So there’s this kinda big deal going inside BC Place on Boxing Day. You’ve probably heard by now how electronic music is taking over the world or whatever, so the market seems ripe for a huge DJ blowout in Vancouver’s largest venue (capacity 60-fucking-thousand). For a mere $65-$100 you can see one of the most high-profile DJ bills V-town has ever seen: Deadmau5, Nero, Alesso, Lazy Rich, and Chris Lake. In the spirit of holiday giving, Nexus dug into these five performers via the interweb and came up with this handy “who’s that DJ” guide. This should be especially useful for anyone who still thinks EDM has something to do with electronic data management.
DEADMAU5
Real name:
Joel Thomas Zimmerman
‘Hood:
Toronto, ON
Jam:
Electronic, house
Gimmick:
Wears a mouse head on stage.
Biggest misconceptions:
A) He appears at all of his shows and doesn’t just employ a revolving cast of dudes wearing mouse heads, and B) you’re supposed to pronounce the 5.
Most suspicious Wikipedia entry:
“He received his first keyboard for Christmas when he was a teenager,” or, “In September 2012, he dated tattoo artist and TV personality Kat Von D.”
Best quote:
To the Irish Daily Star in 2008, on being referred to as a DJ, he said, “It puts me to fucking sleep, to be quite honest; I don’t really see the technical merit in playing two songs at the same speed together and it bores me to fucking tears and, hopefully, with all due respect to the DJ type that will fucking go the way of the dinosaur, I’d like them to dis-a-fucking-ppear!” (He later apologized for the comment.)
NERO
Real names:
Daniel Stephens and Joseph Ray
‘Hood:
London, England
Jam:
Drum and bass, dubstep, house
Gimmick:
Bring as many d-bags up on stage as you can during your set to do goofy dubstep dance moves, or, alternately, tour with Madonna.
Biggest misconception:
They are actually Rusko.
Most suspicious Wikipedia entry:
“In September 2012, the duo revealed they were working on two new remixes with Skrillex.” (Why do all of these Wiki entries start with “in September 2012”?)
Best quote:
“Got a message for you and your boys. Listen [shoots gun].” – whoops, that’s The Punisher.
ALESSO
Real name:
Alessandro Lindblad
‘Hood:
Stockholm, Sweden
Jam:
Electronic, dance, progressive house
Gimmick:
He’s one of MTV’s EDM artists to watch in 2012.
Biggest misconception:
Swedish wunderkinds can’t drop mad beats.
Most suspicious Wikipedia entry:
“Born July 7, 1991.” (This kid couldn’t be a day over 18.)
Best quote:
On being in the DJ scene, he told Planet Notion: “It’s crazy, absolutely crazy. It’s been like this for two years now and it’s still crazy.”
LAZY RICH
Real name:
Richard Billis
‘Hood:
Vancouver, BC, by way of the UK
Jam:
Electrohouse
Gimmick:
His tracks are “home-brewed,” supposedly.
Biggest misconception:
DJs are lazy.
Most suspicious Wikipedia entry:
Doesn’t have a Wikipedia page, which raises even more suspicions.
Best quote:
Described as “gut-wrenchingly intense, obnoxiously funky, and rude epic” on his artist Wiki page.
CHRIS LAKE
Real name:
Chris Lake a.k.a. Christophe D’Abuc
‘Hood:
West London by way of Scotland
Jam:
House
Gimmick:
Remixing Prodigy and the Eurythmics.
Biggest misconception:
The new SoundCloud is way better than the old one.
Most suspicious Wikipedia entry:
“For in-studio mixing, Lake uses Apple Logic.”
Best quote:
Famed DJ Pete Tong called Lake the “best thing to come out of Scotland since Mylo.” (I have no idea who Mylo is and I’m too hopped up on MMDA now to look it up.)
CONTACT Festival
Wednesday, December 26
BC Place, Vancouver
$65-$100
rogers.com/wbo