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!

Top 5 DJ Performances of the Year

5 - Nero (DJ Set): Identity Festival, Toronto July 2012

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.

4 - Tiga: Sonar Festival, Toronto Nov 2012

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.

3 - Skrillex: Full Flex Tour/Bluesfest, Ottawa July 2012

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.

2 - Markus Schulz: Stereo, Montreal June 2012

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.

1 - Birdy Nam Nam: Mansion (OWSLA Tour), Ottawa November 2012

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.

Here are some pictures I took from the IDentity festival from Toronto on July 21st, 2012:

For $25 tickets this was an absolutely stacked lineup.

Wacky Waving Inflatable arm flailing tube men!

The festival took place at Echo Beach which was literally a beach.... Earlier in the day you could see people chilling out to the music while playing beach volleyball. Thankfully I spent most of my time at the secondary stage where it was paved. Call me a traditionalist but I prefer dancing on a hard surface.

Arty on the main stage. This was the second time seeing the young talent from Russia and I still believe that he is a much stronger producer than a DJ at the moment. So far his sets are usually his own tracks with a few Beatport top 100 mixed in. The people in attendance seemed to enjoy it though.

A Tribe Called Red on the Earmilk Stage.

A Tribe Called Red performed in front of a small but enthusiastic crowd in a picturesque setting. Ottawa is proud of you guys.

Showtek performed on the "Rockstar Energy Drink' Stage. Once these guys showed up I spent the majority of the night here.

Showtek's set was plagued by technical difficulties which was no fault of theirs. The music cut out a few times, even during big build ups, but the Showtek brothers were total professionals as they managed to keep the crowd energy alive despite the challenges.

They played their recent hit collaborations including "Hell Yeah!" with Tiesto and "How We Do" with Hardwell but what got me moving the most was the hardstyle sound they used for the last 20 minutes of their set. I'm not quite ready to travel to Europe for a Defcon 1 festival but I do appreciate the no nonsense style that is hardstyle.

Excision

Excision provided nothing but the filthiest and dirtiest Dubstep beats of the night - perfect. Didn't spend that much time taking pictures because I was too busy jumping around.

Nero

Watching Nero live for the first time was the reason why I traveled to Toronto for the IDentity Festival. Having high expectations and seeing them exceeded in every way was very impressive. You felt as if Nero was taking you on a journey with equal attention paid to melody and intense drops that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Nero played mostly from their new album "Welcome To Reality" but changed it up in a few places by playing Skrillex' remix of "Promises" and recently released "Won't You (Be There)".