Social media king and one of the crown jewels of Mad Decent, Dillon Francis has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity the past two years. In just the past 24 months, our beloved Dill Fran has gone from a fast riser in the moombahton scene to a full-fledged household name releasing a debut album through Columbia Records. Few if any artists can boast that kind of spike in popularity… and whether it’s DJ Hanzel, DJ Rich As Fuck, or one of his millions of social media creations there seems to be no escaping the man.
Many times we argue amongst ourselves if popularity goes hand in hand with changing who you are as an artist, or if it’s simply just the fads/genres which are revolving. This got me thinking back to the good ol’ times of moombahton’s heyday when I caught Francis live at Electric Zoo in 2012 (which is still one of my favorite sets ever).
After seeing him live numerous times since, I wanted to take two sets, two years apart, and compare/contrast them to see what kind of path Dillon is on today in comparison to 2012. What I did was take his set from Ezoo 2012 and compared it to his Ultra set of this year, and the results were interesting.
Electric Zoo 2012
Of course I could be a little biased, but like I said, this is the benchmark for Dillon’s sets as far as I’m concerned. Check the track-list for yourself at the bottom of the article, but this set is loaded with gems from the very beginning; opening with “IDGAFOS 2.0″ into “Unison” (Knife Party Remix), before Dillon’s remix of “Hulk,” and into the extremely underrated “Sleaze.” Whenever moombahton wasn’t blaring over the speakers he’d switch it up only to the greasiest of electro.
When compared to his more recent sets, Electric Zoo 2012 saw no hint of progressive house and while trap is sprinkled in towards the end, it by no means dominates the performance. This is the fun over-the-top energy that we came to love Dillon for in the first place and he wouldn’t let up, dropping classics like “Westside!” and even “Pon De Floor.”
Ultra Music Festival 2014
This past year at UMF proved to be a time for to Dillon to showcase his change in sound. Tracks like Gregor Salto’s “On Your Mark“, “Proxy” by Martin Garrix, and TJR’s “Bounce Generation” found their way into his performance, representing a change in style compared to the Electric Zoo set of two years ago.
What’s interesting to see is that while some of the same timeless Dill Fran tracks were used in both sets, the other non-Francis tracks seemed to move from electro/moombah in favor of trap/progressive house.
It’s no surprise that “Masta Blasta“, “Masta Blasta” (The Rebirth)” and “Bootleg Fireworks” represented the three songs which were played in both sets. These are the songs people come to see and if you ask me, “Masta Blasta” might be the best track he has put out to date. Take a listen below to hear him debut (at the time) a bunch of new tracks off his album “Money Sucks, Friends Rule.”
Dillon is still very much one of the most influential acts in electronic dance music. While his style has changed in ways, he has still displayed extreme creativity on the production front as well as refreshing set lists on the live performance end.
Purchase Dillon Francis’ “Money Sucks, Friends Rule” Album
Connect with Dillon Francis:
https://www.facebook.com/DillonFrancismusic
https://twitter.com/DILLONFRANCIS
Electric Zoo 2012 Track-List
- IDGAFOS 2.0 – Dillon Francis
- Unison – Porter Robinson (Knife Party Remix)
- Hulk – Clockwork (Dillon Francis Remix)
- Sleaze – Knife Party
- Finale – Madeon (Dillon Francis Remix)
- Blow The Roof – Dillon Francis + Flux Pavilion
- Daydreamers – Flux Pavilion
- Kitchen – Angger Dimas
- Music Is Dead – Dillon Francis + Doctor P
- Que Que – Dillon Francis + Diplo
- Messages – Dillon Francis
- The Clap – Bro Safari
- Hits – (Dillon Francis Remix)
- Reptile Theme – Skrillex
- It Goes – Time Takers
- Stars Come Out – Zedd (Dillon Francis Remix)
- Bootleg Fireworks – Dillon Francis
- Galaxies – Doctor P
- The Crack – DJ Don Mecca
- F*cking Ghetto – Alvaro
- Kill The Noise – Kill The Noise (Dillon Francis Remix)
- 80’s Fitness – Koan Sound
- Bangbros – Munchi (Dillon Francis Remix)
- Dill The Noise – Dillon Francis
- Westside! – Dillon Francis
- Low Rider – ZZ Top
- Black To White – Felix Cartel (Clockwork Remix)
- Booty Bounce – GTA
- Pon The Floor – Diplo
- Fatality – Afrojack
- Blow Ya Stereo – Vata Gonzalez
- Shot Gun – Cratesez (Deorro Remix)
- Trap On Acid – RL Grime
- Money Makin’ – Dillon Francis Trap Remix
- Roots – Brillz (Dillon Francis Remix)
- Masta Blasta 2.0 – Dillon Francis
- Fire Hive – Knife Party
- ID
- Who Is Ready To Jump – Chuckie (Dillon Francis Remix)
- Destroy Them With Lasers – Knife Party
- Fabrication – Emalkay
- I Cant Stop – Flux Pavilion
- Underground Anthem – Flosstradamus
- We Like To Party – Vengaboys
Click here for the Ultra 2014 Track-List
Share On
