Good morning, I hope you all had a great weekend! We have another update with a wealth of news concerning Justice on their new album, Dada Life’s live webcast, Fedde Le Grand’s North American tour, the SnowGlobe lineup, a possible Deep Dish reunion, Universal & Sony buying EMI, Daft Punk,  and the electronic music scene in Las Vegas. Read more after the jump.

Go Behind the Making of Justice’s ‘Audio Video Disco’

From February 1, 2010 to June 15, 2011, Justice were slaving on Audio Video Disco in their French studio. “We just make what feels natural,” Xavier de Rosnay says in a new video series exploring the making of the disc. “Electronic music has been thought of as being music for the night and the city, and we made this album thinking of daytime and the countryside.”

When SPIN interviewed de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé for our Dance Issue, the pair gave us the ten ways they transformed themselves from hard-partying, chain-smoking Parisian club kids into an arena-rock band for the 21st century. The best of the bunch: Disavow your big pop hit and the fans it won you. “We thought ‘D.A.N.C.E.’ would be a suicide single,” Augé said. “We almost made it in reaction to ‘Nazareth,’ because people were expecting some hard, heavy song. It’s pointless to predict what songs will work with fans. It’s almost paralyzing, so we don’t think about that at all.”

Check out the duo’s introduction to the series now. Keep an eye out for the next installment where the band explains the genesis of “Horsepower” and “Civilization.”

(via SPIN)

Dada Life announce ‘Tight Space’ live stream performance

Dada Life, the Swedish electro house duo, are the second act to join forces with premium external storage solution provider G-Technology by Hitachi to present a live web broadcast as part of the groundbreaking ‘Tight Space’ streaming series of European performances and interviews.

The forthcoming web streaming event will showcase Dada Life’s DJ set broadcast live across the globe from an event at the legendary Queen Club in Paris on Saturday, 10 December at 1am GMT/2am CET. This exclusive content is only available to fans who ‘Like’ the G-Technology Europe page on Facebook® where they’ll gain access to the live performances.

The innovative partnership continues the exciting continent-wide ‘Tight Space’ campaign by G-Technology Europe, touching down in one of the most exciting places for electronic music and technology right now, Paris. The event at the Queen Club promises to be exciting and energetic as Stockholm-based Dada Life takes their live set to a screaming crowd of more than 1,000 fans.

The stream with Dada Life will be the fifth in the ‘Tight Space’ series, which brings technology and electronic dance music together for the first time in a live-streaming setting. The duo join the ranks along with other DJs such as Above & Beyond, A-Trak, Treasure Fingers and Chromeo as pioneers in this global offering of live performances being broadcast through Facebook. In their quest to be leaders in the digital creative space, G-Technology’s partnership with these artists will surely send a positive message to the creative community around the world.

Said Dada Life of the campaign: “It’s always fun to work with brands that dare to try new stuff like this. And it’s really cool what all this new technology can do! In this case a lot of people around the globe – without even being in the club with us – can follow us and see all the stupid stuff that goes down when we play live. We just hope it’s all water proof…or actually champagne proof!”

(via Music-News)

Fedde Le Grand Announces Final Tour of 2011

Capping off what has been without doubt his most sensational year yet, Fedde le Grand returns to the shores of North America for his final tour of 2011, this December.

With five number 1 Beatport hits this year alone, a summer residency at the world’s #1 club Space, debuts at Coachella in California and Exit in Serbia, a summer Takeover tour that criss-crossed the European continent at breakneck pace, and his support of none other than Coldplay in concert in Madrid, le Grand‘s status is cemented absolute as a world pioneer leader of electronic music.

Supporting Fedde on his tour will be one of the fastest rising superstars of the new generation and Fedde’s own pick as his breakthrough act of 2011, Deniz Koyu. With Tung! And Herz both released on Flamingo Recordings this year to phenomenal success, Deniz will be no doubt be adding some extra fireworks to each of le Grand’s shows.

The essential dates are:

December 7th Ann Arbor (MI) The Necto
December 8th Washington DC Lima
December 9th New York City Pacha
December 10th Chicago The Mid
December 13th Orlando Senso
December 14th Atlanta Opera
December 15th Tampa Amphitheater
December 16th Toronto This Is London
December 17th Miami LIV

SnowGlobe Lineup

Here it is if you missed the announcement last week!

Deep Dish “Talking” About Reforming

In a recent interview with Mixmag Sharam admitted Deep Dish are, “talking about” reforming for a new project. The Grammy award winning house DJ and producer says, “We’ve been talking about it. We’ve all been really busy doing our own thing…but we have been talking about it.”

He explained the reason they split is because they, “felt limited.” He says, “We achieved things one could only dream of. It was frustrating because at times you would go to a gig, and they would not really respect you because the other guy wasn’t there. We’re two individual people.

So now we’ve achieved that, the idea (of reuniting) is becoming more pleasant.”

See the full interview below.

(via Mixmag)

Universal and Sony Buy EMI

Billboard reports that CitiGroup has sold off EMI‘s recorded music division to Vivendi/Universal Music Group for £1.2 billion ($1.91 billion). EMI Publishing Group will go to Sony.

EMI’s recorded music division includes such artists as David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Blur/Gorillaz, Beastie Boys, LCD Soundsystem, Queen, Roxy Music, Snoop Dogg, and a little band called the Beatles. EMI Publishing Group’s catalog features Arcade Fire, Daft Punk, Kanye West, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Amy Winehouse, Lou Reed, Drake, Joanna Newsom, Kate Bush, and many more.

The deals still have to pass European and U.S. regulating committees, however. As Billboardreports, the Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), which represents European independent labels such as Rough Trade, XL, Matador, 4AD, Epitaph, and PIAS,objected to the sales, telling the European Commission that such mergers would create monopolies.

The sales come just about nine months after CitiGroup took over EMI from Terra Firma Capital, a private equity firm that bought the music group in 2007 and was subsequently swallowed by debt.

Billboard reports that in a press release from Universal, Mick Jagger is quoted: ”This is a very positive development and I particularly welcome the fact that EMI will once again be owned by people who really do have music in their blood.”

(via Pitchfork)

Daft Punk Speculation

The group’s website has changed to just a simple splash page… What do you think they have in the works?

What Happens In Vegas…

To paraphrase Hunter S Thompson on Las Vegas: “There’s madness in any direction, at any hour. You can strike sparks anywhere. There’s a fantastic universal sense that whatever we’re doing is right, that we’re winning.”

It’s a pretty accurate description of Mixmag’s debut club night in Vegas here at the Encore Beach Club. It’s 4pm on a Sunday afternoon in late September but the desert sun is really unforgiving. At 36C it’s so hot that the bars around the three pools of the club spray out a cooling water vapour to keep the crowds of clubbers comfortable enough to dance.

With the weather this hot it makes sense for Mixmag’s first monthly Vegas party to be paired with Pete Tong, who’s been hosting ‘Pete’s Pool Parties’ at the Encore Beach Club all summer. The venue is made up of 60,000sq feet of daybeds, dancefloors and decadence. The crowd are wearing board shorts or bikinis and sipping from jugs of margaritas and mojitos in the outdoor club – which cost $68m to build.

The venue is one of the most beautiful day clubs in the world and has helped spearhead the rise of the pool party, which is just one of the reasons that the last 12 months in Vegas has changed everything in clubland.

“The beach party phenomena kicked off last year,” Tongy says, sipping a double espresso in the welcomingly air-conditioned Society Café inside the luxurious Encore hotel. “I was booked to play here and noticed my set time was 1pm. I thought it was a mistake. I came here at midday and there were 5,000 people out already. I looked around and thought ‘this could turn into something’. It was definitely something we don’t have in Ibiza.’”

It wasn’t just the opulence of Encore Beach Club that made Mixmag want to make this place home, it was its residents. Along with Tongy, Deadmau5, Afrojack and Skrillex all play here regularly.

At night the outdoor part of the venue links to Surrender, an indoor club filled with strip poles and cocktails, to make the ultimate indoor and outdoor club. It’s the same spot where resident Calvin Harris set his ‘Bounce’ video. Two nights ago, under a hammering of screeching dubstep, Skrillex was stood on top of the decks lobbing oversized styrofoam glowsticks out to a frenetic mix of club kids, Hollywood producers and a stunned Mixmag team. So how did we get to this point?

America hasn’t just suddenly ‘got’ dance music – they invented DJing, house and techno, remember? But dance got sidelined behind more popular home-grown genres like hip hop, rock and, ahem, country music. Eleven years ago Mixmag reported on the States’ ‘Summer Of Love’. Back then, while a scattering of cities had a modest DJ culture, raves were held in the deserts in between LA and Vegas. Events with 30,000 people became common but George Bush’s anti-rave bill (put through as The Ecstasy Prevention Act of 2001) hampered their growth at the same time cities like New York were being ‘cleaned up’ and sanitised with earlier closing times and restrictive licences.

Dance music (or EDM, Electronic Dance Music, as Americans annoyingly refer to it) has slowly risen again. Hip hop stars began to use dance producers to make chart hits, internet radio allowed Americans to broaden their musical tastes and, while all this was happening, huge festivals like Ultra in Miami, Electric Daisy Carnival in LA and Electric Zoo in New York have grown year on year to reignite DJ culture.

So how did Vegas – once home to cigar- chomping slot-lovers as opposed to the fluoro- socked beautiful people we’ve been dancing with all day at Mixmag’s event – change? The shift in Vegas is credited to the same man who was also pivotal in bringing clubbing as we know it to the UK: Paul Oakenfold.

It was Oakie’s groundbreaking (albeit mocked, at the time) residency at Palm’s Rain night club in 2008 that changed the way Vegas looked at DJs. Oakenfold’s night with fire machine, lasers, LED screens and off-duty Cirque De Soleil girls swinging from the ceiling didn’t just change how a DJ was perceived but also, crucially, the acceptable music policy for an entire city.

“We knew we were doing something different,” says Paul, now based in LA. “But that’s what made it good. At the time, every single club focused on hip hop. In my mind I thought it was a no-brainer.”

“Paul and I were told by many that we were going to fail and that it would never work,” says Michael Fuller of The Palms, who set up the game-changing residency. “Someone had to take the leap of faith and put a proper international club experience on a Saturday night, and bet the bank on it. ‘Paul Oakenfold presents Perfecto Vegas’ took Las Vegas to the tipping point.”

Today, driving down Vegas’ infamous Strip, you’ll see billboards for Steve Aoki and Armin Van Buuren where Celine Dion and David Copperfield once loomed. And those same posters for Vegas clubs are also all over LA, one of the biggest cities in the world, just a four-hour drive away.

But Oakie wasn’t the only Brit integral in realigning the Vegas nightlife. Neil Moffit (best known in the UK for setting up Godskitchen and Global Gathering) was one of the first promoters to set up a club outside of the huge Vegas hotels – no mean feat in the town he says is the most cut-throat in the world.

“If you think Ibiza is competitive, it’s nothing compared to here,” Neil tells Mixmag in Pure nightclub, which last night hosted a party for Jennifer Lopez. “There are tens of millions of dollars invested in nightclubs here. When I built [Birmingham superclub] Code in 1999 I got change out of £1m. I’ve got a project on the table here that costs $80m. It’s a whole different game.”

Vegas’ nightlife is evolving faster than you can say “No more bets, please”. Three years ago, of the town’s 130 or so bars and nightclubs, 80 per cent played hip hop. Today, it’s 80 per cent dance. The American economy slowing down has meant gambling revenues have fallen, but the clubs are full.

“It was only a matter of time before electronic music got its place over here,” says Chuckie, who plays at Vegas’ Marquee club. “It’s the perfect environment for DJs and artists because a lot of DJs have a residency now; it’s only natural that it grew this fast.”

“The crowd has changed a lot this past year,” says Zen Freeman, an LA-based British DJ who now opens for Paul Oakenfold. “The majority of people used to come to Vegas for the gambling and strip clubs. Now they come from all over for the EDM. Where else on a Saturday afternoon can you see Pete Tong, Deadmau5 and Laidback Luke at three different hotel pools, and then see Steve Angello, Erick Morillo, Paul Oakenfold and Tiësto at four different clubs at night?”

This summer American dance music had its Woodstock in the shape of The Electric Daisy Carnival, a 250,000-capacity dance festival that left LA for the first time to come to Vegas’ Motor Speedway, much to the delight of the city’s mayor, Oscar Goodman, who declared the week surrounding the festival “Electric Daisy Carnival Week” despite not actually knowing what “Electric Daisy music” was.

Vegas does have an underground scene, but doesn’t shout about it. An after-hours spot called Drai’s is the closest thing The Strip has to an afterparty. Notorious as one of the first places in Vegas to regularly book house DJs, the low-lit, plush basement venue was playing Maya Jane Coles tracks when Mixmag popped in. “Tiësto likes it here,” says manager Marc Snanoudj. “A lot of the big DJs come down here after they’ve played elsewhere.” But the real underground is downtown in an area known as Freemont East District. Lounges like Insert Coins and Vanguard are filled with hipsters who take pride in telling you they wouldn’t be seen dead on The Strip.

With its new love affair with DJ culture, the Vegas tourist board has been quick to compare the city to Ibiza.

“It’s further to travel for Brits,” says Jo Hartley, account director for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “But then the room rates are extremely competitive and it’s not seasonal, so while you have to wait until May to visit Ibiza, here you can do it all year round.”

But not everyone likes the comparison. Back in May, at Ibiza’s IMS conference, a hall of delegates voted on whether Vegas could become an equivalent of the White Isle. The reply was a 100 per cent answer of ‘No’. Eddie Dean of Pacha New York argued that, “It’s insulting to Ibiza to compare them. Ibiza is organic and natural.”
But Markus Schulz, who has been a resident DJ in Vegas and Ibiza, says the opposite. “All the promoters from the desert raves have grown up and are running the Vegas club scene. In that way Vegas does have hippy roots in the scene. It is organic. It’s not been started by people in suits.”

The most obvious difference between clubbing in Vegas compared to the UK is the crowds. For a start, if you’re under 21 you’re not getting in anywhere. Secondly, although drugs may be easy to get hold of away from the clubs, you won’t see anyone getting messy in them because the venues have too much to lose. At many clubs, if you don’t have guest list you may wait for over an hour (and in some places two) And the best clubs can be picky about who comes in, something the UK’s clubs stopped doing in the 90s.

The Vegas crowds are mainly tourists, but it’s the rise of regular clubbers from LA that is changing the way clubbing is perceived.
“I could play tonight at Marquee and it would probably be a different crowd than last night,” says Markus Schulz. “I think the next step is boutique clubs where the music is more niche and DJs can be discovered out here.”

Vegas clubs make their money through the bars, which means tailoring for the upper echelons of the crowd with table service and VIP culture. But this also ensures clubs won’t close ’til they’ve stopped making money, which is where the 24-hour licensing comes in.

One party that is showing no signs of stopping is Mixmag’s event at Encore. Tongy drops Azari & III’s ‘Hungry For The Power’ and there’s so much dancing in the pool that the water starts forming white water rapids.

Kaskade, one of the biggest names on the Vegas circuit and a fellow regular at Encore & Surrender, tells us that “Vegas crowds are getting more knowledgeable about dance music. When I first started playing here, people were at the clubs just because they wanted to be somewhere to party, the soundtrack was not a concern for them. Now you have thousands of people seeking out specific artists and shows. That’s something new for dance music in Vegas.”

With the sun in his eyes, Pete leans over from his DJ booth to echo Kaskade’s sentiment. “You don’t have to do the lowest common denominator thing any more. I’m playing what I pretty much do in Ibiza and it’s going off! It’s taken the whole of this summer to get to this point, but it’s happening. Slowly but surely.”
Bottomless budgets, endless talent and clubs that make every night feel like NYE: Vegas has invested a lot of dollar to become clubland’s new playground. And the house always wins.

Mixmag’s monthly Las Vegas club night takes place at Encore Beach Club/Surrender. Our next event is the Mixmag Halloween party with Afrojack on Oct 28, then Thanksgiving Eve with Dada Life on Nov 23

(via Mixmag)

Toks

Just in time for your weekend debauchery, I present to you dirty dancers my 2011 Halloween Mix. I’m excited for you guys to hear this one because of the fresh-faced talent, some unreleased tracks to look forward to, and some classics that are sure to get you ready to rage and thirsty for blood. So grab the mix, and get your pre-game/costume party/afterparty on– this one is gonna wake the dead.

• BONES – HALLOWEEN MIX 2011 √+

*Please go ‘LIKE’ my BONES page to DOWNLOAD!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Michael Jackson & Vincent Price – Thriller (Intro Vocal Edit)
2. Clockwork – Hulk (Original Mix)
3. Cicada – Come Together (Beataucue Remix)
4. Tristan Garner & Gregori Klosman – Bounce (Original Mix)
5. Wolfgang Gartner vs. Rusko – 818 Everyday (No Body Edit)
6. Etienne De Crecy – Hope (Alternate Studio Version)
7. Fedde Le Grand – Metrum (Original Club Mix)
8. Market Price – Luxe (Unreleased)
9. MAYBB – Touring In NY (Original Mix)  (MAYBB = Benny + Alle Benassi)
10. Bart B More & TAI – Spezi (Unreleased)
11. Dr. Gonzo – Springer (We Don’t Belong In Pacha Remix)
12. Clockwork – Squad Up (MAKJ Hands Up Vocal Edit)
13. Michael Woods – First Aid (Original Mix)
14. Mustard Pimp – ZHM (Dada Life Remix)
15. Fuser – Bangtuk (JFK Edit)
16. D.I.M. – Is You (Original Mix)
17. Nom De Strip & BONES – Yo! (Unreleased)
18. Duck Sauce – Big Bad Wolf (Gesaffelstein Remix)
19. Gesaffelstein – Viol (Original Mix)
20. Sticky K – Persian Algebra (Unreleased)
21. Proxy – Raven (Planet Rock Moombahween Bootleg)

…TRICK OR TREAT YO SELF.

///BONES

On Saturday, Smirnoff’s hotly anticipated Sensation event rolled into London for an unparalleled night of mischief in white. The setup – which drew together 22 fountains, 13 laser systems, 100 different pyrotechnic effects and 16 6-meter wide jellyfish – was like nothing we’ve ever seen. Following on from last week’s chat with the man behind it all, creative director Duncan Stutterheim, one thing he said resonated with me: “the show is close to perfection”. I’ll be the first to admit that the statement sounded a little arrogant initially, but after experiencing Saturday, I find myself in agreement.

The show was beautifully executed, and no expense was spared as the London crowd piled into the O2 Arena to be treated to a spectacle that incorporated performance art, installations, new technologies, and music from some of the world’s finest DJs. The DJs performed from a rotating booth in the centre of the dance floor, while legions of clubbers hailed them like gods dressed head to toe in white. This was a clubbing experience like no other.

The most enjoyable set on the night came from Joris Voorn and Nic Fanciulli, who really set the standard with some awesome techno and house, before Fedde Le Grand and Martin Solveig took the party to the next level with some huge big-room anthems. All DJs were really well received, but the night was less about the music than it was about the experience and overall staging of the event which was a total sensory overload. We had a great time, and would like to thank the Smirnoff team for their awesome hospitality.

On a night out, it’s always nice to hear praise for the work we do here at Gotta Dance Dirty, and when that praise comes from a world renowned DJ it’s even more flattering and lets us know that we must be doing something right. Getting kudos for our blog from Martin Solveig was a surreal highlight on Saturday night when we caught up with him before his headline set. You can read our exclusive interview with him after the jump…

GDD: So is this your first Sensation event?

MS: This is somewhere around my 15th!

GDD: And from a DJ’s perspective, what is it that makes Sensation so different from other dance music events?

MS: It differs a lot. Playing Sensation is not like playing your regular festival – it’s being part of an integrated team for one night and so it makes it very interesting. For me, I treat it almost like a side project, as it’s not solely about me like my shows are. I’ve been working with the team in Holland for 4-5 years, it’s a super cool event, really well organized and the production is amazing. Sometimes it’s also a really good way for all of us to travel and play to crowds we wouldn’t usually play to. When I played Sensation in Spain, it was almost the first show I’d ever played there, so it’s a good vibe.

GDD: So does your Sensation set differ from your club set, and are you playing to your surroundings and the visual spectacle?

MS: It differs for sure, firstly with the energy levels: my personal style is very much a fidget house oriented sound, lots of fast cuts and the festival mentality of keeping a crowd very busy. When you play a festival you want to make every minute count, but when you play Sensation, you are kindly asked not to do this, and to play a little bit more on the vibe so the people can feel the production more. This also has to do with the length of the event, which lasts for 7 or 8 hours, so you don’t want to kill the vibe or peak too early. At Sensation, there’s more of a progressive element and each DJ seeks to build the night, so you take it a little bit easier and let the record do the job. This means the rhythm of the mix is a bit slower.

GDD: How do you go about finding your records?

MS: I have a pretty wide range of stuff I can play and I’d say that my normal set is pretty rock-ish, and sometimes a little bit urban. Most of the time there are guitars, but tonight I’ve set that aside and am going a little bit more electro.

GDD: Do you ever plan your sets or is it all spontaneous?

MS: I have a few tracks that I’ll drop almost every set – of course my own tracks – but aside from that, the rest of it’s floating. Today because we’re in London, I thought I’d play more UK producers, guys like Calvin Harris or Michael Woods.

GDD: And where’s your favorite place to play?

MS: My favorite place in the world to play is and always has been Australia. It’s what I’d call “DJ’s paradise” [laughs]. It’s for a reason though, the music taste of Australians seems very close to mine, so I’m always able to connect really well with crowds out there. Chatting with other DJs and musicians, everyone thinks they’re probably the best crowd you can play to. You always get fierce party animals out there, and because of the weather, the sky is always blue and everyone’s always wearing swim suits, so of course that always helps. It’s just an amazing place to play!

GDD: As a high profile DJ, how do you manage to balance DJ sets, production commitments and your private life?

MS: Private life always suffers when you’re very busy, but being almost a 35 year old man and having done this for quite a bit of time, I’ve decided to balance things a little bit more and so my DJ schedule will not be open all year round now. I’ll take some time off for production and also a little bit for the rest.

GDD: When was the moment you realized that you’d accomplished your dream of becoming a professional DJ and a producer?

MS: That sort of thing crosses my mind almost every day, because it’s a very lucky life. I studied until the age of 23 or 24, and at the same time I was already starting to DJ and produce in Europe. When I graduated, I took one year off to finish my debut album, but it didn’t work at all. For a reason, I had one track that did break through called ‘Madan’ (a remix of legendary Malian musician Salif Keita)  and that sort of made the first step that led me to where I am now. So I guess I’ve had 12 years of being a professional DJ, I’m not the only one, but yeh, it’s crazy!

GDD: And if you weren’t a DJ?

MS: My next fantasy – I don’t know if it’s possible, but let’s have dreams – would be a movie director.

GDD: What sort of stuff?

MS: A lot of different stuff. I think comedy is very difficult but very interesting. This is what we try to do a little bit with Smash on a very low key way. But yeh, why not!

GDD: Your videos are very distinctive as is your dress sense. How many headbands do you own and why this one?

MS: This is my official one, I designed it, so I have plenty of those and throw them away into the crowd during my sets.

GDD: What does 2011 have in store for Martin Solveig?

MS: I have a new episode of Smash coming out in September with a new single, and the story will go on like this. We have a few things that we shot already and a few things we need to finish, but the album is done and I’m gonna make some remixes. I’m also starting a couple of new productions, but that would be for 2012.

GDD: And Finally, when you’re not DJing and you’re on the dance floor as a punter, do you dance dirty?

MS: Of course I dance very very dirty. And if you don’t believe me you can ask Skrillex!

Sweet FA

This weekend, Smirnoff are set to bring the legendary Sensation event to the UK for the very first time. Taking place on Saturday night at London’s sold out O2 Arena inside the Millenium Dome, Smirnoff presents Sensation: The Ocean of White. Resident Mr.White will be joined by a stacked lineup that includes Erick E, Sander van Doorn, Fedde Le Grand, Martin Solveig, Joris Voorn & Nic Fanciulli, while the production element promises to be spectacular and like no other.

We caught up with the man behind Sensation: Duncan Stutterheim for a rare interview, during which he puts to bed the question many of our Stateside readers are itching to hear an answer to: Will Sensation ever come to the US?
Get the inside scoop after the jump…

GDD: How did you come up with the initial concept for Sensation?

DS: We were putting on parties for over 10 years before the new Ajax stadium was built in Amsterdam. When you organize big parties and then your local football club builds a big stadium, it of course becomes a huge dream to throw a party there! However, we felt that that the stadium was a very difficult surrounding to make one feel at home in, like a club does. So from day one we spend a lot of money and time thinking about how we could decorate and put on a show that created this homely atmosphere.

GDD: Was your first event a really big scale event, or did you have to build the Sensation brand from the ground up?

DS: Our first party was for 300 people and we really loved it. After that, we were looking for a new venue to do a party for around 3,000 people, however when we threw it, instead of the 3,000 people more than 11,000 people came, which meant that from that day on, we only organized big events! The first Sensation was for 17,000 people but it felt like 30,000, and that took place in the year 2000.

GDD: If you were describing it to a dance music fanatic, how does the Sensation experience differ to that of other well known events, for example the Global Gatherings, Creamfields, and EDC’s of the world?

DS: Firstly, Sensation offers a feeling of everyone being united because you’re all dressed in white. Secondly, it feels like the biggest club on earth on that particular evening, and as a result all the energy stays in the main room, so together with the show and decoration, we really take you through a journey.

GDD: As a huge set of events, you must be constantly attempting to push the boundaries for the dance music consumer. How do you make each Sensation unique and different from the previous one?

DS: We have a team of more than 20 people who work full time on setting up the party. The creative guys spend over a year working full time on a new show and every year they come up with new ideas. This technique helps us evolve and develop new experiences for the party-goer.

GDD: Are you able to tell us what new touches the Sensation group are bringing to London this weekend?

DS: We have thrown these shows many times now, and each time it has evolved, so it really is close to perfection. The O2 venue is beautiful and because we’ve sold out, I think the energy will be amazing!

GDD: I heard a rumor you’re moving to the States later this summer?

DS: Yes, we’re moving to New York.

GDD: So Sensation’s going to throw parties in the US then – when and where’s the first one taking place?

DS: We don’t know where the first event will be held yet, but electronic music is taking off right now and we are looking forward to being part of the dance scene over there.

GDD: You must have experienced some of the world’s finest clubs, where are your personal favourites to enjoy a night out when you’re not working?

DS: Either Ibiza in pre-season, or Queensday in Amsterdam.

GDD: What’s been your favourite country to hold an event in so far? And who dances the best and goes the hardest?

DS: The people in Chile dance the hardest, but always the first show in any country is an amazing thing to witness.

GDD: Cheers for taking the time Duncan, we’re looking forward to Saturday.

If you’re heading to Sensation this weekend keep an eye out for the GDD stickers and come say whats up. No rioting please, let’s keep this blissful.

Sweet FA

What a butt, right? Anyway, I’d like to thank you all for your feedback on the recent Dirts that we’ve been putting up in past weeks. We know you guys all love your free music, but we also want to make you all aware of great new tracks that big time artists are playing out that you may not have heard of before. Therefore, we will be keeping The Dirt to tracks available for download, zipped up tight for your bulky pleasure. In addition, we will be starting up a new Artist Chart-type feature where artists will throw us 10-15 tracks that they’re fond of. Not sure what to name it yet, so if you guys have any ideas feel free to comment below. We’d love to hear your input.

This week, Troy Kurtz and I decided to do a double-team Dirt for you guys. Each of us took a completely different take on these tunes, so don’t be surprised that his 6 have absolutely no relation to my 6. TK has used his recent trip to ATL as an inspiration, and I just felt like it was necessary to go with some of the bigger House tracks that have been in heavy rotation since last Monday. Let us know what you think! Tunes after the jump.

Troy’s 6 –

Wacka Flocka Flame – Ball ft. Tity Boi AKA 2 Chains
This is my favorite track off of Waka’s latest Benjamin Button mixtape. It perfectly exemplifies bricksquad goon rap.

Jim Jones Ft. Cam’Ron And Lady H – Gettin To the Money
I snagged this Jim Jones heater from Brenmar’s ‘Gold Bricks’ mix. I’ve always been a fan of the swagger in both Jim Jones and Cam’Ron.

Travis Porter – Make It Rain (Heroes + Villains Remix)
The undeniable stripper anthem. Atlanta godfather Heroes + Villains dropped some dubstep flavor on it to make girls drop it low even faster. Shout out to the girls at Pony.

Too Short – Snap (Prod. by Travis Barker)
If you haven’t copped Travis Barker’s mixtape ‘Let the Drummer Get Wicked’, you’re slippin!

Chris Brown – Look At Me Now (Caligula Remix)
I opened my set with this Caligula remix in Atlanta last weekend and a riot almost ensued.

Ace Hood – Hustle Hard (Spinstyles Remix)
DJ Khaled picked up Ace Hood in 2007 and has been on beats with Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and T-Pain, but this hood anthem is my favorite from him. Spinstyles added the dubstep muscle that makes this remix flex.

Zip #1

Jonah’s 6 –

Azari & III – Hungry For The Power (Art Department Remix) *192
Perfect poolside jam. Azari & III + Art Department = pure sex.

Fedde Le Grand ft. Patric La Funk – Autosave (Original Mix)
This one has been out for a bit, but it’s had a recent revival in my iTunes. Can’t go wrong with a massive FLG track. Hands up!

Afrojack & Quintino – Selecta (Original Mix) [Beatport]
If you’re heading to Vegas this June for EDC, expect to hear this big track from Grammy award winner, Afrojack!

Blatta & Inesha – Basso Grasso (Original Mix)
The Italian duo known previously for their Electro prowess have gone with a big Techno infused track with this release on Freakz Me Out Records. Keep your eyes out for a B&I North American tour this summer!

Deadmau5 – Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Extended Remix)
I’m so glad the remixes have finally surfaced for this track. After being completely blown away by Joel’s original, the teenage producer from Nantes stepped it up to a higher level with this extremely well-made remix.

Wax Motif & Neoteric – Go Deep (Extended Mix) *192
I posted on this release last week and felt it necessary to give it another mention. Disco and Deep had a baby and Wax Motif & Neoteric delivered it.

Zip #2

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♥ jonahberry + TK

Dutchman FEDDE LE GRAND shouldn’t need an introduction, afterall he released “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit,” one of my all time favourite tunes. Since that single dropped, his profile has been growing bigger and bigger and well, bigger.

I was pretty excited to see his latest appear in the inbox but had a huge amount of skepticism with BENNY BENASSI attached to it. Let’s just say NICKY ROMERO‘s remix, full of it’s 21st Century tribal-like drums makes up for everything.

MP3: Fedde Le Grand – Rockin’ High (Nick Romero remix)

MP3: Fedde Le Grand – Rockin’ High (Benny Benassi remix)

Well today I am feeling somewhat down as my team Greece was booted from the World Cup.Now I knew from the beginning the chances were slim for them but I still had hope after we beat Nigeria.Aside from that though I do have something to turn the sadness around and that is dope music.I do however when thinking about trophies and contest “Why haven ‘t the Grammy’s or any other Music awards put in a blog section yet;I mean come on we do influence the music industry heavily don’t we?”.Anyways Let me start by saying today we have some huge tunes.We have new clockwork,a killer Barbra Streisand remix,lots of dope Fabian, and much more.I hope this tracklist makes everyone smile.Enough of the talk lets rage.Enjoy…

Access Denied-Great Trip ————->Purchase Here

Aeons-Beyond The Satellites(Nick Verwey Remix)

Aeons-Beyond The Satellites(Ted’s Like Woah! mix)

Andre Pipipi – Feel Good Scream (Gorillaz vs Michael Jackson)

Black Eyed Peas – I Got A Feelin (Nick Sandoval’s Dont Forget The Bass Re-Fix)

Disco Trash Music-Grand Slam(NAFF Remix)

Dragonette – Easy (Fabian Remix)

Duck Sauce-Barbara Streisand (Manila Killa Edit)

Fabian – Heatwave

Fedde Le Grand-Back & Forth (Mr.Alex Remix)

Fred Falke – Back to Stay (Fabian Remix)

Jump Jump Dance Dance – Modern Eyes (Bit Funk Remix)

Jump Jump Dance Dance-Modern Eyes (Beni Remix)

La Roux vs. Afrojack & David Guetta-I’m Not Your Toyfriend(GabeLincoln Mashup)

Liam Bailey-I Belong

Major Lazer-Pon De Floor (Dancing Robot Remix)

Mike Posner-Cooler Than Me (Skeet Skeet’s AY! Edit)

Nick Sandoval-Big Time

Oh Shit! – Everybody Needs (Fabian Remix)

Pete Lawrie-All That We Keep(Don Diablo Remix)

Phil Collins – Sussudio (Nick Sandoval’s Take 2 Edit)

Recast DJs-Dancemachine —————->Purchase Here

Sickboy-Bang Your Head (Clockwork Remix)

Skrillex – Weekend(Disrupt The Scene remix)

Sweet Track – Two-way Mirror (Mirror People Remix) ———->Purchase Here or Here

Van Halen – Jump (CLKCLKBNG’s Cliff Brainchild Remix)

Wynter Gordon- Renegade (Vindata Remix)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Dull Life ((Pretty) Girls & Lasers Remix)

Hailing from Miami, SonicC has drawn support from dj/producer world with his dance anthem “Stickin” which went on to become one of the biggest tracks of 2009. Since “Stickin”s release SonicC has gone on to release tracks and remixes on Nervous Records, Ministry Of Sound, Mixmash, Fools Gold, Mute Records, and is now working on his debut full length album for Dim Mak Records. This track has a sweet street vibe that rolls with the deep steamy drums kicks

N.E.R.D – Hot N’ Fun ft Nelly Furtado (SonicC Remix) ysi 320

TreeBoi and Kone hail from the outskirts of NSW in Australia. The two members have combined to create an assortment indie dance with influences drawn from ‘8-bit’, crazy synth and electronica hip hop. this track rolls out like a drive by shooting in double dragon on Sega Master system 2

Fedde Le Grand – Back and Forth (TreeBoi & Kone Remix) ysi 320

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So today it’s really grey and rainy.Pretty miserable out but that doesn’t keep me down for I have great music to listen to and now you do to.I hope this gets everyone’s week jump started cause we only have 4 days til Friday which means party party party.Unless of course your like me and you party starts tom.Once again all my Charlotte,NC readers sign up for our guest list for tom night at Butter NC it is going to be huge.We will have a very special guest and here’s a hint.”Over” anyways as I said you can sign up for the guest list here.Also we will have a table so come get a drink on us.As for now.Enjoy….

Big Blocks-BWA(Barletta Remix Feat. Easy)

Dion’s-The Wanderer(Spencer Product Cover)

Fedde Le Grand-Back ‘n’ Forth(Dancing Robot Music Remix)

Fixd-This Is Not Electro(12” Plastic Toys Remix)

Get Far-SHINING STAR(RIVIERA REMIX)

Gyber-Assid Goggles(Reflux mix)

H.Y.D.E.-Canonic

H.Y.D.E.-Pripyat

Kavinsky-Nightcall (Anthony Atcherley remix)

Kavinsky-Nightcall(12” Plastic Toys Remix)

La Chansons-Totally Beachin’

The Whip-Secret Weapon

ThorTron-Blood On The Dance Floor

Treasure Fingers-We Are The People (FiSK Remix)

Two Door Cinema Club-What You Know(Andre Pipipi Baile Funk Remix)