coachella announces 2010 lineup

The three-day Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has announced its line-up for three-day event April 16-18 in Indio, Calif. It includes LCD Soundsystem, Tiësto, Deadmau5, David Guetta, Plastikman, Kaskade and a reunited Orbital.

Here are the day-by-day dance music highlights:

Friday, April 16: LCD Soundsystem, Deadmau5, Benny Benassi, Erol Alkan.

Saturday, April 17: Tiësto, David Guetta, Hot Chip, Kaskade, 2 Many DJ's, Major Lazer, Z-Trip, Bassnectar.

Sunday, April 18: Orbital (above), Plastikman, Gary Numan, Infected Mushroom, Talvin Singh, Paparazzi.

[Orbital photo by Steve Price].


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kaskade pix in the mix

Drew Ressler has the official photos of Kaskade's headlining DJ show at the refurbished Hollywood Palladium. The event was sold out, and the 4,000-person capacity at the venue was reached.


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kaskade does the palladium

Kaskade is scheduled to perform a one-man DJ show at the historic Palladium in Hollywood Oct. 16. He'll be joined on stage by Perry and Etty Farrell for the live, Los Angeles debut of Kaskade's "Machine Girl." And he'll preview some music from an upcoming long-player. The event is being put on by Insomniac of Electric Daisy Carnival fame, and it's all ages (or, to be safe, 18 and older). Info.


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juicy ibiza ready for summer

Robbie Rivera's Juicy Ibiza club nights on the Spanish isle are set to return July 14 and continue every Tuesday through the end of the season at Privilege. Rivera, Kaskade, Marco V., Joachin Gerraud and more are the scheduled residents. Rivera is releasing his fourth installment of his Juicy Ibiza mix-CD series June 22 on Black Hole Recordings.

kaskade ascends

On my way to Avalon Hollywood over the weekend to check out Sharam, I noticed that Vanguard was mobbed, with people spilling onto the Walk of Fame. Kaskade was the draw, and his representative says the venue, which has a capacity of somehwere north of 1,500, was officially full by midnight. The onetime smooth-house DJ seems to have reached that A-list level of superstar spinners occupied by the likes of Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren and John Digweed. He's celebrating the release of his latest mix-CD, The Grand, by the way.

My recent story.

kaskade promotes new mix, gay rights

In this week's OC Weekly I catch up with dance music star Kaskade, who has a new mix-CD, The Grand, out on Ultra Records this month. The mix is very, er, trancey, though Kaskade, a former smooth-house titan, does'nt use the word. He does, however, say his music has grown in scope and breadth -- thus the album title -- as he's played bigger and bigger venues.

During my interview with the DJ, who was raised Mormon, I asked him about Proposition 8, the successful California initiative that overturns the right for anyone to marry. The Mormon church spearheaded the pro-8 campaign. He said I was the first reporter ever to ask him about it.

"Part of the reason I’m so sympathetic—and anybody who knows dance music can understand this—20 years ago, it was the gay community that supported dance music," he says. "I was going to these clubs. For me, it’s a no-brainer. Of course, everybody should have equal rights."

kaskade readies new mix

Kaskade has a new mix-CD, The Grand, coming at you March 24 via Ultra Records. The comp's flavors capture "the essence of the big room sound that I play but demonstrate that this sound can still have heart and soul," the DJ states. "This is the kind of music I enjoy creating and love to play in clubs around the world." If features tracks and remixes from Deadmau5, Jes, Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso, Dirty Vegas and more.

Track list:

1. Kaskade with Tamra - Angel On My Shoulder (EDX's Belo Horizonte at Night Remix)
2. PNAU – With You Forever (Dirty South Remix)
3. Kaskade – Step One Two (Mischa Daniels Stringnized Mix)
4. Haley – This Is How It Goes (Kaskade’s Grand Club Edit)
5. Mischa Daniels feat. Crown – Another Place
6. Zip Zip Through The Night – Beestung (Kaskade’s Grand Mix)
7. Jes – Imagination (Kaskade Mix)
8. Kaskade & Deadmau5 – Move For Me (Mind Electric Mix)
9. Kaskade & Deadmau5 - Move For Me (Santiago & Bushido Mix)
10. Dirty Vegas – Pressure (Sultan & Ned Shepard Mix)
11. Michael Feiner feat. Daniel Lindström – Saturday Night (Arno Cost Remix)
12. Sebastian Ingrosso & Laidback Luke - Chaa Chaa (EDX's Marrakesh Souk Remix)
13. Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso - Partouze
14. Tommy Trash feat. Mr Wilson – Need Me To Stay
15. Kaskade – Step One Two (Tommy Trash Instrumental/Location Location “The Day Before” Acapella]
16. Nubreed – NuFunk (Deadmau5 Remix) [Haley “I’m Someone Else” Acapella]
17. Cabin Crew - Can’t Stop (Mind Electric Remix)
18. Plumb – In My Arms (Kaskade Extended Mix)

Tour dates:

Sat 3/21 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa SXSW
Thu 3/26 Miami Beach, FL Juicy @ Nikki Beach
Fri 3/27 Miami Beach, FL Bed
Sat 3/28 Miami, FL Bicentennial Park (Ultra Music Fest)
Wed 4/1 San Francisco, CA Slide
Thu 4/2 Anaheim, CA Heat Ultra Lounge
Fri 4/3 San Diego, CA Spin
Sat 4/4 Los Angeles, CA Vanguard
Thu 4/9 Toronto, ON The Guvernment
Fri 4/10 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
Sat 4/11 Denver, CO Beta
Thu 4/16 Sacramento, CA The Park Ultra Lounge
Fri 4/17 Windsor, ON Boom Boom Room
Sat 4/18 Miami Beach, FL Mansion Night Club
Sat 4/25 New York, NY Webster Hall
Sun 4/26 Montreal, QC Club Opera
Thu 4/30 Edmonton, AB The Bank Ultra Lounge
Fri 5/1 Ottawa, ON Heaven Nightclub
Sat 5/2 Chicago, IL Smart Bar
Wed 5/6 Las Vegas, NV Body English
Fri 5/8 Houston, TX Rich’s Houston
Sat 5/9 Dallas, TX Plush Nightclub
Fri 5/15 Charlotte, NC The Forum
Sat 5/16 Washington, DC Glow @ Fur
Sun 5/17 Calgary, AB The Whiskey Nightclub
Thu 5/21 El Paso, TX Myst Ultra Lounge
Fri 5/22 San Francisco, CA Ruby Skye
Mon 5/25 Las Vegas, NV Wet Republic
Thu 5/28 Kelowna, BC Level Nightclub
Sat 5/30 Seattle, WA WaMu Theatre at Qwest Field
[Photo by Mark Owens].

miami gets juicy

Robbie and Monica Rivera's annual Juicy Beach party has revealed its 2009 (March 26 at Nikki Beach) lineup, which includes Robbie Rivera, James Zabiela, Kaskade, Axwell, Wally Lopez, Donald Glaude, Starkillers, Austin Leeds, Tocadisco, ATFC and more. Tix.

kaskade and deadmau5 release video

Kaskade & Deadmau5 this week unleashed the video for the duo's track, "Move For Me," which is a single off Kaskade's latest long-player, Strobelight Seduction. The hit reached No. 1 on Billboard's dance-airplay chart. The singer on the track, by the way, is Haley Gibby.

dance music news: thursday

-Om Records has dug into its catalog and resurrected some of Kaskade's earlier material for the Bay Area label. The king of smooth house (pictured above) started his career there but has since moved on to Ultra Records. Kaskade - The Om Remixes comes at you Oct. 7 via Om.

-American techno torchbearer John Tejada's band project with Takeshi Nishimoto is bearing fruit this fall. I'm Not A Gun's new album Mirror gets released Oct. 14 via Tejada's own Palette label. Tejada, by the way, is performing live at Fabric in London Saturday with longtime production partner Arian Laviste. (The guy gets the most coveted stage in dance music at the world's greatest club. When's the last time he performed live in the big rooms at Avalon or Vanguard in L.A.? I'm going to guess never).

-Barcelona's techno-flavored Sonar festival has already announced its summer, 2009 dates: June 18-20.

dance music news: wednesday

-Z-Trip is being joined by artist-and-DJ Shepard Fairey at a spin-session fundraiser for presidential candidate Barack Obama Friday at the Echoplex in L.A.'s Echo Park. The first 100 people through the door will get one of Fairey's iconic Obama "Hope" posters.

Being a generation Xer, would Obama be the first DJ-friendly president in U.S. history? Or does George Bush, who hosted a Jason Bentley set during last year's White House Correspondents Association Dinner, take that title?

-Israeli dance music producer Guy J unleashes his debut artist album, Esperanza, in September via John Digweed's Bedrock label. The release includes a bonus disc of remixes. Says Diggers, "With this album project Guy has really pushed himself further musically, delivering an album full of diversity with a warm melodic, contemporary sound. I feel this album would sit well setting you up for a night out, helping you wind down at an after party or even just lazing by the pool. the crisp beats and beautiful melodies lock you in from start to finish."

-Indie groovers Fujiya & Miyagi are prepping their sophomore album, Lightbulibs, for a Sept. 16 release via the Deaf, Dumb + Blind label. Listen to the foursome's latest track, "Dishwasher," here. The band is also touring in fall to support the release:

Oct 22 2008 MERCURY LOUNGE NEW YORK
Oct 23 2008 WEBSTER HALL NEW YORK
Oct 24 2008 PARADISE BOSTON
Oct 25 2008 BOTTOM LOUNGE CHICAGO
Oct 27 2008 CHOP SUEY SEATTLE
Oct 28 2008 THE INDEPENDENT SAN FRANCISCO
Oct 30 2008 THE TROUBADOUR LOS ANGELES

-Most of those tracks commissioned by Coca-Cola to celebrate the summer Olympics in Beijing have been rolled out. Here's one of the latest, "Beautiful," by Kaskade. Also: Jes, "Be It All;" Jay-J, "Happiness;" Cezar, "You Got To Keep On Trying;" Benny Benassi, "Happiness Factory Remixed;" and Tiesto, "Global Harmony."

'big dark rooms'

Smooth-house king Kaskade continues to branch out to other sounds with his fifth artist album, Strobelite Seduction, due June 3 on Ultra Records. The collection includes a trancey collaboration with Deadmau5 ("Move for Me"), an R&B-flavored track ("Your Love Is Black") and an electro-house banger ("Step One Two"), among other tunes.

"I was molded by the city that I grew up in, Chicago," Kaskade says. "But I have matured, and Strobelite Seduction helps showcase a lot of my other influences. The record is a justification of my weekends in big dark rooms with flashing lights and pounding sound systems. I was seduced by the strobelite."

"I Like the Way," a track off his last album, is being featured on the forthcoming Sex and the City movie soundtrack, by the way.

the world (music award) is mine

Weekend notes:

-Recently minted DJ Magazine Top 100 DJs top-tenner David Guetta recently took the World's Bestselling DJ nod at the World Music Awards in Monaco (see flier above).

-Bercelona's beloved, techno-flavored Sonar festival has set the dates for next year's do: June 19-21.

-LA Weekly checks out Kompakt's much-hyped Supermayer album and finds much to be desired. Bravo to the paper not only for having the courage to go against the grain on this one, but to have much more dance music coverage than it has in the past. Since my rant in September about the paper's lame and inconsistent coverage of e-music, it has been hitting me back almost week-to-week with ink on our scene. (All you publicists out there try not to trample over me on your way to pitching the Weekly).

-Kaskade's remix of Britney Spears' "Gimme More" is No. 1 over at XM Satellite Radio's BPM channel chart. The Bay Area smooth-house DJ has launched a MySpace page specifically to promote his remixes.

Thursday notes:

-Kaskade has taken a minute off his exhaustive touring schedule to put together a new mix-CD, Bring The Night, due Aug. 21 on Ultra. The Bay Area-based smooth-house DJ put his remixes of Nelly Furtado and Floetry, along with music by Bob Sinclar and Armand Van Helden, on the 15-track compilation. "For me, this mix is about what's happening right now in the club," states the DJ and producer.

-Remixer and producer Morgan Page has unleashed the first release, his own "Tipping Point EP," on his label, Nuance Recordings. He's also recently wrapped up new remixes of Korn, Stevie Nicks and Corinne Bailey-Rae. And we here he's got even bigger projects in the works.

-Chris Fortier (above) stars in my weekly dance club recommendations for the Los Angeles area.

-Tiesto will help Miami club Mansion celebrate its third anniversary with a DJ performance Aug. 4.

-Bercelona's Sonar festival goes to Frankfurt Oct. 10-12.

(above: chris fortier)