SoundTrax: Summer Festival Preview
posted in: Features • Reviews & Playlists
As the summer festival series approaches, and the EDM movement shows no signs of letting up; producers and DJs are in full swing pumping out their biggest tracks of the year in anticipation of the neon-clad, twenty-something crowds that will descend on fields and desert landscapes all across the US during the summer months. The rave scene in America is slowly morphing out of the awkward teenage years of the big beat ’90s and is beginning to solidify itself as a vibrant, respected aspect of the music industry. With this explosion of popularity, the production of these events has skyrocketed, which means no more illegal warehouses or abandoned airplane hangers. Now they’re out in the open for everyone to see. Featuring extensive light shows, interactive art exhibits, go-go dancers and even carnival rides, raves have become a multi-sensory experience like never before. And so, EDM artists have been forced to up their game in order to hold the attention of our instant-gratification-oriented generation.
The rolling loops of Fatboy Slim, sliced with clever recognizable a cappella’s are no longer enough. The music has morphed, along with the culture, into something that can stand on it’s own. No longer are dance tracks just loop-based building blocks for a DJ to create a set out of”these are legitimate songs in their own right. For this week at SoundTrax, I’ve put together a list of tracks that I think are bound to make huge waves at this season’s summer festivals. Porter Robinson and Madeon kick us off with my two personal favorite tracks from the past month. TheFatRat and Lenno infuse some disco sensibilities into the middle portion, while David Guetta proves that you can be the king of pop-house and still make some respectable dance tunes. Finally, U Tern‘s remix of Mark Ronson provides you with a jittery, down tempo tune to help release all the tension.