Above & Beyond put together the finest trance set I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing on May 31st at the Amphitheatre in Ybor City, Florida. They used an amazing stage presence, intriguing visuals and unmatched veteran expertise to leave an audience screaming for more after a 2+ hour set. Affordable tickets, relaxed dress code and an unmatched surround sound speaker system made the Amphitheatre in Ybor City (a part of the Tampa Bay area) the perfect setting for the gig.

Above & Beyond is an English trance trio comprised of Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Paavo Siljamäki. Although Grant’s presence was missed, the remaining two members did a fantastic job of showing a young audience exactly why Above & Beyond are the best at what they do. While trance superstars such as Armin van Buuren and Tiesto have infused more and more vocal house in to their sets, A&B remains true to their bread and butter; high energy, deep, uplifting trance music.

The duo came out to a frantic audience cheering “A and B! A and B!” and built the perfect set from start to finish. While most DJs will come at you with full force right away, Above & Beyond plays it cool at first. Their visualizer asked ”Are you ready for some group therapy?” at the beginning. The first 40 minutes was comprised of instrumentals to pace the crowd for the lengthy set ahead. The beginning flew by as the Amphitheatre’s vibrating dance floor (yeah I said it…) and surround sound speaker system made the crowd jump up and down at each drop. There really isn’t a bad spot in the house and it allows for the audience to spread out and have room to dance.

Following the 40-minute mark, Above & Beyond’s custom visualizer read “Ever been to heaven?”, alluding to the duo mixing in their track “On My Way To Heaven”. This would prove to be an amusing element to Above & Beyond’s live show that we will get in to more later. The crowd, a laid back group of younger individuals, proved to be very familiar with the group’s material. During  the vocal parts of the track the crowd could be heard, even over the thousands and thousands of watts that the venue boasts.

The group would go through another hour and a halfs worth of their best material, including “Alchemy”, “Thing Called Love”, You’ve Got To Go” and “Sun & Moon”. The arousing visuals changed for each tune dropped. During “Thing Called Love” the backdrop read “Never forget about love”. During “You’ve Got To Go”: “Dreams come true”. This went so on and so forth for each vocal track, although it wasn’t really apparent that they were the ones controlling it until the very end. Their visualizer read  phrases like “This is Tampa” and “This is dance music” to get the crowd pumped up. But it wasn’t until the last few songs that the whole “Group Therapy” thing really clicked.

During a texted rant on the backdrop, the audience was reading the duo’s views on Florida. They mentioned things that would make you grateful to be from Florida such as the pearly sand and rich blue oceans. They also thanked the beautiful people in the audience for coming out and making the experience possible. They told us via text that they were falling in love with Florida. All of this without breaking the beat that made everyone move. It was becoming clear that they view their music, and particularly their live show, as therapy. The listener comes there to listen to uplifting songs with spiritual melodies and read lines like “Dreams come true” or “Never forget about love”. These are the ideas our therapists for the night wanted us to think about.

The two ended the epic evening with “Love is Not Enough” and a super chill rendition of “On A Good Day”. Like true professionals, they concluded their group therapy session with the patients imploring that their psychiatrist give them more. However, they had already done their job. The curtain fell and that was it. The streets of Ybor were flooded by a few hundred people with chip-less shoulders and burden-less chests. The vibe continued in to the streets and hopefully in to their every day lives. It is proven that Above & Beyond’s group therapy makes everyone a little more happy.

Video courtesy of Dylan Hotfire & AmpTampaTV youtube channel

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WELL HOT DAMN! Our homie GRiZ just dropped this fire remix on Facebook / Soundcloud as a free download. The question is which remix is better his or Savoy’s? They’re both pretty fire but this is that new new so I expect to hear this a ton this summer. We have an interview we did with GRiZ at the Snowball festival droppin’ any day now so be on the lookout for that too!!

TYR is an up and coming producer who has just been pumping out the remixes lately. He has a deep dubstep style that most dub and electronic fans will enjoy. Scope out his brand new remix of Road to Zion and be on the lookout for his new all original album dropping real soon!

TYR Soundcloud
TYR Facebook

Paper Diamond and DubEra met up after his set at Hangout Music Festival and chatted it up on the beach. We speak on his set, playing live with an iPad, trap music, and his relationship with Diplo, Bassnectar, and Pretty Lights, among other things. Check it out above.

We hope to catch up with Paper D again while we are out in Michigan for ELECTRIC FOREST! See you there!
check out more photos from the Paper Diamond Hangout set HERE

In today’s day and age, I feel as though crowds are selling themselves short when it comes to electronic music. While there are amazing DJs that will keep the club dancing till the sun comes up, I feel like there is a certain amount of musicianship that should exist within concert grounds. I think SBTRKT, STS9, Magnetic Man, Chase & Status, Break Science, etc. all have something to watch from a musical standpoint. I mean lasers and strobes are awesome, but what if you just really want to see what the guy up there is doing to really play you that music?

If you like paying attention to musicianship, Sounduo is up your alley. You can watch Zach Morillo play the drums that are moving your feet and Will Mills manipulate the samples and bass that are throwing your body around. It’s the same type of live show that Chase & Status or SBTRKT have, but musically stripped and raw. And as far as their records go, they play out like a stripped down Chase & Status or Magnetic Man as well.

While there are no british pop stars on Departures, What you will find is plenty of glitchy, unrelenting bass. It isn’t that noisy type of mid-range dubstep. It’s the dubstep that derived from dub music, which was essentially drum & bass heavy reggae remixes created in Jamaica back in the day. “Number 8″ would have torn apart an entire Jamaican village if Lee Scratch has his hands on that dubplate a few decades ago. And while you hear plenty of reggae upstrokes on this album, you hear an equal hip hop, glitch and (more Americanized) dubstep influence in Sounduo’s music.

“Dr Who” is good enough to pass for an early Caspa & Rusko collab track, “Predator” sounds something that would likely come out of a Bassnectar / Pretty Lights alliance. “88 Degrees” is like mim0sa’s older works and Gramatik’s new stuff gettin’ together in the jacuzzi after Snowball Festival just ended. The point is that if you like these artists, there is no reason you shouldn’t get Departures an honest shot. It’s a unique twist on a familiar concept. Along with a live show that rivals the best, they may just be poised to be your next favorite act.

You can purchase Departures on Sounduo’s Beatport page, listen to some tracks below or hear the whole album for FREE on their Soundcloud. Sounduo will be in Florida all summer long, but they will also be playing Impulse Music & Arts Festival in a couple weeks! In August/September they will be playing Mint Green Fest in NJ and  Look Out Below fest in CO, along with a full east coast tour. Check out their facebook page for a full list of dates.

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If you have any history in the skateboarding world you are probably a fan of this original song. A classic that i’ve learned to love thanks to watching skate videos. If not then you may know it just from your love of music cause its a great song. Sound Remedy dropped this remix recently of Funeral and definitely did some justice to the song. Check out this smooth remix and snag the FREE DOWNLOAD!

Adventure Club links up with Krewella for a sexy smooth new dubstep joint. With the passionate female vocals and the signature melodic Adventure Club sound it makes for quite the tune. I’ve never seen Adventure Club spin a full set. One time the cops shut them down and one time they fried their mixer. Hopefully I can see them close one out soon. Free Download ch ch cheeyuhhh.

This past weekend, thousands of people flocked to Raymond James Stadium but this time for a reason other than football and monster trucks. The Sunset Music Festival line up was released months ago and with the help of promoters and local talent across the state it became electronic music’s #1 destination for Memorial Day weekend. With three stages, beautiful Floridians, great weather and killer after parties, this past Saturday was a perfect as our beaches and winter weather.

The first act I caught was Nervo. The insanely sexy duo pumped up the crowd at the hottest point of the day with their brand of girly house music. They began their set by prefacing that they would be playing some new tunes they’ve never played in Tampa, which is always cool. Nervo’s spunky energy, good looks and friendly music were enough to keep a thick crowd despite a merciless sun reaching nearly 100 degrees.

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We walked around the festival and saw the most interesting DJ of the event, 6-year DJ Junior (pictured). This young lad mixed through a hit electro house set with only a little bit of help. It was one of the craziest things I’ve honestly ever seen in my life.

Following Nervo on the main stage was Nicky Romero. Having heard about the epic night that took place at Vain Nightclub the night before, I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.

Romero definitely killed it with the bassy electro that’s caused tracks like “Generation 303″ and “Toulouse” to climb the beatport charts and sneak their way in to DJ sets across the world. While his set was strong, there were disturbing visuals of the twin towers on fire at one point during his set. Personally, it confused the hell out of me and pissed a few people off. It honestly put a damper on his set.

When Romero was through, the names got bigger and set times conflicted more and more. Music festivals always hit you with hard decisions of whose set to see and whose to skip. Luckily, the simple and small layout of Sunset allowed concertgoers to see mostly everyone they wanted to see without spending an absurd amount of time walking from stage to stage. It was relatively uncrowded and only about a 5 minute walk between the main stage, bass stage and Florida stage.

The bass stage had a handful of interesting acts to come through and drop bombs in a fairly intimate setting. It was a fun break from the primary 4×4 song structure of the main stage. We caught a really cool breaks DJ called Krafty Kutz that I had never heard of. As far as DJ techniques go, he was probably the best at Sunset. He was scratching and sampling every other act out of Tampa, quite literally. However in a day and age where live talent goes largely unnoticed, he had a small but dedicated crowd during his set that included breaks re-rubs and mash-ups of Pendulum’s “The Island”, Busta Rhymes’ “Pass the Courvoisier Pt II”, Skrillex’s “Reptile” and many more. He had a ton of old school hip hop samples and as a hip hop head, it was a refreshing sound for the festival. If you’ve never heard of Krafty Kutz, you should check him out here.

Paul Van Dyk dropping some grade A trance as the festival cools down and the sun sets

During the festival prime time the main stage got to see Gabriel & Dresden, Tommy Trash and Paul Van Dyk prepare the crowd for the mental frenzy Alesso was about to send the crowd in. Paul Van Dyk’s trance super set during sunset (the sun actually setting) was one of the more memorable parts of the entire festival. However, Alesso got the crowd stirred up like no other.

Playing cuts from Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Avicii and his own, Alesso had the crowd singing and dancing the entire time. As far as the progressive house sound goes, he definitely does it just as good as any you’ve seen. A personal favorite was the mix of “Around The World” with “Raise Your Head”, but with a set so packed with fun bootlegs, I’m sure everyone has a special moment for themselves.

Alesso’s set ended and a Wiz Khalifa track came on the PA. Followed by an Atmosphere song. There was a Kanye track in there. It was clear something a little groovier, a little funkier was about to take place. No stranger to Pretty Lights, I was really excited to see my main attraction to the Sunset Music Festival.

Pretty Lights taking concertgoers on a ride through the galaxy

The lights dimmed and the massive Derek Vincent Smith came on stage to introduce himself to the Tampa faithful with Raymond James Stadium as the backdrop. He busts in to “I Know The Truth”, but just a little taste of it. He isn’t going to spoil us with that quite yet. He transitions into “Hot Like Sauce” and started the funky ride. He started really really soft and smooth, and for a legitimate reason.

It was clear that Derek was weeding out the people who were there to “rage” to make room for that really heady crowd he likes to vibe with. With Alesso preceding him and Datsik playing just across the field, it wasn’t too hard to do. Soon the plethora of neon rage hats migrated to something that was a little harder and there is no problem with that. Just as they moved on, the rest of us had room to breathe and were finally moving as well.

Pretty Lights’ live mixes are always a little different than the tracks you have downloaded free (and legally) to your iTunes. There’s Gang Starr verses peppered in here, soul samples switched around there, certain parts are longer and others shorter. One thing I absolutely noticed is Derek’s new found love for talking to the crowd. He was constantly shouting out Tampa and getting the crowd worked up right before his signature glitchy drops. While I was too busy enjoying myself to try and pin an exact set list down, highlights included “High School Art Class”, “You Get High”, “I Can See It In Your Face”, “Finally Moving”, “The Time Has Come”, “How We Do”, “Ask Your Friends”, and plenty more.

One of Pretty Lights’ amazing visual backdrops

A certain highlight to me was the dramatic remix of Pink Floyd’s “Time”. While his sick remixes of Stever Miller Band, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Nine Inch Nails, Run DMC, Led Zeppelin and John Denver were all absent, he did give us his remix to the Dark Side of the Moon classic. Having just seen the Flaming Lips perform it less than a week earlier at Hangout Music Festival, it was a really special track for me to hear. As Derek put it we “gave respect where respect is due”. Amen to that.

The finale of Pretty Lights set finished the same way it started. “I Know The Truth” was dropped and anyone who thought Mr. Smith forgot about his dubstep opus was pleased to scream “No Mercy” along with thousands of other party people. The long, wild day finally came to a close with a big bang.

However, with official after parties at The Amp in Ybor City (featuring Dallas K, Tommy Trash and Alesso) and right down the street (with GRiZ & Crizzly), the party was far from over. We head back to the hotel and drank some beers to get ready for the latter of the two.

When I walked in to Hawaiian Village and saw the massive pool party, it was game over. Unfortunately, I missed a large part of GRiZ’s set, but when Crizzly dropped Bassnectar’s “Wildstyle Method” I couldn’t help but to cannonball in the deep end. My friends quickly followed and we splashed around in the pool, drinking till nearly 3am as Crizzly served us up the illest hip hop / dubstep / drumstep / drum & bass mash ups we’d ever heard. It was the perfect and only way to end such an legendary day.