Hot Sauce EP on Mad Decent. Additionally on Mad Decent was a preview of new music to come: Diplo and Switch’s “Keep It Gully.”
Expected to hit Beatport on February 18 is “Hit It!”, a collaboration from three Miami DJs GTA, Henrix, and Digital LAB. The track debuted over the summer in Steve Angello’s Size in the Park setlist and, now as Size Records’ latest release, is predicted to be a hit in 2013.
Also regarding Size Records, Angello’s “Yeah!” was recently selected by ESPN for the ACC Showdown between Clemson and Florida State.
A day after that, expect Sidney Samson and Martin Garrix’s “Torrent,” through Musical Freedom. Already part of many 2012 setlists, the track is Musical Freedom’s first 2013 release.
By March, Balance Music kicks off its new Presents series, which features up-and-coming artists. The first featured performer is English DJ/producer jozif. Balance Presents jozif hits stores on March 5, and a North American tour is expected to follow. Hear the preview here.
New music aside, multiple live events were announced over the past week. Rather than paying for tickets and going to a location, hear top EDM artists from your computer with Mixify’s RISE Free Online EDM Fest, which lasts 30 hours over three days. The show kicks off on February 12 and features Knife Party R3hab, and Tritonal. DJs already using the platform can enter a contest to secure a spot at the festival.
In New York, Cipriani and RPM are starting their Sunday Series on February 10. The monthly event will showcase the world’s top DJing talent at New York City’s most sophisticated club. Luciano is the first performer, with Nadav Vee and Vanjee opening.
Across the pond in London, tech house label Hailstorm Records is beginning its own monthly night. Starting on February 7, Basing House will feature Alex Arnout, Nolan, and Rik Parkinson.
For something more mainstream (but that’s in sound only), Cirque du Soleil and Skrillex are doing a residency at LIGHT Nightclub, starting on April 26. Essentially, Skrillex provides the beats while Cirque du Soleil does the atmosphere. Joining the brostep producer will be Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso, Baauer, and Zedd.
If DJs aren’t talking smack about each other, there’s another controversy brewing. This week, DJs react to Al Walser’s Grammy win, with Diplo supporting and Tommie Sunshine claiming Walser destroys the genre’s and the Grammy’s credibility. While Walser’s EDM cliché-driven track is like Cascada and David Guetta made a huge pile of saccharine you-know-what without being tongue-in-cheek, it’s not worse than Baja Men’s 2000 Grammy win for Best Dance Recording.
Outside of Walser’s real-life trolling, there’s a more serious matter regarding dance music. As LA Weekly points out, the increased popularity of raves has resulted in more deaths at such events. Since 2006, 14 people have died at Insomniac and Go Ventures events alone. And now, as we reported last week, Live Nation is bidding for the former company.
For DJs and producers looking for the next “it” gear, there’s Pulselocker, which combines the features of Netflix, Dropbox, and Spotify to browse, download, and ultimately mix tracks. For listeners wanting to know the sounds of another DJ’s set, Shazam just partnered with Beatport to add 1.5 million songs to its database. While dance is the third-most popular genre on the track-identification app, Shazam frequently can’t or incorrectly identifies EDM tracks.
