4) ALVARO
Dutch prodigy DJ Alvaro took the scene by storm in 2012 and hasn’t looked back since. He has gained support from the biggest names in the industry such as David Guetta, Afrojack, Tiesto, and Laidback Luke just to name a few, and his unique style of big room house is one that cannot be contested. Alvaro started to gain more recognition follow- ing the release of his track titled ‘Make The Crowd Go’ which instantly began getting played at major festivals around the globe. His latest collaboration with Quintino who is also scheduled to play at Escapade, is titled ‘World In Our Hands’ and includes some very uplifting synth work that accompanies a big room progressive drop and truly showcases some of the skillsets that this young producer embodies. This will be Alva- ro’s first ever time playing in Ottawa so not only will he be deserving of our attention, but we the audience should also be inclined to show him what this city is capable of!
3) RUSKO
This British dub-head is the pride of Leeds, England and is without a doubt one of the most recognized faces in the bass scene. The sometimes controversial but al- ways direct artist has stressed to his audiences over and over again that his sets do not emulate that of a modern day dubstep show what so ever. Instead, Rusko delivers the elements of happiness and energy within his sets in a rave style fash- ion, which separates him from the generic face melting basslines and mosh pits that have appeared to become ubiquitous in most rock style dubstep shows today. Rusko has always believed that the term ‘dubstep’ is meant to describe the action of ‘dancing in a groove’ and his latest album highlights how he intends on preserv- ing that meaning through his music. He is never shy in announcing to his audiences before his sets what kind of condition he is in and always makes a strong attempt to connect with his listeners as much as possible. If you are looking for something that is going to be completely different than any other set as this year’s festi- val, then Rusko is most definitely an artist that you are not going to want to miss.
2) MARK KNIGHT
He is the boss of Toolroom records and is without a doubt one of the most experi- enced producers and DJs on the Escapade card this year. He is thought to be a pioneer within the industry and his credentials speak for themselves as he has had three of the biggest selling records on Beatport’s ‘Best Sellers List’ with ‘Music Matters,’ ‘Flauta Magica’ and ‘Good Times’ as well as a prestigious Beatport award for his single ‘Good Times.’ His most recent single called ‘Your Love’ is a textbook Mark Knight production that encompasses soulful vocals overtop of a very groovy bassline. His epic Toolroom Knights party brand has already completed two successful seasons of residencies at the world-renowned club Space in Ibiza, and his label is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down with the recent signings of some massive tracks such as ‘Speaking Grove’ by Adrian Hour and ‘Let The Bass Kick’ by Phunk Investigation. His weekly radio show presents some of the best new upfront and underground house tracks and has remained one of the most popular weekly dance podcasts for over two years now. While this year’s festival lineup is stacked with plenty of very young and talented producers/ DJs, Mark Knight will be delivering a level of experience and praise that will be difficult to outperform hence why he is an artist that you must catch at this year’s festival.
1) STEVE ANGELLO
If you were at last years Electrik Tulipe event at the CE Centre then it will come as no surprise to you that we are picking Steve Angello as the number one artist that you will have to see at this year’s festival. Coming fresh off of Swedish House Mafia’s ‘One Last Tour’ which saw the group close out the final day of Ultra Music Festival, Angello wasted no time getting back to work as just days after he released a two-hour long essential mix which included an assortment of underground house tracks along with a handful of chart topping progressive house and big room records. His latest project comes in the form of a second record label that he has started up called ‘X’ which he will be using to introduce more tech-house and beat driven tracks. The ini- tial release on the label is Trent Cantrelle’s Nice & Close EP, which was strategically the opening track of Angello’s latest essential mix. Angello is also in the middle of recording his first post-mafia artist album so he will be testing out tracks in Ottawa, giving us a sneak peek at Steve’s new solo direction, which hopefully will contain some Mescal-esque tracks alongside his big room weapons. With all of the different projects that Angello currently has going on, it is evident that he is more determined than ever to climb the ranks as an artist in the electronic music scene which helps ensure that this aspiring talent will deliver a headlining set for the ages come June 30th.
WORDS BY CHRIS TELFORD
www.djmag.ca
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