2 notes
4 / 9 / 2012 @ 16:55

Who I voted for and why:

5. Funkagenda- I’ve always been a fan of the abundant music he shares online with his fans, along with his quirky online personality. The first time I got the opportunity to see him live was his closing set at EDC- the absolute perfect ending to an incredible weekend- I mean really can you think of a better song to hear then Dirty South’s remix of Sweet Disposition as the sun rose over the speedway and a weekend of love, dancing, and memories came to end? I can’t. 

4. UMEK- I first started listening to UMEK’s podcast after last year’s Nocturnal. I had started to expand my electronic music horizons and UMEK is the king of tech house. I still listen to his podcast every week- and every week it still makes me bounce in my seat, and work a hundred times faster as my heart races along to the music. UMEK’s set at the Cosmic Meadow day 3 of EDC was without a doubt one of my favorite and most memorable sets of the weekend- I danced beginning to end without stopping once, had no idea what was going on other then an intense physical reaction to the sounds around me- this is my favorite feeling of dis-awareness that I crave while raving- and UMEK delivered. 

3. Bart B More- A Bart B More mix-tape is a cherished thing amongst my vast music collection. His mixes are always different, always crazy, and a consistent choice of music to keep me going through a rough work out. I saw him once at Avalon a couple years ago with Porter Robinson and he was great- shuffling behind the DJ booth and smiling. When I planned my trip to Europe I scoured the tour schedules of musicians I’ve been dying to see and lucky for me Bart B More was going to be performing in London the week I was there. I travelled to a not so great part of London- to an old abandoned theater for my first acid house music festival. It was a strange and new situation to say the least but I got to spend the night backstage where I met Bart B More and got to dance 5 feet from him as he DJ’d some of the craziest music and sounds I had ever heard with no computer, only vinyl, cd’s and whatever the fuck else real DJ’s use to make magic happen behind the DJ booth- there is actually an art to what these people do, and to get to watch one of my favorite DJ’s up close and personal was an experience I will never forget.

2. Gabriel & Dresden- When I was 18 years old I worked at Abercrombie and Fitch- partially for the discount- and partially because I loved the booming house music they blasted to the dismay of most of the disgruntled shoppers who entered through their doors. It was because of this job that I was first introduced to Gabriel & Dresden in the form of their production Resurrection with Nicole Sponberg. I remember hearing the song for the first time and writing down the lyrics on a piece of receipt paper so I could go home, google them on my desk top computer, and download a bootleg radio rip off lime wire (obviously I was 18 a handful of years ago). I started consistently listening to their live sets that they always share on Soundcloud along with Dave Dresden’s solo mixes after seeing them briefly at Nocturnal. I’ve seen them live together several times both at Avalon and at EDC- my favorite set of Friday night. The thing I love about Gabriel & Dresden is that they find a way to effortlessly blend genres of music without any boundaries, as well as beautiful lyrics with hard hitting sounds thus creating what they like to call ‘Emotional Dance Music’. This to me is what seeing a DJ is all about. Taking the songs you want to hear and playing them in new, interesting, and different ways. Seeing them live always reminds of of the emotional dance music I fell in love with when I was 18- and how my foray into the world of EDM has finally come full circle. 

1. Deadmau5- I think it’s safe to say that unless I show up to one of Deadmau5’s shows and he drops a Swedish House Mafia song in the middle of his set he will always be number one to me. I don’t think I have to beat a dead horse here. He is the reason I love electronic music in the capacity that I do. He is a million different memories to each of his songs that are triggered every time I hear them. He is an artist who creates for the sake of creation and not consumption. He is weird, and interesting, and honest. His Meowington’s Hax tour was completely different than anything I had seen or have seen since- what a whirlwind trip of a lifetime. I have never been inclined to be fanatical about people but I love Deadmau5, his music, his shows, his personality,  and his cats. The end.