Cupe

Carl Cox invites you to join him on his North American tour next year as he makes his way across the United States. Featuring stops in twelve cities within thirty days plus three major festival performances, the Carl Cox Invites Tour is going to take the northern hemisphere by storm to kick off the spring festival season. Starting at the end of February and concluding at the end of March, Carl Cox will be making stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Austin, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Brooklyn. Each stop will provide a unique experience that draws on early club vibes and takes us back to the roots of house. Notable stops include an outdoor performance at the Grand Park in Los Angeles, a warehouse experience at a surprise location in Denver, and an entire takeover of the legendary Avant Gardner in Brooklyn. As part of this tour, Carl Cox will be bringing along an assortment of some of the most respected artists in techno and deep house. With his vision to give longer set times to artists and take the guests on a journey of light and sound, Carl Cox aims to provide next-level energy to this tour. Joining him will be Kolsh, Nic Fanciulli, Chip E, Josh Wink, Luigi madonna, Enrico Sangiuliano, Nicole Moudaber, Danny Tenaglia, Christopher Coe, Dubfire, and many others. Coupled with amazing venues, this tour is certain to be nothing short of epic. Per Carl Cox, “The artists that join me on this tour understand this because they were clubbers first, and I know we have something very special when we play together.” In addition to the city tours, Carl Cox will be stopping at three major festivals along the way including EDC Mexico, Ultra Miami, and CRSSDin San Diego. Ultra has already announced major changes for the festival next year when it returns to Bayfront Park, including the expansion of Carl Cox’s legendary Megastructure. Guests will also be treated to an entire three days of RESISTANCE (Ultra’s techno brand) rather than the usual one. In a transformation of last year’s wildly popular RESISTANCE Island, Ultra will be creating an entire RESISTANCE area rather than a stage that will encompass the northern part of the festival. During this time, Carl Cox will be performing three separate times throughout the weekend along with curating performances by the very best in the industry. As you plan out your year for 2020, make sure to catch Carl Cox in a city near you and take the opportunity to see him in a festival setting! For more information and tickets, head here! *Images via Carl Cox and Ultra Music Festival The post Carl Cox Announces Epic North American Tour Series “Carl Cox Invites” appeared first on EDM Maniac. Source

Even though we haven’t rung in the new year, we gotta start planning for the most romantic day of the year, Valentine’s Day. If you’re looking for a little getaway and the perfect spot for you and your boo, we have just the thing. Phoenix, Arizona and Relentless Beats/Insomniac is bringing back a very special Crush Arizona this Valentine’s Day. Crush Arizona will be returning for its 11th year on February 14, 2020 after they celebrated a decade of love last year. Crush Arizona will take place at Rawhide Event Center and will bring you back to raving in the early 2000s with the indoor building as the main event. Crush AZ will bring in artists Audien, Habstrakt, Jauz, Carbin, Tynan, and more to be announced. General admission passes are on sale now and are starting at $49, plus fees. Get your tickets here, and we’ll see you there, in the name of love. The post Relentless Beats Announces Unique Valentine’s Crush Arizona appeared first on EDM Maniac. Source

Last year, Ultra Miami debuted the widely acclaimed RESISTANCE Island in the takeover of a small island at the Virginia Key location this past March. With three stages and an incredible lineup, the Ultra Worldwide techno brand provided a next-level experience that brought techno fans from around the world to the heart of Downtown Miami for the weekend. As Ultra Miami returns home to the original location in Bayfront Park this March 20-22, 2020, the brand made another huge announcement today as they bring RESISTANCE back with them for the entire three days of the festival. This will be the first time in Ultra history to host the RESISTANCE stage for the entire course of the festival, which makes for extremely exciting news for fans as Ultra curates a brand-new stage display and a highly regarded lineup. For the 2020 return, RESISTANCE will have an entire area located in the northern perimeter of the festival on the waterfront of Biscayne Bay and will include several new sections including The Cove. The Cove will draw on the vibes from RESISTANCE Island last year and be dedicated to underground techno. Additionally, Carl Cox will be expanding his iconic Carl Cox Megastructure which will also take place for the full three days of the festival rather than the usual single day. This will be a huge year for Carl Cox as Ultra celebrates his 20th year of performing at Ultra Music Festival. As part of this celebration, Carl Cox will be headlining three times throughout the weekend in three separate sets including an exclusive B3B debut. During the weekend, Carl Cox will play his own solo set, then take the stage with Jamie Jones and The Martinez Brothers, and concluding the weekend with a B2B performance with techno icon Maceo Plex for the first time ever stateside. Adding to this stellar roster, Ultra will be bringing in techno heavyweights from around the world to the stages of RESISTANCE with the introduction of several newcomers to Ultra. Techno phenomenon Amelie Lens will be making her way from Belgium to perform in her debut at Ultra Music Festival, bringing along her exquisite talent for mixing techno beats. Also taking the stage this year will be Adam Beyer B2B Cirez D for the first time in a back-to-back set. Additionally, fans will have the chance to see Dubfire, Nicole Moudaber, and Paco Osuna as they return to play at the RESISTANCE stage. Other headliners will including Richie Hawtin, Nic Fanciulli, Pan-Pot, ANNA, and Eats Everything as they bring over the underground techno vibes from their residency performances this past summer at Ibiza’s most popular nightclub Privilege. Camelphat and house duo Solardo will also be returning to Ultra Miami along with Tale Of Us, Loco Dice, and Gorgon City. In a special guest lineup, Technasia will be taking the stage in back-to-back-to-back sets with both Hector and Carlo Lio as they come together from France, Mexico, and Canada for the first time. With three days and multiple areas, Ultra Miami welcomes even more first-time headliners including Ibiza’s ‘Tech House DJ Of The Year” Michael Bibi and techno sensation Dennis Cruz in yet another epic back-to-back performance. Fans will also have the chance to see RESISTANCE fan favorite Nastia return to the decks as she makes her way from Ukraine. As techno continues their takeover at Ultra, up-and-coming talent locally and internationally will make their debut in Miami. This includes Dancing Astronaut’s “Breakout Artist Of The Year” Dom Dolla, Ukrainian duo ARTBAT, techno artist Anfisa Letyago, Netherlands-based Reinier Zonneveld, and a special set from Awesome Soundwave co-founder Christopher Coe in a live performance. The RESISTANCE brand is now rooted in all six habitable continents as Ultra Worldwide continues its global expansion with thirty-eight Ultra festivals across the world. With Ultra Miami being the first debut of the Ultra brand back in 1999, the Miami festival is touted as the most popular and beloved by fans as the festival continues to deliver only the best in festival production and electronic music talent. We expect this year to be no different, with Ultra coming back to Bayfront Park in a big way as fans prepare to celebrate the return home. Stay tuned for Phase 2 of the RESISTANCE lineup and news as Ultra releases more surprises for the upcoming year! The post RESISTANCE Reveals Stacked Phase One Lineup For Ultra Miami 2020 appeared first on EDM Maniac. Source

It is the place of dreams, created by dreamers. It is a place where music and magic overlap into a world outside of our daily lives. It is a place where love and acceptance for all prevail as hundreds of thousands gather from around the world to celebrate the beauty of life. It is a place where differences are set aside in place of mutual love: electronic dance music. This place is Tomorrowland, a place that is unequivocally the most beloved music festival in the world. As we celebrate fifteen years of electronic music history, let us take a journey back in time to appreciate the memories made and the evolution into the Tomorrowland we know and love today! Tomorrowland celebrates its Fifteenth Anniversary with its most elaborate stage yet. This last year, Tomorrowland celebrated a monumental anniversary as they returned for the fifteenth year to the beautiful location in Boom, Belgium as 400,000 people gathered over the course of two weekends in late July. In a celebration of the past, present, and future, Tomorrowland accordingly curated the festival around the theme The Book of Wisdom- a revival of the theme from the year 2012. For those that recall, the Tomorrowland Mainstage in 2012 was famed with transforming stage production forever with a stage display that was beyond its time in both technology and aesthetics. In true Tomorrowland form, creators drew on the throwback theme in an even bigger way and made their mark yet again as unrivaled in production. Tomorrowland celebrates the Fifteenth Anniversary with a recreation of The Book of Wisdom theme from the year 2012. This year boasted one of the largest displays in history that showcased a background of books that paid tribute to prior themes and was equipped with a moving train centered around a book that opened and closed at the beginning and end of each day. As you looked up to the sky from the rolling hillside below, a book dedicated to the late Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii, caught the eyes of all. As acrobats performed high above the crowd as the next act was announced, attendees were swept away in a cloud of nostalgia and excitement. The first year of Tomorrowland was in 2005, at the same location in Boom, Belgium. Photo Credit: The Daily Michael. Now let us briefly rewind to the year 2005, the year it all began on a sunshine-filled Sunday in August. Michiel and Manu Beers, brothers from Belgium, were avid club-goers in the ’90s and wanted to move away from the typical nightclub life and create an experience centered around music that also embraced the outdoors during the daylight. With influences from other European festivals such as Mysteryland, the Beers brothers created Tomorrowland. With humble beginnings, Tomorrowland hosted just five stages with a Mainstage design that consisted of vinyl banners held together by scaffolding. Rather than the three-day, the two-weekend festival we know today, Tomorrowland came to life on a single day with twenty-seven headliners and 8,000 guests at De Schorre Park in Boom where the festival continues to be held. At the time, Tomorrowland did not have a theme and organizers gave tickets away for free to bring more guests on site. Taking the stage at the 2005 festival included appearances by Armin van Buuren, Sasha, and David Guetta, all three of whom were top-ranked DJs by DJMag that year. When it came to the camping, guests brought their own tents and camped right in front of Mainstage. Mainstage Tomorrowland as the sunsets. Fast forward to 2019, the festival has reached its fifteenth anniversary and is now called home to 400,000 people across the globe. To celebrate, Tomorrowland creators elevated the festival to new heights for this year including the debut of Tomorrowland Winter. As a kick-off for the big anniversary return, Tomorrowland Winter featured the theme The Hymm of the Frozen Lotus and welcomed 30,000 guests to the gorgeous French Alps during the wintry season of March. Tomorrowland Winter debuted for the first time in 2019 in the beautiful French Alps. Photo Credit: Tomorrowland Winter Attendees bundled up for the cold and came equipped with ski gear to navigate their way amongst the stages. The week-long event featured headliners including NERVO, DJ Snake, Afrojack, Steve Aoki, Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Martin Solveig, Martin Garrix, and of course, David Guetta (the only DJ to play every single Tomorrowland event in history). Tomorrowland Winter was such a success that the festival will return next year during the week of March 14th to March 21st, 2020. For the official anniversary extravaganza during July, Tomorrowland returned with several exciting additions, new stage layouts, and exclusive celebrations tied into the anniversary. The festival with the camping options sold out with hours, with the entire festival selling out within days to make for the largest year yet. As you entered the festival campsite at Dreamville, you began your fairytale journey as you walked through a beautiful stained-glass entrance. Once on-site at the festival itself, guests were transported into another world with unique celebrations in various areas of the festival. Dreamville entrance under a stained-glass sky. This year, Tomorrowland featured seventeen stages (including the Rave Cave) with approximately 400 headliners. In stark comparison to the original festival in 2005, Tomorrowland has grown into the largest festival in the world. One of the most anticipated events of Tomorrowland this year was the Eric Prydz Holosphere debut, an extension of his popular HOLO showcase. To allow for this experience, the Freedom Stage was enlarged and expanded to include the Holosphere structure. They also welcomed L’Orangerie, a stage that was originally debuted at Tomorrowland Winter and replaced the floating Arch Stage. Also making its way from Tomorrowland Winter was the Lotus Stage, which replaced the previous Organ of Harmony. World-class cuisine prepared in custom Tomorrowland dishes at the opening of Mesa. This year marked the opening of Mesa, a five-star restaurant based in Belgium that operates as a shared dining concept where you are matched at a table with attendees from all parts of the world. While you came in with an empty stomach, you left with a fulfilled heart as you made lifetime friends. At B-Eat, the only stage in the world to concurrently host both a world-class DJ and chef, guests danced while enjoying the exquisite food prepared by legendary Las Vegas chef Joel Robuchon. At the end of the meal, guests were treated to a surprise champagne toast and a mouthwatering, five-foot-tall anniversary cake. Dancers and guests gather around the pool at the Lost Frequencies & Friends Stage. As the party continued into the night, the festival paused for the first-ever performance on Mainstage by The Metropole Symphony. As part of their Symphony of Unity showcase, a sixty-piece orchestra performed popular electronic music from years past and present. To witness this event was otherworldly as you were transported to another place entirely while being filled with an array of emotions. As the weekend came to a close, attendees celebrated the closing of this chapter with a surprise performance by 3 Are Legend, a supergroup comprised of Steve Aoki with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. Tomorrowland performers take the stage in the VIP lounge. Although the anniversary took place in July, the electronic music community has continued to honor the fifteenth anniversary of Tomorrowland. This year at the 2019 Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), Tomorrowland celebrated at the Ziggodome with a spectacle perfectly fit for the Fifteenth Anniversary. “Our Story” brought in a live orchestra in a stadium setting, which featured Tomorrowland icons Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Goose, Netsky, Steve Aoki, The Bloody Beetroots and Tiësto. Backed by The Metropole Orchestra, the DJs played some of the most iconic Tomorrowland anthems for thousands to dance and celebrate. “Our Story” paid special tribute to Avicii, with spectacular indoor fireworks, tons of confetti and performers. Tomorrowland celebrates its Fifteenth Anniversary at the Ziggodome in Amsterdam this past October. As the 2019 year ends, we look forward to the future of Tomorrowland while remembering the fond memories we have made over the last fifteen years. With the second year of Tomorrowland Winter, the celebration of the theme The Book of Wisdom continues with The Frozen Chapter. As for Tomorrowland in Belgium, get ready for the ticket sales in January as you gear up for the experience of a lifetime! We expect Tomorrowland to continue its trend of pushing boundaries with festival production and curating overall experiences that inevitably turn into heartfelt memories. Tomorrowland has recently released the theme for this year as The Reflection of Love, with cryptic hints at the overall theme on their website. As we patiently await the surprises of next year, tune into the One World Radio station created for the anniversary and relive the moments of years past. Until we see you next year, People of Tomorrow: live today, love tomorrow, unite forever! The post How Tomorrowland Celebrated Their 15th Anniversary In The Most Epic Way Possible appeared first on EDM Maniac. Source

As the year 2019 is coming to a close and 2020 is just around the corner, You all must be wondering what songs made the most impact over the last decade. Well, we have the results. Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ has been titled the highest-charting dance track of the decade. The inspirationally stunning track was released by the late producer in 2013 and includes vocals from the beautiful Aloe Blacc. In addition, it sits in the No. 13 in the 100-strong list from the official UK Singles Chart. Other masterpieces to be included in the top 50 list is David Guetta’s collaborative song with Sia, ‘Titanium’. Also among the top 50 are Daft Punk, The Chainsmokers, and Major Lazer. To honor the masterful late producer, a tribute concert in aid of mental health awareness took place in Stockholm last week, and was broadcasted for the world to see. Organized by the Tim Bergling Foundation, 19 Avicii collaborators teamed up with a 30-piece band for the performance. Avicii was undoubtedly one of dance music’s most influential and inspiring artists of all time. He passed away in April 2018, and will forever be missed. The post Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ Named Highest Charting Dance Track Of The Decade appeared first on EDM Maniac. Source

by Luke Miller [Guest Post] I suppose I didn’t really have any solid expectations when I began my journey to Las Vegas in 2015. I knew this was a massive festival—I’d seen commercials and trailers and clips from previous years—but it still didn’t hit me until I actually got there. It started to sink in when my plane landed and the entire cabin burst into applause and a minutes-long chant of “E-D-C! E-D-C! E-D-C!” It kept sinking in when I was walking through the airport and signs everywhere said “Las Vegas welcomes Electric Daisy Carnival.” And it really started to sink in when I noticed about ¾ of the people I saw at the airport wearing the admission wristband, basically your ticket into the Carnival itself. This was going to be huge on a scale I never would have fathomed. If you looked at me on a normal day, you wouldn’t typically see a partier. I just got a Master’s degree in English, so my days are spent reading and teaching other people how to read and write well, and my nights are filled with browsing the internet, cooking healthy meals, and chatting with friends. All in all, pretty low-key. Even on the rare occasions, I do go out to bars, I stand on the sidelines, drinking water, not dancing at all, generally keeping to myself. There’s a shyness that tends to come out of me when I’m surrounded by strangers, as though I do what I can to ensconce myself in the familiarity of isolation, the known aspect of self, rather than flinging myself out into the void of strangers. But I knew, as I was waiting in line to check into my hotel and I saw people decked out in neon clothes or EDC shirts or body paint, that my usual routine was something I’d have to put to the side this weekend. I was going to have to either put on a confident and outgoing persona or take off the insecure and quiet persona I usually had on. I wasn’t sure which would be more accurate at the beginning, and I’m even less sure now that I look back in retrospect which actually happened. I’m not going to bore you with the details of checking into my hotel room, or trying to decide what to wear. I’m not even going to talk about the shuttles to the festival and the people I met on the bus, or the secret military base we had to drive through to get to the venue, or even the stringent security protocols that put a solid hour between getting off the bus and getting into the Carnival. This is going to be about lessons learned within, and solely within, the Carnival. Under the electric sky, as my fellow ravers put it. The lessons are: 1. Have a piece of candy every now and again. 2. Rally under your flag. 3. Embrace vulnerability. 4. Don’t hesitate to refill. 5. Seek and ye shall find. These may seem strange and vague, but the meaning behind each of these phrases is a profound lesson that was brought into sharp relief by the light of the Electric Daisy Carnival and the people within it. Let’s begin: 1. Have a piece of candy every now and again. Usually, I am pretty strict about my nutrition. I have goals regarding my physique and I do what I can to take steps every day to bring those goals to fruition. Vegetables, lean proteins, only drinking water. I don’t particularly enjoy super-sweet foods anymore, and even when I do break on the strictness usually I feel so guilty that I’m immediately back on it by the next meal. But EDC taught me to let go every now and again, in a number of different ways. For starters, in perhaps the most obvious method—I didn’t care about what I ate in Vegas. I at one point almost ate a complete 16” pizza in a single meal. The concept of nutrients or macro breakdowns didn’t exist. I didn’t worry about if I was getting enough protein, I just ate. And it was glorious to have that part of myself turned off for a few days. Am I going to keep that up? No, but I needed a mental vacation. Point the second, shyness does not and in many ways cannot exist at Electric Daisy Carnival. That’s a massive difference from other festivals I’ve been to, like Warped Tour—the crowd energy is much different. I remarked upon this several times that Warped has this sense of tenuous community, and the atmosphere is one of happiness and celebration but simmering underneath that is a brooding and nearly-predatory survival instinct, a defiance of social norms with bared teeth and a come-and-get-it glare. There isn’t a whole lot of speaking done, people are focused on getting to their sets and their stages. Not so at EDC. I have never been given so many high fives, hugs, compliments, or asked genuine questions by complete strangers in my entire life. 135,000 people every night attended this festival and I saw only one upset person the entire weekend. People are dead-set on having a great time, extending positive vibes to everyone else. Sharing parts of themselves, whether that’s through just talking or giving something away that they created, like kandi. Yes, kandi. Of the people reading this who attended EDC or are otherwise into the EDM culture, you’ll know what I’m talking about (and you’ll get the pun!). I personally had no idea what it was when I got to Vegas, or even really when I’d made it to the festival, but by the end of the weekend, my wrist was absolutely covered in elastic wristbands with plastic beads strung over them. These bracelets are called, collectively, “kandi,” and each individual bracelet is called a “piece.” People show up to EDC with both arms from wrist to shoulder absolutely covered in their own kandi, and they give pieces away to people they find interesting or cool. Whether you’ve just been talking for a couple of minutes, you’ve danced really well, or you just find yourself wanting this person to remember you for some reason, you give them a piece of kandi using a handshake that revolves around the four tenets of EDM culture: Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. Shortened to PLUR by most enthusiasts, these four ideologies of existence come to incredible and visceral fruition in those who engage in the culture. It was my first EDC, so that was reason enough for people to give me kandi. It was my first rave at all, so that was an added reason for people to give me kandi. I did what I could to reciprocate when I had the ability, but I was blown away by the time and effort that went into these little pieces of non-valued socio-cultural capital. It isn’t as though the more kandi you have, the cooler you are, but it’s still apropos to have at least a few of those brightly colored bracelets on your wrist, if only to signal to others that you’re into sharing, giving back, and connecting with everyone. This entire vacation became a piece of candy for me, an oasis of hedonism in a life marked by regimentation and routine. I found comfort in the chaos, I found a connection in strangers, and I couldn’t have done this without that strong EDM community keeping it all glued firmly together. The helpfulness and genuine care that other people give you is something I’m going to keep trying to emulate in my everyday experience. I’m generally bound to my ambition and my pride, but EDC taught me that letting loose every now and again isn’t going to kill me—in fact, it’s probably better for me if I do. 2. Rally under your flag. Coming into EDC on the first night, I knew one other person and he was not physically with me. I was entirely alone with nobody and nothing to really allow myself the connection that I saw manifesting among other people. Luckily, I ran into two teenagers from Switzerland who’d flown out for the festival who, when I explained to them my predicament, immediately said “You’re with us now, let’s go party,” and took me with them to several different DJs’ sets. I’d never heard of these DJ’s before, and frankly, they were good, but I was stunned that these two guys in a completely different country would adopt a loner and a newbie, without a second’s hesitation, into their own fold. It didn’t matter that I was unaware of most of the artists playing, or that I didn’t know how festivals of this size worked, or even that it was my first rave. They saw a guy that was stressing out and they wanted me to have a good time, so they took it upon themselves to show me one. That’s a pattern I thought could never continue, and yet it inexplicably did. Until my buddy got to the festival that night, I was “adopted” by a group after group after group, and they all were immediately accepting of a new person within their ranks. Nobody gave me the stink eye for being the odd man out, nobody asked any probing questions about why I was alone. They all expressed the sentiment of “You’re here, we’re here, we’re gonna have a good time,” and just lived that out every second. When Kevin finally showed up, they adopted him too. Just about every single person I met there welcomed everyone else with open arms, open minds, and open hearts. And that is despite the varied and multiple backgrounds that everyone brought to the table. I met bankers, lawyers, PhD students in physics, engineers, college kids, and high school dropouts alike—all gathered together at the Carnival to celebrate their lives. People from all over the world, speaking different languages and liking different music, still, put aside their differences to come together. I met people from Australia, Switzerland, China, Canada, California, Georgia, Seattle, Albuquerque. All of them were there for the same reasons and wanted the same things. Everyone wanted to give and receive PLUR. But it’s hard to maintain a group of any size without something common to rally around. To that effect, groups counteracted this general lost-ness with “totems,” or images on sticks that groups would decide upon collectively and hold up high to see over a crowd. These totems could be signs (MY MOM THINKS I’M AT SUMMER CAMP), they could be faces of completely random people (one guy had his face as a totem, another girl had Tom Skerritt as hers), but most inspiringly, they could be flags. Watching those flags wave, dotted in the insanely large crowds in front of massive stages and laser light shows, was really something to behold. Whether it was a state flag, a country flag, a pride flag or a college flag, it really brought something home for me. Usually, people in this world want to help you. Even though it’s easy to be cynical, most people are out to make sure everyone else wins. Maybe that’s really not the case and I’m being naïve, but whether it is or not—there still will be a few people whom you’ll find a closer bond with, people you want to keep around. There’s something that ties you together, whether it’s where you went to school, what movies you like, the place you live or the families you have. That becomes something to look for over the furor of everyday activity, something to regroup and refocus around. In the night you see it, waving high, lit up and magnified by its importance to you. Come together under your totem. Rally around your flag, and find yourself again. A comfort amidst the frenetic unknown. 3. Embrace vulnerability. It takes a certain kind of person to be completely genuine 100% of the time. Few people have the ability, hardened by the cruelty of the world or their circumstances or whatever they want to blame for an overall disillusionment. In order to embrace who you are and be nothing less, it means that at times you have to throw caution to the wind. Dance like nobody is watching. Live your life unapologetically except for when you truly are at fault. For three nights in a row, dusk until dawn, I only heard “I’m sorry” when someone ran into me—and in an enclosed space with 135,000 people that is bound to happen. For the vast majority of the time, though, people were genuine. They were who they were, and they refused to apologize for it. When I danced, I knew it was horrible: I’ve never been a dancer before in my life, and usually, when I try it involves a lot of framing my face. But nobody really seemed to care, and when I tried to self-deprecate (“I can’t dance to save my life”) they would immediately defuse any worry I had (“Don’t worry about it, you’re having fun!”). People would be honest about what made them happy, sad, scared, joyous. If you asked someone if they were okay, they would tell you honestly “Yes” or “No” and why or why not. Most people erred towards the side of happy. Two things I won’t forget from leaving the festival on night two. First of all, as one leaves the Carnival they walk past several police cars and private security stations that re-check all the patrons to make sure they’re not taking anything illegal back to their hotels or houses or whatnot. All the security guys are still giving you high fives and hugs, and the policemen are just sitting on the hood of their cars, with flowers in their hair and apathy in their expression. At the end of night two I told them that we really appreciated them being there and that we thanked them for doing what they do. I have never seen such gratitude or joy on a policeman’s face as I saw on those two at 4:00 in the morning. Absolute genuine appreciation shone on both of them, and suddenly the flowers didn’t seem so out of place. Immediately after, I ran into a guy who was shirtless, sweating, and jittery. It was abundantly clear that he was on something, and I didn’t want to freak him out, so I asked him if he was okay. He said that he was trying to get back to his shuttle and he was scared he’d pick the wrong bus, and he needed someone to talk to. I kept my voice low and soothing, intermittently peppering him with questions about what bands he liked, if this was his first EDC, what his family was like, where he was from. The walk to the buses wasn’t nearly as long, and he thanked me profusely when he got to his shuttle line. It felt good to give something back, even as a newbie, and it never would have happened if he hadn’t been honest with me about how he was feeling. Everyone who’s at EDC is putting themselves on the chopping block, for the most part. They’re dressing in crazy costumes, or giving away their kandi that they’ve spent hours making, or dancing, or just walking around trying to spread positivity. But giving of yourself, no matter what, takes a piece of you that needs to be replenished. And that replenishment usually comes in the form of reaction. I would be lying if I told you I came away from this festival the same person; I came back greater, with other people’s experiences and enthusiasm buoying my spirit after I was vulnerable enough to be an unapologetic version of myself. It reminds me that my playing small does not serve the world, and I do nobody any favors when I act as a shrinking violet. Living out the PLUR lifestyle demands a lack of apologetics. Sometimes we just need to dance with no mind for the eyes on us. Sometimes we need to be boisterous. Sometimes living life leaves no other option, and that’s exactly as it should be. 4. Don’t hesitate to refill. To say that we got reminders to drink water is perhaps the biggest understatement of the year since “Rachel Dolezal is a little confused” or “The movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is slightly below average.” Insomniac Events, to their immense credit, gave reminders about every five minutes to stay hydrated. And to even further that credit, they had free water refill stations peppered through the Carnival grounds, which was essential. I was lucky enough to have a Camelbak (courtesy of my sister and the single greatest Christmas gift ever, besides that bike I got from my parents when I was younger) and they would gladly stick their water jets into the pouch and refill it at no cost to me. The theme of the festival, besides “From Dusk Til Dawn,” seemed to have been “drink water.” It was hot in Vegas in June, which I knew would happen, but saying it and experiencing it are two completely different animals altogether. The heat didn’t simply exist as it does in Texas—this heat permeated every aspect of being. It weighed on your skin like a down comforter made out of fire. Breathing became more difficult, moving was bright and segmented. Couple that with the body heat of over 100,000 people and the exertion from dancing your ass off (and perhaps being on drugs), and water becomes an utter necessity. I would not be surprised whatsoever if the death at EDC this year was due to heat exhaustion or dehydration. Sometimes people don’t listen, and if that’s the case here the fault cannot be placed on the event’s shoulders. “Refill” doesn’t necessarily just mean a liquid refilling a receptacle though. The reception at the venue was understandably awful and because of that phone batteries died quickly. To counteract this, Insomniac also included stations of outlets around the grounds of the carnival for people to plug in their phone chargers, and included “universal” phone chargers in their lockers (I say “universal” in that they were universal for every phone except an iPhone, which—surprise—most attendees had). Those charging stations became rallying points, where people who wanted to take a break from dancing could just stand around and socialize. It’s where I met people from different countries, engaged them in conversations about who they were and what they did, and managed to keep in touch with people/tell them I wasn’t dead. It’s important to have contingency plans if you need them, and even if you don’t. Again, people are usually willing to work with you and help you through, but sometimes it revolves more around opportunity and knowledge instead of sheer dumb luck. I knew exactly where those water stations and charging stations were; I never stumbled into one by accident. I usually wandered aimlessly around the grounds when I wasn’t with a group, but if I ever needed to refill I made a beeline directly for wherever I needed to go. Even when I was in a group I could let them know that’s where I’d be. Getting everything in order comes at the cost of leaving people behind sometimes, but always with the promise of reunification. Sometimes you need to be alone to prioritize the things that need to be taken care of—the necessities, for yourself or others, that must be completed to keep things smooth. **5. Seek and ye shall find.** Underneath the colored lights and the darkness of the evening, people tend to blur together. Even with the fireworks and the big stages and the lasers and the carnival rides, the people are who you tend to notice—but after a time they all seem to look the same, speak the same, dance the same, be the same. I suppose that’s why this last rule is so powerful to me. Rashaan was a 19-year-old kid from Albuquerque with a knack for dressing well, the word “yas,” and dancing for far longer and with far more energy than any carbon-based organism besides a hamster with an addiction to crack cocaine. We ran into each other on the first night at a charging station, and inexplicably, after expecting never to see him again—lost in the hubbub and murmur of the crowds—we found each other again in line for the restroom. I never sought him out, but I found him nevertheless. He was a bright star, a solidly grounded spirit in a sea of ephemerality. When his group got separated, worry would briefly cross his usually-smiling face, which naturally brought everyone in his group down. Of these five New Mexicans, Rashaan was given the role of unspoken leader—where he went, others followed. And we followed, without knowing why. Perhaps his magnetism gave him a power we were searching for; there were moments where it seemed as though he wanted to lose himself as a follower rather than keeping everyone accountable and accounted for. Greatness is often thrust upon the initially unwilling, to large or small extents, and Rashaan was no exception. When we became separated from two members of his group, he only allowed himself to be mildly upset, shaking the worry off with platitudes for everyone else and himself. “Don’t worry,” “We’ll be fine,” “It’ll work out.” He said all of this, though, as we headed collectively to a meeting-place that had been agreed upon by everyone at the start of the Carnival. We didn’t meet them there that night, but when Kevin and I wanted to hang out with their group on the third night of the festival, we knew exactly where to go. We sought out Rashaan and his friends, and we found them, dancing the remainder of the night and most of the morning away with this group of people we’d never met before—but this group of people none of us would hesitate to call “family” at that point. To seek someone out is always a difficult thing to do, especially in the maelstrom of humanity and sound that EDC unabashedly is. Harder still is it to find someone without a rallying point—to simply exist in the same space as someone else and recognize them for who they are without any definite thing drawing you to them. Rashaan only had his positivity and charisma for us to orbit around, but it was enough for me to find him, and keep finding him time and time again. Everyone who came to EDC was seeking something. An escape, a different part of themselves, a reason to forget the pressures and stresses of life, a place to see and be seen, a new artist to listen to, an unorthodox and cobbled-together “family.” Whatever they were looking for, the Carnival welcomed them with open arms and gave them places to find it. If you wanted to escape, you were given a hiding place in the mountains, a pocket in the desert night where responsibility and rigidity could never possibly touch you. If you sought a different part of yourself, the Carnival gave you a place to become more of yourself, or yourself enhanced to an insane degree: raver girls with gas masks, drummers with neon vests, skinny boys with angel wings and rainbow-mohawked Native Americans all gathered under the electric sky. If you came to find new music, the Carnival was a place where different subgenres of EDM came together in an effulgent explosion of light and sound amidst the general gaiety of the rides and the people. If you came to find a family, you could meet people underneath the shadow of the Daisy and discover commonalities—or even hang around some people with whom you had nearly nothing in common but with whom you shared that desire to connect. It was impossible to come to EDC without being renewed, without finding someone new or something new to latch onto. We came to the desert to find water, and I’ll be damned if we didn’t find it in buckets. I mentioned earlier that I didn’t know what to expect when I came to Vegas for EDC. I didn’t know what I was looking for, or what I wanted from it. I left still not knowing what I’d been looking for, but also knowing that I’d found it. I think we gravitate towards people that enhance us—whether they improve on qualities we already have or expand our sense of self in new or unexpected ways, those who we become closest to reaffirm to us that our humanity is a constantly-evolving process, that we all desire peace and love and unity and respect. People from the Carnival and the atmosphere of EDC itself reaffirmed that theory, one that had been fomenting unspoken for years to fulminate over the course of three adrenaline and joy-soaked nights. The crackle of electricity now hums under my feet with every step I take; the spark in my eyes has been reignited through the Carnival. I have become a liaison of the Electric, an ambassador of PLUR and goodwill to all. EDC is an enclosed microcosm where good times and magnanimity exist in spades—but it does not have to remain enclosed. I choose to expand the attitudes I’ve found and the lessons I’ve learned. I don’t want the party to only last three nights; I want it to last the rest of my life. But that starts within. I thank the Daisy for planting the seed. Now I need to let it grow. Luke is 26 years old, and an upcoming first year law student at the University of Houston. Born and raised in Texas, and wrote a masters thesis on Blink-182. Thanks Luke for sharing your story with us! The post Water In The Desert: 5 Life Lessons I Learned From EDC appeared first on EDM Maniac. Source

Halcyon Nightclub in San Francisco is not just a gem for the Bay Area in terms of nightlife but is an acclaimed club loved by many in the electronic music industry from around the world. With strong roots tied to Ibiza, Halcyon aims to provide classic warehouse vibes mix with elements from electronic music’s favorite party island. This past November, Halcyon celebrated their third anniversary after years of successfully bringing in world-class talent. Halcyon has seen performances by Charlotte de Witte, Len Faki, Anna, and many others. Open from dusk to dawn, Halcyon has been named as Best Place to Dance in San Francisco by Thrillist. The nightclub was founded by Jojo Walker and Gina Milano after a chance meeting at dinner. From there, the two creative minds brought together their visions and music industry backgrounds to form Halcyon. In big news for these visionaries, Jojo Walker has continued to expand her talent for event planning with the release of a new festival to debut in 2020: E Komo Mai. This festival is set to take place from February 14th to 17th, 2020 on the gorgeous island of Oahu in Hawaii. The festival is one-of-a-kind in that it combines the peaceful elements of native Oahu with the strong electronic music environment found in Ibiza. During the four-day event, guests will have the chance to enjoy the world-famous Waikiki beaches in between dancing all night long in a tropical paradise. In phase one release of headliners, guests will see DJ Dan, Doc Martin, Kill Frenzy, Mikey Lion, and Sacha Robotti will be taking the stage. With the aloha spirit and a lineup like this, E Komo Mai is the perfect excuse to get away this winter for a short vacation. We were extra lucky to catch up with Jojo Walker recently for an exclusive interview and look into the upcoming event! EDM Maniac: How did you get started in the electronic music industry? Jojo Walker: Honestly, I was very fortunate as it’s mainly down to timing and chance – the industry definitely came to me rather than it being sought out! I was living in Ibiza, running a successful on island private events agency which had a lot of crossover with DJs and electronic music – simply due to the fact it’s Ibiza so everyone wants known DJs playing at their party and the bar is raised in terms of quality expectations, plus pretty much everything is dance music focused. I have always loved dance music and dance music culture too, hence the attraction of Ibiza. I also managed a few DJ’s who had asked me for my support and I found success and great enjoyment in. Through this and some mutual friends, I attended to a last minute dinner invite in Ibiza and ended up sat next to my now business partner Gina! We became fast friends and I went to visit her in San Francisco over that winter. The following year she told me about her idea to create Halcyon, and asked me to join her in launching the venue, running all the events, artists, talent buying and general Creative Direction. The profile of my business skills, entrepreneurial nature, high level corporate event experience and dance music knowledge, is quite unique and fitted perfectly. My plan was always to create a brand, rather than just a venue space, which I think we have achieved – as Halcyon to me and many of our regulars is definitely now a feeling/vibe, rather than a physical thing! Nowadays alongside Halcyon, I manage a few acts (including Ant LaRock, Crackazat), curate events at Elsewhere NYC and am Founder of E Komo Mai Festival in Hawaii – a new project coming in 2020! EDM Maniac: That’s amazing! What’s it like being part of a female-run business? Jojo Walker: Really cool. I wouldn’t say I’m traditionally a girls girl – so the idea of an all female environment is not something I would typically be in to. That being said, the women I work with are incredible creatures, who make me proud to be female. They are all strong-minded, capable, funny and intelligent. We all learn form each other constantly, work at a extremely fast pace, all have the attitude that anything is possible and each of us have a wicked sense of humor. At the club, there’s definitely a slightly different vibe to other venues, as it’s all women leading the show – it just feels nurturing. Women who really get the dance music industry are quite a special breed in my opinion! Our team has a lot of ongoing banter which being British, I love; one of our constant sayings to each other is “get in the van”!! EDM Maniac: What are some long-term goals you have for Halcyon and E Komo Mai Festival in the future? Jojo Walker: For Halcyon, it’s to continue to bring amazing talent to our intimate room week in and out, and blow peoples mind with the experience we create – both for clubbers on the dance floor and for the artists performing. Honestly, I feel like Halcyon between 2-4am is one of those “if you know, you know” vibes – as late night, once the DJ has settled into their set in that room, the energy is off the freaking scale good. If we can keep that going and also bring it to offsite venues too, then that will be ace. I have been working on a few Halcyon offsite events for 2020, which will be at special venues across the city – eyes peeled! EDM Maniac: Tell us more about E Komo Mai! Jojo Walker: E Komo Mai is also something which we aim to grow progressively over the coming years. We’re starting in February 2020 as a small boutique festival, activating pre-existing venues in Waikiki and focusing on local attendance with some internationals. The daytime programming will include cultural activities and the afternoon-night electronic, so there’s a healthy balance which really platforms the setting of Oahu and the idea of community, as well as having great music at the core. Hawaii has many similarities to Ibiza in terms of doing business and we are bringing the Halcyon vibe along with us, so I feel right at home on that project. *Images via islands.com The post Halcyon Nightclub’s Jojo Walker To Debut E Komo Mai Festival appeared first on EDM Maniac. Source

Raving alone can be one of the best decisions of your life, but it can also be pretty intimidating, especially if you’re traveling far for a festival across the country. Raving solo gives you the freedom to see who you want, be on your own schedule and meet some of the coolest people you’ve ever met in your life. But heading to a show or festival solo also comes with added responsibility and heightened concern for your personal safety. So, here are some super important tips to help you if you’re planning to tackle a festival by yourself. Trust me – follow these tips, and your eyes will open to a new world with previously unexplored opportunities. Research the area. Make sure you know where you’re headed, and what you’ll need to make your experience hassle-free. Check out budget hotels, but also ensure that they’re in safe areas. Locate the local police station, and jot down any important emergency phone numbers you could potentially need. Join a Facebook Event Group for the Festival. The Tomorrowland Facebook group takes over my timeline – but for good reason! You can easily meet other solo ravers, and potentially even share rides or camping areas. These groups are especially helpful if you’re heading to a specific festival for the first time because people will post first-hand information and tips that you might not find anywhere else. Make Sure You Keep Your Friends and Family Informed. This may sound like something from middle school – but if you’re traveling and raving solo, you need to keep at least one person informed of your whereabouts. Just one text a day, hotel information and a timeline of when you’ll depart and return is all you need to supply to help those who care about you feel confident in your game plan. Bring Along ‘Conversation Starters.’ If you’re a shyer raver – someone who might have trouble reaching out and meeting new people – there are subtle ways to cure your nerves. Bring copious amounts of gum, custom kandi creations, lots of water bottles (if you’re camping) and portable chargers with a ton of juice to help those around you. Trust me – if you give the raver next to you even an extra 10% of battery juice or a piece of gum, you will immediately have a new best friend. Explore Different Stages. This should be a no brainer for anyone, even if you’re in a group. But exploring stages will help you feel out the vibes, and discover where you feel most comfortable and also where you could meet the coolest people. Pay Attention to Totems and Flags. Totems and flags serve more of a purpose than looking pretty and cool. Totems that say things like, “Come Dance with Us if You’re Alone” are becoming more and more popular, and can be an easy way to meet a new crew. You never know – you might also find flags from your home state or country – immediately connecting you to a new festival family. Be Smart – And Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help. Raving solo was one of the best decisions I ever made. But it also requires you to be extremely prepared. Make sure you stay extra hydrated and take the extra precautions to ensure your own personal safety. If you meet new people, get their phone numbers so you have options to reach out to in case of an emergency – or if you just want to meet up with your new crew! BE CONFIDENT! While I was initially embarrassed to rave alone, I’m now proud to do so. Embrace the fact that you have complete and utter freedom, and could potentially meet people who will be a part of your life for years to come. On the other hand, if you have a weird feeling about something — trust your instincts. Also, just keep in mind, you never know who you’ll trade kandi with, who you’ll camp next to, who you’ll headbang next to on the rail, or whose life you might change forever. The post How To Go To A Festival Alone – And Be Confident About It appeared first on EDM Maniac. Source

Serato has made its name as one of the top digital DJ platforms available and I've also become fond of its recent Studio software which offers music production tools that are easily approachable. In fact, we've recommended both products in our holiday gift guide this year. If you've been considering either, the company just launched some updates to Studio that sweeten the pot. With Serato Studio 1.4 there's a reduced monthly subscription fee of $10 per month (down from $15). But now there's also the option to buy the software outright for $200, which includes all the perks associated with the subscription. That is, at least until version 2.0 arrives further down the line. Even then you can keep using the current version on its own or pay an upgrade fee instead of a new license to keep the updates flowing (price TBD). More importantly, Studio 1.4 now has a new audio tracks interface, giving you the ability to import and edit complete songs (or acapellas), rather than just limited-length samples. This finally opens up the possibility of making quick and easy edits, mash-ups and remixes of tracks for your next DJ set. The core layout of Serato Studio remains the same, but you get to choose between the beat-making or DJ edit environment when you launch the application. Your library and track layout are always found at the bottom regardless, and are easily toggled from side to side. The beat-making and new audio track layouts occupy the top section of the screen and these toggle vertically depending on which track layer you're on. Overall, it's a pretty fluid way to navigate through the sections on a single screen. You can import songs from your library via drag-and-drop, but unlike before, you can add the entire tune to your song layout. If the tracks are, say, an old disco tune that doesn't lock to a consistent beat grid, you can fix that with a little tweaking. You can also change the key or tempo for those tracks with some interesting results. The audio tracks editor includes a slicer that chops up your audio file into equal clips of up to 64 measures long, similar to Studio's scenes although those max out at 8 measures each. You can also use the endless slicer to create segments that span from a clip's starting point through to the end of the track as a single chunk. Additionally, you can drag your cursor to manually reduce a clip instance's length in the track layout. All these features make it easy to do simple edits like changing the intro or removing portions of a track that don't work in your set. This new flexibility in Serato Studio begins to narrow the gap between it and fully functioning DAW apps, but more importantly becomes an incredible DJ edit tool. There are plenty of little updates scattered throughout, including a dedicated solo button right next to the mute feature for each instrument or track layer. Cue points will also be placed on the first down beat for tracks, saving you the extra effort if that's what you prefer. Serato Studio 1.4 is available to download now for the $10 monthly subscription or outright purchase for $200. If you've already used up your trial on the previous version of Studio, have no fear, all trials have been reset so you can hop in for an additional 14-day test run of this new version with full audio track capability.

Ok cool. I might give it a shot soon.

This is awesome, thanks for taking the time to write this up chief. Does it end up getting expensive for a heap of tracks?

Interesting. How much shit do you reckon you had to do to get on Spotify? I have a fucking enormous original catalogue and it'd be interesting to have people hear it for a change.

How does uploading to Spotify work @LabRat? Like do you handle it or do you send it through as label or what?

Agreed

Someone needs to test streaming to see if this can be the FNCP solution

Now Traktor is working post some mixes!

Yo somebody in Sydney grab this DIY fixer upper and post your progress

It depends I guess. Overheating can be a range of weird shit. A hair in between a heatsync that moves for some reason, dust, other bullshit, applications churning harder than other times. Restarting does a lot of shit. For one it stops all running programs that have reached maximum thread or whatever. So you kind of wipe active processes clean and start over. Duno, you'll have to troubleshoot a bit

Could be overheating. Get some software to minitor temps and run all your shit at once

@BeatLeSS thoughts?

Get your hearing checked

Yeah all that classic fedde le grand era shit will bring the mems

Defs ranking high in AU region. Overseas not so much which I guess is ok.

Interesting. Doesn't even show up on first page for me. Says the average position is 16.2 which is about halfway through the 2nd page of results. Am testing with all kinds of VPN shit though. Have also made a few changes on google and in SEO recently.

Is that page 1 @BeatLeSS ? Can you try again in incognito mode?