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Three months ago, Illenium released his fourth studio album, Fallen Embers. Next Friday, October 22, he’s releasing the deluxe version of the album with five new tracks, including “Wouldn’t Change A Thing” with Thirty Seconds To Mars, his and Virtual Riot’s anticipated remix of “Blame Myself” with Tori Kelly, as well as a new collaboration with Said The Sky, “I See You.”

Check out the full tracklist below! You can pre-save the album now for a chance to win a signed Fallen Embers jersey: here

 

Photo via Rukes.com

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Illenium Reveals Deluxe Edition Of “Fallen Embers” With 5 New Songs, Including 30STM Collab

Earlier this year, in May, one of Sweden’s most visited and well-known venues, the Ericsson Globe, was renamed in honor of the late Avicii — AVICII ARENA. Now, this coming December, the arena is slated to host its first Avicii-related event in tribute to “Avicii’s musical heritage.”

“The debut For A Better Day concert [will feature] performances from largely Swedish acts including dance duo Galantis, pop artist Håkan Hellström, singer/songwriter Miriam Bryant and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,” writes Billboard. The arena fits 15,000 people, making this a large but still fairly intimate performance.

“I hope we succeed in creating a feeling that we really do this together, because it is only together that we can make a difference,” says Avicii’s father Klas Bergling. “Young people are our future and we must be afraid for them. It is unacceptable that they are getting worse and that suicide rates are rising in that group – and it is our duty to do what we can to break that trend.”

For A Better Day is planned to be an annual event bringing attention to the mental health of young people, organized by the Avicii Arena and the Tim Bergling Foundation. The event goes down December 1.

 

Photo: Sean Eriksson

 

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Newly-Named Avicii Arena To Host First Annual ‘For A Better Day’ Concert

The Canadian artist known as NC-17 and also once known for his darkstep-but-make-it-dancey style has been on a world tour of both labels and subgenres of late. This year alone, he’s gone super-jungle with SS and Kumarachi on Formation Records and Dispatch respectively, knocked out a cheeky darkstep-styled track on niche Czech label SINFUL MAZE and, most notably, put out a funky yet dark album called Most Violent Year part 1, again on Dispatch, which hopefully implies at the very least a part two.

With all the strides to expand his style brand this year, the core of NC-17’s style is definitely not going anywhere as, for his new EP called Enter the Void, he’s managed to land in the capable yet picky A&R hands of Bad Taste. The EP does a good job of blending NC’s new and old styles by tempering his newfound love for tech and squingy, metallic synths with his mastery of jungle-style syncopation and darkstep drum loops. It’s pretty clear this EP ended up where it was supposed to, because if anyone understands the need to balance new and old, squingy and heavy, it’s Bad Taste label boss, Vegas.

The three-track mini-EP that is Enter the Void is bookended by exactly this sort of balance. Lead track “Bunged Up” has an almost unhinged quality to it in the synths, especially with the blade-sharp metallic swipe of a synth that stabs its way through each phrase. It’s impossible to escape this dissonant, nails-on-chalkboard sound but luckily there’s a strong throwback darkstep drum line grounding the whole cacophony going on above it which, terrifyingly also contains a dissonant drone as a secondary synth, or this track would simply be chaos.

By contrast, EP closer “Map To the Stars,” which, while still containing plenty of chaotic synths, has an ambient melody to ground things. Meanwhile the classic NC-17-style syncopated beat and early rave-style break synths are allowed to run rampant. A flip side to the “Bunged Up” coin? Perhaps, but then we’d have to explain the title track.

Said title track and today’s Your EDM premiere is sandwiched in between “Bunged Up” and “Map to the Stars” in a way that may make listeners think it’s not as heavy as its forebear and predecessor. In fact, “Enter the Void” is the most full-bodied and obviously sound design-heavy track of the three. It’s also somehow the most neuro-tinged and experimental. Keeping with the space/void theme, the intro and breaks on this track are so charged and pregnant with ambient static, the listener will have built up Rocky Horror-level anticipation by the time the mind-blowing, fully-formed beat finally drops. There’s no scrambling up a buildup to get to said drops, either. The track just holds its breath, the bottom drops out and then we’re in beat freefall. It’s a seldom-used technique that only the likes of NC-17 can pull off. There’s the void, for you: entered without warning whether we like it or not.

NC-17 has always had a knack for picking up where darkstep, techstep and dark jungle left off, but his recent work seems even more determined to marry these erstwhile genres with the unholy and ubiquitous neurofunk colossus they spawned. This new EP not only encourages but demands we Enter the Void that was left behind. Luckily, all that’s in there is excellent beats and sound.

Enter the Void drops this Friday, 10/15 on Bad Taste Recordings. Click here to pre-order.

 

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Your EDM Premiere: NC-17 to ‘Enter the Void’ of Bad Taste With New EP

EDC Las Vegas is only one week away — fans have waited nearly two years for the banner Insomniac festival to return and with a lineup that is as full of incredible artists as ever, this year’s festivities are sure to be something to remember.

As always, EDC has revealed the map for the festival and this year’s is showing some interesting changes from the usual. Below, we have the 2019 map (left) and 2021 map (right) side-by-side for comparison, Immediately, the 2021 map is far more detailed with larger stages including the stage designs (to a degree).

Every stage remains in the same place, but the biggest change comes at neonGARDEN, which will be a megastructure this year. It also looks like stereoBLOOM and nomadsLAND will receive significant upgrades, based on their degree of prominence on the map compared to previous years.

Per usual, you’ll have a bit of a tough time navigating Rainbow Road, as it passed behind circuitGROUNDS, bassPOD, and wasteLAND on your way to either nomadsLAND or kineticFIELD.

One thing Insomniac hasn’t done this year compared to previous years is reveal the festival’s theme. You can zoom in a bit closer to the stage design via the Insomniac App, which will also have your set times and more information, but we’re not sure yet what it will look like.

Start preparing now and see you all under the electric sky!

 

Photo via Graham John Bell for Insomniac Events

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: EDC Reveals 2021 Festival Map With Some Unique Changes

Since witnessing ZHU’s debut performance at HARD Summer in 2014, I’ve seen him seven subsequent times. Each time, whenever he’d make the decision to perform, there was always an intent to grow, to elevate, the performance. When he played at the Shrine in 2016, it was for the GENERATIONWHY album and the first tour he introduced his guitarist and saxophonist. By the time I saw him at Global Dance Festival in 2019, he’d done away with the veil and mystery of the project, his music able to speak for itself.

Now, in 2021 for his DREAMLAND 2021 tour, the show has evolved to the point of full-on live spectacle. The combination of over five years of stellar music, a brilliant live production, and an immaculate vision has taken ZHU’s live show beyond the typical CDJ and LED-wall motif — although those are still present.

Beginning with “Lost It” from his new album was a no-brainer. Such a bombastic opening to an album could only translate equally well to a live setting, and it set the tone wonderfully for the rest of the night. Beyond many of his hits throughout the night, ZHU also peppered in live edits and covers of songs like “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears, “Creep” by Radiohead, and “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin. Though DJs are no strangers themselves to throwing in songs that aren’t necessarily “EDM,” doing so in a live setting definitely had a bigger impact. You could feel the energy from the crowd when, for instance, the opening “dun dun dun” chords from “…Baby One More Time” came into focus.

The live setting also benefitted the set in the way that ZHU was able to move from softer, slower moments like “Blue Dream” to intense, grandiose tracks like “Dreams” with Nero or “I Admit It” with 24kGoldn, both banner moments from the set.

Beyond all of that was simply the way ZHU carried himself on stage, with the swagger, musicality and pop sensibility of The Weeknd combined with the tastemaking and fashion of Kanye West and the confidence of someone who’s been doing this for a decade longer than he has.

Bottom line, if you were on the fence about buying a ticket to a show on this tour, do yourself the service of hitting that “purchase” button.

@ZHUmusic last night was a vibe pic.twitter.com/QiJsBY8yS2

— bbbunny (@elaineajay) October 12, 2021

I guess Monday’s aren’t so bad after all @ZHUmusic pic.twitter.com/FvgSPXnpEx

— ɛɦɦɦʍǟƈǟʀɛռǟ (@Maca_Smallz) October 12, 2021

this was so perfect, still can’t get over it @ZHUmusic pic.twitter.com/RnVq9h6CeE

— ‍ (@gustxvohernxndz) October 12, 2021

 

Photo via Joey Vitalari

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: ZHU Thrills With Back-To-Back Nights At The Greek Theater In LA [Event Review]

Insomniac is expanding its Florida festival portfolio, heading back to the site of Okeechobee, for the inaugural Countdown Campout New Year’s Eve later this year.

Featuring three uniquely designed stages true to the otherworldly theme – The Mothership, Nebula hosted by Bassrush, and Twilight Zone hosted by Insomniac Records – Florida’s Countdown Campout will invade the 800 acres of sweeping grasslands, pine and palmetto jungles, and expansive lakes and waterways that Sunshine Grove offers.

Over 50 influential music artists will help Countdown Campout say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022, led by two monstrous world-premiere performances, deadmau5 vs. Testpilot and Flosstradamus b2b Nitti Gritti b2b Valentino Khan. The inaugural festival will kick 2022 off on a high note, as French sensation Madeon will throw down a rare DJ set while Oliver Heldens will don his HI-LO moniker to bring to Florida his filthy basslines and moodier beats. Many of the genre’s emerging and leading ladies will also be on full display, as Qrion, Camea, Honey Luv, Daizy, Steller, Jessica Auddifred, Lizzy Jane and COM3T hit the one-of-a-kind stages. The festival will also be packed with dance music tastemakers including Adventure Club, SLANDER, Gryffin (DJ Set), Zhu, Sullivan King, 12th Planet, Wax Motif and more.

The Countdown Campout New Year’s invasion will offer attendees a variety of camping options, including tent camping, car camping and RV camping alongside the beautiful lakes and jungles that make Sunshine Grove one of the most beautiful venues in the world. Festival ticket and camping packages will be on sale beginning this Thursday, Oct. 14 at 12 p.m. ET at insom.co/campout.

 

Photo by Ivan Meneses for Insomniac Events

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Insomniac Announces Dates and Lineup for Countdown Campout New Year’s Festival In Florida

Since its inception in 2018, the stateside experimental bass music label VALE has stated itself as a collective of fans more than a traditional imprint, and thus they have also become known for putting out a lot of compilation albums (the name stands for Various Artists, Limitless Potential, after all). Luckily, due to amazing A&R curation and impeccable taste, every one has been more innovative, technically clean and just plain impressive than the last. If the first tracks of their new Global Extraction compilation series are anything to go by, it will be no exception to that rule.

As the name implies, the Global Extraction series sees VALE’s team searching for new artists and compiling tracks from every corner of the globe. It’s a novel concept for US bass labels, especially those of the D&B variety, who usually stick to stateside artists. VALE is releasing the first volume of Global Extraction track by track and thus far from the tracks that have already been dropped on the label’s Soundcloud include artists from the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Seattle and now, with this premiere, Perth, Australia.

Bold Theory aren’t completely green; Hybris and his Pseudoscience label snapped him up last year for a breakout and criminally under-appreciated EP called Zero Approach last year, and before that he was featured on fellow Perthian Dead Zodiac’s ProtoCode Music both on compilation and with his own stand-alone tracks. Now, having hit VALE with his eerie, rolling minimalist D&B track “Never Safe,” Bold Theory has completed the trifecta of cool experimental labels.

Beat-wise, “Never Safe” is quite sparse and, while a danceable and bubbly track in the way it moves, is heavy on the ambient sound design to make its main points. It must have been a killer to make, between the two sets of snappy, opposing snares, the sine wave ornamental synth cutouts that punctuate every phrase, the creepy vox sample and the background ambient work, there’s genuinely no escape from the sound bomb that is this track. All these elements make the listener feel like they’re in orbit of a black hole after an intergalactic trial of some sort, awaiting their sentence of spaghettification. It’s everything you want in a D&B track, so here’s hoping fans catch on this time.

There’s lots more to come on Global Extraction vol. 1, including a track by rising D&B star Wayes and an absolute crusher from VALE darling and recent NËU alum, Result. The extensive global A&R campaign certainly paid off for VALE on this new compilation series. Here’s hoping it continues to get all this Various Artists and Limitless Expression out to the masses.
Global Extraction vol. 1 will be out in full by November 8, and “Never Safe” will be released on its own and purchasable this Thursday, October 14. To hear all the tracks released thus far as well as a teaser mix and to stay up to date on the forthcoming tracks, click here.

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Your EDM Premiere: VALE to Drop a Far-Reaching Bass Music Compilation With ‘Global Extraction’ Series

Earlier today (Sweden time), Tomorrowland counted down the 100 most iconic Swedish dance music tracks for their Made in Sweden Top 100 program. With such a strong emphasis on dance music in Swedish culture itself, there are tons of artists to choose from who have made top-tier, lasting impressions on the scene with their musical contributions.

Of course, over the course of the program, Adam K served as emcee to the celebration and ranking, with it all leading to the #1 track — to no one’s surprise — Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t You Worry Child.” Of course, “Levels” by Avicii came in at #2, by a margin of how many votes who knows.

The rest of the top 10 is a repetition of Swedish House Mafia solo members, either Sebastian Ingrosso or Axwell, Alesso, some more Avicii, another SHM track, and “Million Voices” by Otto Knows. Eric Prydz narrowly missed the top 10 coming in at #11 with “Pjanoo.” In fact, apart from these artists, it takes until #23 before a new artist enters the fray, “Runaway (U & I)” by Galantis.

Apart from the usual suspects, Dada Life, Icona Pop, Adam Beyer, Adrian Lux, Salvatore Ganacci, and a couple more make appearances. But by and large, the list is absolutely dominated by:

Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, and Steve Angello (collectively as Swedish House Mafia or Axwell ^ Ingrosso, or solo)
Avicii
Eric Prydz, Cirez D, or Pryda

You can listen to the full playlist from Tomorrowland below! As always, lists like these are in fun and are not meant to represent your unique taste in music.

 

Image by Hannes Soderlund

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Tomorrowland Counts Down The 100 Most Iconic Swedish Dance Tracks & #1 Won’t Surprise You

VASSY has been on fire as of late with stunning release after stunning release which all ouze good energy and powerful hooks. Today is no exception with the release of ‘Don’t Wanna Be Right’. Straight off the back of her 7th #1 on US Mediabase Dance Radio, this is absolute stormer of a track. Expect a catchy melodic big chorus, energetic production and bouncy basslines and a post summer nostalgic drop. This one will be all over our playlists and we hope to continue to bring you updates on this this insane talent, Vassy.

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: VASSY Drops Euphoric Anthem, ‘Don’t Wanna Be Right’ with Vinny Vibe

Dot grabbed everyone’s attention earlier this year with the release of her album “life support”. Now the LA based producer is back with her first offering since her album’s release. “Want To Say” is a chill experimental song that highlight’s Dot’s propensity for forward thinking music. Out now via tastemaker label Bitbird, you can find this track on their upcoming Gouldian Finch compilation. Until then check out “Want To Say” below.

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Dot Shares New Single “Want To Say” Via Bitbird