The expansion of brands like Ultra Music Festival on a global level has been staggering over the past several years, and it doesn't show signs of stopping. While new research may indicate the possibility of a slower rate of growth in the North American festival market, a series of regions around the world are just starting to blow up - and South Africa appears to be one of them, as the organizers of Ultra South Africa have revealed that the festival will bump up to three days in 2016.
Cazzette's been a hot commodity in the EDM world for several years now - as we recently told you, the Swedish duo have been represented by Ash Pournouri, the manager largely credited with launching the career of Avicii, who they also used to tour with. In recent months, though, they've adopted more of a house/R&B/disco sound in their productions, and one of their latest tracks, "Together," has just received a beautiful new music video.
There's something to be said for a quality feel good track. When Swedish DJ/producer Herman Olvik A.K.A. OLWIK decided to remix Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano's uplifting festival anthem "Come Follow," he had his work cut out for him - the original already succeeded in capturing the radiant energy every progressive house artist sets out to when they set foot in the studio, after all. What he turned out made it a worthwhile endeavor, though, as it became such a favorite of the duo themselves that they helped propel it into mainstream consciousness.
If you hit a lot of festivals each year, Digital Dreams probably won't expose you to many artists you haven't already seen. Don't get us wrong, it's a quality massive - arguably even the biggest one in Canada - but with how much the biggest names on the bill have already bounced around the country so far this summer, experienced festivalgoers will be hard pressed to catch a set from an artist that's new to them.
It's no stretch to assert that Tchami's been the most respected figure in future house, even if he's not the most widely recognized. Before Oliver Heldens became the genre's poster child, Tchami had revolutionized the rubbery organ synths and soulful vocal elements that came to define it long before it was the it-genre of the moment. Demonstrating a willingness to go back to the drawing board once more, he's delivered something quite different with his latest track, "Missing You."
Recap videos for major festivals are becoming something of an art form these days, but we're glad everyone isn't taking them too seriously. Holy Ship! just released one for its first 2015 sailing, and it does a pretty spectacular job of making us want to be there.
In all honesty, I'm getting tired of tearing apart everything Kaskade's put out in the last several months. I wish he'd just start making halfway-decent music again so I could stop, but his take on the whole future house fad sounds so contrived that I have to perform my duty as a music journalist and warn you about it before you press play on that SoundCloud embed up there.
2014's "#SELFIE" made The Chainsmokers something of a running joke throughout most of that year, but if their recent releases are any indicator, they refuse to let it define their career. After releasing a few other tracks that marked a more sincere turn for the New York City-based duo, they've just shared "Roses" - which is likely their strongest song yet.
To the explosive fervor of hundreds of thousands of bass music fans across the globe, Lorin Ashton A.K.A. Bassnectar just released five new tracks from his upcoming Into The Sun EP. The songs showcase his typically diverse range of musical influences in a major way - collaborations with everyone from his fellow bass music producer G Jones to British indie band The Naked and Famous showcase the breadth of his music tastes in a format intended to mimic that of a mixtape.
Timing is everything in the music world, but unfortunately Flux Pavilion may not have it working in his favor for his upcoming body of work. The British bass music producer skyrocketed to international stardom during the dubstep breakthrough of 2010, but as integral a part of our music landscape as songs like "Cracks" and "I Can't Stop" became in the years to follow, he never got around to releasing a full-length album.
