Yesterday was a big day for new music releases as Oliver released the 'Mechanical 'EP while Birdy Nam Nam also put out their new EP titled the 'Defiant Order' on the same day. Here are my two favourite tracks from each:
Oliver - MYB:
Birdy Nam Nam - Defiant Order (UZ Remix):
You can hear the full stream of Oliver's new EP on Soundisstyle, and Birdy Nam Nam's new EP on Dancing Astronaut.
All of these tracks were all uploaded today so it can't get any fresher than this:
Wretch 32 - Pop (Fake Blood Remix):
This track was released only an hour or so ago but I'm already a big fan of this remix.
Lunice - Liason:
The sky's the limit for Lunice in 2013. He's been recently named the opening act for Major Lazer's world tour which will give him the proper stage to show off all of his enhanced cooking techniques.
(VIA doandroidsdance?)
A$AP Rocky feat. Skrillex and Birdy Nam Nam - Wild for the Night:
On the same day that A$AP Rocky is receiving a bunch of press following his Rolling Stone interview, Skrillex uploads his collab with the Harlem rapper and Birdy Nam Nam. Coincidence? I think not.
2012 has been a busy year for electronic dance music in Canada in general as the boom continues unabated. Here are EDM Canada's top 5 DJ performances of 2012, enjoy!
Any fan of Nero should see them live at least once in their life. To hear their hits in a live setting with a whole crowd also as into it as you were was a special experience. I can't wait to see them again in 2013 after their next album release.
Click here for my full review.
Tiga was put on the secondary stage at the Sound Academy which turned out to be a room with a curtain separating itself from the main stage. The room was almost completely pitch dark except for the food bar at the side and the rotating pizza tray being 10 feet away from where Tiga was spinning. The room was so dark that you could barely see Tiga himself even if you were in the front row. To some my description above might be disconcerting but to me it brought back memories of a time when only the music mattered and what was truly important was your direct experience on the dance floor with the people around you. Tiga delivered a blistering set of unrelenting techno that had me moving for his entire set. He capped it off with just a bit of trap and Major Lazer's 'Get Free' which felt like the cherry on top of the cake.
Click here for my full review.
I don't really have to describe my experience because someone in Ottawa was good enough to tape the entire thing in HD for your enjoyment:
The production value of the Skrillex mothership cannot be underestimated - it is incredible which added another layer to the whole Skrillex experience.
Click here for my full review.
Markus Schulz performed one of his famous rabbit hole sets in Montreal this year at one of my favourite clubs, Stereo. Stereo usually doesn't invite Trance DJs to spin at their club as they usually cap Trance events to only 3-4 a year. With that in mind this event was sold out at least a month in advance so the anticipation for it was huge. Fortunately there was good reason to be excited as Markus Schulz played for 7 hours straight which delighted the Montreal crowd. It was a real mutual love fest at the Temple that night as the crowd chanted his name numerous times a throughout the set while Markus acknowledged it every time. After finishing off his epic set with 'Airwave' by Rank 1 he was good enough to give autographs and pose for pictures as if he didn't just spend 7 hours standing without taking a break. This was an unforgettable night.
Click here for my full review.
It's usually the events that you don't know what to expect that really blow you away. Birdy Nam Nam certainly did that and more that night in Ottawa. BNN was the first act from the OWSLA Tour to play which was not easy because the dance floor was virtually empty at the beginning of their set. There have been a few occasions this year where an empty dance floor would spell disaster for a DJ as it would assure a mediocre set for the rest of the night. But Birdy Nam Nam rose beyond all of that by transforming a hesitant crowd at first to one that had the entire dance floor dancing thanks primarily to the encouragement from DJ Pone. Seeing Birdy Nam Nam play in such an intimate setting really added to my enjoyment of the evening. I can't wait to see more from them in 2013.
Click here for my full review.
The OWSLA tour was something that I have been excited to see ever since they originally announced it a few months ago. Birdy Nam Nam was the primary reason. But also being able to see MONSTA and Nick Thayer all on the same night for the first time made this event an important one in my calendar. Ever since Skrillex released the 'Going Hard' Mix video back in July on Youtube, Birdy Nam Nam has been at the very top of my bucket list of EDM acts to watch. The expectations were high for the OWSLA night in Ottawa, but did the event deliver? Hell yes it did and I'll tell you why.
From their unique DJ set up to how they perform live, everything that Birdy Nam Nam is doing is fresh. Birdy Nam Nam is your answer if you're looking to see something a little bit different from your standard CDJ/Laptop DJ act. Not that there is anything wrong with DJs that use CDJs/Laptops, but Birdy Nam Nam takes what it means to perform live EDM to a whole new level.
Birdy Nam Nam
I'm not quite sure how their live setup works exactly but from what I gathered it looked like each member had a Serato live setup, a Maschine pad, a mixer, and a Macbook. Each member looked like they had control of a certain aspect of the track and manipulated it as they saw fit. The way they set up their live performances I can assume that it will guarantee that no two live sets are exactly the same. This description of their setup is from my personal observations only, but I suspect that I am on the right track.
Birdy Nam Nam was the first act up among the headliners to play at Mansion last night as local DJ @Givehimmeds was given warm up duties. The crowd was sparse by the time Birdy Nam Nam took the stage but that all changed in mere moments as the place quickly filled up as everyone was won over by these four French DJs. Their music and energy was intoxicating as they set the tone with some heavy electro beats that served to electrify the enthusiastic crowd. I could not pick out too many individual tracks as the music all blended seamlessly together in an intricate and creative set. Each individual member of Birdy Nam Nam looked like as if they fed off each other's energy with DJ Pone being the main protagonist in bringing the crowd into their world. This was the first time that I saw Birdy Nam Nam but it won't certainly be the last. If you ever have a chance to catch them live, do not hesitate, and just go.
Following Birdy Nam Nam was MONSTA, the UK trio composed of two DJ/producers (Rufio and Rocky) and one vocalist (Skaar). These guys have recently burst onto the scene thanks to their signing to Skrillex' OWSLA label and the breakout track 'Holdin' On'. How Skrillex first discovered MONSTA was quite interesting because at first he thought that Skaar's vocals were actually an Aretha Franklin sample after his tour manager gave him a MONSTA track to listen to at SXSW.
MONSTA
Skaar
Ottawa was lucky enough to be MONSTA's Canadian debut on the OWSLA Tour and they definitely left an impression. Their set was essentially divided into two parts. The first part was composed of Rufio and Rocky playing a dubstep infused set with the stand out track being 'Krome & Time - The License (Doctor P Remix)'. This track was also well received when Skrillex also dropped it at Bluesfest back in July. The second half was dominated by MONSTA vocalist Skaar as he gave a live vocal performance of their latest self titled EP . It took Skaar one song ('Messiah') to properly warm up his voice/groove and once he did you really felt his passion for this music flowing through him as he gave a solid performance of 'Where did I go' and my favourite 'Holdin' On'. As soon as Skaar left the stage Rufio and Rocky ended their set with Skrillex and Nero's remix of 'Holdin' On' which was a real crowd pleaser.
Nick Thayer ended the night with a take-no-prisoners high energy set that showcased some of the best tracks in electro, dubstep, moombathon, with a little hip hop sprinkled in. Although Skrillex wasn't present at the Ottawa show, Nick Thayer kept his music alive by dropping many of his hits including 'Breaking a Sweat', 'Make it Bun Dem', and. 'Bangarang'.
*Update: Following the release of this article Nick Thayer informed me on Twitter that "at least 50% of what I played was brand new unreleased material from me". Admittedly I had tried and failed to ID many tracks from Nick Thayer's set, which puzzled me at first, but makes perfect sense now following our Twitter exchange. According Nick Thayer, the yet unreleased track names are 'Worlds Collide', 'Rebirth', 'Dosimeter' with Crystal Method. Thanks for the information Nick!
Nick Thayer
The OWSLA Tour offered something a little different than your standard EDM event as this half of the tour showcased artists not often seen in Canada. Hopefully the OWSLA Tour is only the beginning of something bigger as this will help pave the road for more eclectic names to be booked in North America.
You can still catch the OWSLA Tour in Toronto tomorrow night at the Wrongbar and on Thursday, November 15th in Montreal at the Telus Theatre.
