OWSLA – The Bouncy Kitty

Over the last few years, I’ve developed a major crush on Electronic Music – from Trance to Electro House, from Industrial Tech House to Dubstep, and from Drum & Bass to Trap, I basically love it all. And it’s no wonder, there are elements of electronic music oozing from every other genre. The “Dubstep” of 2013 sounds eerily similar to the hard rock sounds of Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, System of a Down and Korn and “Trap” music is nothing more than hard Rap and Hip Hop beats sans the obnoxious “Money, Hoes and Drugs” vocals.

Each of Saturday’s acts is respected within their own right, as well as their own cross-genre productions. If you made me drop a pin on the EDM map for Penguin Prison, Seven Lions or Porter Robinson I simply couldn’t do it; each act boasts a mature sound and is beyond versatile. To be honest, I’d either essentially forgotten or literally had no idea that PP was the opening act – it wasn’t until much later that I put 2 and 2 together to get 4; there were gorgeous vocals coming straight from the DJs mouth, which we were all highly astounded by, a Indie-electro sound and beats that made you just bop around the dance floor – he was the perfect opening act.

Next up was Santa Barbara native Seven Lions – the best way to describe his sound is Trance–step. By weaving beautiful, harmonious dissonance and booming basslines, he creates a unique sound that I’ve only heard from the likes of Blackmill, on the more relaxed “Chill-step” end of the spectrum, and Xilent, who sits on the harder hitting Dubstep and Drum & Bass side of things. Seven Lions played literally one of the best set’s I’ve heard in the last few years, let alone one of the best ‘Dubstep’ sets ever. He gets down with the crowd and his energy is contagious, the only other performer I could even compare him to with sound and style would be Bassnectar – and that’s an amazing compliment to both artists in my opinion.

Seven Lions @ The Hollywood Palladium

Last, but by no means least: there’s mister Porter Robinson himself. After the astounding set by Seven Lions I wasn’t expecting to get swept off my feet: boy was I wrong! He started off the set with his hit ‘Seconds’ and then continued, hit after hit, to wow, astound and hype the crowd. There was a perma-smile on my face the entire time he was spinning and my feet could not stop moving to his beats. The Circle Assembly Tour is a must for any self-professed EDM lover; if I could, I would go back in a heartbeat!

Porter Robinson at the Hollywood Palladium

One of the best parts about living in Los Angeles (and trust me when I say there are a lot of great things about living here), is that there is never a shortage of fun to be had – especially in the summer months. The sun is bouncing down on the city, and the city bounces back with some crazy fun parties located anywhere and everywhere: hotel rooftops, parking garage rooftops, warehouses in the depths of downtown, and sometimes even a Tiki Boat!

Just last weekend, HARD Fest hosted HARD Summer at LA State Historic Park in downtown Los Angeles. What’s typically a relatively quiet sanctuary in the middle of a bustling city was transformed into a menagerie of colors, glowing objects, and kandi covered ravers. The festival lit up the downtown skyline for two days from the early evening deep into the night and boasted top notch acts in multiple genres. A definite perk of HARDsummer was that riding the Metro was free; no one had to worry about traffic, parking or who would be tasked with driving us home.

First, let’s get real for a second, and I love getting real: the lineup for the first night was less than impressive; however it was also a lot less packed. The crowd was easier to navigate and even though I lost my phone, I didn’t lose my friends. Secondly, let me tell those of you that have yet to attend a multi day festival: it is aggressive! Admittedly, my exhaustion after day one was mostly due to running from stage to stage in search of a danceable beat – but there were a few DJs that made my heart happy and made faces in the crowd melt.
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