Deorro –

It's safe to say that Erick 'DEORRO' Orrosquieta (born August 29, 1991) has established himself as one of the MUST SEE acts in any festival around the world, and at a tender age of 22! Like most talented DJs, Deorro started pursuing his passion by playing gigs, in his hometown in LA County, when he just about entered his teens (14 years old to be exact)! DJing is tough on it's own; producing is a whole other game and Deorro proved that some people just have a natural knack for music by producing unique sounds by the age of 17!

Under the alias 'TONIC', Erick started posting his sounds on SoundCloud to much success, so much so that by 2011 he already garnered over 20,000 followers and over 1.5million plays on SoundCloud. And if this wasn't enough proof of his skills, Deorro even played a few sold out international events in Australia!

After signing 'Big Fat' - one of Deorro's early masterpiece - to BIP records, Deorro's talents were further exposed to the world! Safe to say many iconic DJs/Producers (Laidback Luke, Knife Party, Porter Robinson, Steve Aoki, Kaskade ~ to name a few) of the Electronic Music scene took notice, and further supported this new yet raw budding talent who was destined to 'WOW' audiences world over.

The year 2012 proved to be the pedestal on which Deorro's fame would experience a meteoric rise. Being given the opportunity to close the Main-Stage (right after Skrillex and Steve Angello mind you) in front of 30,000 fans. Deorro remained unfazed by the pressure and played, what is regarded till date, the most outstanding and unforgettable performances ever in Good Life Festival History (below: a short vid of how insane the performance was).

What sets Deorro apart from todays 'Big-Room' sound, and generic build ups and drops, is his focus on producing a mix of progressive and electro. Keen Electronic Music lovers can easily identify a Deorro track (whether original or remixed) by listening to just half of it. His unique electro drops with trumpet-esque synths and heavy bass have now become his signature style (Hear Below). And despite sticking to this style none of his tracks sound similar to one another, instead always providing a refreshing sound to our keen ears.

Having recently announced his wish to quit DJing and rather focus on producing music and expanding his PandaFunk brand, there is no doubt his electrifying shows will be missed in festivals to come! At least lovers of true hardcore electronic music can rejoice with the fact that there will be more Deorro tracks to dance to and go ape! Having said that, let's check out a few of the best Deorro tunes produced (exclusively by Deorro):

Booty In Your Face -

Five Hours -

Yee -

The Perfect Rave Buddy

The perfect Rave Buddy –

Facts show that on average an EDM festivalgoer attends festivals with an average of 5 friends (Eventbrite, 2013). Sure it’s tons of fun going with a big group for festivals as everyone is going bat-shit crazy together and bonding further as a group of close friends. But any ‘seasoned’ festgoer will know that not everytime a group that enters together stays together. Eventually, we all end up separating, either due to having different DJ preferences or due to getting plain ol lost.

When separating, always remember to be with at least one friend so you’re not alone for the fest. Not that being alone is bad – personally having raved for most of UMF Miami alone due to diff DJ preferences – since you will always meet new people who clearly share the same interests in music and such. But it is always an asset to have someone you know personally around with you in case you need any kind of help.

Having raved/raged with different sets of friends in a number of different festivals it is at Tomorrowland 2014 that I actually found ‘The Perfect Rave Buddy’. Let me start by saying: No! Your perfect rave buddy does not, and most likely will not; have to be your childhood best friend (since chances are you both will have different – albeit at the slightest – artist preferences and arguments may ensue). Your perfect rave buddy can come from the most unlikely of sources and render your festival ‘ACE’!

A group of us friends went for TL2014 together and as predicted we all parted our ways a few hours into the fest. A friend, who I had only met 3 days before Tomorrowland, and I ended up sticking together since we had quite a lot of common DJs/Artists we wanted to see. Not knowing him personally for a long enough time I have to admit I was hoping it wouldn’t turn out to be one of those Rave Buddies who have the ‘My way or highway’ kind of attitude when it comes to their musical experiences.

To summarize in points, these are the steps that we took to ensure our festival experience went about smoothly:

• Plan and chart out the DJs/Artists each of you want to see that are non-negotiable
• Plan and decide the remaining DJs/Artists you guys want to see, but are flexible to missing out on, even if just for 30 minutes of the 1.5hour long set
• If unsure about clashing DJs/Artists, make sure each of you make the other ‘Rave Buddy’ listen to the music of the artist of your choice and discuss your experience of seeing that artist. After discussing and listening to the clashing Artists’ music, come to a conclusion
• In case of 2 favourite Artists of both buddies, i.e., both of you’ll love both the Artists that are clashing yet can’t decide who to watch, ALWAYS go for the artist that at least one of you haven’t seen live (In my case it was between Aleso & Knife Party. We both had seen Alesso and my ‘Rave Buddy’ had seen Knife Party; I hadn’t. Therefore, we saw 30 minutes of Alesso and left for Knife Party just to reach on time for the beginning of their set)

These were measures taken pre-Tomorrowland. During Tomorrowland, however, there were many actions that just sort of came naturally to each ‘Rave Buddy’, which just went to make sure we both had the time of our life in perhaps the biggest EDM festival in the world.

Each of us took turns holding the backpack of rave-necessities (water, flag, costumes, snacks, rave-gear, etc.). Each of us took turns giving shoulder rides when the other Rave Buddies’ favourite song was being dropped. Each of us taking turns to recuperate when tired and not moving so the dancing buddy knows exactly where to find you. Each one taking turns to go fill water, buy food and refreshments, etc. without stressing over who paid for what, etc. (trust me, this happens waaaay too often in India than I’d like to admit). But most of all the perfect ‘Rave Buddy’ lets you dance and be in your own personal musical space without disturbing you by making small talk and the like. After all you’ve gone to enjoy the music not sit and chit-chat. Sure, we would talk and laugh in sets, but we’d talk when the situations was perfect, i.e., a funny incident happening, a sick song being played, a friend needs a cigarette, etc. but majority of the time we were in our own musical bubble while also keeping an eye on our ‘Rave Buddy’ to ensure we had each others’ back.

I have raved/raged with some of my closest and dearest friends, yet none of them seemed like a more perfect fit than this new friend I barely met 72 hours ago, who I can now easily call my perfect ‘Rave Buddy’.

Talent Discovery: NEXITY!

Inborn, defined, is something that exists from birth. Talent, defined, is natural aptitude or skill. People use these terms together as ‘inborn-talent’ to describe those individuals and/or people who take their breath away with a certain set of skills. Last night I could do nothing but marvel at the inborn talents together known as Nexity!

Made up of a producer duo, (17 & 18 years) originally from the United States and Austria, Nexity began producing tunes together recently, in Austria, and have already garnered over 250,000 views on their youtube page in a span of 8 months. With just 5 productions to their name, Nexity have started started getting noticed by music-lovers across the internet. They believe in quality over quantity and their tunes prove just that.

I was youtubing the new Bassjackers & Jordy Dazz tune: Battle when I came across those usual spam comments about “check out my music. Blah blah” when I saw a couple of guys had replied positively to that. It could’ve easily been their friends commenting to help them out but I decided to have a look at their stuff anyway. No regrets whatsoever.

The first Nexity tune to grace my ears was ‘Jungle’. To be honest, it’s like every big room tune you hear today; a few synth keys followed by the same synth keys on a higher octave level looping over the original keys, which leads to an anticipatory build up followed by a very Dmitri Vegas & Like Mike sort of drop. People enjoy that stuff today, sure, but to me it didn’t feel fresh. That was until I heard the ever gorgeous, ever beautiful tune ‘Vision’.

The bouquet of beautiful notes could only be imagined and executed by innate artists. The subtle kick, bass and clap supporting the melody fit ever so perfectly and the switch between octaves in the melody are seamless. Honestly, ‘Vision’ is a breath of fresh air much needed in the dance music scene to remind music lovers about the roots of dance music, i.e., it’s about the euphonies that give you Goosebumps, it’s about the unknown journey one is about to embark in sync with the melody. Nexity sticks to those roots, but with an added zing to match the abundance of energy our generation possesses.

Their number ‘shine’ is by far one of the most beautiful and emotional songs you will come across this season. It’s the perfect blend of electronic music with opulent piano work, added with beautiful lyrics! ‘Shine’ is guaranteed to take you to the edge of tears and back. Simply put: Nexity has reached back in time to create a stunning composition of the piano (much like a modern electronic Mozart or Beethoven have you) and added a perfect bassline to ensure dance music fans mirror the emotions of Nexity's tunes through dance.

Nexity reminds me a quite a bit of Pryda in that their tunes are heavily influenced by house music. And by house music I mean old school house music that would take you back to the 80s & 90s but with electro synths of our current generation. Tunes like these are slowly, but surely, becoming a rarity today where everyone is focusing on big room stuff to gain commercial success. To finish off, Nexity are set to release their music 1 month at a time and fans like myself cannot wait to hear what Nexity has planned for the future. These guys are definitely one to watch for the future. And for all my fellow house music lovers do NOT miss out on these guys. Trust me!

Their productions:

- Vision

- Shine

- Panther

- Jungle

- Freedom

You can follow them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/NexityOfficial?fref=ts

You can subscribe to their Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/NexityTV?feature=watch

FIREBEATZ 101

There’s a famous saying in the EDM Scene, which goes: “If you’re Dutch; congratulations you’re a DJ.” If I start to list famous Dutch DJs this post is going to be longer than Deaedmau5's rants. But to name a few internationally well-known Dutch DJs, you have:

·      Hardwell

·      Nicky Romero

·      Armin van Buuren

·      Ferry Corsten

·      Dash Berlin

·      Sander van Doorn

·      Richard Durand

·      Martin Garrix

·      W&W

These guys are just the tip of the iceberg in the Dutch dance music scene. The depth of Dutch talents is unfathomable. If you ask which country produces the best DJs, be sure that the answer you get, 7 times out of 10, is: Dutch!

Slipping away from the commercial big guns, I’ve decided to write about one of my favourite DJ-duo: Firebeatz!

Jurre & Tim, aka Firebeatz, started their musical journey by collaborating at the School of Arts in Tilburg, Netherlands. They went a step further in 2008 by releasing some of their productions, which was well received, and oft played, in the Netherlands.

The electronic duo caught my attention when they released this fantastic tune:

What intrigued me most about 'Here We F*cking Go' is the beautiful synth drops. It is subtle yet with a great bass line backing it up. Not too much noise, but the perfect sound to get your head bobbing to the tune of the bass!

‘Here We F*ckin Go’ is enough to tell you about the talents possessed by the Dutch duo, but, as a music lover, I had to dig deeper. The next tune (by far my favourite Firebeatz tune) I heard was:

No pun intended, but this truly is a wonderful tune showcasing the broad variation Firebeatz are capable of pulling off. Straying from an electronic vibe to a more peppy club dance tune 'Wonderful' starts off with a simple bass line and transcends into one of the most melodious synths, with the drop giving a feeling of happiness and upbeat emotions as opposed to just raw power. And in this day and age where DJs focus on powerful, hard-hitting drops, a tune with such grace is a breath of fresh air.

Currently producing tracks on Spinnin' Records, there is no denying that these talented DJs are on the up. With an already loyal fan base (myself included) on the rise, EDM lovers across the globe can soon expect to dance to the tunes of these Dutch marvels in festivals world over!

In fact, Firebeatz are one of the few artists who never fail to surprise me with the variation they bring to their music. It’s easy to see they produce distinctive styles as they see fit, and yet they never fail to impress. In fact, I’m glad to have followed them from their humble beginnings of the subtle, yet bassfilled, Here We F*ckin Go, all the way to their recently released big-room blockbuster Rockin’.

For those to whom these geniuses remain undiscovered, I part with a list of my top 10 Firebeatz tunes (in no particular order). Give them a listen; trust me ;)

·      Dear New York

·      Gangster

·      Wonderful

[See Above]

·      Max Ammo

·      Disque

·      Miniman

·      Here We F*ckin Go

[See Above]

·      Rockin’

·      Sausage Fest

·      Yeahhhh