GDD™ Morning Update: Kaskade, Hard Haunted Mansion 2011, Soulwax, Beatport, Pukkelpop 2012
10 19 2011
I have your mid-week GDD™ Morning Update and it is a heavy one. Today’s stories include Kaskade’s Fire & Ice, Hard Haunted Mansion 2011, Beatport & digital distribution, and Pukkelpop 2012. Read up and get in the know after the jump!
Kaskade Fire & Ice Album Preview From The Studio
Kaskade’s upcoming album, Fire and Ice, is set to drop in just under a week, and buzz on the web is heating up ahead of the dual disc release. A new video posted on the mega DJ’s YouTube page reveals some of the behind-the-scenes action that went into making the Fire and the Ice — exposing the origin of his unlikely collaboration with Skrillex as well as some insight into the vocalists he selected for the album. Yes, this video is essentially five minutes of torture if you’re a Kaskade-aholic, but at least we’re making the wait a little less boring.
It’s also our duty to inform you that despite the text in the video, the official album release has been moved up to October 24th (this coming Monday). We hear the shift comes from — get this — the Coldplay album release scheduled for Tuesday. Yeah, we don’t get it either (though the Fedde Le Grand remix to “Paradise” is pretty awesome).
(via Dancing Astronaut)
Hard Haunted Mansion 2011 + Set Times
Heavy techno. Blistering dubstep. Bone-rattling house. If it’s got a pulse — no matter how jacked and jagged — it’s got a home at HARD Haunted Mansion, the two-night dance festival hitting downtown Los Angeles’ Shrine Expo Hall on Friday and Saturday, October 28 and 29 (with a cross-coastal pre-party at Terminal 5 in New York this Saturday). The event, now in its fourth year, is decidedly anti-trance.
“I’m not into Tiësto and all that,” says Gary Richards, a.k.a. DJ Destructo, 40, who founded HARD in 2007 as an alternative to So Cal’s exploding rave scene. “I did glow-sticks and pacifiers when I was 20. We have a more rock attitude. I’d be down to have Eddie Van Halen come out and bust the rough shit.”
Unlikely, but with Haunted headliner Skrillex collaborating with Korn on their new album, the sentiment isn’t that far off. HARD lives up to its name, booking acts like Odd Future, M.I.A., and Sleigh Bells at its other fests and tours around the country, and rounding out this year’s Halloween lineup with heavy-hitters like big beat legend Fatboy Slim, dubstep star Rusko, and live dance-punk quartet Soulwax.
Haunted Mansion’s two stages (one inside the historic venue, one outside) support a total of 10,000 fans per night, and it’s sold out every time, in part due to the promoter’s tradition of breaking new acts. Ask Richards who he’s excited to see this time and he’s likely to rattle off the entire bottom half of the bill.
There’s SBTRKT, the rising Londoner whose wobbly beats are equal parts spooky and soulful. There’s the amped mutant house of the U.K.’s L-Vis 1990 and the disco-addled digitalisms of L.A.’s Oliver. Also, a pair of hotly tipped Belgian acts — the positively thrashing Goose four-piece, and electro-house wiz the Magician — plus Skream + Benga, a pair of producers whose minimal bass music helped launch dubstep.
“When I book these shows, I book them like a DJ,” says Richards, who also performs on Saturday. “It’s not, ‘What’s going to sell me the most tickets?’ It’s, ‘What’s going to make for a great night?’ “
It doesn’t hurt that competition is flagging. Insomniac, the company behind the Electric Daisy Carnival (arguably the most recognizable rave brand in the world), is throwing a similar event on October 29, but following endless EDC controversy, the promoter has all but vacated L.A. proper. Instead, Escape From Wonderland is going down an hour east in San Bernardino, and the 14th annual Monster Massive (an All Hallow’s Eve collaboration between Insomniac and a third promoter, Go Ventures) has been cancelled. (While Electric Daisy Carnival has left Los Angeles, seemingly permanently, for Las Vegas, and Monster Massive has indeed been cancelled, Insomniac still maintains an impressive presence within the City of Los Angeles. Though events like Escape From Wonderland (massives, raves, festivals) mostly take place in San Bernardino, Insomniac still promotes concerts regularly at venues like the Music Box and the Palladium, entertaining “at the very least, 8,000 Angeleno Electronic Dance Music lovers each month,” according to the company.)
Read SPIN’s cover story on the new rave generation now!
Richards had his own brush with bad press in 2009 with his other flagship event, HARD Summer — a few hundred gate crashers rushed the balconies of the Forum, a South L.A. arena, then began jumping into the crowd below causing Inglewood police to dispatch a riot squad — but he says he’s learned his lesson. After the festival moved to a park and ramped up security (police dogs, double fences, helicopter patrol), one Los Angeles Times headline read, “Hard Summer … The Safest place on Earth?”
The improvements — namely, HARD’s willingness to work extensively with police and fire for months in advance of to avoid future disasters — have paid off. HARD Summer will go to two days next year after expanding from two stages to four this past August and tripling attendance from to 30 thousand. Richards also bans glow sticks, backpacks and “furry shit” from his events, which are typically 18 and over.
Dive into photos of America’s wildest dance parties.
“My goal going into HARD was, ‘Let’s try to do something where people think of electronic music and they think about good music instead of Ecstasy,” he says. “I’m not interested in throwing a party for young kids to take drugs at. We do our best to try to keep it about the music.”
Well, mostly. After Haunted Mansion, Richards is shifting gears in order to prepare for HARD’s most ambitious event yet: Holy Ship!, a three-night around-the-clock party on a cruise ship bound for the Bahamas, leaving January 5 from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Skrillex is on board (literally) for that one too.
Friday
HARD Stage
6:35-7:25 – Annie Mac
7:30-8:30 – SBTRKT
8:40-9:40 – Laidback Luke
9:50-11:05 – 2ManyDjs
11:20-12:35 – Fatboy Slim
12:50-1:50 – Rusko
HARDER Stage:
5:50-6:30 – The Knocks
6:30-7:10 – Beataucue
7:10-7:55 – Kingdom
7:55-8:40 – Special Guest
8:40-9:40 – Housemeister
9:40-10:40 – Pearson Sound/Ramadanman
10:40-11:40 – L–Vis 1990
11:40-12:40 – Switch
12:40-1:50 – Tiga
Saturday
HARD Stage:
6:25-7:15 – Oliver
7:20-8:20 – Goose
8:30-9:30 – Destructo
9:30-10:30 – Fake Blood
10:30-11:30 – Skrillex
11:30-12:30 – Major Lazer
12:50-1:50 – Soulwax
HARDER Stage:
6:20-7:05 – Clockwork
7:05-7:50 – Japanese Popstars
7:50-8:45 – Jackmaster
8:45-9:40 – The Magician
9:45-10:40 – Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
10:45-11:40 – Paul Chambers
11:40-12:40 – 12th Planet
12:40-1:50 – Skream & Benga
*More Special Guests will be making surprise appearances throughout the weekend.
(via SPIN)
Soulwax’s Pioneering Free App & Online A/V Project, US Tour
Electronic music pioneers & internationally renowned DJs, Soulwax, recently unveiled ‘RADIO SOULWAX’ – A pioneering Online & App driven audiovisual project. The project consists of 24 themed 1 hour-long mixes, each of which has a corresponding video. The visuals are crafted, inspired and lovingly animated using the imagery from the sleeves of the very records that shape each mix. A couple of mixes will be released each month until the completion of the 24 hours. Most importantly, it is free online to all, marking a new era in mixtape culture, home music consumption, direct to fan distribution and in the sharing of these experiences via new technology. Over 200,000 people have downloaded the free app and the site has received millions of hits. The first 16 hours are already available at www.radiosoulwax.com
In celebration of RADIO SOULWAX: David & Stephan Dewaele AKA 2ManyDJs/Soulwax have announced a US tour including the HARD Haunted Mansion. 2ManyDjs will bring Radio Soulwax to life during the HARD show and will be mixing the tracks and images simultaneously. Anyone who can’t make it to the shows have Radio Soulwax as a new way to experience their unique record collections & musical exploration in the privacy of your own home, head or iPad.
RADIO SOULWAX has been over 2 & half years in development. It has evolved and morphed from a simple original idea to a full multi–sensory media experience. Do not be confused or put off by the use of the term ‘Radio’ here as music is but one side to this experience. Together with the projects artistic director Fergus Purcell they have also created a unique accompanying visual channel to boot, which would be just as much Music TV as it is radio – if such a thing still existed in 2011.
At times the visuals themselves have even driven, informed and helped re-imagine the audio parts you’ll hear simultaneously. It is an integral part of the unique charm of RADIO SOULWAX and one, which is often the hardest to get across. Here, fans of animation, comedy, art or even god forbid, seventies sleeve nudity may well be tickled too. Musical train-spotters will also be in heaven! But here, each and every one of these painstakingly produced hours is fun, different and geared to trigger individual reactions unique to the viewer, listener, consumer etc.
RADIO SOULWAX is fun, chaotic and best of all – it is free. Due to copyright & publishing legalities – the content of the mixes broadcast cannot and will never be sold, which considering the time, money and love spent personally developing this project is utterly unique in itself, especially during this new age of the music industry.
In addition to the live online feed – Radio Soulwax is available to stream and download via a fully interactive iPhone/iPad/Android application. This can be downloaded from the Apple App store for iPad & iPhone & Google App store for Android and will allow users greater freedom to listen away from the broadcast schedule online.
For lovers of fun, music, art, technology, film, chaos or curiosity…RADIO SOULWAXis live at: www.radiosoulwax.com
Soulwax/ 2ManyDJs US Tour
10/28 Los Angeles, Ca @ Shrine Auditorium (2ManyDJs LIVE!)
10/29 Los Angeles, Ca @ Shrine Auditorium (Soulwax set)
10/31 San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom (2ManyDJs set)
11/2 New York,NY @ Webster Hall (Soulwax set)
(via Altsounds)
Beatport & Digital Distribution
Spotify might be staring at a huge problem: disaffected – and highly-vocal – indies. But for all of those considering an out, there seem to be just as many that want in. And thanks to a recently-sealed partnership, electronica-focused Beatport is about to deliver lots of those labels and artists right to Spotify’s doorstep.
Last week, Digital Music News reported that Beatport was planning a major expansion into digital distribution, based on tips from several sources. On Tuesday afternoon, Beatport not only confirmed that expansion, but also confirmed a distribution partner list that includes Spotify, Rdio, iTunes, Stompy and beatport.com itself.
That means an infusion of new DJ and electronica content for everyone in the network, with others soon-to-be-announced. Beatport is widely considered the top download destination for DJ and electronica content.
The distribution company will be called Baseware, with a focus on emerging artists, producers, and labels. The Baseware site is now live at basewaredistribution.com, and a big splash will be happening at the Amsterdam Dance Event on Thursday. ”Beatport represents some of the finest electronic dance music, artists and labels in the world, so we’re thrilled to partner with Baseware to be able to offer this exceptional content to Spotify’s millions of users all over the world,” said Ken Parks, Chief Content Officer of Spotify.
(via Digital Music News)
Pukkelpop 2012
Belgium’s Pukkelpop Festival has announced that it will return in 2012, despite losses incurred after a fatal stage collapse at this year’s fest. The 2012 edition will run from August 16-18, with its usual eight stages.
To offer restitution to those festivalgoers whose 2011 festival experience was cut short, Pukkelpop is offering food and drink vouchers good for the next three Pukkelpop festivals to those who purchased their festival tickets online this year. Info on that process can be found here. However, the festival organizers encourage fans to “support the existence of the Pukkelpop festival” by not redeeming their vouchers, or only using part of the value.
As previously reported, an independent fund has been established to support the victims of this year’s stage collapse.
(via Pitchfork, Picture: inthemix)
