Stereosonic – Saturday
by scott on Dec.21, 2010, under Music, Pictures
Stereosonic finally approached, as it seemed like it was forever when I first saw the lineup back in the U.S. I knew that I wanted to go to a music festival in Australia, and sure enough, the best festival was going on during my time here. I managed to get 5 other people from my program to come out with me, so we had a legit group. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.
It was really easy to get there with public transportation. Obviously this was something thought out when building the olympic stadium, but it proved really practical for big events like this. I think it’s a good sign that there should be more large events in the Olympic Grounds. When we got inside it felt a lot like coachella. There were a bunch of sponsor tents and of course the stages that would be the set for the biggest DJs in the world.
Honorable Mentions: Afrojack – He kicked off his set with Bangduck, which got the crowd moving. So much energy in his music, it’s unbelievable. Definitely one of the best sets of the day as he dropped banger after banger. Caspa & MC Rod Azlan – Caspa is pretty much the founder of dubstep and rightfully so. With his MC, he dropped some of the nastiest dubstep tracks out there including “Where’s My Money” and Skream’s remix of “In For the Kill.” Sebastian Ingrosso – Even though he’s only part of Swedish House Mafia, it seemed like the whole group was there. He dropped every big track of his and of course the One More Time introduction to their biggest track, “One”. I felt like I could leave happily after his set, but the best was yet to come. Tiesto – He blew my mind away at Coachella last year and I expected the same thing this year. I was not disappointed. Every single track he dropped was hot and everyone loved it. I would definitely say that “C’mon” was the peak of his performance, although he had some technical troubles during his set so he had to step off for 3 tracks.
Overall, I was extremely satisfied with this music festival. Aussies know how to rage and I was able to experience it first hand. This was definitely a great way to finish up my ISP project and my time in Sydney.
Acid Jacks – Friday
by scott on Dec.20, 2010, under Music
So sterosonic is almost here and I can’t wait any longer. I’m already planning out all of the public transportation routes I need to take so I can just chill tomorrow. It’s actually not that hard to get out to the olympic stadium, but it does require at least a few busses and two trains. I’m sure they will make it easy since almost everyone who is going will be taking public transit.
Anyways, I’m going to dedicate this post to Acid Jacks, the last of my 5 Aussie artists to Sterosonic countdown.
Acid Jacks - Apocalypse Meow Acid Jacks - Disco Shoes (Extended Bass OdysseyCassian – Thursday
by scott on Nov.24, 2010, under Music
As excited as I am for this weekend, this week is going by way too fast. The only break from this project that I’m giving myself is adding new music to this blog, and still I have so much more to go until I finish.
That being said, here is another artist that Autralian’s have been raving about (no pun intended). Cassian is from the suburbs of Sydney and has brought a whole new game to the Disco/Funk electronic scene. He creatively uses 80′s synthesizers and electronic guitar strings to put together great dance remixes and his own original tracks. While he does consider himself a Nu Disco artist, he doesn’t have a sound that consistently spans over all of his tracks like most electronic producers; he brings a unique twist to every track which really demonstrates his creativity. Again, unfortunately he has a great set time as the closer of his stage, which means he overlaps with Tiesto, Major Lazer, and Ricardo Villalobos. I’ve seen both Tiesto and Major Lazer before, so I think I’ll go check out Cassian for a few songs first, then head over to the big shots. I’m only going to be at Australia’s biggest electronic music festival once, so I might as well make it a cultural experience and check this guy out. Here are a few tracks I’m hoping he drops on Saturday:
Cassian - Final Round (Original Mix) Cassian - Friday Night (Original Mix) Empire of the Sun - Standing on the Shore (Cassian Remix)The Swiss – Wednesday
by scott on Nov.23, 2010, under Music
The Swiss is a group of 3 musicians that started off their career as a support band for Empire of the Sun. The trio is originally from Adelaide and decided break off from Empire and make a new name for themselves. I am not really that familiar with too many disco artists so I can’t say much, but what I’ve heard from these guys is awesome. It’s music that can that can suit a variety of moods, whether you’re trying to chill out or get up and dance, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Fortunately for these guys they have a later set time (6pm), which is really good for a local Australian band and it shows how far they’ve come. Unfortunately their set time overlaps with Congorock’s and I’m going to have to make a tough decision, not really though, there’s no way I’m missing Congorock. Maybe I’ll drop in for a song or two from them and then go watch the Babylon kings. Anyways, here’s a few tracks from The Swiss:
bubblebath.mp3 songsremindme.mp3TV Rock – Tuesday
by scott on Nov.23, 2010, under Music
Here is another local Australian DJ duo that are set to play at Stereosonic this Saturday. TV Rock is a collaboration between high profile DJ/producers Grant Smillie and Ivan Gough. Together these two hold down Onelove, one of Australia’s premier electronic music clubs. I’ve been hearing so much about these guys just from word of mouth and stereosonic hype, so I have some high expectations. They have their own record label, Neon Records which also manages DJ and producer Dirty South. I love everything Dirty South has dropped, so if they are anything like him than I’ll be happy. Here’s a few tracks of these guys:
iamtechno.mp3 elevated.mp3 intheair.mp3Andy Murphy – Monday
by scott on Nov.22, 2010, under Music
Stereosonic is this Saturday and I only have 5 days after that to turn in my project so I’m going to try and power it out this week. Of course I need to get up to date on all or most of the music that I don’t know before the festival, so I’m going to listen to all of it while I work. That being said, I decided that every day until the festival I am going to post about an Australian local artist that is going to be performing on Sat. Since everyone already knows about Tiesto, Benny, Congorock, Afrojack, Calvin Harris, Ricardo Villalobos, Caspa, and Major Lazer, I think this is a good way to spread the Aussie electro.
First up is Andy Murphy, a 25 year old DJ and producer from Melbourne. In 2009 he was ranked 2nd best young DJ in Australia and is continuing to rise this year. Last year he toured the United States playing shows in Miami, New York, and LA followed by an international tour of Asia. He performed at last years Stereosonic and is going to have another appearance this year. The best part about non-headliners is that their set is early in the day and won’t interfere with any of the big names so I won’t have to worry about set time conflicts. I’m stoked to see this guy.
The XX - Crystalised (Andy Murphy Remix) lazers.mp3 masterofmusic.mp3Dubmau5
by scott on Nov.20, 2010, under Music
Joel Zimmerman, aka Deadmau5 , has done a few things over the past year that have left me with mixed feelings about him. From calling out Rusko for smoking backstage and passing out on stage in DC a few months ago, I lost some respect for him personally and professionally. I didn’t watch his set at Coachella because he overlapped with Jay-Z (no-brainer), but I did see him at EDC and his performance just seemed subpar to other artists like Swedish House Mafia and Kaskade. None the less, he is an amazing music producer and his stage appearance can’t be matched. After dropping Strobe last year I knew that he had an amazing talent for music production. He never fails to surprise me with the new face he brings to electronic music, mixing in dubstep and beautiful vocals in his latest track, Raise Your Weapon. Apparently CC Sheffield (vocals and writer of Tiesto’s Escape Me) and Skrillex teamed up to write this one and I am very impressed with the experimentation. I like how he is trying to integrate dubstep into progressive house and I think this track is going to blow up when it’s released Right now he is only dropping this track at live performances.
Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon (Original Mix)All things happen for a reason
by scott on Nov.20, 2010, under Other
Last night a few friends and I went out to Kings Cross, which is basically the epitome of the club scene in Sydney. Historically the district was infamous for the drug and prostitution scene, but now most of it has transformed into the premier nightlife of the city. If you don’t know someone at top-shelf clubs, there’s really no point in going. Luckily I’m friends with a DJ at “The Club” so we went there for the night.
So anyways, after a long night I had to figure out how to get back home using public transportation. I’ve gotten pretty good at it, but I’m still shaky about going long distances and my apt is about an hour away using two or three busses. It was 3:30 am and I was sitting at a bus stop in the middle of the city just wishing I was in bed, when a random guy started talking to me. He ended up introducing me to one of his friends who also was waiting for the same bus. Turns out his friend is Kevin May, the cameraman for Catalyst, an environmental/science TV show on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corperation – the biggest TV network in the country). He explained to me how he just got back from Antarctica shooting their last series out of a helicopter, and before that his crew was shooting in Kenya. He said that he has a lot of free time within the next few weeks and is willing to help me with whatever I need on my project. I may not be using a $10,000 camera like he is used to but I’m sure his 20+ years of filmmaking expertise should help me out.
This is him shooting in Antarctica for the show Catalyst. Occurrences like this don’t just happen randomly or coincidentally. I was going to stay a friends place and take the bus home in the morning, but I didn’t. Things like this happen for a reason.
Cooooogeeeeeee
by scott on Nov.20, 2010, under Pictures
[Click the pic for the album]
I just moved into my new housing for the the rest of my time in Sydney, until I return to Byron Bay to present my project. A friend of a friend of a family friend’s friend was able to hook it up with a room in an an apartment for a really low rate (low compared to 100-150 a night I’ve been paying the last 2-3 weeks). The area is called Coogee, which is another one of Sydney’s amazing beach cities. It has a much more “local” feeling than Bondi beach and it is much smaller in size. I really like this area better than Bondi and it’s going to be a great place to post up for the rest of my project. Today I went out to the beach (10 min walk there) to scope out the scene and it was going off. The beach was full of young people and there were a bunch of bars/beer gardens around to keep me busy and intoxicated for hours. Scenically, it’s probably one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve seen here and that is saying a lot. The water is super clear and warm, but the break kinda sucks, or at least what I saw of it today. I don’t think I’m going to surf here but it’s definitely a beach to chill at.
The more interesting part of this is the woman that is accommodating me in her place. She is an older woman (guessing 60′s-70′s) who lives by her self and had an extra room to spare. She is really nice, but definitely a late-age swinger. She goes out almost every night with her friends and said that she goes and “spends a night or two out” every so often…hmm. She took me out for Thai food the first night that I moved in which was really nice. After dinner though, she took my by a restaurant where she is good friends with the owner to “suprise her” with me…well we get in there and Barbara goes to the bathroom and the manager proceeds to ask me if I am her new boy toy. The scary part is that she didn’t seem like she was kidding. She’s a really nice woman, but lets just say I’m going to sleep with my door locked. Here’s a picture of her:
All Day, Every Day
by scott on Nov.17, 2010, under Music
Three days ago, Pennsylvania electronic mashup king, Girl Talk, released his fifth LP. All Day is a combination of samples from over 350 different songs and can be played through as one big mixtape, although it is separated in to multiple tracks. Girl Talk came to UCSB for extravaganza in 2009 along with Cold War Kids, Ludacris, and Asher Roth. I don’t really remember how good the live performances are and I’m usually really critical of mash-ups, but he has seemed to master it. I don’t think it’s great music to DJ with, but it can be good for pre-gaming or just listening to some crazy mixes. Illegal Art, Girl Talk’s record label has released the album as a free download from their website, so you can get it here.
Here’s a few tracks as a taste
Girl Talk - This Is The RemixGirl Talk - Get It Get It
Girl Talk - Oh No
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From the end of August to mid December I will be studying abroad throughout the east coast of Australia. This is to show all of my friends and family what I am experiencing over here in the form of pictures and music. Contact Me
E-Mail: scott8008@gmail.com
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