After thrilling festival-goers at Coachella with a surprise video preview of their unbelievably funky lead single “Get Lucky,” Daft Punk sat down with Rolling Stone for their first exclusive interview since announcing the release of their forthcoming album, Random Access Memories.
Check out the track-list and new details on the album that Daft Punk describes as “drawing a parallel between the brain and a hard drive” after the break.
Jeff Montalvo, or Seven Lions as his stage name goes, has proved to be one of OWSLA’s most promising new talents. The Santa Barbara DJ/producer took over Sacramento last week with the help of Tritonal and Topher Jones for Midnite Events’ annual Give Back show, throwing down a 75 minute set of riveting dubstep, house and trance offerings. Dancing Astronaut had the chance to catch up with Montalvo for an interview after his performance, providing us insight into his set and production. Click past the break for a full set review with commentary from Seven Lions. (more…)
Over a decade in the making (12 years to be exact), Armin van Buuren is amidst celebration for the 600th episode of his A State Of Trance radioshow. After knocking out the first two stops of his global movement known as “The Expedition,” the godfather of trance took the time reminisce on his career, open up about ASOT 600, and spoke of an upcoming full-length artist album.
“Radio is not only meant to please your ears but also to challenge people to stay open to new sounds.” – Armin van Buuren
Thomas Gold hangs out with Mixmag via Google Hangout while in Boston in the midst his Fanfare North America Tour. Thomas walks us through the production of his OneRepublic “Feel Again” remix, giving us an in depth analysis of the track’s ins and outs. He touches upon recent dance music news, including Tommie Sunshine’s “The Great EDM Debate” piece, where he sounds off neutrally. Find out what else Gold has to offer before he brings his mega-tour to a close this month, and watch the full interview courtesy of Mixmag.
In the large pool of talented dance music rookies, Otto Jettman – known internationally as Otto Knows – is perhaps the most promising young Swede of the crop. You’ve heard his music, but you probably haven’t heard from the man himself. In a recent interview with DMC World Magazine, Otto discusses his break through track, “Million Voices,” his Swedish Support system of Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso, and Avicii, a new single on the way, and more on the life behind his rising success.
The September sun had just come down behind the hills of Morgantown, and our ears were ringing after one of Krewella’s bass-crazed sets. Thousands of adrenaline-fueled college kids filled a venue on the West Virginia University leg of the GLOWfest college tour. Sweating from a high-energy performance that centered around their recently released Play Hard EP, Chicago’s newest upstart group rolls into the back area looking to continue their night.
“We’re drinking this bottle of champagne together tonight,” Jahan of Krewella pointed to us and said. As she smiled before darting for the cooler, Krewella’s fans lined up outside the artist area, hoping to just get a glimpse or even a picture with their idols.
Steve Angello recently spoke to the Huffington Post, and the oft-candid dance music icon offered a refreshingly honest take on the state of things — a growing trend these days. “Every city and promoter in the world wants to have a festival, and thinks they can,” says Steve. “But they don’t know how to.” That’s just one of the choice quotes from the interview, which is surprisingly revealing and gives an intimate look at the last-bearded SHM member. Steve affirms his grip on the remaining authenticity of dance music is nothing less than uncompromising and gives us sincere responses on topics such as big business, the state of SHM, the art of DJing, and more.
Instead of attending EZoo after-parties, some of us decided to head to a Gramatik show at Webster Hall. We sat down with Denis before he took the stage to hear more about his backstory, which we suspected was an interesting one. As if we were familiar old friends, he gave us the low down of how he ended up in Brooklyn, NY. Read more after the break.
This summer was anything but average for Liv and Mim Nervo. Before touching down in New York City to take on the main stage of Electric Zoo, the twins spent two months on the sunny Spanish island of Ibiza, jetted to Amsterdam to work hand-in-hand with Armin van Buuren, and landed their Hook N Sling collaboration, “Reason,” in Beatport’s top 10.
I caught up with the girls before their set and we spoke about everything from dance music geography to future productions to the industry’s latest controversy. Let’s just say the bubbly Aussies have a mindset that the majority of producers or DJs lack — and the macho men of dance music should take note.
Alex Botwin, performing under the moniker Paper Diamond, took some time at Electric Zoo 2012 to give us some insight into who he is, his philosophies, and projects. He had just finished wowing the growing crowd with a diverse set early Sunday afternoon. The set ranged from electro house to glitch hop including some of his own tracks such as “Levitate,” “Can We Go Up,” and “Time Flies,” which showcases his wide range of production skills and interests. Read more about our time with him after the break.
