Dance
2022 Dance/Electronic Grammy Preview: Black Coffee on His Historic Nomination & Why Dance Deserves ‘Better Exposure’ at the Awards
Editors note: In this series, Billboard Dance is speaking with each 2022 Grammy nominee from the dance/electronic categories ahead of the 64th Annual Grammy Awards on April 3, in Las Vegas, NV. Black Coffee was at home in Johannesburg, South Africa hanging out with his mother when he learned that his 2021 album Subconsciously was nominated for the best dance/electronic album Grammy. “It was a surreal moment,” the producer tells Billboard. Explore See latest videos, charts and news One could also say it was a long time coming. The artist born Nkosinathi Innocent Sizwe Maphumulo has been a fixture of the global electronic scene for nearly two decades and has long flown flags for both house music and the vibrant electronic scene of his native South Africa. His nomination marks the first time ...
Elements Festival Announces Headliners Kaskade, Rezz and Fisher – And a New Location
Elements Music and Arts Festival, the Northeast’s only car camping and dance music festival, will feature Kaskade, Nicole Moudaber, Shermanology and Gene Farris this year along with returning favorites Fisher, Zeds Dead, J. Worra, Liquid Stranger, Sofi Tukker, Rezz and TroyBoi The final lineup will feature more than 100 artists spanning every genre of dance music The self-sustaining August 19-22 festival is leaving Lake Como, Penn., for a new home this year at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Penn. The new site will provide built-in spaces for food, water, parking, car camping and safety infrastructure. Ben May, president of Pocono Raceway, said the event was “the perfect complement to our mission of providing exciting experiences and lifelong memories at a beautiful and sustain...
Diplo Talks New Solo Album, Why He Didn’t Join Neil Young’s Spotify Exit and His Misinterpreted Taylor Swift Diss
If you’ve spent even one minute on Diplo‘s socials you know he takes NGAF to stratospheric levels on the regular. But in a new interview with Input magazine in which he explained why he’s releasing his first solo album in 18 years (Diplo) and the reason he didn’t follow Neil Young‘s exit from Spotify over Joe Rogan’s spreading of disinformation, the EDM star also served up a on-brand shruggy response to a nearly decade-old tweet in which he joked, “someone should make a kickstarter to get taylor swift a booty.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I don’t take it that seriously. When I first started using social media, it was a big joke for me,” he explained. “On Twitter, I was an unabashedly crazy person. And I didn’t realize that there was power ...
Alok se apoiou em produtores fantasmas não pagos para criar seus hits de Brazilian Bass
Nota do Editor: A Billboard publicou anteriormente uma versão condensada deste artigo em português. Como uma cortesia aos nossos leitores brasileiros, a Billboard decidiu publicar a matéria original em inglês na íntegra em português. Inclui atualizações sobre o status de “Un Ratito”. RIO DE JANEIRO – Atrás de um complexo murado numa estrada de terra cercado por palmeiras e uma exuberante montanha verde, os produtores e DJs Sean e Kevin Brauer aprenderam a fazer música enquanto viviam na comunidade religiosa Meninos de Deus nas duas primeiras décadas de suas vidas. O objetivo, no entanto, não era o estrelato na dance-music — era produzir rock cristão e música folclórica para apoiar o movimento religioso. Os irmãos Brauer tiveram uma educação domiciliar, não tiveram acesso à internet e tiver...
10 Dance Artists To Watch in 2022
Arguably the most exciting realm of the electronic scene is the up-and-coming, where fresh artists with fresh sounds build on the aural history of the genre — and its thousand sub-genres — while pushing the music ever-further into the future. As we settle into 2022, our eyes are on a crew of new artists doing exactly that — putting their own spin on electronic music and in the process making names that we expect to see rising up lineups and label rosters in the coming months and years. Get in on the ground floor, with these 10 electronic artists who deserve your attention in 2022. [embedded content] Having gone from NCAA basketball athlete to a sailor in the U.S. Navy, to now a well-renowned DJ, HoneyLuv is adept in adaptation. So when the COVID-19 forced the entire world into isolat...
Laidback Luke Says Today’s Biggest EDM Artists Are Brands That Get Consumed: ‘People Started Hacking It’
Despite his stage name and typically chill demeanor, Laidback Luke admits he was not always so Zen. The Dutch-Filipino DJ, born Lucas van Scheppingen, says he struggles with a “control freak” personality. He rails against the use of ghost producers to aid his musical productions, insisting on doing his own mixing and mastering and even filming and editing his own videos. “My wife sometimes tells me that I have the mind state of a mom-and-pop shop,” Luke tells Billboard. “She’s like, ‘Dude, Starbucks doesn’t make their own coffee anymore. It’s a multi [billion-dollar] conglomerate type of business. The way my mindset is, it’s like you’re a one-man band.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news But Luke worries that his fellow DJ-producers have strayed t...
Day Zero Celebrates Its 10-Year Anniversary in the Jungle: Photo Gallery
Amid shifting COVID protocols in the region, Tulum’s Day Zero festival hosted its 10-year anniversary event on Jan. 10, 2022. The one-day party, hosted by Day Zero founder Damian Lazarus, featured sets from house and techno royalty including Black Coffee, Nina Kraviz, Seth Troxler, The Martinez Brothers, DJ Holographic, DJ Tennis and more. Launched in 2012 to coincide with what was then purported to be the end of the Mayan calendar, Day Zero has since been a key stop for the global dance music jet. This year’s Day Zero hosted roughly 7,000 guests who trekked into the jungle near Tulum, Mexico for the nearly 24 hour party, which launched at 4 p.m. on January 10 and wound down during mid-afternoon the following day. This show happened as other events in the region were cancelled due to the r...
First Spin: The Week’s Best New Dance Tracks From Honey Dijon, Fred Again & More
This week in dance music: The new Avicii biography delivered revelations about the producer’s life and legacy; Ed Banger boss Busy P remembered his friend, the late DJ Mehdi, and released this first new Mehdi track in more than a decade. Jonas Blue and Why Don’t We debuted on Dance/Electronic Songs with their single “Don’t Wake Me Up;” the venerable Ultra Records appointed a new president; the author of the aforementioned Avicii bio spoke with Billboard about how the book is “in a lot of ways a positive story,” and the Brazilian duo Sevenn alleged that superstar producer Alok didn’t pay or credit them for many of their collaborations. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news This week also delivers a flurry of fresh tracks, from house to techno to bass ...
Jonas Blue & Why Don’t We Debut on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart With ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’
Jonas Blue and Why Don’t We score the leading debut on Billboard’s multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated Jan. 22) with “Don’t Wake Me Up” at No. 13. The track earned 1.4 million U.S. streams and sold 800 downloads in the Jan. 7-13 tracking week, according to MRC Data, following its Jan. 7 release. “Don’t” is Blue’s 20th chart appearance, dating to his first, his remake of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 Billboard Hot 100 top 10 “Fast Car,” featuring Dakota (No. 7, 2016). The British DJ/producer owns two other top 10s: “Mama,” featuring William Singe (No. 10, 2017), and “Rise,” featuring Jack & Jack (No. 9, 2018). The bow marks Why Don’t We’s first entry on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. The quintet has tallied two top 10s on the Billboard 200 albums chart: 8 Letters (No. 9, 2018) and ...
David Waxman Appointed President of Ultra Records
Ultra Records has a new leader. On Thursday (Jan. 20), the venerable dance music label announced David Waxman as its president. Ultra’s parent company, Sony Music, confirmed that it now owns 100% of Ultra Records and that Ultra’s founder and now-former president Patrick Moxey has left the label. Moxey founded Ultra Records in 1995, and Waxman has been with the label as its head A&R for more than 20 years. The label entered a partnership with Sony Music in 2012, as dance music was experiencing a major rise in popularity in the United States. As president, the New York-based Waxman will oversee the day-to-day operations of the label, identify and develop new artists and projects and work with Sony Music to expand the Ultra Records roster and back catalog. During his tenure at Ultra Recor...
Exclusive: The Chainsmokers, Tiesto to Headline Maxim’s ‘Big Game Weekend’
Embargo 9am EST Tuesday The 2022 Super Bowl is just three weeks away and The Chainsmokers and Tiësto have been announced as headliners for one of the biggest events of Super Bowl weekend. The DJ acts will be headlining Maxim’s “Big Game Weekend,” a two-night event that combines music, entertainment and sports. The Chainsmokers will perform on Friday, February 11th at “MaximBet Music At The Market,” a new event that highlights MaximBet, Maxim’s online sports betting platform. Taking place at City Market LA, a former produce distribution center-turned-open air event space, The Chainsmokers’ show will feature a full, 90-minute set from the duo. Guests will also have the chance to win Super Bowl tickets, electronics and even cash, all dropping down from the MaximBet blimp that will be in the a...
Katy Perry Strips Down in Behind-the-Scenes Pics From ‘When I’m Gone’ Video Shoot
Katy Perry wants to leave you something to remember “When I’m Gone.” So, the singer posted some behind-the-scenes pics from the video shoot for her new dance-tastic single with DJ/producer Alesso. In the series of snaps Perry shows off some of the costumes from the high-fashion visual, opening with a provocative topless snap in which she’s only wearing wide-leg jeans and a knowing over-the-shoulder look as she stands facing a wall with her hands up next to a sign that warns: “do not hose down.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news “Let it burn baby,” Perry, 37, captioned the series, along with the #WIG tag. In a second pic, Perry stares down into the camera while grabbing a handful of hair with an overflowing costume rack behind her, then sips a red drink in a plastic cup and r...
