Posts Tagged ‘Adam Beyer’

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What’s Your Favorite Mix in the RV Network?

RV_Network_Favorites
The RV Network has been live now for over 8 months, and I think it’s slowly but surely turning into wonderful resource for the dance music community. As a true lover of dance music, I can say I’ve gotten countless hours of enjoyment from the music in our Network, particularly the mixes. At this point, we’ve accumulated some phenomenal sets – across all of the sub-genres of electronic music.
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As I sit here enjoying our Network mixes (hour after hour), I sometimes find myself wondering what mixes you’re enjoying the most. Of course, I can look at the download stats to see what’s popular, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story. So, I figured I’d write this post to ask you outright…
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In your opinion, what is the best mix in the RV Network?
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I’d like to hear back from you on this one. If you take a few minutes to share your favorites as a comment to this blog post, I’ll give you a free track ;)
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To get the conversation started, I will actually share my ten favorite mixes from the Network. Some of my picks are old (mixes that bonded with over the years); others are more recent.
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1. Adam Beyer’s Essential Mix – If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, then you’ve probably heard me rave about this mix. This is one of Eddie B’s all-time favorites! You can read my detailed thoughts about it here.
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2. John Digweed Live at Homelands – Another incredible mix! Words can’t do justice to the tightness. I’ve written about this mix before in a separate blog post.
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3. Jon Gaiser at 10 Days Off – Jon Gaiser is a seriously underrated DJ in my opinion, and this is a perfectly done mix. Some of the other M_Nus crew members, like Magda or Troy Pierce, seem to be much more visible, but Gaiser gets it done.
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Adam Beyer – Slices Documentary

If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, then you probably know I like Adam Beyer’s sound and style of music. Some time ago, I came across a short, interesting documentary about him; it was released by Slices – The Electronic Music Magazine. I’ve embedded the documentary in this post so you can check it out. Enjoy!
 

 
Eddie B


Electric Zoo Festival – Exclusive RV Video from Day 2


It’s time for some more Exclusive RV Video from the Electric Zoo Festival! This is our montage from Day 2, and it shows highlights from performances by Adam Beyer, Desyn Masiello, Steve Bug, Nathan Fake, Victor Calderone, James Holden, and ATB!
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…absolutely epic, fun-filled, drive you bananas kinda tunes and energy ;)
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Enjoy!
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Eddie B


Exclusive Gallery: Electric Zoo Day 2

Aaaaah, techno. Or trance. Or kick-ass nu-wave disco sorta stuff. Or proggy-techyness. What ever you wanted to hear it was there to be heard!
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Another great day was had by all on Randall’s Island for the second day of the Electric Zoo weekender. It was shaping up to be something special with a really strong line up on all 4 stages, which had you covered regardless of what style of dance music you were after.
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Having arrived a little late on Sunday I didn’t have a chance to check out everyone that was playing in the early afternoon. I’m a bit gutted not to have heard Lindström and Prins Tomas, Heidi, or Audion, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles!
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Anyway, I did a whistle stop tour of the festival starting off with Adam Beyer on the Sunday School stage, before catching some of Desyn Masiello’s set in the Riverside Arena. Then it was over to the Groove Discoteque for some of Tom Middleton’s set where he debuted his latest track called “New York” which of course went down a treat.
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After a little while I bee-lined it back over to the Sunday School stage to check out some of Steve Bug’s set who was handling business of course. From there I made the trek down to the Main Stage—grabbing a cameo snap of Richie Hawtin who was posing with fans—to catch the end of Markus Schultz set and the start of Ferry Corsten’s. Time to get your trance on!
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Having got my trance-quotia for the day, I made my way back up the hill to see what James Holden was up to. He was playing some really deep, slightly esoteric grooves with immaculate mixing and solid track selection. The production quality in the Riverside was top-notch, with intelligent lights, lasers and strobes. I spent a while taking it all in, and the lighting crew did a great job for this set—as they did all weekend—by setting the visual tone to fit perfectly with the vibe of the music being played. I have an extra appreciation for good quality lighting, having worked as a lighting designer myself. Look out for the picures from Holden’s set to see what I’m talking about.
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I stopped into the Grove Disco tent one more time to get down to the LCD Soundsystem/DFA duo of James Murphy and Pat Mahoney delivering a badass DJ set for a really funky crowd, with plenty of ass shaking on display! Then it was back over to the Sunday School tent for a little bit of Victor Calderone, who had the responsiblity of warming up for Richie Hawtin. I think the crowd was well beyond warm when Hawtin took to the stage, but in true Hawtin style he brought things down ever so gradually before building it all the way back up and smacking you every-which-way with his brand of minimal and full-fat techno. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any stage shots of Hawtin as this was the set I put the camera down and danced to! I hope you enjoy the pictures.
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Electric Zoo Festival – Day 2 Recap

Steve Bug at Electric Zoo on Sunday
Day 2 at The Electric Zoo Festival was another incredible experience. When Sam and I showed up, Adam Beyer was just getting on the decks in the Sunday School Hilltop tent. As always, Adam played a mind-blowing set, and I headed right for the backstage area to get some good video for you ;)
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At some point while I was listening to Adam’s set, I realized that I needed to get coverage of some of the other DJs, so I made my way over to catch Desyn Masiello! I hadn’t ever seen Desyn play, but I’ve been enjoying his mixes for years…so this was a treat. At a certain point in his set, Desyn really took the crowd off guard and kicked the energy up by going into a string of pounding breaks tracks. Nobody saw that coming…
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After leaving Desyn’s set, I went over to the Main Stage to check out Markus Schulz. As I was listening to Markus’ set, I found myself thinking that trance fans get picked on a lot, but, in my opinion, there is definitely still such a thing as great trance music! Hearing those huge, epic melodies on a ginormous, high-quality system, with the lights and stage effects, in an open outdoor area, really makes you understand and appreciate how amazing the dance music is.
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After leaving the Main Stage area, I went back to the Sunday School Hilltop to get some video of Steve Bug. I’ve heard Steve on a few occasions, but this was hands down my favorite performance by him. He was absolutely into his music, and the tracks were unbelievable!
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After leaving Steve’s set, I went to catch Nathan Fake. Of all the DJs I saw, Nathan was playing the hardest. Seriously, this guy gives everything he’s got when he’s playing. You’ll have to watch the video to see what I mean ;)
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The next DJ I caught was Victor Calderone. This set was a monster…Victor Calderone playing in his hometown at the first NYC festival on this scale…obviously, he was killing it!
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The last performance I caught may have been the best one. It was given by none other than Richie Hawtin, who played incredibly well. He closed the night at the Sunday School Hilltop, and everybody was getting all the way down!
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The bottom line is simply that The Electric Zoo festival was off the hook! I have great expectations for the evolution of this event in the years to come, and I have no doubt that RV will be attending next year!
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Eddie B


Electric Zoo Festival, NYC – We’ve Got You Covered!

The Electric Zoo Festival

The Electric Zoo Festival is going down in New York City this weekend, and it’s on track to be one of the most significant dance music festivals of 2009! …so of course RV is going to be there on the frontline bringing you full exclusive coverage of the festivities…I’m talking about exclusive video, photos, interviews, and more ;)

Why do I say The Electric Zoo Festival is “on track to be one of the most significant dance music festivals of 2009″? …after all, that’s a strong statement when you consider the likes of WMC, Sonar, DEMF, etc.

Well, let’s start with perhaps the most important factor for any dance music festival – the talent. The Electric Zoo lineup is simply first-rate, and (I think just as importantly) it’s diverse! You’ve got the rock star acts like Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Benny Benassi, and Deadmau5. Then, you’ve got the lords of techno like Richie Hawtin and Adam Beyer, along with Steve Bug, Marco Carola, and Audion. You’ve also got dance floor pounders like Danny T (one of my all-time favorites!), Victor Calderone, and Roger Sanchez…and the list goes on and on!

In addition to the event’s exceptional lineup, I also think The Electric Zoo Festival will be special simply because it’s in New York City! This point is not to be overlooked. NYC is not only the city where I fell down the dance music rabbit hole, it’s also a city that has had an enormous impact on the dance music scene since the earliest days. When you research the history of dance music, you inevitably read about legendary figures and clubs in NYC.

I’ve been in touch with the dance music scene in NYC for about a decade now – from the heyday of Sasha and Digweed at Twilo to Paul Van Dyk in Central Park – and I’d have to say The Electric Zoo Festival represents a new milestone for the city. I mean no disrespect to previous NYC festivals like Minitek, but The Electric Zoo Festival is setting a new benchmark. Simply put, I don’t remember a dance music festival going down in NYC that had such a diverse, star-studded lineup while being so well-promoted and organized.

Since this is a major dance music event, we would be remiss in our duties if we didn’t cover it for you! So, just as we did for WMC and DEMF, RV is going to be bringing you in-depth, exclusive coverage of The Electric Zoo Festival. We’ll be getting video coverage of the primo sets. We’ll also be getting professional-grade photos and behind-the-scenes audio interviews…and, of course, we’ll give you some editorial content to give you unique insight into the event.

Our aim is to help you experience The Electric Zoo Festival with us!

Eddie B


Three Great Workout Mixes

I’ve been on a serious fitness kick of late – running, hitting the weights, watching my diet, etc. – and I got the urge to write this post while I was at the gym. It’s occurred to me on many occasions that dance music – more so than any other genre (in my opinion) – can make you push yourself beyond your ordinary limits when you’re working out.
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I’ve actually been mocked on a few occasions because I often run while wearing a pair big Sony DJ headphones. I’m sure I look a bit strange, but I’ve gotta have my tunes sounding right when the going gets tough ;) …seriously, it usually shaves time off my runs and makes me lift heavier weight because pounding electronic music makes me push right through the pain.
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Anyway, what I wanted to do in this post was share three mixes that I’ve listened to countless times when I was working out. I’m sure at least some of you blog readers are also into fitness, so I figured you’d enjoy these tunes.
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Mix #1Adam Beyer’s 12-10-06 Essential Mix – This mix makes me go absolutely nuts when I’m running – especially from around 49-minute mark to about 68-minute mark. It’s relentless, pounding techno that almost makes you want the pain ;)
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Mix #2John Digweed Live at Homelands – I’ve listened to this mix countless times when exercising, and it always does the trick. It starts kind of slow (which is good for your warm up), and it builds into an all out, otherworldly monster.
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Mix #3Above and Beyond’s 8-14-05 Essential Mix – I’ve covered the techno and progressive house bases, so I have to throw in some trance. This is upbeat, vintage stuff from a great DJ act, and it will definitely keep you going.
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Try working out to these mixes, and post a comment here if they help you get better results too.
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Enjoy!
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Eddie B


Adam Beyer Plays “Billie Jean” at Awakenings Festival

I just picked this up on Twitter…Adam Beyer played “Billie Jean” as his last track at the Awakenings festival. Respect.

Eddie B


My First Day of DEMF

Carl Cox

My first day of DEMF is now in the memory bank, and I wanted to take a few minutes to share a recap and some reflections about it.

I got started yesterday around 11:00am getting on board the Floating Frequencies Boat Party. I was worried at first about getting seasick, and the crowd was a little small when I first showed up…but fifteen minutes later, I had taken some Dramamine, and the crowd had grown considerably. As the boat pushed off, we were listening to a great set played by Mike Khoury.

This party turned out to be just what I needed. I met lots of cool new people, and I got firsthand exposure to “The Noodle Dip” phenomenon…you’ll just have to watch the video from the boat party to see what I’m talking about here.

After leaving the boat party (around 3:00pm), I went back to do some work online and to take a breather. A few hours later, I made my way to the festival and went immediately to catch Adam Beyer. As usual, he play an unbelievable set! That guy’s mixes always take me to another world. He was controlling the crowd like an amiable puppet master, and we were all loving it!

After leaving Adam Beyer’s set, I went over to the main stage to catch Carl Cox. (See the above photo.) I had heard Carl play once before at the Miami Ultra Music Festival, but it was only for a few minutes. Last night, however, I heard him rockin’ out, to a crowd of thousands, and I now see why he’s become such a legend. Carl’s set was Absolutely EPIC!

Carl’s set marked the end of my incredible first day at DEMF. Being a newcomer to this festival, I found myself comparing it to others. DEMF really has a special vibe. Standing along with the Miami Winter Music Conference as a premier electronic music festival in the United States, DEMF really has its own flavor. It’s very techno-focused, and the people seem completely genuine, not at all glitzy or commercial. Another thing that makes DEMF distinct is the fact that it’s much more centered around the actual festival; whereas, for example, WMC tends to be more focused on the surrounding parties.

Bottom Line: DEMF is incredible, and I definitely expect RV to have a strong presence here in the years to come!

Eddie B


Movement 2009: Saturday in Pictures [Part III]

Big recap of the first day of this years movement. In this gallery: Steve Bug, Damian Lazarus, Adam Beyer, Ryan Elliot, Carl Cox and Marco Carola. 55 pictures.