Tag Archives: EDM

Kanye West Spouts Cold Confessions In Atlantic City

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ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — Donning all white everything, Kanye West fearlessly commanded a sloped stage Friday night as he let his confessional lyrics carry an intimate, winter-themed performance.

Passionate fans flocked to Atlantic City dressed to the nines to get up close and personal with the rapper during his first of three consecutive nights at Revel Resort‘s 5,500-seat Ovation Hall.

Without the backing of any special guests or the dancers that have joined him onstage during his past solo outings, Yeezy alone remained front and center for the 75-minute set.

He ascended onto the stage ramp to Foreigner’s “Cold as Ice” and wasted no time putting his personal life on full display, opening with “Cold,” which caused a stir back when it was originally released, as “Theraflu.”

The lyrics, “I had fell in love with Kim,” teased his relationship with Ms. Kardashian well before the pairing was the tabloid fodder it has become. And, the song came under fire from PETA: After he baited them with the line, “Someone tell PETA my mink is draggin’ on the floor,” the animal-rights organization said Kayne has “no empathy for animals or human beings.”

‘Ye performed the song in front of a backdrop of icebergs and snow-covered mountains as video projected onto the floor gave the illusion he was walking on water.

West kept it deeply personal, following up with “Clique,” another recent single in which he reveals “Deep depression when my momma passed.”

He dipped into Cruel Summer twice more, for “Mercy” and the G.O.O.D. Music remix of Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like.”

Classic choices included “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” “Touch the Sky,” “Stronger” and “Good Life,” a standout from the night that ‘Ye called “one of my favorites.”

Though the stage effects were kept minimal, “Power” had some pyro, and snow dusted the audience during “Jesus Walks.”

West covered his face with masks a few different times: First with a white feather piece, and later, a silver sparkly one.

The haunting “Runaway” and its tender “If you love somebody tonight, hold on so tight” fadeout gave way to the party jams “Gold Digger,” “All of the Lights” and 2 Chainz’ “Birthday Song.”

Closing with “All Falls Down,” West announced, “That’s my show tonight,” exiting the stage with a huge smile and a wave. “I love y’all.”

This trio of shows marks the rapper’s return to Revel, following two sold-out shows in July. Since his appearance at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the resort has hosted West’s only U.S. solo performances.

Revel, which has been struggling financially since it opened in the spring, is hoping to end the year with a bang. Alongside Kanye‘s three-night run, the northernmost casino on the Atlantic City boardwalk also has a big weekend of EDM on tap: Revel’s HQ Nightclub hosted Axwell of Swedish House Mafia on Friday night, and will present Alesso Saturday night (December 29) followed by Kaskade on Sunday.

And, on Monday, Ovation Hall will be home to the resort’s New Year’s Eve blowout featuring international dance-music superstar Tiësto.

Skrillex And Boys Noize ‘Collide’ As Dog Blood

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While the rest of us are scrambling for last-minute New Year’s Eve plans, the biggest DJs in the world all know exactly where they’ll be. Boys Noize and Skrillex are no different — except this year they will both be performing for the first time together as their new collaboration Dog Blood. As the first project from the two electronica powerhouses, hopes are high for their Detroit unveiling on December 31.

According to Boys Noize, it was the city of Berlin that brought him and Skrillex together this past summer. Just hanging out and listening to music in a recording studio evolved into a creative collaboration.

Despite both DJ/producers having great success and popularity in the EDM world, the two have fundamental differences in their artistic process and method when creating music.

“It’s crazy, he does everything on his laptop,” the analog-friendly Alex Ridha (a.k.a. Boys Noize) explained to MTV News of Skrillex’s technique.”For me personally, I like the gear because I can always treat things.

Snoop Lion helps Boys Noize relax!

“For me that was the fun part,” Ridha continued. “Where I was recording on my gear, he was typing in files. He was doing that and screwing it up in his thing. It was really two worlds colliding. It was important for us to make something different than what he would do, or something that I would do — and meet in the middle.”

Fans can expect even more music from Dog Blood as the year goes on, as Ridha confessed to three or four tracks having already been recorded. Now, it’s a question of how and when.

After performing at “The Bang” event on New Year’s Eve alongside the likes of Flosstradamus, Alvin Risk, D.I.M. and Destructo, the duo will go on at the afterparty, bringing in 2013 as Dog Blood.

What do you think of the Dog Blood collaborative effort? Tell us in the comments!

Al Walser’s Grammy Nomination: EDM Experts Weigh In

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Does the name Al Walser ring a bell?

Well, we’ve only just been introduced to the relative unknown, who shocked the EDM community Wednesday when he was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Dance Music Recording category for his single “I Can’t Live Without You.” The very low-profile independent act shares the honor with EDM giants Skrillex, Avicii, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia, while better-known artists like David Guetta and Afrojack sit on the sidelines.

The headlines that followed made no attempt to mask the confusion or contempt surrounding his nomination. “The Grammys Nominated the Dance Music Version of Rebecca Black and Nobody Knows Why,” wrote Gawker. “Who the Hell Is Al Walser and How Did He Get an EDM Grammy Nomination?” Spin chimed in.

In an exclusive chat with MTV News on Thursday night, Walser credited his nomination to “nourishing” his fellow Grammy voters. Indeed, he worked diligently over the years to make sure all the right people knew who he was. The flipside to Walser’s good fortune, however, is that all eyes are now on him — and the new attention isn’t all good.

Click here for a full list of Grammy nominations!

Andrew Spada, VP of development for Dancing Astronaut, told MTV News that Walser’s nomination caught him off guard. “When I saw Al Walser‘s name on the list, I was understandably confused,” Spada said via email. “I had never heard of him or ‘I Can’t Live Without You,’ so I immediately went to YouTube to hear the unknown track that was being mentioned alongside a production as massive as [Avicii's] ‘Levels.’ “

Spada wasn’t impressed with what he heard but suspects that doesn’t much matter to Walser, now that “the entire industry is buzzing about his name. He’s getting exactly what he wanted: notoriety and his 15 minutes of fame.”

EDMSauce.com founder Stevo, meanwhile, thinks the Grammys could have relied more on EDM fans in choosing nominees. “In essence, they really should have looked into the electronic dance music communities and see what the most popular songs are among the listeners,” he suggested via email. “A lot of people are just befuddled at understanding who this guy really is and how he was chosen. Everyone is just a bit confused at the moment.”

While Zev Norotsky, executive publisher of Elektro magazine, acknowledged that he, too, was confused by Walser’s nomination (“I would say it definitely stood out”), he applauded the Grammys’ inclusion and acceptance of EDM artists.

“They deserve a lot of credit for adapting and embracing us as a genre and including our artists,” Norotsky said via email. “No need to point fingers, bash them and turn such an overwhelmingly positive step in the right direction into any kind of scandal.”

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization of music-industry professionals behind the Grammys, could not be reached for comment by press time.

One Direction’s Take Me Home: Most Swoon-Worthy Tracks

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The countdown is on! There are only eight days until One Direction drop their highly anticipated sophomore album release, Take Me Home, on November 13, and fans are anxiously awaiting what the boys have cooked up for it.

Well, MTV News got an early listen ahead of the album’s iTunes stream on Monday (November 5), and the album is tailor-made to make pop fans of any age a bit weak in the knees.

Their follow-up to Up All Night sees the guys growing up a little more. It certainly has its fair share of sugary sweet sentiments about first romance and unrequited love, but it also touches on more mature themes as the fivesome also croon about sleepover sessions with the girls of their dreams on several of the songs.

But they haven’t matured too much. It’s that ability to maintain enough innocence that makes these kinds of sentiments more swoonworthy than cringeworthy. And, while many other pop acts are still angling for EDM-heavy albums, this album has a more live band feel, with guitar and drums playing heavily into the sonics of Take Me Home.

Bouncing between slower tempo tunes and up-tempo tracks, the album includes production and songwriting credits from a number of A-listers like Ed Sheeran, Dr. Luke, Shellback, Toby Gad, and of course, Rami Yacoub, Carl Falk and Savan Kotecha, who not only worked on a handful of tracks on this album, but also penned 1D’s career-making single “What Makes You Beautiful” off their debut album.

After kicking things off with their lead single, “Live While We’re Young,” the album’s second song is the butterflies-inducing “Kiss You.” The album gets its cheeky title from this song’s chorus, where the boys sing, “If you don’t wanna take it slow/You just wanna take me home/ Baby say, ‘Yeah’/ And let me kiss you.” If that wasn’t enough pop power to make Directioners plot ways to take the guys home with them, the “na na na” breakdown and Motown-tinged melody certainly will leave fans wanting more.

Another standout tune is the Shellback-produced number “Heart Attack.” With its staccato, bouncy beat, the guys make heartbreak worth dancing to as they pine about a girl who is too hot to get over. (Haven’t we all been there?) “You’re giving me a heart attack/ Looking like you do,” the guys share, later adding, “Never thought it’d hurt so bad getting over you.”

“Rock Me” pays homage to the anthem rock of Brit acts like Queen with its big, stadium beat. But, the guys manage to reel it in with nods of an acoustic guitar. The chorus is a bit silly, but certainly gets the job done in all its toe-tapping goodness: “I want you to rock me/ I want you to push the pedal/ Heavy metal/ Show me you care.”

There’s a number of slow songs on the album, including two folk-tinged tracks penned by Sheeran (their single, “Little Things,” as well as the break-up-to-make-up ballad, “Over Again”). And while they are all strong and definitely show the vocal range of the guys in the band, their track, “Last First Kiss,” certainly will have girls hitting repeat. It follows the guys as they share their true feelings with their crush. Slow and steady, the guys sing, “Baby, let me be your last first kiss/ I want to be the first to take it all the way like this.” It would be hard for any fan to resist the subtle hints dropped by the guys on this track.

The swoons don’t end there. The deluxe edition of the album includes “Irresistible.” Co-written by all five guys in the group, it is full of longing. “Midnight ain’t no time for laughing/ When you say goodbye,” they sing, “It makes your lips so kissable/ Your fingertips so touchable/ And your eyes irresistible.” If those admissions don’t melt your heart, we’re not sure you have one.

Have you previewed the new One Direction album yet? Tell us your favorite song in the comments!

Nassau ‘Haunted’ Coliseum Party Cut Short By Chaos, Illness

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Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso and Otto Knows were expected to hit two stages in the New York area Saturday night for their highly anticipated Halloweekend Event “All Mixed Up.” Unfortunately for EDM fans in Long Island, the event at Nassau Coliseum never made it to Ingrosso’s set time.

Just an hour after the “Haunted Coliseum” party started and 20 minutes into Alesso’s set, police shut the concert down. According to Spin, after a flood of 911 calls, approximately 100 hospitalized intoxicated attendees, an arrest and a dangerous helicopter arrival, the rave was over.

Police told the magazine that they attribute the unusual number of attendees to the event’s “all ages” label, instead of an over 21 restriction.

In the midst of the chaos, a pilot was arrested after flying his private helicopter in an area outside of the venue crowded with people leaving the show. After landing in a grassy area with at least 20 pedestrians directly outside of the coliseum, his helicopter was impounded, Spin reports. No additional people were hurt from this high-risk landing, the reports says.

Meanwhile, at the show’s New York City counterpart at Pier 94, concertgoers were oblivious to the events at Nassau Coliseum. MTV News watched Alesso arrive to thousands of fans, who welcomed his set at 1 a.m. He began with Ingrosso’s popular hit “Calling (Lose My Mind).”

The warehouse was full of dance enthusiasts in full costume and lined with zombie-esque dancers and performers. Both Alesso and the Swedish House Mafia member played through both sets without issue and kept the energy level in New York high and positive. At the end of Ingrosso’s set, he threw back to Swedish House Mafia‘s “Save the World” and successfully closed the party at 4 a.m.

Were you at the show? Give us your side of the story in the comments!

Sensation Innerspace Takes An EDM ‘Journey’ With Fedde Le Grand, More

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This weekend, the opening festivities continue for Brooklyn, New York‘s brand-new Barclays Center, as one of dance music’s most cherished traditions, Sensation, makes its North American debut.

With 20 years in events and upward of 70 Sensation parties in 24 countries, IDT‘s big brand — this one called Sensation Innerspace — can’t be compared to any domestic electronic festivals. It’s a scripted, highly choreographed affair with five enormous, flower-like pods, moving lights, waterworks, dancers, DJ‘s and a host of other players moving in sync over six hours, twice this weekend.

And rather than the DJ being the sole focal point of the night, the entire experience is meant to be the star.

“I think the best comparison is Cirque Du Soleil vs. a really good EDM party,” nearly 30-time returning Sensation performer Fedde Le Grand told MTV News on our exclusive tour Thursday of the build of Innerspace. “As you can see,” the Dutch DJ/producer said, pointing to the flower-like DJ pod at the center of the venue, “Everything is next-level.”

Including the talent: According to Sensation and IDT CEO Duncan Stutterheim, sonics for the affair are also atypical of most heavily attended U.S. electronic events.

“There’s big-room EDM sound going on at all of the main stages [in America], but Sensation is more of a clubby feeling,” he explained. ” We want to be the biggest club in the world [for the night], and we think house, tech house, a bit deeper sound, fits more of that feeling.”

It’s certainly an adventure that New York electronic lord Danny Tenaglia is proud to be a part of.

“The fact that they are hiring guys like myself, Dennis Ferrer, Nick Fanciulli, of course, Fedde Le Grand, it’s wonderful that they are keeping it broad and not going 100 percent commercial,” he said. “A lot of us are striving to remain strong in the underground, and they are bringing that to New York.”

“It’s slightly more underground, but I know from experience, it just works very, very well,” Fedde added.

Stutterheim explained the basics of the night’s lineup progression. “Mr. White [Sensation's branded opening act] plays. No hits at all. He just gets the train going,” he explained. “Then Fedde and Mark Knight, they will give some mainstream and commercial. Then it will be taken over by Joris Voorn and the deeper sounds. So it’s a journey.

“It’s a six hour show/party,” Stutterheim continued, “But the most important thing for me is when you buy a ticket and you come in, you walk into the venue and go, ‘Wow!’ But even more importantly, you walk out going, ‘What a great evening!’ “

Friday night’s (October 26) lineup includes Mr. White, Dennis Ferrer, Fedde Le Grand, Joris Voorn, and Nic Fanciulli. Saturday’s lineup: Mr. White, Danny Tenaglia, Fedde Le Grand, 2000 and One, Mark Knight.

Ellie Goulding Announces 2013 Halcyon Days Tour

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Ellie Goulding will soon be packing her bags for her upcoming Halcyon Days Tour. The “Lights” singer will kick off her 2013 trek on January 16 in Miami.

The monthlong tour will make stops all over North America, including dates in Atlanta, New York City, Chicago and more. It will wrap up on February 12 in Los Angeles.

“I’m so excited to start touring my new album Halcyon properly,” Goulding said in a statement on Monday. “I’m incredibly proud of this record and the reaction has been over-whelming. Touring and playing shows is my favorite part of what I do, and I really can’t wait to get on the road.”

Following up the release of her 2010 debut album, which spawned the inescapable “Lights,” she dropped Halcyon earlier this month. “I’ve got more influences and different influences,” she told MTV News about her sophomore effort. “I think it’s a different sound. It is kind of a bit more tribal, a bit more anthemic.”

For it, the singer not only wrote about a former flame, but also worked with her current one, fellow EDM star, Skrillex. “I feel like everyone’s really fascinated by my love life for some reason. I think it’s because I write so explicitly about stuff. It’s just how I’ve always been, really, with lyrics and being really honest,” Goulding explained about people’s fascination with her personal life and its ties to her music.

She added, “I get girls writing to me saying I’ve really helped them through stuff, and it makes me feel incredible. You know, serious, heavy stuff. And that, to me, I feel is one of my biggest achievements. So maybe that’s the source of why people are so interested in who I am, in fact, with, or dating, whatever.”

In addition to Halcyon, Goulding’s work with Skrillex is also set to appear on the “Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ soundtrack, out next month. “I’m not a Twi-hard but I take it for what it is; it’s a cool thing and I can see why there’s a huge fanbase,” she said. “[And] they choose the best stuff for the soundtrack, so I’m really lucky to be a part of that!”

Halcyon Days Tour dates:

»1/16- Miami, FL @ The Fillmore
»1/17- Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
»1/18- Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
»1/20- Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
»1/21- New York, NY @ Terminal 5
»1/23- Boston, MA @ House of Blues
»1/25- Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
»1/26- Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
»1/28- Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
»1/29- Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
»1/30- Saint Louis, MO @ The Pageant
»2/1- Denver, CO @ Ogden
»2/2- Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
»2/4- Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo
»2/5- Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
»2/6- Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
»2/8- Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
»2/12- Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium

Lady Gaga, Zedd ‘Made Songs And Songs And Songs’ For ARTPOP

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These days, Lady Gaga might as well be the president of the Zedd fan club. She not only very famously declared some “major” love for the on-the-rise EDM star over the summer, but the twosome has also been hard at work cooking up tracks that may appear on her in-the-works 2013 album, ARTPOP.

“Every time you work with another artist you learn new things … You obviously learn about the person you’re working with. And we’d just been touring for almost two months and we both love nothing more than making music, so it was just kind of natural for us to just work on music,” he told MTV News at the L.A. stop of the Poseidon Tour with Porter Robinson. Earlier this year, Zedd opened for Gaga on the Asian leg of her Born This Way Ball. He also previously contributed a remix of her BTW track, “Marry the Night,” to the deluxe edition release of the album.

And now, new music from the performers is definitely happening. While fans got a taste of what those latest recording sessions sounded like via a remix of his Clarity track, “Stache” (the remix was billed “High Princess/ Stache Edit 2″), it might be a little longer before the two former tourmates release any more new music.

“I don’t know, actually. I’ve made a lot of songs which I’m not even sure if we’re going to use it for her or not,” he said. “And, you know, at the same time it’s totally possible that some things she wrote might end up being for me. We literally just made songs and songs and songs and you’ll see what will happen with it.”

Sure, Gaga has been a fan of Zedd’s for some time, but now other pop stars have been clamoring to work with the 23-year-old, including Justin Bieber, who worked with him on his current single, Beauty and a Beat.”

“I love pop music. I love great singers … There’s so many I would love to work with,” Zedd told MTV News earlier this year about his transition to Top 40 radio. “I feel like there’s a lot a lot of artists that I will work with next time.”

Ellie Goulding: Why Are People ‘Fascinated By My Love Life’?

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Given the success of her hit “Lights” — and the fact that she’s currently dating EDM superstar Skrillex — Ellie Goulding has found doing press here in the U.S. to be a rather, well, odd experience. No matter how much she wants to discuss her brand-new Halcyon album, the press can’t stop asking about her personal life — which, come to think of it, is just part of being a celeb here in the States.

“I feel like everyone’s really fascinated by my love life for some reason. I think it’s because I write so explicitly about stuff. It’s just how I’ve always been, really, with lyrics and being really honest,” Goulding sighed. “I get girls writing to me saying I’ve really helped them through stuff, and it makes me feel incredible. You know, serious, heavy stuff. And that, to me, I feel is one of my biggest achievements. So maybe that’s the source of why people are so interested in who I am, in fact, with, or dating, whatever.”

So while she’s trying to steer the conversation away from her love life, even Goulding will admit that tact is proving more difficult than she’d imagined — especially since a large portion of Halcyon was inspired by her relationships, both past (she previously dated BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James) and, of course, present.

“It was definitely inspired by things that happened in my personal life last year that I find hard to explain,” she said. “That’s why it’s so hard for me to do an interview and be like, ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ because it relates so much to what I do, but yeah, it’s kind of about mix of different things.”

So she’ll dutifully answer a few questions here or there about her personal life; it’s just part of the job. But what she most certainly won’t talk about any more is her hair, which, similarities to Skrillex’s ‘do aside, she thinks is a ridiculous talking point. Then again, it’s probably also one she won’t have to discuss anytime soon.

“Oh, the hair. Well, I’ve cut it all off!” she laughed, removing a knit cap to reveal her new, shorter locks. “You’re seeing it first. So let’s not talk about it again!”

Skrillex’s ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Track: Exclusive Sneak Peek

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It’s not enough for a movie about video games, for example “Wreck-It Ralph,” to look like your favorite first-person shooter or kart-racing game. It also has to sound like a video game.

That’s probably why Disney enlisted the help of EDM artist Skrillex to create a signature track for the “Hero’s Duty” level, one of the in-movie games that may resemble one of the shooters currently inside your Xbox or PS3 at home.

MTV News has an exclusive first listen to the Skrillex track, titled “Bug Hunt,” in “Wreck-It Ralph” and a sneak peek at the “Hero’s Duty” level, featuring some impressive voice work by Jane Lynch from TV’s “Glee.”

For this contribution to the “Wreck-It Ralph” soundtrack, Skrillex pulled from a very specific part of what he does as a musician. “The mood of that game world is high-energy and futuristic,” he said. “I make music with many different colors of the emotional spectrum — this reflects a more aggressive side of my music.”

But Skrillex isn’t the only hit artist making an appearance on the soundtrack. Both AKB48 and Owl City will also be featured in “Wreck-It Ralph.”

“Wreck-It Ralph” tells the story of a classic video game villain that one day decides that he is tired of being the bad guy all the time. This causes him to leave his game, the “Donkey Kong“-inspired “Fix-It Felix, Jr.” and venture into the other worlds of the video game universe, including “Hero’s Duty” and a cutesy kart-racing game called “Sugar Rush.”

The songs from Skrillex, AKB48 and Owl City will all be available on the “Wreck-It Ralph” soundtrack, which drops on October 30.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Wreck-It Ralph,” in theaters November 2.