This past friday the first annual Global Dub Festival was held at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, being one of the first shows to kick off the summer concert season for the venue. This show was put on by AEG Live, the same people that throw Global Dance Festival every year, except this show featured nothing but dubstep artists such as Dirtyloud, Downlink, Datsik, Doctor P, and Flux Pavilion.

When I arrived Coult 45 of the sub.mission crew had just finished his set. The duo Dirtyloud came on next and switched things up a little bit by playing a lot of hard electro-house (something that wasn’t heard the rest of the night). The crowd was getting down to their house music, especially when they played some half-time house like their track “Needle”. As the sun set Downlink came on next, and started things off with some heavy drumstep. Downlink’s productions cover multiple genres, and he made sure to showcase them in his set, all while still staying true to his dirty, grimy sound. Datsik was on next, and by this time the entire venue was packed (the show was sold out). Datsik also played a lot of his heavy sounding dubstep, but covered other genres as well, like his new drumstep track with Z-Trip, “Double Trouble”. He had a lot of energy during his set, and at one point even stood on top of a table. At the end of his set he thanked the whole crowd and said that Denver is his favorite city to play in the U.S. Doctor P was next on the decks, and played all of his hits that has made him famous over the years. Sometimes his set would mellow out a little bit, and then he would drop a track like “Tetris” and the crowd would go absolutely nuts.

Flux Pavilion was the headliner of the night, and his visuals proved it. Unlike the rest of the DJs, Flux Pavilion had his own specially made visuals, most of which prominently displaying his “FP” logo. I’m pretty sure they were made specifically for his set since they synced up so well, especially for songs like “Bass Cannon”, which had the logos being destroyed by huge speakers (much like the music video). At the end, or encore, of his set, he played through all of his huge dubstep hits like “I Can’t Stop”, “Cracks”, “Gold Dust”, and his new track “Daydreamer”. After his set he also thanked everybody and said that this was the best show in the U.S. he’s ever played.

This past thursday I got the opportunity to head up to Fort Collins to see “Coyote Kisses” make there Colorado debut. With opening support from Blendrix, Candybeats, and Denver’s own Samples, they got the night kicked off and got the crowd already busting a sweat before the headliners took the stage.
Without a doubt the much anticipated duo lived up to peoples expectations. It was a small but intimate show, Coyote Kisses brought some real energy out of people when they took the stage around midnight.

A good way to describe the vibe of their music would be “80′s inspired, Star Wars synth electro with a dash of dubstep”. In bass music these days sometimes the melody can get lost in a swarm of over processed bass sounds and effects, but these two really know how to capture a melody and get you grooving. They performed a great all original set featuring many of their unreleased bangers yet to be unleashed on the public. Between ripping keyboard solos and glitched out vocals the duo demonstrated their vast knowledge of both playing and composing music.
I got a chance to talk to the two before their set and they were very cool and humble guys. Joe currently resides in Virginia while Bryce is in Florida, they also are full-time college students somehow finding the time to still compose amazing electronic music, tour and party. This seems to be the start of a very good story for the Coyote Kisses boys.

If you werent able to catch Coyote Kisses at the Aggie theater last week, you can see them play at Summit Music Hall in Denver on May 9th! Check out the Facebook invite here for more details.

Coyote Kisses Soundcloud

Coyote Kisses Facebook

The energy from the crowd was so intense I don’t remember anyone standing still during their performance!   If they were it was to share a picture or video of the group. The production set up and graphics were off the chain!   MSTRKRFT even dropped a few DUB Step tracks which sent the crowd in to a frenzy when that bass line dropped!   The sound was epic.   The bass felt like it was lifting me off of my feet!   When the bass hit for lack of a better term,  it was melting faces!!
Insomniac along with Program Council, were right on the money with this event. Can’t wait to see what they are doing next!!

Here is a Video from Altitude, Ft. Vinnie Maniscalcos’ joint Criminal Frequencies (Gangster bass).

As you all know, Tuesday nights are never short of bass and dance music in Denver and this week wasn’t an exception. As we walked in at 9pm, the crowd started to fill when Dirt Monkey stepped up to the decks, starting it off the right way, warming up the dance floor with a Funky Electro and Dubstep set.

Dirt Monkey is a local producer and DJ from Boulder, CO with tracks sitting in the top 10 on multiple Beatport lists. The vibes were amazing, everyone was moving nonstop, jumping, dancing, and having a good time. His sets have an up beat, “keep you dancing,” style that you have surely seen if you’ve ever had the pleasure of going to Beta Nightclub’s Bassic Fridays.

Next up was Document One, the producer duo from Oxford, Britain (UK). They came about in 2009 and have been moving up in the dubstep scene super fast, playing alongside heavy hitters such as: Bar 9, Excision, and Datsik. This was their first time in Colorado, on a Tuesday night, and the Ogden was completely packed, which proves once again that Denver is Dubstep! The crowd was going absolutely insane, as Document One played some of their top hits along with many others. The projections from VJ Infinight made people lose their minds in combination with the heavy and filthy tracks being played. As the venue started to get more and more packed, the bass and energy grew with it. As midnight approached and the crowd kept raging, they played their final song and introduced the man we were all waiting to see.

Finally, Borgore, the DJ / Producer from Tel Aviv, Israel, hopped on the decks with his two stunning pole dancers at his side doing their thing and making the bass heads have something else to look at other than Borgore himself. He got the crowd going buck wild. Everyone was feeling the music, from his own top ranked tracks to his favorites from other producers, supporting other talent and friends. Borgore had Denver going nuts, who love when these big name producers come out to Denver and realize that the EDM scene in Denver has blown up ridiculously! From the promotion/production companies and crews taking over and running things the right way such as: Got Bass Music, Sub.Mission, Clockwork, Triad Dragons, and Recon. From Dubstep and Drum and Bass to Moombathon and Electro, Denver has it all. We just wanted to thank you guys for coming out and supporting the Denver EDM scene. Much love fellow Bassheads, [♥] Keep it alive! Big up.

Review & Photos by James Oldham

Last weekend Vinnie and I had the opportunity to go to the 2012 Snowball music festival. It was the coolest and most unique music festival that i’ve ever been able to go to. It was a great mix of music and people brought together to party and listen to live music in the snow capped Vail mountains.
The Festival is held in Avon, Colorado. This is only the second year of having the festival and it has already grown to massive proportions. The artists on the lineup ranged anywhere from jam bands to indie rock bands to electro-house to dubstep and everything in-between. I would highly suggest attending this festival if you never have, its for sure a one of a kind festival experience.

Since there were so many awesome artists that played, im not going to go in detail on everyone’s sets. Instead well include some of the best free downloads from our favorite artists from the festival. Hope you all enjoy, Cheers !

At Dawn We Rage – The Night Is Dead to Me

Bassnectar – Upside Down (Terravita & Bassnectar Remix)

Dada Life – Lets Get Bleeped Tonight

Dillon Francis – IDGAFOS 2.0

Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg – The Next Episode (Staunch Remix)

GriZ – Wheres The Love

MiM0SA – Drippin

NiT GriT – Purple

NiT GriT – Euthanizing A Dream

Minnesota – Jetstream

Rusko – Got You In Check

Two Fresh – DU DU DU

XV Ft. Wiz Khalifa – Gobstopper (Figure Remix)

The Acidophiles – Mindfire

Paper Diamond – Can We Go Up (Sunsquabi Remix)

Stephan Jacobs – Rewind The Tape (Hypha’s LaserJuke Remix)

Last Thursday’s event at the world renown Red Rocks Amphitheater was an awesome new addition to Global Dance Festival. In previous years the festival featured two days of strictly electronic dance music (EDM). 2011′s line up featured a whole new day with a new style of artists like Kid Cudi, Empire of the sun, Innerpartysystem, Big Gigantic, Sam Adams, Hot Tub, Robot Pirate Monkey, and Food Chain. The producers definitely took a huge risk to diversify and expand Global Dance Festival and it was definitely a breath of fresh air. Big ups to Triad Dragons, Scion, and Euphonic Conceptions for coming together to kick off a weekend that will go down in history! More photos to come soon!

Photos by Scott Lentz

EDC, aka The Electric Daisy Carnival, is one of the largest electronic music festivals in North America and features showcases with full scale carnival rides in several different states across the U.S. including Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and Florida. Last year the massive was held at Exposition Park in LA and a 15 year old girl died from a suspected overdose. Insomniac Events has since partnered with IAG (Investigative Advisory Group) to expand their safety protocols. One of the many new policy changes include a mandatory 18+ only qualification for entrance into the madhouse. The 18+ requirement has definitely been a giant, positive, step forward for the festival’s overall look and community. Let’s be honest, music festivals and concerts in general are drug havens, not the best environment for a 16 year old. I’m sure a lot of people would agree that the crowd etiquette has improved greatly from previous years, and now that I look back on it I don’t recall seeing any gang fights outside the venue last night. Big ups to Insomniac for recognizing and effectively addressing a serious issue; I’m sure the new age requirements hurt them financially but it definitely encouraged an older crowd to come out and show their support for some of their favorite artists.

On another note, this year’s show definitely catered to the BASS lovers of Colorado. The “Bass Pod” was held in the main room and hosted Dubstep and Drum & Bass artists Numbernin6, Downlink, Sigma, 12th Planet, Noisia, and Datsik. 12th Planet seemed to be having a ton of fun while he slammed vodka and dropped tons of some of the biggest tunes of the year including Bass Cannon and the Skrillex remix of Sexy Lady. He went crowd surfing like 3 times and towards the end of his set he got on the mic and, in the nerdiest voice he could make, asked everybody: “In honor of Skrillex, would all the gentlemen, respectfully, place the ladies on their shoulders.”

Next up was Noisia who I’ve been wanting to see for the longest time in Colorado, although it was only two thirds of the group, they definitely delivered one of the most unique and grimiest sets of the night. The first part of their set consisted of mostly DnB and I was pleasantly surprised when they smoothly transitioned into some Electro. Towards the end of their set one member got on the microphone to hype up the crowd claiming they “heard rumors that Colorado is crazy for this thing called dubstep…” and the crowd went nuts as they dropped in the 70 bpm goodness. I have to mention how intricate Noisia’s productions can be, their basslines and synths are so full and definitely have a unique sound that is very recognizable especially on a sound system as loud as the one they setup in the main room last night.

After Noisia, I went over to the “Circuit Grounds” stage to watch the first half of Z-Trip. As always his scratching was on point and the stage production was phenomenal with two giant Z’s on both sides of the stage made out of LED panels. Over a ten minute time span I heard him mix Rusko’s Hold On mashed up with DJ Khaled’s All I Do Is Win, Bassnectar’s Bass Head mashed up with Ludacris’ Get Out The Way, and M.I.A.’s Paper Planes. Everybody seemed to be having a great time as Z went all over the spectrum from Dubstep to Rock n Roll.

Shortly after, I returned to the “Bass Pod” only to hear Datsik playing the exact same Rusko Hold On vs. DJ Khaled’s All I Do Is Win mashup. Towards the last 30 minutes of his set we were blessed to hear some brand new tunes that he claimed were saved exclusively for EDC Colorado. Two of the tracks were ELECTRO! And it was damn good electro at that. His last song was a new production from himself and Doctor P and it was cut short because of the new 2am curfew.

Finally, I have to give a big up to Feed Me who absolutely blew me away with his production and mixing skills, his electro and dubstep is hyphy as hell and brings plenty of energy to the table. He was a great addition to this years line up.

Overall this was my favorite Electric Daisy Carnival over the last 3 years and although alcohol wasn’t allowed outside of the 21+ area, it felt much more like a concert this year instead of just another “rave.”