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HARD Day of the Dead 2014 Lineup, Tickets, & More

Sam — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 17:16:25 +0000

The HARD Day of the Dead 2014 lineup has officially been announced — not even four weeks after HARD Summer 2014. With almost no time to recuperate, folks around the country are already getting geared up and ready to go for another HARD Presents… event.

As with any lineup announcement, this year’s DOTD is full of surprises. One of the biggest surprise with this lineup is the b2b set with Deadmau5 and Eric Prydz. Although the two first made history earlier this year in Miami with a b2b set at a Miami Music Week club show, the two have yet to perform together in such a huge setting.

Another unexpected treat for this year’s DOTD is the return of Knife Party. As far as HARD events goes, we haven’t seen these two since the very first Day of the Dead (after the name was changed from Hard Haunted Mansion). With multiple “leaks” from their upcoming album, Knife Party’s return to the DOTD stage is going to be one for the books.

HARD Day of the Dead 2014 Lineup

Day 1: Saturday November 1st

Day 2: Sunday November 2nd

One of the biggest surprises for Day of the Dead 2014 is the change in venue. As HARD continues to grow with every year, it requires a bigger venue in order to contain the thousands upon thousands of Los Angeles party-goers.

This year’s DOTD will actually be moving away from the Los Angeles area into Ponoma area where the Los Angeles Fair Grounds (Fairplex) are held. Whether or not this was a last-minute change because of complaints from Whittier Park or if this was something Gary Richards had in mind all along, it seems as though the venue will be large enough to hold this year’s HARD goers and then some.

Hotels Near The Fairplex in Ponoma

Tickets for HARD Day of the Dead 2014 are now on sale! Click here to purchase your DOTD 2014 ticket!

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HARD Summer As I Saw It: Fresh, Feisty, and Funky

Hannah Vandeventer — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 19:04:42 +0000

Earlier this month, Los Angeles’ highly anticipated HARD Summer took place in its new home on the radically expanded grounds of the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. Outdoing themselves not only in the amplitude of attendees, but with the mind-boggling lineup, Gary Richards (Destructo) and his crew delivered one wild party.

Notorious artists such as the Jack U duo, Nero, Dillon Francis, A-Trak, and Disclosure headlined the overwhelmingly distinguished lineup of artists, although all of the talent could have been headlining acts. Each headliner delivered a wild, main stage primed set, capping off each night of the weekend with a bang. Of course we could not miss the rare union of Skrillex and Diplo coming together to form Jack U, nor could I have passed up on crowd-pleasing funnyman Dillon Francis.

However, since the day the lineup dropped back in April, I was beyond enthusiastic to see the amount of funky deep house and techno house talent that was represented. Don’t get me wrong, witnessing the Jack U closing spectacle the first night in the rain, playing banger after banger, setting off flames and lasers was incredible, but what really got me going was the intense funkiness that characterized this summer lineup.

Watching A-Trak do what he does best on his turntables in complete awe was unforgettable, and Disclosure’s all-out, strictly business live set won’t soon be forgotten either, however, I was mostly grasped by HARD’s heaping dose of groovy garage funk. The acts I boogied down at were marked by surprisingly small crowds in HARD’s multicolored tent stages where I spent most of my time out of the dust and getting sweaty in the massive awnings from group-session groovin’.

Saturday kick-started the funk in the Pink Tent. Representing the badass ladies taking over the scene, JNTM favorite J.Phlip had the Pink Tent going off with her infectious, deep bass lines meshed with bouncy disco elements. J.Phlip throws down a party, never a moment of monotony, and she effortlessly makes the crowd dance as hard as they can as everybody gets down to her bootylicious house. I stayed right where I was in the Pink Tent as J.Phlip came to an end for my most anticipated set of the weekend, Tchami.

This Paris native is conquering the states with his uncanny, groovy take on what he is calling “future house.” Tchami flaunted his melodic, deep basslines making anyone and everyone boogie down, whether they were in control or not.

The Pink Tent was booming and what seemed to be a smaller sized crowd was now a roaring crowd of people reflexively dancing in unison, almost as though Tchami was robotically controlling the entire Pink Tent.

From the visuals and the grooving to his exotically catchy take on deep electro house and addictive hit remixes, Tchami tremendously exceeded my expectations and upheld my every reason for anticipation. I headed over to the Purple Tent for the infamous British OWSLA duo, Jack Beats, initially to catch a quick glimpse of what their hype was about.

It quickly turned into me becoming hooked by their incomparable sound blending everything from hip-hop to drum and bass to dubstep to electro/deep house. Their captivating originality makes Jack Beats’ set one I will not soon forget either.

Sunday’s staggering schedule of performances had me restless before I even entered the festival’s gates. My day started early and I soon realized the incredible inflation in attendees, dust, and intoxicating performances. Australia’s Danny Blanc, known as Wax Motif, brought his fresh and unique mixing technique to the Green Tent.

Wax Motif’s techno house sound had crowds flocking from every direction to get down and dance. His set showcased elements of hip-hop throughout his distinct techno dance style and was the perfect prelude to the Green Tent’s next electrifying star, Hannah Wants.

As one of her premiere US appearances, Hannah’s garage-house sound that incorporates familiar hip-hop and R&B tracks had the crowd boogying down. Her use of heavy bass creates a toxic sound that had me goggle over her and her groovy deep house style that impressively stimulated the entire crowd. Hannah Wants got me and the rest of the crowd so pumped for the style she was creating as well as ceremoniously showcasing the success of women artists across the dance music spectrum.

I moved from the Green Tent to the Purple Tent to experience a different take on deep house by Pittsburg’s own Kastle. His sunset performance brought a soulful edge to grime and garage style dubstep. The crowd was disappointingly small considering Kastle’s love to party that is represented by his accomplished development of underground electronic music fused with hip-hop.

His sound is so clean and precise due to his background as an engineer you can’t help but wonder when people will catch on. Kastle effortlessly warmed up the crowd for Wave Racer to take the decks, flipping the party upside down.

The crowd was immediately hypnotized by Thomas Purcell’s, a.k.a Wave Racer‘s, playfully distinct sound. His mix of bouncy, animated synthesizers, electro house, and samples of 90’s gaming systems are compiled into an unmatched blend of sunshine that intoxicated the Purple Tent. Wave Racer’s unconventional and whimsical take on future bass and warping of party jams had everyone boogying down.

The final night of HARD ended with a rapid fire round-robin of sets, as we checked on Gary Richard’s funk-laced techno set as Destructo, Disclosure‘s absolutely jaw-dropping live showcase at the main stage, alongside R&B maven Mary J. Blige, DJ Mustard‘s rowdy hip-hop shakedown, and Nero’s festival-ending return to the American festival circuit.

My weekend ended with some of the best sets of the festival, where I got to see some of the freshest talents dance music has to offer. Nero’s set wound down with their famed “Must Be The Feeling,” artfully mixed with Justice’s pounding magnum opus “Genesis.” I let the goosebumps take over as I put my hands in the air, let my head tilt back, and I took a moment to take it all in.

I had survived HARD Summer. As I joined the mass exodus of exhausted fans still buzzing from the festival’s finale, I realized I had seen every set I wanted to see from the lengthy weekend lineup, while also turning myself onto some brand new sounds I had previously never heard before.

Known for their ultra-diverse roster each year, HARD had me at hello, and now the waiting game begins with anticipation soaring high for next year’s big event.

The post HARD Summer As I Saw It: Fresh, Feisty, and Funky appeared first on Just Noise To Me.

HARD Summer 2014 Lineup Announced (Round 1)

Sam — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 17:34:12 +0000

Earlier this morning, Gary Richards aka Destructo began posting clues about the HARD Summer 2014 lineup. After heading over to hardsummer.com, we found nine boxes with spinning question marks.

We’re not sure if all the artists are going to be announced today or as the week continues, but stay tuned! This is going to be big!

UPDATE: Cashmere Cat has been the first artist to fill one of these boxes.

Norwegian musician/producer Cashmere Cat will be making his second appearance at HARD Summer in 2014, and has already been added to multiple festivals across the globe this summer.

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Cashmere Cat

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UPDATE: Shiba San has been added to the lineup (4/3/14)

A member of the Dirtybird players, Shiba San will be bring some SUPER deep house to this year’s HARD Summer. With a combination of hip hop influences and ghetto house, Shiba San is definitely an interesting addition to the HARD Summer 2014 lineup.

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Shiba San

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UPDATE: Seth Troxler has now been added to the HARD Summer 2014 lineup (4/4/14)

Some think he’s an alien, some people think he’s God’s gift to techno, but everyone knows that Seth Troxler is one of the dopest DJ/Producers of the last few years. Having played in venues across the entire globe (and universe?) Seth Troxler will be bringing his funky/deep/weird-as-fuck styling to this year’s HARD Summer. AND, he is the first artist to release a mixtape for this year’s festival:

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Seth Troxler

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UPDATE: DJ Snake has been added to the lineup! (4/7/14)

Parisian producer DJ Snake has been making incredibly huge waves this year with collaborations with Dillon Francis, Mercer, and Diplo, and had one of the best sets of Ultra 2014 in Miami. DJ Snake has been blowing up the mainstream media with his tracks “Bird Machine” featuring Alesia and “Turn Down For What” with Lil Jon.

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DJ Snake

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UPDATE: Julio Bashmore has been added to the HARD Summer 2014 lineup

Born and raised in one of the original birth places of bass music, Bristol-native Julio Bashmore has been making music that would eventually lead him to releasing on Claude VonStroke’s Dirtybird label since 2009. Since then, Julio has been mixing live all across the world, becoming as influential as the VonStroke himself.

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Julio Bashmore

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UPDATE: The Chainsmokers are not performing at HARD Summer 2014! (4/9/14)

After years of producing and touring the globe, The Chainsmokers have found recent success with chart-topping track “#Selfie,” along with other remixes and an awesome Ultra 2014 set. The New York duo is definitely one of the biggest acts HARD Summer will be hosting this year, and we’re excited to see how they are integrated with the rest of the somewhat “underground”artists.

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The Chainsmokers

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UPDATE: Rustie is now part of the HARD Summer 2014 fam! (4/10/14)

Best known for his tracks “Slasherr,” and his most recent collaboration with Danny Brown, “Side B (Dope Song),” Glasgow producer Rustie is by far and away one of the most underrated DJ/producers of our time. Inspiring artists like Cashmere Cat and Wave Racer, Rustie will bring his unique and emotional set filled with everything from wonky to hip hop to HARD Summer this year. This will be an act you do not want to miss!

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Rustie

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UPDATE: Pusha T has been added to the lineup! WHAT!? (4/11/14)

Just when you thought this announcement couldn’t get any crazier, Pusha T gets added into the mix. Keeping up with their history of being a diverse music festival, HARD Presents adds one of hip hops biggest artists to this year’s show. Recently on tour with 2 Chainz (who appeared at HARD Summer last year), Pusha T has been killing the game with his newest album “My Name Is My Name” featuring artsist like Kanye West, Pharrell, and Swizz Beatz on the prodcution team.

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Pusha T

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UPDATE: Six more question boxes and J. PHLIP have been added to the HARD Summer 2014 lineup announcement.

One of the original members of Dirtybird Records and by far one of the hippest producer/DJs on planet Earth, J. Phlip, will be playing at this summer’s biggest festival. With a quiet and shy off-stage persona juxtaposed by a heavy hitting live set, J. Phlip is definitely going to be one of the coolest acts to catch at this year’s HARD Summer.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/75001803″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

J. Phlip

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UPDATE: Wave Racer will be making his first HARD appearance this summer!

Time to bring some Fofofadi to Los Angeles! Wave Racer, who has been added to the Mad Decent Block Party and Mad Decent Boat Party has been having an insane past few months, needless to say. This young Australian talent is a rising star with his signature “Fofofadi,” Jersey Club style that is sure to blow minds at this year’s HARD Summer.

Wave Racer

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UPDATE: DJ SLiiNK added to HARD Summer 2014 lineup (4/16/14)

One of the most creative and influential producers in the Jersey Club/Baltimore Club scene, DJ SLiiNK has officially been added to the HARD Summer 2014 lineup. Best known for his remixes of Kanye West, Major Lazer, Dog Blood, as well as his most recent collaboration with Flosstradamus, DJ SLiiNK is a young gun that will definitely be on our do-not-miss list this summer!

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/137253241″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

DJ SLiiNK

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UPDATE: Jack Beats returns to HARD Summer! (4/17/14)

No strangers to HARD, Jack Beats will return to this summer’s festivities. Also known as Niall Dailly and Ben Geffin, Jack Beats is known for their unique sound that marries deep house club favorites with bizarre guttural wobbles. Having toured around the entire world, JB has also released records on monster labels like OWSLA, Fools Gold, and Mad Decent. You can catch them on tour right now.

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Jack Beats

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UPDATE: Sub Focus has been added to the first round of the HARD Summer 2014 lineup announcement. The page also got rid of extra “?” gifs, so I’m assuming this will be the last announcement until the full lineup is released. (4/18/14)

The lineup for HARD Summer 2014 continues to diversify as Drum n’ Bass legend Sub Focus joins the fam. London-native Sub Focus is known around the world as one of the biggest and most influential artists in the realm of DnB music. One of the hardest working producers in the biz, Sub Focus will surely bring his cult following to the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area for what is stacking up to be one of the coolest HARD Summers I’ve ever been to.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/138890069″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Sub Focus

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