The lush green grass of The Empire Polo Club grounds swelled with half-naked twenty-somethings, bustling and buzzing like tributaries of people cutting through the crowd, flowing forth to the each of Coachella‘s six stages. The massive tents provided little relief from the desert’s sweltering heat, but underneath the Yuma tent, where Luciano would close that evening, was an air-conditioned safe haven. For those daring enough to brave the heat, the Sahara tent presented a spread of talent, including Boys Noize and Skrillex as the tandem Dog Blood. Our first day spent in Indio was defined by the Sahara and Yuma tents – and they will likely define the rest of our stay here.
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The Coachella Arts and Music Festival has been host to some of the most groundbreaking talent in music throughout its 14 year history. Although relatively modest, this year’s electronic dance music presence at Coachella is the largest since its 1999 debut. Staying true to form, Goldenvoice’s bookings represent some of the most exciting artists in electronic music today – a group whose talents extend across a broad swathe of sound and styles. With the 2013 lineup heavily expanding its electronic offerings, we felt it only appropriate to share our must-see picks from the viewpoint of four fans heading out to Indio for the type of musical experience only three days in the desert could provide.
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It’s inevitable that countdowns will always spark controversy, that’s just the nature of the beast. Some tracks will be snubbed, some overlooked, and some ranked higher than you may have expected. We’ve already gone over our ranking criteria at length but despite our own self-imposed guidelines, 2012 proved to be more difficult to rank than years past. With the EDM explosion officially in full swing throughout the year, the sheer number of releases was mind numbing, and — consequently — nearly impossible to rank. There has been no greater challenge for the editors at Dancing Astronaut than creating the list of the Biggest Tracks of 2012.
Love them or hate them, overplayed or under-appreciated, here are the songs that defined the 2012 EDM explosion, numbers 50-41.
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As if Boys Noize and Skrillex‘s spontaneous collaboration, Dog Blood, wasn’t enough, the former-Pance Party members turned enigmatic electro outfit The M Machine run “Middle Finger” through a gauntlet of acid house growls and electro grit. The result is a wildly energetic, squealing, kick driven production that cuts off just before it really kicks off. This is one of those previews that ends way too soon, good thing it will be out on OWSLA new music distribution service The Nest in the next few weeks.
A few days ago we were teased with a short YouTube clip of an enigmatic production by none other than Skrillex and Boys Noize. In the world of incredible collaborations, this pairing is on par with Deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner’s “Animal Rights.” Alex Ridha’s techno-god status combined with Skrillex’s impeccable sound production and genre-defining signature style have come together to create “Middle Finger” and “Next Order,” two ferociously unique and deeply layered techno monsters. Both artists influences are readily apparent, with Boys Noize driving basslines and Skrillex’s wobbles working together to create a harmony of aggressive techno and dubstep elements. A collaboration of this caliber should be made illegal, somebody might get hurt.
Both tracks are now available on Beatport via Boysnoize Records.
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