Friday afternoon, Canada’s Egyptrixx sat down with us to chat about his experiences touring the festival circuit and what’s coming up next. Read on after the jump.

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As winter in New York City slowly melts away around us, festival season looms larger and larger on the horizon, with events increasing in frequency all around the world along with the rising temperatures. One such event that is particularly noteworthy is Sonar Festival of Advanced Music and Technology, which takes place in the heart of Barcelona, Spain. Sonar was without a doubt one of the highlights of last summer’s musical adventures, and we cannot wait to see what the extraordinary festival has to offer this June 16, 17, and 18, 2011.

There could not be a more perfect setting than Barcelona for such a festival celebrating new, primarily electronic based, music and accompanying technology. The city itself is warm, friendly, and free, containing the perfect combination of historical nostalgia and modern evolution. Sonar by Day takes place in the heart of downtown, with performances primarily centered around the MACBA and the CCCB. Surrounding the festival location are narrow winding streets, welcoming tapas bars and cafes, and lively watering holes brimming with Catalan spirit. As the sun sets and the energy builds, partygoers flock to Sonar by Night, which is located in an enormous warehouse space located on the outskirts of the city near L’Hospitalet. The nighttime festivities carry on far into the morning, with big name DJs, producers, and live bands keeping everyone dancing across three massive stages.

Festival passes for all 3 days can be purchased HERE, along with passes to individual days and nights. Visit Sonar’s WEBSITE for more information and for continued updates as the June draws closer.

See our coverage of DAY 1, DAY 2, and DAY 3 of last year’s Sonar and get a feel for what the event has to offer, and click HERE to go straight to the photo galleries of all Sonar by Day, Sonar by Night, and Off-Sonar events from 2010.

Check out the incredible full line-up of artists below!

Nicolas Jaar, Toro Y Moi, Tyondai Braxton, Little Dragon, Floating Points, Raime, Denseland, Open Reel Ensemble, Daito Manabe, Shuttle, Dels, Offshore, Eskmo, Astrud + Col·lectiu Brossa, Agoria, Hauschka, Atmosphere, Dominique Young Unique, Oy, Xesús Valle, Facto y los Amigos del Norte, How To Dress Well, Holy Other, Actress, Apparat, Global Communication, Hype Williams, Gilles Peterson, Shangaan Electro, No Surrender, Filewile, EVOL, Edredón, Judah, DJ Sith & David M, Downliners Sekt, C156, Steve Reich + bcn216 + Synergy Vocals, M.I.A., Aphex Twin, The Human League, Cut Copy, Boys Noize, Die Antwoord, Trentemøller, A-Trak, Scuba , Steve Aoki, Munchi, Djedjotronic, Schlachthofbronx, Annie Mac + Katy B, Benji B + Pearson Sound, Toddla T + Redlight feat. Ms Dynamite & Dread MC, Mujuice, DZA, Diskjokke, Annie, Bjorn Torske, Underworld, Magnetic Man, Janelle Monáe, Chris Cunningham, Shackleton, James Holden, The Gaslamp Killer, Surgeon, Buraka Som Sistema, Africa Hitech, Paul Kalkbrenner, Mary Anne Hobbs, Yelle, Silent Servant, Noaipre, L-Vis 1990 b2b Bok Bok, Egyptrixx, Deadboy, Jackmaster, Lory D, Redinho, Spencer, Jessie Ware, Rone, Arandel, Clara Moto, Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto, Katy B, Zinc, Tiger & Woods, B. Bravo, Brandt Brauer Frick, Daisuke Tanabe, Discodeine, Illum Sphere, kidkanevil, Juan Son, Jullian Gomes, Poirier feat. Boogat, Teebs, Venice

Photos from the CMJ Fader Fort featuring Zowie, Pablo Picasso, Chapel Club, Homeboy Sandman, Cloud Nothings, Jamaica, Flight, Dominant Legs, Glasser, Freddie Gibbs, Off!, Theophilus London, Nick Catchdubs, Egyptrixx and A-Trak.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ALBUM

A trip to London would not be complete without a stop at Fabric, the world-renown superclub that not only hosts top electronic acts week after week, but has also spawned over fifty FabricLive compilation mixes. Fabric was certainly preceded by its reputation, but nothing could have prepared me for the actual experience. The line outside the club was unlike any I’d seen, but it wasn’t until I walked into Room One – the largest of Fabric’s three – that I realized the sheer mass of the dubstep scene in London.

I chose Friday, July 16th (and subsequently planned my entire trip to London around this date) for the line-up, which included the Dub Police (Caspa, Breakage, The Others, Emalkay, et al) along with Egyptrixx, Mumdance and over a dozen other artists. Upon my entrance the crowd went crazy for Caspa’s remix of “I Remember” by Deadmau5, and later Emalkay dropped pieces of his hit song, “When I Look At You”, throughout his set, building the anticipation.

Fabric is so large that it wasn’t until I had been there for over an hour that I finally came across the other two rooms. Room Two was so full that the party practically spilled out into the corridor. A sea of bodies, taking up every square inch of space and perched on platforms on both sides, danced furiously to the drum and bass breakbeats issuing from the speakers.

I came up for air and found myself in Fabric’s third room, where Egyptrixx was spinning a (comparatively) low-key set. Small but dynamic with a multi-level design, Room 3 felt like an oasis from the madness, accented with blue lights and fog.

While I am no stranger to dubstep parties in New York, (thanks in large part to our friends at Trouble & Bass), the London scene is a completely different animal. Sure, there were some familiar elements – the music, of course, and the sweaty bodies dancing in a manner that only dubstep can instigate – but Fabric managed to capture dubstep in a way that went beyond the music, an “essence” if you will, that has to do with the surroundings, the people, and the overall vibe.

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It may sound backwards to plan the dates of our vacation around the layover, but when we found out we’d be flying through the dubstep capital of the world on our way to Greece, we couldn’t resist. Our weekend of choice? July 16-19… find out why, after the jump.

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Everyone in New York looks for big things; from big DJs, big clubs and big buzz, it’s all about the size of it all. Enter Dark Disco, MeanRed’s seminal event dedicated to all things massive. Originating from their Central Park event last year with Drop The Lime and Boys Noize, the MeanRed crew go darker and deeper in this installment; housing a multimedia extravaganza in the L.E.S. establishment Element. The fun starts with an atmosphere that will include ice sculpture art, textual imagery and much, much more, but the spotlight is on the group of artists who are coming together to provide the audio goodness for the 7-hour bash.

The artists taking the trans-Atlantic trip over are nothing short of epic; with Werk Discs head honcho Actress (off the heels of his amazing sophomore album, Splazsh), Hyperdub heroine Ikonika and UK Garage don MJ Cole providing the forward-thinking vibes of what’s across the pond with a spread of funky, dubstep and anything in between. Joining them will be NYC heroes Nick Hook (of Cubic Zirconia), Ghostly-based bass crooner Michna, and mythical house master Kenny Dope. In addition to all this, Canadian bass bomber Egyptrixx comes to round out a night full of amazing tunes.

Click through for a chance to win a pair of tickets. Advance tickets HERE.

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After the Fixed Holiday Party, we headed Ella for a nightcap with the Trouble & Bass crew’s No Escape From New York. When we arrived, special guest Egyptrixx was behind the decks, trading songs with AC Slater, The Captain, and Star Eyes. The mood was silly and light; Gavin Royce showed us his frisky side while AC Slater gave us a gassy rendition of Emalkay’s “When I Look at You”. Check out a few photos from the night, and come back on Monday to win tickets to the Trouble & Bass and Mishka Holiday Party featuring Rico Tubbs.