Stereo Monday: #3

Hello there! This week, our playlist includes some tracks which I think will be huge for this year such as Axwell’s remix of Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl’s In My Mind. The first time I heard this track was from the Swedish House Mafia’s Madison Square Garden’s live set and it took me quite a while before finding out what track it is on the Sebestian Ingrosso’s monthly Refune Radio Podcast!

Also, I’ve included one of my all time favorite – C’mon by Tiësto & Diplo. I’ve loved that track ever since I first heard it in 2010 and I still think it’s pretty epic even if it’s played now. There’s also some “summer” hits in this week’s playlist such as Deniz Koyu’s Tung and Chris Lake’s Sundown. These two are totally the anthems for beach parties!

Besides the fun-loving hits, this week’s playlist also include some pretty new releases from Afrojack with Shermanology, Nicky Romero and Tim Mason. Enjoy!

Stereo Monday: Playlist #3

1. Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl Feat. Georgi Kay – In My Mind (Axwell Remix)

2. Nicky Romero – Toulouse

3. Afrojack & Shermanology – Can’t Stop Me

4. Deniz Koyu – Tung!

5. Chris Lake – Sundown

6. Tiësto vs Diplo – C’Mon

7. Kryder – K2

8. Dirty South & Those Usual Suspects Feat. Erik Hecht – Walking Alone

9. Tiesto – What Can We Do (A Deeper Love) [Third Party Remix]

10. Tim Mason – Anima

Have a happy Monday!

Spotlight: Dada Life

Dada Life is probably the craziest DJ duo you have ever seen. Known for their bananas and champagne, you know their shows are not to be missed if you like to get crazye and dirtaye.

Destroy dance music and have fun. Don’t look back in the past. Always go forward. Don’t think too much. Always follow the money.

Do the Dada.

The result? Big tunes, no frills.

Dada Life is never afraid to overdo it. Be it their remixes or their originals, they hit it hard and heavy! It’s like audio caffeine. Recognising their songs is no mean feat as they have such distinctive style, you know it’s them once you hear it.

It’s a shame that they are not as up there as what I expect them to be BUT I believe they will soon get there in no time. Besides creating great tunes for us punch our fists in the air, bob our heads, shake our bodies and get insane with, they had created plugins for aspiring DJs or even ordinary people like us who love to create music. So far they have launched their Sausage Fattener, the plugin behind their fat and greasy sound and we are definitely waiting for more great plugins to come as they have promised.

What’s there to talk about their stage presence ? It’s impossible to be crazier than the Dada duo. Even by watching them on YouTube gets you in the mood and make you wanna be part of the crowd so badly.

We definitely can’t wait to join this Swedish duo together with their hyper-ness and get high with their inflatable bananas and champagne bottles. Dada Life’s gotta come to Asia!!! And if you haven’t listened to them already, you are missing out on loads of stuff. It’s never to late to follow the Dada so here are some of their original songs and remixes.

Let’s do the Dada !

Hint* Gotta warn you on the “Let’s Get Bleeped Tonight” music video if you haven’t watched it.

Originals

Kick Out The Epic Motherf**ker

White Noise / Red Meat

Fight Club Is Closed (It’s Time For Rock’n’Roll)

Happy Violence

Let’s Get Bleeped Tonight

Remixes

Kylie Minogue – All The Lovers (Dada Life Remix)

Lady Gaga – Born This Way (Dada Life Remix)

Chuckie – Who Is Ready To Jump (Dada Life Remix)

Kaskade feat. Haley – Dynasty (Dada Life Remix)

Stereo Monday: #2

It’s the start of the week again! This week, our playlist includes some awesome tunes we’ve heard from A State Of Trance and some pretty new releases as well as some of our favorite tunes over the past few months. As we’re embracing the Chinese New Year this week, we hope this playlist can be a good companion for the awesome week ahead!

Stereo Monday: Playlist #2

1. Orjan Nilsen – Legions (Original Mix)

2. Volta Bureau – Alley Cat

3. Tommy Trash – The End

4. Clokx – Oddity

5. Pryda vs Empire of the Sun – Mirage the People (Seb Sapet Bootleg)

6. Vast Vision – Black Shores (Bjorn Akesson Remix)

7. Afrojack & R3hab – Prutataaa (Original Mix)

8. Chuckie Feat. Gregor Salto – What Happens In Vegas

9. Knife Party – Internet Friends

10. Swanky Tunes, Matisse & Sadko – The Legend (Original Mix)

Have a blessing & prosperous Lunar New Year!

Zouk Singapore: Kaskade (Dec’11)

Ryan Raddon aka Kaskade, is one of the leading electronic music producers from America. Having been active since 2001, Kaskade came a long way and have pretty much been involved in the evolution of the dance music scene around the world. Having released more than 7 studio albums to date and have worked with several other big names such as Tiesto and Deadmau5, just to name a few.

Weeks before the event, when I first heard about the news that Kaskade will be coming for his debut in Zouk Singapore, I knew it was a night not to be missed. Despite the excitement, my friends and decided that it’s going to be a night to unwind after a day of work so we stayed away from the dance floor (we foresaw the sardine-packed crowd that will happen that night) and hanged around the second level of Zouk. True enough, the dance floor was packed way before Kaskade‘s arrival.

The moment Kaskade took over the booth, insanity started among the crowd. Front-rowers jumped crazily trying to get Kaskade’s signature, photos and high-fives. Others just danced… non-stop. Throughout the night, Kaskade dropped several of his tracks from his latest studio album “Fire & Ice” such as “Lessons In Love” featuring the Neon Trees. Some of my favorites from the album are “Turn It Down” featuring the Swedish duo Rebecca & Fiona as well as “Llove” featuring the talented vocals of Haley and sure enough, I was glad that Kaskade dropped these tracks!

Besides the original softer tracks, Kaskade also dropped several current popular tunes such as Dada Life’s “Happy Violence“, David Guetta’s “Paris“, Alesso’s “Raise Your Head“, Swedish House Mafia’s “Save The World” and of course, the unmissable “Levels” by Avicii. Of course, I was most pleasantly surprised when Kaskade dropped the Tiësto‘s classic “Lethal Industry“.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed because towards the later part of the set, tracks after tracks seemed to be mainly the “out-there-tracks” that’s pretty much played everywhere in the Dance music scene right now. Sure enough, that seemed fine since the crowd seemed to really enjoy them.

However, for Kaskade who’s had more than 7 studio albums, I would’ve expected tons and tons of original bangers from the man itself especially since he’s come from a journey of successful singles and I must say that a lot of the original tunes are really good so there’s really no reason why they should be excluded for the popular tracks that are played everywhere right now. That’s just my two cents worth.

All in all, the night was still splendid considering how the crowd seemed to really enjoy Kaskade‘s set. I, too, was enjoying and indulging in a musical journey led by Kaskade.

Zouk Singapore: Laidback Luke with Opening Act by Sandro Silva (Oct’11)

Laidback Luke returns to zouk after an awesome and memorable show at ZoukOut’10. I had fun at ZoukOut’10 and decided that this time, I don’t want to miss his guaranteed awesome show as well. I arrived at roughly 11.30PM due to an anxious call from my friends that there were long queues.

True enough, I was greeted with tons of people all hovering outside the club (which I suppose is a normal saturday night scene but am not exactly very used to, since I don’t really frequent clubs that often). On this night, I came solely for the man. Not for the alcohol, dancing or any social mingling. Heck, I did not even think about an entry to Phuture.

 

The opening gig for Laidback Luke was Sandro Silva, one of Holland’s promising and upcoming DJ. His tunes were wicked and sexy. Even though there were several tracks I couldn’t identify, they were melodious (and sexy) enough to get me grooving. Among the identified sound were tracks from David Guetta’s latest album “Nothing But The Beat” including Sunshine (With Avicii) and Titanium (Feat. Sia).

While it’s my first time getting to know about Sandro Silva, I’m sure I’ll be listening to more of his stuff because they are really good. Yes, a new dutch talent is born.

Laidback Luke came out at 2am. My friends and I were in the sardine packed crowd since 1am. It was well worth our wait. Everyone was excited about his appearance and was already all hyped by the time Laidback Luke showed up, and just like a true maestro who knows his crowd, he started off with an awesome mix of Benny Benassi – Cinema.

As the show went on, snippets of Axwell – Heart Is King, Steve Angello – Knas & Show Me Love, Calvin Harris – You Used To Hold Me & Swedish House Mafia – Save The World & Miami to Ibiza were played, among plenty of other great tracks. Not forgetting Avicii – Levels, the wicked tune that’s been in my head since I first heard it months ago. Apparently, “Levels” did not only got me pumped, but also the entire crowd! Knowing exactly what is “in” at the moment and mixing it well enough to showcase individuality yet not losing the tune’s original essence is what makes Laidback Luke a real maestro at his job.

To exude versatility, Laidback Luke also played different genres from time to time and the crowd was still strongly captivated throughout. Hip Hop classics like Jay-z – 99 Problems, Terror Squad – Lean Back and Dr Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg – Next Episode were also played. Of course, Katy B – Katy On A Mission was played when it was time for Dubstep.

When the time came for originals from Laidback Luke, I was a tad disappointed when “Natural Disaster” didn’t get to the full glory of its incredible and unique beats but I got over it after a while, as the man really knows how to drive his crowd insane. Throughout the entire set, he showed 100% enthusiasm and from a female fan’s perspective, he looked really cute with that constant smiling (and dimples) and doing his signature hand signaling for every track. Towards the end, this man played around a little, building up anxiety and anticipation before he dropped the bomb to play “Turbulence” which drove us all to insanity!

As an audience, it’s really a plus point to know that the performer/musician etc. that you’ve come to spend time for is immensely enjoying what he or she is doing. Even from all that sweatiness and messiness in the crowd, I could still see how much passion Laidback Luke has in what he’s doing. May I just say, this man only gets better each time.

What I can conclude is, I can’t get more of Laidback Luke‘s gigs and sure enough, there’s a guaranteed attendance here for the next time he’s back.