On Saturday, July 16, Claude Von Stroke—aka Barclay Crenshaw—brought his Your Dad Plays Great Music Tour to an unassuming secret warehouse in Oakland.




It seemed perfectly appropriate for the tour to stop where his journey in dance music coalesced. "I came to the Bay from Detroit in 1999, and it opened up my mind to new levels of creativity, community, and fun that I was not able to find in Detroit at that time," Crenshaw remembers about his 15 years in San Francisco.




After a decade and a half of running the stalwart label and releasing groundbreaking music, the head of the Dirtybird flock has ascended to legendary status in dance music. And while he's grown to be a staple on the massive stages of the festival circuit, he seemed perfectly in his element in a tiny DJ booth at the center of a dark and dingy warehouse just a few miles from where he first lived when he moved to the Bay Area 23 years ago.




The limited engagement tour sees him playing open to close sets and trading larger-than-life production for the simplicity of the old-school rave aesthetic. It's just a DJ and his records all night long with plenty of time to build the vibe.




We arrived early to the nostalgic thump of the bass through the walls of the warehouse. Crenshaw stood in a simple DJ booth at the center of the room, beaming from ear to ear, lit only by a cadre of electric votive candles, the cool LED glow of the CDJs and a few strands of white Christmas lights.







From the moment the doors opened for the night, he was establishing a relationship. When the DJ booth is that close, it feels like you're dancing with the DJ. It solidifies the connection and democratizes the dancefloor. The DJ is our guide for a night of musical exploration. However, he's also one of us.




"This is the best tour I've ever done simply because the pressure is off to play all my bangers in 90 minutes," Crenshaw tells Gray Area. "I can really explore all my favorite music from deep cuts to breaks to bangers to tech house and techno. I get into the funk, the jungle, all kinds of stuff… I can create a mood of camaraderie with the audience all night long when we are on a mission together. We are all there as a community having fun without all the pressure of busting it all out in an hour."




While a frenzied hit it and quit it festival set doesn't leave much room for musical worldbuilding, the open-to-close is a true test of the skills of a selector. Crenshaw took the challenge in stride, building from cool and funky deeper cuts as the dancefloor filled up to brutal sub-thumping techno as the feeling of a full-on rave began to take hold. There were moments of transcendent melodic bliss, growling bass-fueled euphoria, and times when the entire crowd felt like we moved as one collective unit.




When he dropped "Jolene," his collaborative hit with Green Velvet, there wasn't a person in the room who wasn't singing along to the quirky lyrics. And when the wonky synth line from an ID he's been playing from Dirtybird up and comer (and San Francisco local) n808 shook the warehouse walls, the dancefloor exploded. As he flawlessly moved from the syncopated Latin rhythm of "Cubism" by Davide Squillace to the pumping groove of "Strike" by Realsortis and the funky minimal shimmy of his debut on Sven Vath's Cocoon, "Moody Fuse," hundreds of us raged around the DJ booth. It was giving Boiler Room, but make it Oakland.









Being at the center of an entire night of memorable moments is a massive responsibility. And while there's a beautiful spontaneity to a well-curated DJ set, there's also a lot of preparation.




"The way I prepare is by creating tons of genre folders of music and then drifting between the folders as I read the room. Sometimes I feel like the room will respond to really latin vibes or really hard techno vibes or really bassy vibes - I'm super prepared for anything."




But beyond the masterful DJing, there was something almost spiritual at work. Without the spectacle of cryo blasts, LED screens, and light shows, we returned to what brought us all into this community in the first place: the love of music and movement. It was beautiful to see so many people dancing.






And when I ask Crenshaw how being so close to the dancers changes the energy of the performance, he says, "You called the people 'the dancers' instead of 'the fans.' That's kind of the key difference. At a festival 'the fans' are there raging for a short burst of time, but at these all-night warehouse shows people are there to dance. It's not all about me. It's about actually dancing and experiencing the music. It's not just fist pumping. Its grinding, stepping, shuffling, spinning, and enjoying life. "



It's not hard to understand how impactful a night like this is for the Bay Area community (and Crenshaw). Dirtybird hatched in San Francisco. Before there was Campout, there were free Dirtybird parties in Golden Gate Park and quarterlies at Mezzanine. The singular energy in the room rivaled the feeling of camaraderie in the early days, and Poppa Claude was always at the helm.




"I lived in Lower Haight during a real golden era of house and jungle where lots of people were DJing just for fun and starting labels," he says. "We were outcasts at first but then eventually won the city over and I will never ever forget my amazing time living in the Bay for 15 years and starting Dirtybird hand stamping vinyl on the floor of my studio apartment on Belcher Street."

[Interview] Claude Von Stroke Reminds Us Why We Dance

As one of the Magic City’s most beloved clubs prepares to close shop, many are grappling with what it means for the 305’s underground dance culture moving forward.







It’s 4 am in Miami, and the collective sweat is so thick you can practically pluck it from midair. As clubgoers throw their appendages across the dance floor of ATV Records, a nightclub nestled in the downtown area, the sheer kinetic energy of the bunch has rendered the cool air of the venue’s A/C and CO2 machine all but inert. Local party crew Jezebel is hosting Tim Reaper alongside DJ Swisha and Kush Jones for its last proper night at the club, and it feels fitting that this brief-but-vital era of Miami nightlife is going out with this much vigor.




As Swisha and Jones go b2b, the Juke Bounce Werk pair steer the sold-out crowd on a breathless tour through footwork, juke, and techno, gradually upping the ante even as they weave in playful cuts like a snippet of ATC’s Eurodance classic “Around the World (La La La La La).” Machinedrum, fresh from his DJ set at Club Space nearby, looks on in approval.




Once the BPM has gotten high enough for Tim Reaper to take over the decks, the DJ-producer’s blend of jungle punctuated by hardcore rave makes one clubgoer effectively enter goblin mode, flinging excess energy out of his chest and into the crowd from the perch of an elevated booth, eyes closed, teeth gritted all the while.




This past Sunday morning’s shenanigans were the latest in an ongoing procession bidding farewell to ATV. The 150-person club recently announced it would close its doors for good at the end of July, prompting a period of reflection by Miami’s local music scene. As ATV goes under, so too does one of the city’s few remaining dance floors catered to the underground crowd. ATV is also the most recent in a long line of mid-sized Miami venues to shut down since March 2020, joining the ranks of cherished hangs like Churchill’s Pub, Las Rosas, Oak Garden, and others that have kicked the bucket. Besides leaving few stages on which to perform and attract an audience, this drought of dives has left the 305’s creative community with meager pickings in places to call home and, in turn, gather with others.




“ATV stands for [offering] a low barrier entry for people… if you say ‘Hey, I want to go and enjoy a night out,’ you can only think of places with a $40 entry, and that’s not an intimate type of setting,” says Luis Yepez, co-founder of Jezebel and a manager at ATV. “The Jezebel nights cater to a younger crowd that doesn’t really have a space to enjoy something for their demographic. [Recurring party and ATV fixture] SALEM had a recent pop-up, but there’s no place — especially with Las Rosas closing – for them to [organize events]. It seems like the music scene is only being catered to one specific demographic, which loses the essence of community… and community is anyone that wants to be involved in the nightlife scene.”




Jezebel was founded in early 2021 by Yepez — then a server at Melinda’s, the now-closed bar and restaurant adjoined to ATV — alongside collaborators Juan Mejia and Camilo Cano. Although the first edition started as an excuse to DJ and organize a birthday party for friends at ATV, Jezebel became a beacon of post-social distancing nightlife, attracting many back into a club for the first time since COVID-19 upended the world. Hosting the likes of Perel and duo AceMoMA and champions of Miami dance culture, including Bort, Nick León, and Jubilee, Jezebel’s parties helped cement ATV as a communal hub at a time when people craved beat connections more than ever.




“We’ve always been clubgoers going to [shuttered venues] like Electric Pickle and Trade, so we were always in tune with that sound,” Yepez says. “But as the years went on… it seemed like ATV became the pillar of the community for Miami’s underground music scene.”




ATV established its prominence with little time but a lot of power behind it. After being known as 1306 — named after its street address — and largely hosting live concerts since 2016, the venue rebranded as ATV and Melinda’s in late 2019. Both the club and restaurant components were imported by Will Renuart, who’d previously operated Melinda’s on the first floor of the Electric Pickle, the venue he co-founded in Miami’s ascendent Wynwood neighborhood. After the much-loved den of decadence closed in June 2019, Renuart and other Pickle alumni like Alo Gonzalez — known on the decks as Puma — were brought into the space’s fold by Aramis Lorie and other partners.




For those invested in Miami’s after-hours culture, this arrangement signified a momentous meeting of the nightlife minds. As the people behind long-running party series and event production group Poplife, Lorie and longtime collaborator Jake Jefferson brought extensive experience from engineering some of the best gatherings Miami has ever seen. Poplife’s 20th-anniversary party in November 2019 was one of ATV’s first proper events and set a high standard for the gatherings to follow. Even Win Butler of Arcade Fire fame showed up.





Considering the pandemic, it’s a miracle the Pickle-Poplife partnership lasted for as long as it did. According to Lorie, cultural shifts and financial fallout from Miami’s ever-rising property values ultimately led to ATV’s demise.




“Miami’s become extremely expensive on the real estate level… and that trickles down into everything,” Lorie says, calling it the “growing pains” of an increasingly prominent city. “It puts a lot of pressure on us because we’re not trying to appease the masses.”




Many locals are concerned about the ripple effect, both overt and understated, of Miami’s affordable housing crisis on the city’s underground dance culture. This includes Alex Del Campillo, who DJs under the moniker Alexx in Chains and has thrown parties at ATV as co-founder of the collectives Gay Underground Network Inc. and GAZE Miami.




“Everyone I know is working really hard to make it,” Del Campillo says, adding that many in the scene are juggling two or three jobs simultaneously. “Now we’re reaching a tipping point where it doesn’t matter how hard you work because it’s just a rich person’s city. People are being priced out, and I’m scared that those who come from low and middle-class backgrounds won’t continue to be here to create culture.”




However, resiliency is intrinsic to the roots of dance culture, and Del Campillo, Lorie, and Yepez all remain optimistic about the underground’s long-term viability.




“I think there will be really interesting pop-ups happening,” says Lorie, a sentiment shared universally among the trio. There’s also ample talk of alternative spaces, such as the Boombox stepping in to fill the void by providing additional resources to artists and expanding on programming.




But in the meantime, ATV still has a few memorable nights left, including Thursday night’s extended set by Shermanology co-presented by Gray Area. The last party, on Saturday, July 30, is set to be a Miami family affair.





"For the closing on July 30, Jezebel, SAFE, Miami Community Radio… we’re all doing a day party across the outdoor and indoor areas, and it’s going to be one big farewell to ATV,” Yepez says, adding other local collectives including Dream Vacation, Sarah Tonin, SURFACE, Tropico Virgo, and yes, Poplife, are all getting in on the action.




“We’re all in communication right now to see how we can provide space for the continuation of our programming and the underground music scene,” he says. “Pressure creates diamonds, and I feel like once these things start unfolding again, the crowd ATV was catering to is going to come back with a vengeance.”

Miami Doesn’t Want the Music to Stop at ATV Records

Nightmares On Wax | Pikes | Monday, July 18

George Evelyn, aka Nightmares On Wax, decided to settle down on the island long ago with his family to experience Ibiza’s DJ culture properly. Nightmares On Wax started as a group in 1989, blending elements of jazz, soul, funk, electronica, hip-hop, dub, and techno. Evelyn is back at the iconic boutique hotel for six dates only, digging in the crates for a one-of-a-kind performance.

Join the guestlist to experience a musical journey at the legendary Pikes

Follow Nightmares On Wax on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud









Repopulate Mars by Lee Foss | Eden | Tuesday, July 19

Lee Foss has brought his Repopulate Mars party and record label to Ibiza for the first time. Every Tuesday, “The Arrival” transforms Eden into the red planet and plays host to some of the best in underground tech house. The tastemaker label has released upfront bangers from Matroda, John Summit, and Solardo. Travel to another galaxy with Lee Foss and guests this Tuesday night at San Antonio’s super club!



Purchase your ticket for Repopulate Mars at Eden this Tuesday.

Follow Lee Foss on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud











elrow Outdoors | Ushuaïa | Wednesday, July 20

elrow and Ushuaïa join forces this summer to throw a daytime carnival like no other for three dates only. The famous Barcelona entertainment brand is based at Amnesia every Saturday night this season, but its limited-edition day party at the luxury open-air venue has settled as the craziest and most popular of the summer since elrow arrived on the island years ago. The two powerful global brands come together again this season, opening Wednesday, July 20, with their Kaos Garden theme. The line-up will see appearances from Hot Since 82 and Joris Voorn with support from elrow residents DJs.



Get your tickets to elrow at Ushuaïa this Wednesday.

Follow elrow on Twitter| Instagram | SoundCloud





Holotropia | Las Dalias, Ibiza | Thursday, July 21

Art, music, and spirituality converge during four summer dates at Las Dalias. The ceremony begins at 7 pm in the garden and moves indoors at 11 pm at Las Dalias newest club Akasha. Holotropia is a project by Ida Engberg, Filipa Lazary, Foz, Oren, and other great talents such as the filmmaker Giancarlo Canavesio. This event is a journey through all senses connecting art, live painting, performances, inspiring talks, and incredible music. The cozy Las Dalias features a centrally located DJ booth surrounded by an incredible dance floor, outstanding sound, and amazing vibes.

Follow Holotropia on Instagram







Joseph Capriati Presents Metamorfosi | Amnesia | Friday, July 22

This season, Joseph Capriati is bringing a fresh, personal concept to the San Rafael super club. The Italian techno DJ and producer presents Metamorfosi, an introspective reflection of his journey over the last decade. Capriatti will share the trademark thumping techno sound that has made him a sought-after artist, the music that’s inspired his musical journey, and the incredible artists that have supported him along the way. So reinforce your passion for electronic music and join Joseph Capriati and friends this Friday night, the first of only three special dates.



Tickets to Metamorfosi at Amnesia

Follow Joseph Capriati on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud











21st Anniversary Party | Underground Ibiza | Saturday, July 23

Celebrate 21 incredible years of the most authentic underground-style club on the Island. Underground Ibiza is in a traditional Casa Payesa (country house) between San Antonio and Ibiza Town. It’s (purposely) difficult to find and barely promoted, so it remains one of Ibiza’s few under-the-radar spots. Here the parties are for true clubbers, and music does the talking, offering a friendly and intimate vibe. It features a sizable outdoor terrace. Inside is a small bar room and a larger space with a DJ booth and a cozy dance floor. If you want to be part of the Underground family, go to San Rafael this Saturday and celebrate 21 years of this unique gem.



Celebrate Underground Ibiza’s 21st anniversary

Follow Ibiza Underground Club on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud







Green Velvet | Blue Marlin |Sunday, July 24

Blue Marlin is one of the island’s most glamorous beach lounge clubs. This season the chic venue is hosting Showtime Sunday events featuring some of the most outstanding international DJs. This week the American vocalist, DJ, and record producer Green Velvet headlines the Sunday show at the cosmopolitan open-air space, spinning an adrenaline-soaked set of tech house and techno. Alex Kennon and resident DJs will kick off the party in the afternoon. Arrive early to sample the excellent food and cocktails while enjoying the sea from a hammock. Blue Marlin opens its doors at 10 am.



Don't miss Green Velvet at Blue Marlin

Follow Green Velvet on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud

Ibiza Selects (July 18 – July 24)

When the third season of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty premiered in 2017 with the episode “The Rickshank Rickdemption,” the writers included a throwaway story arc about Rick searching for Szechuan sauce at McDonald’s. The sauce was long forgotten, as it was only meant to be a promotion for the debut of the Disney film Mulan in 1998. The fast-food chain retired the sauce, and everyone forgot about it for over 20 years….until 2017 when “The Rickshank Rickdemption” episode premiered. Without giving the show’s creators a heads up, McDonald’s decided to bring back the sauce for a one-day promotion.




Already having a bit of a reputation, Rick and Morty’s incredibly passionate fanbase was elated to hear about the Szechuan revival, but that excitement was short-lived. With limited quantities of the sauce available only at specific locations, Rick and Morty fans’ delight quickly turned into violent anger against McDonald’s employees once they realized their franchised location ran out before they could dunk their nugs.




The show’s superfans gave Rick’s throwaway story arc an absurd amount of importance. When you scroll through tweets, you can sense the hoards of people genuinely felt real anger over not getting their sauce and subsequently took it out on McDonald’s employees. The fast-food chain received so much backlash that it quickly apologized and pledged to bring back the sauce, adding, “any fan who’s willing to do whatever it takes for Szechuan Sauce will only have to ask for it at a nearby McDonald’s” in a since-deleted tweet.




A second round of dip drops came in 2018, again in limited supply but nearly not as hostile of response compared to the previous year. The fifth season of Rick and Morty premiered in 2021, but on March 31st of, 2022, the sauce made yet another comeback, available exclusively via the official McDonald’s app.




Though the fans of Rick and Morty have come to be associated with toxic rhetoric, the fact is, as a collective unit, they still hold a lot of power. They brought a multi-billion dollar company to its knees, practically forcing McDonald’s to spend millions in production, marketing, distribution, and app development.




Mainstream culture isn’t the only target of zealous fans. Fandom in dance music has affected underground culture as well. Over the years, fandom has been as many different things, be it hype, genuine admiration, short-lived trends, and yes, sometimes even obnoxious and/or toxic. But how you look at it depends on where you stand.

Dirtybirds and Dirty Beats



In 2014 on my flight from Los Angeles to Detroit for Movement Festival, I noticed my window seat was next to a couple, both of whom were wearing black T-shirts and hats with a cracked egg logo on them. Anyone who’s been in the scene long enough knows the logo belongs to the Dirtybird record label.




“Are you guys going to Movement too?” I asked the couple, noticing they also had the Dirtybird egg logo on the back of their phone cases.




Of course they were. Their outfits gave them away. Throughout the flight, we talked about who we were excited to see at the festival and where we could buy weed. The ease of conversation is something I’ve come to associate with the Dirtybird crew and fans.




The Dirtybird label has developed a positive, festive reputation and is now one of the most recognizable entities in dance music, with label head Claude Vonstroke describing the brand as “not pretentious” and “just not taking itself too seriously.” And for over 15 years, it’s done just that. Merging bouncy, irresistible tunes with oddball samples and effects to solidify the fun aesthetic. This aesthetic spills over into live events such as Dirtybird Campouts, their infamous barbecues, and even the brand’s merchandise. On numerous occasions, the online store and the merch booth at live shows have run out of nearly everything they had in stock within a few hours.




Yes, Dirtybird fans are not only a lively bunch but hardcore Stans willing to spend money to show off their Dirtybird pride. Both Vonstroke and his wife, Aundy Crenshaw (who helps helm the brand), have alluded that eager fans buying merchandise have helped keep the label running. Which is why the label and its leading artists continue to emphasize how vital the Dirtybird community is to their success. Moreover, citing their fans as some of the nicest people, they’ve come across in the dance music community. But not all Fandom comes from a place of positive energy.



The Fish Rots from the Head

Bassnectar fans had developed a reputation long before their leader became embroiled in controversy. I first caught wind of the fandom attending Starscape Festival in 2011 after noticing people camping out in front of the stage Bassnectar would be playing many, many hours later. The fans didn’t care which acts were poised to play during the day - they just stood there all day and night, taking space from other fan groups who may have wanted to see their favorite DJs up close.




This became common foder as Bassnectar’s fame accelerated. The fandom became known for chanting “Bassnectar” on repeat during the middle of other DJs’ performances. There are numerous Reddit threads discussing Bassnectar fan’s ruinous effect on the festival scene, with users like Nectar613 noting, “Some of these kids are so aimless and have no concept of ‘reality’ outside of the festival/rave scene; they kind of just act like drugged up animals, with a severe lack of morals. Hopefully, with time, they learn from their mistakes.”




But how could they learn from the mistakes when the behavior was almost encouraged. After every show, Bassnectar would pull the event photographer to take an epic “Family photo,” reinforcing the idea of community and giving fans the desire to be up close in the snapshot. Plus, the times Bassnectar would stop playing music, it was rarely to police any behavior but rather wax poetic about how enlightened he was. Now with multiple allegations and lawsuits outlining his predatory behavior, the fandom of Bassnectar remains silent, waiting for a verdict.




In some cases, the head of the fandom has as much to do with the behavior of their fans as the fans themselves. It’s easy to posit the toxicity of Bassnectar managed to spill over into the fandom as well. But the pack leaders can also change the direction of their fandom.







At the beginning of Borgore’s career, you could hear fans enthusiastically shouting lyrics like “the thing I love most is cumming on your face, suck it bitch!” from the top of their lungs at bass stages across the country. Despite claiming not to be a misogynist, Borgore’s fandom often had difficulty distinguishing his lyrics as “jokes.”




A femme-identifying contestant at one of Borgore’s Most Ratchet Pageants said, “His music’s so much fun. I don’t see it as woman-hating.” At the same time, a male-identifying fan explains Borgore’s gospel as, “Look around; you can see a bunch of bitches. Look at how they act. They’re never gonna get anywhere, they’re never gonna find the right guy,” he shouts emphatically. “You have to be sophisticated and classy. And if you don’t choose that path, then you’re a bitch.”




But that was many years ago, and Borgore has come a long way since his #bootyforborgore days, going so far as releasing a jazz EP in 2018 and, more recently, a big room house track in the Fall of 2021. The “Bitches Love Cake” and #bootyforborgore hype has shifted, and the feuds between Borgore and his fans versus everyone else have faded to mind. Borgore fans are settling down, even making patchworked quilts of the album art.




Artists have the ability to shift the mind frame of their toxic fandom. Though, to be fair, fandom isn’t always negative.

The Fabric of Our Lives



Fandom doesn’t just revolve around the artists. There are many clubs and institutions like Berlin’s Berghain or Movement Festival in Detroit, where fan culture has also had an effect on the industry. Like when London’s licensing sub-committee decided to revoke Fabric’s liquor license, stating, “There is a culture of drugs at Fabric which management cannot control.”




With alcohol sales being the livelihood of most if not all nightlife establishments, Fabric faced permanent closure until the underground community of artists and fans decided to do something about it. The Nightlife Industries Association launched the Fund For Fabric in 2016 to fight the city’s decision in hopes of changing the fate of the iconic institution. The #saveourculture campaign raised more than £330,000 and ended with the club striking a deal with police and Islington Council to reopen in January of 2017.







Fandom can be toxic or have the power to make life-altering decisions. The choice of who should bear the responsibility of what the fandom does with that power remains to be seen.

How Fandom has Impacted Dance Music Culture

While Tulum has long been considered Central America’s most infamous festival locale, Costa Rica has become a burgeoning destination for house and techno fans. Similar to Croatia’s rise from underground scene to festival hub ten years ago when the Balkan country was seen as a cheaper option than Ibiza and became a hotspot for renowned promoters —such as Ultra, Time Warp, Defected, and elrow— to grow their brands. Is the same happening with Costa Rica when compared to Tulum?



The lush country has boasted the likes of BPM and Envision, with Solumun even saying he would be performing in Costa Rica this year as opposed to Tulum.



In addition to Costa Rica’s beautiful landscape, the paradise destination also features outdoor adventures, a thriving health and wellness community, beautiful weather, and a lack of strict laws. Sheila DeMoura, who has attended Envision, adds that the diversity of the plants, focus on sovereignty, and being a “spiritual hub for higher consciousness via healing modalities” make it an attractive destination.



“I loved that I not only got to attend a festival [in Costa Rica] but also experience the indigenous land, the culture, the people, and surrounding national parks,” Envision attendee Nellie Mar says of what makes the country an attractive event destination. “Costa Rica draws in adventurous explorers who want to connect with nature, so it was very easy to meet friendly and open travelers and natives.”





Kate Weil, who has attended Envision, says the location is her favorite part of the music festival as she finds it “incomparable to most” event locations.

“Envision is located in an amazing part of Costa Rica called Uvita just outside of Dominical. You get the best of both worlds in this area, [which] is located on the beach but has gorgeous jungle scenery as well,” she says. “The sounds of the jungle in the early mornings for sunrise are truly something everyone should experience. It is almost like a vibration that coincides with the music and just creates this incredible experience.”

When compared to other festivals, Envision attendee Bridge Spoth notes that being near a forest offers a different element compared to other camping festivals he has attended before.



BPM Festival goer Yvonne Thea echos a similar statement. The surrounding jungle is part of the event, offering a more natural, immersive
experience when compared to other festivals she has attended. She adds that she finds Costa Rica an affordable option—similar to how Croatia was seen compared to Ibiza.



Tulum is currently seen as one of the main hubs for dance music, attracting music lovers from around the world. However, the two destinations seem to have stark differences, according to Mikala Lugen, who has ventured to Tulum but hasn’t attended an event there. She says the city felt “very contrived and not cultural” as she saw “white people with yoga shops, vegan restaurants, etc.” In addition, she notes that Tulum didn’t feel like as much of a cultural experience as Costa Rica.



“Tulum felt a bit more industrial and touristy to me compared to Costa Rica, where you have small beach towns with endless options of places to travel to,” Mar says of her experience there. “However, both are great destinations and you can find adventure in both places, but if you like rainforests and jungles, then Costa Rica is a better option.”



"Costa Rica is really more for the adventurer. It’s more of a 'check your inhibitions at the door' type vibe,” Ocaso festival attendee Gemma Page says. "You will see every person at the festival dancing—there are no spectators. Tulum is more for first-timers and people newer to this music. Costa Rica is hedonistic [and] it's like no place else.”




Festivals such as Envision and BPM have featured renowned artists on their lineups, such as CloZee, GRiZ, DJ Holographic, Tycho, Boris Brejcha, Loco Dice, and The Martinez Brothers, rivaling Tulum’s events. Indeed, Costa Rica has become an ideal festival location. So is it the new Tulum? We believe it is.

Is Costa Rica the New Tulum?

By the mid-2010s, four-on-the-floor styles had hit a plateau of similarity, yet in late 2014 and early 2015, deep tech, a four-on-the-floor genre that is making waves in the scene today, was able to break through the mold into something brilliant.




At the time of deep tech's genesis, titanic genres like house, techno, and trance were well established in all major markets worldwide. This is, of course, a good thing overall, but a less than desirable result of such reverence is stifled innovation.




How can a new four-on-the-floor genre emerge when everyone knows the heavy hitters? Especially with the core element, the quarter note kick drum, being identical throughout the spectrum? The way innovation happens in the face of worldwide establishment is through emotional rebellion. When a community within the larger scope of a genre shirks confinement based on what's come before or what's popular.




People in the UK were well fed of Disclosure, Duke Dumont, and the other artists who keep American radio well stocked with deep house. UK fans knew these styles for decades before they gained commercial success across the pond, despite their fiercely American origins.




They were over it. They still loved the repeating kick drum but wanted something with more zeal, attitude, and fire, even if that fire didn't come in the form of faster tempos or distorted synths.




Deep tech was the natural progression. It channels genres historically built on angst like garage, grime, and jungle but keeps them danceable.




The UK is filled with garage, grime, and jungle shows for those looking to rage, but those looking to groove while expressing their pent-up emotion will find a home on the deep tech dancefloor.




Here are ten artists who are championing deep tech dancefloors around the world.

Jaden Thompson

Jaden Thompson is a UK-born deep tech purveyor with some decidedly New York flavor to his sound. His first-ever releases came out on Cuttin' Headz, the label from the NYC princes of house, The Martinez Brothers. And even though deep tech is a UK sound, New York retains its ability to imbue any artform with its cutthroat attitude. That's the kind of attitude Thompson imbues in his rendition of deep tech.




Follow Jaden Thompson on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tik Tok



East End Dubs

For some artists, it's all in the name, and East End Dubs is a prime example of this truth. Paying homage to London's East End, this borough of the massive metropolis exists on the outskirts of the trending city center, and thus it is within the East End where new trends begin. Dubs from the east end helped launch deep tech, and East End Dubs is living up to his namesake.




Follow East End Dubs on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tik Tok







Prunk


As obscure or unknown as any subgenre may be, there are always early adopters of the sound that inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Prunk is one of those artists for deep tech, first creating music aligned with those rebellious emotions back in 2010. While mainstage EDM dominated the scene, Prunk was making deep tech. Nothing more needs to be said about how he honors bringing truth to art. Now Prunk is putting on even more deep tech artists with his label, PIV.




Follow Prunk on Facebook | Tik Tok | Instagram




Chris Stussy

Chris Stussy is one of the artists who followed Prunk's footsteps into the world of deep tech. Stussy has had releases on PIV, getting his start in 2014 as the genre's differentiation became salient, and he's headlined PIV records takeovers at London's nightlife institution, Fabric. But Stussy is most certainly his own artist as well with his own unique deep tech style. His record label, Up The Stuss, is solidifying the sound in the larger four-on-the-floor zeitgeist.




Follow Chris Stussy on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tik Tok




Low Steppa

Along with historical pushers and modern purveyors, what a genre needs to truly reach the hearts and minds of a larger community are crossover artists. Artists who may be within another realm but are clearly making a journey over to the other side and welcoming others to come with them. Low Steppa is making the journey from house and deep house to deep tech, and with his massively influential label, Simma Black, he is inviting other artists and their fans to join him.




Follow Low Steppa on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tik Tok




Nautica


In their relatively short time making music, Nautica have spread the deep tech sound to some of the most celebrated imprints in four-on-the-floor music. They started in 2018 and since have hit Defected, elrow, Solid Grooves Raw, ORIGINS RCRDS, Whoyostro, and more. Each label demands a different exoskeleton, but the deep tech influence is never absent from Nautica.




Follow Nautica on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter




wAFF


With hundreds of tracks to his name, wAFF isn't tied to one genre. Deep house. Tech house. Techno. Melodic. He's produced it all, and now he's dabbling in deep tech like a pro. Quality is never an issue when wAFF is involved.




Follow wAFF on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter




X5 Dubs


Deep tech wouldn't be a thing without X5 Dubs. While artists like Prunk are on the housier side of the deep tech sphere, refining the fury into something more groovy, X5 Dubs was honing true to garage, jungle, and grime. Proving that the sheer intensity of these genres was still a core element of the new sound he was helping to create.




Follow X5 Dubs on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter




Secondcity

Secondcity is the vocal sample master. No matter what genre anyone might consider any of his tracks, he has the power to harness the voice and use it to advance his goal of getting the dancefloor moving. As he begins to venture into deep tech, everyone can expect a slew of white-hot vocal cuts soon.




Follow Secondcity on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter







Azaad

One thing that keeps a subgenre around is a stable of young talents dedicated to its growth. Azaad only started releasing music back in August of 2020, but he's stepped into the deep tech sphere with the same kind of fire that got things started a few years ago. His Instagram bio reads a simple "No gimmicks," and he's not joking.




Follow Azaad on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

10 Deep Tech Artists You Should Know

Nora En Pure | Cova Santa | Wednesday, July 13

Daniela Niederer, better known as Nora En Pure, has become a regular in Ibiza thanks to her distinctive blend of soothing deep house and perfectly orchestrated melodics. Nora is all over the island this season, including appearances as Amnesia, Eden, Hï, Pacha, and DC10. However, her one-off headlining day party at Cova Santa will be a singular opportunity to catch her truly craft a one-of-a-kind journey on her own terms.




Buy tickets for Nora En Pure at Cova Santa on July 13


Follow Nora En Pure on Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud











Jaguar presents Utopia | Pikes Ibiza | Wednesday, July 13

Every week Jaguar proves her skills as a gifted curator, representing the next generation of musical talent on her BBC Radio 1 show, “Introducing Dance.” She’s bringing those expert skills to the island this summer for three exclusive events at the legendary Pikes Ibiza for Utopia.


Her impressive range as a selector sees her fluidly shift between UK Garage, disco, drum & bass, 140, breaks, electro, house, and techno. Utopia gives her the chance to stretch out and express her broad musical taste while paying respect to the Black and queer roots of dance music. With only two more opportunities to enjoy an extended set from Jaguar and friends, you don’t want to sleep on this one.




Join the guestlist to Utopia by Jaguar at Pikes.

Follow Jaguar on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud


















Solomun +Live | Destino Ibiza | Thursday, July 14

Since 2013 Solomun has played a role as one of Pacha’s most unique resident DJs. His +1 party concept is a unique offering where he invites one special guest to go back-to-back from open to close. He takes the concept further with Solomun +Live, an outdoor day party where he pairs with a live electronic act from 5 pm to midnight. Taking place at Destino Ibiza for five dates only, it kicks off this Thursday, July 14.




Tickets for Solomun +Live are available now.

Follow Solomun on Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud







We’re Here by Pablo Fierro | Club Chinois | Friday, July 15

Spanish DJ and multi-disciplinary artist Pablo Fierro arrives at Club Chinois this Friday, bringing a new wave of diverse and dynamic dance music. His cinematic, uplifting, tropical beats provide the perfect soundtrack for a night at one of Ibiza’s newest hot spots. The Canary Island-born and NYC-based artist landed on the island a few years back and found a home to share his cosmopolitan style. We’re Here, which takes its name from his record label, is an extension of the Pablo Fiero sound.




Join Fierro and guests Friday, July 15, at Club Chinois.

Follow Pablo Fierro on Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud







Swedish House Mafia | Ushuaïa | Sunday, July 17

Swedish House Mafia will host an exclusive one-off show in Ibiza this Sunday to celebrate the release of their comeback album Paradise Again. After their legendary return performance in 2019 at Ushuaïa, they’ve chosen the iconic open-air stage again to kick off their Paradise Again world tour.




This year, their hotly anticipated return to the main stage was punctuated with a historic performance at Coachella in April. Now the supergroup is back on the island for one day only.


Purchase tickets for Swedish House Mafia

Follow Swedish House Mafia on Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud










When you aren’t hitting the clubs, check out these delicious food choices and incredible entertainment options.




Aperture Ibiza

Aperture is a picturesque terrace bar and restaurant at the Hotel apartments Marina Playa, just opposite Es Pouet beach in San Antonio Bay. Part of the Sunset Golden Mile, it’s one of Ibiza’s lesser-known spots for viewing an epic sunset while enjoying exquisite cocktails and live music. However, you don’t have to wait till nightfall to enjoy this beautiful open-air venue. The modern space offers a large pool, Balinese beds, and the restaurant serves international and Mediterranean flavors until midnight.
















Laylah Ibiza

Located just a hop from Pacha is Laylah restaurant and lounge bar. Its creative cuisine, original cocktails, and decadent design are well known. Sharing plates and small bites are the main focus at this chic venue. Global flavors inspire the delicious menu tinged with Israeli touches and soundtracked by great music from secret DJs on rotation seven nights a week.















Teatro Ibiza

In the former foyer of the Pereyra Theatre (originally built in 1893) sits the Teatro Ibiza, a multi-use concert hall. The “new” Teatro gathers an attractive mix of people and offers live music every night with soul, jazz, and blues artists and the best of the Caribbean, acoustic concerts, magic, and cultural entertainment. It is a spacious and elegant venue with a central stage, a bar to enjoy delicious cocktails, and a lively dance floor open year-round.

Ibiza Selects (July 11 – July 17)

LP Giobbi’s come-up might be the hottest of the year. The momentary pause on her launch two years ago due to the Covid-19 pandemic is now just a speck in the rear view mirror. In fact, her domination of Twitch streams throughout the pandemic may have even accelerated the process.




The Femme House leading lady has been on a tear in 2022 taking her brand on tour nationwide, gracing main stages worldwide, and releasing a slew of new singles and remixes. Recently, LP achieved another career milestone signing her first record to the prominent independent record label, Ninja Tune, via their Counter Records imprint.



“All In A Dream” is the deep-rooted dance track you never knew you needed with a piano-laden groove that only LP can provide. This foundational piece took on new life with a bit of help from her friends, as LP shared in a statement:



“All in a Dream came together in such a fun and fluid way. I started working on the idea of the track with one of my favourite producers, Le Chev (Michael Cheever) and I was in Miami with Sofi Tukker, and they walked into the studio and heard the record and Tucker immediately said ‘I have this vocal sample that would be perfect.’ I threw it in the session and it was in the same key and fit perfectly. I eventually played it for DJ Tennis and Ashworth, and Tennis suggested we record live drums for it so we spent a joyous day in the studio trying out all sorts of beats with a live drummer. Tennis and Ashworth then ran the track through outboard gear that made me want to crawl into the frequencies of the piano and never leave.”



This hybridization of organic instrumentation with synthesized enhancements culminates in a track just begging to be rinsed on a warm summer’s evening while soundtracking the setting sun.



Follow LP Giobbi on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

LP Giobbi Captivates With Powerful New Single 'All In A Dream'

Carl Cox and Joseph Capriati have a history of teaming up for showstopping b2b sets at some of the world’s best festivals. Their recent pairing at Kappa FuturFestival, which takes place annually in the northern Italian city of Turin, proved to be no exception.




For two hours, the techno heavyweights rattled the stages of the Parco Dora with adrenaline-inducing mayhem. Despite their mighty beats, the pair have infectiously light-hearted chemistry behind the decks that never fades.




Born in December 2008 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Futurism, Kappa FuturFestival is one of Italy’s best urban electronic festivals. In 2019, the festival attracted 60k attendees from 105 countries and was awarded Best International Festival at the DJ Awards. This year, the festival extended its program to three days.







Capriati has crafted his brand of slick and emotive techno since his production debut in 2007. First stepping foot behind the decks at just 11 years old, he’s gone on to play at some of the world’s best-known clubs and festivals, including Time Warp, Monegros, Kazantip, Sonus, Fabric, and Berghain.




Cox is widely regarded as one of the most iconic names in dance music. Gravitating towards disco, rare groove, hip-hop, and electro in his early years, he later shifted his focus to techno. A legend on the Ibiza circuit, Cox held a residency for 15 consecutive years at Space Ibiza until its closure in 2016.




Catch Capriati at Amnesia for Paradise in Ibiza and ARC Music Festival in Chicago. Cox will play at DC-10 in Ibiza, and We Are FSTVL in London.










Follow Joseph Capriati on Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud

Follow Carl Cox on Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud

Follow Kappa FuturFestival on Twitter | Instagram |

Carl Cox and Joseph Capriati Drop a Mighty b2b Set at Kappa FuturFestival

The world's brightest, most absurd, and colorful party returns to Brooklyn. That's right, another edition of elrow is just around the corner and is on track to be the biggest and the best to hit New York yet.



On Saturday, July 23, The Brooklyn Mirage and the King's Hall in the famed Avant Gardner complex will welcome over 15 top-tier DJs for elrow Summer Festival: Far Rowest. And as the two stages of pure debauchery plunge into kaleidoscopic chaos, guests can immerse themselves in a host of brand-new amenities.



But to access all the whimsical and wonderful experiences offered at Far Rowest, you'll need to show up early and purchase a Full Experience Pass. And let's be honest here. Why anyone would want to miss even one second of the action at an elrow event is a mystery. So grab the ticket, take the ride, and get a little weird.



Here are ten reasons to grab a Full Experience Pass before they're gone.

1. Save Money



Spoiler alert: the Full Experience Pass is the cheapest ticket for the elrow Festival. You're literally paying less money to have more fun. Has there ever been a more exciting trade-off in the history of live music?



2. Drink Specials



People show up late to an event because they want to save money on the pregame. Now elrow is taking care of that for you. Everyone who arrives early will get a special drink deal—buy one, get one half off. The bars will also serve a specialty-themed cocktail until 8 PM. You'll have to get your Full Experience Pass to find out just how special it is.



3. On The Runway With Rowgelia



We all love Rowgelia. The beloved chicken has been with the elrow family for years, keeping the energy up until the sunrise set is blaring through the morning. Now, for the first time, Rowgelia is doing a photo shoot with all our favorite fans. Get your Full Experience Pass and enter by 6:30 to get a picture with the hardest partying chicken in the world.



4. Sunset to Sunrise



For the first time in the USA, elrow will run from dusk till dawn. Watch the sunset over the dead sexy New York skyline from the highest walls of the Brooklyn Mirage. Then after doing some of the wildest dancing of your life, do the same thing with the sunrise. The master himself, Paco Osuna, is dropping a sunrise set until ... Well, we don't know when he will stop. Maybe you'll even get to see the next sunset?







5. Special Sundown Sets



We've specially curated both stages to provide the ultimate kickoff to this epic day-and-night of house and techno. In the Mirage (which just underwent some swanky new production upgrades), none other than Shermanology will be guiding the event into darkness with their endlessly funky combination of house music and soulful live vocals. Francis Mercier will be on the decks in the King's Hall, dealing out the smoothest and silkiest afro house in the game. Plus, with the recently installed glass paneling, the coruscating colors from the sunset will still wash over the crowd like a warm waterfall.





6. Animators, confetti, inflatables? Oh my!



elrow is about so much more than the music. This party is a 360-degree, audiovisual experience. One minute you're dancing your heart out. The next, you're sitting in an inflatable pirate ship navigating the crowd like Captain Hook. A blast of confetti shoots off next to you like cannon fire from a rival ship, but instead of avoiding it, you let the color papers engulf the bow. Suddenly your sinking back down to the floor, but all you can do is smile as someone else commandeers the boat and goes on their own voyage. Did you get chills reading that? Well, the earlier you get to elrow, the more likely you'll find yourself in that exact situation.



7. Come Hungry, Leave Happy.



On top of the many upgrades to production, the Mirage has a brand new food menu. So get there early and fuel up proper so you can dance into the night. Then when it comes time to dance into the morning, come back and fuel up again.





8. The Great Hall of Chill



When you need a place to sit and eat, come to the Great Hall, the newly established house of chill in the Avant Gardner. The massive room will be converted into a luxury air-conditioned lounge where you can relax, hydrate (because we care about your health), grab a bite, look at your awesome pics with Rowgelia, meet your fellow attendees and collect yourself before another extended dance session.





9. B2Bs on B2Bs on B2Bs



Far Rowest is all about double the fun. Double the stages. Double the confetti. Double the artists, and for some sets, it's double the DJs. We have curated two unique, rare back-to-back sets. Tech house icon Martin Ikin B2B "My Humps" producer Joshwa. And New York's Jean Pierre B2B elrow resident Toni Varga. These are all elrow veterans and veteran DJs in their own right. When they come together at peak time in the wild west, trying to put it into words would be futile. Just be there.







10. When I Roll Into The Wild Wild West…



This is the first time elrow is making the journey to the untamed frontier of the wild west, with the key word there being "wild." Are you ready to get wild? Cause we are. With epic production upgrades, an extra stage, and even more hours of partying (with the Full Experience Pass), this will be our biggest and wildest party yet. You don't want to miss a second of it.

A Full Experience Pass is Your Ticket to an Elevated elrow NYC

On Ibiza we welcome the July heat and juicy events led by some of the best DJs on the planet. Long beach days and non-stop partying are synonymous with Ibiza summers. So to keep that heat going on the dancefloor we selected a few of the best places to be for the upcoming week.



Carl Cox Invites | DC10 | Tuesday, July 5

For eight dates this season, the king Carl Cox is inviting some of his DJ friends to DC10. The legendary techno artist that will take over Tuesdays in July and August at Ibiza’s paradise for ravers located at the end of the airport runway.



Cox has been a regular in Ibiza for more than 20 years and the main man at Space Ibiza (closed in 2016) but this is the first time he lands on the island with his Carl Cox invites concept after touring it worldwide last year. If you want to experience a pure night of clubbing by one of the most in demand DJs on the planet, make your way to DC10 this Tuesday July 5.



Purchase tickets for Carl Cox invites at DC10 on Tuesday, July 5

Follow Carl Cox on Twitter| Instagram | SoundCloud











Martin Garrix Opening Party | Ushuaïa | Thursday, July 7

Dutch producer and EDM star Martin Garrix returns to Ushuaïa this summer, taking over the open-air venue for ten events on Thursday afternoons untill September 8. In 2015, young 19-year-old Garrix - who has recently released his first album Sentio – held court on the island with his first residency. Now, the youngest number one DJ for three years in a row (2016-2019), label owner, and producer of many hits celebrates his third residency on Ushuaïa’s main stage kicking off Thursday, July 7.



Get your ticket to enjoy Martin Garrix at Ushuaïa.

Follow Martin Garrix on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud













Afterlife Opening Party | Hï | Thursday, July 7

“An odyssey through the realm of consciousness,” is how Italian techno duo Carmine Conte and Matteo Milleri, better known as Tale Of Us, define their concept. The multifaceted artists are inviting innovators including Ben Klock, Rødhåd, Nina Kraviz, Carl Craig, Mind Against, and Modeselektor in electronic music to help lead the journey. Afterlife has become one of the most successful summer encounters at Hï Ibiza. Thursday night’s feature hypnotic and minimal production to keep the focus on the music. A highly recommended night for real techno lovers. 



Enjoy Afterlife with Tale Of Us at Hï

Follow Afterlife on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud













El Baile Opening Party | Pacha | Thursday, July 7

The team behind Storytellers brings a new immersive party concept to the Ibiza scene to celebrate dancing as a symbol of freedom, equality, and diversity and pay homage to the dance music culture of the island through 14 different ‘chapter’ events. It takes its name El Baile (The Dance) from the book that celebrates Pacha’s 25th anniversary. The team is bringing the Queen of neo-soul Erykah Badu to the opening party alongside a roster of powerful female performers. El Baile honors the past in the present with a powerful feminine spirit recognizing the roots of clubbing culture born in gay communities. Visit Pacha on Thursday if you are looking for a friendly and distinctive celebration!



Tickets for El Baile opening party at Pacha on Thursday

Follow Erykah Badu on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud











Skreamizm | Amnesia | Friday, July 8

DJ and producer Oliver Jones, better known as Skream, makes two appearances on the island as part of his Pan-European Skreamizm tour. The London-based DJ —considered the ambassador of dubstep in the 2000s—will be touring five countries and stopping at Amnesia for two Fridays this summer. Skream is one of the most versatile DJs on the scene, weaving a path from house and disco to techno, drum'n'bass, and more. His Skreamizm events are a representation of that diversity with a host of DJ guests including legendary duo Octave One to perform live, Aussie boy Partiboi69, Scottish selector Eclair Fifi, and Sally C.



Buy tickets for Skreamizm party on Friday at Amnesia

Follow Skream on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud











Ibiza isn’t just the greatest clubbing destination in the world, it’s also a foodies paradise. Check out some of our recommendations below.



Dinner and a show at 528 Ibiza

For a multi-sensory experience, 528 Ibiza, located in the rural hills of Benimussa, is the perfect blend of Mediterranean cuisine, music, art, and live entertainment. Its name is a nod to both club culture and the spirit of love that transformed the island into an international hub of unity. 528 Hz is known as the frequency of health, connection, inner peace, and love. A theatrical open-air dining experience converted into an interactive Phoenician marketplace, full of diverse and colorful characters and some of the most skilled artists in the world. A brilliant link to Ibiza’s heritage and culture, 528 honors the past and the island’s famous mystical energy. All topped with an Ibizan-inspired menu made by internationally renowned chefs paired with craft avant-garde cocktails. Doors open at 7:55 pm so you can enjoy the sunset.

More info at: www.528ibiza.com









El Silencio

Tentacles, giant lips and swings are some of the elements you can find at the infamous Parisian venue Silencio. The playful club was designed by Miranda Makaroff and and features Brazilian artist Samuel de Saboia’s Dreamland paintings. French owner and founder of NESO Paris Guillaume Sanchez fuses the menu with high-quality local products and you can also order street food powered by Pharrell Williams’s ToGo street-food group(you can take away and eat at the beach). There is also a tapas and beach restaurant by Mauro Colagreco, chill-out area, and club nights courtesy of CHA CHÁ The Club Madrid, LunArts, Jaime Fiorito, Cuts & Wines, and Pascal Moscheni. El Silencio is located at Cala Molí, on the east side of the island and opens at noon.

More info at: www.elsilencioibiza.com











ASAL Ibiza

Opposite Pacha, located inside the Ibiza Gran Hotel, a new venue has been born, Asal Restaurant and Bar. It consists of three minimal spaces Inspired by organic and natural Gaudí shapes and a Pitiusan style. The Garden Terrace and the Chef’s Saloon are guided by Mario Sandoval, who holds two Michelin stars and has been recently awarded the Michelin green star (an award for sustainable cuisine). This new luxury venue is a combination of the beauty of the island with light, modern, and timeless style that evokes Ibiza's famous caves.

More info at: www.asalibiza.com

Ibiza Selects (July 4 – July 10)

One of the UK’s most prominent producers, Skream, has been at the helm of boundary-breaking sounds for the better part of two decades. As a young up-and-comer, a 15-year-old Ollie Jones was pivotal in the progress of dubstep in the early 2000s. He pioneered the depths of the low end for ten years before transitioning to the soulful side of dance music. Navigating the new sounds like a fish to water, Skream found his way behind the decks at dance music institutions like Spain’s elrow, Manchester’s Parklife, and many more around the globe.





We’ve seen Jones touch back to his Dubstep roots recently, notching a dubstep set at Coachella and a whopping seven-hour B2B with Mama at an all-night party in London club, KOKO. Clearly, in tune with both sides of the spectrum, we weren’t sure what to expect from the July 15th arrival of his new EP, The Attention Deficit, but we now know this much: the inaugural single, “The Attention Deficit Track,” is a straight-up tech house fire starter.



The kick wastes no time setting a heart-pounding pace while the percussion builds the primal beat of this relentless stomper. Chopped Italian vocals begin to furiously fly through space in vigorous hypnotic symmetry, and any inhibition towards movement dissipates. It’s spine-tingling. It’s stimulating. It’s absolutely mad, and we absolutely love it.



This newest offering comes in collaboration with Glasgow’s famous genre-blender, Jackmaster. Skream and Jack came up together in the UK Dance Music scene, their careers running separately but parallel, working to push and defy boundaries. Seeing two top-tier talents in sync on a seismic single is a thing of beauty, and it seems there's more. Jack tweeted on release day, “Good things come to those who wait. Just wait till you hear what we have up our sleeves next.”







Follow Skream on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Follow Jackmaster on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Skream Holds Nothing Back with 'The Attention Deficit Track'

Bringing gospel-infused house and techno to the sunlit slipways of Belfast, Floorplan’s AVA Festival set was akin to divine intervention. Highlighting techno and house's roots in soul, disco, and funk, the duo often mesh samples from the likes of Kool & the Gang and Aretha Franklin into hard-hitting club tracks.




Inspired by their devout Christian faith, the pair also feature prominent samples from gospel music in their material. Their 2011 hit, “We Magnify His Name,” revealed the power of combining these genres.




Hailing from Detroit, Floorplan is the father-daughter duo of Robert and Lyric Hood. Starting life as one of Robert’s solo projects in the 1990s, the minimal techno pioneer began collaborating with his daughter in 2016. In 2019 they released the album, Supernatural, and since, a multitude of singles.




Emerging in Belfast and later spreading across London, mainland UK, and Ireland, AVA is an Audio-Visual Arts Festival, Conference, Exhibition, Event Series, Industry Network, and Broadcast. Its goal is to celebrate, amplify and develop the strong current of electronic audio-visual art from the ground up.




Its flagship event, AVA Festival Belfast, started in 2015 and has grown annually. It’s now swelled to include a program of international showcases, including Mumbai, Amsterdam, London, Manchester, and Dublin.




Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming Floorplan shows at Defected at Eden in Ibiza, SWF 2022 in Amsterdam, and Maiden Voyage Festival in London.







Follow Floorplan on Instagram | Soundcloud | Spotify

Floorplan Bring Divine Energy to AVA Festival

Techno, house, and love: the foundations that imprint and brand Desert Hearts is founded on. Desert Hearts—created by Mikey Lion, Lee Reynolds, Porkchop, Marbs, and Kristoff McKay—can be best described as embodying freedom of expression, community, and consciousness.




The label, party brigade, and boutique festival began in 2012 as a 200-person gathering in the Mojave desert. “It just organically grew into a festival,” Lion tells Forbes. “We never intended for it to be a festival or had intentions of creating something this big when we first started it. It kind of developed its own personality, following and [growing a] community around it, that we felt responsible to keep it going because it was just this…the most beautiful thing that we’ve ever been a part of.”



In addition, the festival proves to feature impressive lineups, boasting the likes of Tiefschwarz, DJ Harvey, Monkey Safari, Rodriguez Jr., DJ T, Claude VonStroke, Marc Houle, Olivier Giacomotto, Mark Henning, M.A.N.D.Y., and more over the years.




Desert Hearts Records launched in 2014 and features releases from acclaimed producers and burgeoning artists. Past releases on the imprint include Andreas Henneberg, Latmun, The Glitz, jozif, TÅCHES, Dance Spirit, Fritz Carlton, Kevin Anderson, RYBO, and, of course, the Desert Hearts crew. In addition, the eclectic party crew has traveled the world, bringing their City Hearts events to destinations such as Los Angeles, New York, Tulum, Mexico City, Miami, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Toronto, and Denver. It’s safe to say the brand’s techno, house, and love movement isn’t slowing down.




“Desert Hearts has given me my entire life,” Lion tells Forbes. “I think humans are tribalistic by nature and, for a lot of people, the tribe that they find is like their sports team or something that they feel a part of. I think that that’s my favorite part is that we’re all coming together with this common goal of creating love and spreading that positive energy and that goal of becoming the best versions of ourselves. It’s truly incredible to me.”




We picked 11 of our top songs by the Desert Hearts crew that are sure to get you grooving.




Andreas Henneberg and Mikey Lion - The Tortilla Rap



Mikey Lion brings the funk with this track. Boasting pulsing baselines and percolating beats, this song is dance floor ready. The comical lyrics provide added flare, truly delivering the sounds you need.




Andreas Henneberg and Mikey Lion - Surfliner



From thumping and effervescent bass to swirling synths, this track has what you need to get you dancing. This is truly a festival-approved track.




Machino and Lee Reynolds - Moon Matrix (Original Mix)



Lee Reynolds and Machino open by delivering the dark bass that you crave. Wonky and shimmering synths then lead listeners on a sonic journey. Don’t sleep on this out-of-this-world song.




Rinzen, Marbs, and Evan Casey - Ark



Enter a psychedelic dimension as the trio spins a transfixing song. The record came out on Desert Hearts Black, the darker side of the brand.




Mikey Lion - This is the Beat

Swirling synths, persistent bass, piano backdrop, and pulsating sounds will surely get you grooving. This record provides the beat that you crave.




Mikey Lion, Lubelski, and Jackson Englund - When I’m With You



Catchy lyrics, calming tones, shimmering synths, and groovy bass deliver a track meant for a sing-a-long. The record proves that Lion is a multifaceted creative: one that creates both dancefloor anthems and low-key heaters.




Lee Reynolds - Revolution Earth



Lee Reynolds brings swirling synths and stunning sounds, making this a headphones musical experience. Indeed, the song proves the artistic skills of the producer.




Marbs - Needed Time

Marbs plunges listeners into a dark underworld overflowing with pulsing bass and ominous synths. The track intertwines its dismal sound with bass designed for dancefloor domination.




Mitch Dodge and Porky - Chameleon

Get down and funky with this record that delivers bongos, snakey synths, and a build-up that leads into bass bops destined for the underground. Don’t miss out on grooving to this song.




Machino and Lee Reynolds - Puma Punku (Original Mix)



Transcend into a darker universe with Lee Reynolds. This track is designed to transport you to a dark and sweaty warehouse.




Mikey Lion - I Like to Go Out



Soundtrack your pregame to this funk-filled song. From chimes to catchy lyrics and snaring synths, this song is set to get you into the party mood.

11 Desert Hearts Songs Sure to Bring the Funk

I’ve always wanted to go to a music festival in Europe, and the 29th annual Sónar held June 16-18 in Barcelona was exactly what I was looking for. Since 1994, the innovative “music, creativity and technology” event has presented dance music in unique and engaging ways—they’ve been known for stunning visuals, exciting artist pairings, and boldly exploring who is captivating the underground.

A lot has happened in the world since the last Sónar in 2019, and they’ve done their best to keep up with it. The art space at the daytime venue has gone fully virtual, with a gallery of mind-bending NFTs, V.R., and AI-generated creations. Sonar+D talks and events followed suit, including subjects like an “AI-powered Soundscape Experience,” “Future of Music: AI-driven Virtual Artists,” “What you really need to know about web3 masterclass,” and more.

The daytime venue at Fira Montjuïc was intimate and playful, with four music stages, the biggest of which was outside in the sun, with a dancefloor padded in astroturf and shaded along the edges. The nighttime venue, at the massive Fira Gran Via L’Hospitalet, about 20 minutes away by metro, was a cavernous space with four stages and bumper cars hiding in the middle.



The music was stellar and eclectic. I love when the element of discovery feels like a key part of a festival experience, contrasting a lineup with the biggest names we’ve seen on almost every other lineup that year. On the first day of the event, I was excited for Sega Bodega, UNIIQU3, Ms Nina, and Jayda G. I was thoroughly delighted by the outdoor SonarVillage lineup, which happened to be all women, who slayed and served up extremely diverse and joyful sounds.



On Thursday, recently recovered from COVID-19 and free from quarantine, I arrived at Fira Montjuïc around 5 p.m., in time for the last half of Sega Bodega’s stellar live set downstairs at SonarHall. He sounded amazing, and the stage design was trippy af—the lasers shot out from under him and his microphone, giving the effect that he, too, was a laser. I had to stare at the flowing, ethereal tulle curtains behind him—mixed with smoke, lights, and more lasers—to determine if they were virtual or real, as they also looked like lasers. The vibe was sexy, sultry, and smokey rave, a perfect complement to the Irish-Scottish singer, songwriter, and producer’s music. By the time his set was over, my upper lip was sweating heavily under my mask, and I’d yet to find a spot to stand where someone wasn’t smoking a cigarette, so it was time to go back above ground to SonarVillage.

London-based Manara had been throwing down when I arrived and was still serving up her bouncy blend of Bollywood club edits and ’90s and ’00s pop—she ended with Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” and global club rhythms. I was still covered in sweat outside, but I followed the wisdom of the crowd and danced in the shaded bits of astroturf. In the crowd, booties bounced, and hands were filled with squirt guns, bubble guns, fans, and Estrella Damm beer. Despite the humid heat, we were ready to get down, and the fabulous femmes of SonarVillage were fully prepared to serve it.

The stage was split with a D.J. booth and a larger live setup, allowing seamless transitions between sets. As soon as the Backstreet Boys classic ended, UNIIQU3’s energizing presentation of the Jersey Club sound she’s at the forefront of began. Starting 111 percent lit off the bat, she held nothing back for her first Sónar performance, commanding the decks with her bouncy, sexy selections and coming out front to rap and dance to her original tracks. The crowd swelled, no longer able to remain in the shady parts. At one point, a loop of Lil John shouting “okaaaaaaayyyy” echoed between the spaces of another track—he was our hype advisor during her set, and I think he would’ve approved.

For her 2018 track “BUBBLE GUM,” she came out from the decks to rap and twerk to it. She closed with her 2021 club hit “Microdosing,” letting us know with a smile, “You guys definitely don’t microdose, my love. You macro dosing it!”

Next up was more fire from Lady Shaka, who is indigenous from New Zealand and joyfully brings Afro-Pasifika diaspora culture to the club. Her dancers donned traditional Polynesian dance attire and shook it to “Dutty Wine,” “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” and “My Tahiti,” the latter of which she went hard on the ukulele. Nostalgic pop had a strong presence on Thursday, which I was happily surprised by. When I heard the shrill sirens of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” I jumped up from my padded seat at V.I.P. to report back to the dance floor. She mixed it into Rosalia’s “MOTOMAMI” and later, during Fergie’s “Glamorous,” came out from behind the decks to dance.

The double scoop of vegan gelato I’d eaten earlier to fight the heat had burned off hours ago, and it was time to eat some solid food. While waiting for a veggie burger, I saw UNIIQU3 waiting for her sustenance there as well. I said hi and told her I appreciated that she just went hard right out of the gates. She said thank you and gave me a smile that seemed to say, “Girl, this is how we do it.”

Angolan-Portuguese singer/songwriter Pongo was commanding the stage, glowing in neon pink as she served up her energetic neo-kuduro sound. This sound brings the Angolan genre to the club, which she was responsible for launching 14 years ago—when she was just 16—in Lisbon, Portugal, with “Wegue Wegue” (as a part of Buraka Som Sistema). For this seminal song, she brought over a dozen audience members to dance and power kick with her.



Last was Canadian environmental scientist and funky house queen Jayda G. They closed out an excellent day of joyful sounds and energy from an amazing group of women at SonarVillage on a very high note.

I was three or four glasses of Spanish wine deep, and my note-taking went to the wayside to get super down with this queen of joy. I did successfully Shazam one track from her set—the groovy disco bop “Over You” from Ken@Work. She also played some James Brown and served up pure upbeat, joyful vibes that danced through house, soul, funk, and disco selections while dancing hard.

I returned to the fairgrounds on Friday, excited for the day and night ahead. I was keen to see something I’d likely not see anywhere else, so I beelined to the X indoor stage, adjacent to SonarVillage, for flamenco experimenter Niño del Elche, performing with an 80-piece band from his homeland of Valencia, in a show meant to channel traditional festivals there. The set began suddenly as the band began marching from the back of the room, making their way through the crowd to somehow fit on stage. Niño stood behind them, with his D.J. next to him, beginning with a spoken introduction in Spanish, welcoming us to the wild party that had just started. The first song had him singing chant-like over a jingling Arabic-influenced rhythm (Valencia is part of Moorish Spain) as he slowly waved his hands out flat in front of him. There was another song where he sang “la la la la S.E.X.!” atop a groovy, housey rhythm, ending with “En Valenciaaaaaaa!”



It was strange, experimental, and beautifully paid tribute to Valencia. And even technical difficulties couldn’t limit the energy or send the crowd away. As he shouted "Bienvenidos a la experiencia de la cimica natural! … la vida es para vivir! Toma, toma, toma!” (Welcome to the experience of the natural chemical… Life is for living!) as we danced hard. He ended with a flourish of hard techno, screaming with the mic in his mouth—legend.



Back at the outdoor stage, as the sun set, Parisian electro-pop duo Polo & Pan—with help from their vocalist Victoria Lafaurie—took us on a shimmering, buoyant, and synthy trip around the world. The crowd was again packed, including a guy—my festie crowd hero—with crutches, one in the air, spinning various hats on it. Lafaurie was the show’s star, owning the stage with her sultry voice and dance moves.

For “Tunnel,” Polo & Pan’s Cyclorama collab with Los Angeles swag maestro Channel Tres, Polo channeled some of his swag as he rapped his bars. They closed the joyful set with “Magic,” also from 2021’s Cyclorama.

House music power couple Eris Drew and Octo Octa closed the second day at SonarVillage with two and a half hours of vinyl, vibes, and upbeat ‘90s-leaning house. During the Chemical Brothers classic “Star Guitar,” they shared a cute, long kiss.



It was finally time to venture to Fira Gran Via L’Hospitalet for Sónar by Night. German trio Moderat was first on the agenda, playing at the SonarClub stage. Their dark, deep, and moody beats were the perfect welcome to the night. Amidst the smoke, Sascha Ring, aka. Apparat, and Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary, aka Modeselektor, were vibing hard. The gray and red-tinged visuals were fittingly dark and captivating. They blended tracks from the recent MORE D4TA with older classics that still pierce my soul deeply.

The tightly packed crowd only started to thin out as the sun began to rise. The duality of this odd hour wasn’t lost on me. It’s the worst because you’re not asleep yet, and the best because the dance floor begins to clear and people are on their most extra behavior.



We meandered through the various rooms to find our way to the outdoor SonarPub stage for Bonobo’s live set, which was somehow even more packed. The vibes and stage were fantastic, but it was impossible to dance and difficult to see the action, so we didn’t stay for too long. After ordering two delicious crepes (I only needed one, oops), we made our way back to SonarClub for French duo The Blaze, whose fire visuals and dreamy live set kept the crowd alive.

It was time to head back to SonarPub for Agoria, and luckily the crowd was starting to thin out, so there was some room to dance to the techno-led late-night grooves. Niño de Elche was on stage with him to assist in delivering their perfectly strange 2021 collab, “What If Earth Would Turn Faster.” Keeping the spirit of art and technology in mind, Agoria offered a free NFT via a Q.R. code on the screen. The vibe was dark, sexy, and techno.



A friend that has been to past Sónars texted me the day prior about bumper cars, and I was hoping this was still a thing. When I saw them at the night venue earlier that evening—and heard the gleeful screams and various joyfully chaotic sounds and neon lights flashing—I was relieved and excited. Ahead of ANNA’s closing early morning set, a friend and I hopped in a car and incited head-on collisions. Luckily, no one was hurt, and we laughed a ton. Since I’m not a late-night person anymore (I love sleeping) and I was tired earlier in the day, I was worried about being able to make through the aggressive schedule, but here we were at 6 a.m., ready to dance out any remaining energy to ANNA’s unrelenting sunrise techno set.

Her hour-and-a-half of dark-yet-rhythmic techno bangers were enhanced by visuals from Maotik, moving quickly in time with the high B.P.M. of the music and resembled strings of light. As her mostly unShazamable set wound down, we realized we’d done it. We made it to 7:30 a.m. on the dance floor—we’re definetly fucking forever ravers! Time to dig out the sunglasses and ride the subway back home for a long nap before the final day and night of Sónar.



I set an alarm to see alt R&B powerhouse serpentwithfeet at 4:30 p.m., something that, since becoming a full-time freelance writer, I am morally against. Yet, despite the effort, I didn’t make it. Instead, I got lost on the way to the metro while having a sensual experience with the tapas I was eating while walking there (ugh, how American of me).

My final day of Sónar began at the Lounge+D, where I caught the last half of Agoria’s engaging talk with journalist Christine Kakaire on creativity and Web3. Afterward, I said hi to Agoria and walked with him and his lovely NFT friends (they were real, fungible people, just into NFTs) to the digital art gallery.



We had a very meta moment while watching the digital frames flash through various strange psychedelic NFT works when one of Agoria’s suddenly appeared. I appreciated the enchanting movement of many of the pieces and learned from one of his friends about the A.I. programs that co-created some of the art. Wild.

My favorite part of the gallery was the hilarious and playful Face2Wikipedia, by Andreas Refsgaard. On a computer, you input your name, “what you’re famous for,” and take a picture of your face. Then, the G.P.T. 3 text generator serves up a fake Wikipedia page. I thought I was 17, which, thank you, and that I had worked with Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Ariana Grande in my successful career as a professional hype woman. OKAY!

As engaging as the art was, it was time to move. At SonarVillage, New York’s D.J. Python, the creator of the deep reggaetón sound, was throwing down Latin-tinged groovers while casually looking like he just got out of class, donning a brown leather bookbag the whole time. Right after, Italian production duo Nu Genea served up their sunny brand of Naples funk with a live band, complete with congas, an amazing singer donning wings, and lots of upbeat rhythms.


After walking out of the venue to catch an OffSónar party at a nearby faux castle, Poble Espanyol, I decided to run over to pet a dog waiting to cross the street. The dog bit my hand, and I spent the next seven hours in the emergency room, most of which I was waiting. I was heartbroken to miss the Chemical Brothers, who I’ve yet to experience. Eventually, I made it to Sónar by Night around 4 a.m. to eat a much-needed pizza and hear the last bit of Charlotte de Witte slaying SonarClub. I asked everyone I talked to how Chemical Brothers were—they were great, of course. I also missed Arca, Joy Orbison, and Eric Prydz—Sónar held nothing back to close things out!—but I am writing you with a healing, not-infected hand, yay. And at least it wasn’t super crowded anymore as I dragged my exhausted ass through the space again.

French funk maestro Folamour gave me life as I sipped on a Fanta and danced as gingerly as possible. He served up infectious house, disco, joy, and his new Power to the Ppl live A/V show outside at SonarPub. The visuals included illustrated versions of him with a bucket hat and some holographic bucket hat ones; cute. The chant-along chorus of Brazilian disco heater “A. E.I.O.U.” from Di Melo is now one of my favorite songs; thank you for that, Folamour. As the sky glistened into the morning, he dropped the Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive,” and we all got down.







Siberia-born, Naples-based Anifsa Letyago, one of the newer killer techno queens, closed things out in style at SonarClub. She delivered spacey, strange, and sickening techno with mind-bending, liquidy visuals by Alice Erre, some with her face as artistic inspiration.

My friend and I snuck away at 7, half an hour before she ended with the debut of her new single “Haze,” only because sleep was desperately pulling on our eyelids.

I cannot wait for the 30th-anniversary edition of Sónar next year. I will be there, and I promise I will not pet any dogs unless the dog clearly demands it.

Sónar 2022: Techno, Disco, Rave, NFTs and Everything In-Between

Drake has been incorporating dance music into his records since summer sixteen, a time when gas prices were low, Trump hadn’t been elected yet, and you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing “One Dance” or “Controlla.” While he had always poked fun at his singing rapper reputation, the release of Views marked the moment he fully embraced it. Despite how side-eye-inducing his faux patois was, Drake’s coquetry with dancehall and afrobeat was too catchy to not eventually grow on you.




Honestly, Nevermind dropped right as I got home from a dance music awards ceremony. So you can imagine my skepticism when people dubbed it a “house album.” It might be - in the same way, Aminé’s TWOPOINTFIVE is a drum n bass album, or PinkPantheress’ to hell with it is a jungle album - which they are, a little, I guess?




Sprinkled throughout the credits of this record are a plethora of electronic music producers. Most prominently, Drake enlists the help of South African 2022 Grammy Award-winning Black Coffee as one of the album’s executive producers and EDM trap trailblazer Carnage, who has since fully rebranded to his house alias, Gordo. High-profile house acts like these (and Frankie Knuckles is probably rolling in his grave at me implying Carnage is a house act) should mean that this album has the best dance music production. However, I skimmed the first few songs of the record, wondering where the actual dance music was.




Maybe I’m biased because Drake’s signature falsetto is deeply ingrained in my brain as synonymous with pop. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been listening to Drake bootlegs by some of the greatest electronic acts from both the underground and the mainstream for over ten years.




There’s a snake-eating-its-tail quality to the project, as Drake is probably the most well-loved, most remixed artist in dance music, but he’s especially spun by artists in US-based EDM. You can’t go to a club or festival set without hearing Drake. The Canadian rapper collaborating with these producers is a win for the scene in general. Still, I can’t help but expect more from someone who clearly pays attention to everything said about himself on the internet.




The first song that really caught my attention was “Currents,” produced by both Black Coffee and Gordo. The identifying bed squeaks, “what?” samples and bouncy drum pattern let listeners know exactly where the influence was coming from right away, yet it feels like baby’s first Jersey Club track. Plus, with the rise of east coast club music’s prominence on apps like TikTok, it comes across as pandering to not have an actual Jersey Club producer on the track.




I might have felt differently if the song was good, like Baltimore Club-injected “Sticky.” With credits from Gordo and RY X, “Sticky” grips listeners with its intoxicating pulsating percussion and echoing chopped-up-vocals that serve as the backdrop for Drake’s verses that honor club music’s raunchy lyricism. “Sticky” is proof you can make an interesting song that introduces rap listeners to dance music while also staying true to Drake’s sound.




From “Sticky” on, Drake and his producers attempt to get more experimental. If the first half of Honestly, Nevermind was to prepare longtime Drake fans for how much house they would hear on the record, they accomplished their mission, but not without boring people who already listen to house consistently. His dilettante’s approach to house music is unfortunately predictable. Gordo, acting as the beatmaker with the most production credits on the album, showcases how Drake is still a visitor in this space. Like another accent to try on or trend to hop, he’s secured one of the least relevant and respected names in dance music by those who follow anything other than cookie-cutter EDM. In the back half, we see more of Drake’s frequent collaborators like Kid Masterpiece and Noah “40” Shebib. Ironically enough, they help produce two of the album’s better house tracks, “Flight’s Booked” and “Overdrive.”




With hip-hop and electronic music producers using the same tools to create, Honestly, Nevermind proves that the divide between the two sample-based genres isn’t as significant as we think. And although there are drastic opposing views between people’s first impressions of the album, historically, Drake’s music stands the test of time among his stans and die-hards, regardless of how people react off rip.




I can also appreciate that Drake included so many electronic music producers on the record. Rampa, &ME, Alex Lustig, and Klahr have their catalogs full of dance music gems to dig through.




The day before the album dropped, Gordo tweeted, “This is about to be one of the biggest moments in dance music history…” For the first time, he wasn’t lying. The symbiotic relationship between hip-hop and house music has always been apparent to those who listen to both. House DJs have been blending rap in their mixes since the late ‘80s, when “Hip House” was an actual genre that existed (and was frequently clowned). Similarly, and in more recent years, rappers like Azealia Banks have been using house beats for at least a decade. But with Drake’s star power, this record is the opportunity that dance music can seize to finally get the reverence it deserves from the greater, “mainstream” music industry.




Is the album as a whole great? No. While there are songs I’ve run back a few times since my complete listen-throughs, Drake’s lyrical content here doesn’t even meet the low bar he’s set, perhaps a byproduct of an adjusted approach for blended house rap. Alternately, the beats will not satisfy most house music listeners either. So, this homogeneity and worst of both worlds quality begs the questions: why does this album exist, and who is this album actually for?

Drake's Detour in Dance Music is Disappointing

Ibiza’s event calendar keeps getting bigger, and sometimes it isn't easy to choose what to do. So we're making it easier to plan your Ibiza adventure with the top recommendations to enjoy the island in the best possible way.







Sueños de Libertad | Ibiza Town | June 28 - July 2

The sixth edition of Sueños De Libertad Festival (Dreams of Freedom festival) begins this Tuesday, June 28, through Saturday, July 2, offering different activities around Ibiza town, including music performances from local, national, and international bands, street art, Ibizan food stalls, art exhibitions, markets, and a playground for children. SDL’s music style ranges from indie and alternative sounds to rock and pop and was born to relive the magic of Ibiza in the 70s. It’s the biggest music festival on the island and even provides free entrance to some of the art shows, games, and concerts at la Plaza de Parque. Some events do require booking ahead, so check first.

More info at www.sdlfestival.com







Do Not Sleep | Cova Santa | Tuesday, June 28

The internationally renowned party brand born in Ibiza in 2014, Do Not Sleep, is taking place at Amnesia and its open-air sister venue Cova Santa this summer for a limited engagement. Expect underground vibes, tech-house, and deep sounds guided by fresh talents and some of house and techno’s most prominent tastemakers. The first of four Do Not Sleep Ibiza dates at Cova Santa begins this Tuesday, June 28, and promises to be a great gathering to dance in the middle of nature.




Get tickets for Do Not Sleep at Cova Santa on June 28












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NERVONation | Eden | Wednesday, June 29

The Australian DJ siblings NERVO have a long history on the island, first as clubbers and then leading their NERVONation residency from different DJ booths such as Ushuaïa or Amnesia. Olivia and Miriam Nervo are songwriters, composers, and sometimes models. Yet it's their style, energy, and passion for electronic dance music that have taken them to the main stages of the world’s biggest festivals and clubs. This season the most famous twins in the scene land at Eden for the first time for the NERVONation opening party this Wednesday, June 29. They will bring their distinctive electro, vocal house music style, and pop bangers to the San Antonio club with special guests.




Purchase tickets to NERVONation at Eden on June 29









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Charlotte de Witte | Hï | Thursday, June 30

Charlotte de Witte debuts a headline show in Ibiza at Hï nightclub. The Belgian techno star has established her place in the scene with her bold, dark, and fearless techno. Regulars at DC-10 and Amnesia, de Witte played at the newest Platja D’en Bossa club for the first time during the Better Together opening party in April and is ready to smash the dancefloor once again, accompanied by some of her favorites guests. The owner of the KNTXT label will drop acid, and hard techno sounds paired with high-level production and the greatest sound system on the island.




Buy tickets for Charlotte de Witte's one-off event at Hï on June 30









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Pure Pacha Closing | Pacha | Thursday, June 30

German DJ and producer Robin Schulz says goodbye to his residency at Pacha this season on Thursday, June 30, after six weeks of fun. Catchy vocals and tropical house tunes have led Thursdays at the Cherries club. Pure Pacha was previously hosted by Pete Tong, Bob Sinclar, and Martin Solveig and brings the most diverse crowd. This year has been Robin Schulz’s turn featuring the stunning in-house production and Pacha's glamour and elegance. Get ready for a colorful party of confetti and glitter with Schulz’s pop and house style for the last time this summer.




Get tickets for Robin Schulz at Pure Pacha.









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Trick Ibiza by Patrick Topping | DC10 | Friday, July 1

Patrick Topping’s brand TRICK comes to DC-10 for the first time this season on Fridays. The new residency sees Topping showcasing the musical versatility that has positioned himself at the top of the charts and headlining festival stages. The UK producer launched the TRICK label and events series in early 2019. Not new to the legendary venue, the Newcastle raver holds his first-ever Ibiza residency this year, kicking off July in style at the underground mecca.




Tickets for Trick opening party at DC10 on Friday, July 1












Follow Patrick Topping on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud









Lust For Laughs comedy night | Pikes Ibiza | Friday, July 1

If you prefer unique al fresco entertainment, Pikes hosts monthly comedy nights around its tennis court from 8:30 pm. Lust For Laughs features comedians from all over the world spreading jokes, laughs and getting the crowd involved. This Friday, July 1, Greek comic George Zahcharopoulos will host a show focused on the pursuit of happiness. Catalan comic Lluis Vendrell and John Spillane will also join in the hilarity. Freddies room will be open if you feel like dancing after the laughs at the enchanting Pikes in the San Antonio hills.









Tickets for Lust For Laughs at Pikes Ibiza on July 1




Luciano Opening Party | Club Chinois | Saturday, July 2

We are excited to see Luciano embark on a new residency at the newest Ibiza venue Club Chinois this Saturday. Thanks to his pioneering label Cadenza Records, he is considered a trendsetter and a true icon in the electronic music scene, mixing minimal and melodic techno with Latin rhythms. Born in Switzerland and raised in Santiago, Chile, Luciano is a veteran of Ibiza dancefloors and always presents unique concepts. His past residencies like Aether Live, Vagabundos, and Origins at DC-10, Pacha, and Amnesia, respectively, have been crowd favorites. On Saturday, July 2, Luciano presents a new headline residency and will share the booth with some of his DJ friends at the most glamorous location. See you there!




Get your ticket for Luciano's party at Club Chinois on Saturday







Follow Luciano on Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud

Ibiza Selects (June 27 – July 3)

Like clockwork, dance music is having a mainstream moment. You remember those: they occur pretty regularly. If American radio were as dance-friendly as the British and European charts, the new double-house-drop this week might not seem like anything major. But as you’ll see below, whenever underground dance culture bubbles to the pop surface, everyone benefits.




1974: Disco hits the top of the charts

Disco had gotten notice in 1973 when Rolling Stone’s Vince Aletti first reported on it, but it was ’74 when the big revolution occurred. A pair of back-to-back July number-ones that had jumped into the charts from the clubs: the Hues Corporation’s “Rock the Boat” (July 6) and George McCrae’s “Rock Your Baby” (July 13-20). Along with MFSB’s “T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)” (April 20-27) and, well, Carl Douglas’s “Kung Fu Fighting” (December 7-14), it was plain that dance music was the new sound of pop.















1977: Saturday Night Fever

Two major openings in New York in 1977 drew crowds so outsized they cemented disco in the mass media as an aspirational lifestyle. In April, Studio 54 had its grand opening, turning away anyone deemed too “grey” for the likes of co-founder Steve Rubell. Its selectivity, and popularity with celebrities, made going dancing into a spectator sport. Then, Saturday Night Fever opened in December, with John Travolta as a disco-dancing king of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. It grossed $237 million (on a budget under $4 million), made Travolta a superstar, and sired a Bee Gees-dominated soundtrack that became the bestselling album of all time until Thriller.







1990: House crossover mania

In the UK, house music had become the soundtrack to a new kind of nightlife in the late ’80s, spawning chart hits. But in the States, Chicago acid tracks were largely met with indifference or scorn. But by 1990, a flurry of house hits crossed over: Technotronic’s “Get Up,” Snap! ’s “The Power,” Black Box’s “Everybody Everybody,” and Deee-Lite’s “Groove Is in the Heart.” And Madonna’s “Vogue” was her first serious toe-dip into house—and maybe her greatest dance-floor moment.







1992: Rave America

With the UK acid house wave having transmogrified into raves in giant fields, the term “rave”—denoting a more simplified, blaring, riff-driven style than the oft-subtler Detroit techno that it aped—became the US biz’s new buzz term, decorating a number of compilation CDs that year, e.g., Only for the Headstrong: The Ultimate Rave Compilation and Rave ’til Dawn. The comps had their moments, but the sales pitch went basically nowhere.







1997: Electronica ahoy!

By the mid-’90s, the U.S. record biz was starting to buckle—guitar rock, long America’s sales bellwether, was suddenly tanking—and began looking to acts like the Chemical Brothers, whose 1995 debut Exit Planet Dust had been a slow but steady long-term seller. In 1997, “electronica,” a term that in Britain evoked head-food like Aphex Twin rather than the Chems’ rock-’em-sock-’em likes, became the Yank buzzword, an umbrella that meant anything major labels wanted to sell. For a while, they did: the Prodigy’s Fat of the Land hit number one that fall. But not for long.







2001: Electronic music goes (covertly) pop

Really, it began in late 2000, when OutKast’s “B.O.B.”—inspired, Andre 3000 said, by listening to Photek—adapted a drum & bass groove for its kinetic rapping. But in ’01, not only were electronic artists from the Avalanches to Basement Jaxx to Daft Punk all crafting classic albums, Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On” (another D&B adoption) and Radiohead’s Kid A (Thom Yorke admitted he’d been inhaling the Warp Records catalog—ya think?) smartly adapted key post-rave innovations into their respective frameworks.







2011: Electric Daisy Charts

The big news, of course, was the debut of EDC Vegas, with its record-breaking 230,000 attendance—a signal to the rest of the American concert biz that “dance events,” were now the standard in America. Just as importantly, 2011 was a major year for electronic producers on the US pop charts, from Afrojack (“Give Me Everything” by Pitbull et al.) to Diplo (Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now”).







2013: Random Access Shakes

With EDM Mania running wild in America, the time was right for two inevitable elements to rise. The first was a novelty hit—Baauer’s “Harlem Shake,” a year-old track (it had debuted on Rustie’s 2012 Essential Mix) that blew up suddenly because of a YouTube clip and then went to number one because Billboard’s charts added YouTube plays as part of a song’s performance. Then in summer came the mature retreat: Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories was modeled on ’70s and ’80s studio albums like Thriller—tons of studio players utilizing tons of studio time to make tracks that sounded spotless. It shot to the top of the charts and swept the Grammys.







2022: Drake and Beyoncé

If you could name a king and queen of pop, these two are probably it. So it’s more than a little significant that the two of them, within hours, dropped music that overtly references house. Bey’s “Break My Soul” rides a blipping keyboard that nods to Robin S.’s classic “Show Me Love,” from 1993—just like AceMo feat. John FM’s “Where They At????” did when it blew up dance floors in 2019. Meanwhile, Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind features the Torontonian hip-hop singjay murmuring over house beats from &Me, Gordo, and Rampa. He sounds a little like Galcher Lustwerk, actually.

9 Times Dance Music Crossed Over to the US Mainstream

Atlanta-based producer and DJ Nikki Nair is one of the artists at the helm of hybridized dance music. After starting his career co-producing parties in Knoxville, Tennessee, Nair made his debut as a producer in 2018. His releases, which merge elements of electro, leftfield techno, breaks, and more, have surprises hidden around every corner.




Nair’s DJ sets encompass an even broader palette of genres, from ghettotech to UKG to experimental disco and beyond. His ability to seamlessly flip between these genres, and maintain a high level of intensity, results in high-octane, unprecedented, and unpredictable narratives whenever he steps behind the decks.












Nair’s Boiler Room set from Hyderabad is one of his best to date. Flecked with bars from the likes of Stefflon Don and vocals from the late Indian rapper and singer Sidhu Moose Wala, it’s a set that needs at least two spins to be fully appreciated.




Beginning life as a webcam taped to a wall in London, Boiler Room has grown to become an industry-leading broadcaster of live music sessions from some of the world’s best artists. Since 2010, the Boiler Room archive has swelled to feature over 8000 performances by more than 5000 artists across 200 cities.




Nikki Nair will soon play at The Ballentine in Minneapolis, Bass Coast Festival in Vancouver, and Dirtybird Campout in Waterford, CA.













Follow Nikki Nair on Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud

Nikki Nair Makes an Unforgettable Multi-Genre Boiler Room Debut

What Can’t Beyonce do? The multi-GRAMMY award winner has seemingly accomplished everything there is to achieve in music, solidifying herself as a multi-generational talent and taste-maker, and indisputable industry leader. Almost 30 years and six critically-acclaimed albums later, the pop star is again making waves with the release of a brand new single, “Break My Soul.”





Her latest offering not only initiates the rollout of her seventh album, Renaissance but also sees Beyoncé stepping into a new sound—a sound focused on the rich history of dance music. Vocal house grew through the 80s, and 90’s as a sound that defined freedom of expression for Black people based in various city centers like New York, Detroit, and Chicago. The clubs in which this music flourished provided safe havens and community for marginalized groups to feel accepted and empowered.



“Break My Soul” channels that empowerment into a recaptured sound of the past. Effervescent synth work counters spirited piano bursts over a driving steadfast rhythm section. The Queen stands atop as the personification of power and resilience, declaring “You won’t break my soul,” between a series of uplifting but matter-of-fact verses that keep us positively brimming with revitalized self-confidence.



Is this inaugural single a sign of a new direction for Beyoncé’s latest project, or is this a one-off bolt of energy delivered just in time for your next summer soiree? More and more pop artists seem to be drifting into the dance music lane these days, so we’ll be curious to follow the rest of this rollout.

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