The Evolution of EDM: Here & Now Quarantine Set Edition

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Source: David Guetta’s FB page

By Ryan Hayes

In the second iteration of The Evolution of EDM we take a small detour to focus on the present. With the global entertainment industry coming to a grinding stand still and millions around the world undergoing self-quarantine you'd think the constant flow of music we are used to may turn to a trickle of releases and live sets. Artists around the world have risen to the occasion and taken the opportunity to provide their audiences with premium live content. In some cases debut artist sets, in others mixes years in the making—regardless here are 12 essential sets from the last seven days of quarantine.

First up—David Guetta. Currently experiencing a massive renaissance, he was supposed to close out this year's Ultra, and he came through for fans with a new mix for SiriusXM Virtual Ultra Music Festival. If you are expecting pop Guetta this isn't it. The set leans towards his Jack Back alter-ego and his current collaborative efforts with Morten. It's worth listening to for the intro edit of Titanium alone. A new main stage Guetta, taking inspiration from his roots, for a new house focused generation.

Drezo

Last weekend Insomniac gifted ravers with a Virtual Rave-A-Thon featuring artists from the postponed Beyond Wonderland. While there were a slew of artists worth listening too Drezo stands out with his pulsing dark bruting version of house. It's all consuming and the perfect mix to drown out the world for just a little while.

Madeon

His inaugural Ironing Board Session (he hinted it may become a weekly fixture for the time being) is just something you have to experience. Genuine to the core and immensely talented. The stream will put a smile on your face and turn you day around...it is that simple. Just listen to it.

Corona Sabbath (Diplo)

Diplo has been hitting quarantine life hard, bringing music to the people multiple days a week. Last Saturday for his weekly Corona Sabbath he had Dillon Francis swing by for a back-to-back set. The two have obviously played together before, but a new mix from them is always welcome. The entire stream is over two and a half hours long and focuses on house music. It's laid back, and perfect to have on during the day while you attempt to be productive.  

Destructo

All My Friends head honcho Destructo blessed fans who have been following ship adventures for years—Holy Ship through Friendship—with a six hour long Sunday Sermon from his living room. Usually we get a live Sunrise Sermon set once a year, so this was a very welcome journey for fans. If you are looking for a quarantine musical pilgrimage, this is it. 


Calvin Harris - Love Regenerator Livestream

We don't typically get anything live from Harris these days. Outside of his Vegas residency and a handful of headlining festival spots, none of which are streamed, he keeps to himself. So the inaugural live performance by his Love Regenerator side project was a very welcome surprise. This isn't the sticky pop Harris that fans have come to know over the last decade. This is a departure, a deep dive that mixes the past and present to revive rave sentiments of old with a modern twist.

Morgan Page

Page's Quarantine Sessions have been hitting in full force for the last week. With regular broadcasts, always accompanied with a different wine pairing, Page has been showing audiences he is capable of spanning numerous genres/styles. This particular mix is more of a deep dive and a deviation from Page's more regular big room focused sets.

Disclosure

Live from Self Isolation F.M. this is Disclosure's first Kitchen Mix. After many year's of relative obscurity the brothers recently returned from their hiatus with a slew of new tracks. The mix showcases their current frame of mind and may be an indication for what we can expect moving forward.

Odesza

The long awaited NO.SLEEP Mix.12 has finally arrived. It has been over two years, before the release of A Moment Apart, since the duo has released a mix. Atmospheric and ethereal, the mix showcases Odesza's signature sound and it is the perfect rainy day escape.

Paul Van Dyk & Chris Bekker

Live from Berlin, as part of DJ Mag's House Party series, these two trance producers are bringing quality long form trance sets to the masses. Their DJ Mag stream came in at just over three and a half hours. They also have a  PC Music Night back-back that lasted for over five hours. Don't miss one of the god fathers of trance doing his thing—perfect for getting you through long days.

Purple Haze (Sander van Doorn)

A true Purple Haze set—in my opinion—is always a treat. Sander is a world class technical DJ and although his style has drifted over the years Purple Haze is pure unfettered trance at its very best.  Fast paced, enthralling, and seamless...don't miss this one. Click here to watch it.

Oliver Heldens

Why? Because the man has fun. This is his Virtual Ultra set, and to be honest the announcer and set up of the SiriusXM stream provides a sense of normalcy to these uncertain times. But mostly, its just fun to listen to. Give it a listen, it will give you a jolt or energy and put a smile on your face when you may need it the most. 

11 impressions from the Veld Music Festival 2017

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Tiesto

“Are you ready for some Tiesto classics?!” exclaimed Tiesto on the mic as the large crowd screamed. Toronto was SO ready to witness the global sensation’s skills on stage. He played us remixes of some favourites such as ‘Calabria' (Enur ft. Natasja), 'Feel it in my bones' (Tegan and Sara), 'Pump it' (Black Eyed Peas), 'Mr. Brightside' (Killers) and ‘Wasted' (Matthew Koma). Favourite moments during the set were: 1) When he played 'Just Be' as it is an old favourite, 2) When he apologized that he had to speed things up because he’s running late and the crowd decided that no matter how fast the beat was going, they were going to jump along! Nothing short of awesome, Tiesto proved to us once again, why he is such a powerhouse in the DJ world. 

Madeon

Taking DJing to a whole new level— Madeon seemed to be enjoying being intertwined with so much technology and song power at their fingertips. He would pick up his midi controller and show the audience which buttons he was really pressing up there! Not only was he good with his tools, but he also danced just as much as the crowd if not MORE! His transitions were quick and effective with the perfect amount of highs and lows and the audience was engaged from start till finish. His dance-worthy song 'Imperium' was a big hit. Some of the side screens were lowered until Zedd’s performance and yet Madeon’s visuals stood out beautifully without being excessive. Overall, his energy and dedication to the spirit of DJing was very impressive. Not the stereotypical jumping up and down from the crowd that we commonly see.

Major lazer

As the main stage crowd took a moment’s break realizing they had JUST seen Tiesto, Major Lazer got ready for what they called ‘the largest crowd in Canada yet!’. They played a lot of their remixes and tracks (ex. 'Watch out for this (Bumaye)’, ‘Light it up’, ‘Lean on’, ‘Front of the line’, ‘Sua Cara’, ‘Bun up the dance remix’, ‘Shape of you remix’, and more). Most notably, they took audience engagement to a new level as Diplo himself jumped in a giant hamster ball and rolled over the crowd. The group was so impressed with the diversity in the crowd noting the different flags and wanting to celebrate the moment by taking a group picture with “all the flags up!”.

Their light show/visuals did not disappoint and it was refreshing to see an ending that just faded away rather than had the usual big bang. They helped us not feel left out celebrating the Caribbean festival by doing a shuffle lead by their amazing dancers. They repeatedly exclaimed their love for the city and the festival crowd there on Sunday. The show closed off the successful festival strong and the audience rushed out to their cars and ubers, a lot of them trying to get to Rebel nightclub to see Diplo for the afterparty. (Ps. Hey Major Lazer! Just in case you didn’t know, the feeling was mutual and Toronto loves you too!) 

Zedd

As expected, Zedd delivered a wonderfully well-rounded performance with amazing visuals and just the right amount of his songs sprinkled in with remixes. Although I really enjoy the fact that as a DJ, one is able to add their own touches to popular songs and mix them with creativity, It was also enjoyable to hear a DJ's own discography live, for longer than a chorus at a time. This is why Zedd’s performances are so energizing because he knows what his fans want to hear.. He is a talented artist and producer who is capable of showcasing his talent while the crowd was happy to sing along. "Clarity" was still one of the biggest sing-along moments for the crowd while my favourite part of the set was the appearance of the dancing hot dog meme on screen during his newest single ‘Get Low’ ft Liam Payne. Some notable remixes were of songs by Clean Bandit, Bruno Mars, Missy Elliott, Nelly, Maroon 5, Kendrick Lamar, Queen and Daft Punk. He also ended the show with fireworks which never hurts! 

French Montana

Veld fest was happy to announce the last minute addition of French Montana to the schedule replacing Lil Uzi Vert, who unfortunately had to cancel his appearances in Canada due to due to immigration and border issues. The Remy Martin Stage was happy to welcome French Montana with excitement. Although he had not prepared to perform at Veld this year, he easily delivered an excellent set. He greeted the crowd with smiles and great energy as they sang along with him the whole time. He repeatedly mentioned how much he loves performing in Toronto and judging by the crowd’s reaction, it is no wonder why! Everyone from the front row to people sitting in the ferris wheel were engaged. The festival attracted a crowd that is well versed in both hip hop and EDM. Everyone knew the words to his newest song ‘Unforgettable’ as French asked everyone to sing it loud grinning from ear to ear. A great performance through and through by French Montana.

Getter

Following French Montana, the majority of the crowd excitedly waited as Getter took the stage. Getter’s set was full of head bangers and it seemed like the crowd was expecting just that! A group got so into it, they almost knocked over the barrier wall surrounding the sound tent! They celebrated in synchronicity while holding nothing back. The visuals were very detailed and interesting, really adding to the overall look of the Remy Martin stage. 

Grey

As things started to pick up on day 1 at Veld, Grey, 2 brothers from L.A known most recently for their song with Hailee Steinfeld called ’Starving' took the main stage.  What made these brothers most interesting on stage was the fact that they brought in a live guitar and drum machine for their set. Not only did this give the viewers a more authentic live sound but also really had us all engaged and wondering whether the next song would feature some live instrumentals or not. The duo both alternated between live instruments and mixing, played their new song "Chameleon" which was well received. They also incorporated a fair amount of top 40 tracks, some throwbacks and Zedd remixes into their set. Although it seemed like they had some technical difficulties just over halfway through their set, they recovered quickly by gracefully ending their set strong. Throughout their performance they enjoyed moving around the stage as much as possible and entertaining the crowd until the end. 

Dzeko

Torontonians know how to celebrate when one of their own comes to town! Dzeko had no trouble keeping the crowd interested as he played the most diversified set of the day. His remixes of classics such as "Sweet Dreams" and "L’Amour Toujours" were all well received and he even threw in a bit of Blur in there somehow! He ended his set with his new remix of Jonas Blue’s ‘Mama'. 

Robin Schulz

There was a steady influx of people flowing in throughout the day and by the time Robin Schulz came on, the area by the main stage was full. Robin Schulz’s set gathered attention from not only the people close surrounding the main stage, but all around the site as people recognized his popular tracks. His remix of "Prayer in C" was a big hit as expected. He also had the chance to bring on a guest artist: Francesco Yates, to help him perform 'Sugar’. The crowd was clearly entertained and cheering them on. 

Loud luxury

The duo from London Ontario took stage as larger numbers of people started to dance-walk their way towards the main-stage area on Day 2 of VELD. Loud luxury, who has been touring North America the past year, delivered a steady set filled with classics and chart toppers. Tracks like 'Still D.R.E', 'You Don’t Know Me', ‘Goosebumps', Hype, 'Bad and Boujee', ‘Work remix’ and 'Show me love' received the biggest crowd response. Throughout their set they delivered a good mix of rap, dance, hip hop and top 40 to engage all members of the crowd. They also had a special guest Nikki’s wives who joined them to perform their newest song ‘Show me what that body do’ which currently has almost 2.3M views on Youtube. Nikki’s vocals were great as she strutted the stage with her black sequinned onesie. Their visuals were colourful and active but more minimalistic in design with a spinning Loud Luxury logo above them for almost the entire set. 

3LAU

3LAU delivered a solid performance featuring 2 special guests. His visuals featured his logo 3LAU flashing up on all main screens of the stage in different colour arrangements for most of his performance. The crowd was enjoying the set as they sang along to songs like ‘Day n night’, ‘Goosebumps’, ‘Humble’, ‘Light’, ‘Waiting for tonight' and ‘Sandstorm. He also had two special guests come join him on stage. The first was WWE wrestler Mojo Rawley and second Madison Beer for her new track 'Dead'. Both guests enjoyed dancing with 3LAU on stage. 

Review and photos by Sinejan Ozaydemir. You can follow her on Twitter by clicking here. 

Check out Porter Robinson's first-ever short film anime made for the brand new track "Shelter"

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Porter Robinson teamed up with famed Japanese production studio A-1 Pictures to create a beautifully designed short film to complement the new track made with Madeon titled "Shelter". 

According to the official description: 

"Shelter tells the story of Rin, a 17-year-old girl who lives her life inside of a futuristic simulation completely by herself in infinite, beautiful loneliness. Each day, Rin awakens in virtual reality and uses a tablet which controls the simulation to create a new, different, beautiful world for herself. Until one day, everything changes, and Rin comes to learn the true origins behind her life inside a simulation."

The video is a must-see as the sad/happy storyline coincides perfectly with the lush visuals provided by the Japanese studio. 

Listen to Madeon's latest track featuring his own vocals

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Check out Madeon's newest track from the upcoming "Adventure" album due out at the end of this month. It's called "Home" and he actually did the vocals himself, enjoy: 

There's actually a good story behind "Home", read below as Madeon explains it himself: