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DJ Mag Sessions 004 Mixed by Flaremode and presented by Hard Lights is out now.
Please welcome our very special guest mr. Bob Sinclar Dj Mag selection: Cerrone Ft. Brendan Reilly - Move Me Manuel Costa ft Hi-Ly - Watch out the day Bob Sinclar played: Crazibiza & Frank Caro & Alemany - Fresh (Charles J Remix) Fatboy Slim - Where U Iz Ruben Mandolini - Inred Jack N Danny, Tim Baresko - Sing It Back Nivlac - Feel It (Tommy Mc remix) Milk & Sugar - Higher & Higher (Milk & Sugar Remix) Luca Debonaire - Headrockers Ian Carey - Keep On Rising (Laurent Delage Tribal Remix) Brian Chundro & Santos, Ramonez- Grindin (Feat. Ramonez) David Fesser - Etnia (Fatboy Slim Edit) Jamis - Buya Simon Kidzoo - Cheetah Larris V - Le Flute Bob Sinclar vs Martin Garrix - Together Wiee (Bob Sinclar Boot) 
‘Turmoil‘ – Slips & Slurs is back at it and this time he’s introducing Holly to the Monstercat community. ‘Turmoil‘ is a perfectly eerie introduction for Holly, linked with heavy elements that ring with the typical Slips & Slurs style.
A delicious culmination of trap, dubstep and slight moombah elements, this is a great way to continue the long week. Immersing listeners in bone chilling bass, strong drops and heavy vibes is how productions captivate fans and capture a love for electronic dance music and a song like ‘Turmoil‘ is without a doubt one of those tracks and it certainly doesn’t fail to impress!
There are many questions surrounding the enigmatic Firepower Records artist Bear Grillz.
Is he really a bear? Is it hard to produce without opposable thumbs? And do bears even like dubstep? These are questions we may never receive answers to, but we now at least know when we’ll be receiving new music from every basshead’s favorite Grizzly bear. Bear Grillz recently took to Twitter to announce that his new EP will be self released effort coming out April 7th. The new EP will feature 5 songs following a similar trend of his past releases, whether the EP will feature all new releases is unknown at this time. Prior to the announcement Bear Grillz’ most recent release “The Game,” a collab with Figure, was released in February.
The announcement comes just weeks after Bear Grillz kicked off his first major headlining endeavor “The Void Tour” which began in Santa Ana on March 2nd and is currently making it’s way across North America with support from Terravita, Midnight Tyrannosaurus, P0gman, and Wooli. The tour features an insane new stage production and “Earth crushing bass” by PK Sound. Much like Excision and Datsik with “The Paradox” and “The Shogun” respectively, “The Void” now gives Bear Grillz his own signature stage production capable of truly showcasing the intensity his live performances. which began in Santa Ana on March 2nd and is currently making it’s way across North America with support from.
‘Faded‘ Official Music Video – In 2015, Alan Walker released his now global smash hit ‘Faded.’ Fast forward two years and the single has officially reached the 1 billion mark with views on YouTube.
19-year-old Norwegian DJ and producer Alan Walker is an international sensation, with three tremendously successful singles under his belt. At just the beginning of his career, he is one of the most streamed artists in the world, with his YouTube channel alone having over 1.7 billion views. His first single ‘Faded’ has become a global viral hit with over 624 million streams on Spotify, over 1 billion views on YouTube and it is the 9th most liked video on YouTube ever.
Last summer, Alan toured all across Europe and performed at various festivals including Tomorrowland in Belgium and Creamfields in the UK and supported Rihanna during her European leg of her ANTI World Tour. In October, his remix of Sia‘s hit ‘Move Your Body‘ was included on the Deluxe version of her album This Is Acting. He has received press coverage from Billboard, Complex, Fader, Mashable and more. Alan Walker recently completed his first European headlining tour, where all shows were sold out and he is currently on his first-ever North-American tour, with sold out shows in LA, NY, D.C. and more.
Growing up in the digital era, Alan found an early interest in computers that later turned into a fascination for programming and graphic design. In 2012 he started making music on his laptop with the help and feedback from his online friends. His music gained great popularity among gamers who used Alan‘s tracks in their own YouTube videos (UGC). The songs spread all over the world and later caught the attention of record labels.  Many of us got into DJing because we had a love of music, or we wanted to be in charge of rocking a party, or we were enthralled by the turntable mastery of someone like Q-Bert.
But that starry-eyed excitement only propels us so far. Most DJs will plateau and some point, both in regards to skill and in regards to career advancement. Even a lot of “bedroom-only” DJs can feel stagnant and empty, watching their turntables collect dust in the corner and wondering if they are simply over that phase in their life. What’s missing here is a desire to get serious about “purpose”. Get Analytical What is your “why”? Take some time to think about what you actually want to get out of DJing. Do you love sharing new music with a receptive audience? Do you like rocking a party with everyone’s favorite hits? Is it your job? Do you enjoy putting on a performance? All of these types of questions have implications in regards to how to pursue DJing. Gaining clarity on this early on will help you to proceed from a more informed perspective. If you already have a pretty active DJing schedule, take some time to get focused and organized. Many DJs assume that they are only “on duty” when they are behind the decks, but some off-hours preparation and promotion can do wonders in regards to advancing (and building a following). Set Goals Perhaps a bit too obvious for this type of post, but goal-setting is crucial for anyone wanting to further develop a career, interest, or hobby. Unless you’re completely satisfied with where you are, if you’re not setting goals — real, measurable goals, you’re already doing it wrong. This is important both on a large and a small scale. If you have only large, pie-in-the-sky goals (e.g. “I want to be a famous superstar DJ!)… you’ll never take the time to figure out how to get there. In episode 16 of The Passionate DJ Podcast, Joe Pardo explains to us the difference in defining short-term and long-term goals. Your big goals are in a constant state of change… ever-evolving as you advance through life, whereas small goals are constantly added. (For more on this, you can listen to episode 16 right here.) One more important point on this subject: it’s important to celebrate the completion of goals, big and small. Claim those small victories, and use them as motivation towards your bigger picture. Do Work Some people are great at the “setting goals” part, but not so much when it comes to follow-through. Advancement requires effort. Actual, legitimate effort. Elbow-grease. The grind. DJs often whine and complain about a lack of gigs, a lack of Facebook followers, or a lack of interest in their latest mix. Yet, if you ask what steps they are taking to fix it, they can’t give you a good answer. It may be pretty easy to “become” a DJ, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to succeed as one. Want to learn how to scratch? Tried it once or twice and found it too difficult? Then you’re right… but the problem isn’t the level of difficulty, it’s you. There’s no substitute for learning a craft than to dedicate the time it deserves. Engage When you’re invested in building up your community, it tends to give you a sense of focus. If you know what “your community” is (for instance, a local hip-hop scene or couples preparing for marriage), do everything you can to be the best at serving them. Make yourself a resource to others who may be having struggles of their own. The idea here is positive networking. This leads to good working relationships, and some of them will even lead to real friendships. And that sort of camaraderie can do wonders. My local dance music scene in Dayton, OH has almost entirely been rebuilt from the ground-up based on this sort of like-minded group effort. And some of that effort has lead to more, better gigs for me. And my skills have come in handy for many local promoters and DJs in my area. I’ve seen first hand that, so long as you get the right heads together, this stuff works. If you have fans, interact with them. Make them feel special, because they are. Quick Tips…
 We often receive questions like, “What’s a good budget DJ setup” or “How do I start DJing if I don’t have any money?”
The modern DJ is presented with a plethora of options. Once upon a time, your choice was simple: you needed two turntables and a mixer. If you were on a budget, you got the cheapest setup you felt like you could get away with. If you had the money, you got a pair of Technics and a DJM-something. It’s not just turntables anymore. There’s standalone controllers, modular controllers, FX units, mixers with sound cards, sound cards, software… the list goes on and on. What does one actually need? Tip #1: Get FocusedAs an aspiring DJ, the question you should ask yourself is, “What kind of DJ do I want to be?” There are a number of reasons for DJs to exist, and there are different things that inspire and motivate them. Do you want to create mixes for your own listening pleasure? Do you want to start your own radio show or podcast? Do you want to focus on scratching and turntablism? Do you want to just want to play house parties with your buddies? Or do you want to start your own mobile DJ business, specializing in weddings and corporate events? The choice is yours. If you are struggling with this, an alternative question might be: “Who will my audience be?” This is important, because it is a crucial step in determining what kind of gear to buy. If you want to be a turntablist, you may have no need for a standalone Traktor controller. Some options are more portable than others, which may be better for mobile DJs… and so-on. Putting in a little thought and research now can save you wasted money, in the long run. Tip #2: Use What You’ve GotWe all have a few noise-making gadgets laying around. A common myth about DJing is that you need all sorts of specialist gear in order to do it. But guess what? DJing is simply playing pre-recorded music to an audience. Everything else is just gravy. So what do you have that you can utilize now? Put those expensive DJ monitors on hold, and use that old set of 2.1 PC speakers in your closet. Instead of spending $500 on a pair of powered monitors, spend a dollar or two for a simple adapter. While it’s true that you probably don’t want to throw any parties with under-powered speakers (unless you want to blow them up), it may be worth scouring your closet, garage, and shed to find out what you can use as a temporary solution. Tip #3: Utilize Free and Cheap MusicFilling up your shopping cart at Beatport, with a bunch of new tracks that cost up to $2.49 a piece, can cause a bit of sticker shock when hitting “checkout”. There are plenty of ways to save on your music budget, without resorting to piracy. Many artists use sites like Bandcamp to allow the buyer to choose their own price, or give away free tracks to their most dedicated followers. Depending on the type of music, you can also purchase digital music the “standard” way, but from a different store. Sometimes the same track for sale on Beatport might be up to a dollar cheaper on WhatPeoplePlay.com or some other digital store. iTunes is often cheaper as well. A DJ on a budget may decide to not pay the upcharge for WAV files. 320kbps sounds fine, and lossless music can be prohibitively expensive. Tip #4: Become a Keyboard Shortcut NinjaToday’s DJ software will function surprisingly well on its own, even without using dedicated hardware (like a controller). Sure, there are limits. There are things you can’t easily do, like slowly filter out the bass of track A while you bring up the channel volume of track B. But. a DJ can learn a lot about mixing by operating under limitations like this. And the methods you develop can be added to your DJ “toolbox” for the rest of time. Let’s take the above example. There are no knobs on your laptop keyboard to turn, in order to smoothly remove the bass. But you do have a lot of buttons. Learn (or map) the keyboard shortcut for a bass kill (which would simulate instantly turning the low EQ all the way down). Not only have you worked around your problem, but you’ve inherently learned a new style of mixing. And you’ve learned that the sudden impact from track B’s kick drum can be very effective, rather than slowly blending it in. A lot of DJ software is available for free… so if you already have a computer, you can easily have basic DJ functionality with a little clever thinking. Hint: without any special hardware, your experience with DJ software will be greatly enhanced by doing some track prep. Proper beat grids prevent tracks from drifting out of time, predetermined cue points save you from mousing around, etc. Tip #5: Buy UsedDon’t be afraid of buying used or refurbished DJ gear. Many companies are releasing hardware at a fairly high refresh rate, which means that older models quickly become available as early adopters buy the latest-and-greatest. If it was used to mix music at any point in history, it can probably be used to mix music now. For example, at the time of this article, the Kontrol S2 sells for $399 brand new… but I was able to find them on eBay hovering around and below the $200 mark in mint condition. If you have the option to buy locally, it might be the preferred option. There are a lot of little knobs and buttons and lights on DJ gear, which means a lot of points of failure. It’s nice to be able to see and hear everything in action. When buying online, try to do your homework. When possible, investigate the feedback and history of your seller. Tip #6: Avoid SnobberyMany people seem to think that “pro-level” gear is required to become a DJ, or that real DJs only play vinyl, or that it’s not worth it to play on anything other than industry standard Pioneer hardware. If it sounds good, it is good. Impressing your DJ buddies is less important than serving your own needs, and operating within the confines of your budget. Let the squeaky wheels squeak, while you learn how to express yourself through music instead of hardware. 
DJ Mag Sessions is back with Nervo, check out their track list and click listen on the widget below!
01. Mark Knight & Green Velvet & René Amesz - Live Stream [TOOLROOM] 02. ALOK & Bruno Martini ft. Zeeba - Hear Me Now (EDX & Nora En Pure Remix)[SPINNIN' REMIXES] 03. Justin Martin ft. Femme - Hello Clouds (JAKWOB Remix) [DIRTYBIRD] 04. Low Steppa ft. Geneva White - Can't Lie [ARMADA DEEP] 05. NERVO - In Your Arms (Lucky Charmes Remix) [BIG BEAT (ATLANTIC)] 06. ID - ID 07. Zak Abel - Unstable (Dave Winnel Remix) [UNIVERSAL] 08. Hasse De Moor ft. Mike Jay - Tonight [SPINNIN'] 09. Kristine Blond - Love Shy (Sam Divine & CASSIMM Remix) [ARMADA] 10. Styline - High As Hell [GURU] 11. Shapov ft. Rookies - More Than Love [AXTONE] 12. Shapov vs. MEG \ NERAK - Breathing Deeper [AXTONE] 13. Curbi - Shinai [SPINNIN'] 14. Galantis - Rich Boy (Quintino Remix) [ATLANTIC (WARNER)] 15. Bob Sinclar - Rock This Party w/Garmiani - Bomb A Drop [DIM MAK] 16. Divolly & Markward x Drop Department - Batucada [CODE RED] 17. MORTEN & Riggi & Piros - TTFU [DIM MAK] 18. Faithless - Insomnia (Fedde Le Grand Remix) [SONY BMG] 19. Blasterjaxx - Neptune [MAXXIMIZE (SPINNIN')] 20. Shapov & Beverly Pills - Some People [AXTONE] 21. Blasterjaxx ft. Haliene - Revelation [MAXXIMIZE (SPINNIN')] 22. Clean Bandit ft. Sean Paul & Anne-Marie - Rockabye (Elderbrook Remix)[ATLANTIC (WARNER)]  Technology has changed so much since I first started DJing with turntables and vinyl, that it's an almost unrecognisable environment out there today for a new DJ - and I'm only comparing this to 10 years ago!
Nowadays, the basic skills needed to get anywhere (and I'm talking just to get to your first few gigs, never mind making a part or full-time living out of this game) are very different. In order to stay current and competitive, being able to turn up at your local record store on delivery day and knowing how to beatmatch really won't get you far any more. So if you've not yet started out as a DJ yet but are considering it, here are the five skills that I consider today's DJ needs to stay current and competitive. Feel free to disagree with me or add your own at the end! Today's DJ should...1. Know how to creatively use Midi controllers - Turntables and vinyl-only DJs are a thing of the past. As you sit there contemplating how to get going, the best thing you can do for yourself is to get yourself a Midi controller and learn how to use it properly - and this isn't tied to just DJ controllers, either. With technology improving and moving at such a fast pace, the ability to create dynamic and live remixes has become the de facto standard of today's top DJs. I personally am using Ableton Live with a Novation Launchpad to accompany my turntables along with Serato to scratch, to create multi-layer live remixes. How are you planning on using modern gear to make your sets that bit different from the rest? 2. Become an expert at networking online - Back when I started DJing (I bought my first turntables at Guitar Center and I still have the receipt!), the internet had only just really taken off. Yahoo! was still the premier search engine and AOL was still popular. Now, with the advance of the internet and all the technologies at our disposal, the web has allowed us to share our music and sounds around the world. Knowing how to leverage what is out there - Facebook, SoundCloud, Google+ and of course blogs and forums like this one - to share your work and get help from others is both how you get better and how you build a fanbase 3. Learn how to remix and mash up - The days of just mixing two songs together are over. Today's DJ has to know a lot about mashing up, remixing and even producing, to be in any way serious about being a professional. Software packages such as Audacity, Pro Tools, Cubase, Ableton and Reason allow DJs to mix, remix, and produce music to the next level, differentiating themselves from other DJs. After all, any DJ can just play a song straight, but is that how you are going to be different? Get serious about making your own music, even if it's just mashing up, if you are serious about your DJ career 4. Get obsessed with learning other types of equipment - You might be extremely comfortable with your set-up, whether it's Serato or Traktor with turntables, a DJ controller, or whatever, but it's always important to diversify your knowledge of DJ tools and equipment. After all, understanding what's out there and the resources you have available to you will keep you trying new ideas and remaining innovative in your DJ sets. Plus, you never know when you're going to be called to DJ on another type of gear. Remember that good DJs can DJ on anything 5. Perform the music, not just play it - Everybody's a DJ these days. It's true. People download free software, mix some songs and yes, they can technically call themselves DJs. In my opinion a "good" DJ is more than a DJ who just plays the music, rather someone who performs it. Think about the popular DJs such as Tiesto, David Guetta, Avicii and so on - they don't stand there like a robot and play tunes. They are actively engaged in the music physically and emotionally. If you're DJing and just looking like a robot, you've got to change. It's not enough nowadays So - do you agree with me? Have I left anything out? Are you a new DJ diligently trying to learn skills such as these? Or are you an old skool DJ who thinks none of this is important at all? 
With the release of their latest album, Woman last November, Justice looks to be hitting the road to promote their latest effort.
Known for their leather jacket wearing, Marshall amp prop using rock aesthetic, Justice has always stood out amongst their electronic peers. They are a group that wears their influence on their sleeve and it is clearly reflected in their live shows. While they have done a number of DJ sets since the release of their latest album, Justice has not unveiled their new live show until recently. The group performed at Mexico’s Vive Latino festival last week and displayed their updated live show for the first time. For their latest set up, they’ve made some modifications to their signature arena rock style rig. Below you can see a picture and performance video during their show with the new set up. In the photo, you can clearly see that the Marshall Amps are used as part of the light show that sync together with the stage riser that the group is using. 
SXM Festival hit the Caribbean island of Saint Martin between Wednesday 15th and Sunday 19th March, for five days of impeccably programmed parties in paradise.
The main area of the festival, Happy Bay, welcomed a who’s who of the underground to grace its main stage, with Ricardo Villalobos, Richie Hawtin, Jamie Jones, Black Coffee, Skream, Bob Moses, Soul Clap and many more all spinning. Come nightfall, things moved into the clubs, with the island boasting the Mercure, Tantra and Refuge as unknown gems to the global scene. The latter is the highlight though, an open air space to party under the stars, complete with a laser lit pool and a slight feel of Barbarella’s in Croatia about it. No small accolade. Through the course of the weekend Refuge welcomed artists including RPR Soundsystem, DJ W!LD, Ion Ludwig and Cinthie onto its decks, for sets for the more discerning dancers at the event. But to focus solely on the music would miss the point of SXM Festival. Hosted on the glorious island of Saint Martin, the event unearths a somewhat unknown destination for electronic music lovers. Situated just a stone's throw from St Barts, the location has all the pros of one of the world’s more expensive paradise locations, but at a snip of the price. Partner that with the incredible attention to detail in the festival’s bohemian main area - with the turn of every corner unearthing a new mind-bending light or art installation (it’s clear those behind the festival have a deep love of Burning Man) - and you begin to understand why global dance music has a new major player. DJ Mag can’t wait for next year’s edition of SXM Festival already. In the meantime, here’s 26 massive tracks from the event to keep you going. |
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