Courtesy of Oh Dag Yo Photography

Dirtyphonics at Coachella

Charly, Thomas, Pho and Pitchin--four french dudes who have been making heavy bass music for well over a decade now--are currently on tour in support of their full-length album IRREVERENCE out on Dim Mak Records. They celebrated their album release on Tuesday at Dim Mak Studios in typical LA fashion with lots of high profile friends and peers in attendance, played at Voyeur in San Diego last night and tonight they are about to blow the lid off the Nokia Theater. We got to chat with the quartet backstage in their trailer at Coachella straight off their debut appearance at the famed Sahara Tent about their musical influences, dirty girls and what to expect tonight and this weekend at week two of their Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival set.

Charly and Thomas met back in 2000 while in design school and Pho joined the group in 2004 bringing his electro-inspired sound to their already eclectic drum & bass beats. "When we were teenagers we used to play in metal bands and then we got into the 90s hip-hop," Charly says. "Then we got into house music and techno through the French scene. It wasn't until the drum & bass that we all gathered together." In 2008 Pitchin jumped on board and they saw success after their debut single "French Fuck" was released on AudioPorn records. Reaching number one on the Beatport charts they joined the ever-changing electronic music scene and put their own stamp on "drumstep" with an intense energy and unpredictability in their tempos.

Fabian Ortiz

Lulu and Alejandra at Ultra Music Festival

Ultra Music Festival celebrated its 15th annual edition by expanding over two three-day weekends (a la Coachella) making it the largest electronic music festival in the US and the only one in the world to take place over two weekends. Acts included some of the worlds biggest EDM names such as Tiësto, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris to non dance music artist like Snoop Dogg and Yesayer.

Overlooking the breathtaking downtown Miami skyline and marina at Bayfront Park, the festival brought over 165,000 dance music fans from all over the world - literally. The sea of participants adorned flags, shirts, hats and everything you could imagine to represent their hometowns, states and countries. Among those festival revelers was myself and my mother Lourdes whom I brought along for the ride so she could see for herself what the EDM festival craze is all about. Perhaps this adventure would bring us closer and maybe she won't think I'm so crazy for making the pilgrimage year after year to attend the biggest festivals out there. I know what you're thinking: "Wow this girl must be crazy." But in actuality it was her own adventurous spirit who wanted to join me. Perhaps it's where I get it from?

After falling in love with electro in his native Miami, Eric Estornel began deejaying in the early 90s. Like most EDM enthusiasts he later got into techno and began making house beats in 1996. He moved his family to Dallas where he made a name for himself as a local DJ, but it wasn't until he fled to the European dance music scene that things started to take off for him four years ago. He released an LP on the infamous Crosstown Rebels label and his appeal has since skyrocketed. Tonight, going by his DJ moniker Maceo Plex, the soulful, underground producer is headlining the official Insomniac Beyond Wonderland pre-party alongside Maya Jane Coles at Exchange LA and playing the Crosstown Rebels Rave stage at Beyond Wonderland Saturday only to make his way back to Miami for his Ultra Music Festival debut on Sunday!

Alejandra Loera / OC Weekly

Laidback Luke at the Fox Theater Pomona

Laidback Luke
March 8th, 2013
Fox Theater Pomona

Last night the Filipino/Dutch DJ sensation Laidback Luke brought his signature mix of hip-hop and electro house to the Fox Theater in Pomona. Legally known as Luke Van Scheppingen, Laidback Luke has been killing it on the electronic music scene for the past 15 years. Know for his infamous Mixmash Records which continue to release hit after hit and his grand Super You & Me parties that sell out the biggest venues all over the world with it's audiences dressed in super hero get ups - Laidback Luke is one of the hardest working DJs and producers in the game who continues to amaze and wow his fans. This special Thursday night 18 and over event brought some serious dance music to the I.E. thanks to powerhouse promoters LED and Goldenvoice.

The show started at 11pm, noticeable early by EDM standards, and raged for a full two hours with in your face electro mash-ups and remixes of Luke's own originals as well as surprisingly a lot of Swedish House Mafia edits - perhaps playing homage to the 60,000 people event all of the EDM crowd will be attending this weekend at the Los Angeles Historic Park. We're not complaining however, as the vocals of of his track with SHM group mates "Leave the World Behind" echoed on the sound system we got carried away in anticipation. The crowd seemed fittingly for the Fox Theater's old school "rave" culture (this used to be the spot back in the early hey days of dance music) with kandi kids and girls in fluffies ready to get their shuffle on the packed dance floor.

Tijs Michiel Verwest, a.k.a. Tiësto

Tijs Michiel Verwest is more than just an electronic-dance-music (EDM) DJ and producer. He is the quintessential originator of the iconic brand Tiësto, which has continued to revolutionize itself and change the game for dance music artists all over the world for almost two decades. With Grammy nominations, numerous awards, collaborations with Guess Clothing, a Sirius XM Club Life Radio Channel, the No. 1 podcast on iTunes, his own Madame Tussaud's wax statue, residencies all over the world, and headlining every major festival including Coachella's main stage, plus being the first DJ to play at the Olympic Games in Athens, as well as the highest paid DJ on the Forbes list, Tiësto has proven to be larger than life, with no signs of slowing down.

Though he suffered a minor touring setback due to back problems on his 2012 College Invasion Tour, he is making up the missed dates this winter, including a stop at the Staples Center March 2. Presented by Goldenvoice and Insomniac, this performance marks the second time a DJ will play a show at the Staples Center -- Kaskade was the first DJ to sell it out with his Freaks of Nature Tour last summer. So in honor of Tiësto's Los Angeles comeback (he was last in LA in 2011 as a part of that year's College Invasion Tour, which hosted 26,000 fans at the Home Depot Center), we chatted with Verwest right as he hit the tour bus with fellow DJ friends Tommy Trash, Quintino and Alvaro. The Dutch artist covered everything from cultivating his sound to impromptu gigs to what's currently on his iPod.

Myndset

There are some local artists who are destined for the lime-light, even if Orange County doesn't always have much to offer in that regard. This is something Myndset learned early on in his career as a hip-hop DJ. At the time he went by a different moniker and played every major club in OC feeding the masses their weekly dose of top 40 and hip hop beats. He felt hip hop was getting stale and was drawn by the sounds of electronic music - something that hadn't reached the popularity it has now and which he says "feed his soul." He enrolled in OC Weekly's DJ competition to play at Ultra Music Festival in 2008 and won, landing himself a coveted spot at one of EDM's biggest festivals in the world.

"That was one of the best days of my life and such a cool experience, Myndset says. "I was like it's there for the taking if anyone wants but I can do this. So I practiced the shit out of my routine and brought out all my tricks as a true turntablist." Yet the biggest thing he gained from that experience is that you can make it as a traveling DJ (something he had always dreamed of) and the world was his oyster with hard work and perseverance.

Robert Sorey

Plastician

Plastician at DUBtroit
Feb. 20, 2013
Detroit Bar

Last night, DUBtroit returned to Detroit Bar for the second time this year after migrating to the Observatory in 2011, followed by a brief stint in the LA club scene. DJ teaLong, 12th Planet, Drew Best and Danny Johnson of the SMOG Records crew teamed up to bring back the monthly DJ staple, which was notorious for the best dubstep, bass, booze and babes that OC had to offer on a Tuesday night. This evening, they brought aboard U.K. bass king Plastician, not to be confused with techno king Plastikman, to take the crowd on an incredible two-hour journey from the roots of dubstep to its current North American explosion.

See Also:
SMOG Records Celebrates Six Years of Bringing Dubstep to American Dance Floors

Dale Takes Pictures

Justin Martin at the Yost Theater

Justin & Christian Martin
Yost Theater
1/17/2012

Straying away from their usual format the White Rabbit Group hosted a Dirtybird Record Label party last night at the Yost Theater featuring the deep grooves of Justin Martin and Christian Martin along with the resident DJs at Focus Tuesdays (the local house joint right here in Orange County). The Bay Area brothers allowed us to tag along with them both during and after the show for a night that was unparalleled and special to what we normally see in Santa Ana. After lots of beer, dancing and after party madness we are still trying to piece together the evening as we cure our massive hangover.

The Focus crew which includes Nonfiction, Wobs and Josh Billings played a unique back to back opening set to warm up the crowd as the room began to fill with house heads, burners and dance music aficionados up until a little past 11p.m. The guys did an awesome job of syncing together to splice deep house and tech house tracks in seamless fashion for this 18 and over crowd, much like they do at Focus in Newport Beach every Tuesday. Our favorite was a Pablo Fierro track titled "I Want It" which had us grooving as we knocked back a few beers and waited for the Martin brothers to arrive.

See Also:
*Free Ticket Tuesday: Justin Martin at the Yost Theater
*Five EDM Artists We'd Like to See at Coachella This Year
*Damian Lazarus Plays Music For 24-Hour Party People...Literally

Angelo Patino-Patroni and Josh Anaya of PeaceTreaty

It's hard to believe all that the Chino Hills duo PeaceTreaty has achieved in the mere couple of years they have been making electronic dance music together. Since we last spoke to Josh Anaya and Angelo Patino-Patroni they have continued their momentum on the OC native Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Record Label touring the world including at Insomniac's Nocturnal Wonderland in San Bernadino and Electric Zoo in New York. With remixes for artists like Robbie Rivera and Hot Mouth out now their primary focus is to finish their full length debut album which has been in the works since they released their EP in 2011. Tonight they are bringing their eclectic big room house sound to White Rabbit's Havoc Thursdays at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana. We caught up with Josh, Angelo and their cute pug Ziggy at their studio in Newport Beach where the two reside, to catch up on what life has been like for the OC duo as a part of the well known Dim Mak family.

See Also:
*Five EDM Artists We'd Like to See at Coachella This Year
*Pendulum DJ Set - Yost Theater - November 15, 2012
*PeaceTreaty's Name Was Coined as a Joke By an Ex-Girlfriend -- But It Suits Them Perfectly

Courtesy of Robert Sorey Photography

Dave Dresden and Josh Gabriel of Gabriel & Dresden

9th Annual Holiday Groove
Playhouse Hollywood
December 5, 2012

On Wednesday night, we headed to Hollywood for the 9th Annual Holiday Groove Toy Drive at Playhouse hosted by Groove Radio, Chemistry LA and We Simply Rule. Swedish Egil, the European DJ who made a name for himself as a radio personality on KROQ, has built an incredible institution with Groove Radio for 20 years now and is often called the "Godfather" of dance music. Some of the biggest names in EDM have joined Egil on not only Groove Radio, but at his massive year end party Holiday Groove which benefits the "Spark of Love" charity for kids.

Over 40 DJs such as Trent Cantrelle, Shogun, DJ Dan, Christopher Lawrence, The Crystal Method, Tommy Lee & DJ Aero and Paul Ahi played at Playhouse on Wednesday while live on Groove Radio for a fabulous evening that celebrated electronic dance music and it's Los Angeles pioneers. Decorated in Christmas cheer complete with a Santa Clause, Playhouse has been a successful staple in EDM with their Monday Night Social, Dirty Sexy House Fridays and events like Holiday Groove year after year. Imagine speed dating your favorite DJs as each played a short 30 minute set of everything from house, trance, electro and dubstep.

See Also:
First Listen: Minaya & Vikus, Spiro "Overdrive"
Top Five Holiday EDM Parties You're Not Allowed to Miss
Richie Hawtin Uses His CNTRL: Beyond EDM Tour to Educate Your Ass, Then Make it Shake