Dancing Astronaut presents: EXIT Festival 2015’s Ones to WatchEit Festival

Dancing Astronaut presents: EXIT Festival 2015’s Ones to Watch

Dancing Astronaut presents: EXIT Festival 2015's Ones-To-Watch

For the past 15-years, EXIT Festival has been bringing eclectic line-ups and likeminded fans to the unsuspecting back-drop of Serbia. Whilst the likes of Croatia and Holland have continued to hold their corner in terms of volume of events, EXIT’s reputation for crossing boarders both musically and culturally pegs it as one of the most essential European pitstops on the festival calendar, with a good 40,000 attendees set to descend upon Novi Sad this summer. For this marker year of action, the team commandeered everyone from Emeli Sande and Hardwell to Just Blaze and Eagles of Death Metal, continuing the eclectic form that has kept them in fighting form for so long. On the eve of this landmark sitting, Dancing Astronaut runs down the top electronic picks from its line-up for 2015.

Adam Beyer B2B Joseph Capriati

Swedish techno don Adam Beyer tends to find himself invited to the majority of credible dance festivals across the continents – EXIT reigning no exception for 2015. Alongside Italian peer and occasional label mate Joseph Capriati, the underground stalwart joins one of the most consistent yet outspoken DJ talents to emerge from the European front of late for a serious trial by fire for the world of techno. Each known for their long and gruelling journeys into the facets if modern techno, this Swedish/Italian showdown is not to be missed.

Kove

From upfront drum & bass to coming-of-age commercial house, Kove’s wonderfully unpredictable studio output has cemented him a place among the elite of UK dance prospects of late. Treading a fine line between the accessible and the outright energetic, his attention to two of his country’s more affluent musical exports has served up a wealth of essential cuts for MTA Records of late, leaving his dotted live offerings to piece the together a musical repertoire that was made for the summer festival circuit.

Soul Clap

EXIT have secured a slice of just about every essential sound currently dominating the industry right now, but their inclusion of Soul Clap ticks an essential box. A nostalgic and soulfully charged duo fusing the ‘cool’ with the outright experimental, the Boston outfit never miss the mark of being just the right balance of dialled back and completely compelling to watch live. Their extended sets are usually a great opportunity to test fresh cuts from Soul Clap Recordings, but a live set from the North American outfit is nothing short of educational where the week’s musical agenda is concerned.

Hudson Mohawke

Scottish beatmaker Ross Birchard was the experimental muse bass music way praying for. He hit a considerable peak on sophomore album Lantern, fusing various musical worlds and that signature knack for steadfast productions to form a standout long-player for his Hudson Mohawke moniker and the genre alike. A discography as diverse and distinctly characteristic as his does not go without a killer live rendition, making EXIT an opportunity for fans new and old to relish on the work of an artist counting Kayne, Jhene Aikyo and Miguel as studio partners to-date.

Kölsch

Kölsch recently made with sophomore album 1983. It followed in the footsteps of 1977 as nothing shrt of epic, but it’s no big secret that the magic in Rune Reilly Kölsch’s melodic techno moniker truly sparks in the live arena. Deep, complexly textured and reassuringly unpredictable, his presence on the both the European festival circuit and Ibiza’s hallowed club floors echoed across the industry, leaving 2015 as the perfect opportunity to drop some new material into the mix of one of the underground’s most creative live dance experiences of quite some time.

TCTS

EXIT aren’t skimping on the UK talent for 2015. Born in Manchester, bred by MTA Records and now cruising towards a global spread for his slack yet sufficiently tailored house cuts, TCTS has made with some essential indicators as to something truly fresh in sound brewing from the British isles. If you dug ‘Thinking About You’ and his recent remix for Nero’s returning single ‘The Thrill,’ that flare for contemporary house is unlikely to disappoint in the flesh amidst the festival’s eclectic roster.

Kill The Buzz

Whilst European big room is by no means top of the menu on EXIT’s eclectic line-up, it has secured an essential artist from the Dutch quarter. Having risen under the wing of Hardwell’s Revealed Recordings imprint, Kill The Buzz now stands for an artist as versatile behind the decks as he is solidified as a Beatport chart scaler. Having shown dual aptitude in opening for the DJ Mag titan himself or holding the fort at his own headline slots, his groovy yet melodically cut sound is sure to keep those without a lean to the more stereotypical ranks of electronic dance music content.

GotSome

Bristol two-piece GotSome sauntered onto the radar courtesy of Defected breakthrough moment ‘Bassline,’ but have since become a considerable staple on the European circuit. Fusing heyday garage hallmarks with modern house swagger, the duo’s sets always come littered with choice cuts and personal remodels, giving them a somewhat unpredictable vantage compared to many of their UK peers.

Nicole Moudaber

The queen of MOOD Records and some of the biggest live techno experiences on the planet seldom goes unnoticed at any given festival. As the underground staple made for the big rooms and smaller club rooms alike, EXIT marks yet another of the grander festivals to host the London-based techno champion. Off the heels of the recent Her Dub Material EP, Moudaber’s studio output has been replaced by long, hard and gruelling techno sets of the highest calibre, tending to take things into the early hours in the most intricate and head turning way. This is one to watch regardless of any stigmas towards techno – if you’re going to try it this summer, it should be in Nicole Moudaber’s company.

Thomas Jack

Thomas Jack came out of nowhere, but his presence could not be stronger. With the nod of approval from Pete Tong, his own iHeartRadio show and an heir-to-the-throne stake in the recent rise of tropical house, the Australian newcomer turned prolific remixer is an essential injection of modern hype to EXIT’s 2015 line-up. Whilst more recent attention has fallen on his affiliation with ‘Manny The Frenchie’, Thomas Jack’s sets tend to be a good indicator of what this tropical house handle is all about and where its leading lads intend to steer it for the future.

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