GUEST
Mike Prevatt, arts and entertainment editor, Las Vegas CityLife
BY AMY KINGSLEY -- If you’re not a fan of electronic dance music, you might think it all sounds the same — with the thumping beat, twinkly melodies and reliable bass drops.
But last year, even connoisseurs of the genre were a little disappointed by the similarity of the music at Electric Daisy Carnival.
“Electronic dance music is close to reaching a critical mass,” said Mike Prevatt, arts and entertainment editor for Las Vegas CityLife. “We’re hearing these songs on the radio, in the nightclubs or on TV. A lot of the deejays who will spin those songs, those are kind of their go-to tracks to really get the crowd pumped.”
“We were really hearing a lot of the same songs,” Prevatt said.
So this year, programmers at EDC are trying to promote some of the lesser-known acts.
“Deejay culture has always been rooted in discovery,” Prevatt said. “A good deejay is going to play you stuff you haven’t heard before. It’s going to move you. It’s going to make you want to put your phone up and Shazam the song and figure out what it is.”
“That’s the magic of dance music culture,” Prevatt said. “And there needs to be a little bit more of that as far as I’m concerned.”
If you want to discover some unusual acts, check out stages curated by Richie Hawtin and Carl Cox, or check out the dubstep performer Knife Party. Mike Prevatt has more picks, including Fake Blood, in this week’s CityLife.