EPIC. It’s an acronym short for “Eric Prydz in Concert”. It’s the title of his podcast/radio show, EPIC Radio (check out his most recent one, episode 008). It’s a word sampled in his newest track “Layers”, due to be released on the 17th of this month. Most importantly, EPIC is an adjective used to describe Eric Prydz’s sound and live show. And Eric Prydz was responsible for one hell of an EPIC night this past Sunday at Quincy’s Ocean Club.
**Click HERE to see more photos from the event, courtesy of Brian’s Big Life and Jon Gilman**
Compared to opening night at Ocean Club, Sunday the 2nd was a warm and dry evening, perfect for enjoying some of the best House coming across speakers today. We arrived in time to see resident DJ Kaeno, who was treating the crowd to a funky Tech-House set perfect for getting the blood flowing. What’s interesting to me is how diverse Kaeno seems to be. My only other time seeing him spin was before W&W, when he was laying down Trance records; clearly he understands his role as an opening DJ and fitting the format of the night.
While I was expecting Prydz to take the decks around 11:00, he didn’t go on until 11:30. This was a bit of a disappointment as I’m used to seeing headliners perform at venues like Prime and Ocean Club for about two hours. Since Eric Prydz is currently one of my top-5 favorite DJ/producers, I was hoping for as much time as possible of him behind the decks. Prydz’s set started off with an epic intro/build-up that contained the chords of “Every Day” but never actually dropped into the track, which I was actually hoping for since it had been stuck in my head all weekend. And that’s very unlike me since I usually like music off the beaten path. What did happen was an onslaught of unreleased tracks, several of them IDs, others with working titles of “WOWOW” and “Warfield ID” (if you’re at all familiar with Prydz’s work you’ll know how many unreleased and unnamed tracks he has).
With this first handful of tracks Eric Prydz was able to create a vibe I had never before witnessed at the Ocean Club. No one was spraying bottles of champagne, people weren’t being assholes and bumping into each other, and everyone was mesmerized and elated with what was taking place before them: a true legend in their presence. Prydz kept things interesting by hitting all of his styles: some Pryda tracks in the form of “Rotunda” and “Power Drive”, some darker Cirez D songs like one of my current favorites “On Off” mashed up with Green Velvet & Harvard Bass’ “Laser Beams”, and of course some Eric Prydz fan favorites such as “Every Day”, “Allein”, and his “Midnight City” remix.
Check out the user-generated track list HERE.
The night was an absolute blast and I couldn’t have been happier to have seen such a unique and talented DJ/Producer here in my hometown of Boston. While it may be too early to call it the best show Ocean Club will see all Summer, it’s definitely going to be up there. Thanks as always to the guys and gals at Mass EDMC and NV Concepts as well as the folks making sure we party the right way at Ocean Club. If you’re in town this weekend, there is a simply STACKED lineup featuring Chuckie on Friday, Erick Morillo on Saturday, and Dillon Francis on Sunday. All tickets can be purchased HERE.
BONUS:
One of the artists signed to Prydz’s Pryda Friends label, Fehrplay, just released the following June mix for DJ Mag Canada and it’s nothing short of incredible. It starts off real chilled-out (not even House music), and eventually builds into deep groovy beats. It’s something worth checking out and you can access the set list after the jump!
“I thought I’d take the opportunity to make something a bit out of the ordinary from what you would normally expect from me. I wanted to share some of my favourite tracks in an interesting way, emphasizing the more atmospheric part of my sound. I tried to create a flowing vibe that blends and builds with depth and atmosphere. Listen and enjoy!” – FEHRPLAY
If 2012 was a whirlwind year for Jonas Fehr, then 2013 has been a tsunami thus far. Since New Years, the 26 year old Norwegian producer has already laid down an epic guest mix on Above & Beyond’s Group Therapy Radio, dropped two of his biggest releases yet on Pryda Friends, and completed his first North American tour which saw stops in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago and Ottawa among others. We’ve been eager to chat with Fehrplay since his Circus debut this February, where we learned that beyond his studio genius, the Pryda Friend is also a master selector who curates emotional mixes that can cross the spectrum from deep house and techno to hands-in-the-air progressive house with flawless precision. In addition to the exclusive mix he’s cooked up for our cover, we interviewed Jonas about his production style, playing in North America and his summer plans. Read the full feature interview in the June edition of DJ Magazine Canada.
FEHRPLAY on facebook, twitter, soundcloud, beatport
Tracklist:
1. The Weeknd – What you need
2. Stimming – The Origin
3. JML – Into the wild (Peter Horrevorts Big five remix)
4. Hot since 82 – Knee deep in Louise
5. Fehrplay – Monte **world exclusive new track** (forthcoming on Pryda Friends)
6. Wouter De Moor, Gideons Bouwens – We don’t know
7. Phonogenic – DesenJumi
8. Kolsch – Goldfisch
9. Swoop – Black Market
10. Joseph Capriati & Adam Beyer – Family matters
11. Monika Kruse – Wavedancer (Pig&Dan remix)
12. Sam Paganini – Polyester
13. Gui Boratto – Take my breath away (John Tejda remix)
14. Boys Noize, Erol Alkan – Avalanche
15. Nitin Sawhney – Nadia