The Evolution of EDM: Here & Now Quarantine Set Edition

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. 

7 sets I liked from Escapade Music Festival 2018 (Review)

By David Mann

2018 was another glorious year for the Escapade Music Festival. Set at the Lansdowne Park for a second year in a row, it really felt like the festival has found a new long-term home in Ottawa as the spacing in between the stages was perfectly balanced. The bass stage was set within the historic Aberdeen Pavilion and was well attended all weekend. The trance/underground stage was at TD Place, which provided a proper dark environment to dance away virtually anonymously. But the the biggest party was to be had on the mainstage, which the majority of the crowd congregated all weekend. The guys from DNA Presents organized yet another almost flawless event that continued on despite the testy weather conditions. Last year the rain shut down the mainstage for one day, but this year the music and fans braved on as the rain couldn't damper their high spirits. Below you'll find the 7 acts that really stood out from this year's Escapade: 

Armin Van Buuren

Armin t the best set of the festival as he proved once again how he's the king of the festival mainstage. Through the years I've seen him use music from a variety of genres to pump up the crowd - but this time he relied on the music that he has promoted tirelessly through his popular ASOT radio show - trance. 

He started off strong with dropping psy-trance, a genre that a few years ago would be an unlikely candidate to be played at a mainstage at any festival. But with Seven Lions, the sudden popularity of Vini Vinci and now Armin, psy-trance has become a mainstay. 

Armin has been busy in the studio for the past year and it showed on the Escapade stage as he played all of his latest tracks which were all well received. Some notable tracks included "The Last Dancer" with Shapov, "You Are" with Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano, and "Blah Blah". Armin asked the crowd if they wanted to be in a state of trance, when the crowd roared in the affirmative, the Dutch legend gave them exactly that and more. The last track played was "Take Me There" by Militia, which was last week's ASOT "tune of the week", a fitting end to a brilliant set. 

Chus + Ceballos

The most dancing to be had at the festival was during the Chus + Ceballos set on day 2. The Spanish underground duo are no strangers to the scene as they have played in all of the best venues, including the much beloved Stereo nightclub in Montreal. They felt at home at the underground stage as they rocked TD Place with a consistent yet intense beat that gave you no choice but to move your feet in unison. Fixated on their monitors, Chus + Ceballos kept it to the basics, which was to craft and create the absolute best set they can do within the time given. And did they ever do that and more as the beat never dropped as a continuous rhythmic beat which reverberated within the stadium which allowed fans to dance for the entirety of their set. These guys know what they’re doing and it was an absolute pleasure to have watch the craft of DJ'ing at the highest level. Highlights included the Shaf Huse remix of "Stupidfly" by Daniel Dubb, "See La" by Prok & Fitch, "Grush" by Danny Serrano and Mendo, and "Easy Star" by DJ Fronter. 

Purple Haze

When Sander Van Doorn announced his Purple Haze project a few years ago, which saw him return to trance and the underground, I was so happy. Having seen him on numerous live streams, including a few A State Of Trance appearances, my anticipation reached fever pitch by the time Escapade rolled around. His vibe was distinctly dark as he dropped driving trance with hints of techno.  He started off with the deeper "Voice of Silence" by Cristoph, and slowly built it up to trance with "Desire of Ages" by Joseph Areas, and the recent trance banger by Orjan Nilsen "Simulator". The set was rhythmic, had a driving energy, and most important of all - delighted the fans. Once of the last tracks included Standerwick's remix of "Coming Home" by Dash Berlin, which brought chills.

Cosmic gate

The trance didn't stop as the German legends Cosmic Gate owned the crowd as they played fresh tracks from Vol. 2 of their latest Materia album. A highlight was when they dropped their remix of a personal favourite track of mine, "Only road" by Gabriel and Dresden. Cosmic Gate got the crowd moving by giving them driving trance beats at a higher BPM mixed interspersed with their well known vocal melodic classics. The guys were animated behind the decks which is always fun to see. Cosmic Gate gave a lot of love to Anjunabeats as they played a multitude of tracks from the likes of Above and Beyond, with special mention to the excellent track by Ilan bluestone and Major Levi called "Will We Remain". When "Fall into you" played, the haunting vocals by Jes was goosebump worthy. 

Rezz

Following Carnage and Ty Dolla $ign came the recent Juno award winner Rezz who wow'ed the crowd with her beautiful visuals and her unrelenting bass beats. Needing only her tracks to get the crowd where it needed to go, Rezz unleashed her powerful tracks including her latest "H E X". When she took a break from her discography, Madeon's evil edit of "Shelter" stood out. 

Sydney Blu

The dreambox stage, tucked away behind the action, was rocking all day long with a great vibe and fans committed to dance. Sydney Blu killed it by dropping rhythmic house music for almost her entire set. She didn’t hold anything back as she never stopped moving behind the decks, being in lock step with the dancers at her side. 

Slander

By far some of the biggest bass drops and crowd reactions were had when the Los Angeles duo Slander took the stage. Slander delivered a ton of bass including the "Knockout" by Krimer with a mix of hip hop like a trap remix of "God's Plan", and random throwbacks like "Yeah!" by usher. Slander punished the crowd with non-stop nastiness that brought the Abderdeen Pavilion to fever pitch. Did they eventually bring it down to give themselves the room to play their chill "Superhuman" track. Fun set that stood out from the rest.