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

Coachella Band Preview: Swedish House Mafia

We have officially hit the 2 month mark until Coachella 2022 Weekend 1. I’m once again back in Mexico, but this time for a shorter stay. It’s time to go full steam ahead on Coachella though and there’s plenty of bands/artists to preview. I feel like a lot of acts I’m interested in this year are acts that I’m trying to get into, but haven’t been a fan of for awhile. I feel like the lineups have veered away from my music interests in recent years, but at the same time, I always feel like I discover new music at Coachella. So that’s why I’m previewing Swedish House Mafia this week.

Swedish House Mafia came together in 2008 when Swedish DJs Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, and Steve Angello joined forces. They were dubbed Swedish House Mafia along with fellow Swedish DJ Eric Prydz after the four started playing shows together in the mid 2000s. Prydz decided not to join when the group became official because he stated he was the kind of person who was unable to collaborate with others in a studio, even close friends. After releasing several singles and the compilation album Until One, the group signed with Universal’s Polydor Records in 2010. Under Polydor, they released some of their biggest singles, “One,” “Greyhound,” and their biggest hit to date “Don’t You Worry Child.” They released their second compilation Until Now in September 2012, a few months after announcing that they would be breaking up. The group embarked on a farewell tour called “One Last Tour” which culminated with a final performance at Ultra Music Festival in 2013.

After the break-up, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso continued performing together as Axwell /\ Ingrosso. They even performed together at Coachella 2015. Meanwhile, Steve Angello continued to perform solo. In 2018, a mere 24 hours prior to the performance, it was leaked that Swedish House Mafia would reunite at Ultra Music Festival for their 10th anniversary. It was an epic reunion and a highlight in the history of Ultra Music Festival. From then on Swedish House Mafia took to the road again through 2019. The group announced their upcoming album Paradise Again slated for 2022, which will include their 2021 single “Moth to a Flame” featuring the Weeknd.

I decided in October that I would try to get into Swedish House Mafia for their Coachella performance. As someone who attended in 2015 and could not even tell you who Axwell /\ Ingrosso was at the time, I’m somewhat skeptical that I’ll truly enjoy it. As I’ve been researching and listening, I feel like their set will turn into too much of a rave style set for my enjoyment. I’ve noticed electronic artists seem to tailor their sets for the type of festival they play. Kygo’s Coachella set in 2018 differed substantially from his EDC Las Vegas set in 2021. The Coachella set fit the main stream electronic style while the EDC Las Vegas set fit the rave culture EDC is known for. I noticed the same thing from Zedd in 2019 too. I fully believe that Swedish House Mafia’s progressive house style of electronic music fits the stereotypical style of rave music that will be the same no matter if it’s played in Indio or from “Miami 2 Ibiza” though. Nonetheless, I’m still gonna try to see it and I hope to be proved wrong.

Coachella 2022 will mark the super group’s second Coachella performance and first in 10 years as their last appearance as whole came in 2012. According to several sources, including Sebastian Ingrosso himself, the DJs will close out the main stage on Friday night, which likely means a double headliner performance following Harry Styles. This means the first night of Coachella will be the Coachella comeback we’ve been waiting for during this difficult, almost 3 year wait. Here’s a few Swedish House Mafia tracks you should know if you’re planning on seeing this Coachella comeback:

1. Don’t You Worry Child
2. One
3. Greyhound
4. Miami 2 Ibiza
5. Moth to a Flame
6. Save the World
7. Lifetime
8. Antidote
9. Leave the World Behind
10. It Gets Better

Coachella Band Preview: Lost Kings

Greetings from Mexico! I’m back down south of the border working for the next two weeks, but don’t worry this is just the Coachella pre-game. We’re one week closer to the most wonderful time of year and this week I’m previewing the electronic duo Lost Kings.

Lost Kings are comprised of Robert Abisi and Nick Shanholtz. The duo, both LA transplants originally from Boston (Abisi) and Baltimore (Shanholtz), formed in 2014. Their name comes from feeling lost after moving to Los Angeles and how they had goals they wanted to accomplish. They gained popularity through their remixes of music from artists such as Imagine Dragons, Halsey, Vance Joy, Echosmith and Disclosure to name a few. Their remix of Disclosure’s “Latch” featuring Sam Smith gained them the most attention when it replaced the original on Sirius XM’s BPM, a Dance/Electronic channel. Once they dropped their first EP The Bad in late 2015, it also gained popularity pretty quickly. A few months later in March 2016, they dropped their second EP The Good. They were signed to Disrupter/RCA Records in the fall of 2016. They credit their success to streaming sites like SoundCloud and Spotify as well as the music aggregator Hype Machine.

Their style of music fits under the progressive house style of electronic music. The duo has stated that they don’t want to be classified inside a specific box when it comes to music style. This is why you might be able to group them into other styles of house music such as melodic or bass house. Their collaborations make their tracks seem like they’re part of that electronic/pop crossover spectrum though.

Lost Kings play Friday at Coachella. I’d expect them to be at Sahara. There aren’t a ton of bigger name electronic artists playing Friday so who knows when their set time will be. I personally am hoping for a late time or I won’t be able to catch their set. I have this feeling like they’ll end up in a late afternoon-early evening slot. You have plenty of time to listen to their music prior to Day 1 of Coachella so here’s the list of what you should check out:

1. You (ft. Katelyn Tarver)
2. Phone Down (ft. Emily Warren)
3. First Love (ft. Sabrina Carpenter)
4. LA & The Parties (ft. Sevyn Streeter)
5. Quit You (ft. Tinashe)
6. Something Good
7. When We Were Young (ft. Norma Jean Martine)
8. Marathon (ft. Cosmos and Creatures)
9. Bad (ft. Jessame)
10. Ain’t The Same (ft. CXLOE)

Coachella Band Preview: Zedd

In 1 month today we will be on the brink of Coachella 2019. Campers will be coming in. Hotels will be filled. That anticipation of another year of Coachella will fill the air. It will be similar to Christmas Eve with one exception: Coachella lasts 2 days longer than Christmas. I guess you can say that for any highly anticipated music festival, but trust me, Coachella is a special place in the festival world. That being said, there’s only 4 more weeks to learn the tunes of your favorite Coachella acts before they’re performed live on the Polo fields. This year I haven’t been as stoked for many of the electronic artists as I was last year. Most of the electronic acts I’m excited for this year fall on that indie electronic spectrum and are bands, not DJs. However, I decided there is one electronic DJ I’d like to see this year and that’s Zedd.

Anton Zaslavski, better known as Zedd, is an electronic DJ and producer. While growing up, he received formal training on instruments such as piano and drums and was part of a band. He got inspired to start making electronic music because of French electronic duo Justice. He first entered the EDM scene around 2010. He released two tracks on the website Beatport which included an original song and a remix of Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”. After that he began remixing songs of well-known artists such as Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and the Black Eyed Peas.

In 2012 Zedd signed with Interscope Records and released his debut album Clarity. The album included the hit singles “Spectrum” featuring Matthew Koma and “Clarity” featuring Foxes. “Clarity” has since gone on to receive Platinum status. Zedd also received a Grammy for “Clarity” for Best Dance Recording. In the following years, Zedd went on his first headlining tour and sold out venues across 5 continents worldwide. He also released several more singles like “Stay the Night” and “Find You” in addition to producing songs for the likes of Lady Gaga on her 2013 album Artpop.

Zedd’s second album True Colors was released in May 2015. In the lead up to the album release, Zedd released the single “I Want to Know You” featuring Selena Gomez and the single “Beautiful Now” featuring Jon Bellion. Zedd embarked on his second world tour in 2015. Since then, he has released singles routinely. Some of those singles include hits like “Starving” feautring Hailee Steinfeld and Grey, “Stay” with Alessia Cara, and one of 2018’s biggest hits “The Middle” featuring Maren Morris and Grey. Zedd hasn’t released an album in 4 years, making him due for one soon.

Zedd plays a house/electro house style of electronic music. He draws influence from classical, dubstep, and progressive house music as well. At this point though, Zedd’s music can even be considered pop because his hits have become pretty mainstream. In fact, there’s a bunch of electronic artists that fit that category too since electronic music has risen in popularity in recent years.

I usually write about how I became a fan of the artist I’m previewing, where I first heard them, or some sort of story about them, but honestly I’m not a huge fan of Zedd. I just know a lot of his songs because many of them are very mainstream. I will say “The Middle” became a guilty pleasure of mine last spring and “Starving” was another guilty pleasure in late 2016. It was actually one of my favorite songs to play on guitar for a while. I know Zedd’s music well enough that if I were to pick any electronic DJ to see this year, it would be him. I think his set will be fun to be at and it’s sure to have a huge draw as well.

Zedd plays Sunday at Coachella 2019. This year will mark his 4th Coachella appearance. In 2012 and 2014, Zedd played at the Sahara Tent. In 2016, Zedd was the Outdoor Stage headliner on Saturday night. If Zedd isn’t the Outdoor headliner again, he most definitely will be playing the Coachella Main Stage right before Ariana Grande. In fact, we might even get a Zedd and Ariana collab during one of their sets since they did team up on Ariana’s “Break Free” in 2014. You might already know a ton of Zedd’s music, but in case you didn’t, here’s what to listen to in preparation for his Coachella 2019 set:

1. The Middle
2. Clarity
3. Starving
4. Happy Now
5. Stay
6. I Want You to Know
7. 365
8. Lost In Japan Remix (originally by Shawn Mendes)
9. Spectrum
10. Beautiful Now

 

 

Coachella Band Preview: The Chainsmokers

April 15th, Day 1 of Weekend 1 of Coachella 2016, is one month and 4 days from today. It’s the home stretch since the tickets officially went on sale and the lineup was released in January. This week’s preview features two EDM DJ’s who’ve been making their mark in music since their inception in 2012. If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’m not an EDM fan at all. I typically follow the indie music scene. It seems recently though that I’ve been contradicting myself when it comes to EDM. I actually do like the occasional electronic/digital dance song. When I do hear a song I like though, the music has indie roots, which is the case for some music by this week’s preview duo, The Chainsmokers.

The Chainsmokers are made up of DJ’s Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall. The duo started playing club shows together in September 2012 in New York City. Their indie band remixes are what first gained them attention as well as their original songs “Erase” feat. Priyanka Chopra and “The Rookie”. What gained the duo worldwide attention was the release of their single “#Selfie” in late 2013-early 2014. Since then they’ve collaborated with various bands/artists on several original songs and released their first EP, Bouquet, in October 2015. Their debut album is due out some time this year and the first single from the album, “Don’t Let Me Down” feat. Daya, was released in February.

Their music is obviously EDM (electronic dance music), as I stated before, but can also be considered dance, house, club, electro house, or progressive house. As I also said, they do have indie roots as noted from their remixes and I think it shows in several of their original tracks. That’s why I actually like a few of their songs despite not being an overall EDM fan.

I first heard of The Chainsmokers because of “#Selfie”. I hated the song. I still do. I’ve actually never listened to the whole song because I think it’s pretty stupid. In fact, I barely realized “#Selfie” was a Chainsmokers song until I started researching the group for this blog post. I thought I first heard The Chainsmokers in September of 2015, but I guess that’s when I actually got interested in some of their music. Thanks to recommendations from my favorite soccer player’s monthly playlists I heard several of the duo’s remixes and their song “Roses” feat. ROZES. It took me a few times hearing “Roses” to get into the song but eventually I got hooked. Within the past few months, I added a few more of their songs to my Spotify playlists.

This year marks the first time The Chainsmokers will play Coachella. After seeing the crowds that EDM sets draw last year, there’s no doubt that The Chainsmokers set will see a huge crowd at this year’s annual music festival. The only conflict would be is if another big EDM act plays at the same time. They play Sunday along with fellow EDM acts, Major Lazer, KSHMR, Flume, and headliner Calvin Harris. Supposedly their sets are wild, fun, and a giant party-like atmosphere that reflect the personalities of both Taggart and Pall. The set will most likely be filled with energy. To get you prepped, here’s a few of their songs:

1. Roses (feat. ROZES)
2. #Selfie
3. Don’t Let Me Down (feat. Daya)
4. Kanye (feat. sirenXX)
5. Until You Were Gone (with Tritonal feat. Emily Warren)
6. The Rookie
7. Let You Go (feat. Great Good Fine Ok)
8. New York City (feat. Victoria Zaro)
9. Erase (feat. Priyanka Chopra)
10. Split (Only U) (with Tiësto)