Following headline performances at EDC London and Creamfields this year, Avicii will be returning to the UK once again with his True Tour kicking off at Manchester’s Phones 4u Arena on Thursday 20th February 2014 followed by a show at London's Earls Court on Friday 21st February 2014.
VenSun aka David Vendetta and Sylvia Tosun of Sea To Sun Recordings, release their debut EP, ‘The Dragon Flies’, on 11 November via New York City’s Sea To Sun Recordings. The ‘Dragon Flies EP’ features three new singles spanning the sounds of house, techno and EDM, plus three bonus club mixes of each single to cater for the demands of clubland. David Vendetta describes its sound as, “enchanting, strong and sensual.”
Just days after their acoustic shows at LA's Greek Theatre, Above & Beyond did a live broadcast from London's 10,000 capacity Alexandra Palace on Saturday, during which they debuted five brand new personal productions. Sold out weeks in advance, the ABGT050 event means Above & Beyond have sold over 20,000 tickets across their latest two show weekends on both sides of the Atlantic.
The My Favorite Robot label release their next full-length album from an artist that has been close to the label for some time. Tim Paris has had his own unique voice in the underground scene of his hometown in Paris for years, with labels like Items&Things, Kompakt, Pets Recordings and many others coming calling for his work.
Italian DJ/Producer Aki Bergen joins the Loopmasters Artist Series with a brand new collection of vintage hardware driven sounds and loops for producers of everything from house, techno, deep and electronica. ‘Aki Bergen – Analogue House & Electronica’ is an eclectic collection of full bodied ear candy sourced from vintage and classic hardware instruments by the likes of Roland, Access, Waldorf, Moog and many more.
Back on Toolroom Records with their debut album 'Cyclic Operations', Spektre could possibly be smashing the techno charts as Filthy Rich and Paul Maddox deliver their artist album. The duo are ones to watch, gaining support from some of the world's best techno DJs and producers including Carl Cox, Dubfire, Richie Hawtin and Sven Vath.
Leftroom Ltd follow up the re-release of Landshark’s ‘Tie Me Up’ with ‘Blind To The True’ by Shall Ocin featuring remixes from Fist Or Finger man, Jozif. Shall made his debut on the Leftroom roster last summer on the Left’d sub-label before dropping ‘Tribute To Summertime’ on Leftroom in October. Since then, the Argentinian producer has released EPs for Alive and LA’s Droog.
With his interesting voice and strong song-writing skills, Christian Burns comes under the spotlight as he releases his debut album, ‘Simple Modern Answers’. Known as a member of the British band BBMak, which sold close to three million albums, he is also highly regarded for his collaborations in electronic dance music with the likes of Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Benny Benassi, Paul van Dyk and BT.
W&W aka Ward van der Harst and Willem van Hanegem will be taking to the decks of BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix tonight for what could be another top mix on the show. The Dutch DJ/production duo, currently at #14 on the DJ Mag Top 100, combine the uplifting and melodic elements of trance with the raw intensity of electro and progressive characteristics of house for their sets and productions.
The Apparel Music imprint dropped Accatone’s ‘Perception’ EP this October, featuring four original tracks from the Portuguese producer. Accatone aka Jose Reis, has been steadily evolving as an artist over the past four years, racking up a string of releases for Roots & Wings, Apparel Music, and Dabit Records. Here he returns to Apparel where he’s a member of the booking agency as well as the imprint.
Afrojack has teamed-up with global gaming devices and software company Razer, to consult on the Razer Blade Pro laptop and a new application designed for DJs and producers. This relationship will see Afrojack provide insight and expertise into the world of recording and provide counsel on how to further develop their line of laptops and applications to best service DJs and producers today.
Fatboy Slim recently announced an eight-date club tour this December to coincide with the release of his new single ‘Eat Sleep Rave Repeat’ with Riva Starr on 27th October via Skint Records. The underground club tour will commence at London’s XOYO on 5 December and culminates at Brighton Digital on 15 December.
Located in East London’s Shoreditch, the Samsung Galaxy Shoreditch Studio will be transformed into a 1990s-themed vinyl record store, re-worked for the digital age. Launching today, Thursday 24 October, Defected will be taking over the space for two weeks, during which time fans will be able to experience the label’s music like never before.
Both of Selador records’ central tenets Dave Seaman and Steve Parry have been frequently involved with the ADE conference since its inception, so it was only natural that they would present the label there this year. This recently released ADE sample is the fruit of that representation and is a collection of tracks of forward thinking electronic music that outlines their signature sound.
After a hit record in 2000 with ‘Lucky Star’, the French DJs from Superfunk and Chicago-based singer and DJ, Ron Carroll, are back with a new twist of the track – ‘Lucky Star 2013’, out on Paradise Records. With the original version being a worldwide hit with top sales in France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, this new version is aiming for the same success.
Germany’s Thomas Gold gets set to release his new track, ‘Remember’, which is released 28 October on Axtone Records.‘Remember’ is the follow up to the Beatport #1 reaching ‘Sing 2 Me’ as well as the ‘Axtone Presents Thomas Gold’ compilation and describes the story of a couple spending the night out and experiencing the beauty of the morning sunrise together. On it, arpeggiated violins soar into Kaelyn Behr’s vocals, before gradually building up to a crescendo crammed with elation and energy.
Kraak & Smaak’s new album ‘Chrome Waves’ is already doing well, with debut single ‘The Future Is Yours’, featuring Ben Westbeech, topping club charts in the UK and Germany and getting the Tune of the Month in Mixmag. The new single, ‘Good For The City’, could well repeat the success. Earmarked as a single almost as soon as Sam Duckworth of Get Cape Wear Cape Fly fame had finished writing the lyrics, the song owes as much to the dub and bass grooves of The Clash as it does to the White Isle.
Music discovery has traditionally been dominated by DJ culture and while that dominance still remains, today’s deeply connected digital world has led to the emergence of ‘bedroom tastemakers’, a growing band of YouTube channels and individuals with the power to influence millions. At the forefront is Majestic Casual, part of the elite league of YouTube music channels with over a million subscribers and it's still growing.
The DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll recently announced its new winner as Dutch DJ/producer, Hardwell, who replaces five-times winner Armin Van Buuren. Hardwell has been crowned the world’s No.1 DJ for the first time, making him the youngest ever winner at only 25 years of age. Hardwell received the award at the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll Awards party presented by legendary producer, Giorgio Moroder, held for the third consecutive year during the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). The show took place at Amsterdam’s RAI venue as part of the Amsterdam Music Festival, an initiative of ALDA events and ID&T.
Andy C recently announced the sixth chapter in his ‘Nightlife’ compilation concept. Regarded by some as the definitive D&B mix series (with over 250,000 units sold), ‘Nightlife 6’ will be released on 3 November on his Ram Records imprint. In it, he tries to break future anthems and each volume of ‘Nightlife’ represents a forecast for the new directions and emerging talents that will emerge across D&B for the years ahead.
Since joining forces in 2001, Spanish DJs and production duo Chus & Ceballos have taken the house world by storm with their infectious, trademark 'Iberican Sound'; a blend of tribal sounds laced with modern tech elements. They have grown into one of the most prestigious and successful production duos in the international dance scene and their blend of style between house and techno gives them a unique quality which has led to their global success.
London producers Andrew Armstrong and John Sambrooke aka Horixon are set to release their very first single on Kitsuné with house legend Robert Owens. Andrew Armstrong on the one hand is the producer half of the band Monarchy, and under that name has DJ’d across the world, remixed the likes of OMD, Jamiroquai, S'Xpress, Kelis, Kylie and many more, as well as playing live at festivals such as Coachella, Bestival, LoveBox, Melt, and headline shows.
Racing fans will soon be donning their virtual crash helmets in anticipation of the imminent release of “Forza Motorsport 5” where they will have the first opportunity ever to try and beat Top Gear’s white-suited test driver The Stig – albeit his Digital Cousin.
‘Boysnoize Presents: A Tribute To Dance Mania’ features tracks by Boys Noize, SCNTST, DJ Feadz, Strip Steve, Bok Bok, Tom Trago, Harvard Bass, Housemeister and Dance Mania's boss himself DJ Funk. Chicago's Dance Mania Records has been a huge influence for most of the producers and DJs on Boysnoize Records.
Given some of the recent technical issues during the first days of GTA online, and now that things are starting to look much smoother, Rockstar Games are currently giving away a special stimulus package for all who have played or will play Grand Theft Auto Online this month. They will be dropping a cool half a million GTA$ in the GTA Online bank accounts of all players this month, which already started this week.
STREETrave - a night that hatched from bringing likeminded people together for a good time - is still doing just that. This month, Glasgow’s Arches again played host to the legendary STREETrave’s 24th birthday celebrations – a hugely successful achievement – which highlights the club night’s esteemed status in the after-hours world.
Vancouver based Stefan Zlatarits is better known as Stefan Z, a producer who has worked with labels like Resopal Shallware and Circle Music, but who also runs his own label, Rhombus. His first EP for the My Favorite label features four tracks that explore deep and sci-fi leaning house and tech with plenty of cinematic values.
Nicky Romero has just released ‘Legacy’, his collaboration with Krewella, on iTunes. Since its initial release, Nicky Romero has seen the single become a popular track, reaching #1 on Beatport along the way. Described as an unmistakable hybridisation of big-room flair and bass-driven intensity, the track highlights what can happen when two big names in dance music come together.
‘The Truth (Feat Marshall Jefferson)’, one of the standout tracks from Matt Tolfrey’s debut LP, ‘Word Of Mouth’, sees a full single release with additional remixes from Gerd’s Geeeman project and John Charnis. Leftroom boss, Tolfrey, dropped his ‘Word Of Mouth’ LP late in 2012 and the project served as an insight into the influences and passions of the DJ/producer.
Joseph Capriati drops his second album 'Self Portrait' on Adam's Beyer's revered Drumcode imprint. The Napoli-born firebrand has just completed a season in Ibiza as a resident of Marco Carola's Music On at Amnesia. Combine this momentum with a 2013 that already saw him headline his first coast-to-coast tour of the US, play a historic 12 hour set at the Metropolis in Napoli, plus headline every major techno festival on the planet, the timing couldn't be better for Capriati.
Armada Music recently announced the launch of ‘In My Opinion’, the brand new label of Norwegian producer/DJ Ørjan Nilsen. The current #32 DJ in the world, as ranked by DJ Mag Top 100, takes a new turn in his career - now embodying the role of label owner and A&R manager. IMO kicks off with ‘Fable’, a tune by Orjan and one of his latest discoveries, fellow-Norwegian producer Fingerling.
‘#NB4U (Naked Before You)’ is the debut album from US singer / songwriter, Duane Harden, released on his label, Soltrenz on 4November. Duane is a man responsible for penning some of the biggest crossover dance and pop records of recent years and is a larger than life personality, known for his chart topping releases such as the number 1 hit classic ‘U Don't Know Me with Armand Van Helden, ‘Love Generation’ with Bob Sinclar, ‘Party All Night (Sleep All Day)’ with Sean Kingston, and recent club classics Live Your Life’ and ‘Stronger’ with Erick Morillo.
Three musical minds have come together on Dim Mak's latest release, ‘Bring You To Life (Transcend)’. This progressive house track fuses label owner Steve Aoki with Rune RK, one of the creative minds behind the track ‘Calabria’. Defined by its warm lead sounds, ‘Transcend’ was one of the most popular tracks on Steve Aoki's ‘It's The End Of The World As We Know It’ EP from last December.
Having joined forces with Mark Knight and Toolroom Records, where they delivered the infamous underground anthem 'Downpipe', a relationship was forged many years ago that would see D.Ramirez release a number of tracks on the label. After taking a small hiatus from Toolroom, he makes a return to the label, delivering a more refined version of his trademark sound with his new track 'Open Your Eyes,’ which makes its debut on the annual Toolroom Amsterdam compilation.
As Sankeys Ibiza’s third season draws to a close, their attention is now turning to New York as the club’s long-awaited opening is realised with the theme "The British are Coming". Housed on 29 West and 36th Street within the heart of Manhattan, Sankeys NYC accommodates a brand new Void Incubus sound system and features the world’s first hydraulic LED Grid Matrix system.
The Revealed Recordings founder, Hardwell, recently announced the live YouTube stream of "Hardwell Presents Revealed - ADE Edition" at Passenger Terminal Amsterdam on Friday, October 18. After last year’s success, "Hardwell presents Revealed" is back at the industry event with a larger venue and another sold out night.
‘Soldier Ascension’ has been made in Angola, where Djeff is a DJ, producer and TV presenter, but this is not an Angolan album, it’s not defined or confined by national borders, and too 21st century in style and execution to be tarred with the ‘World Music’ brush. ‘Soldier Ascension’ is an album of cosmopolitan tracks that could loosely be described as Afro-house while incorporating elements of so many different musical styles that Djeff has heard and been inspired by growing up in Portugal and Angola, and on his travels as a DJ.
Berlin-based Mike La Funk reveals his brand new release 'Don't Wanna Be Alone' for Pacha Recordings, working for the first time with vocalist Max C who injects a rich gospel flavour. The package also features remixers including Soul Avengerz.who opt for a deeper and mysterious vibe, showcasing a sexy nocturnal side.
Two years on from the release of his Mercury nominated debut, ‘Peanut Butter Blues And Melancholy Jam’, Ghostpoet aka Obaro Ejimiwe releases ‘Cold Win’ - the second single from his new album ‘Some Say I So I Say Light’ which came out May 2013 through Play It Again Sam, which was nominated in two categories at this year’s AIM Awards.
Dutch DJ and producer Sander van Doorn is presenting his Doorn Records label night, which will kick off with an event at ADE on October 16. Doorn Records has had a successful year so far, including ‘Tsunami’ from Dvbbz, and now Sander is looking to bring the platform to stages worldwide with a tour featuring artists from his label.
With the release of her first solo album, Betsie Larkin struck a major chord with electronic music audiences around the world. Enduring sales success, running 22 months straight followed, in turn spawning a string of top 10 charting singles. To do justice to its achievements, Premier Recordings recently released the all-encompassing Deluxe Edition of ‘All We Have Is Now’.
Multi-million-selling electronic artists Morcheeba have launched a minimix to celebrate the release of their new album, 'Head Up High' via [PIAS] Recordings this October. Teasing each track from the forthcoming album, the minimix gives fans a chance to preview the band’s new material since 2010’s ‘Blood Like Lemonade’.
Having recently celebrated the release of 'Las Vegas' - his fourth ‘In Search Of Sunrise’ album, Richard Durand recently announced that he’s mixed the 'Portrait' cover mount CD for DJ Mag's ADE issue; the first in the forthcoming series of Black Hole Recordings releases which will profile the label.
House veteran, Rui Da Silva, recently dropped the ‘Full Circle’ EP via his own, Kismet Records, featuring two original tracks from the Portuguese producer. Rui Da Silva, it’s safe to say has been a hugely influencial name in electronic music since the early-90s, having birthed the infamous Underground Sound Of Lisbon electronic dance act, who released the ‘So Get Up’ record, which saw support from Junior Vasquez and Danny Tenaglia back in the day.
The Xbox team recently announced that it is taking Xbox One on the road, offering gamers the chance to experience the new generation of gaming before Xbox One launches on 22 November. Beginning on 1October through the end of the year, the Xbox team will visit over 75 different cities around the world through a series of experiential events.
The Kitsuné Maison series reaches its 15th edition and is jam-packed with new rising stars, melodies and possible hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Having launched the careers of countless critically acclaimed acts over the years, from Two Door Cinema Club, to Is Tropical and Citizens!, Kitsuné has found its balance as one of modern music’s eclectic labels.
The first release on the re-launched Soul Heaven Records label sees Osunlade make his return to remix duties, crafting Terri Walker’s ‘He Loves Me’ into his own personal interpretation of music. The Yoruba label boss’ touch means that he draws on the key emotive elements of every piece he lays his hands on to create a carefully crafted rendition of the original with warm and uplifting vibes.
Once the benchmark of the industry’s top DJs, Panasonic position themselves to become the number one choice again with the release of the latest version of the legendary Technics professional headphones. Like many quality products, first impressions come with the packaging and by the time you open the matt black box to get your headphones out, you know what’s inside is well worth the wait.