Get ready to hear some filthy live beats…
Some have called it the “EDM bubble” and others have called it just a trend. There is no denying the fact that Electronic Dance Music, as a whole, has become the most talked about scene in the music industry. With much talk and attention creates the desire to join the scene, in an attempt to “ride the wave” to fame. Every genre of music goes through influential phases like this that shape the culture associated with the scene. Quality will always prevail over quantity and that is why we’re seeing a shift in consciousness towards a more original, live style of performance and production. Also the type of things you will hear more at live sets than others are:
Saxophones: who doesn’t like to jam out?
Live drums: watching the drummer go hard in the paint.
Live Vocals: because sometimes we want to see someone give it their all!
Now some of you might not know this, but some top DJs such as Porter Robinson, Disclosure, and Keys N Krates have been recently bringing their fresh live instrumentals to the festival stages, showing the world that live instrumentation is the future of EDM.
Porter Robinson
Porter was a 15-year-old kid living in the rural area of Chapel Hill, NC when he began writing and producing gritty, aggressive electro house music. In 2011, Porter’s first EP “Spitfire” was honored as the very first release on Skrillex’s OWSLA imprint, which ended up charting #1 on ITunes and Beatport. He followed up Spitfire with a chart topping single in 2012 titled “Language” and another #1 titled “Easy” featuring fellow electro savant Mat Zo.
Porter was considered a “Push button” DJ for his first few years evolving in the dance music scene. To be honest, this made no difference for me when I saw him live due to his energy, intensity, creativity and stage presence. This dynamic aspect made his DJ set extremely refreshing.
Even though Porter seemed to be on top of the dance music world at the age of 21, he was nowhere near satisfied yet. Porter wanted to get deeper in touch with the emotional connection of dance music, veering away from his hard electro roots and replacing that with a warm synth-pop style that is geared towards an interactive live performance. Robinson decided to re-invent himself in a time when most other artists were trying to catch on to the current trend. Deviating from the generic formula, he has developed a full-blown visual escapade that supports a live keyboarding, drumming and singing.
There is something special about watching an artist perform their original tracks in a live setting for the first time. Comparing this live, interactive performance to a normal DJ set wouldn’t be fair. It’s difficult to describe in words the emotional journey. Porter provides in his hour and a half long set. Included is a video to help you really catch the feels!
Disclosure
Disclosure has become a household name to dance music fans and even your radio top 40 loving mom who embarrasses you every time she decides to hit the high note on “Latch”, Disclosure’s hit single, featuring Sam Smith. In the past few years they have really grabbed some great attention with “Latch” as it is played on repeat on most local pop stations in your city.
“Latch” and many other groovy house tracks brought instant spotlight to brothers Guy and Howard of Disclosure with release of their debut album “Settle”. “Settle” found immediate success in the UK, debuting #1 in UK albums and charting in the top 10 across European countries.
The brothers pride themselves on creating groovy pop music that utilizes the best qualities of both worlds, a funky; dance-able, underground beat matched with a catchy, feel good vocal. These Brits are no slouches when it comes to producing hits or live performance. Both brothers utilize a wide array of live midi instruments to bring their live performance to life.
Disclosure keeps on getting better with the news of their most recent album drop. The brand new, full length album “Caracal” recently released in September; with features such as Lorde, Sam Smith and many others, you’re more than guaranteed to see these extremely talented brothers bringing their live performance to a festival near you.
Keys N Krates
With so many new, talented artists appearing in the realm of dance music, it’s hard to pick a stand out but one of my favorites has to be Keys N Krates. These Toronto natives genuinely know how to bring the party, live action style. See below for who plays what in this trio:
Adam: your king of drums
David: on the keyboard and keeping it classy
Jr. FLO: as the turntablist and also hyping you ever for every drop
Their individual talents combine to create a bass heavy trap squad. Keys N Krates debut imprint titled “SOLOW” was released on Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Records in 2013. The highlight single “Treat Me Right” received cosigning from Mad Decent label boss Diplo, Anni Mac from BBC Radio 1 and Flosstradamus. With high profile support on their debut release, Keys N Krates were bound for undoubted success.
The guys’ most recent online success came with their 2014 release “Dum Dee Dum” which is a bass heavy track with a vocal sample that makes you want to shake your head back n forth with your trap arms flexing!
The music video for Dum Dee Dum is absolutely hilarious! The video documents a young, trendy man taking a boom box to a Mennonite farm, which could be compared to the primitive living of the Amish, and playing the new Keys N Krates song for an assortment of people. Young, old, small, tall, they all ended up dancing and grooving to the music! The video was nominated for a Berlin Music Video Award and a Prism Prize.
Keys N Krates have been touring North America and different countries on and off for the past year and a half, currently routing tours through Canada and Australia for the fall and then back to the USA in January. The guys from Toronto have made their way through Tallahassee, the home of GloFX, twice in the past 2 years and they never cease to amaze us. It’s truly a beautiful experience to see all three artists in perfect unison creating such an undeniable energy that couldn’t be replaced with one man behind a set of turntables. These guys tend to feed off of each other’s energy and the make the crowd feel just as hyped!
My personal favorite is the Drummer, Adam. He has the ability to close his eyes and let go of all doubt while simply vibing with the crowd. Overall his band, his instrument and the music, without missing a beat, can be pretty impressive! It doesn’t matter which band member you focus on, there is a special bond that’s developed with each artist due to the understanding that each one of these guys is doing their equal part to produce an unforgettable experience for you.
At GloFX, we’ve had the privilege to travel the country selling our products to fellow ravers at endless music festivals and we’ve concluded that these are the stand out acts that we KNOW you must witness at your next music festival! We promise you that you will enjoy these experiences when you hear all the new unique beats that these djs are bringing to the table. So grab a pair of diffraction glasses and use the coupon “LEDGlo”, get your ticket, and go rage!
—
Like, comment, and share with your friends! And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest updates.
