Artist Review: Andrew Rayel

What are the chances that I would write an Artist Spotlight on Andrew Rayel and then a few days later find out he is playing in a city near me?  It’s fate I’m telling you.  Considering this is the first time in over a year that I’ve seen a live EDM act (I’ve been living under a rock OK?), I was pretty much jumping out of my skin the second he took the stage.  I attended the event at Club Cubic in Macau, China; what an amazing venue and crowd I must say.  Everything he did was perfection and I found that his set was actually quite moving and emotional.  He paid homage to all the great trance tunes of this decade as well as some of the newer soon-to-be classics.  Every aspect of his set was so heartfelt that I was glued to my spot in the front row from the second he got on the decks to the second he got off. Being so young himself, I felt that he easily was able to connect with the crowd and share this experience with us rather than just pose as an entertainer.  He most definitely had a memorable set, and you would be out of your mind to miss him.  I loved that I felt like I was at a true trance show and didn’t have to listen to any of the mainstream BS I feel that I so often hear.  Even though he is still fairly new to the trance scene, I can already tell he is going to be a great staple and he’s on his way to becoming a trance legend.

Artist Spotlight: Andrew Rayel

For some time, I have been meaning to write this raving review about how much I love Andrew Rayel.  But just like everything else of mere importance in my life, I had said I would do it “tomorrow”.  Before I knew it, “tomorrow” became eternal and 6 months later I still find myself justifying “tomorrow”.  Well “tomorrow” is today and I finally have a new review.  Andrew Rayel has long been on my list of djs to watch and he has quickly made a name for himself with Armada music and even taking part in the big ASOT festivals (650 and 600).  His trance is exactly what I need in my life; exactly what we ALL need in life.  Not many of his original tracks are vocal but he tends to remix a lot of vocal tracks (beautifully, I might add).  What I love most about his music is I feel that it truly speaks to the heart.  As much as I love a song that you can sing along to, his music sings directly to you without the distraction of having to pay attention to lyrics.  I can feel the emotion in all of his music and rather than happy, upbeat trance, I like that its a little dark and sometimes sad (but in a beautiful way of course).  On top of that, his dark tunes will definitely make you dance your ass off if you are listening to one of his sets.  Because of the rise in popularity of all EDM genres and the influx of new DJs and producers,  its hard to find originality these days.  For the most part, a lot of the stuff sounds the same.  All the producers make music that sounds the same and all the DJs seem to use to same songs (I’m basing this off of all the Ultra sets I listened to).  However, I feel like Andrew Rayel has stayed original and is truly a legendary trance producer.  He doesn’t produce mindless party tunes, he really digs deep and elicits an emotional response with his music.  Below are my 3 favorite tracks by him.  I hope you enjoy and love hims just as much as I do:

Artist Spotlight: Omnia

The amount of lazy I am is almost too much to bare.  This has driven me to spend hours trolling on the internet instead of getting down to this so-called work thing and actually writing something worth reading for you guys. FEAR NOT.  I have gotten enough motivation and momentum to blast out yet another artist spotlight of pure gold.  If you haven’t heard of Omnia, you have now.  For a while, he has been under my trance radar but I really hadn’t heard enough of him to make me passionate enough to write. Now I have.  Audience, meet Omnia.  The Ukrainian sensation is barely 26 years old and he has already signed with the biggest trance record label in the world, Armada Music.  I first became aware of him after his hit with IRA, “The Fusion”.  After that, his melodic tunes took me to a different world.  Rather than having vocals take the spotlight in his tracks, I love his focus on the beat and melody of his tunes.  His music is so euphoric, I almost feel swept away when I listen to him.  He is young and fresh talent and doesn’t seem like he would be influenced like most other EDM artists to head towards the direction of mainstream EDM.  I like his unique sound because it reminds me of what trance should sound like, not the bullshit trouse that they throw down in order to please the crowds.  The songs are actually very well put together and each song of his is like taking a journey through a trancey wonderland.  Have I convinced you enough to go check him out? Good, I thought so. Now run along and get some Omnia into your life.

Artist Spotlight: Diplo

Before Diplo started making moombahton (basically before 2012), I wasn’t really into him as a dj or a producer because I thought he was unoriginal and his music was bland.  However, with the rising popularity of moombahton, trap, dubstep, and other hip-hop inspired EDM genres, Diplo has done a complete 360 and is now amongst one  of my favorite producers.  With his music, each song just feels like gold after gold after gold.  He has progressed so much as an artist that he is now blazing trails for this new wave of music that is hitting the EDM scene.  His remixes are just incredible, the way he manages to break down popular hip-hop songs and add some EDM and moombah flavor to it is genius!  I am so impressed by what he has done that I literally have just been listening to him non-stop.  Originally, from LA, he now routinely travels the globe and has a worldwide following.  He runs the label “Mad Decent” which has also become quite influential on the EDM scene and its really great to watch someone with so much talent and innovation make in impact on music.  I was lucky enough to see him in concert a few months ago and he is quite the entertainer and crowd-pleaser.  At one point he called up as many fans as were able to fit on stage to just uncontrollably twerk to the song “Express Yourself”.  If that isn’t fucking original, then I don’t know what is.  Diplo is the man and I’m just so excited to see what he has in store for EDM fans everywhere and who his next collaborations are going to be with.  As a favor to all of you, I have posted some of his newest and my personal favorite tunes of his, enjoy:

Artist Spotlight: GTA

GTA is a duo that has recently come under my radar as producers with actual talent.  Their “death to genres” attitude has helped them to produce some great music with influences from the hip-hop, salsa, moombahton, trap, and big room genres.  Everything that I’ve heard from them so far is so incredibly dynamic that there is no way to categorize them.  They are literally genre-free and dabble beautifully in everything.  The Miami-based duo consists of Matthew Van Toth and Julio Mejia and they have been blowing the rooftops off venues around America for the past year.  They have managed to get in contact with some of the most popular producers currently in EDM and have produced some wonderful hits.  I love them because they will literally work with all producers and djs and the fact they are so open-minded about creating music has just been a huge turn on for me.  They have such a different sound, that its refreshing for once to finally get a taste of some talent that doesn’t play by the rules and hasn’t been jaded by critics or EDM snobs.  Here are my top 3 favorite tracks from them at the moment:

Artist Spotlight: EOTO

I decided to stray away from my raver roots in the artist review and instead venture into another type of electronic music: experimental.  EOTO is a jam band (or at least thats what I like to call it) originating from Boulder, Colorado.  The band consists of Michael Travis and Jason Hann.  If you haven’t heard of Jason Hann, then you my friend, have probably been living under a rock, as he is one of the members of what I would consider one of the biggest jam bands ever, String Cheese Incident.  Whether or not EOTO is your cup of tea, from personal experience I can tell you that seeing a performance by them is like no other thing I have experienced.  At your typical EDM show you have your douchebag promoter bombarding you with fliers, half-naked 12-year olds in an absurd amount of beaded “kandie”, and of course you can not forget the juiced up bros fist pumping and simultaneously flaunting their 6-packs.  Can you imagine going to an EDM show where NONE of this exists?? Yeah, its called EOTO.  The crowd of people and the vibes they bring to their shows are out of this world to say the least.  They do attract a crowd that really does care about the music and its more of a feeling of unity rather than “epic raging” like most people do at raves.  There are a ton of people doing their own thing and I would have to say its one of the least judgmental crowds I’ve experienced in my concert-attending career (yes I would consider the extravagant amount of shows I’ve attended career-worthy seeing as I am a professional partier).  I would classify their music as easy listening and its something you can really take and listen to anywhere.   The peaceful and melodic sounds provide quite the safe haven for your ears and just make for a fantastic musical journey.  Below I have included a couple of my favorite songs by them:

Artist Spotlight: KhoMha

Although Khomha hasn’t exactly made a huge splash in the trance scene, he has made a splash in the pool that is my heart (so corny I know, just kill me now).  As a trance producer, he is one of my new favorites and I LOVE his unique original productions.  When you think of trance (or at least when I do), I imagine something melodic and beautiful that just makes me feel at peace.  Khomha’s music does all this, but so much more seeing as it is DARK TRANCE (that’s what I like to call it).  He doesn’t make your typical, happy, lovey dovey trance tracks.  He has a dark sound and puts a new spin on the genre.  For all the trance lovers out there, this is definitely a new type of trance experience.  I feel like his beats and melodies are so addictive that his tracks literally suck you in.  2012 was definitely his year, he came out with amazing releases and I would love to see him during a DJ set.  The thing that I like about his music is that even though I feel it puts you in a trance, as trance music is supposed to do, its not your typical trance listening experience.  Its not necessarily upbeat, its kind of techy actually, but it still sends the same vibes.  On top of that, it also makes you really want to dance! No vocals, just straight tunes for Khomha. I’ve selected my top 3 favorite tracks from him over this past year. Enjoy and I hope you begin loving him as much as I do, welcome to the dark side of trance!

Artist Spotlight: Ken Loi

Ken Loi has easily become one of my favorite producers of 2012 with all of the crazy mashups he has come up with this year.  Although I find that some of his tracks are hit or miss, the ones that hit, hit HARD.  He has done a beautiful job at blending together this years hottest tracks to make a superb, kickass song.  The way the songs are sliced and diced and then put back together is impressive.  I’ll admit, yes there are artists out there that do way better jobs at actually mashing the songs up, but I think my main interest in Loi as a producer lies in the songs that he chooses to put together.  The whole mash-up of “By The Way”, “Sex on Fire”, and “Somebody That I Used to Know” was beginning to get a bit old and its nice to see him mashing up songs that typical don’t get mashed up.  I love the originality of his finished productions and I have decided to share 3 of my favorites:

Artist Spotlight: Nicholas Beattie

One of my new twitter friends Nicholas Beattie, stage name “Nixxxmix” tweeted me this mix and I thought I would share it here on my blog.  He is a producer and dj all the way from South Africa.  The mix is electro house and features literally all the newest tracks that have just come out.  Besides for a couple transitions where you can tell the beats didn’t exactly match, I thought it was a really easy mix to listen to.  Everything blended well and it was a perfect mix of electro and progressive.  It wasn’t too in your face and it wasn’t too mellow.  I also loved the songs he chose.  All great tracks by mostly underground artists, none of that mainstream bullshit. Cheers Nick, it was a great mix!

Artist Spotlight: Markus Schulz

I have been listening to Markus Schulz for about 5 years, and never once have I been even close to disappointment with what he does.  He is one of the few djs that makes my jaw drop and leaves me breathless with every track and every set he does.  Every time I listen to him, my passion for him as a dj and producer and my passion for trance grows immensely.  I truly believe Markus can do no wrong.  I even had the pleasure of meeting him for 2.34893 seconds and taking a picture with him.  Every week, I listen to his podcast “Global Dj Broadcast” and I can literally feel my heart melting inside of me as he busts out each melodic track.  He brings the best and most original in trance and is truly like nobody else I’ve ever listened to.  The way he evokes emotions through his music is quite incredible.  For someone who has been made famous by his epic 8-hour non-stop dj sets, he deserves to be voted as the number one dj in America (sorry Skrillex).  Listening to him talk about his sets gets me even more excited because I love hearing someone explain how passionate they are about music and how they manipulate it to make the experience for the audience an absolutely memorable one.  He talks about the build-ups, the breakdowns, and how he manages to keep hundreds of thousands of people engaged in his sets for 8 hours at a time.  He possesses talent that I feel like not many djs have today.  The ability to play an 8 hour set is one that I have only seen from the greatest in the world, and to me, he is one of them.  His knowledge of music and his skills as a dj wow me and leave me speechless.  I saw him at my least favorite nightclub in Scottsdale, and he just turned my night into magic.  He’s so passionate about djing that I feel like he will never sell out to the mainstream EDM culture.  He just keeps doing his thing and keeps busting out all these amazing tracks.  On top of that, I feel like each week his podcasts just get better and better; I get butterflies in my stomach from just listening to them.  I think what makes him a favorite for me amongst other djs is the fact that I feel a sense of dream-like euphoria when I listen to him and I get lost in his sets.  What I’m saying may come off as corny, but once you tune into an episode of his GDJB podcast, you will understand, trust me.  (Below: Markus Schulz and I would make a good looking couple, just sayin…)