People from all over the country ring in the new year in a variety of  different ways.  From lighting off fireworks and banging pots and pans to shaking clackers and blowing horns; but this year, I was able to ring in the new year with Hardcore kick drums, uplifting Trance melodies and energetic Drum & Bass rhythms while being surrounded by my friends that reside all over the west coast. I don’t think there is any better way to celebrate than to do it harder, louder and more extreme than the rest of the nation!

Fresh NYE took place at the Seaport Marina Hotel and Events Center.  I found the venue to be a very positive and refreshing way to deal with masses.  Even if it may have been a little tacky and haphazard to some, it was so nice to be able to go from the event to your room in just a short distance- that way you can go as hard as possible while still being safe about it. There was a plethora of sounds to choose from: a Trance stage, a Drum & Bass stage, and a Hard Dance stage; although if you were there, you could easily tell what everyone was there for.  Suffice it to say that the Hard Dance stage was consistently packed.

Early on in the night I experienced Driftmoon, an Uplifting Trance artist who would’ve been more suited for the midnight hour; very melodic and emotional. What an opportunity to have seen him on New Year’s Eve of all days (a sentimental holiday for myself). We got the soft stuff out the way early and I immediately picked up the pace of the night by making sure I was front and center for Machete, one of the heavy hitters for the American Drum & Bass/Junglist scene. He played very funky, mostly jungle influenced DnB which was exactly what I’ve been waiting to hear.  We do not get men like him coming through Utah, EVER, despite our once prominent, seemingly lingering

DnB scene. There was very little time to breathe after Machete- we only had 15 minutes to run upstairs to the Hard Dance stage to bring in the New Year with Mr. Audiofreq! Although the majority of the Hardstyle artists, including Audiofreq, were more mainstream and climactic, I was extremely impressed by his set ( when he dropped ‘Release’ by Atmozfears was that tipping point). I’m sure the majority who have seen him perform are aware that he is one great big ball of energy that continuously keeps the momentum of the crowd going; even the people outside on the deck were dancing and screaming to nearly every track that was dropped by him. He was the perfect opener for one the most respected names in the Hardcore scene to date; his rise to fame has been faster than anyone I can recall during my time: DJ MAD DOG! It is literally impossible to describe the amount of ferocity and aggression that was felt during the length of MD’s set. He played all of his own tracks (which I personally preferred because the only other time I’ve seen him

was at Dominator back in 2013 and he played many other Italian Hardcore artists’ tracks) and there were so little breaks in his mixing that there was hardly any time to catch your breath! There was a pretty disruptive mosh pit going on the for the majority of the time, which to a lot of people was upsetting because many of them would rather have been hakken-ing, but thankfully it didn’t lead to anything more violent. During the last half hour Mad Dog brought up a surprise guest: AniMe. She closed the night with tracks that she and Mad Dog did together pitched to a higher tempo. The entire night was topped off with a bow and a stage dive from Audiofreq. Wow!

At the end of the night, it was satisfying to be able to walk a few feet to my hotel room and recover from all the alcohol and adrenaline so I could immediately start heading back home in the morning (what I do for this music, eh?). Fresh Entertainment gets a huge plus for not just bringing out one of the most top notch producers in the Hardcore scene at the moment, but having three stages, dedicated to three sounds, stacked with the most powerful members of their respected scenes. I cannot wait to see what 2016 will bring us not just from Fresh, but from the American Hard Dance scene as a whole, and already, there is so much promise when ringing in the New Year with a “Fresh” start.

Daybreaker