Albums | Future house duo Electric Polar Bears drop Where We Started EP, with new single “Control”??
Posted by VMan on October 7, 2023
Since releasing their first music in 2021 and playing their first show at Groove Cruise in 2017, future house duo Electric Polar Bears (who go by the names Zero and Snowball) have been on a constant upward trajectory.
They established themselves in the dance music world with a unique mythology, claiming to have an Antarctic lab headquarters where they concoct perfect party-throwing strategies. They’ve fleshed-out this worldbuilding even further at their stand-out shows, where the polar bear-headed duo combine 3000 LED heads, powerful confetti cannons, dazzling lasers, frost machines, and a dedicated penguin parade backdropped by their vibrant, bouncy house beats.
As a result, the Electric Polar Bears’ infectious sound and magnetic performance style have led to collaborations with producers and vocalists such as Paris Hilton, Nitti Gritti, and TyDi; support from industry tastemakers like Afrojack, Alison Wonderland, Deorro, and Illenium; performances at festivals around the world including Decadence Arizona, Water Castle Carnival, and Global Dance Festival; and a showcase at Paris Hilton’s Neon Wedding.
Now, the duo unveils their Where We Started EP, a 3-track package that broadens their artistic scope and is an expression of their musical and philosophical sensibilities.
Following their 2022 tour, the Electric Polar Bears found a renewed sense of purpose after connecting with their fans every night – an assortment of communal experiences that showed them the raw power of electronic music culture. From these moments, the duo decided to lean into their uplifting aesthetics, crafting a vintage house sound that’s filtered through a futuristic presentation.
The result of this approach is their new Where We Started EP, which, through its creative, euphoric mix of analog synths, drum machines, and contemporary digital softwares, pays homage to classic eras of dance music while simultaneously introducing audiences to new sounds.
Fans got their first taste of the EP with self-titled track “Where We Started” – a euphoric cut with a groovy, head-spinning beat that transports listeners to the inception of Electric Polar Bears’ musical journey.
Next was, “Motion,” a vintage house cut incorporating nostalgic sound design imbued with shimmering, futuristic production.
Today, Electric Polar Bears release “Control” as the final track on the EP. With its heart-pumping, bass-infused house beats and contagiously melodic chord progressions, the track is a perfect way to immerse listeners into the Electric Polar Bears world and evoke the feel-good vibes of their shows.
The track kicks off with an epic, cinematic orchestra hit before giving way to the song’s central melodic riff. Then, atmospheric claps, head-spinning risers, and stuttering drum percussion build into the song’s head-spinning, dance floor-igniting drop.
With scintillating house hi-hats, deep bass synths, and thumping kickdrums, “Control” is an acute embodiment of Electric Polar Bears’ crowd-winning skillset. And as a track designed to kick off a set, the song is true to its name with its ability to effortlessly move an audience.
Albums | Ultra Worldwide unveils Asia Tour 2022 and announces return of ULTRA Beach Bali
Posted by VMan on September 12, 2022
Celebrated for producing top-tier festivals on all six inhabited continents, Ultra Worldwide will return to Asia this month for a multi-country tour.
The ULTRA Asia Tour 2022 will kick off with ULTRA Japan as the festival returns for its seventh edition at Odaiba Ultra Park II on Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18 . Festival headliners include Afrojack, KSHMR, Martin Garrix, Nicky Romero, Oliver Heldens, Timmy Trumpet, and Zedd with support from a range of bubbling regional acts. Tickets are on sale now for ULTRA Japan at https://ultrajapan.com/
Ultra’s award-winning techno and house music concept RESISTANCE will once again take over Womb Tokyo for another impressive edition of RESISTANCE Tokyo on Saturday, September 17. The world-class, four-floor nightclub will host the world debut of ‘POPOF B2B Space 92 present: Turbulences, who will be co-headlining with Beatport chart-topping regular Julian Jeweil. Tickets are on-sale now for RESISTANCE Tokyo at https://resistancemusic.com/tokyo/
Following ULTRA Japan, ULTRA Korea will make its highly-anticipated return for the festival’s ninth edition at the iconic Olympic Stadium in Seoul. The event will span two days from Saturday, September 24 and Sunday, September 25 across three stages including Main Stage, RESISTANCE, and UMF Radio. A bevy of headliners will be making their ULTRA Korea debuts, including Marshmello, Oliver Heldens and Timmy Trumpet. Returning fan-favorite Main Stage headliners include Martin Garrix, KSHMR, and Nicky Romero.
RESISTANCE Seoul will feature the likes of Adam Beyer, Ilario Alicante, Lee Foss, Nicole Moudaber, Pan-Pot, Sasha, and the second performance of POPOFb2b Space 92 present: Turbulences. Tickets are on-sale now for ULTRA Korea at http://ultrakorea.com/tickets
After nearly five years since the last edition, ULTRA Beach Bali will make its return on Thursday, September 29 – Friday, September 30 for the festival’s fourth edition. To mark this highly-anticipated comeback, the festival will take place at a brand new venue this year at the picturesque oceanfront Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel Kuta in Kuta, Bali,located on the Indian Ocean. Tickets are on-sale now for ULTRA Beach Bali at https://ultrabali.com/tickets/2022/
Since its inaugural event in 2015, ULTRA Beach Bali has presented some of the leading acts in electronic music, such as Skrillex, Kygo,Alesso, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Zedd, Afrojack, deadmau5 and Dubfire. The forthcoming ULTRA Beach Bali lineup promises to continue the tradition of welcoming distinguished artists from around the world.
ULTRA Beach is an oceanfront boutique festival that has welcomed tens of thousands of fans to events in exotic coastal locations around the world, from Europe to Asia. Ahead of the Bali edition, ULTRA Beach hosted two widely-successful events in the Mediterranean on the Island of Hvar in Croatia and on Costa Del Sol in Spain earlier this summer.
RESISTANCE will also return to Bali to deliver hard-hitting underground sounds for a closing party on Saturday, October 1 at Savaya Bali on Uluwatu Beach. Previous RESISTANCE Bali editions have welcomed prestigious underground stalwarts like Carl Cox, Joseph Capriati, Sasha & John Digweed, and Dubfire. Stay tuned for lineup and ticketing announcements at https://resistancemusic.com/bali.
Asia Tour 2022 media applications can be found at https://umfworldwide.com/media-application/
FYI | Here’s The Problem With Afrojack’s “Gone” Single
Posted by BIGLIFE on September 15, 2016
When I heard his brand new “Gone” single featuring Ty Dolla $ign it grabbed my attention immediately. I appreciated that he was trying to do something different despite the recent trend to meld the dance and hip-hop worlds. Afrojack stepped out of the box this time, and it was so damn close to paying off for him. I want to like this song. Ty Dolla $ign’s toplines are always sneaky good, and this one is no exception. This song had all the makings of a “hit” until you reach the 1:12 mark.
That’s when the song falls off the rails.
I’ll start wit the vocal mix. It’s bad. Really bad. How could Afrojack get the vocal mix so wrong? The production is far too loud, and drowns Ty Dolla $ign’s vocals out, making them nearly unintelligible. The verses are the best part of the song. How could you let those verses go to waste with a vocal mix (on the drop) that’s sub-par.
Even worse? The drop. The drop is a lot like going on a date. The date is going well. You’re on fire. Every thing you’re saying is making her laugh. You invite the date back to your house. You’re on the couch. She’s grinding all over you. Calling you “papi”. Gets you all worked up. All of a sudden, her friend texts her and she says he has to leave. You’re sitting there and you don’t know what the hell just happened.
This is what the drop feels like. A complete train wreck.
While I applaud Afrojack for stepping outside of his box, this one falls short.
Electro-House | Afrojack ft.Wrabel – Ten Feet Tall (Elephante Remix)
Posted by BIGLIFE on March 14, 2014
Elephante doesn’t disappoint with his most recent remix of “Ten Feet Tall”, which could possibly be better than the original. With consistent productions and a signature “PHANTE” glitchhouse sound, 2014 is looking massive for this rising star.
Free Download: Afrojack ft.Wrabel – Ten Feet Tall (Elephante Remix)
Mashups | Trademark – Stay Free (3LAU X Ke$ha X Afrojack & Tiesto X Naian)
Posted by Juicebox on March 10, 2014
You know you did something right when 3LAU is already supporting your mashup before it’s released! Trademark comes through with a euphoric melodic mash thats rounded all together with everyone’s favorite sing along, “Timber.” You know the drill, free download below!
Events | FNT at Amsterdam Dance Event
Posted by VMan on September 19, 2013
October 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20th, for 5 days in October, Amsterdam is about to be taken over by the worldwide Dance community, along with Mimada, and yours truly! Both Mimada and I will be representing FNT, attending shows by DJ Shadow, Calvin Harris, Afrojack, Tiesto, and many more! Over 50 venues spread out through out the Dutch city, will be hosting top notch producers and DJs, from happy hour to the early morning. Not only will we be attending shows, we will also be attending the ADE Playground and Conference, reporting and testing out all the new innovative technology that producers and DJs are using, along with listening to a list of panels on the current state of the EDM scene, and what can be done to move forward. Mimada and I will also be the first to know the top 100 DJ Mag list for 2013, as the list will be announced at the ADE!
FNT has always supported the EDM, Dance scene from the get, allowing many DJs and producers from all over the world to be introduced to the American market. We are proud to be attending the conference, and we look forward to partaking in this worldwide event. Oh, and if you plan on being in Amsterdam, go ahead and send us a tweet @VianneyIOU or @Zoecazal, see you all there!
Peep the video of last year’s event to get you excited:
Events, Review | North Coast Music Festival Recap
Posted by dshaq on September 19, 2013
Summer’s last stand, North Coast Music Festival’s motto, could not have been more accurate depiction of this past Labor Day weekend. With a lineup up to par with Lollapalooza, Coachella, and other big festivals, North Coast brought the house down beginning with Friday, where the festival had to be evacuated due to severe weather. While it dampened the mood for a little, the festival resumed and big names such as Mac Miller and Passion Pit killed their performances.
Saturday brought out some pretty good performers for the afternoon, such as Flatbush Zombies, who were probably my favorite performance of the whole festival, but also DVBBS, Futurerock, Gramatik, and Nas. Gramatik put on a killer set, straight shredding on the guitar. Nas also killed it as well, performing most of Genesis. I’m pretty sure my life has been completed from seeing that live. Finally by the end of the night, it was a tough decision: Afrojack or Big Gigantic? Torn between the two, I chose Afrojack. Although I did end up going to Big Gigantic for a little bit, Afrojack was definitely the right choice. It was one of the best sets I’ve heard in a while, incorporating a wide variety track list but he always kept the crowd jumping and engaged. That was one of the things that I noticed at Big Gigantic: although they played a great live show and sounded fantastic, the crowd was nowhere near to as upbeat as the people at Afrojack.
While the first two days were a lot of fun, they had nothing on Sunday. By far the best day of the festival packed with names such as Danny Brown, A-Trak, Madeon, Cherub, Datsik, Rebelution, Wu-Tang Clan, Purity Ring, and Lotus, it was easy to understand why Sunday reigned supreme. I began my day at Danny Brown. The Detroit native put on a fabulous performance incorporating old stuff from XXX and The Hybrid but also some of his newer stuff. He even brought out GBE member, SD, and the crowd went absolutely nuts for it.
After Danny, we darted over to A-Trak and the next two hours of A-Trak and Madeon, back-to-back, was amazing. A-Trak just knew how to get the crowd into it, dropping a New Slaves trap remix then going straight into Bugatti then straight to Aint worried bout nothin. Breath taking. Madeon was next and had some big shoes to fill after what A-Trak just did, but the French wonder kid put on a show nothing short of spectacular. After those two were finished, we made our way over to Cherub and watched them perform. I’ve seen Cherub before, but they were just as good as I remembered. Hold You and Doses and Mimosas got the crowd going wild and they had some jam sessions during the middle of their songs. Finally it was time for Wu-Tang clan. The best part about that was that they were performing all of 36 Chambers. All the while showing love to ODB, Wu-Tang did their thing up there. I almost shed a tear of joy when CREAM was played. Then straight out of left field, like Friday, they stopped the show and evacuated the festival due to severe weather warnings.
Although it was a bit anti-climatic, the festival was a surreal experience that will definitely have me coming back in the next coming years. A nice closed environment makes it easy to navigate while being close enough to see and hear all the artists perfectly. A big thanks to North Coast for their hospitality and see you at Union Park next year!