Artists will never come unprepared to a party. They always bring a toolbox packed with tracks that are truly dance floor destroyers. âWhatâs in Your Toolboxâ features artistsâ secret weapons, aka, the tracks they donât leave out of their USB. In this installment globally renowned electronic artist, Doorly, gives us his 6 choice picks.
Ian Ludvig brings a 60min grooving set just before his newest EP “Like A Drug” releases on Human By Default.
Italian-mainstay Francesca Lombardo speaks with us from a little village in France, where she discusses her relationship with Damian Lazarus‘ Crosstown Rebels, an imprint she has called home for a large part of her career.
Born in Kiev, Alinka has a unique power on the decks and in the studio. A world traveler, Chicago, Detroit and other European cities that are a staple in electronic music influence her sound and style. Alinka’s “Control Transmission” marks her return to Damian Lazarus’s Crosstown Rebels. Her last appearance on the label was in 2016 featuring a collaboration with Shaun J. Wright. Her latest release demonstrates her versatile sound that is inspired by her experience in scenes across the world.
“I’m not going to lie, I kind of like this quarantine,” said Russian DJ Serge Devant over the phone. Serge Devant is finding balance amidst the COVID-19 turmoil. The DJ and producer recognizes he’s fortunate to be riding out the lockdown in Miami. Having lived in New York City before, he knows that living in close and small quarters can be rough. However, it was New York City that started it all for him.
Growing up, Serge Devant frequently visited New York City, and it was during those trips that he got his first taste of the club culture. Unable to resist the club bug, he moved to the Big Apple in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since then. He spent much of his adolescence in the concrete jungle, and it wasn’t until his residency at Crobar NYC where he played alongside Carl Cox and Tiesto that his DJ career went into full throttle. He decided to trade the cityscapes and skyscrapers for oceanviews and palm trees and relocated to Miami, one of the U.S. hubs for dance music.
Spanish DJ Dennis Cruz’s “Mother Earth,” a track out now on Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels, takes inspiration from Mother Nature herself. The electronic music producer uses this song that forms part of a compilation to raise awareness of the need to protect our community and environment. His latest release is just seeing the light of day now, but it’s a track that’s been under works since 2015. While relaxing in Miami before hitting the road for three-weeks in South America, Dennis gave shared a little of his creative approach, some producers on his radar and what’s in store for 2020.
Austin-bred, San Francisco-schooled producer, DJ and vocalist, Kevin Knapp has emerged from the ever-bustling electronic music scene of the Bay Area to become one of the most exciting up-and-coming artists in today’s house music scene.
Versatile in his productions and DJ sets, Kevin takes no prisoners with an approach that sees him always striving to get the dance floor rocking, with releases on labels such as Hot Creations, Dirtybird, Poker Flat, Sanity, Lost, Viva Music and Truesoul a testament to his prowess and prolificness in the studio. A man of many skills, the US born artist started out by DJing in San Francisco for notorious clubs such as Werd and Housepitality and after relocating to Berlin his career catapulted and a global touring schedule ensued.
On March 17th he is scheduled to release his next EP entitled Find Me and introducing Baby Luck aka Brittany Ballard, who makes her first ever vocal recording for this project. Distinguished for his jacking house cuts, Kevin has a created a deeply charming EP, reinforcing his position within the dance scene. The four-track release, which is all originals, will be coming out on Rebellion, one of Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels sister labels, and includes two tracks that were premiered by Pete Tong on the same night during one of his esteemed BBC Radio 1 Friday night shows.
We caught up with Kevin ahead of the forthcoming release, which you can pre-order via Beatport here.
There is no denying that Damian Lazarus’ Get Lost party in Miami has been one of the must-attend events during Miami Music Week year in, year out. Get Lost Miami 2016 is no exception.
Not surprisingly, $55 Tickets of Trust (with no line-up announced) sold out well in advance of the massive line-up that the Crosstown Rebels head-honcho released today. Arguably, this is Get Lost’s biggest yet, with over 50 names on the bill. The party will also act as Lazaruz’ finale stop of his North and Latin America Altered States Tour.
Highlights include an opening set from Sasha, the entire Visionquest crew, Detroit’s Carl Craig, Gorgon City & Kidnap Kid billed together, Skream and the influential Pete Tong. Attendees will also be treated to Live performances by Benoit & Sergio, Infinity Ink, KINK, Metrika and Satori. There will also be a flurry of surprise guests yet to be announced.
There are parties, and there are PARTIES. You shouldn’t even contemplate skipping Get Lost Miami. This is one of the latter, for it’s no shocker that accompanying this monster roster will be an entirely unique environment filled with surprised and secrets and a visceral visual experience second to none. This year’s Get Lost Miami is set to take over a brand new venue, boasting  multiple areas of music, and the indoor/outdoor vibes for which the party is now famed.
Get Lost Miami is a 24hr non-stop party beginning at 5am on Saturday 19th of March and lasting until 5am of Sunday morning. Tickets are available on Resident Advisor. Â
Full line-up:
Agoria
Bedouin
Behrouz
Benoit & Sergio (live)
Bill Patrick
Blond:ish
Carl Craig
Cassy
CITIZENN
Damian Lazarus
Dance Spirit
DAVI
David Morales
Denney
DJ Sneak
DJ Three
Eduardo Castillo
Ellen Allien
Felix Da Housecat FT. Jamie Principle
Fur Coat
Gorgon City & Kidnap Kid
Hannah Holland FT. Josh Caffe
HEIDI
Horse Meat Disco
Infinity Ink (live)
Jonas Rathsman
Kenny Glasgow
KINK (live)
Kölsch
Laura Jones
LUM
Magit Cacoon
Martin Buttrich
Matt Tolfrey
Metrika (live)
Pete Tong
Red Axes
Route 94
Sasha (OPENING SET)
SATORI (live)
Serge Devant
SHAUN J. WRIGHT & Alinka
Skream
Soul Clap
SQUIRE
Thugfucker
Tiga
Visionquest
& VERY SPECIAL GUESTS
It takes an immense amount of dedication and passion to run a label. That’s a given. Running two labels with as much musical credibility as the parent label – now that’s a whole new process and challenge. In addition to some of our labels to watch in 2016, here is a small collection of our favorite sub-labels that are off-shoots of their esteemed parent labels.
Over the years Jesse Rose has flexed his musical muscles when it comes to running labels. His former label Made to Play, and current label Play it Down, are the byproducts of well curated catalogs of music focusing on the groove oriented house rhythms, with A-Sided following suit. In an homage to vinyl gems, A-Sided focuses on quality over quantity, with each release being one single, or A-side, that is destined for dance floor domination.
From releases like “Let’s Get Tight” by Dansson and “Bare Mountain” by Claude Von Stroke, A-Sided is a quality sub-label with a unique theme for electronic music.
Connect with A-Sided:Â Soundcloud / Twitter / Facebook / BeatportÂ
Most will be familiar with Adam Beyerâs dominant techno label, Drumcode, as it has risen to international stardom over the past decade. Equally impressive with slight sonic disparities is his other label, Truesoul. The label keeps a moderately techno aesthetic, but does so with noticeable differences that you wonât necessarily find on Drumcode. Since 2002 Truesoul has been going strong with continual releases from artists such as Nick Curly, Hot Since 82, Tiger Stripes, Nicole Moudaber, Joel Mull, Reset Robot, and the esteemed list goes on and on.
Connect with Truesoul: Official Website /Â Soundcloud / Twitter / Facebook / Beatport
Octopus Recordings is a label that has become synonymous with techno and nightlife culture. With Sian at the helm of the label, the brand has flourished over the years and has become an international staple for quality productions and showcases. In addition to the parent label, Octopus Recordings, Sian also has his hand in the sub-labels of Octopus Black and Hydrozoa, both fulfilling the techno ethos established by Octopus.
Octopus Black has seen releases from artists like Ramiro Lopez, Jordan Van Pol, and Eduardo de la Calle, while Hydrozoa builds itâs catalog with releases from Ashwin Khosa and a powerful release from Aardy â the rising techno star hailing from India.
Connect with Octopus Recordings:Â Soundcloud / Twitter / Facebook / BeatportÂ
Under the guidance of Luciano, Cadenza has grown into an international power house of cutting edge electronic music. Using Cadenza as a platform he has built a large roster of fellow Vagabundos, with this ethos transcending into the sub label of Cadenza Lab. While Cadenza may have more of the “A-list” artists on the roster such as Carl Craig, Dennis Ferrer, Valentino Kanzyani, and Luciano himself, Cadenza Lab fills their roster with a widespread range of popular underground selectors. While both catalogs are full of great music, take some time to go through the Cadenza Lab releases to load up on some dance floor gems.
Connect with Cadenza: Official Website / Soundcloud / Twitter / Facebook / BeatportÂ
Viva Music has been focused on quality house music since it got its start in 2006 by Steve Lawler. The UK based-label has a historic catalog while providing a strong platform for artists such as Cuatero, Leon, Guti, Detlef, Steve Lawler, and countless more. As impressive as Viva Music has been over the years, the sub label of Viva Limited follows right in itâs parents footsteps. Adhering to a similar aesthetic as Viva Music, the labels âlimitedâ counter-part stays true to the massive house grooves that weâve come to know and love. With over 50 powerful releases on Viva Limited, there’s something for everyone to enjoy
Connect with Viva Music: Official Website / Soundcloud / Beatport / Facebook / Twitter / Resident Advisor
Rebellion was born approximately eight years after the inception of it’s parent label, Crosstown Rebels, and over the years the labels catalog has been filled with quality releases from a variety of talented producers. Damian Lazarus worked wonders for Crosstown Rebels as their main A&R visionary, and the similar ethos established by Lazarus is found in Rebellion. Even as a sub-label, Rebellion has curated a strong catalog with releases from Solomun, Tim Green, SIS, Fur Coat, and many more.
Connect with Rebellion: Beatport / Resident Advisor
Enzo Siragusa and the Fuse crew have developed one of the most iconic brands in the underground music community. They’ve championed the fine art of deep tech, and their style is well reflected with the Fuse London label. When artists release on Fuse the tracks have a signature sound that can be immediately traced to the crews roots. Infuse is the off-shoot of Fuse London, and even though Infuse is only 10 releases in they’re showing incredible promise.
Connect with Fuse and Infuse: Facebook / Twitter / Soundcloud / Beatport / Resident AdvisorÂ
Anjunabeats has established themselves at the forefront of upbeat and melodic progressive house suited for big rooms. With Above & Beyond at the helm, the label has grown tremendously and achieved global success. Take the BPM down a couple notches and you’ll have their sub-label, Anjunadeep. The only real disparity between the two is simply the tempo and groove. Anjunadeep keeps the same melodic intricacies as Anjunabeats, but clearly is adapting with the times and tastes of the masses.
Connect with Anjunadeep: Official Website / Facebook / Twitter / Soundcloud
Crosstown Rebels head-honcho Damian Lazarus must be having a great January, coming off an immensely successful Day Zero party in Tulum that has received massive praise from industry professionals and dance music fans alike. In fact, Billboard were so impressed the author of their article stated that he “wouldn’t be surprised if Day Zero will become the cruelly unrealistic benchmark for all parties of this nature to come.”
It is perhaps not a surprise then, that Lazarus’ Get Lost party during Miami Music Week is already offering $55 Tickets of Trust with no line-up announced (other than Lazarus of course). The label-owner and producer has now announced that he will be readying himself for the 24-hour Miami shenanigans with a 16-stop Altered States tour that will see him travel the Americas for the next two months.
Highlights include two Circoloco stops in Lima, Peru and Cordoba Argentina this upcoming weekend on top of other gigs in Ecuador, Chile and back to Argentina all before February 8th.
Following a break, he will be back on the road with a stop in Toronto and Mexico City, as well as several gigs throughout the States starting with Boondocks Houston on Feb 25th. Further stops include a much anticipated return to the iconic Spybar in Chicago on February 26th, a Brooklyn gig the next day at a still-undisclosed location as well as a Los Angeles performance at Sound Nightclub on March 4th. Lazarus will also be making already-announced visits to CRSSD Festival in San Diego, Okeechobee Festival in Florida and of course his grand finale show at Get Lost Miami.
Follow Damian Lazarus: Online | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud
