Instagram users are unimpressed with Russian DJ and producer Nina Kraviz after she posted a video to her Instagram page. The video showed Kraviz writing “peace” in Russian and setting her pen down. Kraviz’s post comes three days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many expressed their disappointment with Kraviz’s response to the atrocity occurring in real-time.
CRSSD Festival has announced its return to Waterfront Park in San Diego, March 5-6, 2022. At what will be the first spring edition of CRSSD since 2020, the beloved festival has once again delivered a diverse lineup highlighting the best in electronic music with a focus on house, techno, and eclectic live acts.
The South is having its techno moment. Seismic Dance Event, the newest boutique house and music techno festival which debuted in Austin, Texas in 2018 is returning for its second event this year on November 12 – 14, 2021. Seismic Dance Event 4.0 boasts a stellar lineup of international house and techno talent.
Los Angeles-based promoters Factory93 set the Los Angeles house and techno scene on fire with their debut festival Secret Project in 2018. An instant favorite amongst fans in SoCal, Secret Project brought the best of house and techno DJs to spin amongst the gritty backdrop of the City of Angel’s industrial area. Now Factory93 debuts One Project. After a cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic, Factory 93’s imprint Secret Project has announced their new two-day SoCal event: Secret Project Presents: One Project premiering on October 2 – 3, 2021.
When you go to a show, do you care what the DJ does onstage while performing? If a DJ doesn’t pump up the crowd, are they really doing their job? It’s an age-old question in the dance music scene and one that recently re-sparked a lively discussion thanks to social media. Dance music fans are split: what makes a good DJ, a good DJ? Is it just the music and technical skills alone? Do artists who put work into their live production also deserve accolades? Do DJs need an onstage persona or gimmick? Should they even be up there enjoying themselves or focused solely on curating the perfect set?
Letâs talk about the elephant in the room: raving during COVID-19. At the start of COVID-19 the dance music community came together and found alternate solutions to live music events. Necessity is the mother of invention and many quickly became tech experts. From DJs to promoters, they flooded the virtual gates hosting live streams through various channels. However, after almost six months since lockdown first started, it seems as if many have had enough of these pseudo-get-togethers, including some big-name DJs.
This past weekend one of the worldâs biggest electronic music brands, Germanyâs Time Warp, returned to the United States after a four-year hiatus.
The anticipation was worth the wait for the several thousand North American electronic music fans who poured into The Bronx in New York City for the two-night festivities organized in liaison with local promoter Teksupport. In the 25 years since Time Warp was founded in Mannheim, Germanyâwhere it celebrated its quarter-century birthday earlier in the yearâthe festival has consistently set a golden standard for immersive stage production and an equally mind-blowing lineup. Throughout the years the festival has hosted the who’s who of techno, house, tech house and minimal, from heavyweight names that have shaped the history of underground electronic music across several decades, to up-and-comers and future leaders of their respective sounds.
Insomniac‘s premier house and techno festival, Secret Project, is back for its second year with an equally impressive lineup to boot. Embracing the outdoor, day-time environment, Insomniac opted for more melodic and mellifluous sounds as compared to their annual Halloween massive, Escape, which is bringing the heavy-hitters who belong in darkness.
The most notable artists on this year’s Secret Project lineup are Four Tet, Modeselektor live, a solo set from Dixon and a back-to-back from Helena Hauff and Nina Kraviz. There are also some serious talents coming back for round two including Peggy Gou and DJ Tennis who will be hosting his own Life and Death Stage.
Music On Armani shoes and Nina Kraviz Ray-Bans: no one would have predicted something like this in the late ’80s or early ’90s.
Back then, and until the rise of DJ superstardom, DJs and those involved with electronic music were considered to be a danger to the status quo and to the system, the agitators behind illegal raves, the evil pipers leading the world’s youth toward quasi-anarchy.
But things have changed, and they have changed a lot. DJs are idolized by the masses and whereas in the United States that is mostly the case with mainstream EDM names, in Europe it’s techno, house and tech house artists that are on this pedestal. No matter which side of the pond you are on, eyes are on club culture and brands have become essential components for club nights, festivals and other events to occur in the electronic music scene.
Located in Northern Amsterdam, NDSM Docklands was a quick ride into Amsterdamâs industrial area, a venue not too far from Shelter and located in a large space.
The Docklands is easily reachable via free ferry from Amsterdam Centraal, allowing people to arrive by foot and bycile also.
The Dutch built ships there in the 1980s and the empty buildings were then squatted. This made NDSM Docklands attractive to creative talents who have since built a plethora of bars, restaurants, and art in the area. This also makes it a home for great techno and house events, being that it is in an industrial area away from everything.
We arrived there soon after the party began and walked into a giant warehouse area that split into 2 directions. When we got there, Floorplan had just began playing their usual melodic and groovy set along with some gentle techno to warm things up.
Bicep then followed Floorplan with their live set which was quite mellow compared to the thumping set from Mall Grab at the other stage. Some were more into the lighter sounds and some were more into the heavier sounds, so it was good to have options.
Nina Kraviz then followed with some minimal sounds combined with some a bit heavier, before The Wizard aka Jeff Mills closed the night off with his signature techno sounds.
On Day 2, Jamie Jonesâ Paradise took over the space, giving attendees a dose of warm tech house for the night. We arrived when Maya Jane Coles was on the decks as she played a bit harder techno than she normally does. Luuk van Dijk took to the other stage with some even heavier sounds that had the crowd erupting.
Dubfire then took to a live set playing an array of Sci-Tec atmospheric minimal sounds. It was then the turn of Jamie Jones to take over the decks while Darius Syrossian was bringing his set to a close in the other room and leaving way to Detlef & Latmun who played back-to-back. Detroit techno legend Derrick May was given the responsibility to close out the night while Richy Ahmed closed the other stage.
DGTL was surely filled with lots of energy and great sound and music. Everyone was dancing the entire night and into the early morning. When the party finally ended at 7am, many decided to keep going past that, filled with the energy that DGTL’s lineups provided over both days.
The location of the event, coupled with its varied lineups featuring Detroit techno greats, tech house staltwarts, lo-fi and deep house prowess was the perfect combination for a lineup that catered to people with varied taste.
