It's funny how DC often gets overlooked in term of musical talent because we are so close to New York City, which sometimes seems to have a monopoly on the music scene on the east coast. DC, especially in the last couple of years has burst onto the scene with its unique music tastes such as go-go, and recently the dance phenomenon, Moombahton. With the help of some local DC artist's im going to show you why DC is destined to blow up.
Reason 1: U-street Music Hall
U-street music hall is relatively new to DC, starting up only a couple years ago; it is now the premier electronic venue in the area. A wide variety of acts ranging from Tyler,the Creator, Childish Gambino to electronic acts such as Tittsworth and Treasure Fingers have graced the stage. The sound system is unbelievable, and has often been considered to be one of the top systems in the country. To further understand the effect of U-Hall, I asked some DJ's who are frequent performers the club. Bernard Farley (Outputmessage) had this to say about the venue. " The thing about U Street Music Hall is that t's not just another club with a big sound system. It's a venue started by DC DJs for DC DJs. There is so much talent is in this scene and I'm really glad that there's a place to showcase it now. It's a place that's all about the music where artists and DJs get to play whatever *they* like and hone their tastes. When out of town DJs come through and play there, they can feel and sense that too."Outputmessege is 1/3 of a group called Volta Bureau. The next person I asked was Gavin Holland. Gavin Holland is an up and coming DJ in the DC area who has phenomenal ability when it comes to creating music. He also makes up 1/3 of Noveau Riche. When I asked Nacey to Describe Noveau Riche in three words he used,"Wild Crazy Kids". I think that fair to say about this dance music show held monthly at U-hall. When I asked Gavin what were his opinions on U-hall influence on the Electronic Dance Music Scene in DC he gave me this answer "U Street Music Hall fulfilled DC's need for a world-class mid-size music venue. It's small enough to work for specialty acts with a limited but devoted following, but big enough to accommodate artists that rock major festivals, such as Rusko or Carl Craig. Since it's owned by Will Eastman and Tittsworth, DJs feel comfortable that the club is designed with them in mind. And I'm sure the sound system has caused many a DJ to spend the extra dollar for the WAVE file on Beatport. Personally, U Street Music Hall took Nouveau Riche to another level as far as production. If it doesn't sound good on that system, it won't sound good anywhere!". Without U-Hall in DC, where would people who like EDM go? It's one of the very few clubs that I've been to that has a great appreciation for good music, and not just another club that brings in cash crop dj's.
Reason 2: DC's Cultural effect on Productions
DC is one of the most cultural eclectic cities in the world. We have a wide array of ethnicities represented and because of that we have some of the most diverse music to hit the airwaves. DC first major genre to burst onto the scene was Go-Go back in the early 90's and since then has been an everlasting presence in the music industry with people like Wale taking it to a new level when him and Gucci Mane got on "Pretty Girls". The next major genre to come out of DC only happened about a year and a half ago, when Dave Nada Created "Moombahton" at a house party in DC. I asked Gavin how DC effects his music and he gave me this,"Definitely. It's a small artistic community, pretty much everyone knows everyone, so musical ideas travel quickly, and there's a lot of mutual support. Crowds also tend to follow DC music closely, so you'll see an audience reaction, even if it's a brand new track from me. Some people have a sense of what I sound like and will come up to the booth and be like, ‘is that.... I thought that might be you!’ I also have more time to make music because the rent is low enough to where I don't have to have a dayjob. I'm finally about to get a dedicated studio space up in Manor Park for dirt cheap, which will allow me even more creativity. I'm not sure that would be possible in NYC for me right now". To further understand what I mean when I say DC does not produce your run of the mill artists let's look at a couple local producers and their projects.
Nacey- One DJ that you cannot put in any single genre. He has produced tracks that sound completely different and im going to give you two tracks that show how diverse his production skills are.
Eddie Hoey - Tonight (Nacey Remix)
La Roux - Bulletproof (Nacey Remix ft. Matthew Hemerlein)
When I asked Nacey what the culture in DC meant to him and his music he responded with this, "There's a lot of history here that still affects what goes on musically. Talk to anyone who's been in DC for a while, you'll hear stories about the hardcore and rave days, to the club scene in Baltimore, which are all pretty different and still influential. All of them share a DIY attitude and are pretty high-energy, which resonates with a lot of people."
Outputmessage- He's been in the area for quite a bit and his music is also very individualistic. His group Volta Bureau also continues that theme of being different.
NYR (Reverse) by Outputmessage
Volta Bureau - Love Cubed by Volta Bureau
When I asked him what he thinks people want to hear he responded with " People appreciate anything with a good beat and a melody. Whether it's House, Moombahton, or Techno. Groove and melodies are what win people over. It's a universal in any genre."
Gavin Holland- He's a very talented music producer and shows it with his versatility of being able to produce a really good dance music as well as a dirty Moombahton track.
Gavin Holland - MOOMBARENA by gavinholland
Will Eastman - Feelin' (Gavin Holland Remix) by gavinholland
I also asked him what he thought crowds wanted to hear and he gave me this answer, "At this point, I think crowds want to hear something new, personal, and unique from the DJ. There's such open access to music now that people don't need to go to a club or festival to hear "the hits" - but for example, if people want to hear the latest tracks that Steve and Nacey and I have been working on but haven't yet released, they do need to go to Nouveau Riche. People also seem really open to all kinds of genres now, as long as there's some thought or consistency behind what you're playing".
Tittsworth- He's the other co-owner of U-Hall along with Will Eastman, he's one of the front runners on the Moombahton Scene. His tracks have gained popularity with major DJ's such as Diplo and Dillon Francis.
Tittsworth & Alvin Risk- Pendejas by Tittsworth
Tittsworth-911 (Dillon Francis Remix) by Tittsworth
Reason 3: Electronic Dance Music going Mainstream.
The past year has been all about electronic dance music taking over clubs and radio stations. Early last year it would have been ridiculous to say that Afrojack would ever produce a successful pop song in the US. Earlier this year he got together with Diplo and made the beat for "Look At Me Now" featuring Chris Brown, Busta Ryhmes and Lil Wayne.
Chris Brown - Look at Me Now feat. Busta Rhymes & Lil Wayne
The song has over 60 Million views on YouTube and is still climbing. Dance music is taking off and Pop is trying to get hip with it. This trend is visible all over the country with many heads being converted to the EDM cultured with its many sub divisions. Dubstep was successful in taking many kids who listen to metal and introducing them to a new genre. You have Electro for the kids who just want to rave and rage and you have House music for the kids that love vocals on their tracks. This has made it much easier for small electronic artist's to get big. When I asked Gavin about this he responded with a great answer, "Well, there was a time in the early to mid-90s when pop music was often dance music -- I can't think of an 8th grade dance I went to that didn't at some point feature "Another Night". But with Afrojack and Diplo producing pop records, there's definitely a sense that something which was once underground has become mainstream. On the upside, this means that when your average person who isn't particularly knowledgeable about dance music hears my stuff, they're not like "what in the hell is this techno stuff" anymore. They've seen Jersey Shore and have a vague idea of how to handle house music. So there's an openness and interest from mainstream audiences that wasn't there before, which is great. On the downside, it's important to stay ahead of the curve and try new things. If car commercials start to sound like the kind of music you make, that's probably a sign that you need to try something new. It's not the musician's fault, but it's important that the audience doesn't hear my music and think, "I feel like I'm in a Cadillac commercial." Pretty much we both agree that Electronic Music is becoming pretty mainstream. Maria, my co-writer, agrees with Nacey who thinks that this is a cycle,"I think things always go in cycles, but it's a great time for dance music. Even as recent as five years ago the average American music listener might dismiss a dance track because it came off as cheesy at first listen. Nowadays I think people are way more open minded about it, so it's more fun for everyone." He has a good point it's much easier to get your message across successfully when everyone is open for new stuff. Outputmessege says this about electronic music going mainstream." Well first, electronic music is not mainstream right now, dance music is. Artists who make more esoteric electronic music will probably never be in the mainstream here in the US. But Mainstream music is mainstream music. Whether it's hip-hop, alternative, dance or whatever. It just cycles through genres over time. Some of what plays on the radio is good; most of it's bad. I think it'll always be that way. So really it was just a matter of time before people got into dance music again." You decide what is the right answer to that question.
Reason 4: Mad Decents obsession with Moombahton.
For those of you that don't know, Mad Decent is a record label out of Philadelphia headed by Diplo, who is one half of Major Lazer. He has signed a bunch of artists such as Rusko, Dillon Francis and DJ Sega. Right now though, Diplo and Dillon Francis are just straight up obsessed with Moombahton. Earlier this summer Diplo released his first hour long Moombahton mix.
MDWWR #67 Diplo's Moombahton 2k11 Mix by diplomaddecent
He also got together with major Moombahton artists in our area and has diverted almost all of his attention to promoting their Moombahton projects. Earlier this summer he sponsored "Blow Your Head Volume 2: Dava Nada Presents Moombahton".
Blow Your Head Vol. 2: Dave Nada Presents Moombahton Minimix by maddecent
Dillon Francis, who has also been a very unique artist, has been producing Moombahton banger after Moombahton banger.
Let's think about this: Mad decent is pushing Moombahton on a worldwide scale, and it just so happens that DC is the center for all things that is Moombahton. Nacey embraces Moombahton when I asked what he thought about it, " I think it's great. To me, the best thing about Moombahton is that it showed a lot of producers that you can think differently about how to approach making dance music. Music doesn't need to be up-tempo in order to be able to be dance-able. Breaking down that simple barrier is inspiring people to be less rigid and more experimental, which really is what dance music is all about". That makes us a pretty big deal. The bigger Moombahton gets, the more respect our city is going to gain as a music production center.
Conclusion: Where is the movement going?
DC's Music scene is definitely headed in a great direction, but its fair to say that nobody really know what sound will best represent our city. Whether it will be Moombahton or will it be deep house nobody can really say. What I want is for DC to be recognized as one of the premier music centers on the East Coast and have the prestige that makes even producers in New York City recognize us. Outputmessage has this to say about the direction the music coming out of DC. "Deep House has been around for quite a while and I don't see it disappearing anytime soon. In fact, I think there is a general movement in all dance music to go deep. After a few years of fast bangers, atonal synths, and cut-up vocals, people want music that's more subtle and groovy. Deep House is perfect for that sentiment. Moombahton is part of that movement too I think. It's those bangers slowed down to a love-making pace. Whether Moombahton will still be relevant in 10 years, I have no idea. Genres in electronic are constantly popping up and changing all the time. People seem to love it right now though." For me whatever music comes out of DC I want to do my best to support it and make sure the world knows about it. One thing's for certain though DC is destined to blow up, it's only a question of when.
Written by:Julian @teszero
Edited by:@Mar_1211
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