If you were anxiously awaiting the announcement last night from Osheaga's cute little mascots like I was, right now you are probably either planning out your travel plans to Montreal or you are sitting in disappointment. Yes, there is no Snoop Dogg - err Lion (is that still a thing?) - or Passion Pit (my faves) but there are some other really great performers making their way to Canadian soil August 2-4.
Check out the lineup:
Some of my favourites that stand out so far:
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Kendrick Lamar
Ellie Goulding
Azealia Banks
Baauer
Icona Pop
Porter Robinson
And there are more artists still to be announced!
I'm hoping I'll be able to check it out this year. Who are you most excited to see?
Lately, I've been really getting into the whole EDM scene, from listening and interviewing different DJs, getting my friends to teach me how to DJ, and even finding myself being able to get tons of work done when I have trap music blasting in my headphones. So when I heard that there was going to be a session at social media week focusing on EDM, music journalism and the role of social media, I knew I had to be there.
It took place on Friday, February 22nd at the Soho House (I've been to the one in Toronto and was excited to see what the NY location would look like inside!). The event was hosted by elektro Magazine & Soundctrl and was moderated my elektro's Executive Publisher, Zev Norotsky (@zevnorotsky).
Panelists:
Nikhil Shah - Co-founder, Mixcloud; @nikhilshah
Kerri Mason - CODE editor, Billboard.com; @HotWaterInc
Tommie Sunshine - DJ & Producer; @TommieSunshine
Matt Engleman - A&R, Big Beat Records; @WeAreBigBeat
One social media phenomenon they talked about was the Harlem Shake. The song itself, created by Baauer was made into an overnight success thanks to the hilarious videos that people began making, featuring ridiculous costumes and crazy "dance moves" - the fact that none of the videos actually include any Harlem shaking is another issue.
For example, here is my school's attempt at the Harlem Shake:
Baauer, a young talent to come up on the scene, is apparently the most humble guy about this whole situation. He was just featured on the cover of Billboard Magazine, as Kerri Mason brought in a few copies hot off the press to show us all - it's so cool!
I'd just like to add that I really liked Baauer before the whole Harlem Shake craziness...just putting that out there.
During the session, it was really cool hearing from Tommie Sunshine, who has been around in the industry for quite a while. He shared his views on the influence of social media and having a career in electronic music.
We also got to go home with a copy of elektro - Deadmau5 reppin Canada on the cover!
And just for the heck of it, here is what Harlem Shaking actually is:
This was my last Social Media Week NYC event for the week and I'm so glad it ended on such a high note. I had a great time running around the city hearing awesome speakers and meeting cool people!
