When Tritonal took over the decks that Thursday, the loyal Tritonian fans cheered in excitement but the floor was still sparsely populated by usual Pacha standards. For many DJs, this would have led to a lackluster performance, but that was certainly not the case for Chad and Dave. From the very first track, they gave the crowd an inspired and genre-bending performance that showcased their exceptional talent and genuine love for the music and fans.
The set started on an uplifting note with the Eric Prydz remix of M83′s ‘Midnight City’ and set the tone for the rest of the night. Track by beautiful track, the flow of music was brilliant and encompassed a blend of sounds from all corners of the EDM world, fusing into a final product that is distinctly Tritonian. Their one of a kind melodies and heavenly vocals cut to thick, techy progressive grooves followed by driving uplifting trance…aka a little taste of everything we wanted to hear.
Tritonal LOVING every second
Chad and Dave leave nothing to be desired when it comes to the sheer energy of their performance. They each needed towels to wipe the sweat from their brows after literally breaking it down in the booth. They mixed simultaneously, interlacing arms at some points to better reach their respective dials. Being relatively new to the scene, Chad and Dave’s combined chemistry is noticeably beyond their years. Tritonal has only scratched the surface of their success and are destined to be leading players in the dance music world for years to come. We highly advise a stop at the circuitGROUNDS stage on Saturday at EDC NY to check out their set (we’ll be there all day..) !!
Big thanks to Pacha and Massive Event for bringing the #TranceFamily together every Thursday!
StopBreatheBump is extremely grateful & fortunate that we were able to experience & document the King of Progressive Trance, Markus Schulzthis past Friday at Pacha NYC.. It was a fantastic night!
Markus’ intense energy & set progression are so powerfully motivating that they leave you with no choice but to let the beat take over and dance your face off. We had very high expectations after his masterful performance at Bal en Blanc, and somehow they were met and exceeded. We’ve seen him 3 times in the past 2 months and each set has been uniquely catered to the crowd & perfectly executed.
Markus set the tone with some deep progressive material to get the ball rolling. As he built up the tempo, the energy in the building came alive and we were treated to a wide variety of material from Markus that included Dakota tracks new and old, Do You Dream? productions, Coldharbour classics, songs off Los Angeles ’12 and obviously a large dose of the always massive Big Room Reconstructions. His ability to completely dominate a room without ever playing higher than 134bpm is truly astounding and is a real testimant to his fantastic DJ skills and pure understanding of what his audience is craving. Markus is always two steps ahead of the game and he and his ever-growing Coldharbour family are giving us a preview of the future of trance and progressive.
Again, we would like to thank Pacha NYC and Massive Eventfor their fantastic hospitality and, above all, we would like to thank Markus for another awe-inspiring performance…the NYC trance family can’t wait to have you back in T-minus 2 weeks for EDC NY!!
The Anjunabeats Worldwide compilations are a showcase for the rising talents in trance and progressive that the label houses. Previous editions have served as a springboard for the famous Finns Super8 & Tab, Russian superstar Arty and the effervescent and eclectic Mat Zo.
Since mixing “Anjunabeats Worldwide 02″ in 2010, Super8 & Tab were widely acclaimed for their debut artist album “Empire” (“blown away on first listen” Mixmag), while the inimitable Mat Zo has seen his recent productions supported by DJs as diverse as Above & Beyond, Skrillex, Afrojack, Scott Mills (Radio 1) and countless others.
The latest in the series, “Anjunabeats Worldwide 04″, brings two more emerging talents from the Anjunabeats stable to the fore, in the shape of Israel’s Maor Levi and Poland’s Nitrous Oxide.
Maor Levi burst on to the scene as a precocious 16 year old with “Lital” in 2006 and has since matured into a key part of the Anjunabeats family, as well as producing techno and house for Toolroom as 123XYZ. 2012 sees Maor at the very top of his game following a run of releases and remixes that have graced the sets of DJs from Above & Beyond to Mark Knight, from Tiesto to Fatboy Slim.
Given his very real grasp of cross genre dance music, Maor’s mix is an exciting hybrid of multiple influences. It includes Mat Zo’s “It’s Yours” (an homage to the house classic by Jon Cutler and E-Man), as well as unreleased material from current Anjunabeats stars Norin & Rad and Genix. Also featured is an exclusive 2012 Maor Levi remix of Super8′s Anjunabeats classic “Alba”.
CD2 is mixed by Nitrous Oxide aka Krzysztof Pretkiewicz. Responsible for countless Anjunabeats classics such as “North Pole”, “Downforce” and the recent “iPeople”, Krzysztof represents forward-thinking, energised trance music at its best — with many exclusive personal productions in his mix including his forthcoming single “Tiburon” and his collaboration with Space RockerZ “Energize”.
Krzysztof’s mix also journeys through tracks and remixes from Super8 & Tab, Andrew Bayer, Boom Jinx & Daniel Kandi and Ost & Meyer. Like CD1, many of these are exclusive to this compilation.
Tracklist
CD1 Maor Levi
1. Breakfast pres. Keyworth — Splitting
2. Maor Levi — Won’t Say No
3. Tate & Diamond feat. Nicolai — Electrified (Mat Zo Remix)
4. Mat Zo — It’s Yours
5. Inpetto — No More Serious Faces
6. Boom Jinx feat. Justine Suissa — Phoenix From The Flames (Maor Levi Remix)
7. 3rd Planet — Sevas
8. Norin & Rad — Pistol Whip
9. Super8 — Alba (Maor Levi Remix)
10. Bluestone — Namaste
11. Genix — Aura
12. Ost & Meyer — Safari (Maor Levi Remix)
13. Kyau & Albert — This Love
14. Parker & Hanson — Afterthought (Heatbeat Remix)
15. Breakfast pres. Keyworth — Median (Keyworth Remix)
CD2 Nitrous Oxide
1. Andrew Bayer & Matt Lange feat. Kerry Leva — In And Out Of Phase (Norin & Rad Remix)
2. Mike Koglin vs. Genix — Helion (Norin & Rad Remix)
3. Nitrous Oxide & Dan Stone — Nautica
4. Adam Kancerski — Orion
5. Edu & Cramp — Human Turbines (Beat Service Remix)
6. Ost & Meyer — Antalya
7. Craig Connelly — Manchester AM (2012 Club Mix)
8. Sunny Lax — Contrast (Nitrous Oxide Remix)
9. Nitrous Oxide — Gr8!
10. Ost & Meyer — Scarlet Heaven (Dan Stone Remix)
11. Nitrous Oxide & Space RockerZ — Energize
12. Boom Jinx & Daniel Kandi — Azzura
13. Super8 & Tab — Awakenings
14. Nitrous Oxide — Tiburon
15. Cramp — Andromeda
16. Oliver Smith — Progress (Nitrous Oxide Remix)
Bal en Blanc is one of the most legendary EDM events in North America. It was first held in 1995 on Easter weekend and has exploded into an international celebration that attracts up to 15,000 attendees annually. Spanning two full city blocks, the Palais des Congrès was the perfect setting for the 18th edition of this renowned affair. The rumored ‘3-hour line’ was nowhere to be seen and our entrance into the venue was as smooth and organized as you can get. On one side of the huge structure was the house room, with the trance room on the other, and the space between the stages was so massive that there was no need for a barricade or a separating wall, you simply walked across the open area and transitioned into a completely different realm of electronic music. Our VIP access provided by Productions Playground was unparalleled and provided a truly unique experience.
When we arrived, Arty was playing in the house room and Beat Service was spinning on the trance side. Your SBB squad in attendance will always choose trance over house, so most of us walked over to watch the last 45 mins of Beat Service while a couple went to check out Arty. This was all happening around midnight and the Palais des Congrès was just starting to get a little crowded. The best part about a legendary event such as Bal en Blanc is that every single attendee goes all-out with his or her outfits. There were one or two party-poopers who decided to skip on the theme, and they stuck out like sore thumbs. It’s this kind of dedication, only to be found in Montreal, that makes the atmosphere beautifully enchanting. We made our way to into the sea of white to stake claim to the perfect spot. One stand-out memory was the amount of balloons in attendance. Decorative balloons attached to extra long strings and some sort of anchor (whether it was a heavy block or the belt loops of a girl’s shorts) helped groups find each other in the massive venue, and we’re sure this trend will catch on real quick stateside. Back to the music.. Once we found a spacious spot in the middle, we settled in for what was to be one of the absolute finest events we’ve seen all year.
We’ve wanted to see Beat Service for a long time now and what better atmosphere for a cherry-popping than BEB. He was spinning ‘Concrete Angel’ by Gareth Emery when we walked in and we knew he was in the middle of a fantastic set. We’ll give you a recap of our favorite tracks and highlights from each DJ at the end of the post ! After Beat Service warmed us up, Jochen Miller took the decks, another first live-witnessing for your SBB squad! Jochen is a hilariously energetic performer and you can tell he’s just as excited about the music as you are. Pumping fists, jumping up and down, Jochen put on a show that would never be categorized as a ‘warm-up’. His progressive, electronica beats definitely got us movin and groovin as the room started to fill up in preparation for Armin and the firing up of the Godskitchen Fusion Cube. If you haven’t watched videos of this LED-coated, laser-laden stage set up, you should definitely click back to our BEB Preview and check out the alter we were worshipping on Easter Sunday. As Jochen finished up, we looked back and saw that the now-colossal crowd had packed all the way back to the house room so they could witness the infamous Cube in action. After a super computer reboot sequence flashed over the cube, Armin van Buuren took the decks and brought us on a ride for the next 3 hours (2 AM – 5 AM). He appropriately played the Eric Prydz remix of ‘Personal Jesus’ by the Depeche Mode and gave us all a truly religious experience. At different times throughout his set, Armin got darker and more progressive than we’ve ever seen him and we joked that he was trying to compete with the Unicorn Slayer himself! Nadia Ali came out for a brief live performance towards the end of Armin’s set, and that gave us the slight break we needed to gear up for the one and only Markus Schulz.
An exceptionally unique and truly extraordinary characteristic of BEB is that the lineup pushes the talent threshold to the limit and only the best of the best can participate. It is truly a premier event unlike any other in the world. Each DJ was more interactive and improvisational on the decks than any of their other performances we’ve seen to date, and none of them could get away with a prerecorded set in front of the educated Montreal crowd if they tried. Armin’s set especially was perfectly orchestrated on the spot and he showed us why he claimed the #1 spot in the DJ Mag poll four years in a row.
We wandered over to the house room at one point during Armin’s set to check out Steve Angello for a bit, and he was surprisingly more innovative and upbeat than usual. He played a lot of underground, aggressive tracks instead of the overplayed, anticipated SHM tracks we’ve been hearing for months. After the eerily similar sets we’ve recently witnessed from Axwell, Angello raised the bar for the trio and gave us a show we neither forecasted nor expected.
Back to the trance room we went to prepare for complete and total devastation. If unicorns were the dinosaurs, then Markus Schulz was the speeding comet. The BEB crowd was littered with ‘Schulz Army’ shirts and unicorn balloons in anticipation of his killer set. We have a borderline unhealthy obsession with Markus, and the totality of control he has over his audience is one of the many reasons why. From start (5 AM) to finish (7:45 AM), Markus took us on a journey through progressive trance that was completely mesmerizing. The way he interacts with the crowd and the crowd’s reciprocal devotion to him is reminiscent of the power Jim Morrison wielded over his audiences in the 60s. He gives new meaning to the word “trance” and when he’s done it feels like you’ve been holding your breath for hours, are completely speechless, and absolutely need to take a break outside. The BEB mascot is a giant, white horse, and costumed dancers made an appearance multiple times during Markus’s set as he pretended to shoot them down. A sexy lady with a whip and a muscular man in a horse head left little to the imagination and catered to the evenly distributed straight and gay crowd…that’s how Montreal does political correctness, people! There was something up there for everyone. Markus’s performance was superb and was highlighted by a stage visit from Ferry Corsten during their new collab, ‘Loops and Tings’. When Markus was done, Ferry took over and continued the magic. Around 9 AM, we decided to call it a night and strolled out into the misty Montreal morning. We watched videos and reminisced on our rainy drive back across the border and could barely believe where we had just been.
If you missed this mind-boggling event this year, make sure you mark off Easter 2013 as ‘Busy’ and get yourself up north! Or, if you can’t wait another whole year to visit this fantastic city, make sure you snag your tickets to an extended set by Markus Schulz at Stereo on June 15th! The flyer said ‘6 hours’, but when someone asked Markus if that was accurate, he came back with, “6 hours? That must be a mistake…” So you KNOW it’s going to be one for the books.
MASSIVE shout-out to Productions Playground for organizing such a paramount event! We had a blast and can’t wait to see what the 19th edition has in store!!
Highlights :
Arty
Rebound – Arty & Mat Zo
She Gave Happiness (Arty Remix) – DMAD
Around the World – Arty & Mat Zo
Beat Service
Outsider – Beat Service
Fortuna – Beat Service
Saints (Beat Service Remix) – Dakota
Jochen Miller
Wild And Perfect Day (Michael J Parker Remix) – Rank 1 and Jochen Miller
Zodiac – Jochen Miller (new track!)
Attention Rotunda (Jochen Miller Mashup) – Barnes and Heathcliff vs. Markus Schulz and Jochen Miller
Armin van Buuren
The Fusion (Armin van Buuren Intro Mix) – Omni & Ira (how appropriate for the firing up of the Godskitchen Fusion Cube!!)
Brute – Armin van Buuren v. Ferry Corsten
Personal Jesus (Eric Prydz Remix) – Depeche Mode (it was Easter Sunday, afterall…)
Markus Schulz
Go! – Markus Schulz and Dennis Sheperd
Loops and Tings – Markus Schulz and Ferry Corsten (new track!)
Home (Daniel Kandi Retrofit Remix) – Susana –> A MUST HAVE!!
Ferry Corsten
Feel It – Ferry Corsten
Language – Porter Robinson
The Blue Theme (Ferry Corsten Fix) – System F vs. Cosmic Gate
Since the release of Cosmic Opera’s epic announcement video depicting contortionists, operatic singers, and neon-clad ravers womping out to Axwell’s hit “In My Mind”, this new extrasensory dance series has been a hot topic amongst EDM enthusiasts in the NY area. The magical marketing behind Act I created such massive hype around the Cosmic Opera that concert goers’ had built up high expectations walking into Hammerstein for this EDM-meets-Opera extravanganza – expectations that were not quite satisfied. We had a blast at Act I: the Overture, but felt that their needed to be more of the promised aspects of innovations to the show, with a more cohesive story line between the beats and theatrical performers.
We are very happy to report back that the Cosmic Opera team listened to all the feedback received from Act I and made HUGE improvements with the next chapter of its extrasensory story. As we walked out onto the VIP balcony at Hammerstein Ballroom on Thursday night, just as Funkagenda began spinning, it was immediately apparent that the stage was dramatically upgraded from the previous Act. Since Imbroglio’s story was a darker step into the Cosmic Opera rabbit hole, the set designers chose a “Steampunk” theme, which introduced a post-apocalyptic vibe to the scene by incorporating the elements of science fiction, horror, and futuristic fantasy that Steampunk art is all about.
The Imbroglio performers were decked out in Neo-Victorian diesel punk apparel, and the stage had an elegant yet industrial feel down from the metallic Cosmic Opera sign on the DJ booth to the giant velvet curtain strung behind it, complementing the impressive forty-foot LED screens. Funkagenda warmed up the crowd with some bomb tracks like Michael Woods’ remix of his own “Shinjuku”, as we took in the brilliant sight of the Cosmic Claw that replaced the Cosmic Chandelier from Act I. The claw is the heaviest chandelier in the world right now, and its placement over the crowd added to the mood of ghoulish horror that Imbroglio set out to provoke.
We were lucky enough to attend Friday night’s show as well and caught the set of Felix Cartal, an impressive producer from the north, who featured new material from his new Dim Mak album “Different Faces”. He blew the Cosmic crowd away with his new single “Don’t Turn the Lights On” featuring Polina G and “Black to White” featuring Miss Palmer. This album sounds like it has the perfect mix of vocals and instrumental, and we’re loving the remixes of his track “DOMO” by Pierce Fulton and Etienne de Crecy.
After Funkagenda and Felix Cartal closed their sets, the fiery portions of both Thursday and Friday night erupted as two fireeater performers took to the stage with headdresses ablaze with flames. As they walked down the two runways that ran perpendicular to the stage and extended along the sides of the dance floor (another killer addition from Act I), a fiery path trailed behind them. The crazy pyro performers began breathing fire out toward the audience and up into the claw, where our attention was brought to a female aerialist dressed head to toe in decadent Steampunk costume, swinging within the cosmic claw.
Dancers in sparkling garments began lining the entirety of the stage as a classical Edward Greig symphony piece “In the Hall of the Mountain King” began to play. The excitement in the room escalated as young producer Zedd stepped out onto the stage, escorted by a couple Steampunk-clad babes. He jumped into his booth, flicked his hand in the air & executed a beautiful & dramatic drop of his beloved track “Dovregubben”. The crowd exploded instantaneously, and the room’s energy skyrocketed to another dimension of fun. Zedd unleashed slayer after slayer, violating the audience with wild tracks including his latest “Shotgun”, his newest mash-up “Slam the Door vs. Cinema”, “Shave It”, his digital delight “Legends of Zelda”, and “Stars Come Out”, to name a few.
Our favorite tunes of his two sets were Dada Life’s “Kick Out the Epic Motherf*****” and Knife Party’s “Internet Friends”. Zedd’s unrelenting energy and charged emotion truly brought Act II to the level of intensity that the Cosmic Opera team promised to deliver with Imbroglio. We were so impressed by this young producer’s control over the crowd and must confess that the dance parties during his sets were our favorite parts of both Thursday and Friday night’s shows. This young prodigy is a dark and twisty magician who will cast a dancing spell on you. Keep him on your radar….we have to report that his sets each night were better than the headliner’s…
Zedd killin it at Imbroglio
True to Zedd’s background with musical instruments, his set came full circle with instrumentals at the start and close. At the end of his set, a violinist took the stage and began an emotional and aggressively charged rendition of “So Much Love” as Fedde Le Grand took the spotlight at center stage. The DJ booth expanded, doubling in size, as Fedde transitioned the violinist’s song to Deniz Koyu’s remix of the track on his turn tables, blasting the ravers below him away with a special moment to remember (following in the footsteps of Axwell’s opening track “In My Mind” that he transitioned from an opera singer’s vocals).
Fedde did not falter in the footsteps of Act I’s ringleader Axwell, blasting bangers like “Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit”, his new “Turn It”, Calvin Harris’ “Feel So Close”, his most popular recent Coldplay remix “Paradise”, Steve Angello’s “Knas”, his remix of Benny Benassi’s “House Music” , and his own remix of Martin Solveig’s “Hello”. We especially loved his remix of Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” and mash-up “Walking On A Sweet Dream”. The best track we took away from the evening was by far and away dBerrie’s remix of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” featuring Kimbra – when Fedde dropped this bomb the crowd went absolutely mental, singing at the top of their lungs and dancing with a newfound energy circa 3 am. It was brilliant to witness and we can’t get the beat out of our heads.
All in all, Act II of Cosmic Opera was a magical and fiery EDM experience. Imbroglio was meant to represent the fiery passion of love that can be terrifyingly dark and miraculously pleasing all at the same time, and we felt successfully charged with these primal feelings as we left Hammerstein at 3:30 am Friday and Saturday morning. The massive LED screens, an electric UFO blasting through Fedde’s set, and the unique 360-degree laser show , combined with operatic performances, violinists, Steampunk art décor, choreographed dancers and aerialists, all integrated in a more polished way with the musical message of the night, are the reasons why we felt Act II was such a great improvement to its predecessor, Act I. The darker, more aggressive beats this go around made the event feel much more theatrical, and we really appreciated the renovations to the stage, especially the runways on the sides that engulfed the crowd more interactively with the performers.
The transition from the Cosmic Chandelier to the Cosmic Claw was a success, fitting in line with the Steampunk theme and adding a dark edge to the historical venue. In Act III we hope that the 3D lighting of the angels on the ceiling is executed, as this was a promised feature that we were anxiously anticipating. Top hats off to the Cosmic Opera team for reacting so effectively to the critiques that came out of the first Act. We were so impressed with the incredible amount of work that had clearly been put in to make this second Act truly cosmic, and we cannot wait to experience Act III!
Follow @CosmicOpera and tweet your photos of the #CosmicCostume you rocked at Act II & you could win VIP to Act III! We hope to see all you bumpers at the finale of this truly epic extrasensory event – and don’t forget to #DressTheatrically!!
Well…where to begin? Our journey down to the Sunshine State was everything we hoped it’d be and much, much more. The entire week was a blur of good times, great people, and of course, world-class tunage. We got to hang with Steve Aoki and Tommy Trash on Tuesday, rage at the ‘Greyhound’ Absolut release party with Swedish House Mafia and Dada Life on Wednesday, and got some Group Therapy with Arty, Mat Zo and Above & Beyond on Thursday…all leading up to MMW’s main event: ULTRA. This year, the festival moved back to its original location at Bayfront Park. We were a little concerned about whether the venue would be able to accommodate the 50,000+ ravers forecasted to attend each day. Driving past the venue earlier in the week, we saw the Carl Cox/A State of Trance and UMF Korea tents set up flush with Biscayne Boulevard, and joked about how the common pedestrian would be able to stand on the sidewalk and get a free show. When we arrived on Friday, we saw that the festival organizers had completely blocked off the street and that Ultra’s fenced walls had engulfed Biscayne Boulevard, traffic lights and all. One of our Miami-native friends thought this was the coolest part about the venue because at the end of each day, fireworks went off and thousands of concert-goers wandered one of Miami’s main drags and were unleashed upon the city.
On the first day, we managed to find a parking spot a couple blocks away from the madness, and joined the neon procession flowing closer and closer to the pounding beats. We walked past the main entrance chaos along a road down to the water to check into the press area…the calm before the storm. We hopped in the cue of other press people waiting to receive their passes, and turned around to see Skrillex and his whole crew checking in as well. We knew from that moment on that it was going to be an epic weekend. From our separate entrance, we walked past merch and food stands (and past some actual bathrooms! A hidden gem compared to the standard port-o-potty accommodations…) on our way into the center of the park. Weaving through the maze of walkways and stages, we found tons of little areas to relax, eat, drink, and get lost in some new and fascinating music. The best part about huge festivals like Ultra is that there’s always someone new to see, some unexplored stage, some foundation-shattering bassline that could change your outlook on music altogether. The variety of acts alone ranged from live, indie bands to minimal techno DJs that took a trained ear to fully appreciate. Nothing can compare to the panoramic as we wandered our way into the center of the main stage area…looking up and around, palm trees and nine stages nestled in the heart of downtown Miami, with the skyline sketched all around us. It is definitely a scene we wont soon forget.
All of the setlists and live recordings have been made available online if you search hard enough, so we’re going to walk you through our ULTRAhighlights rather than take you track-by-track…
DAY 1:
Madeon – this 17 year old prodigy had his tent packed & overflowing, and after hearing his brilliantly executed mash-ups and deep, deep basslines, we can be sure he’s on the up-and-up
Richie Hawtin – minimal techno at its very finest…Richie Hawtin (also known as Plastikman) blew us away with the most live and improvisational performance we’ve witnessed to date. This man didn’t take his hands or eyes off the decks for his entire set, expertly manipulating the dials and beats, taking us on an abstract journey through techno town.
Tiesto – we love Tiesto, plain and simple. His performances, especially headlining performances, are always a perfect mix of sing-along favorites, dark progressive beats, and some new and fascinating tracks. A MAJOR highlight and current obsession is the Qulinez remix of ‘A Heavy Abacus’ by The Joy Formidable…we cannot get it out of our heads and are counting down to its release on April 24th
DAY 2:
Deniz Koyu – he was the only DJ we watched in the BAO Dome and it was quite the experience.. Half naked chicks took turns dancing on a small platform set up above the booth and confetti & champagne were flowing…Koyu knows how to throw a party!
Carl Cox – Oh yes, oh yes! This was our first time seeing this tech-house legend and he definitely left a lasting impression. He absolutely destroyed shit in his namesake tent and we cannot wait to see him again!
Sven Vath – again, a new face for us here at SBB…but isn’t that what big festivals are all about? Hearing tunes that have never before graced your earbuds? We were completely entranced in Sven’s spell and simply couldn’t drag ourselves away from his masterful tech-electronica performance.
Avicii – Madonna coming out/singing would have been a highlight if she hadn’t tainted it by asking the crowd if “Anyone had seen Molly?” and blabbing on about how EDM has always been a part of her musical career…we think it showed a little desperation for relevance, especially after naming her latest album MDNA. But besides that, Avicii played a typical (although shortened) set and ended day two on an uplifting note
DAY 3:
A State of Trance 550. Need we say more? We didn’t budge from the tent for a solid 7 hours, and we would do it over every single day if we could! In running order (from when we arrived): Cosmic Gate, Sander Van Doorn, Dash Berlin, Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren, Gareth Emery, & ATB…a full-on TRANCEgasm. There were live performances from Emma Hewitt (with Cosmic Gate) and Mayaeni (with Sander), a self-proclaimed ‘State of Dashups’ by Dash Berlin that absolutely blew our minds, Sander packing almost 20 songs into his 1-hour set, and countless other stand-out moments.
Here are a few other highlights from our final day at Ultra:
Emma Hewitt showing her love
Dash Berlin drops Sander Kleinenberg’s ‘This Is Miami’ & ‘Man On The Run’
Ferry Corsten drops his unreleased ‘Not Coming Down’
Thank you Ultra Music Festival & Miami for an amazing week of music !!
TV Rock came to Santos Party House this past Saturday, March 17th & blew the roof off. It was a fantastic night filled with good people and even better tunes. We celebrated St. Patrick on a NYC rooftop during the beautifully sunny day and continued the SBB party into the wee morning hours at Santos. We got there early and set up shop right next to the DJ booth & our photographer, Brian Love, was in attendance to capture every wild moment (pictures coming soon to our Facebook page!). We were greeted with green sunglasses & glowsticks to keep the St. Patty’s spirit flowing throughout the night. We’ve attended the Electric Beach Series at Santos on multiple occasions, and the venue, service & musical talent never fail to impress!
There was a great opening DJ that got the growing crowd hyped and ready for the upcoming Australian duo. We had high expectations coming in due to TV Rock’s impressive resume: producing ‘In My Mind’ & ‘In The Air,’ along with starting their own label, ‘Neon Records’, which signed fellow Aussie, Dirty South. So, needless to say, the show went off without a hitch and we’d like to give props to Santos for getting TV Rock to come ROCK our socks off.
We had seen Justice the night before @ Terminal 5 and the contrast was like a breath of fresh air. We appreciate and recognize all genres of music, but TV Rock was simply more up our alley. We had quite the crew in attendance and got to share the night with some of our less EDM-savvy friends, singing lyrics to some of our favorite songs including ‘In My Mind,’ ‘Titanium (Alesso Remix),’ ‘Beautiful World’ & the ever-popular ‘Levels.’ They constructed a perfectly balanced set, starting with more mainstream tunes and evolving into dark, progressive beats that only a few dedicated followers recognized, but that everyone went crazy for. We called it a night around 3 AM, feeling both elated and exhausted after the party marathon that is St. Patty’s day.
We want to thank our Bumpers for coming out and supporting our exclusive night @ Santos Party House & hope we can partner up again very soon. Thank you Santos for bringing such amazing artists to the best city in the world, NYC ! We’re off to MIAMI for WMC, hope to see you all there!!!
When Oscar Hammerstein opened the Manhattan Opera House in 1906, he had a vision of hosting beautiful operas alternative to the pre-existing Metropolitan Opera House, but never in his wildest dreams could Oscar have imagined the revolutionary Opera that his musical venue would one day host. Cosmic Opera, an unprecedented dance event series consisting of three acts, began this past Thursday, February 23rd, with Axwell of Swedish House Mafia spearheading Act I as master ringleader. Axwell led accompanying opera singers with his turntables amidst costumed actors, dancers, and a spectacle of lights that transported concert goers into a new realm of Electrosensory Dance Music.
Justin Cohen, founder of Cosmic Opera, has embarked upon a mission to change the way people experience EDM concerts and has stated that Hammerstein’s “profound architecture” gave him the inspiration for much of his vision for the unique, extrasensory Cosmic Opera. The beautiful layout of Hammerstein, with its curved balconies and high ceilings, was the ultimate exoskeleton for this experimental EDM experience. It was a refreshing change of pace from Lavo & Pacha, as the large ground level and balcony levels provided plenty of space for both dancing and relaxing when your feet needed a break.
The New York Times released that Mr. Cohen hired a former aerospace engineer, an independent film director, Lady Gaga’s lighting technician, and producer John Finen (whose credits include the World Science Festival and events at Lincoln Center) to oversee the production of Cosmic Opera. With the huge amount of hype and star-studded production cast (not to mention the high ticket price), we were expecting a perfectly executed blend of a Cirque du Soleil show, a full-on rave, and bits of orchestral and operatic performances. When all was said and done, some things were left to be desired.
StopBreatheBump attended Friday’s performance of Act I, which included the musical talents of No ID & Thomas Gold acting as Axwell’s “supporting cast”. We didn’t make it in time to see No ID, but when we arrived, Gold was setting the stage with an amazing set of mash-ups, bootlegs and unreleased material. Some of the highlights include: his Dirty South collab ‘Alive’, a huge ‘Someone Like You’ singalong that curiously transitioned into ‘Memories’ from the musical Cats, and the vocals from ‘We Are Your Friends’ mixed over an unreleased track rumored to be called ‘Meow’ (see video below!). Gold did an excellent job of revving up the crowd for the ringleader’s anticipated performance.
When Gold wrapped up his supporting act performance, a spotlight illuminated a futuristic opera singer on one of the upper balconies. She began her descent down the stairs, followed by a few ‘circus wenches’, all-the-while singing a ghostly operatic song (which was later identified as the lyrics to ‘In My Mind’). When she finally reached the ground floor, she stepped onto a platform and was carried through the crowd and onto the stage. We hope, if this element is included in the next two acts, that it be shorter or enhanced more elaborately to capture the audience’s attention more effectively. If the volume had been boosted, perhaps the crowd would not have acted as restlessly and chatted their neighbors up throughout the bit. As her performance came to a crescendo, the stage opened up and an organ-like DJ booth was revealed, with Axwell at its center. A perfectly angled mirror was set up behind him, which allowed the audience to see exactly what he was doing on the decks…a very unique, unforgettable, and appreciated element to the show.
As the opera singer closed with the chilling words, “This is what we’re waiting for…,” Axwell phased in with a pipe-organ version of the intro to ‘In My Mind’, and the crowd started to go wild. From there, it was a classic Axwell show filled with anthems, his characteristic speech to the crowd (he announced that Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso were in the building, which filled the crowd with anticipation that they might get to see 2/3 of an SHM performance…which unfortunately never happened :/ ), and a load of unique bootlegs and mash-ups. Some highlights from Axwell’s performance include: Miike Snow’s ‘Devil’s Work’, the new SHM track ‘Greyhound’, ‘Every Teardrop is a Waterfall’, ‘Antidote’, his ‘Teenage Crime’ edit (one of our all-time favorites), a Whitney Houston ‘Dance With Somebody’ remix (the crowd was cheering at this tribute to the late & beloved singer), and a beautifully orchestrated Hard Rock Sofa bootleg including Deniz Koyu’s ‘Hertz’, Eric Prydz’s ’2night’ and the vocals from ‘Together’ by Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso.
One of the most magical moments of the show was when cloud imagery was projected into a ceiling of lasers above our heads and snow machines blew little flakes through the electric sky onto our hot & sweaty rave heads. Especially with the lack of snow this winter, we New Yorkers very much enjoyed the snowstorm in Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday night. After the flurries subsided, a light mist of rain blew through the ballroom..cooling the crowd and leaving in its path a sparkling laser rainbow. This visual stimulation was further complemented by the rainbow imagery in the screens on all the balconies across the venue. The wacky weather in the second half of the show is the kind of playful element that makes us excited to see what other quirky and unique creative developments we will see at Hammerstein in April.
The most spectacular aspect of Cosmic Opera was by far and away the light show. The production team went above and beyond what we normally experience in a laser show at these events, using highly specialized techniques similar to those used by the light technicians of the group Ghostland Observatory. The lasers that cut across the ballroom cascaded in a way that actually created ceilings of color. Projected imagery was directed at various angles into these ceilings, creating fantastical depictions of clouds and patterns over the heads of the ravers. Lasers and lights of all the colors in the rainbow lined the stage, walls, balconies, and ceiling, and 3-D mapping techniques drew sporadic, spinning cubes of light. Black lights blanketed the neon crowd and provided a circus-like atmosphere. A huge disco ball encased within a chandelier of crystals was trussed toward the back of the room, with its own set-up of lights that threw glittered sparkles throughout the entirety of Hammerstein. For Act II, we hope they move this contraption further toward the middle of room so ravers don’t have to disconnect from the DJ to see the effect that this massively beautiful chandelier provides (and so it doesn’t obstruct the view of some balcony-dwellers).
Overall, we were very impressed with the energy that these two superstar DJs brought and more importantly, sustained. We hope that in the next two acts, more theatrical and circus-like elements will be included to fully engage the crowd in this extrasensory experience. Essentially we’d love Cosmic Opera to push the limits further with the Cirque du Soleil inspiration, and not leave us with theatrical blue-balls. We’d like to see more actors walking through the crowd, more acrobatics, a better sound system, and a more cohesive storyline. This series has the potential to be something sensational, something beyond what we’ve seen in any other EDM show. We’re excited to see what improvements, unique elements, and headliners Act II will bring to the Big Apple. Check out more of our great videos on our YouTube channel !
We’ll keep you bumpers updated as soon as we get word of line-up announcements and ticket releases so that you won’t miss part deux and trois of this revolutionary, theatrical, & highly anticipated dance music series.
Dim Mak Record’s Deadmeat 2012 tour has been by far one of the anticipated tours to hit the EDM scene this year with over 40 stops throughout the US. Leading the tour is Datsik and Steve Aoki, with supporting artists Alvin Risk, Angger Dimas, Mustard Pimp, Dirtyphonics, Autoerotique, Terravita, Addy’s Ill, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike.
Stop Breathe Bump had the opportunity to check out the show at The House Of Blues in Boston on February 16th. The House of Blues was the perfect intimate space to host this kind of an event. The moment we entered the venue we knew that this was going to be an amazing experience. We opened the double doors to the main floor entrance and were immediately overwhelmed by every element of the show. All three floors were completely packed with 2,600 fans, and the lights cascaded down upon them, creating an ambient glow throughout the venue.
The first artist to go up on stage was Autoerotique. For those who don’t know his music, Autoerotique is an up and coming producer out of Toronto, Canada with an electro – dutch house style. We honestly didn’t know what to expect with this artist, but we were excited to experience his style firsthand. What was surprising about his setup was how minimalistic it was in comparison to Datsik and Steve Aoki’s set. The only pieces of equipment he utilized were a laptop, mixer, and a flat top table similar to ones you’d play Beruit on. In spite of his lackluster set design he was still able to captivate the crowd with remixes of Diplo, Laidback Luke, Benny Benassi, and Tiesto.
Datsik
The next act up on stage was British Columbian native Datsik. The energy in the room was kicked up a notch when Datsik brought out his special effects. Behind him during his set was the projected image of a robot that was synchronized with his movements. At times we wondered if the graphics were stolen from Skrillex’s Mothership Tour, as the special effects were almost identical. However, we have to admit these visual effects worked quite well with the lighting and his track list. Datsik’s transition between songs was virtually seamless. The way he blended songs together seemed effortless. Not only were they mixed very well, but every song he dropped sounded like it came from the best college party mix ever.
We were blown away by his choices of artists like Knife Party, Skrillex, Feed Me, Kill The Noise, Nero, Rusko, Flux Pavillion, Excision, and Wolfgang Gartner. We were also surprised to see him fuse hip-hop and EDM together with Jay-Z, Ice Cube, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West.
Deatmeat Tour
Bringing the show to a close was Steve Aoki. We can honestly say with one-hundred percent certainty that Aoki put on the best show we’d ever seen. This guy knows how to work a crowd and keep the audience entertained throughout his entire performance. Coming to the show we already expected a certain amount of chaos from him. He’s known for his champagne spraying, cake throwing, and crowd surfing antics. Witnessing it firsthand, however, was a completely different experience.
Aoki
Every time Aoki jumped down from his DJ booth the crowd went nuts in anticipation of what crazy stunt he’d pull next. The most incredible moment was when he scaled up to the second floor balcony, in the middle of his set, and leaped off onto his inflatable mattress and “white raver rafted” back to the stage. His set list offered the perfect soundtrack for his crazy antics with songs such as Earthquakey People, Turbulence, Warp 1977, No Beef, Tornado, The Kids Will Have Their Say, and Steve Jobs. He later came back on to play his remix of Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi.
If you get the chance to make it down to one of the 40 pit stops along the Deadmeat Tour you’d be crazy not to go. It was truly an unique experience and one we will never forget. Peep all of our photos from the night on our Facebook Fan page!
Last Thursday the Denver dance community was treated to a night of spectacular music from rising star Mat Zo. Over the past few years Mat has built a very strong reputation in the world of dance with his gorgeous productions that have always pushed the progression of various sub genres in the world of trance & progressive. Thursday night he lived up to every bit of this reputation with some with heavy doses of his own productions and a very impressive array of remixes and mashups.
Although I appreciated the originality of the first half of his set it was not until the second hour that he really hooked me with his harder more trancey track selection. This second hour of gold was kicked off with the classic Sander van Doorn – Riff followed by more big room tunes like Ferry Corsten vs. Beltek – Feel Kaiten (Mat Zo Mashup) and Third Party vs. First State feat. Anita Kelsey – Release vs. Falling (Mat Zo Mashup). These tracks all set the stage for the big finish which was headlined by my personal favorite moment of the night when he played Arty – The Wonder and mixed it directly into one of my favorite tracks of 2011 - Arty & Mat Zo – Rebound. The Wonder’s epic melodies built up the crowd to a boiling point and then he pushed them over the edge with Rebound – amidst a flurry of smoke and confetti. Be sure to check out the fantastic climax in video below!
From this high point Mat never took his foot off the gas pedal – ending the night with a flurry of monster tracks and mashups that would have made any trance fan’s head spin. After waiting so long to catch this future superstar of dance I am happy to report that he leaves nothing to be desired when the night is all said and done. His understanding of how to build a set, impeccable mixing and insane production ability secure an undeniably bright future and guarantees that no matter where or when you cross his path its going to be a big night.
**Big thanks to Beta Nightclub for inviting us out to another incredible night of dance music – can’t wait to do it again!
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