It doesn't seem like contemporary EDM artists have quite gotten used to the idea of full-length albums. In an overwhelmingly digital musical landscape that lends itself to the rapid-fire release of singles, few artists pay much attention if any to the collection and presentation of tracks as a whole, and as a result the concept album appears to be going the way of the vinyl discs on which it used to be pressed.
2014's Worlds stood out as a pivotal moment for Porter Robinson. The young producer left behind the sawtooth synths and chugging bass lines of his Spitfire days in favor of decidedly more melodic and harder to categorize style, and his debut album stood out as the culmination of this dramatic change in style.
It's been the better part of a year since Ultra Music Festival graced the shores of Miami, but the festival's organizers have only recently released a series of recap videos that capture this year's festivities. A week ago they uploaded the official aftermovie of Ultra 2015, and now an interview series dubbed "Ultra Backstage" serves to document everything that went on behind the curtain this year.
At the aggregate level, the story of EDM's shift into mainstream popularity has been one of the big four record labels struggling to maintain control of a cultural phenomenon that's proven much bigger than they could ever be. As the proliferation of music streaming services has translated into a paradigm shift affecting how the producers of music reach its consumers, the growing pains have undoubtedly been felt by these recording industry giants more than anybody.
As many remixes, re-edits, reworks and other words starting in "re" as there are of the tracks from Avicii's new album, Stories, Olwik's remix of "Waiting for Love" makes for stiff competition. This is the first piece of new music we've heard from the Swedish DJ/producer in months, and once again, it's got us wondering why we haven't heard more from him this festival season.
It stands to reason that no upcoming trance album will be quite as highly anticipated as Armin Van Buuren's Embrace - not only because the Dutch A State of Trance founder is the foremost international authority on the genre, but also because he's already hyped up the album's featured artists to a significant extent.
It's been a while since Monstercat exports Pegboard Nerds released more than just a track or two, but if their website is any indicator they've got a smashing new EP in the works. In anticipation of the upcoming effort, they've even released its title track, "Pink Clouds."
Avicii's sophomore album, Stories, has been out for nearly a week now, and it looks as though his team is resorting to drastic measures to keep people talking about it. On the young Swede's Instagram account, a simple choose-your-own-adventure game of sorts has been put together as a means of promoting the album - and perhaps also to get a rise out of his most storied provocateur.
Lollapalooza was kind of like the Woodstock of the '90s, and even though the Chicago-based festival brand's flagship event still takes place in the windy city some of its offshoots make for the biggest massives in their respective regions. Lollapalooza Chile, Brazil and Argentina are among the biggest festivals taking place in each country, and a quick look at each event's lineup demonstrates why.
Before you get on my case, look, I have nothing but respect for Laidback Luke as a DJ. As many industry insiders know, he's one of the few performers out there with actual, honest-to-god turntable tricks at his disposal - but given his credentials as a selector, his choice of music often fails to inspire in the same way that his capabilities as a performer do.
