Richie Hawtin and Loco Dice are considered to be some of the most prolific and forward-thinking DJs of our time. This fall, they embarked on a North American tour stopping at college campuses to lecture by day, and music venues to DJ by night. The tour’s timing couldn’t be more perfect; with the over-saturation of pop-centric house and electro taking over the club and festival circuits, audiophiles anxious to explore the next chapter of this thriving revolution are finding themselves seeking out the pastures of the next big thing. Read on to see how Hawtin and Dice brought together old school fans and newcomers on the same dance floor at New York’s Webster Hall.
Asked for observations at the dawn of the CNTRL: Beyond EDM Tour, Ean Golden does not hesitate.
“Roughly 70 percent of the people at the seminars say they want to be producers,” DJ Tech Tools‘ founder says, grinning broadly. “Fewer people want to be DJs. It’s a paradigm shift in terms of what people want to be.”
It’s the same sea change that made this tour a reality. Conceived by minimal techno legend Richie Hawtin (aka Plastikman), his M-nus Records artists Loco Dice and Paco Osuna, and Golden, CNTRL is as much an educational roadshow as it is a concert tour. Each of the 17 North American shows is preceded by a college-campus seminar, featuring an artist panel discussing music technology and the past and future of dance music. The events are saturated in social media coverage, allowing dance music fans around the globe to tune in and learn.
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.
It’s been 13 long years since German techno visionary Sven Väth first brought his Cocoon party to Ibiza, a remarkable span of time that has seen the White Isle blossom into a global epicenter for dance music. Weathering ebbs and flows in genre popularity, Väth’s party built its reputation as an uncompromising haven for underground techno. This summer’s “Into the Magic” incarnation was no different, boasting a staggering lineup of scene stalwarts like Richie Hawtin and Chris Liebing, as well as young guns like Seth Troxler and Maya Jane Coles.
In the wake of his closing party, Väth has released a fan-centric after movie to recap the season. Featuring such vaunted acts as Loco Dice and Ricardo Villalobos, the video is a fitting capstone to an Ibiza season in which underground parties (see Enter and Cadenza) flourished. Now that Amnesia is closed for autumn, Väth is taking his Cocoon Heroes show on the road. With 17 dates announced in 13 countries — including shows in New York and Miami — those who couldn’t make it to Ibiza this summer can still experience the magic. Click past the jump for the full list of tour dates.
Electronic music kingpins Richie Hawtin and Loco Dice are embarking on a fifteen city US and Canada tour that plans to spread the message of dance music across numerous music venues and college campuses alike. The tour, called CNTRL: Beyond EDM, combines the educational side of college lectures with an evening of electronic music by Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice, and their touring guest DJs.
Amsterdam Dance Event, the world’s largest dance music conference, returns to the Dutch capital from October 17th to 21st. Now in its 17th edition, the sheer scale of the conference and accompanying nocturnal club festival is mind boggling — this year some 700 DJs, 3,000 panelists and 140,000 fans from 62 countries are expected to make the pilgrimage.
Today, some major dance heavyweights announced their parties, and if you’re a techno fan, you’ll be licking your lips. The Westergasfabriek venue looks like the place to be – On Wednesday, Fatboy Slim, Christian Varela, Nicole Moudaber, and Charlie Hedges will support Carl Cox at his Global 500 event there. On Thursday, Adam Beyer will present his Drumcode party, while on Friday, Richie Hawtin will bring Dubfire, Loco Dice, and others to realize his ENTER concept. Green Velvet and SHM-killer DJ Sneak will join British techno baron Dave Clarke at a separate venue, Melkweg, on Friday.
