Scream your heart out (DNA Presents: Scream, event review)

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By Dominic Wren

Ottawa has brought in many world class DJs/Producers for the highly anticipated Halloween weekend. Headlining the DNA Presents Scream event at the EY Center were NGHTMRE, W&W, and Lost Kings. This year was arguably the biggest and meanest line up Ottawa has seen for a single night. Originally, Laidback Luke was supposed to close out the night but unfortunately he wasn’t able to show up to the event due to some complications. Lost Kings were quickly booked to fill in the gap and it undoubtedly wasn’t a step down.

After some talented openers making up of Mac at 9 pm then Khaøs b2b Mers at 9:40pm, NGHTMRE took to the stage opening with some heavy and deadly dubstep. The crowd quickly pushed to the front gates to get a glimpse of the solo DJ. The front gates were wobbling back and forth due to the crazy amount of energy the super fans were producing. Switching back and forth from hard trap to hardstep to hip-hop, this LA based producer made these transitions in the highest of quality and in the smoothest fashion. During the middle of his set, he dropped his latest release “Save Yourself” featuring The Chainsmokers. The moment the crowd heard the intro to this track all the NGHTMRE/Chainsmokers fans started screaming in excitement. This is where the temperature in the room got extra heated. I’m almost sweating through my shirt and the crowd’s costumes were getting more and more destroyed. The artist ended up closing his set to his collab with Slander “Gud Vibrations.”

The crowd just started cooling down from the killer set by NGHTMRE when W&W stormed to the stage opening with a crazy trance vibe. This type of genre is mostly rare to see in the bigger events of the nation’s capital. It was great to see the “WHOOO’s” and “AAAHH’s” of the crowd. W&W quickly transition back their original big room house sound by dropping older singles like “Live the Night” with Hardwell and “Bigfoot” just to name a few. Surprisingly, they didn’t mix in any famous hip-hip or rock songs like most DJs do. They kept straight to an EDM vibe. Over all, it was a great show and they pulled off some great mixes and transitions even non-DJs could appreciate.

To close out a fantastic Halloween weekend, Lost Kings appeared in front of the crowd to give them one final party before the night was over. I was expecting the crowd to be tired and starting to leave by this time of the night but these EDM fans stayed and raged one last time. It was great to see. They gave one final push and it felt like this was the first show of the night. Lost Kings opened with SAYMYNAME’s new single “Turn Up Da Bass” and played back to back hard tracks for about 15 minutes before slowing the beat down to play their hit single “Phone Down” featuring Emily Warren. Their set was comparative to The Chainsmokers set at Ile Soniq or Ultra Music Festival in Miami. The crowd was sticking with them and that shows a lot of talent from these two DJ/Producers to keep such an exhausted crowd raging. From connecting to the crowd with cell phone lights in the sky during the emotional parts of the set to making them sit down before a hard drop, this set was definitely a highlight of the night. They really made up for Ottawa to miss out on a talent like LaidBack Luke.

The Halloween weekend in Ottawa is one destination to look out for when in the coming years as it’s only getting better. Hope to see more and more fans come out to these events soon!


Brand new: Armin Van Buuren & W&W - "If It Ain't Dutch"

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Armin Van Buuren and W&W have finally come out with a sequel to their original hit "D# Fat" that brought crowds to a frenzy worldwide a few years ago. The track is called "If It Ain't Dutch", and although it does sound a lot like D# Fat, it does have its own twist and personality. Check it out: 

"If It Ain't Dutch" will be available on December 20th. 

Bal En Blanc goes big at the Bell Centre

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Easter Sunday is an important date to mark for all EDM fans in the Montreal area. The reason is Bal en Blanc, the epic all night party that has been going strong for the past 21 years. This year marked a big change for the event as they moved venues to the Bell Centre, which united the entire crowd onto one massive stage instead of the multiple stages at Palais Des Congres. Easter is usually a time for religious contemplation, but on Sunday in Montreal it has become a pilgrimage to the Bell Centre for thousands of fans.

 This year's Bal En Blanc theme was the love boat and apart from the throngs of attendees wearing all white, there were a fair number of people adorned in sailor outfits that added a fun diversity within the crowd. Security was tight at the Bell Centre, which was reminiscent of the Resolution event that happened at the same venue a few years ago. With that said, the lines were quick and efficient and soon enough everyone was in the building to enjoy the show. 

Alesso was the first headliner to take the stage at midnight and played many of his productions that gained him such fame in such a short time. He previewed his latest release "Cool", and even threw in Ultra favourites like "Deep Down Low" by Valentino Khan. 

David Guetta was next and he hit his set out of the park. Between speaking French and English interchangeably with the crowd, a lot of interaction from the big stage, and overall flow of the set brought the Bell Centre to a frenzy. While the floor area was rammed with fans, it was in the stands that people had room to dance, and there were plenty on their feet for the duration of David Guetta's set. Highlights of the set included Vinai's remix of "What I Did For Love", and when Guetta played "Titanium", he had the entire Bell Centre singing Sia's vocals. 

Dash Berlin always brings out an energetic performance wherever he plays and at the Bal en Blanc he brought it once again. His set is filled with specialized visuals and voice overs for the Montreal crowd, a nice touch that gets the crowd going. Playing a mix of his new stuff and old, Dash gave fans a taste of his new style. But at the end of his set, he played his 4 am mix of "Till The Sky Falls Down", a classic track that never gets old. 

W&W was next up at 4:30 am and they managed to inject fresh energy into the crowd thanks to their killer introduction tied to their hit "Big Foot". The duo were animated behind the decks, always looking to get the crowd involved any chance they could. Known for their innovative mashups, W&W weren't shy to show them off in front of the Montreal crowd. 

Bal en Blanc (BeB) was well attended this year as attendees packed the dancefloor while there was plenty of dancing happening in the stands. This year's move to the Bell Centre and uniting the party to one big stage had its risks, but Playground pulled it off successfully by bringing together a lineup that kept the essence of BeB alive. Look out for Bal en Blanc to return to Montreal in 2016 as they have already announced the next date for the 22nd edition. Are you going? 

5 surprising tracks played at Ultra Music Festival

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Source: RUDGR's FB Page

Like most of you, I was transfixed to the live Ultra stream all last weekend. Intently watching who's hot, who's not, is something of a hobby of mine as I'm always on the lookout to see who's moving music forward. In search of the new and unexpected is what Ultra is all about. Now is an important time in the electronic dance music world as each DJ set is a window into what you'll expect to hear from them for the rest of the year. 

This year's Ultra Music Festival was a real treat to watch thanks to a few surprises. Here are a few of them:

1. Axwell /\ Ingrosso playing "Deep Down Low" by Valentino Khan

Did Axwell /\ Ingrosso actually play an OWSLA track at their headlining set at Ultra? You bet they did. It was an unexpected moment that set up a very strong second half of their performance. 

Starts at the 19:19 mark: 

2. D-Jastic - "Up to No Good" (MAKJ Booty Remix) mashup with Wiwek & Gregor Salto - "On Your Mark" played by Alesso

Wiwek & Gregor Salto's "On Your Mark" has been a popular track to mashup, seeing play in recent sets by Major Lazer and DJ Snake. Alesso used this track to great effect at Ultra by combining it with MAKJ's Booty Remix of "Up To No Good". Even though "On Your Mark" was released a year ago, it's still got a lot of life left. 

Starts at the 16 minute mark: 

3. The new Martin Garrix x Ed Sheeran track will be a future hit

Martin Garrix premiered a ton of tracks at Ultra this year including new collabs with Avicii, David Guetta, and more. But nothing compared to the brand new track with Ed Sheeran called "Rewind Repeat It". DJs working with pop vocalists is not always a recipe for instant success, and sometimes the results can fall flat. Fortunately for Martin Garrix, 'Rewind Repeat It" sounds light and fresh, just in time for the summer season. 

Starts around the 13 minute mark: 

4. Darude's "Sandstorm" gets love by Dash Berlin and W&W.  

This year's Ultra Music Festival was streamed exclusively on Twitch for the first time. Twitch is known as a stream service for gaming, and within that world Darude's classic track "Sandstorm" is worshipped. Someone must have told W&W and Dash Berlin because when they each played that classic track, the Twitch chat went nuts. 

Starts at the 49:50 mark: 

5. No overlap! 

The final point may not be an individual track but rather a positive commentary on all the DJs I watched this weekend. As opposed to other major festivals, this year's Ultra had a surprising lack of overplayed tracks. We all know that last summer the temptation to play "Animals" and "Bounce Generation" was too high and as a result many sets sounded very similar. But throughout the 3 day live stream, it was a relief to hear mostly brand new tracks without DJs stepping on each other to play the latest Beatport #1.