It's Top 100 DJ voting season again!

 Hey everyone!  In case you've been living under a rock in the DJ/Producer world of EDM, it is once again voting season for the coveted prize of being named on the Top 100 DJ list from DJMag.com.  I think this is a really exciting time for everyone involved because each DJ does their part to rally their fans in attempt to earn votes.  Some good viral marketing, contests, promotions, and special events are usually done to make it all that much more exciting.  Now while I have my top 5 in mind (something I will post about later), my biggest gripe is that we can't vote for a top 10.  I know this would make a lot more work for the magazine and for the voting, but it's just too hard to narrow your favorite DJ's/producers of the year into a list of only 5.  I definitely have 10 (at the very LEAST) that I would like to support.  Oh well, business is business.  And speaking of which, here is a little gem from Sied van Riel about the whole concept of this voting and the DJ business.  Sure gave me a big LOL.  Check it out:




Happy vorting.  Please be sure to visit http://www.top100djs.net to place your votes!

~Mark

This Week's Artist Spotlight: Ben Gold

This week's artist spotlight is the UK's finest Ben Gold.  One of my favorite producers of last/this year, aside from being one of the leading men of Gareth Emery's Garuda Records with a string of big singles and being a remix juggernaut, edged his way to be this week's artist spotlight because of a dream collaboration with his boss (and one of my favorites), none other than Gareth Emery.  The video however has Gareth's humor written all over it.  Check it out:

Gareth Emery & Ben Gold - "Flash"



I love this track.  Such a big sound and a great mashup of styles from two of my favorite artists.  All the patches used, arrangement, drum patterns, and other plug ins could be the work of either/or, which in my opinion makes a collaboration the most successful.  When everything comes together so well and blends, that's the makings of a beautiful collaboration track.  However, like true Garuda fashion, we won't see it released anytime soon.  The tentative date is in early September.  Remember when Ben Gold's "Pandemic" was supposed to come out in mid-March?  Ya, about that.. I hope we see it released sooner than later, because this could really rip up dance floors while the summer season is still hot.

But wait...this week's spotlight was about Ben Gold and not just Gareth right?  That's correct!  So that being said, let me leave you with some more gems from Mr. Gold that you may have missed:

John O'Callaghan - Big Sky (Ben Gold Festival Remix)



Ben Gold - "Pandemic (Sied van Riel Remix)"



Tritonal & Sibicky - "Suzu (Ben Gold Remix)"




Hope you enjoyed the tracks.  Any requests for next week's artist spotlight?

~Mark

EDC 2011 Flashback: Porter Robinson hits a home run

Porter Robinson proved after EDC Las Vegas that he's a force to be reckoned with and he's here to stay, no doubt about that.  Anyone that managed to catch his set, albeit early, understood the future of the biz within that 1 hour of music that he spun.  While EDC is a great spot to see the juggernauts of the business, it's also a great place to catch who the juggernauts will be later down the line...and Porter is the man.  Catch out a snapshot of  his set:



~Mark

EDC 2011 Flashback: Dada Life's Marching Band

Another "blink and you missed it" moment from the epic extravaganza at Electric Daisy Carnival 2011 in Las Vegas.  I just so happen to be there, and it just so happen to be awesome.  It was already getting late in the night on the Saturday evening that the Dada took the stage at Cosmic Meadow, but they certainly found a way to wake the crowd up like they always do.  Marching bands, inflatable bananas, pounding beats? ...just for starters.  Take a look for yourself!



what a night that was mannn.  EDC next year anyone?

Today's LOL: OZI - Juicy Pen #MusicMonday

In perhaps one of the greatest electro house tunes of all time, without further adieu, DJ Ozi's "Juicy Pen":



I'm your friend, Juicy Pen!

Classic Stuff lol.

This week's artist spotlight: Heatbeat

This week's spotlight definitely goes to my Latino brothers from Argentina: big time up and coming trance duo Heatbeat out of Buenos Aires. Now while they aren't new to the trance world, they have a refreshed sense of momentum due to their recent appearance at the Buenos Aires chapter of the awe-mazing (see what I just did?) ASOT 500 worldwide extravaganza and much high praise from Armin van Buuren himself. Having remixes and singles in heavy rotation on weekly ASOT and having him personally shout you out on twitter is kind of a big deal:

"@arminvanbuuren: @heatbeatmusic You guys are on fire dude!! Love all your recent stuff"

Ya...pretty major. Couple that with their most recent single, "Ask The Angels", you can be sure to place your bets on these two to make a lot of big moves this year. Check out the single here and let me know what you think!



~Mark

#NowPlaying: Afrojack - "Bangduck" (Moguai Remix)

Ladies n gentlemen, we officially have a banger:



While the original was pretty cool, Germay's Moguai put an awesome touch to the track on his most recent remix, pretty much changing the feel of the track altogether.  It really flows now and he's made it really danceable...big room status.  Sometimes it's the little things that can make a remix so huge.  You don't have to change everything, just a few key elements and you can transform a track into something major.  Look forward to hearing this played all summer long.

~Mark