Electric Zoo Artist Spotlight ’13: Dim Mak tastemakers add plenty of flavor to Riverside on Sunday
One of the labels at the forefront of dance music, Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak, touches down at Electric Zoo 2013 for the final day of Manhattan’s premier dance music festival. Although its cake tossing head honcho has relinquished his headlining spot on his own stage for the closing set at Main Stage East, Aoki’s Dim Mak showcase is anything but tame. With performances from Chase & Status, Dirtyphonics, Felix Cartal, Angger Dimas, Keys & Krates and more, the final day on the water will be defined by a unique blend of drum and bass, electro and trap from Aoki’s tastemaking imprint.
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Felix Cartal
Since joining the Dim Mak family in 2009, Felix Cartal has been one of the label’s most fervent supporters, releasing two full length EPs in his time under Steve Aoki’s wing. The Canadian producer prides himself on creating high quality electro house that incorporates teeth-grinding energy with beautiful vocal outputs and melodic undertones. Poised to deliver a set rife with his own originals, Felix Cartal will storm the Riverside stage with squeaky clean productions and tons of festival-friendly vocals.
Why are you excited for Electric Zoo?
I really love New York because I can’t compare it to any other city in the world. I’m excited to hang out with all the other Dim Mak artists except for Autoerotique.
What will you do this weekend to fly the Dim Mak flag high?
I really want to cake Steve.
What’s it like working with/for Steve Aoki and the whole Dim Mak crew?
From day one, Steve told me he will support anything I want to do musically. Having that level of respect and confidence in what I want to do has made our relationship amazing. All the other guys at the label are great too. Just a bunch of bros, y’know?
Yolanda Be Cool
The two Australians behind one of dance music’s most infectious hits “We No Speak Americano,” bring their unique blend of funk-fueled house to Electric Zoo’s third day. Although probably pigeonholed by their breakout hit, these two have far more than one silly dance music jingle up their sleeves. Refreshingly unique and unapologetically daring, Yolanda Be Cool’s Sunday set might be the freshest of the weekend. Following up a stint at Burning Man only days before, the pair will arrive in New York just in time to defy definition alongside the rest of the Dim Mak family.
Why are you excited for Electric Zoo?
Well for starters, it’s in New York, which is by far one of our favorite cities to play and to hang in. Then the location of the actual festival sounds dope. Then the list of artists is pretty insane. And it will also mean we made it through Burning Man :)
What will you do this weekend to fly the Dim Mak flag high?
Well, we are actually on our way to LA from a festival in Prague and I’m pretty sure we will probably end up at some party with guys from Dim Mak; that or we will hit the studio with our buddy Wax Motif, who we will stay with and maybe work on a collab for Dim Mak. Who knows.
What’s it like working with/for Steve Aoki and the whole Dim Mak crew?
It’s been really cool. Even though Steve must be the busiest man alive, he still writes back to every email and tweet and has just been all round cool, ever since we first sent him our album. As for everyone else, as per the above, everyone’s been awesome.
It’s also been really cool for us because I guess there is a perception that Dim Mak is a very “banging” label, but it’s been really cool that they have totally supported us and our sound, which is a little deeper. Steve even said we were part of a new sound for Dim Mak, so that was really, really cool.
Angger Dimas
Indonesian fidget house sensation, Angger Dimas, started playing music at 7 years old before getting his start in 2009 on Vicious Recordings with his debut track “Duck Army.” Incorporating the drum driven vibes of his home country with Dutch synthwork and frantic fidget house backbones, Angger is another truly unique player on the Dim Mak roster. Prepping for the release of his upcoming album Angger Management on September 3rd, the bounce house import will undoubtedly showcase much of his new material during his midday set under the Riverside tent.
Why are you excited for Electric Zoo?
I can’t wait for Electric Zoo ever since I played there last year. The location is just epic, with thousands of fans raging into the night right with the NYC skyline across the water. It’s an amazing experience. I know the 5th anniversary is going to be mental and my set at EZOO kicks of my North American Angger Management Tour.
What will you do this weekend to fly the Dim Mak flag high?
I normally have quite a few Dim Mak tracks in my sets. But you can be sure to hear me play my new collaboration with Steve Aoki “Annihilation Army” and new collabs on my album with other Dim Mak artists like D.O.D & Will Brennan.
What’s it like working with Steve Aoki and the whole Dim Mak crew?
It’s great working with Steve and the Dim Mak team. Steve and I are great friends, so when we’re in the same city we always try and find time to hang out and work on new collab ideas. Just a few months ago, Steve was in Jakarta for a show, so he came over to my house and we ended up in the studio and that’s where our new collab began.
Dirtyphonics
The gruesome foursome known as Dirtyphonics follow up a “special guest” set just as the sun begins to go down on Electric Zoo’s final day. Performing live, the French troupe’s breakneck display of drumstep, dubstep, drum and bass, breaks and more will set the tone for the rest of the evening at Riverside. Bringing a bit more musicality to the day’s electronic music, Dirtyphonics will crowd the stage and assault the crowd with their high energy electronic rock.
Why are you excited for Electric Zoo?
We’re always very excited to come and play in NYC. It’s one of our favorite cities to play and our fans have an insane amount of energy! We played EZoo last year and we made awesome memories at this festival, both on stage and off stage, and we can’t wait to come back and do it again.
We played a show in NYC a couple months ago for our album’s “IRREVERENCE” tour. The crowd was already chanting the songs and we have more surprises up our sleeves.
What will you do this weekend to fly the Dim Mak flag high?
We’re definitely going to party hard (and you can see what we mean by that on the Up All Night video series on the Dim Mak YouTube channel), play a bunch of music on the label, and give some goodies to our fans, the #DIRTYarmy.
What’s it like working with/for Steve Aoki and the whole Dim Mak crew?
As we said, it’s pretty flawless. Every time we’re on the road together it feels good, it feels right, and every time we are in L.A we go to the Dim Mak office and make sure we don’t leave until we all agree on going out and partying after that. Since the Deadmeat Tour in 2012, we have a strong relationship with Steve Aoki. We see him on the road very often at huge festivals, whether it’s in LA, Vegas, NYC, Spain, Austria, France. We share the same vision of what a show is. We did a collab on our album (“Stage Divers”) and he has just done a huge remix of our our latest single “No Stopping Us” featuring Foreign Beggars. Make sure to check it out!
The great thing is that we never feel that we’re “working,” even though we are. We are a group of friends, a family making projects together and creating new things. It’s the best feeling to be free to create whatever you feel like, and have a family to help you in this process. Together, there’s no stopping us.
Keys N Krates
Trap-loving trio, Keys N Krates take the decks at Riverside just after lunch on Sunday but their early set time is no reason to sleep on their set. Their first performance on Randall’s Island, they will set the tone for whats to follow under the shade of Dim Mak’s temporary home. Fluttering hi hats, intricately layered hip hop and trap productions, and an onstage presence and charisma unmatched that early in the day make Keys N Krates’ lunchtime jump off the perfect way to shake off a groggy Sunday morning.
Why are you excited for Electric Zoo?
Flo: We’ve been hearing about how epic this festival is for years, and playing NYC is always an honor.
What will you do this weekend to fly the Dim Mak flag high?
Flo: I’m gonna throw a cheese cake from Juniors into my own face.
What’s it like working with/for Steve Aoki and the whole Dim Mak crew?
Matisse: Really fun! It’s a fun group of guys, but they’re also really on point.
Categories: Music