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ZHU

ZHU

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

News
Electric Blockaloo: Above & Beyond, ZHU & More electric-blockaloo-minecraft-rave-above-beyond-zhu-tokimonsta-claude-vonstroke-jamie

Electric Blockaloo Minecraft Rave: Above & Beyond, ZHU, TOKiMONSTA, Claude VonStroke, Jamie Jones, Diplo, Desert Hearts & More

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On June 25-28, over 300 DJs will bring a massive electronic music festival to life in Minecraft, complete with dozens of artist and label curated stages and interactive spaces
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
May 21, 2020 - 1:20 pm

On June 25-28, Electric Blockaloo will bring the rave to Minecraft, with dozens of artist curated stages and interactive spaces modeled after Red Rocks Amphitheater, "The Office," Dirtybird Campout and more. Above & Beyond/Anjunabeats, ZHU, TOKiMONSTA, Claude VonStroke/Dirtybird Records, Jamie Jones, Diplo, Desert Hearts and Lee Burridge/All Day I Dream are among the stacked list of artists/labels curating stages at the online festival.

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Lee Burridge Hopes His New Album With Lost Desert, 'Melt,' Helps You See Passion & Truth In Yourself

Nicole Moudaber, Nora En Pure, LP Giobbi and Femme House, Claptone, GRiZ, Lane 8, Gryffin, Whethan, Sacha Robotti and Lee Foss are also among the electronic music powerhouses hosting stages within the huge digital event hosted by Rave Family. More artists will be released in the phase two announcement. Sign up here to stay in the loop.

According to a press release, attendees will have to get on an artist's guest list with a signup link they share to gain access to the Rave Family club within Minecraft. Once in the club, guests can pay either the GA or VIP ticket fee to get access to the fest, as well as their Discord channels, and exclusive streams and releases. Artists will share the proceeds with the organizers based on the tickets they help sell. The event is limited to ravers ages 18 and up.

WATCH LIST: Online Concerts From BTS To COASTCITY To Catch During Coronavirus Quarantine

The event will work in both desktop and mobile versions of the game. The Rave Family Training Camp will be offered ahead of the fest for Minecraft virgins wanting to learn the basics.

"Everyone asked us, 'What's the new normal?'" said Rave Family founder Jackie McGuire in the release. "That normal is one without large festivals for the foreseeable future. Electric Blockaloo is a place where artists and fans can come together, create shared musical experiences, and reconnect with each other in an immersive way.

It's also much more environmentally friendly than traditional festivals, and a portion of each ticket will help support Bye Bye Plastic, an amazing organization that aims to eliminate single-use plastic from music festivals by 2025."

The event production company will be planning more Minecraft raves in the future, including one with Diplo's Mad Decent label and experimental New York act 100 gecs, the latter who have already thrown concerts on the platform.

Earlier this month, on May 16, Block By Blockwest brought another star-studded music festival to Minecraft, featuring Massive Attack, Pussy Riot, FEVER 333, Cherry Glazzer, Sir Sly and more. It was originally slated for April 25, but due to a huge turnout, the servers were overloaded and the event rescheduled. Block By Blockwest saw 5,000 Minecraft players participate and 134,000 viewers tune in on Twitch and YouTube, raising over $500,000 for the CDC Foundation.

Lightning In A Bottle To Host DGTL LIB Fest Featuring TOKiMONSTA, KAYTRANDA, Four Tet, Tycho & More

Gene Farris

Gene Farris

Photo: Courtesy of artist

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Gene Farris On "Space Girl" & Chicago House gene-farris-talks-space-girl-rave-safety-return-bedroom-dj

Gene Farris Talks "Space Girl," Rave Safety & The Return Of The "Bedroom DJ"

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The Recording Academy caught up with the legendary house DJ/producer to learn more about his new track, working with Claude VonStroke, his early years in Chicago's underground and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
May 22, 2020 - 12:30 pm

Chicago-bred DJ/producer Gene Farris has been keeping the rave going with energetic, buoyant house tracks since the '90s, and he hasn't slowed down. Growing up in the birthplace of house music, as a teen he DJed underground parties during the scene's golden age, inspired by the greats around him like Lil' Louis and Cajmere a.k.a. Green Velvet a.k.a. Curtis Jones. In 1994, Farris' first release dropped on Jones' iconic Relief Records imprint, and the powerhouse Chicagoan pair would go on to become lifelong friends.

In 1998, the "Move Your Body" artist founded his own dance label, Farris Wheel Recordings, which has released hundreds of dance floor bangers from Farris and his ever-growing group of talented friends like Nathan Barato, Will Clarke, Sonny Fodera and, of course, Jones (and his many aliases).

In 2020 alone, Farris has dropped over a half-dozen tracks so far, his most recent one being the trippy tech-house slapper "Space Girl," his first single on Claude VonStroke's beloved Dirtybird Records. The Recording Academy recently caught up with the legendary house head to learn more about the new track, his relationship with VonStroke and his early years in Chicago's underground. We also got real about mask-wearing and handwashing, his love of Star Wars, how Jones is still one of his heroes and more.

Your new track "Space Girl" just came out on Dirtybird. I'd love to learn a bit of the backstory on the track, as well as your relationship with Claude VonStroke and his label.

How can I start? I'm a massive Star Wars fan. A massive galaxy, universe, Star Wars, "Star Trek," anything that has to do with outer space. The concept of "Space Girl" kind of came from that love for Star Wars, from my obsession as a child with Princess Leia. It is dedicated to Carrie Fisher and Princess Leia.

My relationship with Claude, oh man. First time I met the big guy was about five, six years ago, out here in Chicago, he was doing a show. I'd always been a fan of him obviously, and Justin Martin, Worthy, J.Phlip, the whole crew. I was just a fan of the whole thing that they were doing.

And finally, I was out in San Francisco when they were doing a Mezzanine party, maybe four years ago. I just popped in, ended up hanging out, smoking a doobie with Worthy. Got to meet J.Phlip and Justin and  they all just kind of welcomed me with open arms. And then Claude booked me for the Dirtybird Campout in San Francisco maybe three years ago. And then we just hit it off there. He came and listened to my set and I followed him around and listened to his sets.

DIRTYBIRD · Tim Baresko & Gene Farris -Fly With Me

I did a record with Riva Starr on the label, right before the Campout, we did a really big song for them. It was my first record on Dirtybird and it did really well. And then I did another song with Tim Baresko after that, called "Fly With Me," on another Dirtybird compilation.

And then I made "Space Girl." And I sent a couple tracks directly to Claude and when he heard "Space Girl" he was like, "Whoa. I definitely want to put that on Dirtybird." So it ended up being my first single with them. I'm super stoked about that.

And it's just the timing of the world right now. It could be worse, but at the same time it's a good thing because most records now, I believe they're going to have a little bit more longevity than they normally would because we'll be able to play them again once this is over. It'll be like brand new music again, most of the stuff that came out. And they'll have fan life, because a lot of the people who are listening to Spotify and stuff will listen to it and they'll know the songs when it comes back in the club.

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Record Store Recs: Jean Pierre Takes Us To Chicago, Brooklyn, Frankfurt, Amsterdam & London

It really is such an unprecedented time for music. The clubs and the festivals are probably going to be the last thing that can safely come back. But I feel music is such an important thing right now because no matter who you are, it can be healing or let you escape for a moment.

Well, I think it's absolutely important. And back in the '90s raves, we all used to wear a mask and gloves anyway. I think [when things open up] the parties will be packed again and there will be a bunch of people wearing masks and the people who are really worried about things will be wearing gloves. I think it will be a couple of things that would change. People would probably bring their own cups to the clubs so the bartender could just pour the alcohol right in there. All the bartenders will have on mask, you won't know if a girl is hot or guy is hot. [Laughs.] I'm thinking, I'm optimistic, but hopefully by the end of July or August we should be back.

The good and bad thing—for DJs it's a good thing—Americans are really stupid. We love our money here [in the U.S.] more than we love people, that's proven. At some point everybody's just going to crack and everything's going to open. The important thing is for people like ourselves is to be safe and keep ourselves masked up and gloved up. If you're an entertainer and you gotta be in the middle of all this and if you're a patron as well, you need to be responsible.

And we need to wash our nasty-ass hands. The good thing that can be taken out of this is that we don't get to be nasty-ass humans anymore. We have to be a little bit more sanitary and that's okay. I don't mind not passing my joint on my left. If all my friends join, if they want to smoke, I'll roll them their own personal joint because I love them. I never was one to share my drinks or anything out of my cup, I don't really drink alcohol, but my water and stuff. The only thing that's drastically changed with me is that now I wash my hands like 98 times a day.

How Will Coronavirus Shift Electronic Music? Maceo Plex, Paul Van Dyk, Luttrell, Mikey Lion & DJ Manager Max Leader Weigh In

I want to talk about another track you released this year: "Spirit of House" with ATFC. What elements where essential to you to bring in to it to reflect the spirit of house and its Chicago roots?

So ATFC is a good friend of mine. I was in London when I recorded the vocals for that. We were in the studio over there and he let me hear this real raw version, and it immediately hit my brain. I was like, "Oh, this was great. This is going to be old school but new school." Old-school wording and phrasing to get that vibe. But with a new-school production, new-school synergy. It still captured the sound of today but the sound of yesterday as well, with Chicago.

And as soon as I heard the piano chords he came up with, I knew exactly what to do. I was thinking about old Marshall Jefferson on the "Move Your Body" track. All his rhythms, and the rhythms of old Chicago and the original piano house, I would say. And it just clicked, everything just kind of worked. And the song did really well us.

Back in 1998, you launched Farris Wheel Recordings in Chicago. What was your original intention with the label and in what ways do you feel it's grown beyond that? 

Oh, wow. That's a great question. 1998 was many moons ago. I was a young, silly little boy and my whole original plan with Ferris Wheel was to have a label that my friends and I could put anything out on. For my close circle of friends at the time, it was five of us. I was just beginning to get a little bit of popularity at the time. And I was like, "I want to start a label for all these tracks that these labels keep turning down. I know they're good." My original idea was nothing more innocent than being able to have another outlet to release my music for myself and my friends.

How she's grown into her own little beast. She's outgrown that little dream; we've had probably 100 artists on the label over the years. Now, maybe more than that. We've had hundreds of releases, I'd say 150, 160. And I've had the opportunity to work with some of my heroes; Green Velvet's done a record on the label. Paul Johnson, Miguel Migs, Jay-J. So many people over the years, even the newer guys. Now we got Will Clarke on the label and this new kid that I got, he's massive now, John Summit. And DJ Sneak's done stuff on the label. We've had almost everybody from Chicago there, Derrick Carter's done remixes on there, Mark Farina's done a record on there.

Everyone from Chicago in the '90s, the golden era, has been on the label at one point in time. It's totally awesome. Now we get probably—nowhere near as many demos as Dirtybird I'm sure—but we get roughly 15, 20 demos a week. From the smallest artists all the way up to the biggest. I'm proud of her. She's my girl.

ARTBAT On New CamelPhat Collab, DJing In The Clouds & Loving L.A.

What role do you see yourself having in sort of passing the torch or sharing your wisdom with the younger generation of DJ/producers?

That's another awesome question. Most of the people I work with, outside of Curtis a.k.a. Green Velvet and Barclay a.k.a. Claude VonStroke, are much younger than me. It's only a few of us from my generation who've found a way to stay relevant, stay current and stay inspired. It's not many of us left from my generation who've managed to keep going.

With the younger generation that I work with, it's not that I'm just giving all this knowledge, like I'm Yoda on their back giving them all these notes. It is more of a give and take thing. As I try to teach some of my younger friends, they don't listen to me. They're smart, they know not to listen to a word I say. [Laughs.] But I try to teach them some things or explain some things. I'm also learning from them about what's going on today, how to stay current and what's popular at the moment. It's not all just a one-sided thing of me just dumping wisdom on my little brothers.

It's just more sitting down and having talks with a lot of my younger friends and younger producers and stuff. We've put stuff up on the label, and we just kind of bounce ideas off each other, it keeps me current. If you get to an older age, you just don't go out as much. If you don't go out and don't have any younger friends, you only have the people who grew up in your era, you're losing a lot. I think it's going to be very difficult to stay current, to stay relevant under those circumstances unless you're a nerd and constantly on Beatport and things like that. Even then, you won't get the essence of the energy of the current music scene.

I have a lot of younger friends, thank goodness. I have a wide range of friends of all ages, creeds, colors, gay, straight, all of it. I still get to know what's going on with the scene and everything today. I still go out, my wife's only 28 years old.

I think my biggest advice for anyone in my age group is to get a young friend. Hang out with somebody who you don't think you can learn anything from, party with those guys and kind of see where their headed at with the music and you'll learn some things you can incorporate in the music that you're making.

And on the flip side of that, the young guys who want to learn some stuff from us, I say just be open; a lot of us are older and a little bit outdated, but give us time. Some of these older guys are definitely willing to work with some of the young generations.

From Drake's "Toosie Slide" To Doja Cat's "Say So," What TikTok Dance Have You Been Practicing During Quarantine?

Well, the real question is, do you have a TikTok account?

I do not have a TikTok account because I thought it was lame. [It's] absolutely nothing to do with age, [I] just feel like, "this is lame, I can't do this." With that being said, my managers, who sometimes call me an old fart, they're telling me, "G, you need to get a TikTok." I'm like, "Aw, come on, man." But don't be surprised if you see me get a TikTok account.

It's crazy, essentially how you chart on Billboard now is if you have a popular song on TikTok.

Wow. Unbelievable. Maybe I should do that with "Nursery." The Eeny, meeny, miny, moe song. Put that on TikTok, that probably will go viral. [Laughs.] That'll fly right in.

When you were first starting out, who were your biggest influences? And was there someone you saw that made you feel like you had a place in making dance music?

Absolutely. My biggest influence, I had only one the person I looked up to, fanboyed, when I was in my teens was Lil' Louis. He was my hero. I grew up listening to all his tracks from "French Kiss" to "Blackout" to "I Called You," "Club Lonely," "War Games," "Jupiter." I was, and still am, a massive Lil Louis fan. He was my biggest influence for sure.

Seeing him play was the first time I ever saw anyone DJ in front of a 1000 people, which was a lot back then. He blew my mind and I was like, "I got to figure out a way to be like that." I was already DJing at the time, but I needed to figure out how to get where I was as a 16-year-old kid to that, to him.

Somebody else who had a massive influence on my life is one of my best friends, Curtis, Green Velvet. He put out my first record in 1994 on his label Relief Records. He took me to Europe for my first time, to [London's] Ministry of Sound, my first gig in Europe. I even work with him a lot still today and we still talk regularly. And before I even got to meet him, he was already a hero of mine. I mean this was the guy who made "Percolator" for God's sake. He's also had a massive influence on me and played a pivotal part of my life.

I would say, those two guys as well as DJ Rush, he's a Chicago guy. I would say those three are people that inspired me to want to do this, to try to be a world-renowned producer and DJ.

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When you look at the evolution of house music from its birthplace in the '80s Chicago underground to this huge multi-subgenre, global thing, what does that mean to you?

I think it's great. I have dreamed my whole life about house music being a global thing that is as big as hip-hop. That everybody knows about it and knows the songs. My dream is that it's as massive as Lady Gaga or anything else. We're getting there for sure. But you still want it to have an underground feeling.

I was just talking to DJ Pierre about this. He's like the godfather, he's one of the people who started this. We were talking about how massive it is, but how it still has the basic element that was started in Chicago. The basic elements of a dark room, low lighting, massive strobes hitting every now and then, massive sound. And not so much lighting on the DJ; all those elements of the dark room, big sound and the low lighting started in Chicago. The whole structure of the party itself, the underground, the warehouse, the feeling, all of that started here. Those elements are still the key elements to any festival, any party, any club you go to in the world with electronic music.

If you go to a hip-hop show, it's a bit different. The stage is much more lit, really focused on the artists. Rock concerts are lit up like a Christmas tree. EDM even, the big commercial stuff, it's just kind of lit up, cannon balls are going off and it's just a completely different thing than what we do. We kept the essence of the raw warehouse, underground feeling.

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Do you feel that there's something that needs to happen with house to ensure it honors the people who created it and where it came from?

In a sense, it's definitely important for the youth to know and the world to know that the music started in Chicago. That is absolutely important. But it's also very important for us as Chicago artists to stay current so people know who we are. They can have interviews and talk to people like you and inform them on what it was and what things are. They have the opportunity to keep the torch going. It's not the world's opportunity to bow down to Chicago, it's definitely the world's opportunity to know where it's from and that we did start house music and electronic music for the most part.

I believe we have to earn our stripes. I don't think anyone should sit on their oats of what they've done 20, 30, even 40, 50 years ago. There are some like Frankie Knuckles obviously, R.I.P., and Ron Hardy, RIP, and Lil' Louis as well. These are people I would say are the Mount Rushmore of house music, Larry Levan as well, he was from New York City. I think everybody else needs to try to stay as current as possible so you can keep the torch going on as long as you can, if you're still on active duty. [Laughs.]

It's a balance of honoring the past, but then also being, "Yo, we're still dope. And here's why."

We are still dope. And we have a lot of really dope people from Chicago right now here. You got myself, you have Green Velvet, you have Derrick Carker, you have Mark Farina, J. Worra. I think J.Phlip's is from Chicago too. We're lurking in the bushes, we're doing some things. [Laughs.]

With all the craziness in the world right now, what is one thing that gives you the most hope?

The thing that gives me the most hope right now is the music. I hate to sound corny but out of all of this, the one thing that hasn't stopped is the output of new music. Also, the return of the bedroom DJ, I'm loving that right now too. Everybody's back DJing, they got live streams going on and everybody's still in love with the music. And the people who aren't doing that are the fans who are tuning in still. I think that is making me very hopeful that once the ban is lifted, that the parties are going to be berserk, they're going to be off the chain.

Record Store Recs: Chulita Vinyl Club On The Best Music Stores In L.A., Oakland, Austin & Beyond​

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TOKiMONSTA

TOKiMONSTA

Photo: Timothy Norris/Getty Images

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DGTL LIB: TOKiMONSTA, Four Tet, Tycho, More lightning-bottle-host-dgtl-lib-fest-featuring-tokimonsta-kaytranda-four-tet-tycho-more

Lightning In A Bottle To Host DGTL LIB Fest Featuring TOKiMONSTA, KAYTRANDA, Four Tet, Tycho & More

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Dive into the magic of the SoCal music and arts festival from the safety of your home with visually stunning music livestreams, yoga classes, sourdough baking lessons and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
May 20, 2020 - 9:18 am

Do LaB, the independent event brand behind the beloved Southern California Lightning in a Bottle (LiB) festival, has revealed details for a special Twitch livestream festival this weekend. As this year's festival was set to take place during Memorial Day weekend (May 22-24) but was canceled due coronavirus, DGTL LIB will bring the music, movement, magic and whimsy to fans around the world in its place.

KAYTRANADA, Four Tet, Rinzen, Justin Jay and the Funk Hunters, all of whom were on the lineup for the 2020 event, will perform special livestream sets. Tycho, TOKiMONSTA, Shiba San, CloZee and Beats Antique, all of whom have played past LiBs, will also be part of this weekend's fire musical offering.

https://twitter.com/LIBfestival/status/1262865926614990848

Presenting the musicians, performers, artists, yogis, thinkers, and visionaries that'll be participating in the first ever DGTL LIB this weekend! ⚡️ Follow us on Twitch to join the fun: https://t.co/s9Fr7jlefu pic.twitter.com/r6rtqfCH9Y

— Lightning in a Bottle (@LIBfestival) May 19, 2020

Lightning In A Bottle Creators Talk Inclusivity, Creativity & Self-Expression Inside & Outside Music Festivals

Just as the camping fest is always so much more than its musical lineup, DGTL LIB will offer engaging programming including deep house yoga from one of Los Angeles' finest, DJ/producer Marques Wyatt, a sourdough bread baking lesson and a painting with coffee class.

House, techno and bass music favorites Luttrell, Autograf, Glitch Mob, Mr. Carmack, Eli & Fur, Sacha Robotti, Random Rab and others will also bring the beats during the long weekend. The event is created in partnership with female-run boutique design firm Vita Motus, who has created immersive digital stage experiences that select artists will use during the sets to add some visual pizazz to spice up the livestream flurry. Their Unreal Engine technology allows for "set design, lighting design, video mapped content, embedded performances, camera capture and more" to be shared via the Twitch stream.

WATCH LIST: Online Concerts From BTS To COASTCITY To Catch During Coronavirus Quarantine

"Here at Do LaB, we've always been forward thinking and our longtime partnership with Vita Motus has helped us bring our insane visions to life," said Jesse Flemming, President of Do LaB. "We are excited to be pushing the envelope with them again, but this time in the digital world."

To bring a taste of the rest of LiB's engaging programming online, The Compass (educational workshops and talks), ArtClave (interactive and live art spaces), the Learning Kitchen (food!) and Grand Artique stage will all bring offerings this weekend. The Compass will bring more yoga and meditation classes, in addition to Wyatt's groovy one, as well as talks, including "Aliens ExtraTerrestrials" with film producer Alan Steinfeld.

Behind The Board: TOKiMONSTA On Creativity And Finding Common Ground Through Music

Additionally, the Grand Artique will serve up a talent/variety show, live art, improv theater an open mic and more, with the help of wacky musical group the Fungineers. 

The event is free to stream on Twitch, but will be accepting donations to help raise money to offer refunds to 2020 ticket purchasers who opted out of exchanging them for 2021 passes.

Join DGTL LIB here on Twitch from May 22-24 to discover some magic indoors this weekend. 

Desert Hearts TV: How The San Diego DJ Crew Are Tuning In During The COVID-19 Crisis​

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Alison Wonderland

Alison Wonderland

Photo: Mauricio Santana/Getty Images

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EDC '19: Alison Wonderland, Deadmau5, Tiësto, More edc-2019-alison-wonderland-tokimonsta-deadmau5-above-beyond-ti%C3%ABsto-more

EDC 2019: Alison Wonderland, TOKiMONSTA, Deadmau5, Above & Beyond, Tiësto, More

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The world-renowned EDM fest has released the lit roster of over 240 artists for its 23rd annual event, set to return to its ninth year in Las Vegas from May 17–19
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 27, 2019 - 5:55 pm

Today Insomniac, which hosts the now-global Electric Daisy Carnival and other major EDM events, announced the highly anticipated lineup for its flagship Las Vegas fest, set to take place May 17–19 this year. EDC 2019 is positively stacked, featuring GRAMMY winners Diplo, David Guetta and Tiësto, plus GRAMMY nominees TOKiMONSTA, Paul Oakenfold, Deadmau5, Above & Beyond and Kaskade.

Deadmau5 will be making his first return to the fest since 2010, bringing his new "Cube 3.0" stage setup, and Guetta will be back for his first time since the 2012 event. Australian singer/songwriter DJ/producer extraordinaire Alison Wonderland, plus GRAMMY-nominated rave icons Steve Aoki, Armin van Buuren will also bring fire to the three-day event.

https://twitter.com/EDC_LasVegas/status/1110949939092152320

Bring the ENERGY! 💫🎶 #EDCLV2019 #kineticENERGY

See you Under the Electric Sky! → https://t.co/yHMeLym91l pic.twitter.com/wqxyPcVbEV

— EDC Las Vegas (@EDC_LasVegas) March 27, 2019

Unlike a typical music festival lineup, EDC lists theirs alphabetically by day, giving way to a treasure hunt to the many gems across the lines of names. Underground techno queens Charlotte De Witte, ANNA and Amelie Lens will all perform at the event, which has eight(!) stages, along with fellow techno heavy-hitter Adam Beyer.

South African DJ/producer and underground house legend Black Coffee will also perform, as well as fellow house heavyweights Green Velvet, Patrick Topping and GRAMMY nominee Eric Prydz. Green Velvet will be offering two sets, one as Get Real, his project with Detroit legend Claude VonStroke.

Several artists will be hopping on the decks together, including Topping, who will be doing a B2B set (a.k.a. back-to-back, or collab set, for those not up on the rave lingo) with fellow British DJ Eats Everything. U.K. dubstep stalwarts Skream and Rusko are on the lineup for an "old skool dubstep set," which, as Your EDM put it, is "absolutely unheard of."

More Vegas Fun: KAOS Las Vegas To Feature Sets From J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Ozuna, Deadmau5, Eric Prydz & More In April

But wait, who are the headliners? Pasquale Rotella, CEO and co-founder of Insomniac, believes that headliners are everyone that attends the festival, spreads the love and makes all the magic possible.

"Being a Headliner means looking at the world a little differently, and seeing beauty and inspiration everywhere you look. It’s about lifting up the people around you and making time for your family and friends. This is a journey we all take together—always connected and committed to one another," Rotella said in a statement on Insomniac's website.

If you want to get your dance on and check out the carnival rides, interactive art and plenty of lights and lasers with EDC in Vegas, you're in luck; tickets are still available. Check out EDC's website for more info.

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Soul Clap DJ set during Rave The Vote

Soul Clap DJ set during Rave The Vote

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Soul Clap Wants You To Rave The Vote soul-clap-wants-you-rave-vote-2020-election

Soul Clap Wants You To Rave The Vote This 2020 Election

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The second episode of Rave The Vote, which kicks off today, Fri., Aug. 14 at 12:00 p.m. PST/ 3:00 p.m. EST, serves up half a day of house music and voter education. The final two events will go down on Sept. 11 and Oct. 2
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 14, 2020 - 9:08 am

With the 2020 Presidential Election less than three months away during an unprecedented pandemic, voter education and access is an urgent issue. Enter Rave The Vote, an online voter registration and education initiative ignited by four 12-hour virtual raves filled with educational segments and music from DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Pierre, Aluna, Marques Wyatt, TOKiMONSTA, SOFI TUKKER, Carl Craig, Seth Troxler, Desert Hearts, Louie Vega and many more names in the underground dance scene. Viewers are encouraged to register to vote, check their registration status and/or request an absentee ballot, all of which can be done on their website.

"Rave The Vote was created in an effort to mobilize the dance music community to register to vote and get to the polls. We know the wider community is both passionate and engaged, and encompasses a key demographic of voters that should not be overlooked. It's clear that we are all searching for ways to contribute to see significant change, to move towards the America we want to live in—and we can't do that if we're not exercising our right to vote. Ultimately, we aim to motivate viewers to use their collective voice to bring about change, and to educate them on the various ways to take action," Carré Orenstein, the executive producer explained over email.

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"We are in the most important election of our time and people are finally starting to pay attention! Electronic dance music and the culture that surrounds it was founded in a space where people came together to celebrate music and each other, it was and has always been a safe haven for many, myself included. It originated with Black roots and eventually became a space where people felt free to express themselves no matter who they were.  Our goal here is to re-catalyze a space and community that has such powerful and strong roots of unity, love and freedom. To get them engaged, and to the polls!  We have been blessed to welcome a diverse and beautiful collection of artists to represent Rave The Vote and the American dance music community. I have worked in this industry for the past 10 years and our lineup is far and away one of the most diverse I have ever seen in this culture on this level. It represents our country in its true heart and soul," Tadia Taylor, director of artist relations, added.

Supported by Orenstein, Taylor and a mighty team of fellow industry professionals, the ringleaders of the epic dance party for good are Eli Goldstein and Charlie Levine, a.k.a. Soul Clap, a funky-house vinyl-spinning DJ/producer duo formed in Boston in 2001. With their energetic DJ sets at clubs and festivals around the world, eclectic and talent-filled Soul Clap Records and overall joyful demeanor, the pair has been widely disseminating joy and great tunes and sharing the love with fellow funky artists for quite some time. Now, with Rave The Vote, they're helping ensure the dance community is civically engaged and present at the upcoming election.

We recently caught up with the beloved duo ahead of the second episode of Rave The Vote, which kicks off today, Fri., Aug. 14 at 12:00 p.m. PST/ 3:00 p.m. EST, serving up half a day of house music and voter education. The final two events will go down on Sept. 11 and Oct. 2. You can tune in on the LostResort Twitch and YouTube channels, and RSVP at Rave The Vote's website to stay looped in to all things related to getting out your vote. Make sure to read on to hear from Goldstein and Levine about the original vision for Rave The Vote (hint: It was IRL), why political engagement is so vital to democracy, being an ally and more.

Let's start with the spark that led to the creation of Rave the Vote. What was that and where did it lead?

Goldstein: Well, I mean, I think we both voted in every election since we were 18, so we've always been active in that kind of politics. But I think, as we've gotten a little older and further along in the music thing, we just had more of a desire to use our platform for positive change. We do a lot of work with an organization called DJs for Climate Action, which is all about educating DJs and getting us to use our platforms for education and positive change around climate.

This year obviously feels like a really, really important election and has for a while, for the last three years. Until someone's in the White House that acknowledges things like climate change, social justice, equality and these kinds of things, we can't really make much progress, or we can't make enough progress with all the other activism.

We had an idea to do a voter registration drive. It was originally going to be a real live tour around the Midwest, hitting swing states, going to colleges and clubs in Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, those kinds of places. We had been planning it since last year, but obviously we had to pivot quickly when everything got canceled and we realized that IRL events would not be happening.

Luckily our manager, Jonathan McDonald, got really excited and put together, with people from Infamous PR and others who put in so much effort to take this into a huge online livestream concept. It's been really exciting. And I think we are reaching a lot more people than we would have just with the IRL.

Levine: This is definitely one of Eli's ideas. He's very politically minded and tuned in to what's going on, whether it's climate action or social justice or race relations. Eli comes from a Cambridge political family. If it wasn't for Eli having this idea at the origin, I don't think we'd be where we are. That being said, we've been really fortunate to have the [dance music] community rally behind it, whether that's the DJs like The Blessed Madonna, Seth Troxler or Justin Martin, who are signed up way back when to do the real-life college tour with us and donate their time. And our manager Jonathan has been helping make it happen. And 2+2, our management and touring team that really got behind and it felt like it really had legs. And once Infamous got involved, forget about it, then it really branched out. We are now a whole community of dance and music professionals, artists and administrators that are blowing this thing up.

And to piggyback on what Eli said, we may have been able to reach X amount on college campuses, but the way that it grows exponentially through the web and social media, it's just so powerful. I think we're probably going to do a lot more good this way, as unfortunate as it is to not be able to be all buddied up in a tour van, somewhere out at some gas station in the Midwest, which would've been fun. We've only got to do some touring via bus, and that's all has been a laugh.

https://twitter.com/ravethevote/status/1287804429224128513

Episode 1 was filled with incredible DJ sets, live performances, fun educational segments and crucial PSAs.

Visit https://t.co/GltHfPdTsR to register to vote and RSVP for episode 2.@CornelWest @AshLauryn313 @deoncole @LouieVeganyc @DannyDaze @sethtroxler @soulclap @ananesworld pic.twitter.com/nwB6OxMeTS

— Rave The Vote (@ravethevote) July 27, 2020

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There's some really huge names involved, especially some of the OGs, like DJ Pierre, Kevin Saunderson/Inner City, Louie Vega. What has the outreach looked like? And what has the reaction of the dance community felt like so far?

Levine: I want to throw in that we got the nod from Dr. Cornel West that started our whole four-part Rave The Vote online series. So big shout out to Dr. West, who's a big supporter of the house and techno community, which was a total, delightful surprise. He's super dope. As for a lot of these names—including Louie and Kevin Saunderson—Eli and I have been fortunate enough  over the years to build personal relationships with a fair amount of them. It's wonderful to call upon them.

Goldstein: I also would say this is kind of a testament to how connected the American, more-underground dance music scene is. It's a pretty diverse range of artists that we have built relationships with other years and were excited about getting involved with activism stuff. That list was a great starting point.

And everybody has really jumped at the opportunity. Some of these were personal connections, but a lot of the work was also done by the team. And it's cool. Each episode has a theme running through it. One of them is curated by Blessed Madonna. The first one was all our favorites. This one coming up next week is more of the kind of younger tech house scene. And then the last week is more of the beat, hip-hop oriented one. It's a testament to how diverse the underground is, but also how together and connected it is.

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The Rave the Vote livestreams are around 12 hours each, so what's going down during it and what viewers can expect? Also, what are you hoping happens after someone tunes in and engages with the livestream?

Goldstein: Well, obviously the most important piece of this is either registering, checking your status or requesting a mail in ballot, if that's available in your state. So the goal is to get people to go to RavetheVote.org, which they can do in advance of the streams too, it is 24/7. You can go to the website and do all this and also RSVP to the stream. By putting your information in, we'll be able to help provide support and guidance leading up to Election Day [Nov. 3] to help you come up with a plan to vote. Also, any outreach you can do to your friends and family to have them registering and voting is important. That's joining the movement, I would say.

That's the goal with the streams really, is to get as many people as possible involved via the site. It's funny, we had half a million unique viewers tune in to the first livestream and about 600 registrations. 600 registrations is great, but it's such a small percentage of the viewers. It's crazy. But that shows how important it is to have as big of a reach as possible and to get a lot of viewers with these livestreams. It's great to give people a call to action when they're enjoying music. Because there were a number of people who checked their registration or requested mail in ballots on top of the 600 who registered to vote. It's a great way to interact with people.

For the streams themselves, it's a really great, diverse range of DJs who are all super excited to be involved. Everyone's putting their best foot forward musically and also production-wise. At this point, all the DJs involved are pretty experienced with streaming. They know how to make a good looking and good sounding stream. More importantly, we have these really fun educational segments and PSAs from other artists, DJs and politicians in between the sets. So that's a fun way that allows for more of an interactive connection than just watching DJ livestreams. This is actually a way to be learning and also be involved with the initiative.

Levine: Yeah, the [Rave The Vote] producers did a really great job, they definitely deserve a bunch of hats off. They have been putting in real late hours to make it all come together. We can't wait to see what they come up with for these [three] next ones. Similarly, if you speak to other musicians or people through the GRAMMYs that feel passionate about this topic, we're always accepting more PSAs. This whole thing does not end with dance music DJs. This should be for the masses.

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Definitely, let's put it out there! So, as frustrating as it is, there are still people out there that feel either indifferent about voting, or just over it because they voted in 2016 and that guy still got into office.

Goldstein: That guy. [Laughs.]

What do you say to people who still say "It doesn't really change anything" or "Why does it matter?"

Goldstein: So there's multiple layers to this. A big part of this initiative is this educational piece of it. I do feel like we've been fed propaganda for most of our adult lives that our votes don't matter either, one, because the state we live in either always goes Republican or always goes Democrat. Two, because both the parties are the same. I feel like those are the big two.

And I guess three would be that the whole system is broken. That the two-party system doesn't work and we're not really represented anyway. In response to that, I say, one, that is not taking into account how important local elections are, both in our towns and also on a state level. I live in New York state, and I've seen how, the moment that we got a super majority after the 2018 election, the amount of bills that were passed for things that I care about was wild. From climate change stuff to worker protections, to healthcare, to all these things that at the state level can have a huge impact on your life and the world around you.

And then the local level of your community, this is where you actually can have the biggest impact because you actually can get to know your local representatives. These are all people who live in your neighborhood or near you, and you can connect with either them or their aides closely. These are people who are making the changes in your town or your county that impact you directly. For nightlife specifically, that's noise ordinances and liquor laws and all these kinds of things that affect where clubs can be, how late they can be open and more. So young people getting involved in that really can have a huge impact, because then we can advocate for what we care about, nightlife and culture and all that stuff.

Then you have district attorneys and attorney generals of the states who have a huge impact on what's going on around police brutality and social and racial justice. So these are really important positions as well that you're voting for in a local election. This is all one big part of it. Just to say that our federal system is broken, it's overlooking how much of an impact we can have on these other levels.

Let's look at our federal system and jog everybody's memory. There are three branches of our federal government. I feel we learned this in school, but either we don't pay attention or it just goes right over our heads, but they are so important. The impact of the three branches of government means that the president doesn't make all the final decisions, right? You have Congress, which passes all the bills and actually makes a lot of the legislation that's impacting us and that we care about. But the most important piece of all this is the Supreme Court and the federal courts. When somebody either retires or dies on the Supreme Court or who's a judge in a federal court, the president at the time, appoints a Supreme Court justice or federal judge, who serves for the rest of their life or for as long as they want to.

This has a huge impact on generations. So now, if the president is appointing somebody that aligns with their values and ideals, that person is going to be representing that for the rest of their time in the courts. This administration has gone out of their way, they have a whole strategy to really make as big of an impact as possible on the federal courts. They've appointed over 800 federal court justices, which is almost twice as many as [Barack] Obama appointed in his eight years. Basically, they asked and pressured older conservative judges to step down so they could appoint younger judges to take their places so they can hold the roles for longer.

They have such a huge impact on the little decisions that are made every day or a few times a year, that then lead to things like abortion being legalized or made illegal, or segregation and desegregation, civil rights, prosecuting police, voter rights, all these things that we care about, the Supreme Court makes decisions that impact it.

That's crazy. That just blew my mind.

Levine: It's a lot.

Goldstein: It's a long answer. But the basic part of it is, look, we've been fed propaganda that our vote doesn't matter. Yes, the system is not perfect and yes, politicians are not perfect, but this is what we have. And if we don't participate, we can't make any changes.

Levine: I mean, with the pieces of the puzzle that are intangible for citizens, like the electoral college, gerrymandering, voter suppression, all this stuff, there's things you can do and there's things you can't do. But if you are not even registered to vote, if you're not even attempting, if you are not participating, then it's guaranteed there is nothing you can do.

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To your many mic drop points, Eli, how do you educate yourself on state and local candidates and measures? Sometimes the language on ballots can be sort of misleading and can also just jargon-y. What are some ways that you educate yourself on the issues, or places that you point people to that are don't even know where to start?

Goldstein: Well, I mean, this is complicated. Most of the places that you get information are partisan. There's no easy way to get all the information. It's not just right there. Maybe it should be, I don't know how they could necessarily do that. Some cities and states send out mail that has information about all the initiatives and candidates in your city. Not all cities do that. When they do, it's a great way to encourage participation and understanding from everybody.

But here's the thing, if you really care about this stuff—this goes back to the last question. I heard this in a Noam Chomsky livestream recently, politics is actively participating in things that you care about every day. That's what politics really is. It's not easy. It's not sitting back. To really get involved and really make a difference with this stuff, you have to put a little effort in. Maybe it's not every day for you, maybe you don't have that time. Maybe you're doing other work that's important. Maybe you're just trying to survive. And that's totally understandable. But putting in that 30 minutes before the election to find this information and be educated can go a long way. There are places you can look. One is your local newspaper.

Almost every city or county has a local newspaper that shares this information on their website. And then another way is our mostly two-party system. There are a number of smaller parties in states that are under the other parties. So here in New York, there's the Working Families Party, which supports workers' rights and a number of other issues that I care about. They endorse candidates or send candidates that are supported by that party, and then have a voice in their policy. This is something that's often overlooked, these smaller organizations run by citizens like you and me who have an influence and impact by endorsing candidates.

So maybe you believe in unions and you see what the local union is endorsing. Maybe you believe in climate justice, you're an environmentalist, and you look for whatever the Green Party is endorsing. These are all a number of ways you can look for value-based guidance on this stuff. It is amazing how hard it is to find nonpartisan information on the internet. But if you go in with the idea that it's going to be partisan and you just look for the party that you agree with, that can do the work for you.

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That's such a good point. Also, certain nonprofits will share what candidates that align with their values, like the Human Rights Campaign will endorse candidates that support LGBTQ+ issues. You can always cross reference these lists too. I guess now most of us are hopefully voting by mail, so you have more time to sit with the ballot.

Goldstein: Right? But the other thing is you can be at the polls and take out your phone and do the research right there. It's not like you're not allowed to go on your phone and use the internet, you're taking a test. You can sit in there for 30 minutes if you want. I mean, obviously I wouldn't encourage that because there's other people who want to vote and often lines can get long. But if you need to take the time, take the time and make that educated vote. It's better to do that.

Levine: I've got a question. If you order the mail-in ballot, are you then obligated to vote that way, or can you still go to the polls?

Goldstein: You can still go to the polls. Actually, that's a good question. I may be wrong.

I think it depends on the state or county. In Los Angeles county, it is default vote by mail, so everyone registered gets a vote by mail ballot, which you can also drop off at a polling location or bring it in and basically forfeit your vote by mail. Of course it's super important, especially now, the ballots show up to your current address. [If you lose or forget your absentee ballot, some counties let you vote with a provisional one. Check your local county's website for more info.]

Goldstein: This is why it's so important to check your status beforehand and look at the policies of your state, what do you have to bring to prove you're eligible to vote and all these things. This is why we advocate for making it as easy as possible to vote, so people are not intimidated and they can exercise their right without feeling like they have to jump through hoops. I know our so-called President likes to say that voting by mail is rigged, but there are statistics proving it's not fraudulent.

Levine: [Laughs.] Everything's rigged with this guy.

Goldstein: States like Utah have universal mail-in voting, and Utah's a Republican state. It's not like mail-in voting makes Democrats win where Republicans were winning before. It's still pretty even, none of what he's saying about it is factual. It's important to keep putting that out there that mail-in ballots actually are as secure, if not more secure, than voting in person. We've seen that voting in person has potential to be hacked.

Levine: Absolutely. Or it can just malfunction.

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To your point, the President has been doing a lot to try to suppress voting, by attempting to defund the USPS, which delivers and collects the ballots, making those erroneous claims about voting by mail, and now trying to postpone the election. What can we do to make sure this election is fair? 

Goldstein: I mean, it's so hard to be nonpartisan with this stuff. My first answer, which is totally partisan, is win by a f***ing landslide. If everybody goes out and votes, it doesn't matter how corrupt, how broken the system is and how much they try to suppress voters and hack the vote in swing states, if the win is so overwhelming it doesn't matter. There's nothing they can do. It would just be too obvious for them to hack it. So, that's one answer.

The other answers are you can volunteer or you can sign up to work at the polls. You can literally get paid to be a pollster. There's actually a shortage of people this year because it's always older folks and a lot of them are high risk for COVID-19. So young people going and working in the polls and seeing exactly what's happening is going to be our most valuable tool.

There's a great website called Vote Save America, they have an initiative called Every Last Vote. There, you can get resources, including a great FAQ about voting by mail. There's also a sign up for being a poll worker and a sign up to volunteer to go to the polls and make sure everything is working the way it's supposed to. I will say that it's also really important volunteering because the Republican party has established a program called Protect the Vote, which means they're going to be sending monitors to polling places and challenging voters deemed "suspicious." So it's really important that we're out there making sure that people are allowed to vote. Every Last Vote is a great resource for doing that.

And, with any of this, the only way you can feel like it's actually going the fair way is by participating as much as you can, educating yourself, voting, volunteering, working in the polls, getting involved with organizations that do work that you believe in. This is how we stand up and take away this feeling of not having power. We take back the power for ourselves.

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You've been using your platforms to point people to different actions they can take on important social justice issues, including standing in solidarity with the Black community and against police brutality. What do you believe it means to be a true ally, and how do you continue to educate yourselves and stay informed?

Goldstein: I think we've learned so much over these last few months. I always thought of myself as an ally, but I think learning what that really means has been a really important process over this time and, like anything, it's always a process. And so, a big part of that is obviously educating yourself. One great way of doing that is by following accounts for organizations like Black Lives Matter or Color of Change on Instagram, or some of the smaller local organizations, like local chapters of Black Lives Matter, and following activists that you believe in. That's a great start, they're posting information.

And then just listening. If you ever get in conversation about this stuff, ask questions and just listen. That does not mean just hitting up your Black friends and being "Hey, what do I do about this?" There's plenty of resources online to figure that shit out yourself. That also doesn't mean you shouldn't check in with your Black friends and have conversations and say hello. Let them know you're here to support them, and if they need anything to reach out.

And then also donating to organizations. I've been talking about voter suppression and voting rights—there's a couple of great organizations you can support. One is called Voting While Black, which is advocating for voting rights for Black and brown folks. And then there's also Fair Fight, started by Stacey Abrams, which is doing work to make sure everybody has a right to vote.

it's also saying Black Lives Matter, living Black Lives Matter and making sure that's part of what you're thinking about every day. And part of that too is looking at your privilege, looking at how your Whiteness got you what you have and being real about that with yourself. That's another important thing, figuring out how you're going to try to use that, what you've accomplished, to help lift up other people who don't have that privilege.

Levine: I would just add to that, I know it's difficult, but when friends or family members say things or act in a way that could be perceived as a micro-aggression or as flat-out racist, to hold them accountable and point out that this is inappropriate. If you allow some of this behavior, it's dangerous. It can be difficult, especially when it's friends and family, but making sure they are educated as well is important. it's also important to check in with your Black friends. I think communication and conversation is at the heart of what will make a big change.

Goldstein: This is what we've been trying to do with the "Schmoozing" show, to have these hard conversations. I agree it's so important to see where people's heads are at, see what they believe in, where they're coming from and how they want you to make an impact and be an ally.

Levine: The long conversation format is really is wonderful. It allows you to ask the difficult questions and it's okay to get it wrong. It's okay to learn something from a conversation. Maybe people are scared of that, but that's a big part of the growth, I think.

DJ JP Lost Pop Smoke, Entered A Pandemic & Is Surviving Both Through Reinvention

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