Album Review: Porter Robinson – Worlds

After months of waiting, several singles, and a suspenseful countdown via social media, Worlds is finally upon us. As a self appointed member of the #PRSquad, I couldn’t be happier to share this work of art with you!  The full album has actually been available for streaming from BBC for over a week, but in case you haven’t discovered it yet, here’s a roadmap to guide you – and make sure to enjoy the Worlds artwork along the way!

 

Divinity 

“We will wait for this…”  Divinity is the opening track to the album, and I can see why Porter chose this – it encompasses the general idea of his career in dance music so far. It’s hard hitting at first, choppy and full of bass and distortion, but it quickly turns into a ethereal vocal work before combining both in synthetic happiness.

Sad Machine 

“She depends on you…” Sad Machine, the second single from Worlds, is heavier on vocals than most tracks, but it’s definitely reflective of advancement in Porter’s personal and musical life. This is the first time that Porter has put his own vocals into the track, combined with that of a vocaloid. It also highlights some of his main influences by incorporating classic video game-ish MIDI sounds.

Years of War

“Fight till we are no more…” This track is also heavier on the vocals, and could easily be the best Worlds track to use in a mainstream setting. I could picture this being Porter’s next single, and the baes will be singing along to this one at the live shows for sure.

Flicker

“I’m just trying to find what’s really important to me…” Yeah, it’s a single, but I feel like this is going to be one of my favorite songs on this album.  The syncopation in the beginning reminds me of 90’s R&B, and the whole track has a funky feel that any Kill Paris fan should appreciate.  To get the vocal sample, Porter plugged “I’m just trying to find what’s really important to me” into a Japanese translator and chopped it up… making it meaningful and poppy at the same time. Love it.

Fresh Static Snow

“Though I’ll never know your name, I’ll cry for you the same…” A little bit funky and downtempo with some ambience to boot; Fresh Static Snow inclusive of vocals but less so than other tracks.  You can hear some of Porter’s former heavier style start to come out in this track, but the slow BPM’s, and another vocaloid appearance, and a very classical ending keep us in check.

Polygon Dust

“Taking back what you’ve spent…”  Evidence of video game influence is clear in this track as well, from the first eight beats. However, it wasn’t until I heard this song that I understood the comparison between Porter’s new album and M83, but the pop/ambient style of this track is definitely reminiscent of Midnight City.  Polygon Dust is more synth-heavy than other tracks but at the same time kind of reminds me of Beautician by Dillon Francis at certain parts.

Hear the Bells

“Can’t you hear the bells singing along?” Beautiful lyrics in this one (which is also extensive on the vocals), with a traditional 4/4 beat, and this is where I begin to pick up on Passion Pit-like qualities, with a more electro feel.

Natural Light

No lyrics, and I feel like Porter would have had an amazing time making this, playing around with the syncopation and the plethora of different sounds that made it into the final cut. At just over 2 minutes, this one is the shortest track on the album but serves as a grab bag of fun for your ears. See how many different effects you can point out.

Lionhearted

“They broke the walls we guarded, but we don’t care about it…” You should have heard this one already; it’s Porter’s third Worlds single and it’s catchy as all hell. Zane Lowe from BBC Radio 1 had it on his Hottest Records in the World list, so if Porter aims to not be “DJ friendly,” this probably isn’t the way to do it, seeing as how this track has been everywhere this summer.

Sea of Voices 

“We’ll see creation come undone… These bones that bound us will be gone.” I will never forget this song.  Porter released this song earlier this year, at a point when my grandfather was in the hospital. He’s since passed, but I remember playing this for my mom and explaining how powerful it was for me in this situation.  So few words, but such meaningful build and precise progression. It’s beautiful, and really should be considered a work of art. This is now my go-to song to disprove anyone who claims electronic music can’t have depth.

Fellow Feeling

“And now, I cry… for all that is beautiful.” This track is clearly the most reflective of Porter’s internal conflict, and my favorite on the Worlds album. It begins with a symphonic build, only to be destroyed by a harsh four-on-the-floor beat into a hardstyle section that’s very reminiscent of Porter classics like Say My Name or Spitfire.  The symphony then returns and has to battle synth stabs throughout the remainder of the track, perfectly equating to Porter’s increasingly public psychological struggle with the industry he’s in.

Goodbye to a World

“Though it’s the end of the world… don’t blame yourself…” A perfect closer. Lots of MIDI sounds in this one, bringing it back to his video game roots again. After previous two tracks, I’d say its smart to use this track as a comedown and close on a high note (Sea of Voices and Fellow Feeling are both pretty emotionally heavy). This one’s poppy and vocaloid laden and I love the ending… were we listening to people at all this whole time?! Maybe Porter is a robot.

 

So, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. That was Worlds.  Another review suggested that Porter “ditch the indie-pop crutch,” and I have to respectfully disagree. I don’t think Porter intentionally manufactured his songs to sound like M83 or Passion Pit, or any indie pop for that manner.  You could technically argue this for any artist – is DJ Snake’s success due to a hip-hop crutch? Anyway, Porter’s pretty strongly against certain aspects of the EDM industry, and he’s incorporating new techniques and sounds into his work that represent growth from previous endeavors. He’s evolving, not using a crutch, and he should evolve as he sees fit.

Porter originally got into making music through video games, and this album is a huge step for him, displaying hints of funk, thriving chords and impressive progressions, and a general transcendence back to true music, rather than just noises made by a computer.  I am in love with Worlds, and I hope you are too – click any of the pics to link to iTunes and buy the album yourself.

Coachella 2014 Weekend 2 Recap Videos (GoPro)

Check out my first video blog and relive my Coachella experience with me, and get to know me a little at the same time.  Huge thanks to Chris for the GoPro footage and inspiring me to venture into video editing… Make sure to check out Chris’s recap as well right below.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 🙂

I Hope You Dance

Apologies for my absence from the blogosphere as of late – I hope all you lovelies had a wonderful time at Coachella and safe travels to and from. As much as I don’t believe in excuses, I feel I owe you an explanation as to why my writing has been absent in the past few weeks. The good news is, I can relate this all back to my love of music, and explain to you even further how important music is to me and my family.

I lost my grandfather at the beginning of this month. My grandmother passed away a little over a year ago. Prior to that, around the time that I was graduating with my bachelor’s, she wasn’t healthy enough to travel, and that unfortunately prevented both my grandparents from attending my graduation. My grandparents instilled the value of education in me when I was very young, and my degree would be almost non-existent if it weren’t for them. Because of my grandparents, I grew up knowing that I would go to college. My grandpa was always in very good health throughout his life, so even when my grandmother passed last January, I had every belief that my grandfather would be here to see me graduate with my master’s.

My uncle died when I was 15; he was a super adventurous kind of person and unfortunately ended up in a free-diving accident two months before his 50th birthday. Sadly I didn’t get the opportunity to get to know him very well, but his adventurous nature inspired my aunt Deb to pick a particular song for his memorial – I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack.  If you’ve been following my blog, you have probably realized that my favorite kind of music is generally electronic. Well, surprise, this post is about a country song that has completely changed my life.

I Hope You Dance isn’t about dancing. I Hope You Dance is about seizing opportunities in your life. Your life is filled with infinite choices, day in and day out.  That means that every day, you have a choice to either jump in and actively participate in life, or hang out in the background and watch passively. My uncle died really young, but honestly, no one could ever say that he missed an opportunity – that’s why my aunt Deb chose this song for him.  I Hope You Dance repeatedly shows up in my life at the most perfect and meaningful moments – at my high school graduation, when I signed the lease on my first apartment, when I received my most recent promotion – and on the radio every single day the week that my grandpa passed away. For a song that was released almost 15 years ago, I’d say that’s a bit of a coincidence.

Life doesn’t always go the way you plan. Whether it’s showing up at Coachella and getting separated from your party of seven other cars, or losing the most influential person in your life six weeks before graduation, there are going to be curveballs that you just can’t hit. It’s taken me a few weeks to remember this, but that doesn’t mean you stop dancing.

Every now and then I’ll talk to my mom about something and she’ll tell me, “Remember to dance.” She’s not telling me to get out there and nail a triple pirouette. She’s reminding me:

“When you get the choice to sit it out or dance,

DANCE.”

I miss and love you so much, Papa. I’m doing this for you.

 

The Morning So Far – Coachella Travel Day

Right now we are on our way down to Indio. We planned on leaving at 7:00 this morning. Let me tell you the story of my morning so far, which I’m almost embarrassed to share with you given the nature of my blog. But, I think it makes for a good story and an even better learning experience, and that’s what counts, right?

So, Marie shows up at my place at 6:30 and I was basically ready. Good start, right? Well, Marie had gotten us coffees and proceeded to knock one off the top of her car, so she had to go back and buy another. It’s ok, we’re going to Coachella today. It’s gonna be a good day still. Very minor setback, we both laughed about it and left a little after 7.

At about 8:00 we had just gotten in to the top of Carson City and I realized I had made the ultimate Coachella mistake. Yep. My whole Coachella box, wristband, car camping pass and all, were sitting on a shelf in my living room. You may recall me reminding you to activate your wristband – guess I forgot about the reminder to actually bring it. What can I say? I’m human. I used every curse word I know to convey to Marie that I wasn’t kidding. We were both super irritated for about 30 seconds, but then realized how much worse it really could have been. We were only half an hour out into an eight hour trip – so let’s just be thankful that we weren’t further and move on. One hour setback – check – we made it back to Carson around 9. That’s ok, we’re still at least an hour ahead of our group and hey, we’re going to Coachella today.

At this point I was pretty sure that not much else could go wrong. As long as I had my wristband, I could deal without anything else. I had started the trip in yoga pants and it was getting hot, so we pulled over at a rest stop a few hours in to change into shorts. During this process, I realized that when I was taking my last real shower before Coachella at 5:30 this morning, I had neglected to shave one of my legs. I got one, totally missed the other. Not that I’m trying to impress anyone, but how irritating is that?? I fixed that the best I could in this random rest facility that fortunately had a faucet and paper towels. And as I was trying to find my razor in the car, I was alerted to the fact that the zipper on my makeup case was broken, since its contents were violently strewn across the car as I grabbed it. It’s ok. We’re going to Coachella. Let it go.

Fast forward another hour which was fortunately uneventful, and this brings us to current. We’re still slightly before schedule, and pretty sure we didn’t forget anything else. Yet, this goes to prove that no matter how much planning you put in, things can still going to go wrong – It’s all about how you handle it. All these issues are minor when you look at the big picture – we’re going to Coachella today!! We had to keep reminding each other, but staying positive and keeping the end goal in mind helped us to deal with these setbacks a little better. Everything will be ok – it’s Coachella. 🙂

Weekend 1 versus Weekend 2

So Weekend 1 of Coachella 2014 is history. Many Coachella-goers, like my brother, have asked me why I don’t go to the first weekend.  This year, I bought passes for both weekends and ended up selling my Weekend 1 pass and keeping my Weekend 2. The original idea was to keep both if the lineup was good enough – now, the lineup was plenty good enough, but that whole pesky concept of being financially responsible got in the way.  Regardless, there are a lot of reasons I choose to wait for the second round – you may or may not agree, but I’ll share some of the factors that influenced my decision.

photo credit

 

I don’t need to be first.  In fact, I kind of prefer to let kinks be worked out first. The whole debate in itself reminds me of when kids today post the word “first” when they comment on a picture or something – honestly, who cares?!  There are quite a few Coachella-goers who feel that the split-weekend setup has turned Weekend 1 into a So-Cal popularity contest laden with B- and C-list celebrities, while Weekend 2 draws a crowd that seems more intent on enjoying the music – check out this discussion forum that addresses indifferent behavior from this year’s Weekend 1 crowd. I’ve never been to Weekend 1, but judging by the press coverage, it’s going to be much harder to spot your Hollywood faves during Weekend 2 unless they all just do this two weekends in a row. Thankfully that’s not the case – with the exception of missing Diplo, I could care less about cameos… and I’m about to see Diplo in a way more intimate setting anyway. I go for the music, and it’s the same lineup either way.

 

As much as I love festivals and concerts in general, obnoxious crowds of people are not my thing.  Weekend 2 is supposedly a little less, although still very, crowded. Someone from my camp last year had commented on the grass being greener during Weekend 1 (like, literally) and I thought it was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard.  I would much rather have less green grass in sacrifice for a slightly smaller population.  Also, certain crowds have better energy than others, and it’s been the general consensus that Weekend 2 crowds tend to have better energy, which again goes back to attending for the music rather than to see someone/be seen. So my Instagram might not be as vibrant as some Weekend 1 attendees, but I’m just over here hoping not to get elbowed and stepped on quite as much as some of them.

 

The biggest factor in my “which weekend” decision was my friends. Nothing makes a festival more fun than experiencing it with your best friends.  My best friend’s birthday happens to fall right after Weekend 2, so what better of a way to celebrate than going to Coachella?! In a slightly less populated manner, at that?!? Yessss!! We have a pretty awesome group of people that we are camping with too – I’m excited to get to know them better and make new friends!

 

Three more sleeps and we will be on our way to Indio…. 😀

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Coachella Cameos from Weekend 1

As excited as I am for next weekend, there were a few pretty monumental Coachella cameos yesterday that I’m bummed to have missed. This perfectly exemplifies the importance of keeping an open mind at Coachella – you never know what you might run into.  Let’s recap:

 

Diplo’s appearance during Dillon Francis’s set

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Have I not said a million times in the last several months how much I want to see Diplo? Diplo is essentially the godfather of EDM, and last night he made a bold prediction stating that Dillon Francis would be ‘the future of music.’  I felt a slight pain in my heart watching Dillon Francis’s set in the Sahara tent last night, especially knowing that I sold my own Weekend 1 pass… It’s doubtful, but we’ll see if Diplo’s around next week, and if not, there’s always the Mad Decent Block Party coming up this summer and fall – I’ll be at the Vegas date.

 

Jay-Z’s appearance during Nas’s set

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I’ve never been a huge fan of rap music, but the caliber of Jay-Z’s career makes me wish I had been there for this. Whether you enjoy rap music or not, a performance by Jay-Z should be on your bucket list – he’s the most successful rapper-turned-entrepreneur that the United States has ever seen. For those of you traveling down to Indio next weekend, make sure you check out this Festival Lawyer article regarding the “I know my rights so you gon’ need a warrant for that” lyric – it’s actually totally wrong.

 

Gwen Stefani’s appearance during Pharrell’s set

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There were about sixty-seven cameos during Pharrell’s set but the one I’m most bummed to have missed was definitely Gwen Stefani.  Tragic Kingdom was the first album I ever bought – on a cassette tape. Many are speculating that this could indicate a solo comeback for Stefani – I would totally support that! She rocks.

 

On the other hand, there were plenty that I couldn’t have cared less about and it’s irritating that they are making headlines. For example:

 

Justin Bieber (way to turn Coachella into Kidz Bop)

Beyoncé (let your sister have her moment, geez)

Puff Daddy (yes apparently we are back to calling him Puff Daddy)

Tyler the Creator (go incite riots elsewhere, thanks)

 

Comments? Thoughts? Let me know below… only three more days till we head down!! 😀 Here’s Dillon Francis’s set for you to enjoy.

https://soundcloud.com/tm-radio-mixes/dillon-francis-live-at-coachella-2014-indio-california-12-apr-2014

Set Time Conflicts: How to Deal

Set time releases are exciting, but they can be one of the most stressful parts of your festival planning. Nothing is worse than spending months gearing up for an amazing lineup, only to find out that two or three of your favorite acts play at the same time.  Coachella’s set times are known in particular for producing such anxiety, since they wait till the last freaking minute to release their schedule every year. But, not to fear – there are steps you can take to mitigate this stress, and still see most of the acts you want to see.  Here are some questions to ask yourself when scheduling conflicts arise:

• Have I seen this band before?

This is one of the first questions I always ask myself. Although I do enjoy racking up my Dillon Francis Days, I’ll usually opt for a band I haven’t seen before over one I have.  Festivals are all about new experiences, so make sure you have a few yourself! If it’s not a non-negotiable for you, go with someone you haven’t seen.

 

• Do I have the opportunity to see this band elsewhere?

You may have heard the term ‘fauxchella’ floating around during festival season – this basically refers to the touring patterns of Coachella artists in the weeks preceding and following the festival.  It’s definitely manageable to catch some acts outside the festival if you plan in advance.  Queens of the Stone Age play tonight in Reno, eliminating a huge conflict for my bestival friend between them and Empire of the Sun. CHVRCHES also plays in Reno on April 16. There’s also a handful of Coachella artists playing other festivals like OutsideLands – keep future lineups in mind as well.

• 

  The inaugural Dillon Francis Day.. I had no idea what was about to hit me.

  What is the anticipation level like for this set in particular?

Certain sets might have a “if I don’t catch this I’m going to be kicking myself” factor that’s higher than others. This is subjective, so remember to be gracious to those in your party who might not agree.  For me, this is happening with Flosstradamus – their set during weekend two is definitely going to be one for the books (check the date). I’m a huge fan of The Naked and Famous, Alesso, and AlunaGeorge, but I have faith that the Flosstradamus set will be worth cutting them short.

• How do I feel?

Don’t answer this right now.  Wait and see how you feel at that moment.  This is going to be the case for me during Foster the People and Fatboy Slim. I really can’t tell myself right now whether I’m going to be feeling like indie or electro on Saturday evening in a week and a half, and I really want to see both. So, we’ll wait and see how I feel at that moment, and I’ll just go with it.

I was a little stressed out when I first saw the Coachella schedule, but considering these few things has helped me to relax, and trust that everything will work out! If you haven’t had a chance to scope the schedule, check it out here and tell me about your biggest conflicts in the comments! COACHELLA STARTS TOMORROW!!! Everyone going to Weekend 1, have an amazing time and be safe!

Coachella Scavenger Hunt!

My bestival friend and I decided that we didn’t take nearly enough pictures at last year’s Coachella.  This year, we came up with a scavenger hunt to promote our picture taking, meet new people, and really explore the festival. There are three levels, so challenge yourself to the extent you desire. 🙂

Easy

• The Coachella Snail
• An awesome Carpoolchella car
• Someone from a different country
• Someone from another different country
• Someone gettin down at the silent disco
• Someone eating Spicy Pie Pizza
• A really tall person blocking someone’s view
• A deadmau5 head
• The T-Rex

Medium

Dillon Francis face: FOUND at SnowGlobe 2013

• A Dillon Francis/DJ Hanzel face
• A #SELFIE sign
• Someone being an asshole with their iPad
• The view from the top of the ferris wheel (bonus points for nighttime)
• Someone in a Mad Decent shirt
• Someone in RaverSwag gear
• A group of HDYBYZ/HDYGRLZ
• A celebrity (in the crowd, not on stage)
• At least three males wearing Lana Del Rey shirts

Hard

Coachella 1999 Concert Tee

• Twins (bonus points for triplets, or if they’re matching)
• Someone wearing memorabilia from Coachella 1999
• Someone wearing the same thing as you
• An artist making an appearance during another artist’s set
• A Coachella Straight – 5 people wearing 5 consecutive years of Coachella merchandise (can be separate pictures)
• Two people dressed like Daft Punk (infinite bonus points for Daft Punk themselves)

Feel free to play along, create your own Coachella Scavenger Hunt, or check out some ideas in the threads on coachella.com! We’ll be going the second weekend, but only 4 more days till Coachella’s first weekend kicks off!

 

Bestival Friends – How to be the Best Friend Possible at a Festival

Anyone who’s been to a music festival knows that it’s more fun when your friends are with you. However, I’ve come to notice in my experience that some festival friends are just waaaaay better than others – those I refer to as ‘bestival friends.’ They may or may not not be your best friend in real life, but when festival season rolls around, they’re the first person you want included in your carpool or campsite. Bestival friends have a unique set of qualities that make them so great – here are a few to start with.

• Bestival friends are punctual yet easygoing. Yes, going to a music festival is a vacation and should definitely be treated as such, but nothing is worse than trying to get on the road with a bunch of laggers.  A bestival friend sticks to their commitments on time before, during, and after the festival, yet is flexible when unforseen circumstances or new opportunities arise.
• 

  Me and my bestival friends, Marie and Devon, at Snowglobe 2013

  Bestival friends are conscious of others’ wellbeing as well as their own. It’s important to know your bestival friends well enough to identify any potential issues. For example, one of my bestival friends gets really grumpy when she’s hungry, and I get really grumpy if I don’t get enough sleep. Conversely, she does ok on minimal sleep, and I do ok on minimal food – so had we not had this discussion, we could have ended up really pissing each other off. Instead, we both know to be conscious and respectful of each other’s opportunities to eat/sleep, and we recognize that although it may not be of utmost importance to ourselves, it is to the other. Communication is an important part of this quality – a bestival friend with good communication skills is invaluable.

• Bestival friends may enjoy each other’s company more so than the company of others, but they are not clingy.  Sometimes you and your bestival friend might disagree on what band to see next, and that’s totally ok.  Don’t get upset with each other; be ok with splitting up and experiencing things on your own – as long as you are being safe.  The Festival Lawyer has some great tips for females attending festivals; so whether you plan on having some alone time or not, check those out. Know when it’s ok to split up and when it’s not ok – if your friend’s health or safety is in danger, there is no band or DJ that is worth leaving them for.

So, now that we know some great qualities that can turn you and your buds into bestival friends, let’s review what not to do.

• Bestival friends don’t lie.  I went with a few friends to First City Music Festival last August, and because of our work schedules, we were planning on driving back to Reno from Monterey overnight on Sunday night. Had this gone as planned, we would have each gotten about 4 hours of sleep, making it totally doable. One individual, however, had told me that he could drive a stick shift, but then informed us about 3 hours out of Reno on the way down that he could not. This individual really screwed up our driving schedule and got to sleep the whole way back while no one else did, so needless to say, he will never make my list of bestival friends.
• Bestival friends are not careless.  A different individual from our Coachella camp last year used our grill one night. We have no problem sharing, but asking would have been nice, especially since he decided to leave the propane on all night.  We didn’t realize this until the next morning, and he denied it adamantly until someone else said, “Hey, remember? You made [this].” This guy’s also not considered a bestival friend.
• Bestival friends are not addicts.  Yes, many individuals drink or use drugs at festivals, and my personal motto has always been “to each their own.” At the same time, though, you don’t want to be around people who really can’t control themselves. If you or someone you know has a serious issue with something, they should not be attending a festival until its under control. To mitigate the potential of this being a problem, consult with your festival friends and camp mates beforehand to find out exactly how they have a good time. You don’t want to be stuck in a situation where everyone around you is using a substance you can’t stand.  We’ve been there, and it makes it way more difficult to enjoy the weekend to the fullest.
  

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Make sure you develop bestival friend skills in yourself before expecting them out of anyone else – the best way to find bestival friends is to be a bestival friend yourself.  A bestival friendship is something that’s carefully cultivated, and new bestival friendships can form every year!  Once you’ve got your crew situated, double check your suitcase with these must-haves. Happy festival season!

 

4 Ultra Sets that Prove Coachella will be Amazing

Clearly there’s a bit of lineup overlap between Coachella and last weekend’s Ultra Music Festival. Not necessarily a bad thing if you ask me – listening to a lot of these sets is getting me super pumped to return to the polo fields.  Here are a few in particular that you should check out – queue them up for your trip down to Indio!

Alesso

My first ventures into electronic music were things like Tiesto’s Nyana and Gabriel & Dresden’s WMC 2005 set, so it’s safe to say I started with trance and house.  Alesso obviously incorporates a multitude of elements here, but he reminds me of my roots with his trance/house focus. Make sure to listen for Scars for Life (his new song with Ryan Tedder from One Republic which I’m in love with) at 33:30. Aside from this mix, get his Pressure remix on your Coachella playlist as well.

https://soundcloud.com/ultra-2014-livesets/alesso-at-ultra-music-festival-2014

Flosstradamus

I was never into hip hop growing up, it was always alternative rock or pop or electro.  Only recently have I really begun to embrace this ‘trap movement’ – trap is technically nothing new, but the EDM half of it kinda is. Regardless, this set is foreshadowing a seriously good time at Coachella, even if you don’t twerk or mosh like me. 🙂 My favorite part of this set is around 32:00 – The Next Episode/Roll Up/Get Low/Get Low – what?!?! Get Low into Get Low. Awesome.

Jack U

In case you haven’t already figured this out, Jack U is a relatively new collaboration between Diplo and Skrillex. Their Ultra set is a solid mix of Diplo’s funkiness and Skrillex’s wobble, with plenty of feel good chord progressions to boot.  There’s also a quick tribute to Paul from Bingo Players in the beginning, who passed away this past December. Overall a fantastic and diverse set (this post has most of the songs IDed) that’s making me pretty excited to see Skrillex at Coachella. Diplo won’t be there, but he’s at Encore in Vegas all the time so try to catch him there – I’ll likely be doing that in May.

https://soundcloud.com/ultra-2014-livesets/skrillex-diplo-jack-u-at-ultra-music-festival-2014

Krewella

Krewella puts on an amazing show.  I remember blogging about them back in 2011 when I first found this Skrillex/Foreign Beggars/Krewella mashup, Get One. They sold out the Knitting Factory when they were in Reno last September, and their provocative hardstyle sets are guaranteed to get your blood pumping. Mad props to Jahan and Yasmine for being some of the only female DJs on the DJ Mag Top 100 list. Don’t miss them at Coachella.

https://soundcloud.com/ultra-2014-livesets/krewella-at-ultra-music-festival-2014

 

There were plenty more amazing sets at Ultra this past weekend. Dillon Francis, Kaskade, and Tiesto were some of my other favorites – let me know what yours were in the comments! Less than two weeks until Coachella!