If you compare DJing to driving a car, most DJ sets sound like constant acceleration. It’s all about going harder and faster, but does that make a DJ set better and stronger? I have to admit I have played many, many sets like that, but this one is different.

I have been listening to a lot of great electronic dance music lately: A lot of Electro and Fidget House, Dubstep and a bit of Moombahton and Glitch Hop. I have been thinking about how to mix all those different genres into one set, even though they typically run on totally different tempos, I feel that they can often be similar in the sounds that they use and in the overall mood they convey.

Creating this mix was like discovering the gearbox for the first time after I had only known the accelerator pedal before. My mix “Speedbumps” was the first experiment in this direction, and after thinking about this for a while, I have found exactly the sound that I want to play right now. So here it is:

I couldn’t have done this mix without a few great transition tracks that helped my change the tempo seamlessly. Th0r’s “Never Felt Like This Before” (taken from the 110 BPM Collection) is a great example, going from around 125 BPM down to 110 BPM smoothly. Katy B’s “Katy On A Mission” is also a great transition track as it switches from a straight beat in the beginning to a broken Dubstep beat in the second part of the track.

I was a bit surprised to hear A.G.Trio’s Remix of “Nobody’s Fool” by Parov Stelar. Parov is famous for his Electro Swing productions, and this remix goes in quite a different direction with its straight House grooves and Dubstep interludes. Great remix!

There are also a few tracks from the OWSLA Free Treats Vol. 2 compilation in this mix. It’s free, so if you don’t have it yet, go get it!

Tracklist:

• Krewella – Strobelights
• Parov Stelar – Nobody’s Fool (A.G.Trio Remix)
• Mord Fustang – Lick the Rainbow
• James Egbert – The Lodge
• Th0r – Never Felt Like This Before (Feed the Wolf)
• Van Tek – In The Name Of Spain
• Foreigner – Cold as ice (A.Skillz & Nick Thayer Bootleg)
• Dillon Francis – Now Hear This
• Distantt – Infinity (Aylen Remix)
• Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans (Smims & Belle Remix)
• Fussy Boy – Gold (Mord Fustang Remix)
• Datsik & Kill The Noise – Lightspeed
• J. Rabbit – A Shot Of Bruschotti (Original Mix)
• Sylvane – Freak Out (Original Mix)
• Katy B – Katy On a Mission
• Dubba Jonny – Not Another UKF Dubstep Tutorial
• Flinch feat. Jamtech Foundation – Bad Boy
• Nostalgia & Aami – Say
• JFB – Past From The Blast
• Cryptex – Sometimes (Cryptex Reglitch)

Image: Patrmach // CC-by-nc-nd

Red Light District is a LA-based Electro Swing band that got in touch with me a while ago. I wasn’t aware that Electro Swing also had supporters in California so I took the chance to ask Juliette from Red Light District a few questions.

Juliette is described as “an accomplished actor and musician, sings, writes lyrics, brews the magic and theraminizes”. Together with the producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Shok they founded the band.

How was Red Light District founded? How did you and Shok meet?

Shok and I met each other through an LA music e-mail list when I was preparing to move to LA.  After being friends for a while, we discovered that we enjoyed working on music together.

I was booked to sing at a burlesque show and asked Shok to perform with me. We had written other songs previously, but for this event, wrote a cabaret style song called “Hexes & Moonshine”. This took our work in a new direction. It was also the first time we used the name, Red Light District, and was our first live performance together.

How did you get interested in swing music in the first place? 

I have loved big band and swing music since I was a little girl. Growing up in Cincinnati Ohio, I listened to a radio program called “When Swing Was King”, and that is how I discovered many of the great musicians of that era.

Are you in touch with other Electro Swing artists in or around LA? Is there something like a “swing scene” in LA?

There is a small but active swing dance scene here in L.A. The Electro Swing scene is much smaller, but we are acquainted with producers such as Baron and djs such as the LA Confidentiel crew. We have brought in LA Confidentiel to work with us on a big project that we are really excited about: ElectroSwingClub Hollywood. It is a club night that will open this summer and hopefully help the scene grow and unify.

Could you say a few words about your personal impression of your local music scene in general? 

It is incredibly diverse. People come to LA from all over the country and all over the world. You can hear so many different types of live music in so many different venues, so I think that, no matter what you’re into, you can find it here.

What can one expect at one of your live shows?

We are a full live band. Our horn section includes trumpet, trombone and saxophone. We have an upright bassist, accordion/ pianist, guitarist and Shok is on drums and percussion, triggering additional sounds.

Sometimes we include other performers. For example at our last performance, during our tribute song to Harry Houdini, “Handcuff King”, we had an escape artist perform a straight jacket and chains act.

What are your plans for the near future? Do you have any upcoming releases or are you planning a tour?

We are close to completing our debut, “Smoke & Mirrors”. The first single, “Come On Up” is already being featured in advertisements.

There is an upcoming remix competition for “Come On Up” with prizes from FL Studio, Event Speakers and Rode Microphones.

Speaking of remixes, Shok was asked to remix Gotye’s next single, so there will be a Red Light District mix.

We have summer dates in the works with our opening of ElectroSwingClub Hollywood in LA.

We would love to tour worldwide, so bring us to your town!

Red Light District on Facebook

Red Light District on Soundcloud

Red Light District on Bandcamp

To explain the title of my new mix, I want to ask you a question: “What is the stronger energy: Love or hate?”

In my opinion, love will always survive hate, because love builds up something new and hate is only a weapon of mass destruction, which destroys not only the hated object, but also, in the end, destroys the haters themself. So use the positive energy of love to chase the warheads, who are the victims of love. If you start to fight, you become a hater yourself.

My new mix should strengthen the lovers and help them to overcome the downs, the obstacles and the set-backs.

The first half of my mix consists of 14 Dubstep, Breaks and Moonbahcore tunes. The Van Tek remixes: “Queen – we will rock you”, “The Jungle Brothers – jungle brother” and “Vanilla Ice – ice ice baby” bring these 80ies tracks to the new millenium and are real pounding and powerful. Also, I want to mention Kid Loco’s production: “My daddy waza”, which has an outstanding piano melody combined with string and trumpet sounds.

“DJ Friction – Led astray” is a kind of commercial intermission in my mix, but as well, it is the start of the second half, consisting of massive Drumstep and DnB tunes. Camo & Krooked, Vienna’s finest Drum and Bass producers, are represented by 4 tracks and Noisia, inventors of Drumstep, are represented by 2 tracks. “Maztek – upanddown” is a real headbanger and the vocals fit perfectly to the mix.

The outro track: “DJ Occupy – Generation Revolution” is a homegrown production and the fourth release on Zap Rec Inc.

Tracklist:

1. Queen – We will rock you (Van Tek rmx)
2. Leftfield – Phat Planet
3. Foreign Beggars feat. Black Sun Empire – Solace One (Datsik rmx)
4. Actual Phantom – shut up cowell you mug
5. Big Bang Breaks – I need a dollar (superstar breaks rmx)
6. Rusko – somebody to love (Skream rmx)
7. Animale (Datsik rmx)
8. The Jungle Brothers – jungle brother (Van Tek rmx)
9. Kid Loco – my daddy waza (suonho rmx)
10. Vanilla Ice – ice ice baby (Van Tek rmx)
11. Noisia – Machine Gun (The Killabits rmx)
12. Boys Noize – Arcade Robot (Sound Remedy rmx)
13. The Glitchmob – we can make the world stop
14. Friction – Led astray
15. Friction vs. Camo & Krooked ft. Dynamite MC – Stand up (Sigma rmx)
16. Maztek – upanddown
17. Noisia – Diplodocus (Kill the Noise rmx)
18. Camo & Krooked – Menace (Mefjus rmx)
19. Noisia – Shellshock (feat Foreign Beggars)
20. John B – Numbers (Camo & Krooked rmx)
21. Camo & Krooked – The Lesson feat Skittles (Body & Soul rmx)
22. Big Bang Breaks – Music takes me
23. Leftfield – Afrika Shox
24. DJ Occupy – Generation Revolution

Foto by dunechaser / CC-by-nc-sa

Recently, I was asked to compile some tracks in a mixtape-style. That means just creating a selection of songs and tracks than are just played one after the other instead of actually mixing them. This was an interesting exercise to me. I took the opportunity and chose a few of my favorites that I wouldn’t normally play in a DJ set. These are all tracks that have given me goosebumps at some point and that are special to me.

Goosebumps mix from marvis on 8tracks.

Tracklist:

Strahler 70 – Tina Tuna Tune
I haven’t heard anything from that artist before or after that track. It was released in the late nineties on some obscure German Electro label called “Maelstrom Recordings”. If you ever have the chance to listen to that track at night while looking at the stars, you’ll understand why I put it in this mix.

Oliver Koletzki – Hypnotized
Electronic dance music is often seen as cold, machine-like music. This track is different as it has a lot of warmth and atmosphere while still being danceable. Love it!

Parov Stelar – Shine
Parov Stelar has been one of my favorite artists in the last few years. He is most famous for being one of the inventors of “Electro Swing”, a musical genre that combines swing sounds from the 1920s/30s with today’s electronic dance music. This track is a bit of an exception as it’s not really danceable, but very atmospheric. However, you should definitely check out the rest of his work. This guy is brilliant!

The Glitch Mob – We Can Make The World Stop
This track feels like an anthem to me. Great melodies, slow buildup and brilliant use of glitch sounds that I haven’t heard anywhere else in this quality.

Nine Inch Nails – Only (Richard X Remix)
This is one of the cases where the remix is actually better than the original.

Waldorf – Get Ready For Your Last Dance (ATOC Mix)
It’s more the lyrics than the music that give me gosebumps here – or actually, it’s the combination of the straight House beats and the gloomy lyrics.

Northern Lite – Cocaine
I just love how this song slowly builds up and changes. Northern Lite is an excellent band, and they are really good at combining club sounds with dark rock.

Moderat – A New Error
I saw Moderat live a few years ago, and what really impressed me was the style of the projections that they used with the music. Their videos are often rather simple, but fit really well to the music.
Example: http://www.tape.tv/musikvideos/Moderat/A-New-Error

Roisin Murphy – Overpowered
She used to be the singer of Moloko, a band that I really liked. This is a song from her first solo album. What I really like about this one is how it uses 303 Acid synths to create a very melancholic mood. I just can’t get enough of 303 Acid sounds.

No.Not.Never – Cold Hearted
This is a cover version of a Paula Abdul song. What I really like here is the mix of melodic and atonal elements.

Fever Ray – Seven
I haven’t heard this kind of singing anywhere else. Seeing her live was also a great experience that truly blew me away – even though the music is actually quite slow.

Nneka – Heartbeat (Chase&Status Remix)
The original is already pretty good, but this remix gives it a bit of an aggressive twist.

Lindsey Stirling – Crystallize
This track is pretty new, but I have never heard a combination of Dubstep and real instruments like this before. I wish there was more music in this direction!

Burial – Archangel
I still remember when exactly this track gave me goosebumps: It was the last day of my previous job a few years ago. I was driving home, the road was empty and there was a thick mist everywhere. This was the perfect atmosphere for this music. I also like Burial for taking UK Garage to the next level and exploring shades that not too many artists have explored before.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marylane/520905761/ // CC-by-nc-sa

“Sorry, but I don’t have it.”

This is a sentence I have said many, many times. Almost every DJ is frequently approached by guests who request their favorite tracks or style. It happens a little more at mainstream/mixed music parties and a little less in clubs that specialize in certain types of music, but it does happen everywhere. I have to admit that this has been a welcome excuse quite a few times for me when I didn’t want to play a certain track – but what would happen if this simply wasn’t true anymore? What if I could access every piece of music ever recorded at any given time, even while I am playing a set at a club?

Why DJs hate requests

Many DJs hate requests. DJs often see themselves as experts in music and pride themselves on their ability to play the right track at the right time. If a guest requests a track that would fit in better than what the DJ had intended to play, this undermines the DJ’s authority. That’s the reason why many DJs seem a bit disgruntled when someone asks for their favorite.

However, since this is so common, most DJs have found a way to handle requests. The obvious way is to accept the request and play what was requested. Many DJs actually do that, but there are also a lot of good reasons why the DJ won’t play the track that was requested. For example, the track might not fit to the musical style of the club or the DJ has played that particular track before and no one danced to it.

While there might be a perfectly good and rational reason for not playing a certain track, it is often hard to communicate that to a drunk guest in a loud club while having a job to do. That’s the reason why ”Sorry, but I don’t have it.” is a phrase that DJs say so often. It can be the truth, but it can also be the easy alternative of having to explain why the DJ doesn’t want to play a certain track.

Downloading music just in time

With the rise of download shops like iTunes or Beatport, it has become very easy for DJs to get the music they want. However, what most DJs still do is preselecting music at home and then picking individual tracks from that selection when they are playing at the club.

If you didn’t think of selecting a certain track for a gig at home, then you might actually not have it available when someone asks for it.

I think this is something that can and will change within the next few years. A few clubs I know already have WiFi, and even if they don’t it’s not that hard to get internet access through UMTS or LTE pretty much everywhere.

So why can’t DJs just buy the music they want to play just in time? Sure, you have to prepare for a gig, but what about requests? Won’t guests figure out that you could get any track they ask for at any given time – and expect that you will actually do that?

A little experiment

I decided to try out what this would mean in practice. I recently bought a little mobile hotspot that connects to a UMTS network and creates a WiFi network that I can access from my laptop. When I was booked for a birthday party a few weeks ago, I told the host that I would be able to get any track he wanted within minutes. I also put the mobile hotspot clearly visible for everyone on front of my laptop.

I had assumed that more people would take the chance to request something and that they wouldn’t accept a “No” of any kind.

The party was great: Nice location, nice people, good food and drinks, and I did my best to serve the right music. I got most of the people to dance and at the end of the party, everyone seemed to be happy.

What surprised me a little was that requests didn’t change at all. People didn’t request more or less songs than at any other party. In a few cases, I bought the tracks that were requested and played them, and in some cases I just gave a friendly “No”. I felt it was sometimes useful to get a track just in time, but it was by no means a game-changer.

It’s hard to tell if people actually understood precisely what I was doing and that they could actually get every song they wanted – but does it really matter? Was my experiment even valid? Maybe I was just lucky and had an unusually friendly crowd that night?

It’s not about technology, it’s about trust

I talked to a couple of my DJ friends about this experiment, and suddenly all of this didn’t seem like such a big deal.

One of my friends summed it up nicely:”Trust your DJ!”

If your crowd trusts your musical taste, it will not matter much if you play that particular song or not. If they don’t trust you, they will either leave or bother you long enough until you give in and play what they want.

It might actually be useful in some cases to buy a track just in time, but it doesn’t save you from the effort of preparing your gig and knowing your music. If you are not prepared and just play whatever people ask for, it will probably be a really crappy party.

Nevertheless, I expect it to become normal to just buy a track during a gig. Maybe we will even see integration of download shops into the user interfaces of popular DJ software – or even be able to access our music collection in the cloud through services like Spotify.

Would that fundamentally change what DJs are doing? Not really – it will always be about the right music at the right time in the right place.

Image: Martin Deutsch // CC-by-nc-nd

This mix has been created to make you bounce. Yes, I mean bounce like a rubber ball on a bouncy castle. Tune in, and you’ll understand what I mean. Have fun!

Most electronic dance music emphasizes the main beats in its rhythm: 1-2-3-4. This is what’s usually the most obvious approach when you create a track, but I have found that it can also sound quite cool when the off-beats are emphasized. This gives tracks this nice bouncy feel. I have seen this rhythmic pattern a lot in the tracks that I used for my Swing Tech-mix last year, but this pattern is not limited to Electro Swing.

Some of my favorite tracks in this mix: I really like what Drauf&Dran have done to the Pulp Fiction theme. There are a lot of remixes of that song, but this one is more like a cover version than like a remix. Good job!

I was a bit surprised when I heard Thomas Schumacher’s “Picanha”. This guy is a Techno legend, and I was only familiar with his hard-banging Techno productions so far. “Picanha” is different in a positive way, and it’s great to see how people who have been in the EDM scene forever can develop their style.

For me, the track “Great Khali” by Andrea Roma and Mark Denken is one of the best examples of how Electro Swing and Tech House can go together: It does include Swing samples, but there are also a lot of Tech House-style sounds in there that make it sound a little cooler than most Electro Swing tracks. A few of my friends have been telling me that most Electro Swing tracks are a little over the top for them, and tracks like “Great Khali” might work better for people who are used to Tech House and Techno sounds.

The final track, Paul Kalkbrenner’s “Kleines Bubu” (German for “little nap”) is another great example of an artist’s development: After Paul’s massive success with the movie “Berlin Calling”, a lot of people accused him of selling out. I think that his last album (where this track is also included) actually proves that this is not true and that he is still one of the most interesting German Techno artists.

Tracklist:

• Stefan Trummer – Hinterzimmergedudel (Arts & Leni Remix)
• Andhim – Holger der Polka
• Drauf & Dran – Pulp
• Doublscotch – Via Con Me
• Dan Caster – Wunderbar
• Drauf & Dran – La Bikke
• Herr Tischbein – Sympathie (Aka Aka Remix)
• Andrea Roma, Mark Denken – Great Khali
• Thomas Schumacher – Picanha
• Oscar Barila, Oscar Sala – Vent De La Nuit
• Butch – Amelie
• Nicone – Hanaetano
• Justin Side – Voodoo (Mollono.Bass Clubmix)
• Paul Kalkbrenner – Kleines Bubu

Image: josie_marie // CC-by-nd

Parov Stelar has been on top of my “must see” list for a while, so I didn’t hesitate to buy tickets when I found that he would be playing nearby. It turned out that this was a good idea since the concert was sold out.

I didn’t really know what to expect at first. I had assumed something like a typical electronic live act with a bit of added live improvisation. I was wrong in this – but it was a lot better than what I had expected.

When the musicians entered the stage, you couldn’t tell that this was something you would normally categorize as electronic music. They had a drummer, a bass guitar player, a saxophonist, a trumpet player, a female singer – and the master himself on his laptop.

With the first few tunes, they had the crowd completely on their side. Their big advantage was that the musicians were partying with the crowd: You could really tell that everybody on stage enjoyed being there and playing their music.

In contrast to most of Parov Stelar’s recordings, the focus in the live performance was much more on improvisation and the instruments instead of the beats and loops. While you could easily recognize every single track, they added a lot of things that were not there in the recordings. For example, in “Catgroove” the singer added a vocal part that doesn’t exist in the recording but that fit in nicely.

Lots of live improvisation left no doubt that those players were masters on their instruments. Not only did they improve the tracks in brilliant ways – they also made it look totally natural by jumping around, dancing and playing little tricks on each other.

In contrast to the recordings, the tracks were played more like songs with distinct beginnings and endings and without the usual DJ-friendly intros and outros.

I was also interesting to observe the role of Parov Stelar himself: He was standing behind his laptop at the back of the stage all the time, pushing buttons and partying along. However, you could tell that he wanted the musicians to stand in the spotlight instead of himself. This is not just a good idea since it’s much more interesting to watch a trumpet player or a vocalist perform that to look at someone pressing buttons on a laptop. To me, this looked like he saw himself as the guy who brought those brilliant musicians together and made them create wonderful music together – instead of presenting himself as the genius.

When I left the venue, I left with a smile. This was truly a great concert, and it showed me that Electro Swing is far more than a hype. This music has got a lot of substance, it makes people smile and dance and it is much more intelligent than most current dance music. Could this become a new stadium sound? I certainly hope so.

Life is paradox and it is all about changes and humor about oneself. Paradox, because you will never understand it. Changes, because nothing lasts forever, everything has an end and you should never loose the humor about yourself. These are the 3 rules, which make life much easier.

It is not about winning or loosing and it is, for sure, not about money, which capitalism tells you: “You can buy everything”. In my opinion, money is not the cause of all our problems, but it is also not the solution. What I tell you, is nothing new: “The best things in life are free!” It is about, to “stand up tall”, “emancipate from your fears” and “be satisfied”. It is about, “give something great” and “create something great”, which everybody has to decide on his/her own.

It is all about, “get rid of the trash in your brain and your thoughts”, which hinder you in living the moment. Every moment is special, there is always something going on.

When somebody asks you: “What is the time?” You should manage to pronounce: “It is now!” When somebody asks you: “Who are you?” You should manage to answer: “I am the moment!”

Dalai Lama says: “No matter what is happening, no matter what is going on around you. Never give up!”

Sounds kind of simple, but it is a real challenge and this is, what this mix is all about: “A recycled life. Remixed!”

The aim of the game is to feel real good.

Tracklist:

1. Dubblestandart – chase the devil feat. lee scratch perry (subatomic soundsystem remix)
2. Simian Mobile Disco feat Beth Ditto – Cruel intentions (Joker remix)
3. Dub & Run – Young Folks
4. Klaxons – Not over yet (Skream remix)
5. Adele – Rolling in the deep (Dubstep remix)
6. Rebel MC – get ready all junglist
7. Santogold – Unstoppable (Calculon and Erik Yo rmx)
8. Jade – Pulp Friction
9. Katharsys – Storm of light
10. Dubversion – Cali Bass
11. Chase & Status – No Problem
12. Katharsys – Reptiles
13. Nostalgia – the outlaster
14. Manu Chao – Bongo Bong (Bassnectar remix)
15. Noisia feat Foreign Beggars – Contact (Trolly Snatcha Rmx)
16. Pixies – Where is my mind (bassnectar remix)
17. DJ Shadow and Little Dragon – Scale it back (calyx and tee bee rmx)
18. Zinc – Sprung
19. Plump DJs – Gobbstopper
20. Afghan Headspin feat Stapleton – Stand Up (Dubsidia Remix)
21. Kioskvandalen – Unterwegs (Original Mix)
22. Actual Phantom – Someone To Love
23. Who da funk – Shiny Disco Balls (Original Mix)
24. Actual Phantom – That (Funky Breaks Mix)
25. Justice – D.A.N.C.E (MSTRKRFT Remix)
26. La Roux – Bulletproof (Hyper Crush Remix)
27. Actual Phantom – Smash The Disco
28. Davip – Take A Chance (Afghan Headspin Remix)
29. Timid Tiger – Are You Gonna My Way (Remix ft. Lenny Kravitz, Ludacris & The Notorious B.I.G).

Foto by Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden // CC-by

I am an audio engineer, who has studied at the Audiocation Audio Academy. I prefer Audiocation to the SAE, because of the payment method (Audiocation monthly; SAE all at once), which does not make it much cheaper, but easier to afford. Plus the fact, that it is a correspondence course. Learning, when and wherever you like, is a great relief for people who have a job at the same time. Although, the indication at the webpage, saying that the course has an expenditure of 10 – 15 hours per month, that was not managable for me (needing 25 – 30 hours), because at some technical topics I had to google or read in the secondary literature (I have bought two books by Bobby Owsinski: “The Mixing Engineers Handbook” and “The Audio Mastering Handbook”, which I recommend).

The practice and theory lessons at the end of every month are useful and varied.  For practice you get the tracks of a song, which you mix and master, upload and get a feedback on. I have to mention, that the selection of songs concentrates on Pop and Rock music. Electronic music is only represented by one Hip Hop and one Trip Hop song, which is somewhat too little for my taste. The theory is well structured and informative. Every month there is a multiply choice test which you pass when answering at least 50 % of the questions correctly.

Especially the listening examples, which are presented in a player to every theme of theory, are helpful and made me understand a lot.

There is also a hearing training, which consists of 9 modules, starting with easy to solve frequency examples and ending with tiny frequency differences, which you have to listen carefully. This training is very necessary and it costs a lot of time.

I have really profited from the audio engineer professional course at Audiocation, because my knowledge of mixing, mastering and sound recording has increased and the sound quality of my home-productions has improved a lot.

Helge Beckmann, audio engineer & guitarist, who has studied popular music and media at the university of Paderborn, at the music college in Detmold and at the Tonmeisterinstitut Detmold, is a patient and understanding lecturer and the manager of Audiocation.

The support by Audiocation is also guaranteed after you have finished a course and the feedback during the course is very professional and includes personal listening examples and screenshots of plug-in settings. Especially the certification, which you get after the final exam, consisting of a personal project, is a very nice paper with a hologram in gold and a list of topics that were taught in the course.

It means many hours of learning and costs a lot of money, but in my opinion, it is worth to consider Audiocation Audio Akademy – Audio Engineer Pro – course, if you like to learn something about mixing, mastering and sound recording.

START:           every 1^st of the month

 DURATION:   12 months

 COSTS:           149 euro / month

http://www.audiocation.de

I saw Skrillex live in Cologne last Saturday, and I have to say that this was probably one of the best electronic music concerts I have seen.

I know that his music is not everbody’s taste, so I will not talk much about that here. He played his tracks more or less like a DJ set, with only a few differences to the original recordings. This is fine with me as that is what most people would expect from such a concert – and the music alone certainly kicks ass.

However, I thought that there were two things that made this special and different from other electronic live acts:

First of all, he didn’t only play his own tracks. I recognized at least three tracks that were not by him (Knife Party – Fire Hive, Pendulum – Salt In The Wounds, Fatman Scoop – Be Faithful). In my opinion, this made the set a lot more interesting. Playing those tracks was surprising, but they actually fit in quite well and are true bangers themselves. Bands often play cover songs – so why shouldn’t electronic music live acts play other people’s tracks? This sounds obvious, but very few live acts actually do that. Some of the visuals he used were also references to video games and pop culture.

The second thing that made this live act special was his use of visuals. A lot of electronic music artists use visuals nowadays, and many DJs play side by side with a VJ – but what Skrillex did was unusual. His stage setup consisted of several white pillars and a projection screen in the middle. There were pretty impressive projections on those pillars, and it was perfectly synced to the music – but as impressive as this is, I have seen similar things before. However, what I really found jaw-dropping were the projections on the middle screen: What you could see here were various strange figures – monsters, robots and aliens – that moved in exactly the same way as Skrillex himself.

Here is a video of what this looks like:

Apart from the fact that this looked really awesome, I also think that this is a brilliant idea that solves a lot of the problems that many electronic live acts have: As their music is mostly created on computers and synthesizers, there isn’t much to see when an electronic music artist performs live. In some cases, it’s just one guy pushing buttons on a laptop – not very spectacular to watch. Some live acts add stage musicians or dancers to make the show a bit more interesting. However, in a big concert hall, it’s often hard to see what is happening on stage. Skrillex’s giant monsters solved this: You could see them perfectly from every point in the room, and they were not just pre-recorded visuals, but actually reflected what he was doing on stage.

The technology that makes this possible is not entirely new. Motion tracking has been used in movies for quite a few years now, and video game consoles such as the Kinect or the Wii have brought this technology to the living rooms. However, I haven’t seen anyone use that for a live act. I am sure that others will imitate soon, but right now this is pretty unique.

Here is a video that shows a behind-the-scenes view of his last tour. It looks like he is wearing sensors (probably accelerometers) to control the animation.

All in all, I have to say that this was one of the best live acts I have seen so far. It’s great to see an artist innovate not just in music, but also in performance.