Concert Preview: Escape from Wonderland

 

By Aidan Meehan

 

Escape From Wonderland
October 27, 2012
NOS Events Center
San Bernadino, CA

 

Insomniac Events is hosting the Halloween themed festival of the Wonderland festival circuit “Escape From Wonderland” in San Bernardino on Saturday, October 27th, Escape from Wonderland. Insomniac is widely regarded as one of the premiere electronic music festival producers in the world, with other events including Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas and Electric Zoo in New York City.  The festival heralds big names in many genres of electronic dance music (EDM), and production quality of the event itself is top-tier. Three artists I am particularly excited to see are Swedish house giant Steve Angello, the ever controversial and exciting Borgore, and the Australian twin sisters Nervo, the first female artists to truly cause ripples in the EDM scene.

 

  1. Steve Angello

Steve Angello is one of the most successful and controversial figures in modern house music. From his rise to fame with Swedish House Mafia to the numerous criticisms and allegations against him from both his fans and the music community, Angello is an artist that is either adored or loathed. On June 24, 2012, Swedish House Mafia announced that their next tour would be their last. Since the announcement of the break up each member of the super group has been touring extensively as individuals, and Angello is no exception, playing festivals and individual shows all over North America. He is respected among electronic dance music lovers for his international hits (both solo and with Swedish House Mafia), such as “Leave The World Behind,” “Greyhound,” and the newly released club anthem “Don’t You Worry Child,” as well as for his live mixing skill. True EDM enthusiasts, however, have recently brought to public attention some of Angello’s artistic faults. Recent criticisms include some producers attacks on the track KNAS, because it’s main melody was taken from a publically available sample pack, and thus the percussions were Angello’s only creative contribution to the track. Despite what some die-hard fans may say about Angello selling out or bringing commercialism to house music, he and Swedish House Mafia have consistently produced powerful and innovative tracks. After seeing the two other members of Swedish House Mafia, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso, at the last Wonderland Festival, I am excited to complete the trio this Halloween weekend with what will be a dynamic and engaging set.

 

  1. Nervo

Some of the first female producers to explode in the electronic music industry, Nervo hails from the Land Down Under.  The twin sisters from Australia began their careers songwriting, and broke through co-writing for David Guetta’s “When Love Takes Over,” winning a Grammy for their work.  After working closely with Guetta, they began producing and embarked on a two-year-long world tour, hitting major festivals including Lollapalooza in Chicago, Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Tomorrowland in Belgium, and Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Quickly becoming the hottest female duo in electronic music, they recently hit Beatport’s Number 1 song with their Tomorrowland Anthem “The Way We See The World” which they produced with progressive house heavyweights Dmitri Vegas and Like Mike.  They are now preparing for the UK release of  “We’re All No One,” a collaboration with Top DJ’s Steve Aoki and Afrojack, which features them as not only as producers, but as singers.  The pre-released music video already has over 2.5 million views on YouTube, and has hit #8 on the Billboard Club Chart in the US.  They have also just announced their own residency in Las Vegas at the Wynn Hotel Group, and are currently touring alongside superstars Kaskade, Skrillex, Avicii, and Chuckie on the IDentity Tour, which had a stop in San Diego in August. Being such an influential group in electronic music as a whole, and especially being the first female group to break through in electronic music, Nervo is sure to put on a high-energy set at Escape from Wonderland.

 

  1. Borgore

Last but certainly not least; Asaf Borgore has recently become a household name to anyone who listens to dubstep.  Born and raised in Israel, Borgore has had a surprisingly diverse music career. He began playing piano at age 3, graduated from a highly esteemed youth music programs as a saxophone major, joined a death metal band as a drummer, created a beatboxing dubstep group with Tomba, and has now become one of the biggest names in dubstep.  He launched Buygore Records in 2010 after leaving Diplo’s label, Mad Decent, and has signed many of the biggest up-and-coming names in Dubstep.  His first release, “Borgore Ruined Dubstep,” is a fitting name for his artistic personality, which is often crude and controversial, but always entertaining. He describes his own genre as “gorestep,” a branch of electronic music that tends to be even heavier than most dubstep, and features triplet bass drum pattern, common in metal music.  His latest release, Decisions EP, was a major success and featured remixes by Cedric Gervais and Dead Audio. It was recently leaked that the back-up vocals for Decisions came from none other than teen sensation Miley Cyrus.  The news of Cyrus’ involvement created waves throughout the electronic music community, generally with widespread criticism.  Borgore has constantly made news since he first stepped into the spotlight with his very heavy and crude song “Love.”  His songs have been compared stylistically to horror movies and farm animals, but despite his quirky and sometimes offensive lyrical content he is widely regarded as a major talent in dubstep.  He is currently on the “Decisions Tour,” launched after the success of Decisions, and Escape from Wonderland is the second to last stop.  Borgore is sure to put on a show to remember at Escape from Wonderland.

 

Escape From Wonderland will be a night on par with past Insomniac events, featuring a sweet line-up, state-of-the-art production and fittingly, themed haunted mazes sure to terrify even the most dedicated of ravers.

 

Leave a comment below with who you would be most excited to see at Escape From Wonderland,
and we’ll pick a winner to receive two free passes to the show! You must include your full name and email address.