After two intense nights of raving and completely screwing with my biological clock,  I gotta say I’m kind of happy i got two  very relaxed days. It allowed me to try and catch up on all the songs i heard over the weekend. Turns out I’m probably gonna need over a week.  Aight so as you know on NYE Fred and I went to Red-Lite to see Cosmic Gate & Avicii. Problem is we, or anyone else for that matter had no clue that Avicii’s set started at 5am, so we got there at 11 and got to see all the resident djs play, mostly, they sucked. At least we got it better then Toronto, cops cancelled Avicii’s set, suckers. Anyways once Avicii showed up it was sick, living up to my expectations from Electric Zoo. It’s incredible to think that he hasn’t been djing for very long and he’s this good. I mean come on, even i look older than this guy, ok maybe not but its close… Here are some highlights of his set:

Swede Dreams – Avicii (I tried to find this song after hearing at Electric Zoo and gave up shortly after, then it got released or something)

Drowning (Avicii’s Unnamed Mix) – Armin Van Buuren

…loved the original, love the remix.

Jailbait Insomnia (Avicii Mashup) – Avicii vs. Faithless

Ah, the cryptic Maxi Jazz lyrics are classic, just classic. And finally my favourite Avicii song of all time:

My Feelings For You – Avicii & Sebastian Drums

Hopefully Fred will be able to put in a video he took of the best 8mins or so of the set.

Aight, so when he was done, Cosmic Gate came on but unfortunately the crowded sucked some serious balls (stupid Laval), and Fred forced me to leave early. Their set was sick but I think people were too tired to enjoy. Funny side story: The next night at Circus, Nic Chagall (1/2 of Cosmic Gate) was hanging out at Circus with all the other world superstar djs there and at some point, Jon (from Circuit 12) crossed him in the bathroom and cam to get me. So obviously, as anyone else would have done i  presume, i started running towards where he was, totally bowling over some girl in the process. In my defence, she should not have been between me and Nic Chagall.  Anyways so we get to him and wait awkwardly while he finishes his conversation with some other dude and then we start talking and I apologized for Red-Lite sucking balls and he agreed with me. Anyways, we talked a bit more and it turns out he’s fucking nice and he’s now my new idol. But back to the music now here are  some tracks they played:

Back to Earth (Arty Remix) – Cosmic Gate

(Really sick track, I love the Jochen Miller Remix as well)

This Light Between Us (Dabruck & Klein Remix) – Armin Van Buuren

(This picture really does not do him justice… he usually wears a hat.)

Alright so that was just night number one. On the second night we were blessed to see Marcus Schossow and Simon Patterson (and meet Nic Chagall, aka Jesus).

Schossow was not at all what I expected, in a good way. He actually gave the best set of the weekend. He’s a bit chubby for a dj (see picture here), I found that pretty funny too. When he came on i actually thought he was a sound technician or something, shame on me really.

The Emergency (Marcus Schossow Remix) – Bt & Andrew Bayer

Love Comes Again (Bart Claessen Remix) – Tiësto feat. BT

You’re Not Alone (ATB Remix) – Olive (this track has the most majestic vocals)

Simon Patterson came on later, and just like Schossow it was complete energy the whole time. I mean, when you open your set with some Marcel Woods, it’s a good sign of things to come.

Tomorrow – Marcel Woods (one of my favourite tracks at the moment)

Without You – Dogzilla

So before I end this incredibly long post by my standards, fairly short by Justin’s though, I would just like to share with everyone that GARETH EMERY IS BACK IN MONTREAL FEBRUARY 25TH AT CICRUS AFTERHOURS!!! Thats right mofos (20$)!!!

We also have a crazy January/ February with Ronski Speed, Wippenberg, Benni Benassi and Gareth at Circus and Paul Van Dyk at Theatre Telus. In March we got Marco V at Circus also. Man i love that place. And don’t forget Bal en Blanc in April with Tiësto and Above and Beyond already confirmed.

For those of you in University, good luck going back to school and for those of you in Cegep, fuck you.

School’s out for a month. So here’s my chance to publicly apologize to Ellis for his beastly undertaking of the blog for the last 3 weeks or so with a few posts of my own. While the rest of the guys are currently still incapacitated by the demands of finals, allow me to lay down my thoughts on some interesting happenings around our city, as well as some awesome tracks.

A while back, I talked to you guys about a Swedish House Mafia documentary called “Take One”. I just finished watching the movie and it has got me so pumped for dancing, drinking and flat-out house peppered with some dominating basslines. The film is just awesome. I may be speaking with some heavy bias, but it basically tells the story of Axwell, Ingrosso and Angello from the Winter Music Festival in 2009 to the one in 2010 and their ascension to the throne of house supremacy. What’s not to love? It gives the audience a more personal look at the three, and clearly shows that Axwell is the most successful, Ingrosso is a lot more talented than you would think and Steve Angello is a badass. And a f***ing asshole. He owns a Ferrari, Range Rovers, Audis, Porsches (yes, those are all plural) and most likely lots of other gadgets and he did not choose to show in the flick. He uses the Swedish language barrier to talk behind people’s backs, insulting them constantly. Although this is somewhat entertaining, it gives him the flair of a closet douchebag.

Speaking of Steve Angello, as Ellis mentioned in one of his previous posts, the Swede was in Montreal on November 19th. Idiot that I am, I had not bought my fellow writer a ticket to the show, like he so often does for me, and this caused some confusion. To make a long story short, scalpers were scarce and consequently, so was Ellis, who headed to 1234 to see Ashley Wallbridge. Pretty good trade-off, wouldn't you say? In fact, there were 4 elite DJs in Montreal on that night: Angello, Wallbridge, Sean Tyas and tech master Richie Hawtin.

The Telus Theater was, needless to say, filled to the brim with hungry, party-starved Montrealers looking to let loose. And they didn’t waste any time. Within the first minutes of screams and fist-pumps, a few girls had already climbed onto their friends shoulders and taken their shirts off. This fleshy gesture was ignored by most, as all eyes were locked on Angello as he proceeded to mix “One” with “Destination Unknown” and “We Are Your Friends” with his newest track, “Rave N’ Roll”. The show hit a climax when he unleashed a mix of “Bromance” and “Dynamik”. That’s when I lost it. If you’ve ever been to a live show, I’m sure you’ve experienced the following: you’re jumping up and down in a sea of strangers and your ears realize that what they hear is perfect. That solitary bead of sweat runs down your face, you close your eyes, a chill travels through your entire body, you become unaware of your fellow partisans stepping on your footwear, your extremities tremble uncontrollably, your arms shoot into the air, the room slows down and the only thing audible is the sound of the DJ. You don’t hear the music, you experience, feel it. Angello followed with the songs you expect to hear at his shows, such as “KNAS”, “Leave the World Behind”, “Tivoli”, etc. The show was great, more than worth the 30$. Here’s his latest along with my favorite from the night and an older one that I can guarantee was the motivation behind Afrojack’s “Pacha on Acid”.

Steve Angello – Rave 'n’ Roll (Original Mix)

Tim Berg & Michael Woods – Bromance Dynamik (Axwell Mashup)

Steve Angello – Teasing Mr Charlie (Original Mix)

The night did not end there. I met up with Ellis and we headed over to Circus Afterhours to see Sean Tyas. I had not heard much from him other than his “Sanctuary” remix. I was expecting some calm, melodic trance and was surprised when he started. He pumped out track after track of powerful, rugged bass coupled with enchanting melodies. Saying it was the most energetic trance I've ever experienced is an understatement. The harmony of high BPMs, loud bass, and swift melody made for an excellent close to an excellent night. Here’s a remix of a Tiësto classic that was a highlight of his set.

Tiësto – Suburban Train (Sean Tyas Dirty Mix)

Time for an anecdote. Anyone listen to Trance Around the World? Above & Beyond are podcast masters and the 350th edition of their prestigious radio show took place at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. The trio ran a contest for the special occasion in which participants had to share their interesting ways of listening to the show. I entered the competition, saying I would attach a souped up megaphone to the roof of my car and drive around downtown while blaring the music for all to hear. I was chosen as one of the finalists. Problem is, at the time of this post, I was sitting at home listening to the podcast while writing. Yup, I lied to Above & Beyond. The winner receives some professional audio gear and and gets to meet the DJs. I wonder what I’ll say if I win… The set list for their Palladium show was Boom Jinx, Jaytech, Cosmic Gate, Above & Beyond and Super8 & Tab; if you haven’t yet, this is as good a time as ever to subscribe to the podcast.

Lets end with some more tracks. This first song is by a duo I have never heard of, which boggles my mind since this tune is so good.

Matisse & Sadko – Hi Scandinavia! (Original Mix)

Next, here are 2 more mashups from Armin. The first one was shown to me by Ellis and only furthers proof of his great taste in music. You might recognize both songs from the second tune. “The Great Escape” was featured in a Gareth Emery mashup that was previously posted on the blog and “Right Back” is the second track in Ferry Corsten’s Bal en Blanc set that Fred posted a while back.

Armin van Buuren vs. Jochen Miller – In & Out of Connection (Armin van Buuren Mashup)

Rank 1 & Jochen Miller vs. Yuri Kane – The Right Escape (Armin van Buuren Mashup)

Afrojack has been sustaining Wall Recordings on his own. The Dutch house prodigy has released track after track that all have been received by the public with open arms. His tunes have completely overshadowed those of his label mates. Here is his latest.

Afrojack – Replica (Original Mix)

I posted Noisia’s “Alpha Centauri” a while back and I am proud to say that it is one of my most downloaded songs. Recently, Datsik and Excision released a great remix of the tune, replacing the drum & bass with a genuine dubstep feel.

Noisia – Alpha Centauri (Excision & Datsik Remix)

Some things to look forward to:

- Fred has been in touch with Chris Lake and The Hawt will soon get an exclusive interview with the English DJ as well as a detailed review of his great set at La Mouche.

- The writers will be teaming up to browse the full scope of 2010’s releases to decide which tracks stand atop as the best of this past year.

- A well-deserved Ellis rest.

We’d been talking about it for weeks now and finally, last weekend, we went to New York for the Electric Zoo festival that took place on Saturday and Sunday. I know its a bit late, one week that is, but i got lazy. Just to put you guys in context, it was from 11am to 11pm on both days, with four stages and (usually) all of them jam packed and it was non-stop craziness. The weekend started on a great foot when Justin decided to bet with me that we could not get from Montreal to New York on one tank of gas. It took some insanely good driving on my part, some drafting behind trucks for extended periods of time and putting the car on neutral while going downhill but at the end, with the tank empty and Justin begging me to exit and put gas before we ran out, we made it safely to the hotel. But anyways, enough laughing at Justin for the time being and here’s a list of the Djs we saw and a couple of their tracks.

 Day 1

Glenn Morisson

First Dj of the weekend and he was pretty good. Got to give him credit, although the crowd was pretty at the start because it just opened, the guy was having fun nonetheless.

Contact (Deadmau5 Remix) – Glenn Morrison

Gareth Emery

It was only our second set of the day but it was without a doubt one of the best of the whole festival.

The Island Part 1 (Dawn) – Pendulum

On a Metropolis Day (Myon & Shane 54 Mashup) – Gareth Emery vs Oceanlab (REPOST)

He’s probably my favourite producer at the moment and it can only get better with his new album upcoming. Don’t forget to check out his single Sanctuary from Justin’s last post.

Markus Schulz

It was my second time seeing him although the first time was cut short by boring friends at Bal en Blanc and i must say there is a reason he is  in the Top Ten of Dj Mag. 

Rain – Markus Schulz (REPOST)

Perception (feat. Justine Suissa) – Markus Schulz (REPOST)

Mainstage – W&W (REPOST)

Yeah yeah, a lot of reposting but they’re sick tracks, trust me. Once I get the live set I promise to make the most of it.

Fake Blood

I was pussy last time he dropped by Montreal and to be honest it’s a shame I missed him

Stuck on Repeat (Fake Blood Remix) – Little Boots

Rusko

Anyone order a bass Panini?

Lick the Lizard – Reso & Rusko (sorry for guys talking, its the only version of the song that I know of).

Massive. Played a lot of reworks of his classics, so much fun. Actually got to fight until I got to the front and it was worth all the fighting.

Benny Benassi

What to say about Benny? Probably the only disappointing set on the weekend. In his defence, there were technical difficulties during his set but when he came to drop Spaceship (his track of the summer) he got on to the table and pumped up the crowd just to mix out of it. Disrespectful. Table mounting should not be used except for awesome drops.

Spaceship (feat. Kelis & Apl de Ap) – Benny Benassi

Don’t like his sound usually but this track is addictive.

Axwell

Ok so I never really listened to Axwell before and lord was I wrong. Here’s one of my favourite tracks of the moment.

Teenage Crime (Axwell & Henrick B Remode) – Adrian Lux

Alright so basically we have no choice but to repost this but this song song was played 7 times : Dirty South, Markus Schulz, Axwell (twice), Armin and I’ve forgotten all the rest because seriously everyone played it, EVERYONE.

One – Swedish House Mafia (REPOST)

Oh by the way, here’s Justin going crazy:

Day 2

D. Ramirez

The first Dj really worth mentioning and probably the only one who has a haircut that can rival with Rusko’s, which one is worst I really can’t decide.

System (Deadmau5 Remix) – D. Ramirez & Mark Knight

Cosmic Gate

Yeah we went to see them again, and like usual they were beasts.

Not Enough Time (feat. Emma Hewitt) – Cosmic Gate

Man On the Run (Nic Chagall Remix) – Dash Berlin

Avicii

Pleasantly surprised by his set, unfortunately I didn’t stay the whole time because there was a great vegan restaurant and I was hungry. 

New New (Avicii Remix) –Bob Sinclar

And obviously he played Bromance and the crowd went absolutely nuts.

Bromance (Avicii Remix) – Tim Berg (REPOST)

Above and Beyond

They probably had the bet set of the weekend. They just had so much fun and were incredible. At some point Paavo would write messages to the crowd on his Mac, energy was just insane.

This track is my favourite at the moment, its off of Super8 & Tab’s new album and there’s a couple of remixes but here’s my personal favourite.

Empire (Kyau & Albert Remix) – Super8 & Tab

Sander Van Doorn

Just like Bal en Blanc he was totally awesome. At some points, these two guys were going to leave but i convinced them to stay because they should not miss out and they thanked me after, that’s right.

Hymn 2.0 – Sander van Doorn pres. Purple Haze

Major Lazer / Diplo

So Diplo tried to slip a fast one past everyone. As you probably know, he is part of Major Lazer. Well turns out, the guy we saw at Osheaga and Electric Zoo was only him and we saw him later again as Diplo the next day. Pretty baller.

Wolfgang Gartner

Probably one of the most entertaining Djs there, his set was just sick. Really. Three turntables, one mixboard and a lot of awesomeness.

Conscindo – Wolfgang Gartner & Mark Knight (REPOST)

Armin Van Buuren

What so say, what to say? Nothing much other than it was crazy. The crowd was completely insane and there’s a reason why he’s # 1 in the world. It definitely was not the best set of the weekend, but the ambiance was totally different from all the others (Oh and he knows how to do a succesfull table mount).

Mirage – Armin van Buuren

So that was basically our awesome weekend, if i had to get two lessons out of it they would probably to never trust Justin with directions and also never to lock him out of a hotel room when he’s only in his boxers and a towel, turns out he gets really pissed…

Hey guys. School just started, so might as well post while I have the free time. Lots of stuff happening in the music world right now: the DJMag.com top 100 DJs voting continues and if you haven't submitted your choices yet, we strongly suggest you do so immediately by clicking below.
Armin's new album Mirage is set for release on September 10th and previews for the 16 tracks are now available on iTunes. I'm not his biggest fan, but the music can't be that bad when you collaborate with Ferry Corsten and own the title of best DJ in the world. Click here to preview Mirage.

Gareth Emery's new album Northern Lights is also set for release in September. It comes out on the 23rd and it features loads of guest starring vocalists, something that is very uncharacteristic of his music. Among those contributing are Lucy Saunders and Roxanne Emery (hot), the latter being Gareth's sister. His tracks are also available for preview and you can access them by clicking here.


The album's first single, dubbed "Sanctuary" gained popularity very rapidly as it quickly reached the coveted #1 trance spot on beatport. I consider the club mix to be much more entertaining than the original, so here is a rip from TGEP 105.

Gareth Emery ft. Lucy Saunders - Sanctuary (Club Mix)

Emery is great and so is his label. Garuda is an original and awesome name and most of the tracks released on the label are awesome as well. For example, listen to this Stoneface & Terminal remix.

Tritonal - Suede (Stoneface & Terminal Remix)

Oh, and Electric Zoo starts in 4 days. I'm very proud and excited to say that I, along with fellow writer Ellis and 2 of our friends, will be attending this year's edition of the electronic music festival. 2 days, 24 hours of pure eargasms. Let the countdown begin.

Next up, a brand new track from the likes of Deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner. Whenever you see big names like these written one next to the other, don't even bother sampling, just download the track right away.

Deadmau5 & Wolfgang Gartner - Animal Rights (Original Mix)

Ever heard of Eric Prydz? Its been a while and we've all missed him. The author of electronic classics (personal opinion) "Pjanoo" and "Call On Me" is back under a new alias: Pryda. "Niton" is a great house track that you're certain to be hearing in any club in the near future.

Pryda - Niton (Original Mix)

I won't even bother writing an introduction for this song. I've never heard of these artists and frankly, I don't even remember how I found this track. All I know is that it is awesome. Does anyone mind letting me know wtf Rex Mundi and Phynn are?

Rex Mundi - Opera of Northern Ocean (Phynn Remix)

I know Fred would've liked to post this, seeing as Diplo is his one of his favorite artists, but I can't resist. His new collaboration with Don Diablo is worth more than one listen. This is the first Diplo tune in which I can't find a Jamaican influence.

Diplo & Don Diablo - Make You Pop (Original Mix)

Good luck with your studies and don't forget to check hawtmusik.com periodically, assuming we don't slack off, for all your electronic music needs!

Hey guys, it's been a while, but I've got lots of wisdom to impart. This past weekend was a big one for the performing arts in the city of Montreal. First off, the Osheaga Music Festival returned for its 2010 edition, thus welcoming various artists to Jean-Drapeau Park. The 2 day ordeal lived up to its hype, attracting over 50 000 indie music lovers to see headlining bands such as Arcade Fire, Weezer, Metric and Snoop Dogg. Major Lazer played on the second day, playing one of their awesome mixes consisting of Pon de Floor and The Bloody Beetroots' Warp. Deadmau5 was scheduled to play a set, but was unable to attend. The mau5's July 30th D.C. show was cut short when the Canadian DJ collapsed due to exhaustion. He was violently vomiting and was escorted offstage by medics. His poor health forced him to cancel his next 9 tour dates, including Osheaga.

The second event worth mentioning is a free downtown show called Divers/Cite. Attendees were encouraged to donate 2$, a measly fee used to keep the yearly event going. Emilie-Gamelin Park played host to many trance fans who had come to see DJ Insomnia, DJ Wizz, Sied van Riel and headliners Cosmic Gate. Sied van Riel sounded great, but Cosmic Gate stole the show. Their live set showed exactly why they belong in DJ Mag's top 100. In fact, they were so entertaining that some fans followed to Laval to watch their after hours performance at RedLite. The whole night was somewhat instructive as it displayed the acoustical differences between indoor and outdoor shows. Nevertheless, they were great in both settings. Here is a track from their July chart.

Cosmic Gate - Barra (Extended Mix)

So the annual DJ Mag rankings are going to be coming out pretty soon. Voting has begun and various DJs are preparing themselves. To my knowledge, the list will be released mid-September, which is why Armin van Buuren coordinated the release of his new album with the results. Mirage is set for an early September arrival. Full Focus, Armin's latest leaked tune, will surely be featured on the album. Here's a pretty decent remix.

Armin van Buuren - Full Focus (Ummet Ozcan Remix)

You will definitely hear these next 2 if you decide to go to a nightclub anytime soon. They have both been moving up and down beatport's top 10 most downloaded list for some time. I have no idea who Mark Knight is, but Wolfgang Gartner is always great and when it comes to House, Steve Angello is too.

Mark Knight & Wolfgang Gartner - Conscindo (Original Club Mix)
Steve Angello - KNAS (Original Mix)

It seems that every time we apologize for long post pauses, we end up slacking and even more time passes between the next 2. So instead of apologizing, I'm just going to make up for it by giving you guys some extra tracks. I don't usually like Techno or Tech House, but this next track is very entertaining. Viscosity is very popular in the Techno world, and so is Josh Gabriel. This is my favorite remix of his song.

Josh Gabriel - Viscosity (David Call Remix)


I was asked if I knew about this next song a short while ago. I did and I always thought it was a great song, which made me wonder why it has not been featured on the blog. Nero, a Drum and Bass duo from UK, has grown significantly over the past few months, owing much of its success to the following.

Nero (UK) - Innocence (Original Mix)

Was I the only one under the impression that Deadmau5 was the only musician who released tracks on mau5trap? Apparently, another artist named Moguai does as well. Unlike Deadmau5 who plays around with different styles, Moguai focuses on progressive house. His music makes me think of the softer Deadmau5 stuff, but slightly better suited for a club. European clubs though; not enough North Americans know what good dance music is.

Moguai - Oyster (Michael Woods Remix)
Big World ft. Markus Binapfl - Quadrillion (Moguai Remix)

And of course, no post of mine would be complete without dubstep. Here's another Doctor P remix, along with a new release from Datsik, the filth master.

Datsik - Hydraulic
Caspa - Marmite (Doctor P Remix)

He looks dirty in person too.