REZZ and RL Grime shined and 5 other impressions of RBC Bluesfest

/

The 2017 edition of RBC Bluesfest just concluded this past weekend at Lebetron Flats in Ottawa, having given us 9 days of music on 3 stages, with artists emanating from a variety of genres. Fans of electronic dance music had a lot to be happy about as acts like REZZ, Flume, A Tribe Called, LCD Soundsystem and RL Grime put on shows to remember. The following are 7 impressions that were made from this year's RBC Bluesfest in Ottawa. 

REZZ

The sound system at Bluesfest in Ottawa got tested to the max as REZZ took control of the decks on Tuesday night. She started off the proceedings with "Warrior" by EPROM and G Jones, a personal favourite, due to its uncompromising distorted bass drop. The vast majority of the tracks played were from REZZ's own discography and the crowd loved her for it in return. The bass from the sound system was crisp, which allowed her best tracks like "Edge" to be properly showcased. With her debut album "Mass Manipulation" ready to come out on August 4th, the Canadian artist gave the crowd a sneak peek by playing a few tracks. The new stuff sounds like a continuation of her style but with certain aspects exhibiting a chunkier bass. REZZ's sound is part bass with hints of techno and dark industrial, but remixed into her own style and makes it fully into her own musical style and aesthetic. Expect a strong album and even bigger things from this quickly up and coming artist in the future.  

RL Grime

Following REZZ was RL Grime, who is no stranger to Bluesfest, and showed it by giving one of the best sets of 2017. By the time the L.A. artist took the stage the crowd was massive and went nuts every chance they've gotten. RL Grime has stepped up his game this year by playing mashups and edits galore, like mashing well known tracks like Galantis' "Runaway (U&I)" and Coolio's "Gangter's Paradise" with his own tracks. His set was fresh and clearly better than any other time I've seen him in the past. I was captivated with every track, every moment. Everything done during that set had purpose, like pieces of a puzzle when formed into a piece of art. The last track was his new single "Stay For It", a fitting end to one of the best moments of the year. 

LCD Soundsystem

The last time LCD Soundsystem toured, EDM Canada didn't exist. It's been a long seven years since they last toured, as I've been more accustomed to listing James Murphy DJ sets into the city calendars than the legendary band. The live layout of the band was elaborate as it sported a few synths, including a full modular synth, a trigger pad, live bass, a few drum kits and more. The full live instrumentals of the show were the most thrilling parts and even though LCD Soundsystem are among the OG acts in scene - it is these live aspects that new acts should emulate if they want to push the boundaries of EDM. James Murphy is a multi-talented artist that showed the full range of his vocals while sometimes venturing over to his own drum kit to help the crowd go into the LCD Soundsystem rabbit hole. I came to LCD Soundsystem with an open mind and left impressed by the ambition and the rock/synth/punk vibe sound environment that was created. 

Migos and the crowd controversy

Migos started their set 40 minutes late because the Atlanta trio attracted such a huge crowd that the organizers wanted fans waiting in huge lines outside the time necessary to get into the grounds to enjoy the show. With a 7 pm time slot, Migos had brought in the biggest crowd that I've ever seen for non-headlining act, which was a credit to the organizers. While waiting for the trio to get to the stage, I was in the photo pit area at the front and got a first hand view of the crowd. Security did a fantastic job at bringing out fans that couldn't take the heat and insanity of the crowd. Those that required medical attention were quickly taken care of and personally did not see anything untoward. 

Following the event various newspapers and blogs brought the Migos and Lil Yachty crowd up on Thursday night, with various reports of "more than 200 people" that were assessed, with fans reported of being "sexually assaulted, intoxicated, hurt after falls, or suffering from overdoses". I could not comment on these aspects as I was not a witness to these acts, but watching those kids on Thursday night reminded me back in the day when I was a fan clamoring for the front row during the Edgefest days at Lansdowne Park in the 90s. Back when Live, Collective Soul, The Tea Party, Green Day were the biggest acts of the moment, the crush from the crowds and the heat was extreme, sometimes feeling immense pressure from the crowd at the back pushing my ribs into the front row barricade. A lot of fans couldn't take it and had security help them out, just like as I saw on Thursday night for Migos and Lil Yachty. Bluesfest should be applauded for bringing in hip hop acts to Ottawa, just like they have been supporting EDM for the past several years. 

Flume

In terms of electronic dance music, Flume was the biggest name to be booked by Bluesfest this year as he finished off the night to headline the mainstage on Thursday night. The stage was simple but carried a big punch as the graphics were crisp, coinciding with the style of his smooth, driving, and emotional tracks. The Australian artist had a setup that allowed to manipulate his tracks on the fly including a drum machine, that he used with frequency. The whole set was a celebration of Flume's impressive discography as he showed it off with pride and left the crowd with more than a few goose bump moments.  

A Tribe Called Red

A post shared by EDM Canada (@edm_canada) on

Rain and thunderstorms played a major part on Friday's performances, including recent Polaris Music Prize shortlisted candidate and recent JUNO Award winner A Tribe Called Red scheduled time. As the threat of rain and thunderstorms temporarily shut down the festival, fans packed the blues tent, as they waited out the storm. Once organizers gave artists the all clear, A Tribe Called Red gave the crowd a huge bass and electric pow wow display that included a variety of dancers invited to perform on stage. Unfortunately just as they were hitting their stride with tracks like ATCR's own "NDN Stakes" and GTA's "Help Me!", thunderstorms shut down the night early. A shame, but at least the Ottawa trio introduced a lot of new fans to their unique electric pow wow sound. 

Night Lovell

Night Lovell is giving one of the best performances at Bluesfest right now

A post shared by EDM Canada (@edm_canada) on

Bluesfest invited some heavyweight hip hop talent at this year's edition, however, it was the local rapper Night Lovell that gave the crowd the most hype set of them all. He impressed the crowd with his boundless energy that the crowd fed off of and formed multiple mosh pits throughout the performance.  Originating from Ottawa, he told the crowd that he had been coming to Bluesfest as a fan and now he's on stage. To further his Ottawa rep, he had a faux OC Transpo 97 Bayshore bus prop on stage, to which he came out of with smoke emanating from it to start his set. It's not easy to outshine bigger acts, but Night Lovell managed to pull it off. 

Listen to RL Grime's 2015 Halloween Mix

/

Before his debut album and frequent appearances on the biggest festival stages around the world, RL Grime released a mixtape in time for Halloween that lit up the Fall season and launched a career. His first two Halloween mixes put him on the map and got the entire scene talking about this L.A. producer who would eventually become big time. 

Now with tremendous success and a well established name, RL Grime released the 4th Halloween Mix installment today, still giving respect to the mix series that originally got him on the map. Filled with trap, hip hop, and bass beats, RL Grime still remains as one of the best curators out there. 

Festival co-founder on Pemberton: "It's the most beautiful festival site in the entire world." (Interview)

/

The Pemberton Music Festival is less than a month away and entering its 2nd year back with another eclectic lineup. This year they're bringing Bassnectar, Tiesto, Jack U (Skrillex & Diplo) and the entire Full Flex Express, RL Grime, and much more. Combine the music with the beauty of the festival site and you've got a winning combination. 

EDM Canada managed to talk with the A.J Niland, the co-founder of Huka Entertainment, the company that produces and promotes Pemberton. A.J was joined by Sascha Guttfreund, the main EDM talent buyer of Pemberton. We talked about last year's success, what can fans expect next month, the lineup, and much more. 

How was the return of the Pemberton Music Festival in 2014?

A.J Niland - It was great. We took on all of the challenges and hurdles. The fan response was tremendous. We're well on our way to doubling our attendance this year. We've already surpassed last year's sales.

What do you have in store for the 2015 edition of Pemberton?

A.J. - We're always constantly working on improvements and there's more work to do on traffic, keeping the site clean, etc. We're always looking for new art decor and amenities. Last year we had a full on water slide and this year there will be a ton of new experiences like that. We're tweaking the site in a lot of ways. One of the biggest issues last year was camping loading over a difficult path – that's all been improved. The production will be a lot bigger this year. That's how we like to do things as Pemberton keeps on getting bigger and better.

The lineup looks sweet – what was your philosophy in creating the 2015 lineup?

A.J. - Diversity is always key. We're really looking to set the tastes in the market and in a lot of cool and unique acts.

Sascha – I think we brought together a lineup that we believe as curators is tasteful. We are working with artists that we believe in, a lot of whom we've grown with. A.J. and I spent a lot of time walking the grounds last year asking fans who they wished to see at Pemberton. Some people get too wrapped up in profit/losses and analytics that sometimes people forget what the fan wants. So we spent a lot of time wondering who the Pemberton fan really is. We built this lineup on what we felt was true to us and what the fans wants. Judging by the pre-sales, I think we are doing a good job at balancing those two things.

What were the top artist requests from the fans this year?

Sascha – The requests for Frank Ocean last year was huge. We knew he would be big but it was clear that was what kids wanted to see. It was also interesting how huge the turn out for Kendrick Lamar was and knowing that he had an album coming out we had to get him back. Everyone is very excited to see him back.

How big was it for Pemberton to secure the Full Flex Express Tour?

A.J. - It's really exciting. Pemberton has train tracks right on the site and we're still working on the logistics of it all. Skrillex and Diplo are crowd pleasers. It's the final stop on their tour and we can't wait to have them over.

If you could name one artist that fans must see at this year's Pemberton – which one would it be and why?

A.J. - Missy Elliott because of the rarity of the show. Aside from the Super Bowl appearance, there hasn't been a live Missy show in quite a long time. She has a great body of work and she's a genius. Excited to see it.

Sascha – I'm not going to do one because it's not fair.

A.J. - What about Tobias Jesso Jr.?

Sascha – Tobias is a really cool story because he's a friend of the festival and he actually attended last year as a fan before his album. So it's pretty cool to see a kid from Vancouver attending the festival to being on every late night show and to be playing at Pemberton. I'm very excited for Chet Faker, Kali Uchis, J. Cole. DJ wise I'm really stoked that RL Grime is coming back with his new record to play a late night set.

How do you view the current festival scene today? Is it a little crowded? Do you think there will be a downturn?

A.J. - There's definitely a tremendous amount of festivals that are popping up and it seems whenever something is in vogue, everyone jumps into that game. I feel that the festivals on the fray or the ones that exist only to make money are going to fall by the wayside. I don't necessarily see a downturn with mainstay festivals and that's something that we strive towards. Every festival we do has a great story and a good lineup behind it. We also have the experience to drive it. In a crowded marketplace, it is the premium product that seems to be the most stable. That's the model we're working on with Pemberton.

Festival attendance is up across the board and a newer generation wants to experience the same thing their older siblings got to enjoy. Dealing with unique experiences like what Pemberton is a really safe play.

Sascha – I believe the Huka team are true visionaries as they are looking to develop cultural experiences. Whenever culture is at the epicentre of what you're trying to do, that success is inevitable. To see us succeed the way we are without the conventional headliners is really cool. It is a crowded market but I think it is crowded with people with the same mentality. When you take your own path like Pemberton has done, you can create your own unique and proprietary path.

A.J. - Those festivals that are working really hard at creating something unique will survive.

Make your best pitch – why should fans attend this year's Pemberton Music Festival?

A.J. - Because it's the most beautiful festival site in the entire world. I didn't just make that up, it was voted on and it truly is beautiful. The experience you're going to get here you won't find anywhere else.

Sascha - I think you should come to Pemberton is to see the headliners of tomorrow, today. Know that the acts at the bottom of our lineup last year are now at the top of some of the festivals this year. At Pemberton you can have these sort of intimate experiences with artists that will one day become big. It's a gorgeous site with amazing weather.  

My thanks to A.J Niland and Sascha Guttfreund for the interview. 

The Pemberton Music Festival will take place at Pemberton, B.C. from July 16th - 19th. Tickets are still available, click here for more information. 

Win 2 tickets to GoHARD Toronto on May 30th at Echo Beach!

/

GoHARD Toronto is ready to take over Echo Beach next weekend with a stellar lineup that includes Eric Prydz and Dillon Francis. Under the guidance of Gary Richards/Destructo, HARD Events is known to bring together a wide array of genres together and he's done it again by pairing off underground mega-star Eric Prydz with trap giant RL Grime and the live bass sounds of Big Gigantic. Whatever you're into, GoHARD promises fans a fun night of solid music. 

EDM Canada would like to send a lucky winner 2 tickets to GoHARD Toronto at Echo Beach. To enter, just check out the contest above, log in (counts as an entry), and then you can choose all of the ways you can enter. The contest is open from Friday, may 22nd at 12:30 pm and will end on Thursday, May 28th at 11:59 pm EST. Good luck! For more GoHARD event information - click here.

New music Friday featuring Deadmau5, RL Grime remixes, Grandtheft/Diplo and more

/

A lot of new and exciting music was introduced this week including a snippet of Deadmau5's latest track, a bevy of remixes made for RL Grime and Rihanna's BBHM (I select the best 2 of the bunch), and more. EDM Canada has a brand new Soundcloud page where I'll be showcasing what I think are some of the hottest tracks/mixes of the moment. Click here to follow it now.

Deadmau5 Preview

RL Grime VOID remixes

Rihanna "Bitch Better Have My Money" Remixes

Gent & Jawns

Grandtheft and Diplo

Here's a huge dubstep track that combines metal elements created by Dieselboy, Downlink, Mark The Beast, and Mayhem called "Carcosa". It sounds massive: 

My favourite mix of the week goes to Giuseppe's "Go On Air" guest mix series featuring Allen & Envy. Filled with energetic trance tracks that range from the harder side to the emotional with a few vocal tracks sprinkled in, this is a proper mix that could be listened to a few times: