EDC Las Vegas is packed with over 100+ of our favorite DJ’s this year and is officially SOLD OUT! As your anticipation grows and the event nears, it’s time to start getting your ears prepared for the best weekend of your life. Besides catching the mainstream regulars at the festival which I know a lot of you are planning on doing (Tiesto, Kaskade, Calvin Harris, Avicii, David Guetta, etc), big events like these are a great opportunity to expand your musical taste and find some upcoming artists to fall in love with. Instead of hearing “Levels” or “Save The World” for the millionth time in your life why not explore EDC for what it is and make some discoveries? Lucky for all of you, I’ve narrowed down the masses to 10 artists you need to see to this summer if you haven’t heard of them already.
10. Nicole Moudaber
This London native makes it on my list not only because she’s an edgy, tough female DJ/producer, but because her soulful techno sounds have gained the attention of big name artists such as Carl Cox, Adam Beyer, and John Digweed. Moudaber first explored her passion for electronic music as a promoter in NYC, but it was the decision to dive into the DJ scene and create her own tracks that unleashed her immediate success. Carl Cox quickly identified her as the type of fresh talent he wanted to play alongside of him during his residency at Space in Ibiza, where she has been DJing regularly for the past 3 seasons. Since then, her music has earned her guest mixes on both John Digweed and Carl Cox’s radio shows, as well as being named a “rising star” by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1. If you’re into techno, Moudaber’s groovy main room mastery will successfully introduce you to this genre of EDM, check her out!
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9. Chris Lake
Chris Lake has been living the dream for the past 5 years. He’s travelled the world as a DJ, and topped the industry charts over and over again as a producer. Lake has been a guest DJ on many radio shows such as Pete Tong’s BBC Radio 1 where he was hailed as “the best thing to come out of Scotland since Mylo.” One of his biggest hits, a collaboration with good friend Deadmau5, “I Said,” took Pete Tong’s title of “Essential new tune of the decade.” This year Chris Lake promises a massive American tour with a stop at EDC so be sure to catch the darker and deeper side of electronic music at one of the festival’s 7 stages.
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8. Trent Cantrelle
Trent Cantrelle is responsible for one of the top selling House songs in the world in 2011 and was the highest selling U.S. House artist on Beatport last year. In the time where most DJ’s sets are pre-planned and heavily formatted, Cantrelle relies mainly on the energy of the crowd for his song choice. His sound could be described as big room peak-time House. His recent tracks “Night Like This” and “I Want A Freak” are some of my personal favorites. He has appeared on labels such as Ministry of Sound, Spinnin, Toolroom, Perfecto, Interscope, Interscope, Subliminal, and Ultra.
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7. Tritonal
This DJ duo has gone from unknown newcomers to one of the top names in the international electronic dance music scene. Their tracks have continually been climbing the Beatport charts and have been included in sets from some of the most renowned DJs in the world. In 2011 alone, they played EDC, Escape From Wonderland, Ultra and Nocturnal… a few of the many reasons they’re not one to miss this year in Vegas.
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6. Umek
Umek won Beatport’s “Best Artist” award in 2011, making him one of the most important techno producers of the global scene. His label 1605 is one of the fastest growing techno labels and releases new talents almost every week. This solvanian DJ’s high quality releases and remixes have been pounding the Beatport Techno and Tech House charts gaining him a lot of popularity over the past years. I missed out on his set last EDC and regretted it all weekend because of all the good things I heard. Don’t make the same mistake!
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5. Michael Woods
Michael Woods’ successes include global tours, a residency at Amnesia in Ibiza, and a spot on Deadmau5′s UK tour. The latest addition to his ever-increasing list of achievements is his residency at Ministry of Sound. Despite all of these amazing reasons, Woods made it on my list because I can safely say every single one of his remixes and/or originals I’ve ever heard is a slammer. His original “First Aid” and remix of Chris Lake’s “I Said” top my list of favorite tracks. This will be my first time catching him live, I can’t wait!
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4. Bassjackers
Mush Mush. Do I need to say more? Bassjackers electro slammers alone put on a good show through my speakers when I’m sitting here writing for you guys. I can’t even imagine how they sound at a festival. This duo is responsible for one of the best club/festival tracks of 2011 and has endless support from huge DJs such as Tiesto, Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Benny Benassi, and Calvin Harris, to name a few. They’re quickly taking over the music scene with no hesitation. This will definitely be one of my favorite sets of the weekend.
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3. Richie Hawtin
Richie Hawtin created a unique techno sound which is regarded as synonymous with the city of Detroit. That sound, Electro House, is very minimal, yet highly danceable. His project, Plastikman, is a live electronic performance that incorporates art visual architecture and interactive technology. I got a chance to catch this unique show at Coachella 2010 and it was nothing like anything I’ve ever seen!
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2. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
These Belgian brothers have bypassed the usual steps to making it big in just two short years. In 2010, their track with Dada Life called “Tomorrow” became the anthem for the festival Tomorrowland as well as sparked collab’s with DJ/producer Axwell. Their passion for music led them to create a slew of successful remixes of other artists big tracks, such as Lady Gaga’s “Marry The Night,” Swedish House Mafia’s “Save The World,” Florence & The Machine’s “You’ve Got The Love,” and Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction.” They were my favorite set at Beyond Wonderland this year which tells me they’ll be bringing even more fire to EDC!
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1. Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano
Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano have two notable personalities with one single goal: to entertain as many people as possible with their deep and funky House sound. This energentic duo has the ability to read a crowd and give them exactly what they want. Their capability to build a track, pull into some soul-pleasing vocals and drop another is so smooth that their entire set feels like a upward progression of energy. This performance is promised to please everyone and make you dance, securing them as my number 1 artist not to miss.
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See you all on the dancefloor, or grass….or maybe even the ferris wheel. :)
- h0usekitty
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