Yelp

With Record Store Day fast approaching, it's probably a good time to highlight a local house of wax that could use some saving. This month, Dr. Freecloud's Record Shoppe--one of the last OC dens of avant garde electronica--is hosting a pledge drive to help keep their doors open. The Fountain Valley store ripped a page from the public radio playbook and started an Indiegogo pledge drive on March 1 to help raise money for inventory, cover bills and enough rent to stay afloat for a couple months. So far, the drive--which ends on April 15--has garnered the business a little over $,4000 of its $14,500 goal. With less than two weeks to go, time is undoubtedly of the essence. More »

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!

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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.

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Shannon Nehls / OC Weekly

Tiësto's Club Life at the Staples Center

Tiësto
Staples Center
March 2, 2013
This weekend, the mega-star Dutch DJ/producer Tijs Michiel Verwest, better known as Tiësto, returned to Los Angeles via the Staples Center after his epic, soldout show at the Honda Center in 2011 for 26,000 electronic dance music fans. This marks the second time an EDM artist has played a headlining gig at the legendary venue (Kaskade brought his Freaks of Nature Tour to the Staples Center just last summer). Thanks to powerhouse promoters Insomniac Events and Goldenvoice, the College Invasion Tour brought in DJ Alvaro & Tommy Trash as the opening selectors of the evening, which sent loud basslines all the way to Figueroa at an early 6 p.m.

See Also: Why Tiësto Became an Indie-Inspired Electro Chameleon
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Matt Oliver / OC Weekly

Beyond Wonderland 2012

Festival season is less than a month away for the electronic dance music community, and with it comes the time-honored tradition of skimpy outfits, three-day ragers, pool parties and dancing until the sun comes up. Starting in March, a slew of your favorite DJs will be on tour to promote new albums and/or tracks. Add all of the amazing shows right here in OC or a short drive away, and you can find something for every dance-music palate on a weekly basis. We did all the research to find the best EDM shows this month on which to spend your hard-earned cash.

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Shannon Nehls / OC Weekly

Jack Beats and special guest Dillon Francis

CONTROL's Four Year Anniversary Party (Jack Beats, Carnage and Whiiite)
Friday, Feb. 22, 2013
Avalon Hollywood

On Friday night, we headed to Hollywood for CONTROL at the infamous Avalon Nightclub for its fourth-anniversary party, featuring sounds from Jack Beats, Carnage and Whiite. Ryan Jaso, who also manages several well-known DJs from Orange County and LA such as PeaceTreaty and Whiiite, has built an incredible Friday-night institution with CONTROL as one of the premier 19-and-over clubs discovering and bringing world-class DJs when it comes to electro, dubstep and trap EDM. You never know what kind of surprise guest will drop in at Avalon on this staple night, and this anniversary was no exception with Borgore, Dillon Francis, 12th Planet, Flinch, Kill the Noise, Rusko, Jillionare, Barestep, Craze to Krewella all in attendance to celebrate the milestone.

See Also:
CONTROL's Anniversary Party @ the Avalon

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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.

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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

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Shannon Nehls / OC Weekly

Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano at Sutra

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Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano @ Sutra

Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano have carried on the Dutch legacy as house music's elite producers and DJs, with gigs all over the world, after practically being discovered by Swedish House Mafia's Steve Angello in 2011. The duo stormed through Orange County this weekend for a highly anticipated return to Sutra in Newport Beach. Thanks to the guys at the Social, Creative Source and Till Dawn Group, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano managed to transform Sutra's usual Top 40 Friday night spot into an EDM heaven (let's cross our fingers this is a trend we will see more of). We spoke to the fast rising stars who emerged on the EDM scene in 2009 after their Feb. 8 show to find out what it's like to party with the Swedes, why Chuckie is one of their biggest influence, and more about their track being released this week.

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Shannon Nehls / OC Weekly

Excision at Club Nokia

Excision
Club Nokia
Feb. 9, 2013

This weekend, Canadian bass king Excision brought his Execution Tour to Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. Born Jeff Abel, Excision kicked off 2013 with a 50-stop North American tour, unveiling his new live show and the future of bass music, featuring the "Executioner," a video-and-lighting stage using incredible video-mapped animations, 100,000 watts of Canada's PK sound system and the largest 3D projector in the world. This 18-and-over event boasted heavy dubstep, trap, and drum & bass sounds from Excision, Paper Diamond and Vaski, with enough explosive bass waves to cause nearby LA Live residents to go ballistic, literally.

The crowd housed everyone from older drum & bass fans and young kids mesmerized with dubstep to girls in fluffies and dubsex booty shorts. It was interesting, however, being at what is normally a rock-concert venue for a dubstep DJ. The intermission between DJs and time it took to set up the "Executioner" in a way killed the momentum of the party with its low bpms. Also only those who came early where granted "pit level" access; the rest had to squish behind on the floor level or upstairs in the theater seats. But that didn't stop everyone from raging hard and getting into the bass-heavy beats throughout the evening, igniting dance circles, mosh pits and make-out sessions in every corner.

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