In March, a sold-out meme-inspired “Shrek Rave” drew superstar rappers and “Shrek” fans alike, raising over $10,000 for a North Carolina shooting victim.
The Shrek-themed rave took place in L.A. in March, and the organizers have said that they’re wanting to take the event to other major cities in the US.
Considered the new French DJing duo in the techno-scene, the Cosmic Boys are emerging as more than just a duo, but as two friends that have a true passion for creating and expressing techno music. For the two, producing techno music with their DJ sets is a central component to their lives â and their drive of sharing their passion under the label management Scander is what also pushes them to showcase their craft with others.
Hailing from Ibaraki, Shingo Nakamura is a Tokyo-based producer and DJ who is known for his progressive house style that blends deep and lyrical sounds with classical piano. Growing his footprint beyond a dedicated fan base in Asia, he has performed sold-out shows at many regarded venues in the U.S., as well as reaching #1 on Beatportâs Progressive House Charts twice.
Accruing over 100k monthly listeners on Spotify, and even launching Spotifyâs new âDJ Mixesâ global initiative alongside other DJs, Shingo has cemented himself as one of the worldâs leading talents in the melodic and progressive house space as a talented professional.
Claptone is an enigmatic presence. His Venetian guise, black attire, golden-beaked mask, and white gloved hands complete the mystique that continues to draw sophisticated crowds from all over the world. The artist celebrated his sold out âThe Masqueradeâ events at AFAS LIVE at ADE, Zamna, Tulum and SLS Hotel during Miami Music Week, along with what Miami New Times called a massive set at Ultra Music Festival in Miami.Â
Since the 1990s, Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) has transcended and transformed into an influential and educational gathering for electronic music. The event has hosted a variety of powerful musical genres and subcultures that continue to range from the experimental to mainstream. As a powerful medium, ADE strongly showcases all developments within the electronic music industry, and these developments have all impacted dance culture to this to day on a global scale.
The event dates will take place October 19-23, 2022.
Artists will never come unprepared to a party. They always bring a toolbox packed with tracks that are truly dance floor destroyers. Whatâs in Your Toolbox features artistsâ secret weapons, aka, the tracks they donât leave out of their USB.
Dense & Pika are a British electronic duo compromising Hypercolour label co-founder Alex Jones and Chris Spero, aka Glimpse. Heading up the Kneaded Pains imprint, which has played host to Eats Everything, James Welsh, and Will Clarke alongside their own productions, the duo have been at the forefront of hard-hitting House and Techno since the projectâs inception in 2011.
Arriving on Patrick Toppingâs Trick for the first time, the pair bring their big, booming techno to the label with two chunky tracks. Title track “U, My” sees airy vocal chops floating over big kicks, knocking percussion and a hypnotic, looping low-end, combining to form a heavy club cut, while “Sun Sesh” sees the duo reach for a combination of shuffling drums, tweaked-out FX, and rolling chords for a dynamic, chugging track.
Dense & Pika U, My EP drops on 15th April via Trick
What can we say about Luke, a staple of our Kneaded Pains label. Unbelievable producer, his productions have so much dark energy in them, level any dance floor. Always feature in every set of ours. This remixes an ABSOLUTE STONKER.
Incredible sludgy, slo-mo modular techno on ESP Institute from 2013. Amazing groove under shimmering modular textures. Almost no hats at all. Â
Have always been a huge fan of Makaton. Really like his vision of techno. From abstract polyrhythm to distorted crunchy grooves, this is one of his more playable offerings.
This guy’s incredible. Really pace-y deep techno. Perfect for breaking up a techno set.
Not many records have been in the âboxâ longer than this. For some weird reason people still always ask what it is. Cari has been churning out incredible quality techno for nearly 30 years. This is our fave from his vast back catalogue, absolute wonkathon from 1997.
Would be daft not to put our new record on trick here, this genuinely flattens gaffs. Try it if you don’t believe us ;-)
Connect with Dense & Pika: SoundCloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Glasgowâs Gary Beck is back on Pan-Pot’s Second State with weighty four tracker, Supervan EP. A pillar of Scotlandâs techno scene, Beck has appeared regularly at some of the globeâs most respected venues and festivals including Womb Tokyo, fabric, Output NYC and Awakenings.
Title track “Supervan” opens with bouncing bass and rattling percussion. A chopped-up vocal is introduced and commands the track forward as it ascends, with the kick battling to harden the track over the grooving melody and anthemic keys. Next up is the spirited cut “Psycho Babble”. A resounding sample attempts to cry out over the jacking bass and kick combo, calling out in ecstasy at intervals of the track. A minimal hi-hat jumps throughout but retracts as the track increases tempo and gallops towards the end, where Beck incorporates breakbeat elements for the final leg.
“Sparks” follows with rhythmic shakers and hi-hats juxtaposing each other under the dialogue of two young punters. The conversation adds a narrative to the track as it intensifies along with a gritty buzzing element. The voices become distorted as the track builds to crescendo, with the sample and music working together in unison to unravel the story of the characterâs night. The finale “Pink Castles” is a pacy and hypnotic trip, conjuring up the energy of both a peak-time workout and high-tempo closer. Haunting vocals and icy synths swirl around the driving elements and atmospherics, engulfing the listener into the darkness of this finishing track.
Gary Beckâs Supervan EPÂ drops on Second State on April 15, 2022. You can get it here.Â
Connect with Gary Beck: SoundCloud | Instagram
Connect with Second State: SoundCloud | Facebook | Instagram
Highly anticipated Ultra Music Festival returns this weekend and features a fire lineup across the board. Female techno DJs Nala, Ann Clue, Anfisa Letyago, Amelie Lens, Giorgia Angiuli, Nina Kraviz, and Sama’ Abdulhadi are debuting at UMF’s RESISTANCE Stage. Whether up and coming stars or established names, these women are setting the stage for more inclusive representation in the electronic music festival scene. Some share a few thoughts about becoming better artists in a man’s world.Â
Trance artist Gareth Emery recently shared a screenshot of an e-mail from a “big radio promoter” that pigeonholes the artist and degrades his music and fans. The e-mail shows how the promoter labels Gareth Emery as an artist known for “druggy rave music” and that’s the formula he should stick with if he wants to have a successful career.
February is Black History Month, and itâs a special time to celebrate essential black voices whose impact is felt on and off the dance floor. The house and techno music of today originated in Chicago and Detroit through the efforts of Black trailblazers. Since then the electronic music scene has taken off. House and techno music is found around the world, and it has evolved to encompass many sub-genres. Listen to these five Black electronic artists who continue to push boundaries and make waves like the pioneers before them.Â
LSDXOXOÂ is an artist from Philadelphia who made a name for himself in New York City as a DJ and producer, quickly becoming an essential figure at GHE20GOTH1K. Heâs known for destroying dance floors across the underground club scene with his energetic DJ sets, amassing attention for the way that he manipulates mainstream sounds by craftily layering pop tracks and vocal samples between Baltimore club, ghetto house, hardcore, electro and techno. Now residing in Berlin and running his own club night Floorgasm, LSDXOXO is synonymous with the new wave of techno artists reclaiming Black queer spaces and injecting fun and camp into the genre.
SPELLING, Chrystia âTiaâ Cabral, is an American experimental pop musician based in the Bay Area. SPELLLING released her first full-length Pantheon of Me in September 2017. The album was self-written, performed, and produced in her apartment in Berkeley, California. Cabral began experimenting with music production in 2015 in an effort to carry on the creative legacy of a lost loved one. Drawing heavily from messages in her dreams, her sound spirals through clarity and obscurity searching through landscapes of psychic space.
DJ Holographic is a one-woman funk machine born and raised in Detroit. Her mission is to serve up a mix of musical cuisine that combines House, passionate R&B, Hip Hop, unreserved Disco, true Detroit Techno, and Motown. Having spent the past few years traveling the world and playing for crowds in Berlin, London, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, she has thrilled crowds on hallowed dance floors at Smart Bar, Panorama Bar, Output, and beyond.Â
Akua is emerging from Brooklynâs vanguard of boundary pushing artists. The artist has proved sheâs not afraid to redefine techno on her own terms. The Ghanaian-American DJ has cultivated a sound that reflects her passion for research and re-contextualization, as she infuses old-school tracks and techniques with a vision for the dance floors of the future. The Discwoman has taken her sound to packed dance floors in cities across North America, and in 2019 she hopped across the pond to present her hyper-charged selections to European crowds with debuts on the Boiler Room Utrecht, Saule and De School.
Jasmine Infiniti is a non-binary, trans person of color artist and DJ who was born and raised in the Bronx and now resides in the Bay. They are an integral part of the New York vogue house scene. The artistâs DJ sets often feature techno mixed with ballroom, hard style and gabber.
