Pendulum - "Crush" - Song of the Day - [2/17/15]

Pendulum was a one of a kind full band that kicked out the drum and bass beats. Looking back they were a sort of super group, as they are now mostly members of other killer bands. Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen make up the hugely popular electro group Knife Party. KJ Swaka their former drummer is now a member of the futuristic robot group Destroid. And Paul Harding the drum and bass guru still represents Pendulum doing DJ sets from time to time. The other former members of the band are Ben Mount, and Peredur ap Gwynedd. I am bummed that I wasn't able to see the group together, and they are most likely never getting back together. But any time that Paul Harding comes through to do a DJ set, you best believe I'll be there. This is the official video for "Crush" from the album Immersion.

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Forever Festival @ Freedom Hill Amphitheatre (9/19/14 - 9/20/14) [Review]

 
Review by: Trenton D'Amico

What a weekend at Freedom Hill this two day event blew me away with it's expansive range of dance music! Going from house, to trap, and into the grimiest dubstep you've ever heard all in a matter hours. The Forever Stage was the events main stage and was surely a sight to see. A slight change in the second stage kind of put a damper on the atmosphere but the tented local stage gave us a interesting look some very talented up and coming artists. 

Day 1

I started my day off with the Nervo girls. This dynamic duo gave the crowd a taste of some house music and even a little bit of trap. Nervo said in the beginning of their set, they'd play only one trap song, and they stayed true to their word. The energy that was behind this set made it what it was and I'm sure most would agree. About half way through their set it started to really fill up. I went into this show a bit blind not knowing much from Nervo and I was very impressed. They were a great opener for Krewella!

About half way through Nervo I snuck over to the Local Stage and said what up to K@Dog. A local talent from the Detroit area that has been moving the feet of music lovers for years. Known for his grimy bass music and glitchy beats K@dog is always a must see. Casually puffing on his electronic cigarette while tearing up the headlining spot on the day one local stage! Although the music was on point, the crowd was not. An unfortunate turn out on the local stage while most prepared for the nights main stage headliner! 

Day one was nearing it's end but first it was time for Krewella! I was expecting to see all three of them but only Jahan and Yasmine could make it. Warming us up with their hit "Party Monster" was a very wise decision and we were sure to let them know! At this point the place was packed and every had rushed to the front. The sisters continuously switched back and forth singing along with the crowd as they played some of our favorite tunes! About half way through the show they announced a special guess to come on stage and it was none other than Leighton from Adventure Club. Playing as well as singing "Rise and Fall" live! Being my third Krewella set, I was very pleased with the outcome of the first night! 

Day 2

The second day was combined with Rockstar's "Safe In Sound" Tour. (Check out more info on future dates and tickets here!) Though the storms had just begun, nothing was going to prevent this sold out day from happening. I didn't get the chance to see Terravita or Drew 32, but I did make it in time for Caked Up! They came on stage and together they ran the trap! The condensed crowd filled up the pavilion. Everyone was energized but you could tell the people were ready for Destroid!

Getting a first peak at the Destroid drum set got everyone fired up, it was almost time for the show. With about a 15 minute intermission between we waited patiently for the chaos to begin. The storm overhead enhanced the ambiance, lightning all around us the lights went down as the three aliens took their places. Destroid consists of three very talented artists, Excision, Downlink and KJ Sawka. The perfect team when it comes to grime. This rambunctious live dubstep performance continuously blasted the crowd with bass and no one could get enough. Sterling Heights has proudly been Destroid!

 

After I recovered from the
last act I had to prepare myself for Adventure Club. Starting out with some head banging bass music, they showed they were ready for business! These two proudly stood in front of their logo providing us with some of the greatest tracks in the industry. When they dropped their hit remix of "Crave You" the entire place went crazy. Blasting confetti into the air created the perfect theme at the time. I forgot how powerful that song is! Half way through Flux came on stage and started setting up. It was time!

Flux Pavilion was up and he was ready to slay. He made sure the crowd was ready too before he began with some hype on the mic. "Are you ready?" I instantly knew that was a trick question. Flux Pavilion went back into some early classic songs and he had the crowd in awe. With CO2 cannons coming from the ceiling as well as multiple spots on the stage, it was hard to not be. Not that far into his set he mixed into his huge "Recess" remix. He played this song at Counterpoint back in April before it came out and I've loved it ever since! Hearing it live gets me every time.

One thing that caught my attention was that Flux Pavilion mixed a little drum and bass into his set! I first heard the new DnB song when Funtcase played at a show earlier this year. Can't wait to hear it drop! Unfortunately all good things must come to an end at some point in time. Not before playing the famous remix of "Gold Dust" though. An encore that put the cherry on top of the night and still left me wanting more. Another fantastic year of Forever Fest is in the books and we look ahead to the next year we can all meet again!

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Forever Festival + Safe in Sound Lineup - Sterling Heights, Michigan [Preview]

Forever Festival returns to Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights Michigan a week from today! React Detroit is teaming up with Rockstar's Safe in Sound tour to make this year even bigger. This time with a lineup too large for one day. The two day event will bring some of the biggest names in electronic music to Freedom Hill including - Krewella, Adventure Club, Destroid, Flux Pavilion and many more. Get tickets now before they sell out! You can get more information and tickets here.

Flux Pavilion at Forever Festival 2013

(Photo by: Trenton D'Amico)

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Downlink - "Tiger" - Song of the Day - [7-28-14]

Downlink is a badass. He's a producer, he's a part of the robot band Destroid, and he runs his own record label called Uplink Audio. This song "Tiger" is a couple years old now but I still rock it out often. "Tiger" is a killer track in the moombahcore style, a sub-genre somewhere in between moombahton and hardcore dubstep. Stay on the up and up with Downlink's label Uplink Audio and follow him on his official facebook page here.

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Global Dance Festival @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre [7/18/14-7/20/14] (Review)

Review By:
Justin D'Amico

Last weekend was the 12th annual Global Dance Festival at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. Formerly called Rave on the Rocks, the event has evolved into a huge collective of top electronic artists on three stages. Global Dance Festival was a massive 3 day long bash with big names in all electronic genres.

Red Rocks Amphitheater is an incredible location for both the optical amazement and perfect natural acoustics. The amphitheater's main stage is nestled right in the middle of a wondrous geological rock formation. There are two famous rocks, Ship Rock and Creation Rock, on each side of the rows of seating terraces leading down to the main stage. When coming to Red Rocks there are four different entrances and a number of different parking lots. From some lots you have to hike up a bit to reach the main stage, and from there it's another hike up to the top. There is one small parking lot at the top mostly designated as handicapped parking. At the top of the amphitheater is an open platform with a beautiful view, on clear days you can see the skyline of Denver fifteen miles away. Red Rocks is a place like no other for a show, or even better a festival! The sound is awesome and the sights are epic.

For Global Dance Festival the three stages were set up strategically to not have sound bleed over between the different areas. The main stage was of course the amphitheater, the second stage was located on the top platform of the venue, and a third stage was on a separate lower terrace located off the back side of the top platform. Each stage had its own charm and all three had interesting views of either the foothills or the famous red rocks.

The audio and visual staff for Global Dance Festival was on point the entire weekend with spectacular sound, lasers, and graphics. The laser specialists at Amazing Lasers, in particular Laser Hands, dazzled the crowd with a sick laser formation crossing the stage using both Ship Rock and Creation Rock as a canvas. The live laser show is all created on the fly, so a talented laser operator is key in timing cues with the music. The graphics displays were for the most part controlled by VJ Infinight, he did a great job using images from live camera feeds, turning them into works of art. For every artist VJ Infinight had a number of creative ways to display band logos or other unique images, and have them dance along with the music. Aspects like lasers and graphics cannot be set on auto mode, there are a whole crew of people steadily making adjustments to frame each magical moment in time.


Most memorable performances at Global Dance Festival 2014


Savant 

I am a huge fan of Savant, and he never lets his fans down. He makes superb music of every electronic sub-genre, tweaking and morphing glitches into his own perfect sounds. Savant creates more music than pretty much any other producer, and he mixes and masters all on his own too. During his set he had a couple mistakes, but it's to be expected when you are raging as hard as he does on stage. Savant also mentioned that he isn't a huge fan of trap and festival music during his set. Then he showed us how he puts his own personal spin on those styles and slayed. Savant also had a special guest with him, fellow producer Mr. Bill, he was just hanging out enjoying the festival and Colorado. The two didn't end up doing anything together live at Global Dance Festival, but I suspect they will have musical collaborations in the near future. They were probably working on new stuff in the hotel after the show. With how much Savant produces, it wouldn't surprise me.


Destroid 

The place was buzzing so hard on Saturday night for Destroid! I had never seen a Destroid show before, just clips online, and I knew I was in for a treat. For this performance Destroid went all out and brought Messinian to join the crew. Messinian led the crowd on the microphone providing a little extra in the hype department. Destroid went above and beyond my expectations with the hardest music all weekend and intense visuals. This was a set to remember and I am already eager to see Destroid again.




Andy C and Armanni Reign

The set by Andy C with Armanni Reign as his MC was totally drum and bass massive. Andy C was pretty much the only artist at the festival who goes with the fast drum and bass beats. Andy C went so hard it was like a mosh pit in the whole amphitheater. The crowd was under Armanni Reign's control, he would ask for noise and it would blare, he would ask for hands up and they would rise. I really enjoy good drum and bass music, it reminds me of Detroit and all the junglists who spin out there. It would be really cool to see more festivals incorporate drum and bass artists in the mix. A good variety of styles makes for a better festival, when everyone is playing trap music it can get dull. Big ups to Andy C and Armanni Reign for throwing down a booming drum and bass set.

It was surreal to attend my first ever concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater and have it be this massive electronic festival with a ton of music I love. Global Dance Festival was a blast, I am so happy I was able to be a part of it. This is one festival everyone who loves electronic dance music must attend at some point in their life. Big thanks to everyone who made these three days so impressive, especially the founders of Global Dance Festival, Ha Hau and Kostas Kouremenos. This weekend was one for the ages, see you all next year at Global Dance Festival 2015.

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Spring Awakening Lineup Announced! (Chicago)

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There you have it! React has done it again with a mind blowing lineup for Spring Awakening 2014! Returning to Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, this years event is bound to top those of the past! With performances from Tiesto, Pretty Lights, Kaskade, Destroid and many more, the only question is, Who's ready for some Chi town madness?

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Excision and Space Laces - "Destroid 11 - Get Stupid"

This is the latest from the 3 man robot super group Destroid. Excision and Space Laces come together again for this new song "Get Stupid". Destroid consists of Excision, Downlink, and KJ Sawka. The majority of the studio music production is done by Excision and Downlink, while KJ Sawka keeps the beat for the live shows as the drummer. Destroid has also collaborated with a number of other big names like: Bassnectar, Far Too Loud, Ajapai, and they have a handful of tracks with Space Laces. "Get Stupid" is a tough song to classify because the style keeps switching up. It starts out with a nice build up into a dubstep drop then back into another build but this time the drop is more like a hardstyle beat. After a few bars of hardstyle the beat switches back to a hardcore dubstep/drumstep tempo. The track simulates a live DJ set within a single song with constant changes and tweaks. "Get Stupid" is set to be released on Monday November 25th, make sure to check it out.

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