Escapade to another level (Festival review)

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By Dominic Wren (Photos by Simon Audette)

This wasn’t any ordinary music festival in the nation’s capital. Escapade music festival used their 10-year experience to pull of an event that will be remembered for years to come. I had a great time at the festival and it was probably one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had at a festival. DJ Snake and Tiësto both tore the roof off, but the lesser-known mixers also showed their worth at the beginning of each day. Another major detail that the EDM Canada team noticed was the festival’s capacity. Escapade was 100% sold out and we never felt over crowded with people while still feeling the massive crowd energy even in the main stage crowds at closing sets. This was truly special as it made the experience so much more enjoyable for everyone attending. Now that shows a festivals values; fan’s enjoyment over profits. Big ups for that Escapade MF.

 This festival review won’t look at the regular “top 5 shows” or “the best DJ.” There so many other elements that made the event and the sets special. The simple answer is that each set had a spark of it’s own. The long answer is basically listing each set in there own category. But let highlight a couple shall we?

The most exotic show: Keys n Krates

These Canadian artists have rightfully earned their names as true artists. Now they were probably my favorite act of the weekend in the most artistic way. They gave the biggest summer vibes, which was a breath of fresh air. They kept their original trap sound but often crossed over to some house/summer vibes that made their set really special. If you want to see a show that you can dance and enjoy with some exotic feels at the same time, these are the guys you want to see.

The craziest show: DJ Snake

DJ Snake has a way to take his sets to another level of intensity. His whole persona seems to be made to destroy his fans. Just his opening started off the last show of Day 1 took no prisoners. From mixing and dropping tracks like South Side, Propaganda, Pigalle, Gassed Up, and so many more. Although he slowed down his set for the last 20 minutes, he appealed to the hard core ravers and the chiller types of ravers. DJ Snake, there is a reason you’re on top of the world.

Best B2B: Zeds Dead B2B Jauz

This B2B was so diverse in their music that I couldn’t take them away from my top B2B list. They dropped some old school Zeds Dead with Jauz’s signature bass house sound, a sprinkle of hard bass music and a touch of house music while keeping the energy of the main stage at a perfect high.  This was an iconic B2B as these guys have had other shows together at Hard Music Festival and Holy Ship so this made an experienced team that adapted really well together.

The most authentic main stage set: Timmy Trumpet

Timmy Trumpet wasn’t in my top 5 shows I was looking for nor did I really pay attention to his sets and his music. I was low key listening to his set while walking through the event area until his charisma, trumpet skills, and mixing decisions really caught my ear so I ran to the main stage a catch a glimpse of his show and it was nothing less then impressive. His charisma on stage shows his true passion for what he does and his trumpet skills were incredibly unique to see up close and you don’t really realize that until you see it for yourself.

Best small crowd handling: Wax Motif

Wax Motif lived up to my expectations coming into the festival and while watching him live. He was playing a mid-day, side stage set so the crowd wasn’t at maximum capacity but his handle of the small crowd drew them in even closer to his show and really made a special up close and personal G-House set. Dropping his tracks such as Tokyo and Fly Kicks (Wax Motif Remix) made the crowd move like if they were twice the size.

 Escapade Music Festival was truly unique this year. From the event area never being over crowed, to chilling spots with incredible views, to great music and great artists, this is a festival that should be on most people’s “to do” list for next summer. It is definitely one of my favourite event’s of the yer, I really hope to see you there next year!

Top 5 artists to watch out for at Escapade Music Festival

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By Dominic Wren

Escapade Music Festival seemed to have come out of nowhere to become one of Canada’s largest electronic music festival with one of it’s strongest lineups for their 10th year of bringing EDM to Ottawa. They’re headliners are only one part of the festival but what really makes EMF unique is their attention to the smaller things that really make this festival unique, such as placing a side stage in a historical building and a second side stage on the turf of the new football stadium. But ravers buy EMF passes to see their favourite artists so EDM Canada has made a top 5 list of DJs we think you should keep an eye on.


1. Mercer

Source: Mercer’s FB Page

Mercer is a French DJ/producer that has hit the big time only in the last couple of years. Representing the Pardon My French crew, he constructs his music with influence from his disco and house music he grew up with. In 2018, he released “Satisfy” featuring the legendary Ron Carroll and “Let’s get ill” with DJ Snake. His 2014 release “Lunatic”, also with DJ Snake, really put him on the map. His shows are something to experience though. His sets composing of house, bounce, hip hop, and some techno, Mercer is an incredibly talented DJ that will make you think about his set for weeks. 

2. Zeds Dead B2B Jauz

source: jauz’s fb page

This B2B is one to look out for. This iconic mash up of the Canadian duo Zeds Dead and the Californian DJ Jauz have both gained major success in the music industry with their own talent. Both as heavy dubstep and bass house artists, you probably know Zeds Dead best from their massive releases such as “On Fire” (Zeds Dead remix) and “Frontlines” which hit a combined of about 50 million streams on Spotify only. Jauz released his very first album studio album in 2018 but has been recognized as a talent since his 2014 and 2015 releases of “Feel the Volume” and “Rock the Party.” These two acts have played B2B sets before at Holy Ship and Hard Summer Music Festival so they have experience together which makes a much smoother live collab that will make you headbang until your nose bleeds. 

3. DJ Snake

source: dj snake’s Fb page

From humble beginnings in Parisian clubs to closing some of the biggest festivals in the world, DJ Snake has rightfully earned his spot on top of the EDM world. Being one of the only world class “mainstream” DJs using turn tables and performing hundreds of shows a year, the DJ/Producer has a “me, myself and I” attitude where he produces the music he wants with no outside influences. He even expressed in a 2018 interview on the Now We Feast series that he “doesn’t like his own name” because he chose it 15 minutes before playing his first club set. This attitude translates to his music where he pulls off the biggest radio/club tracks, such as “Taki Taki” and “Lean on” or some crazy hip hop bangers like “Enzo.” His talent is so diverse that he even recently released a brand new pop/ragathon type song that he calls “the track of the summer” named “Loco Contigo” featuring J. Balvin and Tyga. His sets are nothing less than an experience. Pulling off emotional songs at the right time to some crazy bass drops to bouncy house segments, DJ Snake will appeal to everyone that catches his music. 

4. 1788-L

source: 1788-l fb page

I don’t want to write to much on him. You just have to experience him. I can’t find words to describe his music but it’s dark and different. He’s only recently hit the big stage with his debut releases in early 2018 like “Replica” and releasing his remix of Virtual Self’s “Practical Arts” less then a month later. Today, 1788-L has collaborated with artists like Rezz, Totto, Illenium, Said the Sky, and Ekali. His sets are as dark and different as his music but you’ll have to go check it out for yourself. 

5.Wax Motif

source: wax motif fb page

This Sydney born DJ has been around making music and DJing since 2008 where he quickly gained a solid reputation and getting praise from Diplo, A-Track, Major Lazor, GTA, Jauz, Tommy Trash, and Oliver Heldens. He’s best known for his massive contribution to the G-House movement and collaborating with Destructo on his 2014 album featuring west coast hip hop heroes, such as TY Dolla Sign, YG, Young Thug, Problem, and Warren G. His sets incorporate this style into his mixing with a incredible mix of intensity, vibes, and house music and hip-hop. Wax Motif isn’t the biggest act in the world but he rightfully earns the title of “legend.” He should be a “must see” for everyone attending Escapade Music Festival.

There are many more artist I would want to recommend but here are some honourable mentions: Jeffrey Sutorius, Ghastly, Quix, Keys n Krates, and Niles Baxter B2B Open Solaris. Of course this is only our top 5 picks but you make your own festival. From the whole EDM Canada team, we hope you are as excited as we are for the 10th edition of Escapade Music Festival and remember to PARTY SAFELY.

Zeds Dead and Jauz team up to create an exciting Drum 'N' Bass track called "Lights Go Down"

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Just before we hit the new year Toronto's own Zeds Dead has teamed up with bass/house artist Jauz to deliver one of the more exciting tracks released in the second half of the year called "Lights Go Down". It's a huge collab that deliver's an unexpected but welcomed drum and bass drop and created an uplifting and dance worthy track. Running at almost 5 minutes long, 'Lights Go Down" has plenty of room to create a mood with a long build up with a strong DnB and bassy drop that leaves a lot of time to do your best shuffle on the dancefloor. Take a listen below: 

Hopefully "Lights Go Down" isn't a one-off DnB track by Zeds Dead and Jauz as the wider bass scene could use more of that DnB vibe to lighten things up in-between all of the headbanging. 

8 questions answered about the Escapade Music Festival happening this weekend in Ottawa

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Escapade is a 2-day festival happening this weekend at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa that is 93% sold out which will showcase some of the best DJs on the planet over 3 stages. Taking place just a few days before Canada day, Escapade is a special event in Ottawa that lets fans have a great time on the eve of Canada's 150 birthday. EDM Canada had a chance to speak with Ali Shafaee, the director of partnerships for Escapade, about the history of the festival, the lineup, location change, and how they made Escapade extra special for Canada's 150th birthday. 

Can you give fans the history of Escapade?

We're going into our 7th year, we kinda grew from an idea which is a one day downtown parking lot party for Canada Day. After 2 years of doing that we grew into a 2-day festival with 3 stages and 30,000 attendance. So it's grown a lot. We're based in Ottawa but a significant part of our attendance comes from the GTA area, Quebec, upstate New York, and even out east.

What makes Escapade special?

What we hear from fans is that Escapade is a “really large small festival”, if that makes sense. We have a lot of attendees and some of the biggest acts in the world, but when they come here they all remark at how “intimate” the vibe is. Everybody gets along with everyone, everyone is really friendly. We don't have massive distances in between our stages, which makes it more like a homey feel, where people feel comfortable.

We get the same thing with the artists, as they feel how into the crowd are into their sets and they have a great time. We're this big festival, but in a small city like Ottawa that has had great success.

Escapade has changed locations to Lansdowne Park - how will this new  location change how the fans interact with the festival?

Lansdowne Park is a 5-minute drive from the downtown core making it a central location for all festival goers and will be easier to get to using multiple forms of transportation. Our new home will also include free transportation via OC Transpo from anywhere in the city, two outdoor stages looking over the historic Rideau Canal and an Indoor arena stage with enhanced production.

Escapade is known for its diverse lineups – can you tell me the thought process on how you created the 2017 edition?

We tried to analyze what the fans want by doing a lot of polls throughout the year, and doing a recap at the end of the year with a survey. We want to know what the fan base wants in terms of music and festival. We've always been diverse in what we want to achieve and try to cover off as many genres as possible.

Richie Hawtin is an artist that is playing Escapade for the very first time and it's Canada's 150th birthday and he really wanted to make an impact by being in Canada and doing as many shows as possible and Escapade was a target of his. We're extremely excited to have Richie come and play the festival for the first time.

Tiesto also wanted to be a part of the 150th birthday for Canada and he's an icon who's played sold out shows all across the country. We jumped at the opportunity for him to come on board. We curated a Snails stage and he's Canadian from Montreal. So we tried our best to bring in as many genres and appease our fan base.

How many do you expect for the 2017 edition of Escapade?

We are on par from where we were from last year. 30 – 40% of our festival attendees come from outside of town. This is good for businesses and hotels in Ottawa to have that many people come from out of town to Escapade.

Who are you most excited to see at Escapade this year?

Richie Hawtin is definitely one that will be on my list. I don't think I've ever seen live so he's up there. I'm pretty excited to see Alan Walker, he's an up and coming act with a great show behind him. I think Alan Walker will be the surprise act of Escapade if I had to pick one.

What's your view on the current health of the festival outlook for 2017 and beyond?

There are festivals that are struggling or have been canceled in the last few years. A lot of factors go into that, like the over saturation of too many festivals. It could be the economy, the low Canadian dollar versus the American dollar, so there's a lot of different factors.

With Escapade, just as long as we evolve into what our fans are looking for, and looking at the trends on what our fans want, then we'll be okay. As soon as you start doing something that your audience isn't looking for, then you might have difficulties. Escapade tries to evolve every year and we'll continue to do that to 2018 and beyond.

Make your best pitch: why should fans go to Escapade this year?

To celebrate Canada's 150th, with in our opinion, the best lineup to date. A lot of people say that Escapade is one of the most fun weekends of their life.

Thank you to Ali Shafaee for the interview. For the latest information on Escapade including tickets, lineups, and upcoming set times - click here.

Win 2 tickets to Escapade Music Festival in Ottawa!

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Escapade Music Festival is the National Capital Region's premiere EDM festival that will attract 30,000 fans to Lansdowne Park (new location) in late June for 2 days non stop music. Huge names like Above & Beyond, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, and Dada Life will be rocking the mainstage, while trance, bass, and underground artists will be on full display on the other 2 stages.

To mark Canada's 150th anniversary, Escapade has invited some of Canada's best artists to headline the festival including a rare festival appearance by Richie Hawtin, Montreal's bass king Snails who's getting his own stage on day 2, and Toronto's bass duo Zeds Dead will be delivering a headlining performance on the mainstage on day 1. 

EDM Canada is giving 2 GA tickets to Escapade Music Festival happening on Saturday, June 24th until Sunday, June 25th at Lansdowne Park y in Ottawa. To enter, simply log into the widget above (counts as an entry), and choose the various other ways to enter if you wish to do so. The contest starts now and will end on Friday, June 9th. You must be 16+ to enter - good luck!