Videos: Paul van Dyk at Governors Island

Paul van Dyk played a 6 hour set last Sunday, August 11 at Governors Beach Club, Governors Island. He played an awesome set mixing his classic tracks such as New York City and Nothing But You with his tracks from his "Evolution" album and upcoming new album "Politics Of Dancing."

What's Wrong With Trance Nowadays?

Trance, like other genres of music, has evolved through the years. And this has resulted to numerous people complaining about how DJs or Producers are moving away from the scene. How those DJs are not true to themselves and what not.

Yes, most of these DJs/Producers have evolved and you cannot stop that. Even the purest of the pure DJ have slightly change the way they make music. Why? First, it is their way of living. Creating music is what puts bread on their table especially for those who have families. And if it means that they have to alter music, then they have to in order to survive in this business.

There is really nothing wrong with Trance or other genre. What is really happening is how the fans are reacting to the change. Some fans accept it while some fans don't which is normal. I have been following EDM for a long time and I have seen fans come and go as music evolve but this last two years, I have seen fans or the so called "true fans" go overboard with their hatred of a DJ who decided to alter their style a bit. And this is more rampant, nowadays, in trance music.

The latest incident involves the A State of Trance 600 celebration in Mexico City, particular during W & W's set.  Because they played more of a progressive trance/house set, someone decided that they should teach W&W not to mess up trance and told their followers to fill W&W's facebook post with images of "poop" emoji and to make a long story short, people followed.

Is this really how we treat DJs nowadays? Just because you didn't like what they are playing, you decide to do some drastic measure to try to ruin them? Or is it just jealousy that they are where they are and you are not?

Why can't we be open-minded about this? I am a big fan of Trance yet I have accepted the change that has happen within the genre. I don't listen because its a trance or pop or country or house. I listen because I like the beats and the rhythm whether it be rock, rap, trouse, dubstep or trance. And if I don't like a set or tune, then just turn the volume down or hit the mute button and do something else. That's much easier that bashing the artist.

Trance is not dead, it gets ruin by narrow-minded people who instigate hate towards Producers and/or DJs who they deemed "sell-out" artist. If you don't like what you are hearing, why are you still listening to them then?

A State of Trance 600 is suppose to bring people together and unite us all. Yet the hatred and bashing of artist makes us more divided.

As Armin van Buuren said "Do Not Be a Prisoner of Your Own Style"

Electric Zoo 2011

What a way to end the summer with Electric Zoo - New York's own Electronic Dance Music Festival held at Randall's Island for the third straight year. Made Event expanded the two-day festival to a three day event this year which meant three days of electronic dance music ranging from house to techno to dub to trance. But it wasn’t just about edm since there were quite a few surprise acts.

I kick off day one early, due to some uncertainties but made my way to the venue without any hassle. One of the changes Made Event did was adding more transport options to and fro the island. Instead of just having the city buses shuttling people, Made event added their own shuttle service as well as a ferry service running all throughout the weekend. Big props!

If you have not been to Electric Zoo before, you would not know the dust problems of the previous year. To keep it short, when festival goers start dancing, the air was filled with dust and dirt. And those can get into places you don’t want them to. You get the picture right?

Made Event addressed this issue by greening up the grounds as well as placing flooring on each tent. They also move back the main stage - creating more space and allowing festival goers to dance on pavement rather than on the grass. More room to roam and less dust flying all over the place. Major props!

The Main Stage sure looks bigger this year and was push back further to allow more space for people to dance around. And they got three humongous tents representing Sunday School, Hilltop Arena and Redbull Riverside. But I am not sure what Made Event was thinking when they place all the three tents parallel to each other and so close that you can easily hear the beats from each tent. And what happen to the School Bus?

So to begin my three day EDM journey, I stopped by Sunday School Tent or “Carl Cox & Friends take over Sunday School “ and caught Nicole Moudaber, the only female DJ I saw during the three day event. Her set was upbeat composed mainly of House and Techno tunes. And I also had a chance to meet her. Next up was BT on the Main Stage. The Godfather of EDM performed with his “Laptop Symphony” which included a live performance by Jes, a drummer and BT himself playing the keyboard while mixing. His set was filled with electrobeats and mashups dropping tunes such as I’m Feelin It In The Air (a tune he collaborated with Morgan Page, Ned Shepard and Sultan with vocals by Angela McCluskey) and a catchy new tune which I am guessing is entitled “Catch Me If You Can.” BT sang along to These Silent Hearts, The Emergency and Love Comes Again, a tune he collaborated with Tiesto. Jes performed Awaken and Made of Love, which was the finale to an amazing set.

Next on my schedule were Gaz and Markus so I headed to Hilltop Arena and got a chance to listen to Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano. The Dutch duo pretty much rocked Hilltop with a good mix of deep and funky house. Gareth Emery was up next and the tent suddenly got packed. Mr. Garuda opened with Vision by Ashley Wallbridge and continued on with a great mix of trance, house, dubstep and progressive tunes as well as tunes from his Northern Lights album. I was caught by a surprise when Gaz dropped Ben Gold’s Big Sky remix. Never thought I would hear this tune live. Gareth Emery close out his set with a dub tune - the Skrillex’s remix of Promises by Nero. Oh and CDJ didn’t fail this time.

If Gaz brought out Garuda, Markus Schulz brought out Coldharbour. There was a little glitch at the beginning of Markus’ set but that did not stop the crowd from dancing the entire time with tunes from his Coldhardbour, Dakota pseudo and a good mix of old and new tunes. Markus opened with Katowice and dropped Digital Madness, 507, Sleepwalkers, Rotunda and Saints as well as various Mashups (Lethal Traversing, Superstar Camshaft and Avion Skank) and Big Room Reconstruction (Caress 2 Impress, The New World). He ended his set with Outsider by Beat Service.

Got a chance to catch a breather before heading back to the Main Stage to see Moby. Now, Moby surprise me last year because I never expected that he could spin tunes so well. And he surely surprise me again this year with a set filled with House and Electro beats such as Fukkk Offf’s Rave Is King, Bassjackers’ Mush Mush, Bonsai Kat’s Egotripping and R3hab’s Prutataaa. And based on the crowd reaction, he had a sick set.

And back to Sunday School for Carl Cox. The Sunday School tent was the smallest of all the three tents and I feel like Mr. Cox should be in one of the bigger tents, if not, the Main Stage. But in any event, he still packed Sunday School with his massive bassline, acid house beats and hard style techno dropping tunes such as Rob Threezy’s Chicago on Acid, Joe Brunning’s Let Me See You Work and Josh Wink’s Higher State of Consciousness.This is only the second time I have seen Carl Cox live and he surely made me a follower.

Carl Cox

Sad though that I didn't get a chance to see Martin Solveig. He did not made it to the festival due to back injury that force him to cancel his U.S. Tour. Hope you get better Mr. Solveig.

Day one in the books. Two more days to go...

Second day was spend mostly at Hilltop Arena Tent with Zack Roth, Mat Zo, Sean Tyas, Simon Patterson, Andy Moor, ATB and Ferry Corsten. I did manage to make my way to the Main Stage to catch Sander Van Doorn and Above and Beyond.

Being the DJ when the doors just open must be tough since you are playing in a very sparse crowd especially in a massive tent. But the good thing about it is that you can experiment.That’s what Zack Roth did during his set mixing tunes like Off the System by Bambook, Rosetta by Rodskeez, Monotony by Nikko Z & Chris Mozio and Undiscovered by Lemontrip. What a set to start day two.

Next up was Mat Zo. I had high expectation from the 21 year old DJ from England because of his stunning productions. I might have set it too high but Mat Zo still had a good set dishing out tunes such as Vengeance Vengeance by Leon Bolier, Mokba by Cirez D and Ask the Cat by Heatbeat while mixing in his own tunes such as Superman, Frequency Flyer and closing with his mashup of Satellite Dynamics.

Next on my lineup list was the back-to-back set of Sean Tyas and Simon Patterson. I first heard them together at another music festival and was blown away. I think it was the best non-duo set I have ever heard. And I am glad I had a chance to see Tyas and Patterson together once more. They brought massive beats and melodies and seamless transition that would made you think that they do this regularly. Some of the tunes they dropped where Taxi, Ummet’s Reboot, Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus and Tyas Remix of classic Suburban Train by Tiesto. And not to mention For the Most Part, a collaboration they did in 2009.

I made my way to Main Stage to catch Sander van Doorn’s set. SvD opened with Kendo and the crowd was instantly hooked to his set of trance, electro, and house music. He dropped tunes by Bassjackers (Mush Mush), Nero (Guilt), Tiesto (Work Hard, Play Hard), Alesso & Sebastian Ingrosso (Calling), Dada Life (White Noise, Red Meat) and Marcus Schossow (Acid, Festival, Champagne, B*tches) as well as his tunes - Reach Out, Koko, Drink to Get Drunk and Renegade.

Had to ran back to Hilltop to catch Andy Moor. His set featured vocal and uplifting trance. Mr. Moor opened with the Protoculture’s remix of Black is the New Yellow and proceeded with tunes such as Acting Crazy by TyDi, The Theme by Cosmic Gate and Fight the Fire, his tune with Sue McLaren. It was getting too crowded at Hilltop by the end of his set due to the next act (Skrillex) but I am pretty sure Moor made them know that he can throw it down hard. It truly was Less Talking, Moor Music.

Back to Main Stage for Above and Beyond, the trance superstar was off to a great start dropping tunes from their Group Therapy album such as Prelude, Sun & Moon, You Got to Go and Thing Called Love as well as some classic tunes such as Home, Buzz and On a Good Day. Sadly though, their set got predictable half-way through.

I took a break after their set, grab some grubs before catching Andre Tanneberger, or better known as ATB. ATB had a sub-par performance at electric zoo last year. But that totally change this year mixing his classic hits like Ecstasy and 9AM with tracks from his Distant Earth album. ATB got the crowd going with his showmanship urging the crowd to bring the noise level up and kept the crowd moving throughout his set.

And finally, the last DJ for the second day is Ferry Corsten, one of the famous Dutch DJs in the world. Festival goers got attracted to his up-tempo, big room trance and house sound. And he surely did not disappoint the crowd with a great selection of tunes such as Reboot, Madagascar and Down Under while interjecting his own tunes such as Feel It, Check It Out, Punk, Take Me and Beautiful. He got the crowd singing when he drop the Bootleg version of Scientist and surprise everyone dropping Bart Claessen and Tom Fall’s bootleg of Massive Attack’s Teardrop.
He closed out his set with the massive hit, Made of Love, a tune that would forever be embedded in my brain. I just wonder why the second day headliner, Guetta, did not close out this day?

Day two is finally over, will I have enough to last day three?

Ferry Corsten

With my sore feet and raspy voice, I headed to Randall’s Island for the final day to the festival. This time - it will be moslty trance.

The day started at the Redbull Riverside tent with Jaytech dropping melodic tunes to kick start the day. The Anjunabeats artist dropped a good mix of tunes such as Daquiri’s Lily and Boom Jinx & Andrew Bayer’s By All Means coupled with his own tunes such as Djembe and Groove Nova and a remix of Eternal Sequence. Next up were Finnish duo Super8 & Tab, part of the Anjunabeats family. The duo opened up with their remix of Days and proceeded with a good mixture of trance and progressive tunes. They surely surprise me when they dropped two classic tunes - Above and Beyond’s Can’t Sleep and Paul van Dyk’s Nothing But You. Overall, they surely got the crowd pumped and ready for some more sets.

There’s no party without Arty and it surely was. The 21 year old blew up Redbull Riverside Tent with his set of mashups, remixes and collab tunes not to mention the amazing the L.E.D. display that lit up the tent. The crowd was so intense that security had to start dousing cold water to battle the summer heat inside the tent. He opened with the Myon and Shane 54 mashup of She Gave Strangers Happiness and played tunes such as the Eric Prydz remix of Personal Jesus, Dash Berlin remix of Not Giving Up On Love, First State Bashup of Koko Prutataaa and his remix of New York New York . Arty dropped his tunes such as Kate, Around the World and Rebound, a tune he collaborated with Mat Zo. He also dropped mashups such as C’Mon Me and You, and Catch the Flashback. He close with a classic tune, Tiesto’s Adagio for Strings. Arty surely set the standard for the rest of the festival.

Needing a break, I headed up to the Main Stage to catch Calvin Harris. Started a bit slow but he picked up the tempo with electro-house tunes that got the crowd fist-pumping through Awooga, Flashback, Miami 2 Ibiza, I’m Not Alone, You’ve Got the Love and Bounce. I think Calvin Harris got bitten by the classic bug as well as he dropped Darude’s Sandstorm during the middle of his set. The king of Electro-pop close out his set with Feel So Close.

I did not know who EDX was before today and it was just by a chance that I happen to check his set out. EDX had a good mixture of trance, progressive and house tunes. I only caught the last half of his set where he dropped tunes such as Kaskade’s mashup of Angel on my Shoulder Reaver 76, Nicky Romero’s Remix of Flash and the Avicii Remix of Drowning. He got the tent shaking when he dropped the Hardwell’s mashup of Prutataaa At Night.

Arty set the bar for the Redbull Riverside tent, Michael Woods upped that bar with his progressive and tech-house set. He got the crowd singing when he dropped Otherside vs. Metrum and Kaskade’s mashup of Move For Me vs. First Aid. He got the crowd jumping and fistpumping through Zero 76, his remix of Bounce, I Wish and Bullet. He ended his banging set with Black Strip.

They are back together again - Gabriel & Dresden, the next DJ up on the Redbull Riverside Tent. The duo open with Ascending, the first track on their album Mixed for Feet Vol 1 and continued with their mashups of Beautiful Good Dream, Tracking Civilization Down and Dust in the Control Room. They surely got the crowd singing with As the Rush Comes. I did not stay the entire set though as me and my friends want to take a break before making our way to the main stage for the grand act of them all.

We made our way to the main stage during Afrojack’s set. This Dutch DJ drop some pretty sick tunes such as Silvio Ecomo & Chuckie’s Moombah with Daft Punk’s Technologic and Aerodynamic and Alesso & Sebastian Ingrosso’s Calling. He dropped a new song before closing out with R3hab’s remix of Give Me Everything, a mashup of Replica and Rolling In the Deep and Tiesto’s Maximal Crazy.

What a way to close out a music festival with the number one DJ in the world, Armin van Buuren. The headliner of the third day and I would say the best I have heard Armin this year. He totally blew me away with his set composed addictive trance tunes. He opened with Mansion and proceeded in dropping tunes such as Rotunda, Vengeance Vengeance, The Blue Theme, Viking and Terrace 4 A.M. that got the crowd dancing throughout the night. He got the crowd singing with Fallen Angel, Not Over Yet and These Silent Hearts. The highlight of his set was when the pyrotechnics and confetti rain down on the crowd when he dropped Shogun’s Skyfire.

He dropped his mashup of Beautiful Ashes before closing his amazing set with another mashup - In and Out of Love vs. Raw Deal. And with the crowd, including I, chanting “One more song.” Armin came out and dropped This Light Between Us. I was just mesmerized by his set and ended up with wobbly legs and a coarse voice but it was worth it. And let me say this: This is How You Close Out A Festival!

Armin van Buuren

Another Electric Zoo ends, another great festival in the books. Wish they would do something about the Water Stations since the lines can get pretty long. But at least I did not have to worry about dust and dirt that much this time around. Best sets goes out to Armin van Buuren, Arty, Ferry Corsten, Andy Moor, EDX, BT, Carl Cox, Moby and Michael Woods.

Best set goes to Armin van Buuren followed by Arty, Ferry Corsten, Andy Moor, EDX, BT, Carl Cox, Moby and Michael Woods.

Update: TranceHub adapted my Electric Zoo Festival review and you can read it from here

My Top Trance Tunes of 2010

I should have posted this last week but I really had to think about choosing my Top Tunes of 2010 since there were so many good tracks that came out.  So here goes my Top Trance Tunes of 2010

- Andy Moor ft Carrie Skipper - She Moves Link
She Moves was one of the biggest vocal trance that came out this year. When the song is played, you just want to start singing and dancing. And of course, Andy Moor was a superb DJ live. I saw him twice this year and met him once which was one of my 2010 memories since he handed me his drink.
- Shogun ft Emma Lock - Save Me Link
Just love this tune, Shogun's unique blending compliments well with Emma Locks' angelic voice. They also collaborated on two other tracks - Imprisoned and Run to My Rescue. I always thought that if they make a music video, they could make it a storyline using the three tracks.
- Jon O'Bir ft Fisher - Found A Way (Joint Operation Centre Remix) Link
I was so surprised that Found A Way didn't make it to the Top 10 of any radio show because this tune was always played during live DJ sets. For the gigs I've been too, this tune always gets the crowd going.
- Yuri Kane - Right Back Link
Right Back was also one of the tunes that got massive airplay during live set. But mostly the remix version which I like. But I like the Original version more.
- Luigi Lusini  - Who We Are Link
I first heard this tune during 445th episode of ASOT and fell in love with it. This is my wake up call every morning since.
- Filo and Peri ft Audrey Gallagher - This Night Link
Heard it first during ASOT 450 celebration and love it.
- Gaia - Aisha Link
- Juventa - For that Special Girl Link
So much emotion in this track
- Rank 1 vs Jochen Miller - The Great Escape Link
This tune just gets me pumped! And is always played back to back with Right Back.
- tyDi ft Audrey Gallagher - Calling Link
- Swedish House Mafia - One Link
Definitely the tune of summer 2010
- Velvetine - Safe (Wherever You Are) (Rank1 Remix) Link
The original version has nice beats but Rank1's remix is just catchy
- Arty - Hope Link
It was the year of Arty. His captivated us with mixing skills and trance-y themes which allow his tunes to be part of some big name compilation. Rush and The Wonder were part of Above and Beyond's Anjunabeats Volume 8 while Hope was included in Ferry Corsten's Once Upon A Night album.
- Ali Wilson - Pandora Link
All I can say is "oy yaya"
- Roger Shah pres Sunlounger ft. Zara Taylor - Found Link
This is like a follow up after Roger and Zara collaborated two years ago with Lost. The keyboards and beats are truly a Balearic sound.
- First State ft. Relyk - Cross the Line Link
Very melodic tune with up-tempo beats.
- Dash Berlin - Never Cry Again (Jorn van Deynhoven Remix) Link
Who said trance is all about pumping beats? This tune is very emotional and romantic. Always want to make you shed a tear especially the chorus "I'll never cry again when you come home to me"
- Oceanlab ft. Gareth Emery - On a Good Day Metropolis Link
- Faithless - Not Going Home (Armin van Buuren Remix) Link
Out favorite tune to sing out loud during the live sets' last call.
- DNS Project ft. Johanna - Mindful Link
- Gareth Emery ft. Lucy Saunders - Sanctuary (Club Mix) Link
Just an amazing tune from Mr. Emery. The beats, the vocals, just lovely.
- Markus Schulz - Rain Link
The beats and rhythms of this tune is just wicked. It will keep you on your feet from beginning to end.
- Markus Schulz ft Justine Suissa - Perception Link
This was a remake of Cass & Slide tune but Markus sure made it feel different.
- Skytech - Comet Link
The synths on this tune is just superb
- W&W - Alpha Link
The bassline is wicked
- Vast Vision ft. Fisher - Behind Your Smile (Suncatcher Remix) Link
- Simon Patterson - Miss You Link
A mixed of uptempo beats and blissful melodies.
- Armin van Buuren - Coming Home Link
Part of his new album - very emotional tune, I have a feeling I would shed a tear when I hear this tune live.
- Andy Blueman - Florescence Link
This might have been the last tune that Andy Blueman has produce since he just announced that he is quitting making trance tune and concentrate on film music. He is a big lost to the trance community
- Daniel Kandi pres. Timmus - Symphonica Link
The breakdown on this emo tune is just awesome
- Nitrous Oxide ft. Aneym - Far Away Link
- Giuseppe Ottaviani ft. Faith - Angel Link
Giuseppe initially played this during ASOT 450 and I just loved it. If you listen to the Original version, you wont think its a trance tune.
- Marc Simz - Forbidden City Link

Honorable Mentions: 
Yuri Kane ft. Melissa Loretta - Daylight; D-Mad - She Gave Happiness; Bart Claessen - Hartseer; Stoneface & Terminal - Don't Give A F*ck; Arnej - The Strings That Bind Us; Leon Bolier ft Fisher - By Your Side; Alexander Popov - Revolution in You; Marcel Woods - Tomorrow; Sebastian Brandt - 450

WMC vs Ultra

So the dates for Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival has been announced.

AND BOY IT WAS A BIG SURPRISE!!!

A little history, Winter Music Conference, is a weeklong electronic dance music event held annually during the month of March in Florida. The event, started in 1985 has become one of the premier EDM events with DJs, artists, record label representatives, producers, promoters, media and EDM fanatics converging in Miami for a week long celebration.

In 1999, Ultra Music Festival was born and had become the festival that closes out Winter Music Conference. UMF or more known as Ultra, started at Miami Beach but had to move to Bayfront Park due to the festival growing in number of attendees. It has also been known to sold out almost every year making it one of the biggest festivals in the United States.

Then came 2011...

On November 16, 2010, Winter Music Conference issued a press release that WMC will be held on March 8 - 12.  During the announcement, I decided to check the website and one of the events was still Ultra Music Festival. And a line that states "A WMC badge includes admission to Ultra Music Festival". So in my mind, ASOT 500 (Armin van Buuren's 500th show celebration in March) was going to be a stand alone event.

I was wrong..

After a few hours, organizers of UMF issued a press release stating the Ultra will be held on March 25 - 27. This resulted into a massive surprise to event goers as well as DJs. I still remember that night when twitter world was all about the breakup of WMC and UMF. Now everyone is stuck with the same question,

which one to attend, WMC or UMF?


Speculation were everywhere on why WMC and UMF broke up and what would now happen those who want to attend both festival. Last Wednesday, Club Space owner Luis Puig issued a statement defending WMC and slamming UMF accusing it of greedy practices. Here are some excerpts from his manifesto

"WMC used to be about free parties with DJs and industry folks sharing and enjoying new music. Now, it is about greed and money"
"I love Ultra and what they bring to the game... but I do not agree with their greedy strategy to manipulate and monopolize Music Conference. This is just not good for anyone"
"..without WMC, there would be no Ultra Music Festival"

Organizers of WMC has stated that they were "blindsided" by UMF's announcement and that Ultra's organizers breach a contract they signed in 2009 which stated that the "2011 UMF would be presented during the five-day period in February, March or April 2011 designated and promoted by WMC as the 'WMC week'."

UMF organizers blames WMC organizers for the scheduling conflict and it wasn't able to move the event to coincide with WMC due to another festival that is being held on March 13 at Bicentennial Park (Calle Ocho street fair). It also stated that it "was rendered impossible by the City of Miami police department as they [would] not have the resources to host Ultra Music Festival and Calle Ocho in Miami on the same weekend."

So what are the repercussion of the split?
For one, event goers will now have to decide which festival to attend, especially those who cannot afford to be at both festival. Then DJs  might end up having to choose to support only WMC or UMF which means that it will be harder for attendees to decide which festival to attend to. And to complicate matters, EDM promoters must now act to see whether they want to thrown two different parties on two different festivals.

What do you think? Which side will you align yourself?

Thats was.. Electric Zoo

Electric Zoo, the largest EDM festival in New York City was just held last weekend and it sure was a great experience. The 2 day - 12 hour festival produced by Made Event brings together some of the biggest name in the EDM business such as Armin van Buuren, Chemical Brothers, Markus Schulz, Afrojack, Gareth Emery, Victor Calderone, Cosmic Gate, Above and Beyond, Axwell, Benny Benassi, Rusko, ATB, Laidback Luke, Steve Aoki and many more.

Sure was packed when I got to Randall's Island Park on Saturday. Luckily, hurricane Earl decided to not visit New York that day but it sure was windy. There was a long line just to get through the first checkpoint. After that, there was another checkpoint for security purposes. I wouldn't mind such security as long as there are no troubles within the festival especially after what has happen at Electric Daisy and the Love Parade. I had a chance to see Glenn Morrison, Gareth Emery, Markus Schulz, Afrojack, Chuckie, Benny Bennasi, Boris, ATB, Kaskade, Axwell, and The Chemical Brothers. I would say the best set that night was Gareth Emery. He just had the crowd pumped up from the beginning to the end even during a short lull when the equipment died on him during the time he was playing Stranger to Stability. ATB's set was a bit weird especially when he had a Rage Against the Machine tune within his set. Afrojack, Chuckie and Axwell just wowed the crowd while Chemical Brothers got the crowd going with their unique set and lighting.

Sunday felt so different. The weather was really gorgeous with the sun shining and wasn't as windy as Saturday. I got there and surprisingly there were no lines and seems like everyone was still resting their sore legs from Saturday. But the crowd sure got bigger as the day progresses that by 12:30pm the place was getting packed. I had a chance to catch D. Ramirez, Cosmic Gate, Laidback Luke, Moby, Above and Beyond, Sander Van Doorn, Fedde Le Grand, Diplo, and of course, Armin van Buuren. The best set would go to Armin van Buuren and Cosmic Gate while I was really surprised with Moby's and Fedde Le Grand's set. And I had a chance to meet Nic and Bossi of Cosmic Gate.

Great weather, great music, good food, great crowd and awesome friends make up a really awesome festival.  Can't wait for Electric Zoo 2011.

Electric Zoo website

Electric Zoo Reviews	DJ's Live Set	Photos
Moby's Electric Zoo BlackBook Mag Sputnik Music NY Times Dont Forget to Go Home Dancing Astronaut TGRIonline Big Shot Day 1 | Day 2	Glenn Morrison Dirty South	The Culture of Me Nicky Digital - Day 1 Nicky Digital - Day 2 Metromix Gallery Dirty South Pic Joachim Garraud Pic Brooklyn Vegan Day 1 | Day 2

..of DJs, grapes, trail mix and vitamin water

So last Friday I headed to the city for John O'Callaghan and Matt Darey at Pacha. It turned out to be an epic night.

We got to the venue around midnight and luckily, I was still able to get in free using the guest list (no I'm not cheap, I just love saving money). The place was already thumping with Mike Saint-Jules warming out the crowd with progressive trance.

Then around midnight, Matt Darey took the booth and started of with See the Sun. I sure went crazy along with the crowd. His set was made up of vocal, progressive and melodic trance. Mostly from his album since this was part of his US Album Tour. He played Lost at Sea, Float My Boat (Moguai Remix), Lucy, Fedde Le Grand's Back N Forth and close his set with Black Flower. The crowd was surely pumped up with his set.

Then came John O'Callaghan, who was introduced by Matt Darey. Now if Matt ripped the dance floor, JOC tored it apart. His set was purely melodic and uplifting playing tunes such as BT's Every Other Way, and Jon O'Bir's Found A Way and Markus Schulz's Perception mixing it up with his tunes such as Find Yourself, Out of Nowhere and Never Fade Away. If Matt Darey's set was a roller coaster ride, JOC's set was up up and away.  And he even played all the tunes I requested.

Afterwards, while waiting outside the venue, my friends came up with Matt Darey. And we continued the party till the morning hours.

EPIC!!!!

Love Parade now longer...

Love Parade, the longest and popular electronic dance music festival held annually in Germany, was struck with tragedy this year when a stampede broke out in the tunnel entrance to the festival killing 19 and injuring 342 festival goers (as of this writing). And now, the organizers has announced that this was the last Love Parade that will be held.

So another EDM festival has been struck by tragedy this year. The blaming game has started with the city and police officials at Duisburg, where the festival was being held, blaming it on the organizers and vice versa. But would this solve any problem?

Investigation is still on going on who really is to blame. What will happen now to the other Love Parade spin-offs?

This is an awful tragedy but will canceling future Love Parades really solve this problem?