Electric Daisy Carnival 2012: 10 Acts to Watch
Electric Daisy Carnival returns to Las Vegas' Motor Speedway this weekend (June 8-10th), and while the "dusk 'til dawn" festival boasts plenty of spectacle – Carnival rides! Art installations! Outrageously costumed guests! – the true focus is music. This year's roster boasts mainstays like Tiësto, Avicii and David Guetta alongside newer names. Check out Rolling Stone's 10 acts to watch, and listen to our Spotify playlist of some of their best tracks and remixes:
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Adventure Club
Canadian dubstep duo Adventure Club have an ardent online following — and not just because all of their tracks are free to download. Producers Christian Srigley and Leighton James mesh dubstep's chainsaw synths with delicate vocals and surprisingly upbeat melodies, creating a sound that's uniquely theirs. "Rise and Fall," Adventure Club's latest track with fellow up-and-comers Krewella, pairs big piano chords with the requisite wobble.
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Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris is by no means an up-and-comer, but the stakes are now higher than ever for the Scottish producer, DJ, singer and songwriter. His work on Rihanna's smash "We Found Love," not to mention his new single with Ne-Yo and Ultra Records' renewed push of his solo track "Feel So Close," has newly established him as a force in mainstream pop. Harris has the potential to dethrone David Guetta as EDM's Top-40 messenger, and a killer EDC performance certainly wouldn't hurt the cause.
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Arty
Signed to both Above and Beyond's Arjunabeats label and Axwell's Axtone, this 22-year-old Russian producer represents the best of both brands; he effortlessly blends trance's signature pulse with the soaring instrumental hooks of progressive house. His February 2012 Essential Mix for BBC's Radio 1 earned him wide acclaim within the dance community. Fast-paced and full of surprises, it puts the pressure on Arty to deliver a similarly stellar set at EDC.
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Jack Beats
It's hard to classify Jack Beats' music, and that's part of what makes it so great. Beni G and Plus One draw inspiration from vast and seemingly disparate sources: everything from classic drum-and-bass to disco to hip-hop, all supported by knocking baselines. The pair's live set will pull from the best of today's EDM, no matter the sub-genre.
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Thomas Gold
Thomas Gold is the DJ's DJ: his mixes consistently feature unexpected, unforgettable mash-ups and inspired transitions. If that's not reason enough to see the German artist perform at EDC, he also released a new mix album just days ago on Axwell's Axtone imprint. New tracks like "The Beginning" and the powerhouse single "Fanfare" are sure to figure prominently into his set.
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Nicky Romero
David Guetta's onetime protege has forged his own path in the dance music world over the past year, with instantly infectious songs like "Toulouse" and "Generation 303," not to mention his own record label. The 23-year-old Dutch DJ also collaborated with Guetta on the single "Metropolis" and a joint "Wild Ones" remix, but the resulting sounds were all his own. Romero has a reputation for premiering new tracks live, so his performance is not to be missed.
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Zeds Dead
Like Adventure Club, Zeds Dead is a Canadian dubstep duo. But where AC veers toward elegance in their productions, DC and Hooks go for an all-out bass assault. Hip-hop samples and influence abound in Zeds Dead productions, and the result is a slower strain of dance music than most other EDC artists. Expect a headbanging set with a mosh-pit feel.
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Danny Tenaglia
Tenaglia is, quite simply, a New York house legend. His inclusion on the EDC roster wouldn't be out of the ordinary, save for the fact that he recently announced his "resignation" from the music scene in a long Facebook note. EDC will mark one of his last shows. No one seems to know what Tenaglia has planned next, himself included, and his classic house grooves will be sorely missed.
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AN21 & Max Vangeli
AN21 – or Antoine Angello, the younger brother of Swedish House Mafia member Steve Angello – has been producing tracks and remixes with Vangeli for a few years, but they'll drop their first LP, People of the Night, this summer. The album will pit their formidable talent against the nepotism from which they've no doubt benefited. Expect to hear lots of new tracks, including their current single "H8Rs" which features — who else? — Steve Angello.
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Tommy Trash
One of EDM's most prolific producers and remixers, this Aussie is also one of the most energetic artists around. He DJs with his whole body, whipping his wild mop of curls and throwing his head back to call to the crowd. His DJ sets tend to feature never-fail vocals — Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Otherside," for example — over his own electro synths, and they move from track to track at a quick pace. In short, it's one big party that's not to be missed.