab turned in a set that people would be buzzing about for days to come. It was mind-blowing to watch the young Dutch DJ interacting with the crowd, standing up on the decks, and sharing his extraordinary passion for the music. British veteran Steve Lawler rocked the stage as one knew he would, and was followed by the equally well-traveled Canadian stalwart Richie Hawtin. Throughout the day I’d been hearing people talk excitedly about Lawler and Hawtin, and the prodigious sets from these two elder statesmen more than justified the anticipation.
The second day was a continuation of the madness. Mother Nature continued to lavish us with perfect summer weather. The bodies slowly began flooding into Ontario Place, and by 4pm the stages were absolutely swarmed. Entranced by the beat and the bass, by the ecstatic atmosphere, I couldn’t help but feel proud looking around and seeing the community that EDM creates, the shared love for the music flows through everyone. It’s so admirable to see people coming together this way to be a part of musical history.
The artist schedule for the Dreams Stage on day two was thrown off quite a bit by Afrojack’s travel mishap. He finally arrived on Sunday to give his fans the set they were eagerly awaiting — and Live Nation generously offered those fans who’d bought a single day ticket for Saturday free entrance the next day to return and see Afrojack.
Thunder Bay native Sydney Blu rocked her performance, and reminded the audience several times during her set how proud she is to be from this country.
The one set from day two that really stands out in my memory has to be Dubfire on the Echo Beach Stage. He was so hypnotizing, his musical selection so spine-tingling, he kept the crowd in a trance throughout. I have to say, every time I’ve seen him live I have been impressed; that kind of consistency is rare.
This was a weekend I spent dreaming in digital. I can’t speak for the organizers, but in my eyes the festival was an absolute success: a primo experience for the fans and music-lovers — and judging by their comments on Twitter, for the artists too. Check out some samples:
The explosive popularity that EDM has acquired in the past couple years is beyond belief. But the spectre of commercialism hovers over it now, and I pray the genre doesn’t lose it’s magic. Here’s hoping that we can look forward to more festivals and events like this that offer an opportunity for new appreciation and shine a light on some of the artists that you won’t necessarily encounter on Z103 or MTV.
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Electronic Nation Canada presents the Digital Dreams Music Festival powered by Rogers at The Flats @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre in Toronto on June 30 and July 1, 2012.
The first-ever multi-day EDM festival in downtown Toronto, Digital Dreams will feature full sets by Kaskade, Afrojack, Duck Sauce, Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Steve Lawler, Alesso, Major Lazer, R3hab, and many more.
bpm:tv wants to send you and a friend to Digital Dreams! We’re giving away five pairs of tickets – plus, as a Grand Prize, one pair of VIP tickets! (Travel not included.) CLICK HERE to find out how to enter our Digital Dreams contest.
Contest closes Monday June 18, 2012.
CLICK HERE for more information on the Digital Dreams Music Festival.
