I adore electronic dance music. I usually write some snazzy introduction, somehow tying together the tracks I choose to feature. However, the past seven days have been filled with some of the best music I’ve heard in a very long time and it’s an absolute pleasure to be able to share these with all of you. Consequently, I think it more appropriate to simply express the amount of affection I have for my beloved musical genre.  The next time someone asks me if I’ve ever been in love, all I can answer is “yes.”

     Despite his place amongst trance’s elite, I’ve never been a Simon Patterson fan. It always seems that he gets carried away with his melodies, producing overly elaborate leads that don’t translate well to ear buds or speakers. In addition, his build-ups normally remind me of those in an Axwell set, in that they are extremely lengthy and teasing: the musical equivalent of blue balls. It may work in a live setting, but it’s annoying elsewhere. His latest release on Night Vision, however, is different. Obviously distancing itself from the negatives I presented, “Here & Now” is a perfect example of how vocals can enhance an instrumental. Equipping the track with his usual attention-grabbing bassline, Patterson adds a growing white noise to nearly every section, making the track seem constantly on the rise. The tune hits its high point when the breakdown arrives to eliminate all sounds but that of a lone piano, a faint wind and Sarah Howells’ majestic voice. Patterson then gives a taste of the melody, and brings the shorter than usual build-up, transitioning well into the drop and the reverberating electro lead. A change of pace from his different stuff, Patterson succeeds in turning a few more critics into fans.

Simon Patterson ft. Sarah Howells – Here & Now (Original Mix)
Released on August 27th on Night Vision
Beatport

Simon Patterson Feat Sarah Howells "Here & Now" by SimonPatterson

     If you follow our blog at all, you’ve certainly noticed that we’ve slowly started moving towards a calmer, more progressive sound over the past few weeks. We are always looking to diversify our tastes and tracks like Beckwith’s “Craymal” make it very easy to do so.
         
     Originally from Lincoln, Nebraska, Paul Beckwith first fell in love with house music after attending a Red Barn party in Kansas City. Subsequently picking up DJing, ‘DJ Paul Wicked’ started spinning in and around town, later playing out of state parties in St. Louis and Chicago. After a 4-year residency at the Empire Room, he moved to Boston to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music where he met Anjunadeep regulars Andrew Bayer and Matt Lange. Years later, these friendships seem to still be intact, as Matt and Andrew both promoted Paul’s next track on their Facebook pages. Upcoming on Septmeber 10th, “Craymal” is the title track of a 3-piece EP also including “Birds” and “All I Need.” Typical of an Anjunadeep release, none of the clips play hero to the song, instead coalescing beautifully with their counterparts, as it seems that they are inherently complimentary. The melody/bassline and the clap, that Martin Roth-sounding synth and the sparse vocals, the resounding kick drum and the background synth that joins the fray at the end: these all intertwine to produce a faint modern disco vibe, a soothing end of summer feel and certainly, another Anjunadeep classic.

Beckwith – Craymal (Original Mix)
Released on September 10th on Anjunadeep

     It may simply be my personality, but I believe Madeon’s music to be quite polarizing. I warmed quickly to the French 18-year old’s remix of Martin Solveig’s “The Night Out,” but despised his follow-up single, “Finale.” “The City,” however, has swayed me back towards the positive. Released on his own Popcultur imprint, Madeon delivers another modern, yet retro fixing tuned to his unique brand of disco, french house and electro pop. Aided by vocals from Zak Waters and Cass Lowe, the fast-paced track features a prominent kick drum and a powerful bassline lined by a barely audible buzzing electro sound. In addition to the erratic melody introduced at the very beginning of the track, Madeon inserts what I like to conceptualize as structural chaos turned aural pleasure. It’s those few stretches where the song’s framework is thrown aside to make room for the overwhelming sounds that emerge from every which way and somehow deliver a nice result. If it wasn’t already apparent beforehand, Madeon is insanely talented and “The City” will do nothing but convince naysayers of his future in EDM.

Madeon – The City (Original Mix)
Released on August 27th on Popcultur in the US / Everywhere else on October 8th
iTunes

     This week’s last track is a remix from Sebastian Weikum. The aptly named “Astro Ibiza” makes me feel like I’m staring out into the Mediterranean from the shores of the White Isle. Populated by a number of soft synths, the body of the track is highlighted by a chord and flute hybrid, with a short attack and decay, rapidly moving from one note to the other. The melody is superbly complimented by a flurry of Latin percussion instruments, such as maracas and what sounds like a small cabasa, altogether succeeding in giving the track a sort of calming tribal vibe. Released back on June 25th alongside the original mix, Sebastian Weikum’s edit of “Astro Ibiza” is perfect for a last trip to the beach during the dwindling days of summer.

Gregory Esayan & Shinobi – Astro Ibiza (Sebastian Weikum Edit)

Released on June 25th on Colorize
Beatport – iTunes

     Finally, here is the current events schedule through the month of September. Make sure you take advantage of your free time this weekend, as Piknic Electronik hosts some of this year’s marquee shows, Circus Afterhours hosts Subculture and Coldharbour nights and the Produktworld festival finally begins (set times for the latter below).

August 30th – Maya Jane Coles @ SAT, $20
                    – Martin Solveig @ New City Gas, $20
August 31st – John O’Callaghan, Beat Service and Sneijder @ Circus Afterhours, $20
                    – Alesso, Mark Knight, Cogorock and Jaytech @ New City Gas, $30
September 1st – Dirty South, BT and Lazy Rich @ New City Gas, $20
September 2nd – Misstress Barbara @ Piknic Electronik, $12
                         – Markus Schulz and KhoMha @ BeachClub, $15
                         – Axwell, Stefano Noferini and Max Graham @ New City Gas, $30
                         – KhoMha and Mr. Pit @ CIrcus Afterhours, $20
September 3rd – Claude VonStroke @ Piknic Electronik, $12
September 8th – Sebastian Leger and Riva Starr @ Piknic Electronik, $12
                        – Steve Angello @ New City Gas, $30
September 14th – Aly & Fila @ Circus Afterhours, $20
September 15th – AN21 & Max Vangeli @ New City Gas, $15
September 16th – Oliver$ @ Piknic Electronik, $12
September 20th – Albin Myers @ Underworld, $25
September 21st – Max Graham and Protoculture @ CIrcus Afterhours, $20
September 22nd – Thomas Gold @ New City Gas, $15
September 29th – Joachim Garraud @ New City Gas, $15

Have a great weekend!

     It’s that time of year again. As EDM continues to spread its influence throughout the world, passionate fans ready their Facebook accounts to partake in DJ Mag’s annual popularity contest. While the limitations of this survey counterfeit its relevance, validity and integrity, it remains the best tool for measuring the ebbs and flows of mainstream dance music. Ever since its inception, the Hawt has greatly enjoyed belittling this farce in anticipation of arguable sell-outs–David Guetta for example–topping the list. Don’t get me wrong; the major role Guetta and those like him play in giving dance music the spotlight it deserves should earn him the first position. However, the rankings are supposed to reflect proficiency in DJing. Or is it production skill? Who knows, but one thing remains for certain: dabbling in mainstream will get you a significant amount of votes. So as EDMers everywhere argue about David’s upcoming repeat as DJ Map champion, we take a more light-hearted approach and countdown this year’s top 10 campaign videos.

     Before we begin, lets set one thing straight. Of the few artists trying to entice voters with moving pictures, we excluded all travel and live show montages. There are innumerable videos of this sort on YouTube, all more boring than the next. DJ/producers are supposed to have creative minds; why can’t they put them to use towards a different medium? We also pushed aside the mindless clips of artists simply asking fans to vote, or those that asked famous friends to do it for them. Note that we commend everyone who used a modicum of effort and originality, the order in which they appear is purely subjective. Let’s start the countdown, shall we?

T-10. Armada, Nervo and Miss Nine

     Handing out flyers, asking for a vote and a recycled ad for the 2008 US elections, respectively: these don’t really deserve a spot in our countdown. However, tall foreign women who use clothing sparingly.

9. Giuseppe Ottaviani

     Essentially, Ottaviani jokingly blames his difficult to spell name for his lack of placement in the poll. However, I think his video may be counterintuitive. What’s to stop voters from misspelling his name if they expect to get flashed by some MILF teacher? Nevertheless, simple, smart and humorous concept.

8. Dada Life

     Dada Life’s YouTube channel is notoriously asinine and their 2012 campaign video is no different. Speaking to the people of EDM as the “Ambassadors of Dadaland,” the pair give us a short State of the Union address, all the while looking uncharacteristically stiff and nervous. Sure, they are explicitly asking fans to vote and there is a short live show montage at the end, but Olle’s stammer is worth a inclusion in our top 10. '”Fucking bananas,” indeed.

7. Daniel Kandi

     This clip is the picture of simplicity and exactly what we mean we when ask DJs to be creative. Kandi’s live show montage is dubbed with vocals from himself, with lyrics that urge his fans to vote for him. Both reasons we used to justify excluding so many others combined in an original manner. Many bonus points to you, sir.

6. Nicky Romero

     This is what fans want; a glimpse into DJs’ lives. Nicky Romero paints a portrait of his of livelihood before and after his rise to fame. Where other producers try to make you laugh, the young gun gives viewers a frank look at the past few years and solemnly thanks all who support him. Concise, truthful and effective somehow makes for a decent clip.

5. Karanda

     How dare you play with our emotions! Karanda shows us a cute plush monkey, then puts it through unspeakable acts of torture and threatens to continue doing so unless we vote for him. The furry mammal is forced to listen to Justin Bieber, is dangled above a fiery pit and is targeted with a sniper rifle. Will you surrender to the blackmail?

4. Ferry Corsten

     Did you know that Ferry Corsten’s happiness in contingent on that of his fans? That’s the message he communicates as he performs usually pleasant activities alone. Bowling, backgammon, air hockey: nothing can get him out of his funk. That is, until he comes on stage and plays in front of a large crowd as the words “You Happy Ferry Happy,” flash across the screen. Who wouldn’t enjoy a Ferry Corsten set?

3. Marcus Schossow

     We really like Marcus Schossow’s sense of humor. It’s profane, blunt and straight to the point in the best of ways. In continuing with simplicity, his video features prominent mock DJs Paris Hilton and DJ Facebender (the latter of Steve Lawler’s creation), who could both be in contention for this year’s Razzie awards. All he does is place a caption at the bottom of the screen that reads: “Don’t let this shit happen.” It’s that easy.

2. Arnej

     One of this year’s lengthier videos, Arnej’s boasts the most creative concept of them all. As the clip seemingly prepares us for a movie trailer of epic proportions, we are suddenly transported to a kitchen for an episode of “Cooking with Arnej.” Dolled in proper chef attire, Arnej figuratively runs over Rachel Ray as he throws food out the window and instead teaches the audience how to cook a track. All the while, he is accompanied by little text bubbles that tell corny jokes, our favorite of which being: “For a blue ball, he sure looks happy.”

1. Steve Aoki

     Whether it’s his copy of 50 Shades of Grey, his love for tacos or his rocket powered shoes, Aoki’s video is packed with laughs for anyone who can appreciate non-sequitur. His calm demeanor adds to the hilarity of his head being attached to an eagle, or being zapped onto the Moai and the Sphinx with the help of his spaceship’s statue-morphing laser. To boot, Steve’s clip is the most quotable of the lot, with Lil’ Jon making an appearance to exclaim: “Wassup this is Lil’ Jon. I voted for Steve and now I’m in fkn space maan.” Brilliant all-around, Steve Aoki has this year’s number 1 DJ Mag campaign video.

Honorable Mentions: Tritonal, Mark Ursa, Bjorn Akesson, Marcus Schossow in Latin America and Sied van Riel.

The boobie prize goes to Sander van Doorn, who uploaded not one, but TWO travel/live show montages. Shameful…

     Being somewhat indecisive with who would get my fifth vote in this year’s poll, I told myself that the winner of our campaign video countdown would receive my seal of approval. And so it is decided, my 5 artists this year are: Eric Prydz, Above & Beyond, Mark Knight, Gabriel & Dresden and Steve Aoki. If you haven’t made your selections yet, make sure you do soon; voting ends on August 29th at 7:00 AM. Follow this link to vote.

Finally, here’s an updated events schedule, old-school Ellis-style. The links send you to the online ticket counter:

August 30th – Maya Jane Coles @ SAT, $20

                    – Martin Solveig @ New City Gas, $20

August 31st – John O’Callaghan, Beat Service and Sneijder @ Circus Afterhours, $20

                    – Alesso, Mark Knight, Cogorock and Jaytech @ New City Gas, $30

September 1st – Dirty South, BT and Lazy Rich @ New City Gas, $20

September 2nd – Misstress Barbara @ Piknic Electronik, $12

                         – Markus Schulz and KhoMha @ BeachClub, $15

                         – Axwell, Stefano Noferini and Max Graham @ New City Gas, $30

                         – KhoMha and Mr. Pit @ CIrcus Afterhours, $20

September 3rd – Claude VonStroke @ Piknic Electronik, $12

September 8th – Sebastian Leger and Riva Starr @ Piknic Electronik, $12

                        – Steve Angello @ New City Gas, $30

September 14th – Aly & Fila @ Circus Afterhours, $20

September 15th – AN21 & Max Vangeli @ New City Gas, $15

September 16th – Oliver$ @ Piknic Electronik, $12

September 20th – Albin Myers @ Underworld, $25

September 21st – Max Graham and Protoculture @ CIrcus Afterhours, $20

September 22nd – Thomas Gold @ New City Gas, $15

September 29th – Joachim Garraud @ New City Gas, $15

   
     Yeah yeah, it’s late, piss off. Another week, another post and I think this one is worth a celebration. For the first time since the Hawt’s return, all parties involved are either in work or school. However, this hasn’t stopped us from shining light onto tracks we like to brighten your week. Sure, it might be a little shorter than usual, but at least there is one. Remember those lengthy stretches during exam periods when you had no procrastination material? Gone. Our first post back clearly stated that the blog would be updated EVERY Thursday and we meant it. So enjoy this week’s journey though the EDM universe.

David Forbes – Engage (Original Mix)
Unknown label and release date

     I’m going to take a shot in the dark and guess this gets released on Aria Digital on September 24th.

Jochen Miller – Nevada (Original Mix)
Released on September 17th on Big & Dirty Records
Exclusively on Beatport

     Big & Dirty Records has the ugliest album art of any EDM record label. Michael J Fox could draw something nicer than that.
   

Gabriel & Dresden ft. Betsie Larkin – Play It Back (Original Mix)

     I LOVE me some Gabriel & Dresden. I voted for them in the DJ Mag top 100. Speaking of that awful excuse for a DJ ranking system, check out the Hawt this Sunday for a rundown of the best campaign videos for this year’s poll!


     The last track this week comes from legendary producer Sasha. It’s a remix of ThermalBear’s “U Love,” out on Sasha’s label, Last Night On Earth. It’s a huge melodic tech house track that had me grinning like an American at the drive-through window the second I first heard it.

ThermalBear – U Love (Sasha Remix)
Released on August 20th on Last Night On Earth
Exclusively on Beatport

     We’ve learned during this week that the Josh Wink and Azari & III performances at Piknic Electronik are no more, although you can still see Danny Tenaglia at Stereo on Saturday the 25th. On the night previous, you can find youngster Jordy Dazz and Montreal’s own King Louis at Arena Nightclub for the extremely cheap price of $10. Check us out on Sunday when we countdown the top campaign videos for this year’s DJ Map top 100!