According to Mixmag, dance music pioneer Fatboy Slim will be playing at the House of Commons on March 6th – marking the first time that a DJ has ever performed in Parliament.
“I’ve played some exciting and unique places around the world from Bondi Beach to The Great Wall of China to an Igloo but playing in the House of Commons might be the most unique to date.”
The charity event, dubbed the Last Night a DJ Saved My Life Foundation, seeks to encourage British youth to become more involved in grassroots community music projects. It is refreshing and interesting to see dance music embraced in such a way, especially after being demonized by outlets such as the LA Times for its supposed promotion of irresponsible behavior and drug use. There is great value in electronic music, both as a source of creative expression and community building, and this event marks another step in a positive direction for the often-misrepresented subculture.
After the dubstep-heavy State of the Union video, maybe it won’t be long until Skrillex is performing at the White House.
If you haven’t heard of Nicolas Jaar yet, the musical world you live in is about to be completely shattered into pieces, only to be reborn again this morning. This hefty statement will be immediately understood within four minutes of listening to the haunting set below. Nicolas was born in New York, but spent most of his life in Santiago, Chile — which explains the inspiration of the sexy South American flare behind his sound. The 23-year-old ties mystifying classical elements and percussion back into house music, which is a breath of fresh air in the electro-fuelled world we’ve become accustom to.
Don’t believe us? His debut album Space is Only Noise, released in 2011, took home the prize of ‘Album of the Year’ from Resident Advisor and MixMag. Still don’t believe us? Jaar’s 2012 mix was crowned BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix of the Year, one of the highest honors for any technical DJ. Nicolas wil be playing a live set encompassing percussion, electric guitar, bass, and all at UMF, which will be an experience not to be missed. Dive in and enjoy expanding your musical sphere.
It’s not as if anyone needs more (disappointing) Daft Punk news, but it appears the legendary French duo will also not be playing one of Europe’s biggest festivals — Glastonbury. We’re very happy with the news that Daft Punk will be out with a new studio album in only a matter of months, but every time we hear Daft Punk is definitely not playing at yet another festival another little glimmer of hope within dies.
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.
Mixmag got the opportunity to sit down with Alesso and Otto Knows for the magazine’s live Thursday night hangout series. Topics of discussion include career projectiles, nerves, how the two refune artists became acquainted with one another, and more. If you’ve been dying to hear Alesso’s new single “Clash,” then look no further because he gave Mixmag an exclusive first listen. Tune in at 10:10 to check it out.
Fun Fact: Alesso, Otto Knows, and Avicii all went to the same school in Sweden.
Adding to the list of opinions on the recent “what is EDM?” debate, dance music historian Bill Brewster –a man most well known for his book with Frank Broughton Last Night A DJ Saved My Life – recently weighed in with quite some impactful and telling words. Brewster, in speaking to Mixmag, explained that he thinks “EDM has effectively bypassed the club culture on which house and techno were founded” –an implication that the scene draws more of its influence from arena rock concerts than true DJing. We’ve seen similar opinions from other more underground DJs as of late, including Richie Hawtin and Loco Dice on their CNTRL: Beyond EDM tour and lecture series.
