I may be approaching "old man yells at cloud" territory with regards to festivals, but is it just me or has EDM become so popular that if you don't listen to any form of EDM than most major festivals now a days are going to appear vastly underwhelming compared to say - 10 years ago?
I try to stick to that theory Rubecube posted - Make sure there's at least 5 bands that you would pay money to see by themselves, if you're going to buy festival tickets.
With some of these festivals now a days, I have trouble naming ten bands, let alone being eager to see five of them.
I may be approaching "old man yells at cloud" territory with regards to festivals, but is it just me or has EDM become so popular that if you don't listen to any form of EDM than most major festivals now a days are going to appear vastly underwhelming compared to say - 10 years ago?
As someone who was a massive, massive EDM fan and is now bored of most of typical EDM scene (big room house is what makes up a huge majority of the popular festival EDM), I would say for sure.
Although, outside of Calvin Harris and Zedd, most of the EDM in the Coachella line up isn't typical big room (even those two aren't really).
But yes, if you're talking EDM in general then yeah it's kinda taken over but saying you don't like all EDM is like saying you don't like all rock or all Hip Hop. You're eliminating a pretty big umbrella of music.
The one thing I will say about Coachella is it would make sense to go if you're a GnR fan and you really want to see them, because it'll probably be cheaper than going to one of their arena shows (depending on where you live).
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayswin
I try to stick to that theory Rubecube posted - Make sure there's at least 5 bands that you would pay money to see by themselves, if you're going to buy festival tickets.
With some of these festivals now a days, I have trouble naming ten bands, let alone being eager to see five of them.
Getting older has some benefits though because the bands that I liked 8-10 years ago aren't big enough to headline the major festivals anymore, so they end up playing some of the smaller, local ones I can afford to go to.
I may be approaching "old man yells at cloud" territory with regards to festivals, but is it just me or has EDM become so popular that if you don't listen to any form of EDM than most major festivals now a days are going to appear vastly underwhelming compared to say - 10 years ago?
Depends which music festivals you hit up I guess. But I can totally understand. Now a days, especially at North American festivals, if you aren't into EDM, you're going to feel ''left out''.
Also this is my ''old man yells at cloud rant'' when it comes to EDM. I hate the term EDM because everyone thinks it covers all of dance music, which is completely false. EDM most people think of today really refers to the festival big room house sound. The same simple beat/bassline over and over again. Little percussion and rhythm. The same god damned snare sound with every 16 beat sequence. Simple ''scratchy' synths, with cheesy vocals in the buildups. Rinse, and repeat over. Look up anything by Dmitri Vegas, W&W or Hardwell. Sadly these are some of the faces of dance music these days.
Here is an example of the cookie cutter sound. Same crap over and over again.
As someone who's been a fan of dance music (the proper term) for 2 decades, the EDM fad which has exploded onto the American music scene is the worst thing to happen to dance music in a long time. Even the hardcore fans and djs/producers themselves are sick of it. Big room is an embarrassment to the dance music culture and scene. Similar to how hip-hop seems to have lost the originality it once had and is now the same old cheesy robot voiced rappers rapping about twitter and hoes. It's all simple, generic cookie cutter crap that caters to the younger crowd because it's easy to listen to and it makes money. If you've never heard it before and go to your first dance festival, you'll probably end up liking it because it's so simple to absorb.
Having said that, it suits festivals perfectly. It's energetic and really puts an emphasis on the ''oomph'' factor. It's not really dancing music. It's jumping music. And because of that, that's why it's mostly what you hear at North American dance festivals. Head over to Europe for some of their festivals and you don't hear that garbage as much as you do over here.
Polak said most of the EDM DJ's at Coachella aren't big room guys. But that is exactly what they will play. They will cater to what they think the American EDM market wants. You'll want to head to the other dance (not EDM) tents to hear the real sound of dance music. EDM might have taken over North America, but don't be fooled into thinking it's taken over where it really matters: in Europe.
Carl Cox, probably the biggest pioneer and most successful DJ of all time, says it best
Big room is a topic me and my friends talk about over and over and just how it's ripping the music apart and how it's best to avoid it and stick with the underground stuff. IMO That's where the real dance music is found. It's soulful, has rhythm, and you can hear the passion that was put into the track when it was produced. That's what dance music is all about. I can't wait for the EDM faze to fade out. Dance music as a whole will be much better for it.
/old man cloud rant
Last edited by Huntingwhale; 01-06-2016 at 08:53 PM.
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Depends which music festivals you hit up I guess. But I can totally understand. Now a days, especially at North American festivals, if you aren't into EDM, you're going to feel ''left out''.
Also this is my ''old man yells at cloud rant'' when it comes to EDM. I hate the term EDM because everyone thinks it covers all of dance music, which is completely false. EDM most people think of today really refers to the festival big room house sound. The same simple beat/bassline over and over again. Little percussion and rhythm. The same god damned snare sound with every 16 beat sequence. Simple ''scratchy' synths, with cheesy vocals in the buildups. Rinse, and repeat over. Look up anything by Dmitri Vegas, W&W or Hardwell. Sadly these are some of the faces of dance music these days.
Here is an example of the cookie cutter sound. Same crap over and over again.
As someone who's been a fan of dance music (the proper term) for 2 decades, the EDM fad which has exploded onto the American music scene is the worst thing to happen to dance music in a long time. Even the hardcore fans and djs/producers themselves are sick of it. Big room is an embarrassment to the dance music culture and scene. Similar to how hip-hop seems to have lost the originality it once had and is now the same old cheesy robot voiced rappers rapping about twitter and hoes. It's all simple, generic cookie cutter crap that caters to the younger crowd because it's easy to listen to and it makes money. If you've never heard it before and go to your first dance festival, you'll probably end up liking it because it's so simple to absorb.
Having said that, it suits festivals perfectly. It's energetic and really puts an emphasis on the ''oomph'' factor. It's not really dancing music. It's jumping music. And because of that, that's why it's mostly what you hear at North American dance festivals. Head over to Europe for some of their festivals and you don't hear that garbage as much as you do over here.
Polak said most of the EDM DJ's at Coachella aren't big room guys. But that is exactly what they will play. They will cater to what they think the American EDM market wants. You'll want to head to the other dance (not EDM) tents to hear the real sound of dance music. EDM might have taken over North America, but don't be fooled into thinking it's taken over where it really matters: in Europe.
Carl Cox, probably the biggest pioneer and most successful DJ of all time, says it best
Big room is a topic me and my friends talk about over and over and just how it's ripping the music apart and how it's best to avoid it and stick with the underground stuff. IMO That's where the real dance music is found. It's soulful, has rhythm, and you can hear the passion that was put into the track when it was produced. That's what dance music is all about. I can't wait for the EDM faze to fade out. Dance music as a whole will be much better for it.
Also this is my ''old man yells at cloud rant'' when it comes to EDM... <snip>
Great post. Long time fan of electronic music, thanks to discovering Kraftwerk as a kid. I agree with the quote from Carl Cox. You hope that once someone comes into electronic music, that they start to explore all the different aspects of it, and not just the "big room" flavour.
Great post. Long time fan of electronic music, thanks to discovering Kraftwerk as a kid. I agree with the quote from Carl Cox. You hope that once someone comes into electronic music, that they start to explore all the different aspects of it, and not just the "big room" flavour.
I would add too - don't dismiss a festival because you only heard of 3-4 of the bands. If the curators are good, you will be introduced to so much great stuff. At one time, all of your current favorite bands were unknown to you.
I would add too - don't dismiss a festival because you only heard of 3-4 of the bands. If the curators are good, you will be introduced to so much great stuff. At one time, all of your current favorite bands were unknown to you.
Exactly. I went to Coachella three years in a row and now 85% of the artists in my listening rotation are ones I'd never heard of before then.
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Depends which music festivals you hit up I guess. But I can totally understand. Now a days, especially at North American festivals, if you aren't into EDM, you're going to feel ''left out''.
Also this is my ''old man yells at cloud rant'' when it comes to EDM. I hate the term EDM because everyone thinks it covers all of dance music, which is completely false. EDM most people think of today really refers to the festival big room house sound. The same simple beat/bassline over and over again. Little percussion and rhythm. The same god damned snare sound with every 16 beat sequence. Simple ''scratchy' synths, with cheesy vocals in the buildups. Rinse, and repeat over. Look up anything by Dmitri Vegas, W&W or Hardwell. Sadly these are some of the faces of dance music these days.
Here is an example of the cookie cutter sound. Same crap over and over again.
As someone who's been a fan of dance music (the proper term) for 2 decades, the EDM fad which has exploded onto the American music scene is the worst thing to happen to dance music in a long time. Even the hardcore fans and djs/producers themselves are sick of it. Big room is an embarrassment to the dance music culture and scene. Similar to how hip-hop seems to have lost the originality it once had and is now the same old cheesy robot voiced rappers rapping about twitter and hoes. It's all simple, generic cookie cutter crap that caters to the younger crowd because it's easy to listen to and it makes money. If you've never heard it before and go to your first dance festival, you'll probably end up liking it because it's so simple to absorb.
Having said that, it suits festivals perfectly. It's energetic and really puts an emphasis on the ''oomph'' factor. It's not really dancing music. It's jumping music. And because of that, that's why it's mostly what you hear at North American dance festivals. Head over to Europe for some of their festivals and you don't hear that garbage as much as you do over here.
Polak said most of the EDM DJ's at Coachella aren't big room guys. But that is exactly what they will play. They will cater to what they think the American EDM market wants. You'll want to head to the other dance (not EDM) tents to hear the real sound of dance music. EDM might have taken over North America, but don't be fooled into thinking it's taken over where it really matters: in Europe.
Carl Cox, probably the biggest pioneer and most successful DJ of all time, says it best
Big room is a topic me and my friends talk about over and over and just how it's ripping the music apart and how it's best to avoid it and stick with the underground stuff. IMO That's where the real dance music is found. It's soulful, has rhythm, and you can hear the passion that was put into the track when it was produced. That's what dance music is all about. I can't wait for the EDM faze to fade out. Dance music as a whole will be much better for it.
/old man cloud rant
You nailed it. Big Room blew up so big and fast because it really is tailored perfectly for a big crowd (hence the name) because it's easy. Easy, short, repetitive melodies, vocals that are generic and pleasing, easy to understand and don't make you think and most importantly its formulaic. You know exactly what will happen. Here is the intro, here is the buildup, here is the drop and this is the part where you're supposed to jump. Pop, Rinse, Repeat.
I turned 18 literally as EDM started to blow up in North America. Before that, I couldn't convince anyone to listen to "techno" music with me, outside of my European friends. As it blew up though, and big room started emerging, I have to admit, I fell in love with it just like everyone else. But it's been 3 or 4 years since its emergence and I just can't fathom how people are still falling for the same shtick over and over again. You can take a Big Room song from 2011 and a big room song from 2016 and it will sound identical. The only saving grace is that some of the guys that made big room are starting to branch out but you still have the guys HW mentioned that are stuck in their repetitive bubble of ####.
As for coachella, I made a list of the acts I would see in the other thread and of the EDM guys on that list I don't think these guys would play generic big room. All of these clips are from North America. Take a listen and see if any interest you?
Flume (experimental/future bass)
Vanic (future bass)
(almost a guarantee he brings his usual vocalists)
Jack U (dubstep and future bass... and bieber)
ZHU (Deep House-ish)
Disclosure (Future... something. House? Maybe HW can chime in)
Miike Snow (barely edm. also haven't played live in ages)
Thomas Jack (Tropical House... which is quickly turning into the new big room but it's still fresh. Only took of a year or so ago)
These guys will play at least some big room:
Zedd
Chainsmokers
Sam Feldt
Calvin Harris
Major Lazer (Some of the most diverse sets I've heard. Trap, Reggae, Dubstep, and some really cool and unique songs that are hard to categorize. That said, they do play a lot of Big Room throughout their set too.)
I have a feeling HW won’t like most of these because they’re not “pure house” enough. Carl Cox fans tend to really stick to that wheelhouse. But we’ll see
I would add too - don't dismiss a festival because you only heard of 3-4 of the bands. If the curators are good, you will be introduced to so much great stuff. At one time, all of your current favorite bands were unknown to you.
Bang on. When I went to Coachella 2 years ago, I found myself among the other tents more so then the Sahara (dance) tent which is where I thought I'd be the whole time. But from taking a chance on other artist's I'd only heard of before, I became fans of. While the Coachella lineup may seem a bit ''down'' this year, I hope people who have never been don't make the mistake of dismissing it outright. I found a ton of new stuff that ended up liking, and to me that's what music festivals are all about. For myself because of the variety (and Coachella has it in spades), Coachella is probably the most eclectic music festival I've been to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by polak
These guys will play at least some big room:
Zedd
Chainsmokers
Sam Feldt
Calvin Harris
Major Lazer (Some of the most diverse sets I've heard. Trap, Reggae, Dubstep, and some really cool and unique songs that are hard to categorize. That said, they do play a lot of Big Room throughout their set too.)
I have a feeling HW won’t like most of these because they’re not “pure house” enough. Carl Cox fans tend to really stick to that wheelhouse. But we’ll see
I'm actually a big fan of Zhu and Disclosure . Honestly I'm fortunate enough that I have a pretty diverse palette when it comes to dance music. From techno to trance, to drum & bass and electro, from progressive to psy. I honestly listen to it all. I haven't always had that wide range, but I heard Cox for the first time at Ultra back in 2011 and that's what really got me into techno and got me to branch out more. His quote is 100% correct.
But I get what you're saying when you say tech fans stick to that wheel. I've noticed mainly with techno that a ton of techno fans stick with techno and nothing else (they usually tend to be 35+ I've found). Trance fans are the same, and IMO are the most annoying fans when it comes to being ''purists''.
But to me the beauty of dance music is that it has such variety. Once you get a taste for it, you're hooked. You really lose out once you start saying things like ''I hate x genre" or "I hate vocals", etc. And frankly all music is like that. Outright dismissing it without seeing the appeal is foolish and you're just losing out.
Truthfully trance is my #1 genre. It's the only genre that will literally give me goosebumps when I listen to it But there's plenty to dislike about it, especially these days unless you know where to look. I'm a huge fan of Techno, but it's the genre with the most garbage IMO and I understand why some people might not get it. But also find it to be the the genre with the least limitations set upon it. It can flow in any direction and it's in a really good place right now. The key is finding the kind songs you like and bringing those sounds all together. I've been DJ'ing for over 10 years now and I often flip back and forth between genres when I'm playing. Not a fan of sticking to one kind of sound. And even now a days you just find more and more DJ's kind of ignoring the genres associted with certain tracks and just playing what gets the crowd going in their sets.
Last edited by Huntingwhale; 01-07-2016 at 02:55 PM.
I would add too - don't dismiss a festival because you only heard of 3-4 of the bands. If the curators are good, you will be introduced to so much great stuff. At one time, all of your current favorite bands were unknown to you.
Eh, I'm okay with that sentiment when it comes to local festivals, but if I'm not going to shell out $400 USD on the ticket alone, plus travel expenses, unless there are a few bands I want to see.
On another, I'm interested to see if Springsteen ends up headlining any festivals this summer during his River tour.
. Honestly I'm fortunate enough that I have a pretty diverse palette when it comes to dance music. From techno to trance, to drum & bass and electro, from progressive to psy. I honestly listen to it all. I haven't always had that wide range, but I heard Cox for the first time at Ultra back in 2011 and that's what really got me into techno and got me to branch out more. His quote is 100% correct. 
