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 Review: Sander Van Doorn

Once again, I was forced to go to my least favorite night club to enjoy some more great talent that I’ve never gotten to see before: Sander Van Doorn.  Sander made a splash in the music soon in 2004 with his hit ‘Loaded’ and his since continued climbing the ladder to success in the EDM world.  Before going to his show, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  I had tuned into his podcasts before, and to be honest, I wasn’t really feeling it.  The music was a bit boring and it felt more like easy listening than something that truly made me want to get up and dance (which isn’t always a bad thing).  I got talked into going to his show, rather than going by my own free will (thats what friends are for, right?).  To be honest, I wasn’t completely blown away by his set, but it was still enjoyable.  If you are a Sander fan, I would definitely recommend going and seeing him! Even if you aren’t familiar with him but you like progressive house, I would say go check him out.  He spins trance and progressive house, and I appreciated the song selection in his set.  I find that when I go to shows where this is the genre of the DJ, it all has the same trousey sound and for the most part, its just a countdown of the current top 40 trouse hits.  I liked that Sander WASN’T trouse and was just really good and original progressive house.  He played a lot of his own tracks in all the right places and overall I liked the flow of his set.  I definitely don’t think Sander is for everybody, there’s wasn’t much electro in his set (which is currently trending in all DJ sets I’ve noticed), and that was actually a nice change of pace.  I think he has a very unique sound.  Going into his show, I knew what to expect and he met my expectations (but didn’t really succeed them).  I guess from the gist of this article, you can tell I’m not all to impressed with him, but keep in mind this review is from someone that would not consider herself a Sander fan, just an outsider taking a peep inside.  If he comes to your town, I would say go see him because he plays a unique set in comparison to all the other trance/ progressive house DJs out there, but if you miss him, I assure you you won’t be shedding any tears.

Artist Review: Mat Zo

Going into Mat Zo’s set, I already knew what I was in store for.  I know his reputation and I know his style, so my expectations for his set weren’t super high. I was expecting generic trouse (which is a guilty pleasure of mine) and I wasn’t expecting Mixmaster Mike-type skills. I was definitely surprised by Zo’s set and that he stuck to what he knew.  Although he is signed to Anjunabeats record label, that label no longer represents the best in trance, but rather the best in progressive house.  What I liked most about Zo’s set was that he stuck to some really great trouse songs instead of venturing into mainstream progressive house hits, which I was expecting.  He vibed with the crowd and I was lucky enough to be front row so I could watch his every move (creepy I know).  I wouldn’t say he was an absolutely amazing dj, because I was not overly impressed with his mixing skills.  However, he kept the crowd engaged for the entire duration of his set, which delighted me.  He was extremely into the music and I loved his friendliness and his interaction with the crowd.  Being the total groupies we are, me and my friends stayed until the show ended and got autographs from him.  Totally friendly and normal looking guy, which I think definitely helped with his stage presence and connecting to his fans.  I had an awesome time and would definitely recommend seeing him if you like progressive house.  If you are expecting a trancier set though, look somewhere else, Zo is not a trance DJ.

Rant: Trouse

“Trouse”, the newest trend in EDM since dubstep is beginning to take over many of my favorite DJs, and I’m not happy.  It started with Tiesto, progressed to Above & Beyond, Arty, Gareth Emery, and Marcus Schossow, and now has claimed a new victim: Tritonal.    Each of these DJs started with strong roots in trance.  However, because of the rising popularity of EDM and the transition into mainstream, a lot of artists are beginning to make their sounds more mainstream to appeal to bigger audiences.  Many of my favorites, I’ve noticed, have changed their sounds and are beginning to sound more alike instead of maintaining the individuality that made me fall in love with them in the first place.  “Trouse”, if you haven’t figured out the meaning of the word, is a combination of the words “trance” and “house”.  To me, trouse sounds more like a progressive house set with bits and pieces of electro and trance, which is not what I want to hear when I see my favorite trance producers.  As of late, I feel there are not many true trance acts out there, as many of them are following the new trend and abandoning their old sounds.  As much as I don’t want to say it, I feel like Dash Berlin is next.  I’m not sure who else will be hopping on the “trend train”, but I have a feeling many trance producers are going to begin selling out.  I began losing my faith in trance culture when Above & Beyond made the transition; if Armin or Markus ever go trouse, I am giving up faith in humanity.

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:

The Aston Shuffle vs. Tommy Trash – Sunrise (Won’t Get Lost) (Tommy Trash Version)

Artist Review: Adrian Lux

For the first time in my life, I can honestly say I didn’t spend the majority of my night thinking about the various ways in which I could kill every asshole spilling drinks while simultaneously grinding on me.  For the first time in my life, Scottsdale’s Wild Knight didn’t piss me off, and instead showed me a hell of a good time with Adrian Lux rocking the decks.  Due to some promotion or other, me and 5 other friends got our hands on some free tickets.  Adrian Lux was simply amazing and I am so glad I got the opportunity to see him for a second time.  Seeing as he is progressive house, I was glad to see that he stuck to what he knows best and played a very beautiful and well put-together progressive house set.  The thing about progressive though, is that its so popular that I felt like there wasn’t very much originality to his set, seeing as I knew every song he was playing and they were considered “top 40” in the EDM world.  I can’t talk shit about progressive house, because I love the genre and I truly did love every song he played.  My issue with him was that I felt like I was listening to a radio show, meaning he only played whats popular now and I didn’t really see a connection between him and the music.  Obviously he was enthusiastic and sent off great vibes to the already awesome crowd, but I didn’t feel like he was playing from his heart.  When djs get up there and play whatever the hell they want regardless of whether its one day old or 10 years old, I like to see them not following the “guidelines” of live sets and only playing whats popular, and thats exactly what Lux did.  I didn’t hear any old school tracks and for the most part I didn’t hear any tracks that I didn’t recognize.  He completely catered to the crowd, which isn’t a bad thing, but I didn’t feel like I got a grasp of his personality or who he is through his set.  I feel like with the best djs, they can show who they are through their selection of music throughout a set. But with Adrian Lux, it was a very generic progressive house set and I’m walking away still being unable to distinguish him from any other progressive house dj.  I would definitely see him again because I love progressive house, but anything more than $10 for a ticket wouldn’t be worth it to me seeing as he didn’t prove himself to me as a “one-of-a-kind” dj that I’m willing to pay big bucks for.

DaftBeatz & Jake Shanahan – Galaxy

ABGT ain’t no TATW

So, I guess the time has already passed that Above & Beyond has established themselves as progressive house djs and now their trance career is 6 feet under, yet I still feel the need to bitch about the fact that I HATE the new direction they have taken their careers in.  I tuned into ABGT #1, the set from Bangalore, and I think my reaction was a mixture of confusion and slight anger.  They sounded like Deadmau5 circa 2008 except even more boring.  They are amazing djs and I’m kind of confused about what the actual fuck I just listened to.  Besides for the fact that their set lacked in vocal tracks, I felt like every song they played was merely “transition music” and it was definitely one of the most bland sets I have had the “privilege” to listen to.  I didn’t hear many tracks that I would classify as trance, and considering I have dance moves better than Michael Jackson, I was surprised that nothing they played even gave me the slight urge to dance.  I get that they have renounced trance, seeing as they have changed the name of their podcast to “Group Therapy”. But…… what the fuck group are they attempting to give therapy to?

The past couple years that I have been attending events where Above & Beyond has been present, I have noticed a major change in the crowd they attract.  Even going through all my tumblr rave blogs, I notice that Above & Beyond is hot and they are drawing as much attention as major house acts.  From my experience, trance stages are usually the least crowded at music festivals when you put them against stages that contain electro, dubstep, moombahton, or basically anything that you would hear in a nightclub.  With Above & Beyond getting bigger and bigger, I noticed that they have been booked for more night club appearances.  If you didn’t know this before, you do now: music dynamic in nightclubs is WAY different than it would be at a festival or rave.  The club promoters specify what music they want the crowd to hear and the djs have to comply.  Progressive house mixed with bouts of trance is what moronic drunks typically like to grind to when hitting up their local douchebag gathering spot (nightclub).  Above & Beyond has transformed into merely club djs and I feel like they have neglected their roots in order to move forward with their careers.  I know they will get bigger and bigger and stray further away from the trio of djs I first started listening to when I was 16.  Sometimes people just bite the bullet to move onto bigger fame, more money, and better career.  I wish the best to Above & Beyond and the new direction they are taking their followers, but I find it very devastating that they have ended their trance legacy and have probably gained a whole new following of music novices.

Artist Spotlight: EDX

My life consists of music; day, night, and even in my dreams. Sometimes its music I love, sometimes its music I hate, and sometimes its music that is so brilliantly put together that I feel the need to write an entire rave on it.  Recently, EDX has been flying under my radar, so I decided to check him out and see what all the fuss was about. In a simple word, holyfuckingshitballs.  Not like I’ve been living under a rock or anything, but where have I been while EDX has been out there being so incredibly awesome? I’m not sure, but my discovery of him has awoken feelings in me that I haven’t felt in a long time.  I decided to tune into his live set from Marquee Nightclub in Las Vegas recorded on September 7th of this year.  I could NOT have been happier to hear some real fucking house for the first time in AGES.  Every time I venture out into the world of douchey nightclubs, I am usually disappointed by what I hear the djs playing.  Typically I hear electro house track after electro house track mixed with dubstep here and there.  EDX put on a show that I would have never expected.  His set was melodic and euphoric.  Unlike many other djs, not only does EDX produce progressive house, he actually plays it for the majority of his sets.  I’m sick and tired of hearing same club shit over and over again.  Yes I love those banging electro beats that make the crowd go wild, but damn, too many djs use ONLY electro beats and I feel like I haven’t heard a variety of house during a set in quite sometime.

In a nutshell, EDX SMASHED Marquee and really showed the world that he knows what the fuck is up, and he knows how the fuck to put together a set.  Besides for the fact that I couldn’t stop dancing to his set, it was absolutely beautiful.  There are too many djs that dabble between trouse/trance/progressive house and electro house/progressive house.  I feel like EDX finally figured out how to put the perfect combination of songs together while still keeping the audience happy and true house-heads not pissed off (me).  As I said previously, his set was mostly progressive house to keep the crowd moving, with bits of electro tucked in there to make the crowd go nuts every so often.  His set was exciting and unpredictable, which I rarely find when I go see djs.  I cannot stop raving about EDX and his mellow bass and fluid rhythm.  His set was almost dream-like it was so euphoric.  I’m an idiot for missing him every time he’s been at a festival I have attended.  Rest assured blogging world, when the opportunity arises that I have the chance to see him, you will know.