March has officially come and gone, taking with it some of the cold with the promise of Spring and then Festival Season, also known as Summer. We had a lot of awesome news, music, and events in March to keep us busy, so in case you missed some we’ve recapped it all for you below.
Festival News
March was low-key an awesome month for festival announcements. In February we had the Electric Forest announcement that dropped our jaws and we expected everything after that to be cake, delicious delicious Shambhala flavored cake with Lollapalooza icing and Mysteryland filling.
Shambs dropped their lineup and its one of the most complete and thorough lineups we’ve seen this year. Every genre is covered from funky GRiZ to trappy Mr. Carmack to legendary Pretty Lights. If you’re looking for new music we’d recommend diving into that lower section of the lineup as there’s quality throughout.
Lollapalooza announced their highly anticipated lineup and subsequently sold out their tickets on the same day. They know how to fest in Chicago and we can’t wait to see what surprises they have in store this year.
Mysteryland gave us their lineup as well featuring names like Porter Robinson, Kygo, and Gramatik among others. We heard only good things from their fest last year and are excited to see what comes out of the second year fest.
The rumor mill began spinning after Ape Drums may have accidentally leaked that Bisco is going down. We haven’t seen anything other than a fake lineup, but we think the possibility of it happening is high.
Music
March was a great month for music, with the new GRiZ album leading the way. Say It Loud is a massive step not only for electro-soul, but also electronic music as a whole. We got the funk and groove that we’ve come to expect from Grant, but the effort, time, and ultimately love that he put into making this for us really shines through. There are a ton of collabs, features, and recorded instrumentals that make Say It Loud the most influential album in electro-soul since Pretty Light’s A Color Map of the Sun and the best of 2015.
We got some deep wubs and mind expanding music from Brightside in the form of his Future Abstract EP that is a follow up to his Apex EP that he released a few weeks ago. You can check those both out on his Soundcloud here.
If GRiZ’ album didn’t satiate your need for electro-soul (not possible) then you should check out fellow All Good artists The Geek x VRV newest EP Electric City. Lots of sexy guitar, vocals, and beats lie waiting for you in here, check it out below.
Editorials
March saw a lot of newsworthy happenings within the scene, separate of the music. Halina and I put our heads together to respond to the issue of “Women in EDM.” What came out was what we believe to be the most effective course of action to stop the objectification of women within the industry. You can check that out here.
We love Electric Forest and wanted to know more about the “behind the scenes” activity and what goes on in the pre-festival stages. Tyler got to speak with the lead talent buyer of Madison House, Alicia Karlin. She weighed in on everything Electric Forest from the lineup to the art to the Festive Owl leaking Bassnectar. Check that out here.
With Benga playing Red Rocks and two sets at Infrasound as well as Caspa playing Sonic Bloom, we think that classic dubstep may be making a comeback. We put together “A Brief History of Dubstep” so that you can get your learn on and be well versed in the history.
You may have heard that Summer Camp attendees are upset about Krewella taking up a headlining spot and starting a petition to have them removed. We thought that response was a bit misguided and Halina took the time to respond to that issue. Check that out here.
And there you have it! The biggest news and music in the world of electronic music. It feels like just yesterday we were putting together the “February Best Of” and here we are starting April. Before we know it we’ll all be together getting down at the Sherwood Court, just a little longer everyone. Much love fam
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