As we continue to endure this brutally cold weather, thoughts of spring – and the wonderful slew of music festivals it brings – certainly help lift our frigid spirits. After the jump, we break down the spring’s hottest festivals – whether you’re looking to travel (Snow Ball, SXSW, Ultra, Coachella), stay local (Hard Weekend, Bamboozle), or really go all-out for our wild card selection (SonarSound Tokyo) – you’re bound to find something to combat the winter blues… click through for more.
Featuring Busy P, Brodinski, Philippe Zdar, Nick Catchdubs, and Alex English at Hiro Ballroom, New York City.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL GALLERY
Brodinski & Busy P – Haunted Mansion Promo Mix [Download]
Last Saturday, HARD Summer Tour hit New York City’s Terminal 5 as the second to last stop on their nationwide journey bringing dance music to the masses. Terminal 5, whose capacity is set at 3,000 heads, was completely sold out; packed wall to wall on every level with enthusiastic partygoers who were nearly bursting at the seams with energetic excitement. New Yorkers JDH & Dave P started off the night with an opening set of disco tinged house music, which provided the perfect appetizer for Destructo’s heavily electro influenced set, heating the dancefloor up in earnest. By the time Sinden took the stage, the crowd had been reduced to one heaving organism that was pressed up against the barrier as he spun a set of solid bass music, bring in elements of house, dubstep, and garage. Canadians Crystal Castles closed out the night with their explosive performance of experimental electronic music created through the use of a live band.
Thanks to our good friends over at URB Magazine, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to sit down and chat with UK producer/DJ Sinden who has revitalized the club scene with his own brand of forward thinking remixes and productions, clever mash ups, and genre-melting DJ sets. Although Sinden’s sound is associated with different forms of house music, his original influences while growing up stemmed from hardcore hip-hop, the kind that you have to be over 16 to purchase (in the UK), and that your parents would confiscate and destroy if the records were ever found. He sights Public Enemy and N.W.A. as primary influences, which then lead him to branch into the discovery of electronic music through jungle and garage. Pulp Fiction’s “Alex Reece”, which he describes as soulful, sparse, quirky, minimal, and different, fundamentally changed his perception of electronic music and inspired him to truly embrace dance music.
His new label, Grizzly, is in many ways set to reflect Sinden’s own eclectic taste and his desire to keep things fresh and constantly pushing forward. Although house has always been the unifying focal point for the music Sinden has been involved in with regards to both his own production and DJ sets, Grizzly in many ways represents a move away from the traditional 4×4, and an attempt to create and experiment with new patterns and ways of looking at club music.The direction that the label will take is still very fluid, with Sinden’s own innate sense for sound acting as the primary compass – certainly nothing to complain about. Sinden’s own transition into UK Funky and more cutting edge sound has mostly stemmed from a boredom with the over-saturation of generic basslines, which stirred up a desire to move forward and keep things interesting, through tapping into unique micro scenes from all around the world, such as guarachero and old go-go rhythms. In this sense, he has never been much of a “genre” artist, preferring to dabble in many different areas and switch up his production, keeping us hanging on his every release.
Sinden will head back to the studio at the end of this year to work on some solo material, but there’s plenty from Grizzly to keep your dancing shoes moving until then. You can look forward to the release of a collaborative record between Felix Buxton of Basement Jaxx’s disco alias Jon Gionvanni and Sinden, as well as new material from Bassanova (Grahmzilla and Jess Jubilee’s project). You should also keep your ears peaked for Sinden’s remix of Lone’s “Once in a While”, which is sure to be a killer track, and as always, future releases from his role as one half of The Count & Sinden.
Check out the full photo gallery from this edition of HARD Summer HERE.
Last Sunday, The Bloody Beetroots rocked The Palladium in Los Angeles for Hard’s second consecutive night. Led by Bobby Rifo on guitar, bass and keys, the duo-turned-trio (re-dubbed “The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77″) delivered nearly an hour an a half of hard-hitting electro infused with punk rock and heavy metal. Tommy Tea manipulated the live tunes through his set of mixers, while the band’s newest member, Edward Grinch, kept time on the drums. Dim Mak founder Steve Aoki made a few cameos throughout their set. Sinden, Designer Drugs, Jokers of the Scene and Destructo also performed.
Don’t miss Sinden this Saturday when he joins the Trouble & Bass Crew and Zombies for Money at Santos Party House. CLICK HERE to RSVP for reduced admission. Hard will return to New York twice this summer, first with headliner M.I.A. in July, then again in August for the first-ever Hard tour, headlined by Crystal Castles. Tickets and info HERE.
Hold on to your hats, this weekend is shaping up to be quite the party marathon, with some of the biggest DJs in the world hitting our fair city.
GBH will be kicking things off tonight with Steve Aoki, Classix and Destructo at Webster Hall. Last time Steve Aoki spun at Webster Hall, it was pure mayhem, and we’re expecting tonight to be no different. Girls & Boys residents Alex English, Kids with Snakes, Gavin Royce, and Rekles will also be in the house
Saturday brings about a tougher decision: Hard is bringing the wobble wobble to Terminal 5, with a massive dubstep line-up; Crookers, Major Lazer, Rusko, Jack Beats and Destructo are all ready to bring some bass-heavy beats to NYC.
Saturday is also the one-year anniversary of Flashing Lights, brought to you by the good folks at MeanRed. Nick Catchdubs, DJ Ayres and Jubilee’s monthly party will be back at 88 Palace, and will feature a guest DJ set by Toddlat.
Decisions, decisions… but then again, we think we can cram it all in.
Be sure to check out previous photo galleries of Steve Aoki, Classix, Major Lazer, and Flashing Lights.
The line-up at HARD Summer is so good, I almost flew to Los Angeles just for the night. Thankfully, on October 10th, they’re bringing their signature party to Terminal 5 with HARD NYC. While the line-up isn’t quite as massive, the NYC show, which features Crookers, Major Lazer, Rusko, Jack Beats and Destructo, promises to be one hell of a party.
Click here for info and tickets, and don’t miss Jack Beats when he opens for A-Trak on July 31 at Webster Hall.
Kid Cudi vs Crookers – Day N Nite (Rusko’s Big Trombone Remix)
