Dancing Astronaut has taken you behind the booth with the likes of Dada Life, Thomas Gold, and Sebastian Ingrosso, and now Arty is under the spotlight. The Russian progressive-trance arbiter tells all at San Francisco’s Ruby Skye before one of his latest US outings. Arty touches on popular topics such as Ibiza’s unmatched dance music vibes and his plans for this year’s Miami Music Week. On a more relieving note, the youngster declares that his sound in 2013 will replicate the Arty we know and love from 2008 and 2009.
I have never left a Sander van Doorn performance feeling disappointed, and Saturday afternoon at Electric Zoo was certainly no exception. In fact, multiple people I spoke to said it was one of one of the best sets from the festival. Not only are Sander’s shows energetic and exciting, but he always takes the stage with a grin that lets us know how happy he is to be there. His hour-long at Zoo set was full of classics like “Koko” and new hits like “Kangaroo,” but also riddled with unreleased bombs that caused the packed crowd to go wild. The sonic wizard pulled many a musical magic trick out of his hat on Saturday, but these were his five best…
Our video series Behind The Booth is meant to show off a side of the world’s biggest DJs in a manner we don’t normally get to see. Well, we have conquered the Soviets in this latest episode, snagging the opportunity to sit down with Swanky Tunes before their set at Ruby Skye. See a different side of Swanky Tunes, and hear them discuss them talk about their biggest tracks like “The Edge” and the impact of touring America. They even let their upcoming collaboration with Kaskade slip out, while explaining their past works with R3hab and Tiesto. Swanky has managed to pump out some of the biggest club tracks of the past few years, so it’s nice to see the men behind the productions step away from their machines for once.
The Behind The Booth saga continues… Who will be next?
We recently got the chance to interview Nicky Romero in San Francisco and he decided he was ready to join the Behind The Booth ranks. In our video interview, Nicky pretty much tells the story of how he burst onto the scene and how David Guetta reached out after hearing his “Flash” remix. Nicky also discusses his latest track, “WTF?!,” his favorite productions to date, his recently-launched Protocol Recordings label, and his Essential Mix for Radio 1. He’s definitely a busy guy with a lot going on, so see for yourselves in the video above.
“Hello world, this is Sebastian Ingrosso and you’re watching Behind The Booth on Dancing Astronaut… One of my best and favorite blogs in the world.”
Sebastian Ingrosso brought his Refune crew to New York City back in April and we had the opportunity to sit down with him in his hotel room a few hours before the huge Roseland Ballroom show. We got to chat about everything from his current projects to Masquerade Motel to how he balances the growth of his solo career with the juggernaut that is Swedish House Mafia. We also got Seb to discuss the upcoming Swedish House single as well as a potential US SHM tour — so if you’re a fan of the trio this video is one you shouldn’t miss. The whole interview is quite candid and shows off Seb’s real personality — not to mention his amazing stage presence — so press play below and get watching! (PS: Don’t stop the video early, watch until the end.)
Our special Behind The Booth video with Sebastian Ingrosso is almost ready, but we had to share this little snippet ahead of tonight’s SHM show at Coachella. We asked Seb about the new track, which he described as “pretty emotional.” He also says they wanted to debut it at Coachella, and since it didn’t happen last week… Well, you can do the math. The rumor on the street is that they’ll open with it tonight, but we guess we’ll have to wait just a few more hours to find out. Our own sources have told us that it’s still a “maybe.” Either way, tweet us if you’re there. Bonus points for video!
I first heard the name Thomas Gold in 2010, when Swedish House Mafia dropped “AGORa” in their Essential Mix recorded live at Creamfields. The SHM Creamfields 2010 set is mandatory listening for any self-respecting dance music fan — it went on to win Essential Mix of the year. It also propelled Thomas Gold firmly into the spotlight. You’ll always remember where you were when you heard “AGORa” for the first time. It’s just that arresting.
In 2011, Thomas has showed us why he has the potential to one day outshine his Size Matters mentor, Steve Angello. A string of memorable big-room progressive house bangers (“Alive” and “Eyes Wide Open” with Dirty South, remarkable remixes of Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” and “Someone Like You“) showed us that he’s an elite producer. His set at Escape from Wonderland showed that he’s an elite DJ. Our Behind the Booth interview shows that Thomas is an elite person — affable, energetic, and passionate about dance music.
It’s interesting when you are meeting a DJ for the first time, because you don’t know what to expect. Are they down to earth? Fun to hang out with? Or are they very business-oriented? In a nutshell — Tommy is a goofball. He’s the right combination of hilarious, witty, and interesting. We were lucky enough to watch him wave his shaggy hair behind the decks, describe what girls from the Gold Coast are like, and talk about his new collaboration with Sebastian Ingrosso. After meeting the trashiest of Tommy’s, our mancrush only grew larger.
Since Sander van Doorn made his professional foray into electronic dance music in 2004, he has been destroying dance floors all over the world. We got to tag along with him last time he was at New York’s Pacha NYC to see what he does best. Beneath the swirling lights of the packed club, Sander captivated the audience with his self-dubbed and eponymously titled “SvD-style.” While he conjured musical magic tricks, bottles popped in the VIP, scantily clad dancers shimmied in rhythm to the beat, and the crowd jumped feverishly with each selection off his USB stick.
Known in part for his genre-bending musical diversity, the Dutchman delivered a variety of aural tonics that would please any type of EDM fan. His versatility kept the room at capacity until 4 in the morning. Despite having flown in from Las Vegas at 6:15AM and booked for another 6AM flight following his gig at Pacha, Sander even played a brief encore. This DJ is as gracious and humble as he is wildly talented, and we’re thrilled to have him on our latest episode of Behind The Booth.
Dancing Astronaut got to sit down with Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano before their set at Ruby Skye. These are two of the most humble artists we have ever met bar none. Interestingly enough, while they may be funny and down to earth in person behind the scenes, they are larger than life when they take the stage. Their energy and crowd involvement is unparalleled. In this installment of Behind The Booth we discuss their plans for 2012, what happened to “Markuzza,” Ryan’s hair ‘thingy’ and everything in between.
Editors Note:Dancing Astronaut was proven wrong when we believed that the sound system created the loudest noises within the club – Sunnery’s whistle takes the 1st place award for “Most Deafening Yet Entertaining Sound.”
