This is a place for everything related to Electronic Dance Music! Tracks, DJs, light shows, festivals, news, entertainment, reviews, interviews...this is about Electronic Dance Music Culture and Community.
Finally!! After six months of waiting, GRiZ has finally released the song that he had teased us with way back in February. Smash the Funk is a perfect example of why GRiZ is one of the quickest rising stars in the Electronic Music scene. GRiZ seamlessly flows from smooth melodic electrosoul into some of the craziest jumpin beats and still includes a deep sax solo... If this song doesn't prove to you that GRiZ is a artist to follow, you should probably stop reading this blog.
Whatsup people! Z here and It's been a while since I threw anything up that wasn't covering any of the events we've been at, so I decided to share some music with you for your own collective enjoyment.
Hayden Kramer aka heRobust hails from Atlanta, Georgia and he's one of those guys where you can just tell he has swag in spades. He is a master of synth work with glitchy breaks molded around Hip-Hop, Dubstep, and Trap that never really sound like any of those in his practice, but definitely sounds like its coming from Atlanta, making a sound that my friends can attest to my personal definition of "purple as hell". Herobust has 4 releases out currently, his debut release Albumin, his twin albums Late Night and Morning After, and his more recent release Rob & Hood. Here, check out some tracks that really stand out to me and will give you a clear picture of the versatility of heRobust.
This one is the first track off "Late Night". It's a souled out song that has elements of hip hop, funk, blues, dubstep, soul, and god knows what else. It's a buffet of swag and you can instantly tell that he's on to something bigger and better than alot of other artists around. It was my personal introduction to the artist and I feel is a great example of the soundscapes and creativity that Hayden Kramer is known for.
This one is his second track off the twin album off "Late Night" called "Morning After" and it really shows off his more Hip Hop side with light airy glitchy hip hop beats that are telling that this is where he came from and cultivated his style from hip hop forward. It's a great driving tune or for doing anything in those hours where its way too bright and nobody else is awake; beach runs anyone?
This next track is one banger of a tune, its the second track off his new EP "Rob & Hood" where he explores more of a Trap influence in his repertoire. The results are nice and the entire EP gets you going. It's a synth onslaught as the polyrythmns and sampling are on point and creative as hell.
This is one off his remix collection he likes call the BUSTED collection. Released in no specific grouping, all those tunes are gems and you should definitely check em out. A sick Iggy Azalea Dubstep/Hip Hop remix that you know if it got dropped anywhere live there would be some definite problems.
heRobust is quickly becoming a household name for EDM fans, especially with the whole Trap movement going on, even though I wouldn't really put him in that category aside from being from the south. Be on the look out for any future releases and events. I do know I will be catching him in New York on 9/31 at Club 39, so to any of our New York fans (which is a majority of you) do yourself a favor and catch that show; till next time.
What'sup!? Z again and I'm just coming back all the way from Michigan from the newly christened StereoTerra Music Festival. This certain festival holds very close to me as I made a ton of new friends and met tons of motivated individuals for the common cause of getting together and having fun doing whatever it is that they do best. I got the privilege to see lots of amazing DJs and talent try out new songs and styles that were very eye opening and break away from the norm of their usual genres, so today in taking note of which at EGP I'm gonna share with you the acts that blew me away.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Stratus is no stranger to the game as you all should know by now. His set was more of a celebration of his normal stylings with a lot of familiar songs being played like "Understand?!". But, midway through his set he threw on some original trap music that he had presumably been working on and I just have to say that his method of bass control made it all the more intense. If that was any indication of what he's gonna be releasing in the future then all fans of bass music need to be paying attention because it was so intense that even I had to go in and rage a bit. He has a playful manner on stage that fits his image very well and for my first time seeing him although it was a morning set It was fun as hell. His set was a bit on the short end of the spectrum but It wasn't any less that what I had imagined.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Robotic Pirate Monkey was a ton of fun, I was impressed with the way they weave in and out of each other and use each others equipment to make impossible combinations with pieces of equipment that one person using each just wouldn't normally be fast enough or mentally capable to do, and it shows in their music. The set was one of the most energetic of the first day, they were making jokes on stage wearing masks throwing them out to the crowds and dancing around like a bunch of best friends having the time of their life. They bring a playful integrity to their shows that shows you how down to each and connected to their fans they really are.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Griz put it on hard. He played a lot of his back catalogue and it got the crowd going. His energy on stage is really something to be admired, as he always looks as if he just started and enthusiastic as ever. He's a great showman and displayed which mid set by bringing out the saxophone and going in with it, He has some minor technical difficulties with his equipment and fixed it up in 2 seconds without anyone noticing, certifying his position as a professional DJ and producer. It was one of my favorite acts of the entire festival.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Tittsworth's set was some madness, lots of mooba beats and intense bass, I actually had to thank him after the show for putting on such a good time. My only regret was that it was too short and I didn't get enough pics because I was dancing so much. I feel with a longer set time he would destroy crowds but I'm assuming that there was time constraints on the festivals line-up.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Zoogma put on literally one of the greatest live shows I've seen yet. If you aren't familiar with Zoogma they are a jam band with electronic elements fused in very nicely, a great thing to catch if you ever get the chance as they are regulars in the festival scene. They played tons of new content and old, Their entire set flowed together with high energy almost metal sounding stylings into vibed-out soulful riffs and amazingly done remixes, Their "Starry Eyed" remix was terrifically set up and the got the crowd with every type of energy to dance to imaginable, from rock, dubstep, drum and bass, to other things undefinable. Do yourself a favor and catch them any time you see them on any bill for any event.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
RJD2 is an artist, simply put. His skill with vinyl records was something else, his flow into tracks on top of other tracks seamlessly put into each other on traditional analog equipment amazed everyone and brought a humbling energy to the crowd and other DJs. His composure on stage and ability to create a mood was the mark of a true professional in the game. Deservedly a headliner by far and I can't wait to catch him again. Next time maybe without a camera so I can sit down and fully take in the complexity of what was going on.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Michal Menert definitely brought a level of intensity to his set which makes me wonder why this Pretty Lights Music artist doesn't get as much as attention as his other labelmates. He was singing along to every song he had with words showing his attachment through pure soul in his music, it was fun to watch. his high energy set contained heavy basslines and smooth synths, and left me struggling to name the genre being played, other than swag.
For a first year festival, the line-up for StereoTerra pulls no punches as they brought in people from every side of the spectrum. There were a lot of other great names playing like Muzzy, Freddy Todd, Crushendo, and The Spring Standard just to name a few. I expect this festival to be one to look out for in the next year if the amount of effort and quality showcased in the musical choices and creative effort in all directions for this event is any indication on the direction its going to eventually grow into.
Wassup everyone? It's Wish[Paus3] here and I'm hunkering down in NYC while Zodd and Fitz are making their way out the Michigan for StereoTerra! Ever since preparing for Camp Bisco, I have had my ear to the festival community becoming a little more fine tuned. One event that caught my eye instantly was a Facebook page that popped up in my news feed called "Destroy Gnarnia the Festival" (EDIT 8/17 It seems the page has been taken down). I started looking into the page, why would someone create something like this without reason. Well the reason was pretty shocking. According to posts on the page, there had been 490 arrests, most of the felony charges, in and around the festival. Holy cow right?! I had to look in deeper. What I've been finding is more disturbing than the initial shock and question of, "who's to blame". The differences between posts there and on the official event invite are vast...
Let me start by saying the festival looked awesome. It was a first for the folks behind it, this was Gnarnia's inaugural year. All the pictures and video that came out, the lineup, the grounds... everything looks so legit. The website provides everything for you, from camping guidelines, to ride sharing, to a ton of activities they were holding. There's no doubt that people would be wanting to come out to this one, this was no underground festy. The problems began when there were more people than expected, and of course the increased amount of police presence in the area.
Fact is, police are in every event whether you know it or not. Breaking the law in any way WILL put you in a position to get caught by law enforcement. Being at a festival is not an excuse to do illegal things, but that is a personal decision. At Gnarnia, it seemed that the police were a little, hyper-active if you will. DT's trying really hard to set people up, harassing and arresting people next to tents that weren't theirs, being violent, randomly searching persons, hippie profiling, and all-in-all using terror tactics to get what they wanted. This is what stands out as the most significant issue here. Not the problems the producers had with tickets or camping, or even having the cops in the festival grounds.
"If you are for the path of open communication and change, share this article"
According to one trusted festival goer, the majority of arrests happened outside the festival at road blocks and at hotels and cabins. Apparently the festival grounds were not connected to the camping fields, one had to take a shuttle to get back and forth.... too many people decided they should drive their own cars. They had also told me about the sale of alcohol on festival grounds. As normal as that seems, North Carolina has a department for that, called the Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE). This allowed them to be on festival grounds whenever they wanted, in other words, more law enforcement around. So you had several different police departments doing "their own thing".
Getting back to the Facebook pages. The "Destroy" page has been garnering a lot of attention, but in my opinion is negatively affecting the community. People are angry their friends got in trouble, as anyone would be. Everyone is looking for someone to blame, which is literally pulling people apart. If anything everyone should get together and figure out a way to change legislation. I personally have been blocked from posting on the page after posting my rant to the page owner (I apologize for my French!). It sickens me that people are seeming more ok with seeing a police state in action than they are with a first time festival having first time festival issues. On top of that, people like myself, who are looking for answers and momentum and not just suggestions of conspiracy within the ranks of the promoters, are being silenced. The owner of the page won't even release his/her name to the public, but they will sit behind their desk and do nothing but instigate. When asked for pictures, I was replied to that I should post them, and people were "too scared" by the police to actually pull a camera out and film. If you don't exercise your rights, they will be stripped away from you. It's all smoke and mirrors to me, tactics to get people riled up, but there is no clear cause. On top of that, the page is censored (as certain posts have been on the event page as well). To me, it means make up your own mind. It's obvious that there are gaps in this story, but once again the over all lesson seems clear to me. This is a motion towards a police state. Ya'll didn't like it? Guess what, stop blaming everyone else but yourselves.
As a community, we are strong. There are hundreds of thousands of us, all with similar goals. We just want to have a good time at these events, but what do we stand for? The problem is that everyone is too comfortable. Festivals become marketing tools and we forever are stamped as a drug culture. If you are for the path of open communication and change, share this article. Don't let a bad experience shy you into a corner, instead make a stand. I hope that those wrongfully arrested and were harassed get their justice (if those stories posted are true).
LAST RANT:
The grounds were held on Beech Mountain, NC. Seemingly the middle of no where (it is), this town is only lively during the winter time when skiing and snowboard season open up. To have a mass amount of people in their town is both a great and terrible thing. As people, we don't like seeing things we are not used to coming into our comfort zone, but business loves it. Something else to think about here is the lower rate of crime in this type of area. Seeing a "neo-hippie" music festival coming into town, well that's an instant mark for law enforcement. I have never been involved with organizing something like this, but take Camp Bisco for example. Last year 25,000 people came through to Mariaville, NY. It caused so many issues with traffic, the locals, and it almost seemed like the festival might have to find another home. But it didn't. The problems caused the year before were handled in a new way this year, and Bisco was in it's 11th year.Now I do not know the way money gets thrown around for both private security and/or police, but it seemed like MCP was working directly with the police to insure the traffic moved and people that weren't supposed to be there were not there.
There's something about turning around to 15,000 people with their hands in the air.
It's already a month later, and I still wake up longing for the intense summer heat to hit my tent and motivate me to get up after a few hours of sleep to walk through the dust, get some grub, water, and have another full day of Camp Bisco XI.
Crowd Jumping to Zed's Dead
Camp Bisco 11. The largest and most organized Camp Bisco to date, brought to you by MCP Presents. It wasn't even two years ago that there were under 10,000 people in attendance. This years' numbers sore well over 20,000. Between everyone working the event, vendors, media, and all of the guests, the camp grounds were alive for every moment (waking or not) we were there. This was my first major music festival (read about the first small one HERE [disclaimer/spoiler the event gets broken up]) and it was way bigger and more intense than I could have ever imagined it to be. I could talk about it for days on end, but for the sake of your attention spans, I'll break it all down in three sections. The Camp/The People/The Music.
THE CAMP:
Last year the physical coming into Camp Bisco was a long experience for most. Waiting for hours in a line of cars blocking countless resident's driveways, some people relieving themselves on said lawns, garbage all over, noise levels... the kind folk who live in Mariaville were not too happy with all the neo-hippies coming into their territory and turning it upside down. This year things ran much differently thanks to the joining of hands with MCP Presents and the town. The line still existed, but the amount of cars in it were toned down a lot. They had shuttles running back and forth from the ski lodge to allow more space for parking off-site and more camping on-site.
Straight Chillin
Making Dogs!
There were so many tents everywhere! The grounds allowed for 20 different camping spots. The majority of which were the open fields, a couple were in wooded areas, VIP had their own sections as well, and there were the RV camping spot as well. Since you are not allowed to bring vehicles onto the grounds to get around, walking was the mode of transportation for most. To be able to walk to entire circumference of the camp grounds would take you close to an hour, that's how enormous it is!
2D Cut Outs
Power Crystals
One of my favorite parts about camp was how interactive it was. No matter where you headed to, there was always something to check out. Many of the sights to see were artistic installations. For example, in the middle on the field past the audio tent for the main stages, there was a garden of 2D statues featuring some very recognizable characters and imagery. A short walk away were a series of power crystals; Tall reflective pyramids that pointed up into the sky, these power crystals also created a circumference around the crowd at the main stage, focusing energy together. My favorite piece of art was the light tunnel. At night this walk was like walking through a tunnel of Christmas lights, but my favorite part was it's interactiveness. This was an area that clever people could come and charge cell phones or camera batteries. Beautiful, relative and a resource, those lights were good to many people.
Certain Carpoolers Won Free VIP Upgrades!
RV Art
Of course there were showers, fresh drinking water in huge tanks, mobile bathrooms, and the VIP's had it nicest with these amenities. You should get those tickets early, or get active in your favorite website and win tickets, but VIP means close access, star treatment, and being next to the stars. Of course there's the perks (which are totally worth it) but just being able to be at Camp Bisco is rewarding in of itself, a big thanks to that comes from the people that attend the event. THE PEOPLE:
So I have done a little research [#HeadstashHistoryLesson], trying to see what the past Camps were like. Dating as latest as three festivals ago, there were [only] ten thousand people in attendance. Three years later and it's just about triple that number. The thing I find most interesting about this exponential increase, even just from Camp Bisco I - II, is that with the more extreme jumps in numbers meant many more diverse people, and from more places. Some will argue that they don't want the dubheads and bros to come in and "ruin" the vibes, but I found that the mix of people made for an awesome time, one where everyone was vibing to everything. I saw very few aggravated people trying to start fights or just being douche-bags, most people were having the times of their lives.
Henna!
While walking around the camp sites you could meet people from anywhere, it's as easy as walking up and saying hi, and you may make friends for life. While partying in the dance tents with thousands of other people brings such energy to everyone, seldom are people sitting when the treble is high and the bass is dropping hard and nasty beats fill the air. Or after the music stopped playing and you find yourself searching for more, and in the RV sections DJs are set up and 45-60 people are dancing and still having a great time until all hours of the morning. And there is a time to chill to the music and enjoy a conversation, people all over are just really friendly. Like at Silent Disco, or in the shade, maybe on the line to get some tasty treats. And there were the people who at first were not as open to meeting someone new, but once the smile comes out it's always a pleasure. Whether people's love was for Skrillex or the long time and new fans of The Disco Biscuits, everyone seemed to get along very well. There were many people I met that were so down to earth and shared a lot of ideas and interested with each other, it was so great to be able to make those connections.
Thanks to all the amazing people I met, I have new appreciations for wide brimmed fitted hats (Grassroots California), a new appreciation for Monster Java, pins, crystal wrapping, as well as several DJs and producers I have never heard of before Camp Bisco, and now can't stop raving about them.
THE MUSIC:
[lol] Where to begin... first word(s) that comes to mind is non-stop. As mentioned before, there is always music somewhere. There are of course the stages, which are easy to walk to when going from one to the next. There were two main stages next to one another, a smaller label tent down the dusty road from there, and then through a small walkway with a circle and wooded ceiling was the main dance tent, aka the B.I.G. tent. In between and across the fields from this line of musical talent was the Showcase/Silent Bisco stage. Here were the lesser known artists whose skills on their instruments were worthy of being and lucky to be performing at an event such as Camp Bisco.
Jake Dukes at Silent Bisco
Zed's Dead
Being this was my first legitimate festival, I was more than excited to be able to run through the pit (small area in front of stage between performers and VIP. The first set I got to shoot photos there was for Zed's Dead. As soon as they dropped their first song, the crowd was on their toes. The energy flowing through all the people could be felt as it rippled through the mass of bodies. All I kept thinking was, "finally", as my memory was brought back to December sitting on Facebook talking to Jake Dukes about wanting to check out this festival in NY, and then he showed me a video and each time the crowd rose my heart fell and shiver went through my entire body. I had to be there... and there I was. The set was amazing, and it felt like the hour set rushed right on by. This was the beginning of my musical journey on Thursday. Later in the day included Crystal Castles, Skrillex, and The Disco Biscuits.
Skrillex Set
Disco Biscuits Nighttime Set
Visuals in the Label Tent
The Biscuits first set was amazing. I have never before seen them live, so to be entertained by them in their house was pretty incredible. From the lights and the music, listening to them play was a great way to watch the crowd come together. Their music and love of the fans is what started this festival, and it is apparent why it's been so successful. Throughout the weekend, The Biscuits would play six sets in total, both during the day time and at night. For the ones I went to, I fell more in love with their music. It is good to step away from the dubstep and harder genres... until you get to the dance tents.
That's Mr. Z! Zodd
Laser, Lights and Energy! B.I.G. Tent was always popping.
Waiting....
First night I also caught Kill The Noise, Zedd, and Porter Robinson. Throughout the weekend we caught Killabits, Break Science, Big Boi, Lotus, Fikus, Jake Dukes and Mad Panda, Mimosa, Alpha Data, Minnesota, Codes, Holy Fuck, Bassnectar, Dillon Francis, A-trak, and Gramatik. The sets always blew me away... Zedd and Minnesota's sets were two that will always stick out in my memory. Part of it were their amazing performances mixed together with their stage presence and visuals, and the other part were their audience. To be able to feel that surge of energy while listening to some of the most amazing productions you've heard up close and share that with thousands of other people is just incredible.
CONCLUSIONS:
After attending the rave scene for so many months, my views on the scene have been diluted in the empty warehouses' dirty floors. The people have always been awesome (mostly) but that greater feeling of togetherness is hard to come by. Going to Camp Bisco and experiencing the emotion of "PLURR" ten fold than I've ever felt it has brought my faith back into the community. Leaving Bisco was the last thing I wanted to do. Not knowing what time it was, to always having something to do and someone to talk to... just living with everyone, for that I have to say "Thank You!" to The Disco Biscuits and everyone that made this festival happen.
See You Around!!! <3 WishPaus3
PS: I could talk for days about Camp Bisco XI, but now I want to hear your stories! Hit me up in the comments, electricghostpunk@gmail.com, or on FACEbook.
