After your high school graduation, imagine going to a music festival like HARD Summer 2015 with a close friend of yours. As soon as you enter into the venue, you’re hit with a big whiff of happiness. When you go see your favorite DJ up on the mainstage, you see him raise his hands, hype everyone using the mic, and throw “bangers” back to back.
Instead, you go see your favorite duo you have been fanboying about since sophomore in high school. Everyone is chanting the duo’s name and as soon as they play a sample from the Launchpad, goosebumps are forming and the crowd goes berserk. Having a DJ play songs on CDJs is cool, but seeing a live performance is aesthetically entertaining.
The reason why I made that opinion is because there might be a rise of live shows for the EDM scene in the near future. These "live shows" will usually consist of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) controllers, launchpads, real dream sets, and more. Bare in mind that this could be a possibility.
From the top of my head, I can mention a few artists such as Big Gigantic, Disclosure, ODESZA, Porter Robinson and Madeon that do full on "live shows" using launchpads to create a euphoric, engaging show. As for Illenium, Big Wild, Galantis and many undiscovered artists, they generally do a half and half mixture of DJing along with the usage of MIDI controllers.
Let's bring up Porter Robinson and Madeon's highly anticipated Shelter Live Tour as an example. Throughout where I live, this literally has been a highly conversational topic everywhere I go. There were a lot of first time "ravers", but why did they decide to go to this event instead of seeing another DJ perform? Three reasons: 1. Visuals were going to be in-sync with what the artists are going to play, 2. having pyrotechnics, as well as 3. friends convincing one another.
I'm honestly proud of Porter Robinson and Madeon's team for setting the standard of an entertaining show within the electronic scene. Don't get me wrong, there are other DJs such as Kaskade, Above & Beyond, Martin Garrix, etc. for having the best sets, but using real instruments or controllers brings in a new different aspect of the electronic dance scene along with a fresh taste to entertain the concert-goers.
All in all, using MIDI controllers, Launchpads, and other devices could be the new standard of "live entertainment" for the electronic dance scene.
If you're still wondering what I'm talking about, check out the video with ODESZA performing at SnowGlobe 2016 in Southern Lake Tahoe, California.
