Following up on their 2010 collab “Firefly,” trance legend Paul Oakenfold and vocalist Matt Goss from Eighties Britpop outfit Bros (Hey, remember Bros? Anyone? Hello?) have teamed up again on this enrapturing new track. The release includes three remixes; all are superb, but my fave is by Faustix & Imanos. Just try and sit still when this one comes on! The buildup and drops are sure to drive any club or festival crowd into an animalistic frenzy.
The lyrics on “Touch The Sky” could serve as a manifesto for the EDM movement: “If you wanna feel love / Just feel / Let’s unite / Come and touch the sky / Raise your hands and try to feel the light / All around the world, around the world / Let’s unite.”
Paul Oakenfold’s Web site lists a number of upcoming shows in the US, but I’m waiting anxiously for him to bring his sound back to Toronto. For info on shows and to buy tickets, GO HERE.
Don’t forget to check out Oakenfold’s weekly Planet Perfecto radio show and podcast HERE.
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Intrepid bpm:tv blogger Gosia Mrugala says “g’day” to Aussie trance producer/DJ tyDi(a.k.a. Tyson Illingworth) in this exclusive one-on-one interview.
Gosia Mrugala: Hey, tyDi! What have you been up to lately?
tyDi: Heya! I’m just about to get on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok. My life is just constant traveling!
GM: So what was it that pulled you into the dance music scene and inspired you to pursue a career as a DJ/producer?
tyDi: The music, the rhythm, the melody, the atmosphere it creates. I fell in love with EDM when I was 15 and I’ve never looked back. I love how music can impact your life and change the way you feel. It’s really like a drug — the only drug that isn’t bad for you!
GM: “Glow In The Dark” has received a lot of praise. There’s a very strong positive, message in the lyrics. What was the inspiration for this track?
tyDi: I wrote the song with my friend Kerli. We wanted to make a song that had a positive message and could inspire people. It’s all about making the best of a situation and shining through the darkness. I knew I wanted the video to have a strong message, so I decided to build it around serious life issues that some people go through. I wanted to show that a small favour or kind gesture to someone can snowball on to others. The initial plan was to build it around the schoolyard and a high school bully, but the end result goes much further. All the characters in the video are linked by an act of kindness and positivity that carries across the various situations.
GM: Your top three tracks at the moment?
tyDi: 1. Unclubbed (feat. Sarah Howells) – Hide U | 2. Kiholm – Awaken | 3. tyDi – Fire & Load (Stripped)
GM: On December 4, you tweeted “Falling in love with the world.” What inspired you to post that?
tyDi: Every day I’m in a new city, sometimes I’ll visit four different countries in a week. I constantly meet the most amazing people who I wish I could spend more time with. It doesn’t take long to fall in love with a place or a person; it’s often hard — even heartbreaking — to meet such incredible people, to build a connection with them, and then have to say goodbye.
GM: How does the process of track selection differ between your Global Soundsystem radio show/podcast and your performances at nightclubs and festivals?
tyDi: Well, Global Soundsystem gives me an outlet for all types of music. I can play whatever I want on the radio show because I’m not worried about keeping people dancing or maintaining a level of energy. Global Soundsystem is a way for me to show people new music that they’ve probably never heard before. My live performances are more about keeping a crowd entertained and always dancing, so the track selection and set structure need to be executed carefully.
GM: What is one hobby your fans would be surprised to learn you enjoy doing?
tyDi: Surfing, maybe?
GM: What instruments can you play — and which would you say you are most talented at?
tyDi: Drums and piano, I’m OK at both of them, but drumming is probably something people would be more impressed by.
GM: The summer of 2012 was an absolutely mind-blowing time for EDM. Any predictions about what the summer of 2013 will look like?
tyDi: Not yet. But there’s plenty of big parties coming up! I’m sure I’ll be just as busy as always.
GM: Can you tell me about any upcoming projects or collaborations in the works?
tyDi: I have a collaboration with Christina Novelli that comes out on December 17. And then in January I’m releasing an EP with four new tracks: vocals from Sarah Howells, Brianna Holan and also Toni Nielson.
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Unstoppable bpm:tv bloggeuse Gosia Mrugala is seeing double after an exclusive one-on-two interview with fast-rising Dutch trance duo W&W, a.k.a. Willem van Hanegem and Ward van der Harst. Check it out.
Gosia Mrugala: Where did you meet and how did you guys start working together?
W&W: We had a mutual friend and through him we started talking online about music production since we were both producing on our own. After a while we finally met at a Dutch festival, we had a good connection so we started to hang out more and more. After we attended another festival, we felt like producing music together. That’s when we made our first release.
GM: How is it working in a duo?
WW: It’s great! You always have someone around who’s opinion you can ask for when working! It’s also good to be on the road together, we can imagine it must be very boring to travel by yourself all the time.
GM: Your top 3 tracks at the moment?
Willem: Rick Mitchells – Sub Zero; Alvaro – Make The Crowd GO!; Deadmau5 – Fn Pig
Ward: David Gravell – Fire Away; W&W – Lift Off; Above & Beyond vs Hardwell – Thing Called Spaceman (W&W Mashup)
GM: Outside of trance, what kind of music are you into?
Willem: I have a very broad range of music that I like, I listen to everything, from hip-hop to rock to dubstep and all other kinds of EDM.
Ward: I love artists like Coldplay and Ed Sheeran.
GM: So how are things going with your Mainstage radio show?
WW: Mainstage is doing really good! It’s broadcast on Sirius XM. Also, the podcast gets more and more downloads! We get so many reactions from people listening to our show! It’s great when you read on Twitter that somebody from Australia, Canada or South America is listening to your radio show when sitting on the train or metro.
WW: That is actually a funny story! We were on our way to Los Angeles from Argentina where we were standing in the customs queue. We checked our Twitter and saw that we were a trending topic worldwide! As soon as we checked the @ mentions we noticed that we won the competition, amazing news of course!
GM: Any memories/moments from summer 2012 that stand out for you?
Willem: The past summer has been great! Definitely our best and busiest summer so far! The whole summer and all its festivals were actually one big highlight! We played so many great gigs!
Ward: Exactly like Willem says, it’s been such a fantastic summer! It was an honor playing festivals like Global Gathering, Tomorrowland, Nature One, Nocturnal Wonderland and Electric Zoo to name a few!
GM: So, any predictions for summer 2013?
WW: Well, we think and hope 2013 will have an even better summer! It’s going to be hard to top this last year, but always aim for the stars!
GM: Can you tell me of any upcoming projects or collaborations in the works?
WW: Our latest mix compilation, Mainstage Vol. 1, just got released and the reactions on that are overwhelming! We didn’t expect this at all! Next up are a few very strong releases on our label Mainstage Music, and after that it’s time for our new single ”Lift Off”! We have some huge collabs coming up as well, but we can’t reveal those yet.
GM: Where do you see yourself in five years?
WW: Hopefully in five years we’ll still be doing what we love to do: making music and playing it for as many people as possible!
Gosia Mrugala is a Toronto-based blogger and reviewer. You can read her blog HERE, and follow her on Twitter HERE.
Los Angeles-based DJ MORGAN PAGE — a bpm:tv favourite — headlines on the Electronic Stage at Edgefest ’12 in Toronto this Saturday July 14. He took a few minutes from his hectic touring schedule to field some questions from Toronto’s DJ Soundbwoy (a.k.a. Chris Wilson).
DJ SOUNDBWOY: How important was it to you to find a unique “Morgan Page” sound, and how long into producing did it take to find it?
MORGAN PAGE: Well, I think its always changing. I put out his tweet the other week basically saying that I’m just finding my sound recently, and that it’s more on a club tangent. I’m just finally getting that sound that is chilled nicely, has the right amount of toughness and the right amount of melody and vocals. I think I’m finding this nice balance now, and it has taken along time — the earlier stuff I did was much deeper, and after playing and touring a lot it’s really shaped the sound. This is a very different sound now, but emotionally it resonates. It works for a crowd that knows my music and also for people who are new to the music.
DJS: If you had to name one particular song or artist that heavily influenced you to begin producing, what/who would it be?
MP: I would say Daft Punk was a heavy influence and I’m sure you hear that a lot, since it’s like an obvious one. During their early stuff like “Around The World, it was just a major influence and I can remember thinking that I can’t even imagine playing this. I would play it on my mix show and it was just a real pivotal record — I can remember buying it on vinyl.
DJS: You’ve been busy traversing the globe this year and have been working on your live show. What has been your most memorable show of 2012?
MP: Playing Coachella was probably number one, and it was also pretty amazing to play Electric Daisy Carnival. Also “Body Work” becoming a gold record recently, it’s definitely my first gold record in any country and I think it’s the first one for Tegan and Sara for a single. It was such an unlikely thing, I’m amazed it all kind of panned out that way and it just happened to be the right song at the right time.
DJS: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen while playing a show?
MP: It’s usually something technical, like something blowing up at a show — I had a mixer blow up at one show because of the air conditioner. The club was so packed that it overloaded the air conditioning and it started to rain onto the mixer. The mixer ended up being covered in about four inches of water, shorted out, and made a white noise — and then of course the club went silent. This all happened at a show in New Mexico. Thankfully they had another mixer there and we eventually got it back after about half an hour.
DJS: Since you have so many originals and remixes out, how do you pick which ones you’re going to use live?
MP: Good question. It’s so hard, because inevitably someone is going to be pissed that you didn’t play that one song in your arsenal. I have about 250 remixes now so I prioritize by originals. I don’t want to be the DJ that just plays his own stuff, ’cause that gets kind of boring. But I know that’s what the fans want, I know they would be happy if you only played your stuff, so I play about 80% of my music and 20% of others — and to me, that keeps it fresh. When people are coming to your show they want to hear all your originals. Typically at a festival that’s easy, but at a show you have two hours or more than that, and each song has to be the best one of someone’s life. So you have to get all your originals in and your favourite new music in, and the transitions have to be seamless and the key matching has to be perfect, so a lot of expectations.
DJS: There seem to be so few American producers/DJs currently in the game. How do you feel about the recent rise of EDM in the U.S. and where it’s headed?
MP: I’m really excited about it. I think we saw a major sea change in 2011 and it is largely a result of the social media catching up on things and people being empowered to find music on their own. I think there are going to be more American producers and right now there should be a lot more — if you look at it right now we have Diplo, Kaskade, Skrillex, me, Porter Robinson and Wolfgang Gartner. There should be more headlining festivals, but its cool. There are also a lot of good Canadians ones, but when you’re boiling it down to just the American ones it’s kind of a small group of people. It would definitely be nice to have more Americans and Canadians at these festivals.
DJS: What advice would you give you a new DJ/producer starting out in this industry?
MP: There are so many little things that I could talk to you for like a week straight about it. I would say the most important thing is to put in the time, I know its not the sexiest tip in the world, but it’s totally true. Even these guys who look like the blew up overnight, like Avicii and Alesso, they’ve been doing it since they were 11 and 12 years old. I started when I was 14. You’ve got to put your ten thousand hours in, ultimately, and that’s sort of the theory that’s out there. I would say you have to be spending a minimum of three hours a day making music, and doing it as early as you can.
DJS: What’s one thing that our readers should definitely know about Morgan Page?
MP: The most important thing to know about right now is the radio show. Beyond the album and all the singles that are coming out, it’s the best place to hear a new mix every week, there’s a one-hour mix and it’s free. You can get it on iTunes if you search for my name and it’s also on Sirus XM every Thursday. The radio show is very important: it brings a lot of people to the shows, a lot of people work out to it and it has become part of a lot of people’s lives, just having that fun mix to listen to, to get you through those Monday mornings. So people should definitely keep up with that and let me know what you think.
4. Morgan Page vs. Nari & Milani – “Where Did You Go Up?” [White]
5. Dave Silcox – “Bang Your Head” [Diffused]
6. Dyro – “Paradox” [Revealed]
7. Danny Dove & Nathan C – “Like That” [Trice]
8. Eva Simons – “I Don’t Like You” (R3hab Remix) [Interscope]
9. Morgan Page vs. Tom Fall – “Rock Fight” [White]
10. Chuckie & Promise Land feat. Amanda Wilson – “Breaking Up” [CR2]
11. Bad Boy Bill feat. Tamra Keenan – “Unsaid”
12. Gum Me – “Sweaty Shirts” [Flamingo]
13. Christian Burns & Stefan Dabruck “Bullet (Falko Niestolik Arena Mix) [Zouk]
14. EDX feat. John Williams – “Give It Up For Love” (Mysto & Pizzi Remix) [Sirup]
RAPID-FIRE ROUND
First thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
Get coffee.
When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?
DJ … well, it started as a graphic designer but quickly turned to DJ.
Must-have item on your rider?
Coconut water
Motto you live by?
Do something you’re passionate about. If you don’t love what you’re doing quit your job as soon as you can and do something that you love, in any way that you can — even though it’s hard.
Well, if you didn’t already know, it is GOING DOWN tonight at Sound Academy, as Embrace Presents brings Porter Robinson to the stage with guests The M Machine. Porter is a very busy man, so take full advantage of this opportunity and get your ass down to Polson Pier.
Of course, Porter isn’t the only one who’s been rocking the sh*t out of crowds over the past couple of weeks. Which brings us to this week’s Sweets of the Week. With the Digital Dreams fest just around the corner, the heat is on for DJs to find that elusive key to a killer set. Don’t be surprised if you hear a few of these heavy-duty tracks from your fave DJ this coming Canada Day weekend.
No need to go into detail about them — the sounds speak for themselves. Enjoy! I’ll see you tonight at Sound Academy!
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.
Just in time for the NHL post-season, I’ve compiled my latest hard-hitting mix. Who needs holograms when you’ve got a mix of Jackbeats, OVERWERK, Brodinski, Gesaffelstein, Eptic and Kill The Noise. Accompanied by my cuts and add-ons, you know this is a definite download.
Okay, maybe this weekend wasn’t a big one for shows in the Greater Toronto Area — but there was at least one event during the previous week that more than compensated. Washington, DC’s Sharam was the featured artist on the bill Wednesday at Cobra on King Street West, as Emergency and Provoke Media outdid themselves with a stellar show.
The crowd was primed, proper and packed, to say the least, and the location fit the occasion. All that was needed was for the Iranian-born DJ to deliver the goods. And no fear on that count: Sharam sensed what the crowd was in the mood to hear and scratched that itch with by serving up some of his classic hits.
His name may mean “modesty” in Persian, but a DJ of this calibre has no need to play it humble. The songs flowed seamlessly, and the vibe stayed dialed up to its highest setting throughout the night. Best of all was the choice of tracks. Sharam doesn’t stick religiously to his own stuff; just as in his acclaimed podcasts — or Wildcasts, as he calls them — he plays whatever he knows will get the party hype and keep it going to the small hours. Check out his latest Wildcast (below) and you’ll see exactly what Sharam aims to do whenever he’s behind the Pioneers.
While you’re at it, scope out the pics from the event HERE – and take a stroll around the Provoke Web Site: as you can see, they’re doing big things. With Pleasurekraft, Nic Fanculli, Stefano Noferini and, of course, The Martinez Brothers all on deck, Provoke and Extravaganza are burnishing their reputation for bringing the hottest EDM acts to the Toronto — and soon to the rest of Canada.
I’ll talk abut my Steve Aoki interview in tomorrow’s post. The living legend opened up about his new album Wonderland, the current state of EDM, and much more.
Today we got a fresh new mix from yours truly, featuring the latest from Wolfgang Gartner, Hypercrush, Kill the Noise and Datsik, Lucky Date, Helicopter Showdown and Flosstradamus. Whether you’re jogging, working out at the gym or just looking for some hype background music at your spot, “Scott’s Selections” gotz u covered like a bad rash on Poison Ivy Island, ya dig?
Feel free to download and stock this bad boy in your library for the hot nights that await us. And remember: if you want to get your own mini-mix featured on bpmtv.com, hit me up at scottw@bpmtv.com and we’ll check out your skillz and song selection.
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.
