Escapade to another level (Festival review)

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By Dominic Wren (Photos by Simon Audette)

This wasn’t any ordinary music festival in the nation’s capital. Escapade music festival used their 10-year experience to pull of an event that will be remembered for years to come. I had a great time at the festival and it was probably one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had at a festival. DJ Snake and Tiësto both tore the roof off, but the lesser-known mixers also showed their worth at the beginning of each day. Another major detail that the EDM Canada team noticed was the festival’s capacity. Escapade was 100% sold out and we never felt over crowded with people while still feeling the massive crowd energy even in the main stage crowds at closing sets. This was truly special as it made the experience so much more enjoyable for everyone attending. Now that shows a festivals values; fan’s enjoyment over profits. Big ups for that Escapade MF.

 This festival review won’t look at the regular “top 5 shows” or “the best DJ.” There so many other elements that made the event and the sets special. The simple answer is that each set had a spark of it’s own. The long answer is basically listing each set in there own category. But let highlight a couple shall we?

The most exotic show: Keys n Krates

These Canadian artists have rightfully earned their names as true artists. Now they were probably my favorite act of the weekend in the most artistic way. They gave the biggest summer vibes, which was a breath of fresh air. They kept their original trap sound but often crossed over to some house/summer vibes that made their set really special. If you want to see a show that you can dance and enjoy with some exotic feels at the same time, these are the guys you want to see.

The craziest show: DJ Snake

DJ Snake has a way to take his sets to another level of intensity. His whole persona seems to be made to destroy his fans. Just his opening started off the last show of Day 1 took no prisoners. From mixing and dropping tracks like South Side, Propaganda, Pigalle, Gassed Up, and so many more. Although he slowed down his set for the last 20 minutes, he appealed to the hard core ravers and the chiller types of ravers. DJ Snake, there is a reason you’re on top of the world.

Best B2B: Zeds Dead B2B Jauz

This B2B was so diverse in their music that I couldn’t take them away from my top B2B list. They dropped some old school Zeds Dead with Jauz’s signature bass house sound, a sprinkle of hard bass music and a touch of house music while keeping the energy of the main stage at a perfect high.  This was an iconic B2B as these guys have had other shows together at Hard Music Festival and Holy Ship so this made an experienced team that adapted really well together.

The most authentic main stage set: Timmy Trumpet

Timmy Trumpet wasn’t in my top 5 shows I was looking for nor did I really pay attention to his sets and his music. I was low key listening to his set while walking through the event area until his charisma, trumpet skills, and mixing decisions really caught my ear so I ran to the main stage a catch a glimpse of his show and it was nothing less then impressive. His charisma on stage shows his true passion for what he does and his trumpet skills were incredibly unique to see up close and you don’t really realize that until you see it for yourself.

Best small crowd handling: Wax Motif

Wax Motif lived up to my expectations coming into the festival and while watching him live. He was playing a mid-day, side stage set so the crowd wasn’t at maximum capacity but his handle of the small crowd drew them in even closer to his show and really made a special up close and personal G-House set. Dropping his tracks such as Tokyo and Fly Kicks (Wax Motif Remix) made the crowd move like if they were twice the size.

 Escapade Music Festival was truly unique this year. From the event area never being over crowed, to chilling spots with incredible views, to great music and great artists, this is a festival that should be on most people’s “to do” list for next summer. It is definitely one of my favourite event’s of the yer, I really hope to see you there next year!

Top 5 artists to watch out for at Escapade Music Festival

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By Dominic Wren

Escapade Music Festival seemed to have come out of nowhere to become one of Canada’s largest electronic music festival with one of it’s strongest lineups for their 10th year of bringing EDM to Ottawa. They’re headliners are only one part of the festival but what really makes EMF unique is their attention to the smaller things that really make this festival unique, such as placing a side stage in a historical building and a second side stage on the turf of the new football stadium. But ravers buy EMF passes to see their favourite artists so EDM Canada has made a top 5 list of DJs we think you should keep an eye on.


1. Mercer

Source: Mercer’s FB Page

Mercer is a French DJ/producer that has hit the big time only in the last couple of years. Representing the Pardon My French crew, he constructs his music with influence from his disco and house music he grew up with. In 2018, he released “Satisfy” featuring the legendary Ron Carroll and “Let’s get ill” with DJ Snake. His 2014 release “Lunatic”, also with DJ Snake, really put him on the map. His shows are something to experience though. His sets composing of house, bounce, hip hop, and some techno, Mercer is an incredibly talented DJ that will make you think about his set for weeks. 

2. Zeds Dead B2B Jauz

source: jauz’s fb page

This B2B is one to look out for. This iconic mash up of the Canadian duo Zeds Dead and the Californian DJ Jauz have both gained major success in the music industry with their own talent. Both as heavy dubstep and bass house artists, you probably know Zeds Dead best from their massive releases such as “On Fire” (Zeds Dead remix) and “Frontlines” which hit a combined of about 50 million streams on Spotify only. Jauz released his very first album studio album in 2018 but has been recognized as a talent since his 2014 and 2015 releases of “Feel the Volume” and “Rock the Party.” These two acts have played B2B sets before at Holy Ship and Hard Summer Music Festival so they have experience together which makes a much smoother live collab that will make you headbang until your nose bleeds. 

3. DJ Snake

source: dj snake’s Fb page

From humble beginnings in Parisian clubs to closing some of the biggest festivals in the world, DJ Snake has rightfully earned his spot on top of the EDM world. Being one of the only world class “mainstream” DJs using turn tables and performing hundreds of shows a year, the DJ/Producer has a “me, myself and I” attitude where he produces the music he wants with no outside influences. He even expressed in a 2018 interview on the Now We Feast series that he “doesn’t like his own name” because he chose it 15 minutes before playing his first club set. This attitude translates to his music where he pulls off the biggest radio/club tracks, such as “Taki Taki” and “Lean on” or some crazy hip hop bangers like “Enzo.” His talent is so diverse that he even recently released a brand new pop/ragathon type song that he calls “the track of the summer” named “Loco Contigo” featuring J. Balvin and Tyga. His sets are nothing less than an experience. Pulling off emotional songs at the right time to some crazy bass drops to bouncy house segments, DJ Snake will appeal to everyone that catches his music. 

4. 1788-L

source: 1788-l fb page

I don’t want to write to much on him. You just have to experience him. I can’t find words to describe his music but it’s dark and different. He’s only recently hit the big stage with his debut releases in early 2018 like “Replica” and releasing his remix of Virtual Self’s “Practical Arts” less then a month later. Today, 1788-L has collaborated with artists like Rezz, Totto, Illenium, Said the Sky, and Ekali. His sets are as dark and different as his music but you’ll have to go check it out for yourself. 

5.Wax Motif

source: wax motif fb page

This Sydney born DJ has been around making music and DJing since 2008 where he quickly gained a solid reputation and getting praise from Diplo, A-Track, Major Lazor, GTA, Jauz, Tommy Trash, and Oliver Heldens. He’s best known for his massive contribution to the G-House movement and collaborating with Destructo on his 2014 album featuring west coast hip hop heroes, such as TY Dolla Sign, YG, Young Thug, Problem, and Warren G. His sets incorporate this style into his mixing with a incredible mix of intensity, vibes, and house music and hip-hop. Wax Motif isn’t the biggest act in the world but he rightfully earns the title of “legend.” He should be a “must see” for everyone attending Escapade Music Festival.

There are many more artist I would want to recommend but here are some honourable mentions: Jeffrey Sutorius, Ghastly, Quix, Keys n Krates, and Niles Baxter B2B Open Solaris. Of course this is only our top 5 picks but you make your own festival. From the whole EDM Canada team, we hope you are as excited as we are for the 10th edition of Escapade Music Festival and remember to PARTY SAFELY.

Zeds Dead and Jauz team up to create an exciting Drum 'N' Bass track called "Lights Go Down"

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Just before we hit the new year Toronto's own Zeds Dead has teamed up with bass/house artist Jauz to deliver one of the more exciting tracks released in the second half of the year called "Lights Go Down". It's a huge collab that deliver's an unexpected but welcomed drum and bass drop and created an uplifting and dance worthy track. Running at almost 5 minutes long, 'Lights Go Down" has plenty of room to create a mood with a long build up with a strong DnB and bassy drop that leaves a lot of time to do your best shuffle on the dancefloor. Take a listen below: 

Hopefully "Lights Go Down" isn't a one-off DnB track by Zeds Dead and Jauz as the wider bass scene could use more of that DnB vibe to lighten things up in-between all of the headbanging.