Although Ultra Music Festival Europe was only just announced in Croatia, phase one of the lineup has already been revealed. July 12th will feature Avicii, July 13th will feature Armin Van Buuren, and both days will host the legendary Carl Cox who will be bringing his friends along. Artists for day three on Hvar Island are as of yet unannounced, but we expect the names will be just as big. Tickets are on sale now for the low price of 50 Euros (~$65) for GA or 100 euros (~$130) for VIP. Tickets include access for all three days.
Before “Levels” became what it is known for today, Avicii was making a name for himself with his earlier productions and live sets. His 2010 Essential Mix features all of what we remember about the producer before his explosion, including his famed bootlegs and classic productions.
Original productions include “Penguin” while it was still “Penguin,” “Swede Dreams,” and “My Feelings For You.” Bootleg favorites began with the staple introduction of “Jailbait” with “Insomnia,” and “Abow” with “Sex is on Fire.” Even a Tim Berg production, “Bad Things,” made the cut. Jump below the break for the tracklist and enjoy Avicii circa 2010.
Dance music’s presence in last year’s Grammy awards was undeniable, marking the first time a DJ had been nominated for the Best New Artist category. The DJs and producers who were big in our world had finally crossed over into mainstream relevance by way of Skrillex’s five nominations and three wins. This year, Skrillex received three nods, each in the categories he won last year. Diplo’s nomination for Best Producer is also an accolade that is long overdue. Only three highly-recognizable dance music artists were nominated in 2012, but this time around there’s a much healthier selection.
Click below the jump to find out who made the cut and in which categories — prepare to be surprised.
Pasquale Rotella and Insomniac have just announced via Twitter the full lineup for this year’s White Wonderland event in Anaheim on New Year’s Eve. We were already pretty sure about some of the headliners, but the event’s website now confirms the full lineup will include the following: Above & Beyond, Avicii, Bingo Players, Dannic, Darin Epsilon, Dash Berlin, Ferry Corsten, Hardwell, Madeon, Sebastian Ingrosso, and Tritonal. Purchase your tickets here.
Last month, DJ Mag unveiled their annual top 100 rankings, and the 2012 list of DJs was full of surprises. The most notable being an apparent changing of the guard, with Avicii cracking the top 3 — slots that have been designated to the same dominating powers for the past several years. While Avicii — who has been held responsible for the commercialized trajectory of EDM — may not have been the unanimous vote among dance music fans, his influence among the genre, and the world in general, has been unavoidable.
Many people throw around Avicii’s name when cracking mainstream jokes, but — like it or not — the man has become one of the most popular and influential icons of the scene. Whether or not you agree with his #3 ranking, the people have spoken and the numbers show that he has earned that spot. Here are the 7 reasons why Avicii was ranked as an elite figure in 2012.
Rolling Stone has just announced its list for the Top 25 DJs in the world, and some of the selections may surprise you. For one, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy came in at number 7 — ranked ahead of Boys Noize, Skrillex, and Daft Punk (who were ranked dead last.) Carl Cox and Deadmau5 joined the French duo deep in the list, sitting comfortably at 22 and 20 respectively while underground newcomer Maya Jane Coles came in at 15 — ahead of arguably the most technically talented DJ in the world, A-Trak.
XS Las Vegas is out with its New Year’s Eve Weekend lineup, and it does not disappoint. We already knew Eric Prydz would be headlining at neighboring Surrender, and XS has only raised the stakes for a dance music lover’s dream weekend in Vegas. In chronological order, XS will be featuring Tiesto, Steve Angello, Deadmau5 over the preceding weekend and finally Avicii on New Year’s Eve. Tickets will undoubtedly go fast, so if you’re debating, go ahead and bite the bullet! Purchase links after the break.
Avicii is back with the eighth episode of his Levels podcast since last hosting Steve Aoki for a special guest mix, and this time he is coming forth with new music and his own narration. Tim continues to span many genres in his latest selection as he has done so well of late, but the vocal addition to “Nicktim” steals the spotlight.
While we’ve been anticipating the MixMash release of the Nicky Romero collaboration for some time, it comes as no surprise that we are first being hit with a revamped and renamed vocal edit, now known as “Stranger.” In addition to this major debut — which may stir mixed emotions — Avicii drops the next big thing from Cazzette — a Knife Party-esque original mix “Run For Cover.” Let us know what you think of the new tunes from Tim and download his latest podcast on iTunes.
Avicii has a tendency to preview tracks way ahead of their release, and this gem that we had been referring to as “ID^2″ finally has a name: “EDOM.” Featuring a slow building melodic section with gentle string elements and delicate piano riffs, “EDOM” has a nice drop that echoes the similar style of the lead section. The preview posted on Avicii’s SoundCloud is just under two minutes long, but you’ve probably heard this one before if you’ve been at an Avicii set. Of course, we don’t have any info on a release date just yet, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear more.
Update: We’ve been wondering what “EDOM” stood for, but Avicii’s manager Ash Pournouri just clarified that it’s just ‘MODE’ spelled backwards… So much for “electronic dance opera music.”
