Coming off day one of Bonnaroo with the likes of Araabmuzik and Paper Diamond, intensity looks to pick up in Tennessee with its Friday schedule. For electronic fans in particular, selections widen, but day two offers appeal even beyond a lengthy performance from Pretty Lights. By midnight, fans have already experimented and experienced opportunities to relax and enjoy Passion Pit, rap along with Wu-Tang clan, and witness a legend like Paul McCartney. By midnight, fans should be headed for an electronic after hours.
After spending the first half of 2013 headlining events in the United States, Porter Robinson is set to bring his grinding electro stylings overseas with a 24-stop tour. Although this won’t be his first time embarking on an overseas venture, it does mark a milestone as his largest European tour ever. The tour will bring Robinson to major festivals like Tomorrowland and Mysteryland as well as solo shows in exotic locations including Greece and Ibiza. Whether you’re a European native or a lucky traveler, consider adding one of these dates to your itinerary.
Porter Robinson has released a behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling his 32-day Language Tour around North America along with Mat Zo and The M Machine. Showing off the exhausting highs and lows of tour life, Porter and the gang bare all by taking us through their tour bus, backstage at their shows, and straight into their hotel after-parties. Highlights include an inside interview on what Porter’s Dad thinks of the shenanigans his son is part of, and witnessing Mat and Porter co-producing “Easy” while on the road.
When Mat Zo and Porter Robinson’s collaboration “Easy” was initially released its pristine production and captivating top line made it an instant classic. Now courtesy of Astralwerks, the Beatport chart topper will see its popularity renewed with the release of the 6-track “Easy” EP. With the upcoming release in mind, Mat has given Dancing Astronaut a sneak peek teaser of his original version of “Easy,” one that predated Porter’s involvement and the chart topping success that followed. Zo’s garage rendition is much more reserved than the original, whose festival-friendly builds dominated the charts and tents all last summer. Instead it takes a funkier approach, substituting big room suitability for a garage breakdown of flighty percussion and a lush, low end groove. It’s an entirely different track than the original, but is as equally gripping and infectious. Although not on “Easy’s” upcoming release EP, this cut has thankfully found a home on Mat’s full length due out later this year.
Porter Robinson took his headlining slot at last night’s Matador Music Festival in Santa Barbara, California, scheduled to play through 11:30pm. Just before the clock struck 11pm, however, Robinson was interrupted as the city’s police had arrived to cut his set short. Call it bad timing, but Porter was in the middle of playing his mega-hit, “Language,” and proceeded to do so despite police orders to end the night. The act of rebellion had Robinson accused of “inciting a riot” and nearly arrested — details revealed by the DJ himself below the break via Twitter.
While Pioneer CDJs were easily the platform of choice for DJs at Ultra, both Zedd and Porter Robinson took to their MIDI controllers on Sunday for two hours of rapid and thrilling mixing. Though the world of DJ’ing has been continuously dominated by variations of the CDJ for more than 10 years now, Zedd and Porter’s rise to fame has been facilitated not by the trusty digital CD player, but by Native Instrument’s small, compact, all-in-one MIDI controller: the Traktor Kontrol S4. Both Zedd and Porter have received heat for their use of the controller, as the age-old beatmatching argument is constantly evoked. At the end of the day, however, both Zedd and Porter are two of the most entertaining live performers in the business, ultimately begging the question: does it matter what platform a DJ mixes on?
While Ultra Weekend 1 live sets have been trickling out left and right, only a handful of artists have taken the time to upload their sets themselves. Following Kaskade’s giveaway of his Main Stage set, Porter Robinson,Hardwell, and Nicky Romero, have uploaded their own hour long performances from the behemoth stage. While Kaskade’s was notable for its inclusion of original music and seamless mashups, Porter Robinson’s mix excels in its breakneck pace, Hardwell delivers one of the best sets of Weekend 1, and Nicky Romero pulls out a few IDs to keep us guessing. You can listen to the Porter & Nicky Romero below and rewatch Hardwell and Nicky on UMFTV past the break.
Best of Instagram is a feature from Dancing Astronaut that showcases our favorite pictures from our favorite DJs on Instagram each week. This week, we’ve got gems from Skrillex, Pasquale Rotella, Dillon Francis.
Mat Zo and Porter Robinson’s acclaimed collaboration, “Easy,” has been one of the hottest tracks since its release in December, and it won’t cool down anytime soon. The boys, in tandem with Ministry of Sound, have released the official music video, giving visuals to their pride production. “Easy” now has a storyline told through artistic animation as the video follows a girl struggling with the burdens of fame and looking for escape. She seems to have found it with Mat Zo and Robinson’s “Easy.”
As most of you will remember, Mat Zo and Porter Robinson rounded out their 2012 with the epic collaboration “Easy.” The track was originally set as a demo for Zo’s forthcoming album, but after Porter heard the sprawling production, the solo venture turned into a collab. Different from the typical sounds heard from either producer, “Easy” incorporates vocal house vibes with its catchy “’cause lovin you is easy” vocal hook. The Norwegian team of Ketil Jansen and Ulrik Denizou Lund, better known as Lemâitre, have crafted a remix that begins with a soft bubbling beat before adding wobbling electro bass plugs. Turning up the tempo, the production pair create a harder-hitting remix while keeping this disco vibes intact.
