Coachella Band Preview: Elderbrook

We’re midway through February and there’s officially 2 months til Coachella! I’m back in Mexico finishing up the second round of work down here for the winter, but as usual all I can think about is Coachella, especially now that I’m officially locked in for the festival and have my flights booked! This week I’m taking a look at a British electronic artist known as Elderbrook.

Alexander Kotz, also known as Elderbrook, began his music career in 2015. He released his first EP that year too. In his almost 8 years in existence, he’s collaborated with many artists and remixed plenty of songs as well. His most notable song, “Cola,” is a collab with CamelPhat. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Song in 2018 and topped music charts in both the U.S. and the UK. His music style has a deep house vibe, but also incorporates sounds from different genres of music, including indie pop, country, soul and gospel amongst others. He reminds me of Gryffin in a way as he incorporates both guitar and piano into his sets. He’s classically trained in both. In my opinion, there’s nothing cooler than an electronic artists who also adds instruments to their shows.

I’ve never had the opportunity to see Elderbrook perform since being introduced to him in late 2018. His song “Talking” was what got me interested and I’ve been listening to his releases ever since. If there’s anyone who I’m most interested in seeing this year on the polo fields, it’s him. His music is so vibey and chill. I’m honestly hoping he plays an early evening set at Sahara. His style just feels right for the night time. He plays Saturday. Historically, I’ve always found Saturday to be stacked with artists I want to see, but this year it’s not the case. I’ll definitely be checking him out. Catch me at his set enjoying all these songs:

1. Cola
2. Talking
3. Numb
4. Back to My Bed
5. Something About You
6. Feels Like A Sunday
7. Inner Light
8. I’ll Find My Way To You
9. Howl
10. Beautiful Morning

Coachella Band Preview: Calvin Harris

I hope none of you are undergoing the winter blues. If so, it’s time to shake them off because Coachella season is here. Warm desert spring days and cool nights are just around the corner. I finally created a Coachella playlist so I’ve been listening as often as I can. That being said, “band preview” is not the phrase I would use to describe who I’m writing about this week. It’s definitely more of an artist spotlight. I debated changing it while writing this, but ultimately decided to keep it the same, as it’s always been the theme. Criticize it all you want though because Calvin Harris definitely isn’t a band.

Calvin Harris, known otherwise as Adam Richard Wiles, is an electronic artist specializing in house, electro house, and electro pop music. He was born in Dumfries, Scotland to English parents and began making music in his teenage years out of his bedroom. While trying to make it in the electronic scene, he moved to London where he did not find success right away. He ended up moving back to Dumfries and continued to produce music from home. He got his break after being discovered through the tracks he posted to his Myspace page in 2006.

Upon signing a recording deal, he went on to release 6 studio albums, 9 EPs, and 51 singles through the last 17 years. Some of his biggest hits came from his 2012 album 18 months and his 2014 album Motion, which include “Feel So Close,” “We Found Love” featuring Rihanna, “I Need Your Love” featuring Ellie Goulding, “Sweet Nothing” featuring Florence Welch (Florence + the Machine), “Summer,” “Outside” featuring Ellie Goulding, and “Blame” featuring John Newman. He ended up winning a Grammy Award for Best Music Video for “We Found Love.” Some of his other biggest hits were only released as singles, such as his 2016 single “This is What You Came For” featuring Rihanna and his 2018 track featuring Dua Lipa “One Kiss.”

Calvin Harris first played Coachella in 2008. He played again in 2012 and 2014 before he became the first DJ to ever headline the festival in 2016. He was slated to play the 2020 installment of the festival but makes his return to the desert in 2023 for the first time in 7 years. Much like last year’s lineup that featured Swedish House Mafia returning to the desert, Calvin Harris also has his own spot on this year’s lineup poster. Given that, I wasn’t sure what night his set would be. After checking out the Coachella app a few days ago though, it seems to have him listed for Saturday. This gives me something to look forward to on Saturday as there are not as many bands or artists I’m looking forward to that day. It’s definitely going to be a fun night. In fact, as I keep going through his discography, it hits me more and more just how underrated this set will be, given the hype over BLACKPINK and Bad Bunny. Also from what I’ve heard, Coachella tried to book Rihanna to headline the festival but the deal didn’t pull through. If history wants to repeat itself for a third time, I wouldn’t be surprised nor would I mind if Rihanna showed up again to perform with Calvin Harris. There’s no question that Calvin Harris will be performing on the main stage. The only question mark I have are whether he will perform after BLACKPINK or not and who will he bring out as his special guests? He does have plenty of other collabs besides the ones with Rihanna. His set is likely to include bops from his entire career so here’s a few you might want to know before showing up to the one of the most fun sets of Coachella 2023:

1. One Kiss ft. Dua Lipa
2. This What You Came For ft. Rihanna
3. Summer
4. Feel So Close
5. We Found Love ft. Rihanna
6. My Way
7. How Deep Is Your Love ft. Disciples
8. Outside ft. Ellie Goulding
9. Pray to God ft. HAIM
10. Sweet Nothing ft. Florence Welch
11. I Need Your Love ft. Ellie Goulding
12. Blame ft. John Newman
13. Under Control ft. Alesso, Hurts
14. Giant ft. Rag’n’Bone Man
15. Slide ft. Frank Ocean & Migos, Funk Wav

Coachella Band Preview: Lane 8

We’re just under 4 weeks away from Day One Weekend One. I hope you’ve been fine tuning all the details for your Coachella plans and have also been listening to the bands and artists you want to see nonstop. I definitely have. I leave for Coachella exactly one week before the first day of Weekend One and I’m feeling the excitement build with each passing day. I have a few other fun plans in the works beforehand too which helps pass the time. This week I’m previewing a deejay who was scheduled for Friday in 2020 and now scheduled for the same day in 2022, Lane 8.

Lane 8, also known as Daniel Goldstein, from Denver, Colorado started producing music around 2012 when he caught the attention of an A&R executive from the record label Anjunadeep, a sub-label of Above & Beyond founded trance label Anjunabeats. He released his first record, Rise, in 2015 under the label. He then began releasing music under his own label This Never Happened. He created the label following his Little By Little tour to build an independent label presence in the deep house genre. Many artists on the label have toured with or opened for Lane 8.

His 2018 record Little By Little was the first album to be released under his own label, followed by Brightest Lights in 2020 and most recently Reviver in January 2022. His music falls into the deep house/progressive house genres, but I feel like his music is also comparable to the dreamier electropop Odesza style of electronic music. I think it kind of bridges both genres at times rather than being straight deep/progressive house. It’s the beats that surely designate him into the house category.

As I mentioned, Lane 8 helps to kick off both weekends with Friday sets. Expect to see him at the Sahara tent. I’d anticipate a late set from Lane 8. I would even anticipate there being some overlap with main stage headliners for his set. Nonetheless, I think it’ll be a great performance. It’ll be his first time back at the festival since his Do Lab performance in 2015. Safe to say the Sahara tent is definitely a step up from Do Lab. Here’s a few songs you’ll want to know before you vibe out at his set:

1. Road
2. Fingerprint
3. The Rope
4. Run
5. Survive
6. Oh, Miles
7. Little By Little
8. Atlas
9. Brightest Lights
10. Don’t Let Me Go

Decco

Back in April, I was checking new music on my Release Radar playlist on Spotify. I was stoked to see that Kygo had released a new single and even more excited to listen. The song was alright but I was very intrigued by the artist singing on the new track because I was into his voice. The artist was named James Gillespie. I decided to check out his page and sample a few of his songs, which is where I found my latest music discovery, the electronic duo, Decco.

Decco is the project of songwriters and producers Joacim Persson and Sebastian Arman. Both spent years writing and producing for artists such as John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, and Selena Gomez before teaming up to form Decco. Their first single, “Shooting Stars” featuring Mapei, came out in 2016. Shortly after the duo released remixes of the Alex Vargas song “Higher Love” and Dua Lipa’s “Thinking ‘Bout You.” Throughout the last five years the producers have been releasing new singles here and there with their latest being “I Didn’t Know” featuring James Gillespie which was released in September 2020. Although they’ve been releasing music for the last five years, they have yet to perform a live set.

Their music style fits in the tropical house genre of electronic music, but slightly less tropical/island vibes than what you might get from Kygo, Matoma, or Sam Feldt. Their tracks have a very vibey type of sound. Despite their limited discography, I feel like each song that they’ve released gives off a different feel and uses different elements/instruments. It’s not quite unique to the genre but it’s always cool when an artist can create a sound that is signature to them yet still unique in its own right.

Usually when I discover a new artist, band, or group, I get excited for their new albums or their tours/festival appearances, but with Decco I’m not sure what to expect. This project seems more of a side hustle for Persson and Arman with singles coming out every so often. I feel like they’d be more likely to appear as Decco at a festival than to go on tour so I’m hoping that can eventually happen, especially with music festivals and concerts finally making a comeback this year! We’ll see what the future holds. In general though, Decco is great. I’ve been listening to them constantly since I found them in April and I highly recommend them if you’re into electronic music.

Daft Punk ISN’T playing at my house, my house

I knew I wanted to make a post today, but I didn’t expect it would be something Coachella related. Here we are though! As of this morning, Daft Punk (my way, way, way late music discovery of 2020) are no more. The iconic electronic duo have called it quits after 28 years together. They posted a video entitled “Epilogue” to their website which includes a scene of one of the robots blowing up followed by an image of two robot hands formed into a triangle (a representation of the pyramid they used on their Alive Tour in 2007) with “1993-2021” written beneath the image. Many media outlets reported the news with confirmation from the group’s publicists saying they are in fact retiring. Big sad!

About 10 months ago during what was dubbed as “Couchella” because of the panny d related Coachella postponement, I took an interest in Daft Punk and proclaimed that I’ve become one of those people who want them to headline every year. When my friend sent me this news earlier today, I was shocked and heartbroken for a solid…oh I don’t know 5-10 minutes? The reason being….retirement isn’t always forever. Reunions happen and there’s a certain festival FAMOUS for reunions. What festival is that? Coachella! Duh! Even if the reunion never actually happens, or it takes years and years, there’s still hope that we get to see Daft Punk live. This isn’t something to be devastated about. Obviously take it seriously because as of right now, yeah, they’re serious about it. Appreciate Daft Punk for what they gave for 28 years. Appreciate them for their impact on the electronic music world. Appreciate their music that you love because you know you’ll still be playing it for years to come. But do NOT be sad about this! Things change. Reunions happen. Bands get back together. Your odds of seeing them live now are just about as much as they were yesterday before this announcement. I swear. These guys do not tour often.

Anyway, if you’ve learned anything from the last year, it should be that anything is possible! Both good and bad, but let’s think about the good instead because no one like a Debbie Downer. I’ve been all about a few mantras this year and I’m gonna give them to you (and also relate them to music for the sake of the blog)…..

1. “2021 Energy” – The point of this is to get out of that negative 2020 mindset. Bad shit always happens. Last year was very bad, but this year will be better. Stay hopeful! Stay optimistic! This year isn’t last year and it will be better. Just start believing it. I’m a firm believer that I’m going to be back working music related things at some point this year. I already was able to work again once which although was not at a concert or festival, was something and one of my goals for 2021. Small things matter. Baby steps matter. That brings me to the second mantra…
2. “Transition” – See this year as a transitional year. It’s not going to be the exact life we want quite yet, but we’re slowly getting back to it. Baby steps. Small accomplishments. We’ll get there. One step at a time. And before you know it we’ll be back at Coachella!
3. “Panny D” – Change the name of the game. Pandemic felt so damn serious and scary and yes of course it’s still happening. We’re still working on those vaccines. People can still get sick. People are still dying! So yeah it’s serious. But this name changing is more of a mental thing. I feel like last year we let the pandemic own us. This year let’s own it. By changing the name, it feels less serious (mentally). It’s more casual. I know you’re probably worried that making it like this might make people take it less seriously literally, but you know what, everyone was already doing that anyway. Stop worrying and trying to control everyone else. You can’t do it. What you can do though is take care of yourself. Put yourself first. If changing the name isn’t for you, then so be it. Don’t do it. But it’s helped me get out of that negative mindset and you just gotta do what works best for you. That’s not saying to not be safe. Be safe when you need to be, cause we’re getting there. But you can still, be safe and not let it get you down.

That’s it. Those are my big three so far. There might be more on the way, but until then this is all I’ve got. It’s the mental set and it’s helped me refocus this year. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and we can see it. I promise. Concerts will be back. Festivals will be back. Coachella will be back. Daft Punk will be back. See what I did there?! Ha!

So for now, spend the rest of the day listening to Daft Punk, dream about hearing them play live again because guess what? It’s still possible. As long as Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, are “alive” and well, it can happen. Maybe they headline Coachella in a few years as a reunion set. Maybe they bring out LCD Soundsystem as a surprise guest and they perform “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” together. I mean I can dream right? Maybe they don’t? Who knows? But anyway…robots can be rebuilt and anything is possible. So stay positive and keep the vibes up that maybe we’ll “get lucky” enough to hear them perform “one more time” because if you know Daft Punk you know that their “work is never over!”

Coachella Band Preview: Hayden James

It’s been two months since the Coachella 2020 lineup was released, which means we have 5 weeks and 2 days to go before the masses start flooding the Coachella Valley in preparation of southern California’s most famous music festival. I can’t believe it’s only a little over a month away. Time really flies when you spend the winter in Mexico. Now it’s full steam ahead towards my 5th Coachella. It’s pretty surreal how I started these yearly band previews in preparation of my first Coachella and now here we are 5 years later and I’m on the brink of being at my 5th one. It was truly the festival that started it all for me and this crazy music industry adventure that I’m a part of. Alright…enough of me being super grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had, it’s time to focus on the music. This week I’m previewing an artist I wrote about back in 2018, Hayden James.

When I first wrote about electronic artist Hayden James, I had been listening to his song “NUMB” ft. GRAACE for months. It was my most listened to song of 2018. Since then, James released his debut album Between Us on June 14, 2019. I also did an album review of it in August. Since the debut release, James has only played a few music festivals and a few tour dates, which is a bit out of the ordinary surrounding an album release. Most of his sets were in his home country of Australia with a few dates in the U.S., Europe, and New Zealand. This year includes several more tour stops in Australia, Mexico, and the U.S. including his Coachella appearance.

Coachella 2020 will mark James’ second Coachella appearance. His first came in 2015 as a Do Lab artist. This time he’s officially on the bill though and likely to play the Sahara Tent, if not, Gobi or Mojave. His soulful and sensual house style will surely bring plenty of fans out to his set no matter where it’s played. I would definitely expect a larger draw at Sahara since a lot of younger festival goers like to spend all their time at the stage, but who knows because many people enjoy a good electronic set. After seeing him in 2018 at Electric Forest, I know he’s capable of bringing lots of dancing and a lot of bass to his sets. He’s also very capable of setting the Coachella vibe with his tracks. Here are the one’s you should know:

1. NUMB
2. Something About You
3. Just Friends
4. Better Together
5. Just A Lover
6. Favours
7. Nowhere to Go
8. Hold Me Back
9. Remember You
10. Permission to Love

Coachella Band Preview: Flume

One month down since the lineup drop and two months to go until another year of Coachella is upon us. I’m on a little break from Mexico but return next week for Leg 2 of the events I’m working south of the border. This week I’m back focusing on Coachella and another act I’m super excited to see, electronic artist/producer Flume.

I wrote about Flume back in 2016 shortly before I saw part of his live set while volunteering at the Sweetlife Music Festival. I had the best time at the event and got really into Flume right after, so much so that I bought tickets to attend his sold out show at the Electric Factory in Philly in August 2016. I haven’t seen him perform live since then, unless you count last summer’s Lollapalooza livestream.

Since 2016 Flume has been kind of quiet. He won a Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic album for his 2016 record Skin. After taking some time off from touring in support of the album, Flume came back last March with a mixtape full of new music in that future bass/deep house style we know and love. It earned him a Grammy nomination as well. He has since been playing festivals and touring.

Flume will be sure to bring it out in the desert in April. He’s really upped the artistry of his live performances over the past year so I’m expecting an interesting set at Coachella. Flume last played Coachella in 2016. He headlined the Outdoor Theatre on Saturday night. This time around expect Flume to play the Main Stage before Travis Scott or to again close out the Outdoor Theatre Saturday night. His popularity is that of headliner quality and he will sure pull a huge draw of fans. Here’s the Flume tracks you need to hear to get ready for this epic electronic set:

1. Never Be Like You
2. Say It
3. Rushing Back
4. Holdin’ On
5. Sleepless
6. Friends
7. You & Me (Disclosure remix)
8. Friends
9. Insane
10. Drop the Game

 

Coachella Band Preview: Illenium

I swear the 3 months between the lineup release and Weekend One of Coachella always fly by. Now, once again, here we are just over a month away from the festival. As always once March hits, time is winding down. I’m sure plenty of attendees have begun the planning process of fashion and travel. It’ll be a few weeks before the set times and food vendors are announced though. I hope your planning process also includes jamming to some bands and artists playing the festival this year, otherwise why am I even posting this?! Regardless, at least you’re finding some info out about the music world, I guess? But let’s be real, I hope you’re using these to prep for Coachella. This week I’m previewing an electronic artist that hopped on to the scene around 2013. Since then he has quickly rose in the EDM rankings.

Denver’s Nick Miller, better known to the world by his DJ alias, Illenium, has made a notable impact on the electronic music scene recently. He was inspired to start recording music after he saw Bassnectar perform at Red Rocks in 2012. He released his first EP in 2013 and his debut album, Ashes, in 2016 under his own record label Kasaya Recordings. Ashes peaked on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums Chart at number 6 and on the Billboard Top Heatseeker’s Chart at number 19. About six months ago, he released his second album, Awake.

Illenium was originally a melodic dubstep/trap artist, but his latest album strays from that a bit. Several songs are more downtempo and have an atmospheric type sound similar to what you might hear from Odesza or Gryffin. It’s a definite progression from his debut, but still incorporates his signature sound. He’s stated that he plans on straying from that dubstep/trap sound in his live performances as well by sticking to more of his own music and playing less of others’.

I first heard of Illenium last year when I heard his collaboration on the track “Feel Good” with Coachella 2017 performer Gryffin and vocalist, Daya. After the release of his latest album, I spent a week or so listening to it as part of my work out routine, eventually downloading and adding a few songs to my typical work out playlist. I really liked his more recent sound and I definitely felt like he was an artist I would want to check out at a festival over the next year. Luckily that might happen!

Illenium plays on Sunday at Coachella. I’d guess his set to be at the Sahara Tent. He might even play there before expected Sunday Sahara headliner, Odesza, plays. If I’m free, I’d definitely want to drop in to his set for a bit. The only conflict for me would be if Portugal. The Man plays around the same time. Honestly, I’d probably go see Portugal. The Man. But if you’re trying to maximize your Coachella experience, you may want to catch a little of both sets. If you want to check out Illenium’s set, here’s what you need to hear first:

1. Feel Good
2. Fractures
3. Sound of Walking Away
4. Crawl Outta Love
5. With You
6. I’ll Be Your Reason
7. Don’t Give Up On Me
8. It’s All On U

Coachella Band Preview: Kygo

Another week down means another week less to prep for Coachella 2018, but it also means it’s time for another band preview. I feel like I need to re-name this blog series. When I started it in 2015, I was mostly into bands. Since then, my taste in electronic music has grown. Also as you know, this year’s Coachella lineup has way less bands than in prior years. For now, just know that my band previews encompass singers and artists too, which includes this week’s preview as well.

Kygo aka Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll is a Norwegian DJ, producer, and musician. He started taking piano lessons as a child and continued until he was a teenager when he began to produce his own music using a keyboard and recording software. He was also halfway through a college degree in business and finance by the time he decided to pursue music full-time.

Kygo’s break-through hit came in 2014 when he released the single “Firestone” ft. Conrad Sewell. In the same year he was contacted by Avicii and Chris Martin of Coldplay to remix the Coldplay song “Midnight”. He then supported Avicii on tour.

In 2015 his music was featured in a trailer for the Ultra Music Festival, a well-known electronic festival that takes place in Miami, FL, as well as being a featured headliner for Lollapalooza. He also released 4 more singles that year which paved the way for his debut studio album to be released in 2016. His debut was released on May 16, 2016 entitled Cloud Nine. The album featured collaborations with several artists including John Legend, Angus & Julia Stone, Foxes, James Vincent McMorrow, Maty Noyes, and more. Kygo also played at the closing ceremonies of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

In 2017 Kygo released two singles that lead up to an EP and his second full length studio album. The EP, Stargazing, included both singles “It Ain’t Me” ft. Selena Gomez and “First Time” ft. Ellie Goulding. Kygo’s second album Kids In Love was just released in November.

Kygo’s tropical house style originated from him trying to imitate his hero, Swedish DJ/producer Avicii. He eventually found his own sound by slowing it down into a dreamy, light synth type sound. He was really one of the first DJ’s to popularize the style which originates from deep house, a subgenre of house music.

I feel like I started listening to Kygo just because of my interest in his style of electronic music. Although he’s known as one of the originators, I discovered the style through listening to Matoma and Sam Feldt first. I’m not even sure when I first listened to Kygo. It was obviously sometime over the last 2-3 years and it was definitely the song “Stay” that I was into. I can’t even say I’m into that many Kygo songs. I was hooked on “First Time” last summer though. I honestly just think his Coachella performance will be fun because I like his style of music so I would totally want to catch his set if I was attending.

Kygo plays on Friday at Coachella. In my opinion Friday has the weakest lineup, but Kygo is one of the bright spots. He’ll probably close out the Sahara tent Friday night or he might even take to the Outdoor Stage as the last slot, which may overlap The Weeknd. Either way, there’s no question he’ll be a late night set. If you plan on catching him, I recommend getting there with plenty of time. No matter where he’s playing it’s sure to be packed. He’ll be setting the vibe for the rest of the weekend that night. To me, there’s something about tropical house being played in the SoCal desert amongst the palms that sets the mood. Here’s a few songs that will get you ready for that moment Friday night:

1. Stay (ft. Maty Noyes)

2. Stole the Show (ft. Parson James)

3. It Ain’t Me (ft. Selena Gomez)

4. First Time (ft. Ellie Goulding)

5. Kids in Love (ft. The Night Game)

6. Stranger Things (ft. One Republic)

7. Stargazing (ft. Justin Jesso)

8. This Town (ft. Sasha Sloan)

9. Firestone (ft. Conrad Sewell)

10. Raging (ft. Kodaline)

 

The Film Playlist: We Are Your Friends

While at my cousin’s house over the weekend, we watched another movie that easily makes The Film Playlist. It’s been a while since I wrote about a movie for this series so let me explain. The Film Playlist is a blog series I started about movies that are about music. It’s been about a year since I added anything to it, but as soon as we started watching We Are Your Friends this past weekend, I knew I had to write about it this week.

The 2015 drama stars Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, Emily Ratajkowski, Shiloh Fernandez, Alex Shaffer, and Jonny Weston. It was written by Max Joseph and Meaghan Oppenheimer based off a story by Richard Silverman. Joseph also directed the film which marked his directorial debut. The movie is about an electronic music DJ named Cole Carter (Efron) who is trying to work his way up in the music industry. It’s also partly a coming of age story because Cole and his friends are young adults trying to figure out their lives in the midst of partying at night clubs, selling drugs, and being part of the electronic music scene. While booked to play a gig at a club one night, Cole meets the headliner, who was once a hot commodity in the electronic music world, James Reed (Bentley). Reed in a way becomes a mentor for Cole once he realizes his talent and helps Cole to understand how to create music that doesn’t sound like every other electronic song.

As soon as we started watching this film Friday night, I knew I would love it. The plot is average though. It’s nothing out of the ordinary or exceptional. I strictly loved it for the fact that it was about music and electronic music in particular. I’ve never seen another film that surrounds the electronic music scene. It was cool to see scenes about creating electronic music and also scenes featuring EDC Vegas, which is an electronic music festival done by one of the leading electronic festival promoters Insomniac Events. The soundtrack for the film was excellent. Its feature track “We Are Your Friends” by Justice featuring Simian is where the film got its title from. It also features songs by Years and Years with Gryffin, AlunaGeorge with Tchami, Seinabo Sey with Kygo and Deorro ft. Erin McCarley.

If you’re expecting an award winning film, that’s not what We Are Your Friends is. It’s really just a fictional coming of age film that surrounds the electronic music industry. If you’re at all into electronic music, I suggest you check it out. It’s a film you don’t have to think much about and can purely enjoy, especially if you have a love for music, especially electronic music.