We’ve all been on both ends of music elitism – and not just in the electronic dance music community. For those of us interested in electronic music and have been at least a casual fan, there likely has been at least one instance in which you likely witnessed someone tell [...]
If you had already thought EDM got as corporate as it could possibly get, from festival sponsors to Live Nation buying up Insomniac, guess again. Early in March, Forbes writer Jesse Lawrence recommended investing in EDM stock, specifically SFX Entertainment, which went public last year. Lawrence lists multiple reasons investors [...]
As much as dance music claims to go forward, trends sporadically look toward the past. In 2008 through 2010, a handful of acts explored ‘80s synthpop sounds, but with a safer, slicker sound that might have been appropriate for Alphaville but too tame for a Depeche Mode album. Out of [...]
The most important mainstream dance music album is likely one you’re not listening to – Basshunter’s Calling Time. Yes, Basshunter has never been taken seriously in the dance music sphere. He’s a Eurodance artist that survived and produced hits far past the prime of “Dota” and “Boten Anna” (and their [...]
When you think of deep house, you think of Chicago and, to a lesser extent these days, Las Vegas, but Richmond, Va.? In a sense, this makes DJ Aakmael one of deep house’s best-kept secrets. Aakmael comes from a musical background going across hip-hop, R&B, house, reggae, classical, opera, and [...]
Digital music’s takeover resulted in the record store’s demise – a downside on the hand for DJs, as it takes away the experience for finding a new record, but puts thousands of new tracks at his fingertips. But digital files didn’t just obliterate this once-keystone aspect of listening to music [...]
Arguing over whether top EDM producers are true DJs has become a cliché at this point; at large scale events slanted toward “mainstream” audiences, producers and their labels expect exposure, festival promoters want money-making performers, and audience members respond better to familiarity. Still this overall amalgamation has spread across top-tier [...]
When you’ve liked electronic music for a number of years, there comes a certain shame in listening to a mainstream dance music track. Admitting you think a certain Avicii song isn’t bad (or has a catchy melody) comes with that voice in the back of your head going, “But that’s [...]
Can a “mainstream” DJ/producer still make a killer set that’s longer than an hour? Of course. While Pacha Ibiza’s been canceling contracts of DJs who expect high pay but want to play for just a couple of hours, you’ve got Paul Van Dyk doing a six-hour set at New York’s [...]
Now’s the time for end-of-the-year trend pieces, and one from Mixmag caught our attention: “EDM Will Eat Itself: Big Room Stars are Getting Bored.” Mainly, taking a general approach, Mixmag explains that EDM’s top performers are looking elsewhere. In a sense, this trend isn’t unique to 2013. Producer prodigies started [...]