Post originally written by Deadly Buda
Daring all manner of health and safety concerns, I found myself jumping into the pool at Las Vegas’s Downtown Grand during Basscon’s Pool Party. The hardstyle was kicking and I couldn’t help but think that this was really the way hardstyle should be enjoyed. It just all worked. The crowd was 100% into it and it was a wet n’ wild time to say the least. I couldn’t help thinking though that this crowd, clad in bathing suits, was actually dressed more conservatively than at an actual Wasteland event. Of course, it was all a precursor to the main event: Electric Daisy Carnival.
We rolled into EDC remarkably fast. I sprinted to the Wasteland stage so I could see Kutski. Amazingly, he was on at an early 8:00 PM time slot. I thought that was a bit of an outrage, but hey, he was playing the big rig so who’s to complain. He did some cool scratches on the CDJs and bridged that chasm between hardstlye and hardcore with just the proper amount of cheese to keep old and new fans alike rocking out.
After his set we went about checking out the EDC grounds. I have to say, as usual the Circuit Grounds had the coolest most forward thinking design. Basspod and Wasteland, while cool, were not remarkably different from last year. The PK sound was pretty devastating though. The music was really clean.
That said, it made me think that with modern speakers being so clean and powerful, perhaps producers can start mastering their tracks with some air to breathe again, and to achieve more dynamics. But, the war of loudness is still on, but I see hope for change on the horizon when confronted with the potential of these awesome sound rigs.
So far, this year’s EDC theme seems to be, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The spectacle is marvelous and vast and most areas are laid out in a similar manner as the year before, not a bad thing actually, as it feels like you’re coming home, which is fitting a 20 year anniversary.
Tomorrow will be a special day though for hardcore fans, as American hardcore makes its presence known when Lenny Dee and Rob Gee rock the Calliope Art Car. Though there is a strong old-school theme this year, we hear that they aren’t going to play old school, they are busting out their new stuff!
