EDM
R.I.P. Erick Morillo, “I Like to Move It” DJ Dead at 49
Colombian-American DJ and producer Erick Morillo has died at the age of 49. TMZ reports that Morillo’s body was found on Tuesday morning (Sept. 1st) in Miami Beach, Florida. The circumstances surrounding his death are currently under investigation, according to Miami Beach police. Morillo was arrested in August after being accused of sexual battery by a woman who says Morillo made unwanted advances on her following a private DJ gig last December. Morillo denied the allegations, however after an examination tested positive for his DNA, he turned himself in to authorities (via Variety). He was due to appear in court this coming Friday. Morillo was born in New York City, but spent the early years of his life living in Colombia. His family eventually returned to the US and resided in...
Thousands Turn Out for EDM Concert in Wuhan, China
Wuhan, China, once the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, has returned to a sense of normalcy. This past weekend, in fact, thousands of people turned out for an electronic music concert. The event took place at the Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park, an open-air venue with a capacity of around 15,000. Though organizers restricted capacity to 50%, the event still drew thousands, with a vast majority choosing not to wear a mask or practice social distancing. A number of attendees even watched the concert from inflatable rubber tubes floating in a giant pool. While such scenes are unthinkable in the era of coronavirus, Wuhan has reported no new cases of the virus since mid-May and has largely lifted the stringent lockdown restrictions in place since January. Wuhan, China — once the glo...
Bassnectar “Stepping Back” From Music Following Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
The prominent electronic dance DJ and producer Bassnectar says he is “stepping back” from music following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, grooming, and ephebophilia. A recently launched Instagram page called @evidenceagainstbassnectar has collected a number of disturbing allegations involving Bassnectar (whose real name is Lorin Ashton). Many of the alleged incidents involved young women under the age of 18. The Instagram page includes several detailed accounts written by his alleged victims in addition to archived text correspondences and audio recordings of their interactions with him. In one of the audio clips, Bassnectar can be heard admitting to raping a 17-year-old girl. In another clip, he attempts to gaslight his alleged victim by asking her if she wanted to see him be a...
Song of the Week: BLACKPINK’s “How You Like That” Illuminates the Darkest Places
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify New Sounds playlist. A year ago, we were admittedly still trying to make sense of K-pop. We wondered how artists we had never heard of — or only recently came to know — were selling out arenas in record time. We tried to figure out what the deal was with those guys (BTS, btw) teaming with Lil Nas X at the Grammys. Finally, our own Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum, a longtime K-pop fan and writer, broke it down for us: “K-pop is not a genre. A type of music? Sure. An industry? Yes. A musical scene? Definitely. But not a specific genre. Boom, now we can move forward.” Whether it was the bands, the fans, or the scope of the music itself, we were trying to fit some...
UK “Quarantine Raves” Result in Death, Rape, Multiple Stabbings
Manchester, England was the site of two illegal “quarantine raves” on Saturday, June 13th. Attended by some 6,000 people total, the events resulted in one suspected overdose death, three stabbings, and the rape of an 18-year-old-woman. As reported by the BBC, the two separate events took place in Daisy Nook Park and Carrington, both within Greater Manchester County. 4,000 people piled into the park at Daisy Nook, including the 20-year-old man who is believed to have died of a drug overdose. An additional 2,000 people raved at Carrington, and it was this smaller event that hosted the rest of the weekend’s tragedies. Three separate stabbings took place, one of which left an 18-year-old man in critical condition. Police officers gave him first aid before paramedics arrived, and his healt...
Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Dances Through the Pain and Trauma: Review
The Lowdown: It feels strange listening to dance music at a time when dance clubs themselves, nights out with friends, and, for many, friends in general are impossible to access in person. Like so many of the joys people have managed to find in quarantine, kitchen-floor dance parties and celebrations shared via Zoom and FaceTime — while necessary reliefs and real, genuine joys — can also sometimes feel tinged with a hint of delirium. But Chromatica feels like an appropriate answer to the vacancy created by this dissonance — as a lot of Lady Gaga’s work has done in the past, it offers up some honest-to-God bangers side by side with some honest-to-oneself reckonings with trauma, pain, addiction, and the very idea of what it means to be flawed and how this idea shifts depending on who’s defin...
Electric Daisy Carnival Announces Virtual Rave-A-Thon
EDM mega fest Electric Daisy Carnival has announced a new Virtual Rave-A-Thon. This livestream will take place May 15th, 16th, and 17th, with donations benefitting coronavirus relief charities. Across two “stages”, or unique Twitch and YouTube channels, the Virtual Rave-A-Thon will see performances from Afrojack, David Guetta, Flosstradamus, Kaskade, TOKiMONSTA, Zeds Dead, and more. EDC founder Pasquale Rotella will be hosting the event, as well as conducting interviews and interacting with fans at home. Other acts will include 12th Planet, AC Slater, ARMNHMR, ATLiens, Benny Benassi, Boombox Cartel, Borgore, Chris Lorenzo, Claude VonStroke, Deorro, Dombresky, Don Diablo, Duke Dumont, Ekali, Headhunterz, i_o, JSTJR, K?D, KSHMR, Lee Foss, Malaa, NGHTMRE b2b Ghastly, Nicole Moudaber, Oli...
