FEATURES
Here is a Website that Generates a Random 90s Festival Lineup and Plays Vintage Concert Footage
Music lovers who are bored in quarantine have hit the jackpot thanks to the “90s Festival Generator,” a website that formulates random festival lineups swelled with nostalgic acts of the 90s. The serendipitous site was created by Twitter user “rico monkeon,” who wrote that it features “wonky VHS footage of all your indie favourites.” To create your own lineup and dive into a rabbit hole of nostalgia, simply navigate to the site. A random lineup will populate, and if it’s not to your liking, you can click on the “Generate Another Festival” button to make another. A multitude of iconic bands and artists are stitched into the site, including Limp Bizkit, Aphex Twin, Public Enemy, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, The...
![Get Into the Summer Groove With June’s New Releases [Playlist]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/get-into-the-summer-groove-with-junes-new-releases-playlist-1050x600.jpg)
![Get Into the Summer Groove With June’s New Releases [Playlist]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/get-into-the-summer-groove-with-junes-new-releases-playlist-80x80.jpg)
Get Into the Summer Groove With June’s New Releases [Playlist]
Still stuck in quarantine for the foreseeable future, DJs and producers are using the free time to churn out new releases. Last month Armin van Buuren had not one, but three new releases. That includes his most recent melodic house track, “Hollow,” and two festival-ready big room tracks, “Boom Boom” and “Tarzan” with Blasterjaxx. After releasing his London Sessions album in May, Tiësto is still dropping new music too. This time he went with a more bouncy house sound in “Tomorrow.” Nora En Pure also has been busy making new songs while she’s stuck at home. According to a press release for her first release of the year, “All I Need,” fans can expect “a steady stream of new music over the rest of the year.”&nbs...
Leather Pants and Chicken Wings: The Real Stories Behind Live Aid
Take it from Rob Halford: It is difficult pulling leather chaps over sweaty legs. The Judas Priest frontman would learn that lesson anew when his band arrived at the since-demolished John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia to perform as part of Live Aid, which unfolded on two continents 35 years ago today. “It was an absolutely boiling, scorching, muggy day — I remember that,” Halford recalls of the ambitious, 16-hour-long benefit concert experienced globally by more than a billion people in over 140 countries. “As I was putting my leathers on, I was going, ‘Oh, here we go again … mad dogs and Englishmen going out in the midday sun.’” As Live Aid was happening, Halford — like all of the big-name musicians and actors who’d brave the Philly summer heat that sweltering day — knew that the fir...
This Nomadic Cowboy Creates EDM from Tumbleweed, Rattlesnakes, and Red Rock Canyons
For producer and multimedia artist Tone Ranger, the dance floor is a connection point between awe-inspiring landscapes and human expression. Drawing soundscapes from red rock canyons, open roads, ghost towns, and ancient archeological sites, his hybrid practice is somewhere between an archeologist, entomologist, and astrologer, amplifying the songs of the land. Working from his “Rolling Studio”—an old camper van—this semi-nomadic maker traverses high altitude deserts, salt flats, and valleys, using EDM as a vehicle to encompass vast sound palettes, ritual, isolated journeying, and community action. With a background in classical music theory and film scoring and a love of orchestral work, Tone Ranger is as influenced by an expansive global music history (from Aaron Copland...
![Founders of “In My Elements” Share Goals, Safety Measures, Challenges Ahead of COVID-19 Compliant Event [Interview]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/founders-of-in-my-elements-share-goals-safety-measures-challenges-ahead-of-covid-19-compliant-event-interview-1050x600.jpg)
![Founders of “In My Elements” Share Goals, Safety Measures, Challenges Ahead of COVID-19 Compliant Event [Interview]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/founders-of-in-my-elements-share-goals-safety-measures-challenges-ahead-of-covid-19-compliant-event-interview-80x80.jpg)
Founders of “In My Elements” Share Goals, Safety Measures, Challenges Ahead of COVID-19 Compliant Event [Interview]
With the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the economy, the music industry has been particularly hard-hit. Since mid-March, live music events have been canceling left, right, and center in response to the pandemic. While the electronic music community has found its new normal through livestreams ranging from free-form, laid-back DJ sets and intimate production walkthroughs to full-blown virtual festivals, safe resumption of in-person events in the US has appeared implausible outside of drive-in concerts. However, even as US festivals postpone or cancel outright, an independently organized electronic music retreat in Pennsylvania hopes to pave the way for safely hosting in-person music gatherings. Taking place this weekend from July 10th to July 12th, In My Elements will host house and techno heav...
![Camo & Krooked on Their Revolutionary Red Bull Symphonic Performance and Album [Interview]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/camo-krooked-on-their-revolutionary-red-bull-symphonic-performance-and-album-interview-1050x600.jpg)
![Camo & Krooked on Their Revolutionary Red Bull Symphonic Performance and Album [Interview]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/camo-krooked-on-their-revolutionary-red-bull-symphonic-performance-and-album-interview-80x80.jpg)
Camo & Krooked on Their Revolutionary Red Bull Symphonic Performance and Album [Interview]
Red Bull constantly pushes the envelope with everything the brand has its hands in. Music is no different in that regard, and this year Red Bull teamed up with legendary drum & bass duo Camo & Krooked to create an entirely new concert experience. Pairing drum & bass with a live orchestra, Camo & Krooked enlisted world-renowned composer and conductor Christian Kolonovits and the Max Steiner Orchestra to rework their music into a live symphonic performance in the duo’s hometown of Vienna, Austria. Needless to say, the performance was stunning. Camo & Krooked took some time to chat with EDM.com about the experience and the work leading up to the instantly iconic performance. EDM.com: First and foremost, what was the inspiration behind turni...
Here are the Early Frontrunners for the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording
With no ostensible light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel and the 63rd annual Grammy Awards on the horizon, the music industry is abuzz with speculation about what the 2021 ceremony may look like. However, while there are many question marks surrounding the ceremony itself, the music that forms the bedrock of the event is ironclad. As the tentative August 31st eligibility deadline looms, we put together a list of the early frontrunners for the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. Check out the leading contenders below, in no specific order of probability. Duke Dumont – “Therapy” British super-producer Duke Dumont stunned with the release of his debut album Duality in April 2020 after the record’s scintillating lead sin...
Playlisting Tips for a Time When the Dance Party Has Moved Indoors
EDM is simultaneously one of the most popular genres of our time and one of the most difficult genres to gain recognition on playlists. It has partially become synonymous with the wider genre of pop—but why do green and mid-level EDM artists have trouble getting their music placed on these lists? The pandemic hasn’t had a significant impact on the streaming aspect of EDM music positively or negatively. But what can rising EDM artists be doing during this unique, prolonged moment? Song Structure It all starts with a song. You want to make sure your track is DJ-friendly and therefore, dance-floor-friendly. Enticing your listeners early on is crucial, and while it’s smart to stick to the formula of intro, breakdown, build, and drop, your song might stand out if you mix these sections up in a ...
EDM.com Presents “Quarantini Chats” Episode #2: Kaleena Zanders and VenessaMichaels
Whether they’re bedazzling eggs with rhinestones, baking their own sourdough from scratch, or concocting absurd cocktails, those in the social media community at large have embraced their creativity during their time in quarantine. Harnessing that creativity and manifesting it into the dance music community, EDM.com’s Instagram Live interview series Quarantini Chats invites the biggest music producers and DJs in the game to join our platform and craft a custom cocktail as they sip and dive into a wide range of topics with our special guest hosts, The Hotel Lobby. Fresh off the release of their decadent single “Creme Brulee,” a sun-kissed, R&B-inspired breakbeat bop, Kaleena Zanders and VenessaMichaels are ready to pour up and show up. Ahead of the impe...
REVIEW: Fujifilm Instax Link Mini Smartphone Printer
The resurrection of the polaroid-aesthetic camera has been massive, with Fujifilm leading the charge in Africa. Now, lovers of the old-school instant print photos are in for a wild ride as Intax’ Link Mini Smartphone printer mixes new tech with old tech to create something that needs to be seen to be believed. The Instax Link Mini is sleek in design, it features a rounded shape that is deceivingly small and comfortably fits in hand. The device is mostly controlled through a large Instax button at its centre and features a backport for the film and an output slide for printed photos. Most of its connectivity and usage is done straight through the Instax Mini Link app, available on Android and iOS via instant Bluetooth connectivity. Through the app, the printer can be used ...
Here is a Techno Song Featuring Vocalized Versions of Elon Musk’s Best Tweets
Elon Musk, the eccentric billionaire, Tesla boss, DJ, and father to a human named X Æ A-Xii, is sauntering through life with an iridescent glow after his flagship automobile and battery company dethroned Toyota as the world’s largest automaker by market value. A decade after Tesla went public, the company’s market cap recently eclipsed a staggering $224 billion, almost 30% more than that of Toyota. What better way to pay tribute to the unprecedented milestone than with a visual representation of the meteoric rise of Tesla soundtracked to a techno song featuring vocalized versions of its fabled founder’s best tweets? The madcap video arrived courtesy of tech journalist David Canellis by way of Hard Fork, the money and markets vertical of technology outlet Th...
Jonah Ray: How ‘Bout a Nice Hawaiian Punk?
(Like all of Jonah’s articles, there is a corresponding Spotify playlist of all the bands he mentions. Feel free to immerse yourself and listen while reading. Imagine that, a feast for yer eyes and ears at the SAME TIME.) When I tell people I was born and raised on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu, they usually say “WHY DID YOU EVER LEAVE?!” or “WOW! I thought you were from the Midwest or something.” I guess my large, pale stature, and unending desire to slug beers makes them assume as much. Their next round of confusion usually stems from learning that I was a part of the island’s punk scene as well. “How does that even work?” Fair question. I try to tell them that It works…fine, I guess? For a punk scene to sustain itself (with any consistency), it usually needs a handful of local bands that...
