producer

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: Matoma

We are officially 10 days away from Coachella 2016! Get hype! With the festival beginning next weekend, there’s only so much time to preview artists for this year’s event. I seriously hope you’ve been listening to your favorite Coachella 2016 acts for the last several weeks or more because it’s so much better when you know all of the songs during a set instead of a couple. I have more tunes for your Coachella prep this week and an in depth preview of an EDM DJ that I briefly spoke about in my Coachella 2016 lineup release post.

Matoma a.k.a. Tom Stræte Lagergren is an EDM DJ and producer from Filsa, Norway. He was involved in music from a young age as a classical pianist, but eventually wanted to get into some different aspects of music. After buying a computer and software for basic music production, he started producing his own music. He came on to the club scene in 2014 with a few remixes, but his biggest hit so far has been his remix of The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Old Thing Back”. The remix was a charted single in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and New Zealand. Since then, Matoma released his debut album, Hakuna Matoma, in November 2015 and has created plenty more remixed songs.

Matoma’s music fits into a particular category on the EDM spectrum, tropical house. Tropical house music is a subgenre of deep house and ultimately house music. The music uses synth and a 4/4 beat which is standard for house music. What sets it apart is the more uplifting, relaxing, airy type of sound. The instruments used have that island vibe hence the “tropical” aspect of it. It’s also a bit slower than deep house and doesn’t have the pumping beat associated with house music.

As I said in my earlier blog post, I first heard of Matoma because of his “Old Thing Back” remix. It was one of the first EDM style song in addition to RAC’s music that I actually enjoyed. I don’t listen to Matoma’s other stuff at all, but if I were heading out to Coachella this year, I would definitely want to catch his set strictly because his music fits the Coachella vibe perfectly. In fact, the tropical house style is the genre that captures the essence of Coachella best.

Matoma plays Coachella on Saturday. The set times and stages haven’t been announced yet, but my perfect version of a Matoma set would be as the sun is setting on an outdoor stage. With the palm trees, desert breeze, and the ambiance of the entire festival, I feel like that would be the perfect setting for his music. He’ll probably just end up in the Sahara tent though. Either way, I have a feeling his set will be fun, chill, and filled with dancing. To get you ready for the Matoma set, here’s a few tunes you should know:

  1. Old Thing Back (Matoma remix)
  2. Find Love (feat. Dboy)
  3. Running Out
  4. Knives
  5. The Wave (feat. Madcon)
  6. 2 AM (Matoma remix)
  7. Stick Around (with Akon)
  8. Feeling Right (Everything Is Nice) (feat. Wale and Popcaan)