Album Review - Rage Valley EP (Knife Party)

With summer well under way, the onslaught of glorious new jams have been pouring out in time for festival season. EP's from the likes of Knife Party, Deadmau5, Diplo, and Caspa have been making things even more exciting, because as the overall selection of new tracks from an artist grows then so does the chance that a different performer will be able to play said track(s) and not be the 10th person of the day to do so. This holds most true for the recent Knife Party release, the "Rage Valley EP", which totals at four tracks and ALL of them are monsters! "Centipede" was the first track available and could be found (probably illicitly) around youtube as of a month or two ago, but damn if the officially released song can't actually shake the screws loose on you car door! "Bonfire" is a close second, and while its not quite as complex as "Centipede" it drops just as hard if not harder! "Sleaze" is the most festival friendly with the big, reverby synth lines that work especially well when bouncing off of back walls, and the title track "Rage Valley" is a fairly typical Knife Party track with all the usual big bass and heavy drops.

Having just field tested this EP at the legendary Starscape Festival (in Baltimore, MD) I can vouch for its unsurprisingly epic nature! No idea who it was, but when "Centipede" dropped in the wee hours of the morning the entire stage seemed to get their second wind... I personally almost gave myself a concussion from raging so hard. These guys really are masters of their craft, and for anyone trying to see them I can't recommend Electric Zoo Festival enough.

The Newest Bestest Post You Ever Did See

Sleigh Bells - Demons (Diplo Remix)
This track rips apart the original. Its super bass heavy. And the drop half way through is just not fair to your ear drums.

Super Gauchin - Se Pixel el Venito (Nite Jewel Remix)
This song is like mario and luigi took a road trip a la Che Guevera down to South America and partied with the locals in Rio. Love the vocals on the track. And it ends with some triply hiphop.

gLAdiator - Brand New (Cy Kosis remix)
Sounds very reminiscent to the old Hyper Crush track "Ayo" (produced by Diplo). This is one of the catchier tracks I've heard this year. Someone wanna do a moombahton remix/edit/remake/rework/twerkit?

gLAdiator - Brand New (Planet Rock Remix)
Did someone forget to hang up the phone?

And the chill shit...

Deadmau5 - Veldt (Paul David Remix)

Enjoy this very exclusive free download before someone (cough cough deadmau5) has their men take it down. 

Philadelphia DMC: Letter From the Editors

Dear Philadelphia,

This is a little note from your editors here to remind you why we exist. We exist because those of us that live in Philadelphia want to go out and have a good time and listen to good music...but we can't. Why is that? Well its because Philadelphia hasn't been the place to be since Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince; however, we've said it before and we'll say it againL We're here to help bring EDM in Philly to its fullest potential, and we plan to do so by any means necessary! If that means we take your advice on how you think this city can improve its dance scene, we'll do it. If that means helping a fellow EDM'er promote an event in Philly, let us know. And of course, if you just need to know whats up this weekend we've already done that with The Calendar!

This is what we're here for, and we love doing what we do! Get off your asses Philadelphia and lets make 2012 one hell of a party.


Love,
Your PhiladelphiaDMC Staff

P.S. - Enjoy! Free Download: Infected Mushroom - Cities of the Future (MK_ULTRA Booty Remix)

The List - Week of 5/13/12

(1) Infected Mushroom - I Shine

Download from iTunes: http://bit.ly/K8KE66
Download from Beatport: http://s.beatport.com/Jbivwf

(2) Ferry Corsten (ft. Aruna) - Live Forever (Official Video)

Download (exclusively) from Beatport: http://goo.gl/nXDbI

(3) Laidback Luke (ft. Chuckie & Martin Solveig) - 1234 (Original Mix)

Download from Beatport: http://s.beatport.com/J9aJPD

(4) Point.Blank ft. Sofia - I Want You (Original Mix)

Download from Beatport: http://s.beatport.com/KCVjRr

(5) Armin van Buuren - We Are Here To Make Some Noise

Download from iTunes: http://bit.ly/MakeSomeNoiseIT
Listen on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/MakeSomeNoiseSF
Download from Beatport: http://s.beatport.com/MakeSomeNoiseBP

(6) Felix Leiter - No Good For Me (Original Mix)

Download from Beatport: http://s.beatport.com/NOGOOD

(7) SAVOY & Heather Bright - We Are The Sun (SAVOY Remix)

Download from Beatport: http://s.beatport.com/WEARESUN

(8) Sander van Doorn & Mayaeni - Nothing Inside

Download from Beatport: http://s.beatport.com/NINSIDE

(9) Alesso vs Keane - Silenced By The Night (Alesso Remix)

Download from Beatport: http://smarturl.it/keaneremix

(10) UMEK - Slicing & Dicing (Original Mix) [1605] (Official Video)

Download from Beatport: http://s.beatport.com/JDhGsR

Funky Glitch Bitch - WBBL Post

¡Funky Glitch Bitch!

3. Glitch (Noun) - Seen commonly in the music press: 
A genre of music, sometimes considered a subset of ambient or idm, which focuses on the idea of "errors" as a musical element. The "errors" in question are usually digital; a common element in glitch music is the rhythmic squeaking clicking noise which occurs when you play back a CDwhich has been badly scratched. 
http://bit.ly/aoQIfn

DJ Fresh - Gold Dust (WBBL Edit)
Wowww. WBBL takes this classic drum and bass track and funky wompifies the shit out of it.

WBBL - Bust a Fuze
Brand new WBBL. Busta Rhymes blew a fuze in my earballs when I heard this.

Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (WBBL Remix)
This song is sooo pre-90s

Daft Punk - Highlife (WBBL Edit)
Dirty drops with the glitch yet again, WBBL. Just missed the free download limit on this one. Sorry guys. Warning: this beat is extremely catchy.

Chad Jackson - Hear the Drummer Get Wicked (WBBL remix)
This track is illin all over the place

The List - Week of 5/6/12

(1) Chase and Status & Sub Focus (ft. Takura) - Flashing Lights (Killsonik Remix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/JnjnXR

(2) Chuckie & Glowinthedark - Electro Dude (Original Club Mix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/Ja7BBn

(3) Tiësto & Mark Knight (ft Dino) - Beautiful World (Michael Woods Remix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/K4EvI8

(4) Wolfgang Gartner - Red Line (Original Mix)

Beatport -  http://s.beatport.com/JANmjm

(5) Tomba (ft. Inja) - Time To Slam (Original Mix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/IRXSSx

(6) Infected Mushroom - Nation of Wusses

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/HGYyuH

(7) Flux Pavilion (ft. Example) - Daydreamer (Dillon Francis Remix)

Beatport - 

(8) Spencer & Hill - Just Dance Now (SpekrFreks & Relentless Remix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/Kwsj44

(9) Avicii - Silhouettes (Original Mix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/J3F59W

(10) Skism - Rave Review (Dodge & Fuski Remix)

Facebook (Free Download) - http://on.fb.me/Ic5yOJ 

The List - Week of 4/29/12

(1) Miike Snow - Devil's Work (Dirty South Remix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/IbiuZ0

(2) Melleefresh vs. Deadmau5 - Hey Baby (Starkillers & Dmitry KO Butterfly Terrace 3AM Mix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/ImN27V

(3) Torus & Oblivion - The League (Original Mix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/I6nNUY

Recap: Dada Life and Porter Robinson 4.20.12 @ Dickinson College

As many in Philadelphia prepared themselves for Bassnectar's 4/20 performance, a select few of us were on our way to Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA (about 2 hours outside of Philly). We were making the trip to see two acts: the 19 year old production wiz-kid Porter Robinson, and Dada Life (a Swedish electro-house duo comprised of Olle Corneer and Stefan Engblom). Having had to choose between Wolfgang Gartner or Shpongle playing in NYC, Bassnectar or Thomas Gold at home, and Porter/Dada in the middle of Pennsylvania... well lets just say it was a tough decision to make. However (and not surprisingly) our decision did not disappoint, and was easy enough to make because of the available shows I had yet to see Dada Life live.... Ever! Initially I wasn't sure what to expect at this college since I had never even heard of it until I bought these tickets, and by no means am I hating on the Harrisburg/Carlisle area but when we got there I felt more than a little out of place. The show was held in their mid-sized auditorium allowing for a full setup including the stage, "dance floor" and stadium-like seats, and as a nice little bonus the first 100 people got free sunglasses that said "Dada Life" on one side and "Porter Robinson" on the other side. Our little group collectively felt pretty overdressed (rave wise) compared to this crowd but, but we didn't really care because we were there representing Philly, and we did it right! The attire for the night seemed to be graphic tees as the majority (for both sexes),  with bro-jerseys being the choice for guys and tight black bodycon skirts with a mixture of crop top tanks and some sort of heel or wedge, the latter of which clearly made dancing a chore. All in all, I was exceedingly confused when I entered the dance floor but I soon learned to ignore these decisions the second Porter came on stage!

The crowd started to get a little rowdy and I was pumped to start dancing, but next thing I know my feet are getting stomped on while I almost get elbowed in the face. To be fair, I'm not exactly a giant but unfortunately, after a few minutes of this we decided to move from the main floor to the seating area because dancing in the pit was simply too difficult. This was my third time seeing PORTER (not Dada), and as always his performance reminded me why he's one of my favorite producers ever! I know his "Essential Mix live from Hull" by heart, and was ecstatic when he changed up his set list for this show. He played a lot more of his own work, including older songs such as "Hello" and "I'm on Fire", and finished off the night with "Language" (which recently hit number 1 on Beatport). I realized that other than my group of friends and I were really the only ones going crazy for this track, and that no one else really seemed to even know the song! Unfortunately, for whatever reason as soon as he finished he just walked off stage with no encore, which was also in contrast to his previous shows I'd seen, although this may have just been the consequences of being an opener at a college. We all sat around for about 15 minutes as the crew began to prepare the stage for Dada Life.

As soon as Dada life walked onto the stage, the crowd went BANANAS! They were so full of energy, dancing around and getting the crowd even more pumped up (if thats possible) as they opened their set with their biggest/most recent hit: "Kick out the Epic Mother Fucker". The light production was a nice mix of powerful yet simple, with plenty of colorful lasers and spotlights as well as a back drop projector screen that would flash random cartoons, pictures, and lyrics throughout the show. Their set list was amazing and kept everyone dancing the whole time! As is apparently customary for Dada Life shows, an inflatable bananas and a giant inflatable champagne bottle were thrown into the crowd, as well as strange little masks that only covered the mouth and had a huge, smiling mouth printed on them. The audience continued their slightly over-the-top dancing as had been the case with Porter, so for better or for worse we stayed at our seats the whole night. They did let loose on stage for a while during songs like "The Big Bad Wolf" and their version of "Satisfaction" but the crowd wasn't really doing it for us so once we'd had our fill we decided to leave a few minutes early to beat the crowd.

All in all, Porter and Dada Life were amazing and definitely did not disappoint, even if the atmosphere was a bit different than we were used to! Both acts were so beyond full of energy and so on-point with their song choices and mixing, that if either of them come to Philadelphia I'll be on those tickets like Deadmau5 on Madonna. These are two acts I can't recommend enough, just remember to be prepared for the epic rage-fest that their shows induce!

PS - As of 4/20/12 Dada Life has still not played in the Philadelphia [metropolitan] area.... Lets change that! 

Recap: Bassnectar 4.20.12 @ The Liacouras Center

Over the last decade or so 4/20 has really garnered itself an impressive following, and for some reason - whether it was the general nature of the 'holiday' or the onset of spring - this year seemed bigger (and better) than ever! On a day jam-packed with concerts in the Philadelphia area, the largest offering was at Temple University's massive Liacouras center. The seating was arranged in a big U facing the stage, creating an amazing energy throughout the crowd that did not go unnoticed by Bassnectar himself (see video below)! Seeing Bassnectar in this kind of arena setting was an awesomely new experience, as every time before its been at a festival or smaller venue so I've never really gotten to see him shine quite like this. It also probably didn't hurt that this show was part of an album release tour promoting his newest work: VaVa Voom.... However, as he announced during the shown this was (somehow) the first ever Friday night Basscenter show they had done!

A-trak started it off, which felt a little odd since the last time I saw him was opening for Swedish House Mafia in New York City; however, he did a fine job getting the crowd riled up (doubly impressive considering the difference in genres). When Bassnectar did come on, he opened with Wildstyle Method to really kick things off right, but it was the lighting that stole my attention for the beginning portion of the night. Floor to ceiling, right stage to left, there was just a massive wall of light that pulled all sorts of tricks throughout the show. Musically, the highlight for me came when he did a crazy "Fu-Gee-La" remix which nearly ruined the mic on my camera from bass-tastic goodness. The all ages thing really didn't seem to be as much of a problem as many had worried about on ticketmaster and internet forums, and overall the crowd was remarkably friendly with people ducking out of the way of me filming and giving everyone enough space to dance and have a blast without all the overcrowding.... There were even people on stilts!

You really can't go wrong with Bassnectar. Everything this dude puts out has such an original quality to it, as it has throughout his entire career, and being able to see him STILL put on a show like this only speaks to his consistency as an artist and performer... not to mention he rages on stage harder than anyone except maybe Rusko and/or Infected Mushroom.

Come back soon mi amigo!

The List - Week of 4/22/2012

Ten tracks to get you going right for the start of Spring. It may be a little cold in Philly this week, so hopefully some good music can help get you going! Enjoy!




(1) Seven Lions - Polarized (Ft. Shaz Sparx)

(2) Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (ft. Kimbra) (Tiësto Remix)

(3) Ferry Corsten vs. Armin van Buuren - Brute (Official Video)

Oldskool Jungle // Breaks, can you dig it?

So I've spent the last few weeks driving around in my car listening to Fatboy Slim Pandora radio station, and to say the least this music has caught up with me in a BIG way. To say nothing about the head-banging that starts alongside these tunes, when those breaks and oldskool jungle sounds come on in my car the speed limit somehow seems to jump by at least 20mph. Its mostly old stuff I know, but it's SO worth it... like a auditory flashback with a side of adrenaline rush.

Enjoy!

The Prodigy - Everybody in the Place

This is a super cool and super weird 90s dance video

The Prodigy - Everybody in the Place (Bingo Players Bootleg)
Great edit as always from the Bingo Players. Oh yeah, and gear up for 4/25 Bingo Players at the Starlight Ballroom. Get your tickets here! 

Fatboy Slim - Ya Mama (Push the Tempo)(Moguai Remix)
Moguai takes this old breaks beat by Fatboy Slim a.k.a. Norman Cook and pushes it back into the 2k12 clubs and everyones playlists

Tensnake - Coma Cat (Stanton Warriors Remix)
Where the hell have the Stanton Warriors been? No doubt flying around the world in their super flossed out jets blowing eardrums everywhere they go. Glad they landed so they could drop this uber house-y, kick ass remix of the already glorious Tensnake track.... and don't be afraid to kick off your shoes and hit the dance floor with this new wave disco track either: DJ Mehdi - Signatune (Stanton Warriors Remix)

Moby - Extreme Ways
I know this is super old... but its so good. So take it. Classic Moby.

The List - Week of 4/15/2012

Sorry about the day-lateness of this post... Between going nuts for the Flyers and traveling down to D.C. for the weekend, "The List" got put off until today! We've got some bangers for you as always though, so crank those speakers back up to Max and annoy the crap out of those super lame neighbors! Enjoy!

(1) Labrinth - Last Time (Knife Party Remix)

iTunes - http://bit.ly/HXWHRH

Labrinth - http://on.fb.me/uZGC0Q

Knife Party - http://on.fb.me/uZGC0Q

(2) Porter Robinson - Language (No Body Remix)

Soundcloud (free download) - http://bit.ly/HtHbLd

Porter Robinson - http://on.fb.me/fVfYTD

No Body - http://snd.sc/HEsIfG

(3) Daniel Pereaux - Tjock (Original Mix)

Beatport - http://bit.ly/DPTJOCK

Daniel Pereaux - http://on.fb.me/IAP3Za

(4) Flux Pavilion - Daydreamer (Ft. Example) (Dillon Francis Remix)

SoundCloud (full release available April 30, 2012) - http://bit.ly/kNYWMk

Flux Pavilion - http://on.fb.me/HvrkM7

Dillon Francis - http://on.fb.me/hqMvix

(5) Sidney Samson - Get Low (Original Mix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/GETLOW 

Sidney Samson - http://on.fb.me/I1kMXj

(6) Sub Focus - Out The Blue (Xilent Remix)

Beatport (full release available April 29, 2012) - http://bit.ly/H6l5Nn

Sub Focus - http://on.fb.me/ayIx9

Xilent - http://on.fb.me/IhcwAE

(7) DJ Fresh - Hypercaine (Nero Remix)

Find It Here - http://bit.ly/HTiyrK

DJ Fresh - http://on.fb.me/Ihwk7Y

Nero - http://on.fb.me/bWMWSq

(8) John Dahlback - Start Lovin You (Original Mix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/JDLOVIN

John Dahlback - http://on.fb.me/l3mcZY

(9) Noisia - Could This Be (Official Video)

Noisa - http://on.fb.me/wYGClt

(10) Sandro Silva - Core (Original Mix)

Beatport - http://s.beatport.com/SSCORE

Sandro Silva - http://on.fb.me/dWGQjp

Recap: FIGURE at the Electric Factory

Over the weekend, Figure (a.k.a. Josh Gard) took over the Electric Factory with his bass filled dubstep and drumstep. Johnny V, Mojo Risin and Love City DJs got the crowd going before he graced the stage with his presence. House of Hearts hosted this event as well as providing thousands of glow sticks and free neon body painting for all who attended. This was a black-light, glow party and there were very strong rave vibes throughout the whole night. A lot of people around my age (20's) were turned off by the fact that it was an all ages event, but from what I saw a lot of the underage audience kept it together, or left fairly early which was fine by us. Almost everyone was dressed in some sort of neon, black-light friendly apparel, which in my previous experience was very different for a dubstep show.



The stage setup was one of the best that I've seen in Philadelphia. The back drop was a huge, intricate web like structure that I believe was plain white, so it glowed during the whole show. Every few seconds, different colors of laser lights and strobe lights would shoot out into the crowd. At one point confetti was shot onto the audience as well as random balloons. A majority of the dancers on stage were part of the House of Hearts crew, but every half hour or so two actual gogo dancers came out on stage and worked the crowd.



Everyone got rowdy as soon as Figure came on, and the dance floor began to fill up. His transitions were smooth and he definitely knew how to get the crowd going with his deep bass and extreme sounds. The light show and stage intensified along with everybody's dancing. His set was 2 hours long and for the last 30 minutes he played all new stuff, which the crowd seemed to love. Compared to the previous shows that I've attended in April, its top due to the good stage setup and choice of artist. If you are a dubstep fan, then Figure is a producer who you will not want to miss because he'll keep you dancing all night!

The Glitch Edition

Well, its official, this glitch-hop stuff is some serious, next level, face melting music. Not surprising from a genre that blends elements from other "genres" like new wave dubstep, glitch, and old school hip hop vibes to form a new sound thats fresh-to-death for your ears. Neon Concept, Koan Sound, and Culprate are leading the pack in this emerging new scene, and they're doing so with utter and disgusting filth:

Neon Concept - Rave Abolition
Hold on.... my brain needs a second.

STEREOLIEZ - N.E.R.D. (Neon Concept Remix)
This track meshes beauty and swag into a new dimension

Culprate - Tentale VIP
Perfection and glitchy as all hell

Look Who's Back (Original Mix) - Koan Sound feat. Foreign Beggars
Kick back to that old school vibe with some brain busting sh*t.

Earth Wind and Fire - Brazilian Rhyme (New Voodoo Farm)

Wow. Just Wow. This kid keeps getting more and more talented. I'm wondering if one days he's gonna pull off his skin and reveal a robot beat-making dance machine. Every track he drops from the farm stays on point. And this track is no exception. In this track he takes the soulful Earth Wind and Fire, some Jay-Z, and intricate womps and dubs and smashes it all into one serious bouncer. I got a public service announcement for all DJ's out there: Keep this track on your Seratos and Traktors. you'd be stupid not to.

Earth Wind and Fire - Brazilian Rhyme (VOODOO FARM Dubstep Remix)

The List - Week of 4/8/2012

(1) Tiësto & Wolfgang Gartner - We Own The Night ft. Luciana

iTunes - http://bit.ly/HmVPX5

Beatport - http://bit.ly/IfRT9v

Tiesto - http://www.facebook.com/tiesto

Wolfgang - http://www.facebook.com/djwolfganggartner

(2) Gemini - Fire Inside (Ft. Greta Svabo Bech)

Beatport - http://bit.ly/HznQuc

Gemini Facebook - http://on.fb.me/lRLCML

Website - http://thisisgemini.com/

(3) Datsik & Infected Mushroom - Evilution (ft. Jonathan Davis) (DJ Edit)

Beatport - http://bit.ly/IdhSww

Datsik - http://on.fb.me/dKzTFo

Infected Mushroom - http://on.fb.me/md02ns

The List - Week of 4/1/2012

After a week thats been filled with the likes of Laidback Luke, Shpongle, and Nero (along with MANY other), its a fair bet that some bitching tunes are in order to kick off the month of April. In our new weekly feature "The List", we at the Philadelphia Dance Music Collective have chosen the best possible tuneage to keep you rocking until next weekend... at which time we have Ferry Corsten AND Paul Oakenfold to help us celebrate both Easter and Passover on 4/6/2012.
Below you'll find a choice of 10 sweet-ass tracks from a variety of genres, artists, and labels. Please feel free to send us any of YOUR music, or any other tracks your think should be included in future editions.

Happy April!

(1)  Dev & Borgore - Kiss My Lips (Original Mix)

Beatport: http://bit.ly/HJxxoX

SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/buygore

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Borgore

(2) NO_ID & Martin Volt - Zelda (Original Mix)

Beatport: http://bit.ly/H9eSSq

SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/wearenoid

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wearenoid

Hardwell Edit: http://bit.ly/H2DRGp

(3) Mr. Wesh - Modern Warfare (Original Mix)

Beatport: http://bit.ly/H92MNq

SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/mrwesh

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/HyBxKy

Concert Recap - JUSTICE (3/20/21012)

Having seen Justice once before in New York a few years back, when I saw they were coming to The Electric Factory I was excited enough to get the presale tickets (for something crazily low like $25.00). When I saw them before it was one of the better shows I'd been to at the time, and with equally insane opening sets from DJ Medhi (R.I.P.) and Busy P it filled up a solid 4 hours of madness. This, however, was not the case here in Philadelphia on March 20, 2012... instead we were treated to a 1 hour 15 minutes performance (INCLUDING BUSY P AS AN OPENER) that was essentially made up of two of their big songs and their new hit single Audio, Video, Douchebag. As with most concerts many people don't both showing up until a little of the ways in to the show, and despite the doors opening at 8:00, when 10:30pm rolled around there were still people arriving at the show only to find an entire parking lot full of slightly confused, very pissed off fans who had their rage-tastic tuesday night taken from them.

I realize this is more of a rant than anything, and I think what makes this so aggravating is the fact that for the 45-60 minutes I DID see them, it really looked like it was shaping up to be a bitching night! Its true that I have zero idea about the circumstances or whose fault it was that this was even allowed to happen, but what the fuck?! This is not the age of d-bag rock stars who get to walk off the stage because its the bad-boy-image thing to do. This is an age where music survives ENTIRELY on concert sales, and when you have a SOLD OUT venue in a city thats still kind of figuring out this EDM thing, its a seriously dick move to throw up a peace sign and walk off stage to chants of your name at TEN FUCKING THIRTY. I'm sure this won't affect the majority of people reading this blog, but for all the people who were using a big name like Justice as their first EDM show I can only hope that they realize it was an incredibly RARE incident that I have never seen before.

So until i hear a valid reason (such as dying family members or terminal illnesses... in which case I apologize): Justice, consider yourselves OFFICIALLY on notice. You owe us one!

You can find more of the probably-rare photos from this event here: http://on.fb.me/GXi2JJ

Justice MySpace Page: http://mysp.ac/1H20Ya

Justice Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/hqg19b