Reviews
By Steffi (@stefaniemauro)
on June 3rd 2013
Fedde le Grand and his feel-good house music is no stranger to the Pacha crowd, but he surprised everyone last Friday night by unexpectedly dropping Daft Punk’s much hyped new single “Get Lucky” as his opening track. As soon as the disco-infused intro melody began to leak out of the speakers, it felt like the crowd took a collective double take before realizing what was happening and erupting in deafening cheers, almost overpowering the music itself. With a driving bass line behind it, “Get Lucky” filled every corner of the club and moved everyone to jump up and dance. This brief sampling was a testament to the power of the song and just a hint at what’s to come for Daft Punk as they reenter the pop culture sphere from their long hiatus.
As soon as the song’s energy reached its peak, Fedde moved right into “So Much Love,” his recent single featured on the Ultra Dance 13 compilation. It was a perfect transition and set the mood high for the rest of the night. Not long after that, Fedde sampled the lyrics of another familiar Daft Punk song, “Harder Better Faster Stronger,” over a heavier, clashing electro house sound.
Perhaps Pacha has been influenced by the increasing popularity of experience and entertainment-focused electronic music events, like the carnival atmosphere of Insomniac shows or the recent addition of Cirque du Soleil performers to Light Nightclub in Las Vegas. Whatever their reasons, Pacha stepped up their game on Friday night, featuring a woman who performed aerial acrobatics while hanging from a long piece of silk and a dancer dressed in a dark bodysuit with colorful LEDs outlining a stick figure shape. The aerial performer was breathtaking, spinning and twisting high above the crowd on the main dance floor while the music and lights played. The LED stick figure was slightly creepy, in a fascinating, trippy way, as it danced around and interacted with the crowd, which was momentarily distracted from the DJ set by the stick figure’s appearance on the main staircase. The addition of these performers, as well as the usual Pacha dancers on the balconies, may be the sign of a new phase in nightlife, one that involves more interactive entertainment features to keep people involved, interested, and coming back for that extra spark.
Fedde continued his night playing a remix of Benny Benassi’s classic “Satisfaction” more suited to Pacha’s big room sound. As the night progressed, he dropped tougher electro house tracks, including Showtek’s massive “Slow Down” and Dada Life’s “Kick Out The Epic Motherf**ker,” as well as crowd favorite “Rattle” by the Bingo Players.
Despite getting off to a spectacular start, by 3AM Fedde was playing well-worn pop-oriented singles by Calvin Harris such as “Sweet Nothings” and “Feel So Close.” The end of his set was a far cry from the spectacular beginning and he still had plenty of his own material he could have drawn from to keep the crowd dancing. Though the energy dipped later in his set, Fedde le Grand remains fully capable of handling a dance floor and pleasing a crowd as large and diverse as Pacha’s.
Still can’t get enough of Fedde le Grand? Check out our Ten Essential Tracks.
By DefSweet (@DefSweet)
on May 31st 2013
This past Wednesday the Brooklyn boys by way of Boulder, Savoy, rocked new club The Wall on Midtown Manhattan’s west side. While we’re limited in full amount of detail we can give out about the location, you can rest assured, that after being in there for a night, and talking with some of the people involved, we’re very excited for what this place is going to become. To start, the place is small without being too compact, with an intimate stage that puts little between the artists and the audience. The speakers were crisp, the volume turned up, and the bass was booming. Savoy’s lasers performed beautifully in the smaller scale venue cutting through the haze and bathing the audience in wild, intense beams of color.
Before the trio took to the spotlight, B-Roc of The Knocks warmed up the room. They’ve just released their newest song and accompanying video, “Modern Hearts” featuring St. Lucia, another Brooklyn resident and they played a fun, booming set. With expert DJ’ing skills on display, he dropped a couple of party starting gems like Laidback Luke’s “1234”, Will Sparks’ “Okay” as well as playing their own “Dancing with the DJ” into Dada Life’s “Kick out the Epic”. I think you can tell that the selection, the mixing, and the bass made sure that people we’re going hard. The Knocks are playing at Governor’s Ball and a whole host of places all over North America you can see where here. There’s been a lot more of their music on our iPhones in the last week we’ll tell you that much.
Savoy is a three member act who met in the dorms at Boulder and realized they all shared the desire to make fun, speaker banging, party music. Their live show is more than evidence enough that the desire that brought them together in first place still binds them. While only one of them still plays an instrument live, the rock-band energy the three of them bring on stage is wild and infectious. Their set list was a lot of their own music which was more than fine with the crowd who sang the lyrics of their songs (the ones that have ‘em anyway) back to them. They played some cuts off their EP Three Against Nature they just dropped (which is awesome and free by the way) as well as a lot of their older music, which really isn’t that old. Check their website for details on the new free release, and while you’re at it check their soundcloud and download their Personal Legend EP which was also featured heavily in their rotation on Wednesday. The night featured songs like their banger, “Personal Legend” with Big Gigantic and the relentless, “Kids” along with music of a different pace like RL Grime’s “Flood”. They played a long set for a Wednesday night and played an encore with one of their amazing productions with Heather Bright aka Bright Lights “So Bad” from their Supertrail EP.
These three homies have been putting out original and unique music at an astonishing pace and they don’t show any signs of slowing down. In New York alone in the last year they’ve played Electric Zoo, Brooklyn Bowl, a sold out Bowery Ballroom on their Laser tour, and they’re continuing to grind playing Wakarusa, Spring Awakening, and the Global Dance festival in their original backyard of Red Rocks. Check out their tour dates here and if they’re playing near you soon check ‘em out. You’ll leave sweaty, exhausted and energized all at the same time.
By Ragehound (@RageHound)
on May 30th 2013
In the wake of the twitter exchange between Martin Solveig and Wolfgang Gartner, there may have been doubts about what kind of set would grace Marquee on Wednesday night. Despite being known for his banger-heavy sets, Martin demonstrated he is not only highly versatile, but well educated within the various subgenres of EDM.
Perhaps the first indication of this was his choice to build into a Skrillex track, and proceed to take all of Marquee on a full tour of every musing of EDM in his wheelhouse (including several unreleased tracks). ‘Hey Now‘ made several appearances in the set, but was a more than welcome comfort when his set because to venture into the unusual (the unusual being a perhaps a playful jab at Wolfgang Gartner with “The Big Bad Wolf“). There were crowd-favorite cameo appearances such as ‘Get Lucky’ and older works of Daft Punk, as well as a teaser of Martin’s latest collaboration ‘Blow’ with Laidback Luke (which he admitted isn’t finished yet).
The set was weird, wonderful, and did not appear to be tailored to suit the more banger-heavy setlists one would expect from the nightclub scene. A veritable ‘yellow brick road’ of musical exploration, perhaps the criticism voiced by Gartner resonated, because Martin proved that his sets are much more complex than may give him credit for.
Photo Credit: The Noise Group
By DefSweet (@DefSweet)
on May 29th 2013
When we first heard of Bromance Records, we didn’t think the artists that were signed to it would be known for producing, and playing dirty, dark beats. To be honest, for as long as we’ve been fans of theirs, we didn’t think the name made much sense. Then we saw the chemistry between Brodinski, Gesaffelstein and Louisahhhh, this past Friday, and realized that it was the perfect name for the record label housing them.
More on the night after the jump.
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By Sandman (@Sandman_Oasis)
on May 29th 2013
Steve Aoki has proven time and time again that he is one of the premiere DJ’s, businessmen and producers. However, Steve is not only these, but one of the foremost entertainers in the music industry. This past Thursday, Steve brought his trademark enthusiasm to Lavo Nightclub. This left an indelible impression on everyone in the nightclub that cannot soon be replicated.
More after the jump.
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By Steffi (@stefaniemauro)
on May 27th 2013
Cielo was just getting started as we arrived just after 11PM, but already the buzz was growing about Nicole Moudaber. The rising techno producer was celebrating the release of her debut album ‘Believe’ and her growing popularity in the underground scene by performing a hot and heavy set through some of the best speakers on the East Coast, presented by Dance.Here.Now. With song titles like ‘She Wears the Pants’ and ‘Don’t Touch My Junk,’ we knew she’d be bringing some badass attitude with her.
The opening DJs warmed up the intimate space with some good house beats, but as the night progressed, we could hear people all around us excitedly asking when Nicole was going on. With the DJ booth nearly on top of the dance floor, heads turned constantly waiting for Nicole’s signature big hair to appear in the booth. When it was finally announced that Nicole was in the building, the crowd cheered, more than ready for her to take the decks. Finally, around 12:45AM, the queen of techno herself showed up and made her presence known by immediately throwing down harder, heavier bass. Each time she took the crowd higher with a new drop, exclamations of “Whoa” and “Wow” could be heard throughout the club.
Nicole looked and felt right at home at Cielo and had nearly everyone in the club really dancing by the end of the night. She dropped plenty of favorites from her new album and her tracks on Drumcode, but as soon as the opening vocals of ‘Come and Lay’ broke through the speakers, the crowd went wild in anticipation. By 4AM, the dancing was still going strong and Nicole showed no signs of stopping, keeping her tech house beats rolling and the crowd increasingly impressed. She brought out a good group of people there for the music and only the music. Nicole will be touring in Ibiza this summer, but you can be sure she’ll be back in New York soon.
By Steffi (@stefaniemauro)
on May 27th 2013
We already saw Grand & Warren keep the party going by closing out Pacha for John Dahlback on May 10, and last Saturday they continued to build momentum by headlining Saturday night’s Electric Beach party at Santos Party House. The DJ duo already have a growing fan base in their home state of New Jersey, where they play regularly at clubs like Bliss and 4Sixty6, and plenty of their fans showed up this Memorial Day weekend to celebrate.
DJ Gary Rabbit and James Alexander, who make up Grand & Warren, are newcomers to the scene but are determined to make their presence known. Some songs just need to be heard live, it doesn’t compare to the headphones listening experience, and their progressive house anthem ‘Waiting For Aiden’ is definitely one of those tunes – unforgettable once it’s heard in a club setting and demonstrates its power to destroy dance floors. Throughout the night, the duo dropped electro and progressive house hits that kept the crowd going crazy, including David Guetta and Nicky Romer’s ‘Metropolis’ and Sidney Samson’s ‘Get Low.’ They kept it interesting by playing unexpected tunes like a dance remix of Linkin Park’s ‘Numb’ that worked remarkably well.
By DefSweet (@DefSweet)
on May 23rd 2013
It was 4:30am on Friday, May 17, 2013 when we began writing this review. We were trying to rest for EDC NYC the next day, but couldn’t, because honestly, Cielo was THAT amazing Thursday night. We wanted to effectively put in words how incredible the set was, so we decided to waste no time and started writing as soon as we got home. Allowing these memories to fade even a tiny bit before recording them would have been unfair to the breathtaking Cielo Club, and the groundbreaking Gregori Klosman.
The night began with an opening set by Hyperbits, and as always, these New York natives did not disappoint. The versatile duo plays whatever they want really, getting everyone’s feet moving and their heads bobbing. It is quite noticeable how far these young New Yorkers have come, showing improvement with every gig they play. They ended with Keon Groenfeld, Slides into their remix of Krewella’s Alive, which even got Klosman’s attention. After their set they even stuck around to watch Klosman perform, which is impressive when you consider they had to be up bright and early to perform at EDC the next day.
At 1:00am Klosman took the decks, and the rest was history. Before he even dropped the first track he ripped his shirt off, grabbed the mic and exclaimed, “New York, I am only playing underground music tonight!” This brought the energy, and intensity of the club to another level. He displayed his producing ability by playing his own bangers Minibar, Bad Guy and his remix of Kaskade’s Room For Happiness. He also showed that he has an ear for what’s hot in the industry when he dropped Showtek’s “Get Loose”, Jewelz & Scott Sparks’ “NYMSN” and “Wakanda” by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike.
To some, Klosman is considered a staple of the underground; He doesn’t have the most followers on Twitter, or ‘Likes’ on Facebook, but the loyalty of his cult-following is unmatched. Gregori Klosman is not “just another EDM DJ/producer trying to make his name”, though many people view him as such. Here in New York, where a large part of his following is based, he is viewed as an innovator, and he showed why Thursday night.
Photos
By DefSweet (@DefSweet)
on May 22nd 2013
Wolfgang Gartner’s wunderkinds took over Webster Hall Saturday 4/13 or the first edition of Area Event’s their new brite nites party and it was a fucking blast. Circus Saturday’s had a legendary run and the veterans who are running brite nites knew they had some big shoes to fill. Popeska, DallasK and Charlie Darker certainly did not disappoint.
Popeska opened the night and didn’t worry too much about easing the crowd into the tunes. He played an intense mix of Mikkas and Amba Shepherd’s track, “Finally” before indulding in some fine dj’ing. Having some fun, the homie who started at Georgia Tech wrapped it up with a few less wild songs but still keeping the crowd moving dropping Zedd and Lucky Date’s “Fall Into the Sky”
When the switch was made from Popeska to DallasK you could feel the bass kick harder instantly. DallasK mixed a little bit of Zedd’s “Clarity” as well as “Fall into the Sky” again which might’ve caused some post-gig consternation among the performers. He dropped his own remix of Nero’s “Guilt” mixing into a bootlegged version of The Killers’ “Somebody Told Me”.
The night was the opening of brite nites and it did not disappoint. The night, and the ones we’ve been to since have a different vibe than most Saturday night parties giving the feeling of like minds who want to have fun rather than the bougie bottle service crowd who wants to be seen. WIth high production values, dancers, pyrotechnics, cirque du soleil style acrobatics and of course, killer music, brite nites, is only going to get brighter.
Photo album
By Ambro (@Mike_Ambrosio)
on May 21st 2013
