Seeing Dennis play the inaugural Sensation America last year reminded me why he continues to come to mind as one of the modern-era house music greats. That was in 2012, but this cut from 2006 is timeless in its own right. The track isn’t too in-your-face, but the sum of rapid percussive variations, (what sound like) ritualistic chants, and perfectly appropriate synth stabs keeps the groove going without letting up. This was never Ferrer’s most famous song — but as DJ Mag recently warned, just don’t call him “Mr. Hey Hey.”
Dennis Ferrer – P 2 Da J
Release: 2006
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Bedingfield’s near-turn-of-the-century pop/dance crossover was both a radio and club hit, and not without reason. The central riff is both sparse and catchy at the same time; the stripped-bare instrumentation allows Bedingfield’s vocals to take over and do the work. “Gotta Get Thru This” is a song that hasn’t aged gracefully, but it’s sure to rekindle memories for many.
French house doesn’t get a lot of mainstream love these days, but it’s still my favorite flavor of house music. It’s a style that’s all about focusing on a catchy riff (either by sampling or by one’s own creation), adding effects, bending the pitch, and, most commonly, filtering the living daylights out of it (it has been described by some as “filter house,” after all), all while using a variety of looping sequences to keep the groove moving. The French house sound came into maturity at around the same time Daft Punk began to hit their stride; this was in the late ‘90s, during the “Homework” era in Daft Punk chronology. Not to mention that Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo were true titans of the genre as solo artists themselves, using their own platforms (Roulé and Crydamoure, respectively) to dish out quality music with panache.
Gum Me isn’t a name that’s on most listeners’ minds, but that may soon change. With a meager Discogs listing and a Youtube history that can be counted on two hands, “Sweaty Shirts” makes us rest easy that there’s still a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. Sweaty Shirts isn’t the typical peak-hour sweeper. It probably won’t cause shirts to become sweaty, in and of itself, at least. Instead, it’s a pulsing progressive beat that promises to not throw any curveballs your way. To all DJs looking for something to pad the middle of their set – this track will get you where you want to go.
Firebeatz are all about going hard, if their recent release “Miniman” is any indication. “Up Rock” betrays some sensitivity at times, with a build that’s almost reminiscent of Le Knight Club – but don’t be fooled. Anything soft is quickly recanted before long. Arpeggiated synths destroy any notions of serenity, and the track as a whole coalesces into something as unique as it is exhilarating. A catchy summer tune by any account, and a fitting accompaniment for a dirty mojito (or three).
It’s not every day that Gregori Klosman comes out with a release, but his latest “Minibar” drops today on Bingo Players imprint Hysteria Records after stewing since at least December of last year. “Minibar” most likely received its first live treatment at Amsterdam’s 2011 Dirty Dutch Blackout, where the Frenchman was flanked by fellow shed-fillers Laidback Luke and Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano, among others, for a night of heavy beats.
The drop, one that’s sure to elicit a hands-in-the-air reaction in its own right, makes use of a catchy and memorable vocal snippet – think Skrillex and the cup-stacking maven’s outburst in “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” – in this case, “F*ck, there’s no minibar!” Though in this case, we have a feeling that the energetic “Minibar” will have you overlooking such an omission.
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meshes a foreign male vocal with the sort of crunchy drums that only a tech house record could showcase successfully. It’s refreshing, too, to have a tech house track that doesn’t lay all its cards on the table at once. The unique composition of the track, with vocals interspersed here and there, as well as the differentiated drops, make the full appreciation of the exquisitely unformulaic “African Drop” much more than a mere three-minute affair.
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On the second day of EDC Las Vegas, at approximately 12:35a Pacific Time, event organizer Insomniac ordered a pre-emptive one-hour event-wide shutdown on account of heavy winds tearing through the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The announcement occurred during Markus Schulz’s set in the A State of Trance tent, which was also simulcasted over SiriusXM after the broadcast of Kinetic Field ended. The shutdown comes on the heels of several rides and attractions that were previously made unavailable, also for reasons of inclement weather.
Those inside the venue were directed to the grandstand, and entry into the Speedway was temporarily barred. Said Armin van Buuren on the air: “The LED screen behind Markus [Schulz] is moving so bad it could hurt people. The stages are shaking.”
At approximately 12:40a Pacific Time, the EDC livestream was replaced with a trance studio mix.
Update 1 (12:57a PT): AvB and Markus Schulz began a back-to-back mix in the SiriusXM studio, with Markus picking up where he left off.
Update 2 (1:16a PT): Update on the ground as people move to the grandstand:Image
Update 3 (2:27a PT): Full statement from Insomniac events below.
Update 4 (June 10, 6:51p PT): Insomniac has just released another update, indicating that single day Saturday passes will be honored on Sunday (day 3)!
Miami Music Week 2012 has come and gone, but there’s no need to be sad. You can relive all the magic from the No Sugar Added festival by watching our quick video recap, which features some of our favorite moments from the two-day event. The concept was admittedly simple: beautiful people coming together to celebrate beautiful electronic dance music. The result was beautiful memories.
This was the first time we’ve had our own stage at a festival, and we’re thrilled that we were able to give some of our favorite artists the opportunity to do what they do best: make people dance.
