In regards to Beatport, a wise man once asked: “Is this an EDM website or a Deadmau5 blog?” This question came with obvious reason; the horde of albums and EPs released by mau5trap had monopolized the top downloads list for a substantial amount of time. Ironically, this so-called wise man is none other than Mark Knight, who’s own Toolroom Records is currently at the helm of another dominating performance. Fuelled by its latest compilation album, Toolroom Records Miami 2011, the label occupies 9 of the top 10 spots. The release comes in anticipation of this year’s Ultra Music Festival and features new music from the likes of Michael Woods & Mark Knight, Afrojack, Fedde Le Grand and Thomas Gold, to name a few. Check it out here.
In addition to his tune with Michael Woods, Knight has been hard at work in the studio, including a track of his own on the compilation and producing another collaboration with Tiësto. The star-studded partnership has unveiled the official video, as well as the magnificent tune that accompanies it. Knight’s signature drums, Tiësto’s bassline and vocals by Dino go well with the soft synths and rugged melody. The track seems to be on the progressive side, yet still offers a strong beat which gives it obvious nightclub appeal. Both Techno and House influences combine to offer this marvel. The video is interesting, as the beginning closely resembles Justice’s “Stress.”
Tiësto & Mark Knight ft. Dino – Beautiful World (Original Mix) Released on Beatport on March 21st
There is a limited number of EDM fans who can assertively say that they enjoy all of its subgenres. Artists often attempt to mix these styles and create something different, but again, only a small number can successfully do this. One of these select few is Funkagenda, a Techno/House artist, who has released songs on big labels such as Toolroom Records and Funk Farm. One of the tracks from his most recent release rounds up Beatport’s top 10 and is a perfect example of crossover between musical subgenres. The track dubbed “Budgie” is half Techno, half House and although Beatport qualifies it as Tech House, it should not be confused with the latter. A close listen confirms either an amazing concoction of the two, or some wildly innovative Tech House. This songs sports an intricate set of beats, a wealth of sound bite layers and a dark, yet enchanting melody that completes the plethora of styles that is “Budgie.”
In other Funkagenda news, the Englishman is giving away one of his tracks, free of charge. As a “thank you” to all his Facebook followers for finally hitting the 50 000 ‘likes’ milestone, he has posted a high quality download link for a new tune of his called “Shinjuku.” The distant and imposing bass coupled with the recurring hints of cymbals gives this song an impressive background layout. In addition, the isolation given to the seamlessly quaint electro sound gives the tune a sizeable amount of character. The infectious riffs in this one will surely have many holding the repeat button. Follow this link and select the tracks tab on his Facebook page to download “Shinjuku.”
In staying with the subject of free high quality tracks, Spinnin’ Records, home to Wall Recordings (Afrojack), Doorn Records (Sander van Doorn), Tone Diary (Markus Schossow), Streamlined (Leon Bolier) and other popular sub-labels, is giving away some of their classic tracks in exchange for a ‘like’ on Facebook. This is not a one-time deal, as the classics are updated bi-weekly. Follow this link, ‘like’ the page, choose the “Tracks to Like” tab and check back every 2 weeks for new offerings.
This post’s last track is from Sied van Riel. The Dutchman has been spending ample amounts of time cooped-up in his home studio with the sole purpose of finishing up his artist album. “Telephone Junkies,” the upcoming single from said album, is a progressive track that holds influences new to Sied. In comparison to his previous releases, this tune is much softer, deeper and if not for strong big room undertones, could probably be put in a category with tunes from Anjunadeep. It is a calming and soothing track which displays the artists’ limitless musical versatility. It is a song heavy on melody which is sure to please the pickiest of Trance lovers.
Sied van Riel – Telephone Junkies (Original Mix) Released on Beatport on March 15th
Have a great week and be sure to stay tuned to The Hawt for an exclusive interview with Super8 & Tab!
If you listen to Trance music, being picky about which Montreal clubs you like is a given. Circus Afterhours and Stereo are at the top of the pyramid since they welcome nothing but the best on a regular basis. The next tier consists of Red Lite, La Mouche, 1234 (despite all the children) and Muzique (despite the Avicii incident) who also sometimes host big DJs. The final group is awful. These clubs are the places where you’ll most likely be hearing David Guetta and Pitbull collaborations for the next 10 years. La Folie, the club I went to last Friday, February 18th, is beneath all of these. Apart from the absolutely gorgeous coat-check girl, this place is Montreal’s douchebag central. Allow me to explain: for starters, it’s in St-Leonard. This establishment is one of a kind; it houses Montreal’s Jersey Shore community, lots of 40 year-olds in the middle of their mid-life crises and probably the worst interior layout I’ve ever seen. There is a VIP section right in front of the DJ booth with an enormous bodyguard preventing anyone from entering and incidentally, from being able to see what the DJ is doing. Instead, you’re looking straight at a large group of aunts and uncles who are trying to relive the glory days by trading their Centrum Silver and Rogaine for Ed Hardy clothes. The venue neighbors what looks to be an abandoned mattress store and a Zellers, which is probably a better place to have a party. You must be asking yourself, what was I doing in such a sickening place on a Friday night?
Dash Berlin, author of hits such as “Waiting” and “Till The Sky Falls Down,” played a 3-hour set. The reason I had to put down La Folie so much is to show how good Dash Berlin is live. Even with all these nauseating factors in play, I had a terrific night. He started the evening with a sure fire way to get the crowd going, playing his newest hit, “Disarm Yourself".” He played track after track of lyrical Trance, making sure to include his 2 other 2011 releases; his remix of First State’s “Reverie” and of Filo & Peri’s “This Night".” He continued to mix in dance floor hits like Diplo and Tiesto’s “Cmon”, Alexander Popov’s remix of Cosmic Gate’s “Raging” and Gareth Emery’s “Sanctuary.” Needles to say, the man is a master of vocal Trance. One of the highlights of the night was when he displayed his musical versatility by playing an Electro/Dubstep mix of “We are Your Friends".” He ended the night with his classic “Waiting” and the crowd erupted with screams of bliss. Here are his 3 newest tracks along with a video I shot of his remix of “This Night.” Apologies for not being smart enough to turn my iPhone sideways. Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Rick Nash?
Ok, so I know everyone trashed Deamau5’s new album, but the guy still used to be a very good producer. As Ellis was telling me a couple of days ago, it's hard to forget about track like "Strobe." Play Records has come out with a new compilation called Dirt Hott Vol.2, which features 2 of his older tracks. I knew about “Dr. Funkenstein”, but I had never heard “Vanishing Point” until just today. The track was originally released 3 years ago and includes a lot of the old Deadmau5 style we all knew and loved. Past tense is a bitch.
This next track is an original kind of Dubstep. Since all the genre’s music has sounded the same for the past little while, I’ve tried to find others that are attempting to take it in a another direction. Gemini is an artist who is doing just that, leaning away from the generic filth that we keep hearing. It’s not chill Dubstep, I call this clean.
Porter Robinson temporarily fell off my radar after his smash-hit “Say My Name.” His amazing remix of “Seek Bromance” went by unnoticed and I hadn’t heard his name in months before his newest piece of work. He seems to have such an intricate grasp of Electro and the patented Dubstep wobble which he melds together beautifully with every release. Here is the aforementioned remix and “The Wildcat.”
This next track is featured on Gareth Emery’s most recent podcast. I was never a big Fedde Le Grand fan, but this tune has made me take notice of the Dutchman. This guy is good. I’m not so sure about his buddy though. In my opinion, Patric La Funk is a ridiculous DJ name.
I already have a regret in 2011. I did not go see Sied van Riel when he was in Montreal. I was listening to some of his older stuff today and I could only come to a single conclusion: this guy is amazing. Right now, he is one of my favorite producers. His first release of 2011 hit #1 on Beatport’s Trance chart and his most recent track, a collaboration with Nicole McKenna, is an absolute masterpiece. He warmed up for Cosmic Gate at my first ever Trance show and I clearly remember thinking, during the first half of the German duo’s set, that he was far better than them. It’s unpractical that I write for this blog, because words cannot describe how much I adore these songs, ESPECIALLY “Stealing Time.” There is only one item on my 2011 to-do list: see Sied van Riel live.
Finally, Anjunadeep 03 came out on Monday and the compilation is a formidable one. Although it is much more progressive than regular Anjunabeats releases (hence the “deep”), the tracks are to die for. Check it out here and buy it if you please.
Long story short, my friend got sick and gave me his ticket to go to this year’s Bal en blanc at Palais des Congrès de Montréal. And I’ve got to say, thanks bud’, it was amazing.
There was two rooms, one for House and the other for Trance (they called that room Tech or something). Both rooms had massive line-ups and were both packed. I personally preferred the Trance room , but I still have to say David Guetta and LMFAO rocked the place in the house room. Trance just has this extra feel during a rave… it’s more like… “epic” (I hate that word, but whatever). And the bass was sick.
The lighting was fawking amazing in both room. The House room had this big screens that lit a BIG surface (not projectors), they were sick (check some youtube videos if you really want to see it). The Trance room had some insanely big projectors that projected sweet effects on the front wall that was made of some “cubicles” and a bigger place (about 2 cubicles) for the DJ. There was also some people dancing in separate cubicles and 2 big screens showing the DJ from the back, the people dancing or simply the crowd going nuts. ‘T WAS AMAZING. Sooooo on to the line-ups… and of course, comments AND A LITTLE SURPRISE!
House Room
21:00-23:30 Etienne Ozborne
I didn’t really listen a lot to this guy (maybe 30ish minutes), but from what I heard, he was doing great at warming up the crowd.
23:30-1:00 Cesar “Bass” Romero
I heard a little bit more of this guy (while waiting for LMFAO actually… we wanted to be in the first row, and we were!). He played house music and mixed his songs with a lot of ease; his transitions were smooth and he only played the best tracks out there, the crowd had a lot of fun.
1:00-2:00 LMFAO
LMFAO was really awesome, they were singing and dancing and had a DJ play their stuff in the back. They made the first couple rows wet with some Grey Goose and some Champagne and drank some live. They were extremely entertaining and knew what they were doing. What really sucks though is that they only played for an hour… Oh well!
2:00-5:00 David Guetta
I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t listen to much of his set, just the beginning and the ending (maybe 30 minutes each). He was really good and made the crowd go totally nuts at least 10 times while I was there. He played tracks from his latest album as well as some more electroish/dutch songs. I enjoyed his set and so did a lot of people (that’s what they told me!).
5:00-7:00 Kaskade
I maybe listened 30 minutes of Kaskade and then I was starting to fall asleep. I’m not saying he’s not a great DJ, but his first 30 minutes were filled with low intensity tracks and I was losing energy staying there. His transitions were smooth and his songs were good. A funny thing happened though; while I was going to the Trance room with my friend, the speakers in the House room shut down and Kaskade had to… well… wait. Funny. I heard the rest was off the hook though!
7:00-9:30 Ana Paula
I didn’t listen to her at all so I cannot really comment much, but the House room was still pretty packed so I guess she was pretty good!
9:30-12:00 David Morales
I didn’t listen to him either! But my guess was that he wasn’t bad either! Every DJ was good yesterday.
TRANCE ROOM
9:00-0:00 Wizz and Insomnia (Tag Team)
I listened a good hour and a half to these guys and they were really good! They were warming the crowd in a certain way… hmmm… well the crowd didn’t need a warm up, so they just went all out I guess. Great set!
0:00-1:30 Infected Mushrooms
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AMAZING. The band really messed people up and what they play is just fucked. It’s some sort of Hard Tech music. It’s really fast and really crazy, it was great for the event! I really enjoyed it and the crowd too. Everybody just jumped around and fist pumped, woot woot.
1:30-4:00 Sander Van Doorn
I got to listen to a big part of his set and it was really fun. Good build ups, transitions, tracks… everything! He delivered, really. The beat went on and on and on and on and it was great.
4:00-7:00 Ferry Corsten
My favorite of the night. He. Was. Insane. What he plays is progressive, but as soon as he gets into it, it’s one drop after another and a lot of noise effects to build up the hype and make people go nuts. I’ve never seen someone do a performance better than the one he did yesterday morning! He made me love trance even more. I listened to his latest album Once Upon a Night and it’s really neat! You should listen to it. Oh, and he did a mistake once and I heard it, but it’s barely audible. He just forgot to switch his crossfader back to one track only, so when he was cueing his track, we heard it. Hahaha.
7:00-10:00 Markus Schulz
This guy was amazing as well and I’m sad I had no energy to stay for more than around an hour for him! He played Trance like Ferry, but a little more glitchy, which made it less epic, but more messed up. Great DJ… super great DJ!
10:00-12:00 Sied Van Riel
I’ll let you guess from my previous paragraph… YESS. I MISSED THIS GUY TOO! I was almost home at this point of the night/day/morning/whatever. I’ll take another educated guess… he was good! Everybody did great so I think he did the same. I’ll be able to tell you after listening to his live set.
Since I’m an amazing person, I didn't bring anything for pictures or videos, but MoonOne was awesome and did a video of the night! By the way that rabbit a the start was just plain cool.
It was an insane night and it is totally worth the price (I know, I didn’t pay, shut up), I’m going back next year and I hope all my friends will too. Great music, great hype, great place. Love Bal en Blanc.
And you Trance lovers will love me. I found the whole Trance part of Bal en Blanc recorded in pretty high quality (perfect quality for big mixes). Here are the links and the tracklists (at the end of the post) that I could find. Some tracks are missing but whatever. Under each name is just different links to the SAME mix, just click any (MEGAUPLOAD IS THE FASTEST HOST).
SonicC – Stickin’ (Original Mix) (This song was played by Guetta near the end. You can find David Guetta’s song everywhere, so no point in posting any.) NOT A REPOST
01. ID 02. ID 03. ID 04. ID 05. ID 06. ID 07. ID 08. Robert Burian feat. Zdenka Predn? - You 09. ID 10. Wippenberg - Pong (Extended Mix) 11. ID 12. Jochen Miller - Brace Yourself (Extended Mix) 13. ID 14. ID 15. ID 16. Marco V feat. Khashassi - Solitary Confinement 17. The O.T. Quartet - Hold That Sucker Down (Jerome Isma-Ae Remix) 18. ID 19. ElSandro - Style Fusion (Jessus Progressivo Mix) 20. Filo & Peri feat. Eric Lumiere - Off The Hook (Vocal Mix) 21. ID 22. ID 23. ID 24. ID 25. Paul van Dyk feat. Johnny McDaid - Home (Wippenberg Remix) 26. Beltek feat. Justine Robertson - We Weren't Born To Die (Instrumental Mix) 27. Randy Katana - You & I 28. Re-Ward vs. Dr Willis - Maaybe (tyDi's Stadium Mix) 29. Mark Pledger feat. Melinda Gareh - Time Stands Still (Andy Duguid Remix) 30. ID
Sander van Doorn
01. Sander van Doorn - Daisy 02. Aly & Fila Featuring Denise Rivera - My Mind is With You (W&W Remix) 03. Purple Haze - Bliksem 04. Bart Claessen - Hartseer 05. ID 06. ID 07. Tiësto Featuring C.C. Sheffield - Escape Me (Marcel Woods Remix) 08. Leon Bolier & Marcus Schössow - 2099 09. Sander van Doorn - Renegade 10. ID 11. ID 12. Way Out West - The Gift (Remix) 13. Skytech - Comet 14. ID 15. The Killers - Spaceman (Sander van Doorn Remix Part 2) 16. Laidback Luke - My G*O*D [Guns on Demo] 17. Bent - As You Fall (Kyau & Albert Remix) 18. Simon Patterson - Taxi 19. ID 20. Sander van Doorn - Ninety 21. ID 22. ID 23. Bart Claessen - Elf 24. Richard Durand - Tiger's Apology 25. DJ Preach Featuring Matthew Ryan - Spark (Robert Burian Trance Mix) 26. 4 Strings - Daytime (Sean Tyas Remix) 27. Sander van Doorn - Bastillon 28. John O'Callaghan Featuring Sarah Howells - Find Yourself (Heatbeat Remix / JOC Rework) 29. Timbaland Featuring One Republic - Apologize (Sander van Doorn Bootleg Mix)
Ferry Corsten
01. Alpha 9 - Come Home 02. Yuri Kane - Right Back 03. Yuri Kane - Around You 04. ID 05. Arty - Hope 06. Amurai Presents Melissa Loretta - Unconditional Love 07. Fender Woods - Ain't She Pretty (Amurai Yerevan Remix) 08. Cramp Presents Sliders - Meteor 09. Mark Sixma - Forsaken 10. The Airstatic - Worldwide (Anton Firtich Remix) 11. Ferry Corsten Featuring Betsie Larkin - Made of Love (Original Extended Mix) 12. Ferry Corsten Presents Pulse - Once 13. Anton Firtich Presents AF Project - Something Wrong 14. Ferry Corsten - Beautiful (Original Extended Mix) 15. Tempo Giusto - Metropolitan (Alex O'Rion Remix) 16. Bart Claessen - Hartseer 17. Coldplay - The Scientist (Remix) 18. F. Massif - Understatement (Skytech vs. Rick Valentine Rework) 19. Ferry Corsten - Brain Box (MaRLo Remix) 20. Ferry Corsten - Shanti 21. BT - The Unbreakable (Breakfast Remix) 22. Solarstone - The Calling (RAM Remix) 23. Ferry Corsten - Sweet Sorrow (The Thrillseekers Remix) 24. Gouryella - Ligaya 25. The Thrillseekers - Synaesthesia (Ferry Corsten Remix) 26. System F - Out of the Blue 2010 (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix) 27. Ferry Corsten - Radio Crash 28. Ferry Corsten - L.E.F. (Loud, Electronic, Ferocious) 29. Ferry Corsten - Rock Your Body, Rock
Markus Schulz
01. Markus Schulz Featuring Khaz - Dark Heart Waiting (Intro Mix) 02. Artento Divini - Who's Next (Markus Schulz Big Room Reconstruction) 03. Jochen Miller - Brace Yourself 04. Stoneface & Terminal - Don't Give a F**k (Vocal Mix) 05. Steve Aries Featuring Lavoie - Dressed in White (Markus Schulz Coldharbour Remix) 06. Faithless - Not Going Home (Armin van Buuren Dub Mix) 07. ID (Track 12 from GDJB World Tour Dream WMC Set) 08. Gaia - Tuvan 09. Lentos - Forget About Us (Barnes & Heatcliff Remix) 10. Scott Mac - Damager 02 (Mac Zimms Remix) 11. Dirty South & Sebastian Ingrosso vs. Julie Thompson - Falling Meich (Markus Schulz Mashup) 12. Jose Amnesia - La Scala (Markus Schulz Big Room Reconstruction) 13. Ummet Ozcan - Trinity 14. ElSandro - Style Fusion (Jessus Progressivo Mix / Markus Schulz Edit) 15. ID 16. W&W - Mainstage 17. Karanda Featuring David Call - On Hold (Mark Sherry's Outburst Remix) 19. Tomcraft - Loneliness (Markus Schulz Big Room Reconstruction) 20. Jochen Miller - Red One 21. Rex Mundi vs. Ronski Speed vs. Eurythmics - Perspective Space Dreams (Markus Schulz Mashup) 22. Binary Finary - 1998 (tyDi & Dennis Sheperd Remix) 23. Skytech - Comet 24. Steve Angello vs. Ashley Wallbridge - Alpha Shotokan (Markus Schulz Mashup) 25. Dustin Zahn - Stranger To Stability (Len Faki Podium Mix / Markus Schulz Big Room Reconstruction) 26. Rex Mundi - Opera of Northern Ocean (Phynn Remix) 27. Der Dritte Raum - Hale Bopp (Markus Schulz Big Room Reconstruction) 28. ID 29. Cosmic Gate - Consciousness 30. Jerome Isma-Ae - Hold That Sucker Down 31. Drax & Scott Mac - Must Have Been a Dream (Mac Zimms Remix) 32. Paul van Dyk Featuring Hemstock & Jennings - Nothing But You (Super8 & Tab Remix) 33. Markus Schulz - Do You Dream (Uplifting Vocal Mix) 34. Markus Schulz - The New World 35. Paul van Dyk vs. Rex Mundi Featuring Susana - For an Angel at All (Markus Schulz Mashup) 36. Markus Schulz Featuring Khaz - Dark Heart Waiting (Paul Trainer Remix)
Sied Van Riel
01. Marcel Woods - The Bottle 02. Sander van Doorn - Daisy 03. ID 04. Tritonal - Utopia 05. Robert Gitelman - Fluidum 06. Aly & Fila Feat. Denise Rivera - My Mind is With You (W&W Remix) 07. Velvetine - Safe (Wherever You Are) (Rank 1 Remix) 08. Jochen Miller - Red One 09. Leon Bolier & Marcus Schössow - 2099 10. Ummet Ozcan - Trinity 11. Mike Foyle Presents Statica - Deadly Nightshade (Phynn Remix) 12. Heatbeat - Hadoken 13. W&W - D.N.A. 14. Anton Firtich Featuring Victoria Mazze - Meant To Be Free 15. Matt Cassar - 7 Days & One Week (Myon & Shane 54 Remix) 16. Bart Claessen - Elf 17. La Roux - In For The Kill (Tristan Ingram & Black Russian Festival Edit) 18. Cosmic Gate - Barra 19. ID 20. ID 21. Andain - Beautiful Things (Gabriel & Dresden Unplugged Mix) 22. ID 23. Offer Nissim Featuring Maya - For Your Love (Sied van Riel Remix)
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