Rezz, Loud Luxury and Felix Cartal were all big winners at this year's JUNO Awards

By Ryan Hayes

This year's 49th Juno's celebration took place under an unprecedented set of circumstances. On June 29th the Juno's were held as a virtual broadcast through CBC Gem. It was a big night for Canada's talented electronic music scene. Nominees included; Frank Walker, Sultan + Shepard, Bob Moses, Keys N Krates, Electric Youth, Jacques Greene, & Ralph. Taking home honours in three categories, this year's winners continue to represent Canada on the international EDM stage by innovating and elevating their craft.

Dance Recording Of The Year:

Source: Twitter

Felix Cartal & Lights took home the top honour for their collaborative effort Love Me. Recently Lights has delved fully in to the realm of EDM. Along with her Cartal collaboration she toured with Deadmau5 throughout 2019, released a four track EP entitled 'AM 444' with i_o, and recently finished an instrumental synthwave record entitled 'How To Sleep When You're On Fire' with all proceeds being donated to Black Lives Matter Vancouver. This is Lights sixth Juno; past awards include New Arist, & Pop Album Of The Year. After thirteen years in the industry this was Felix Cartal's first Juno award. His first nomination was in 2013, and his last album, 'Next Season', was nominated for Electronic Album Of The Year. Cartal celebrated with Lights in Vancouver before heading out for a celebratory mint Oreo blizzard from Dairy Queen.

Electronic Album Of The Year:

Source: REZZ FB

This year's top honour went to Rezz and her latest album 'Beyond The Senses.' She also won for her debut album 'Mass Manipulation.' Ever since catapulting in to the scene with her distinct sound Rezz has been a fixture in the EDM scene. She shares the honours of album of the year with past winner including; Grimes,Ryan Hemsworth, and Kaytranada.

Group Of The Year:

Source: Twitter

Twenty Eight legendary groups have garnered the title of Group Of The Year—and this year Loud Luxury held down the crown. Now in the company of Arcade Fire, Our Lady Peace, Matthew Good Band, The Tragically Hip, & Rush—among others—Loud Luxury represent a big breakthrough in a category that traditionally does not represent electronic music artists. Last year the duo won Dance Recording Of The Year for their breakthrough single Body. With a digital only event Loud Luxury's members, Andrew Fedyk and Joe Depace, jokingly celebrated with a homemade Juno to commemorate the occasion.

Contact 2019: A Snapshot

By Ryan Hayes

In its eighth year Contact Winter Music Festival continued to evolve along with it's core demographic of die hard dance music fans. As Vancouver's only true EDM festival, Contact's success is integral to the strength of our cities electronic scene. Offering a little something for everyone, Contact endeavoured to find a balance between mainstream sounds and niche acts. Rather thank picking a traditional top five—because everyone has different musical tastes—I decided to focus on a slew of unique highlights that made 2019 stand out.

More clearly than in previous years Contact presented a thoughtfully curated lineup of acts and stages. On night one Said The Sky elevated the main stage with his unique blend of silky smooth vocal laden melodies, and sweeping emotional bass lines. His set was genuinely warm and welcoming and the absolute perfect sonic bridge for San Holo's signature sound. Extending Said The Sky's energy and building on the night's momentum San Holo effortlessly introduced his bouncy and uplifting original productions in to the pantheon of the night. His set melted away leaving the packed stadium feeling empowered and triumphant. It didn't matter if you knew all of the words to his countless hits—his quest for vibrant energy was genuine...and it was heard.

After Solo, Kaskade took the stage acting as the night's catalyst for change, by transitioning the energy towards Major Lazer's party centric atmosphere. Regardless of having just played Sunset Festival in August Kaskade's set was an undeniable pleasure. As one of the industries premiere veterans he knows exactly how to keep a crowd at attention. With an assist from some of his more redux slanted tracks Kaskade flawlessly edged the night away from melodic bass and towards a true bombastic spectacle—all while managing to feel fresh from his previous headlining slot.

On day two Destructo's signature g-house style brought swagger to main stage creating a stadium wide club atmosphere that expertly set up Fisher to take the reigns. Bringing his now iconic blend of house and tech to the largest dance music stage in Western Canada; Fisher's set transcended the standard categorical relevancy of a top of the fest list, and marked the first time Vancouvrites unanimously devoured house music as if it were big room circa 2011. It was just as important to behold, as it was enjoyable to experience.

Taking a detour to the FVDED stage—where bass ruled the weekend—a curated presence was just as responsible for the lineups success. Shout out to Nostalgix for bringing real talent, and fantastic Night Bass vibes, to her opening day one set; proving it pays to show up early and support local talent. On both nights the FVDED stage headliners catered to a more niche, and fervent, audience; showcasing just as much talent as the festivals main stage headlining acts. The biggest surprise of the festival was G Jones raw unbridled energy and authenticity. At this point it's rare for me to walk in to a set with limited knowledge of an artist and genuinely be blown away. His set was heavy, chaotic—at times relentless—but always artistically sound. Cutting through the breakneck BPMs and torrents of bass was an abstract...yet tangible...sense of groove, and musicality, that is rare within the modern landscape blinding bass. G Jones is not to be missed.

On day two Feed Me took the headlining FVDED slot presenting fans with the weekends biggest conflict by going head-to-head with Rezz. For the past decade Feed Me has proven to be a master of his craft. Defying genres—whether it be drum & bass, electro house, or dubstep; Feed Me's productions are always immaculate, and his set did not disappoint. While Feed Me was slaying the FVDED stage Rezz was laying waste to the main stage. As a Vancouver favourite I always fear that she runs the risk of over-saturating audiences with familiar sets, but that could not be further from the truth. Rezz hit Contact with a thunderous assault of slow moving bass. It was her heaviest set to date, it ended with a 2011 Skrillex throwback—and it was exactly what the now packed football stadium needed. The reactions she elicited from the audience were everything.

Any Contact recap would me amiss without mentioning the main stage mastery of Tiesto. Marking his first Blueprint billing in Vancouver the king of dance music took his rightful place atop the cities largest dance music stage and skilfully captured the attention of the stadiums roughly 17,000 festival-goers. At this point in time I think its fair to declare Tiesto the last remaining bastion of true main stage, big room, festival EDM. Tackling an hour and a half set—the rest of the day had standard sixty minute festival slots—Tiesto's closing performance seamlessly melted away. Not only were first-timers blown away; the crowd skewed noticeably older on day two as vintage Tiesto merch dotted the arena. There is something undefinable about a Tiesto set, a craft honed with decades of experience; and they have become a gold standard that cannot be measured against the competition. Honestly when Blueprint first announced Contact back in 2012 I thought Tiesto was a lock as the first iterations headliner and it was nice to finally see him take on BC Place eight years later.

CARAS announces the 2019 Nominees for the JUNO Awards

By Sinejan Ozaydemir 

The nominees for the 2019 JUNO Awards were announced today in Toronto. 

We at EDM Canada have been eagerly waiting for the nominations, particularly in the Dance Recording of the Year and the Electronic Album of the Year categories. 

And here they are: 

Dance Recording of the Year

• Gotasoul AZARI - Get Physical - *Independent/Zebralution

• Jackie Chan (ft. Preme & Post Malone) - Dzeko & Tiësto - Universal

• Avatar Beach - Jacques Greene - Arts & Crafts*Universal

• CURA - Keys N Krates - Keys N Krates*Dim Mak

• Body - Loud Luxury - Armada Music B.V*Sony

Electronic Album of the Year

• Crystal Eyes - Ekali - OWSLA/Atlantic*Warner

• Next Season- Felix Cartal - Physical Presents*Fontana North/Universal

• Give It a Rest - iamhill - Independent

• Deception Bay - Milk & Bone - Bonsound*Sony

• Certain Kind of Magic - REZZ - mau5trap*Kobalt

REZZ, who won the JUNO for Electronic Album of the Year at the 2018 JUNO Awards, is nominated again this year in the same category for her album 'Certain Kind of Magic'. Felix Cartal, who was nominated for the Dance Recording of the Year last year for his song 'Get What You Give' is now nominated for his album 'Next Season' in the Electronic Album of the Year category. First time nominees Loud Luxury are the EDM artists nominated for the greatest number of JUNOs this year with 4 nominations in the JUNO Fan Choice, Single of the Year, Breakthrough Group of the Year and Dance Recording of the Year categories. 

This year’s JUNO Awards and JUNO week will be hosted in London Ontario. The awards will be broadcast live on Sunday, March 17th on CBC worldwide at cbcmusic.ca/junos. 

For the full list of nominees in all categories visit : https://junoawards.ca/2019-juno-award-nominees/

Congratulations to all the nominees! We are excited to see who will win at the 48th Annual JUNO Awards!  

Drezo proves his prowess & Rezz solidifies her main stage status

By Ryan Hayes

Selling out the PNE Forum's roughly 4,000 strong capacity Vancouver was ready for a night of dark bass heavy music. Thematically all three acts tied perfectly together for one happy gathering of the Cult of Rezz. By the time 1788-L took the stage the Forum was already full. By far the most volcanic set of the night 1788-L kept headbangers busy while setting the stage for Drezo.

A personal highlight, Drezo' set was foreboding while remaining melodic. His dark take on rhythmic house was instantly approachable and unique. Regardless if you could pick out his original productions—Guap, Malice, Night, & his remix for Nas' Made You Look—everyone was drawn in because his tracks all have a natural groove to them. From start to finish his set remained artistically identifiable solidifying a trend on the fringes of dance music; keep your set full of originals and cultivate a faction of die-hard fans who live and breathe your sound. It's about more than creating a party atmosphere stacked with recognizable bangers, its about carving a space in the electronic scene's overcrowded landscape. Drezo met my lofty expectations and I am ready for whatever he has in store next.

Rezz took the stage to thousands of rabid fans chanting her name, cementing her status as a vanguard of dance music; one of the next generation's most important main stage headliners. As wave after wave of grinding bass washed over elated headbangers and die hard fans chanted along to ever twist and turn Rezz powered through a mixture of her latest LP Certain Kind of Magic, her Halloween mixtape Nightmare on Rezz Street, and slew of fan favourites. The set was expected—but on a tour of this magnitude that's unavoidable—the visuals were spot on, and the audience went hard until the last note. Tenacious D's infamous battle cry, 'you can't kill the metal' rang true throughout the night's festivities. Rezz has repackaged the heavy drive of rock for a new era of listeners and fostered the sounds evolution within the realm of dance music. Rock will never stop transforming, and no matter where Rezz' career takes her; 'the metal will live on.'

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.