raver magazine - march edition 2016

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RAVER MAGAZINE | 1 Andrew rayel FEATURED: FLUX PAVILION space ibiza just kiddin jamie jones lexxica moon hooch beautiful grime EXTENDED COVERAGE of OKEECHOBEE MUSIC FESTIVAL March 2016 exCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH

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Cover Story - Exclusive Interview with ASOT Legend Andrew Rayel. Also this month... Extended Coverage of Okeechobee Music Festival. Also, Featured Editorials and Interviews with Lexxica, Verdugo Brothers, Flux Pavilion, Moon Hooch, Beautiful Grime, Jamie Jones and from overseas, "A Taste of Ibiza...."

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Raver Magazine - March Edition 2016

RAVER MAGAZINE | 1

Andrew rayel

FEATURED:FLUX PAVILION

space ibiza

just kiddin

jamie jones

lexxica

moon hooch

beautiful grime

EXTENDED COVERAGE of OKEECHOBEE MUSICFESTIVAL

March 2016

exCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH

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contents

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4812182224343640

Andrew Rayel

Enter The Cave With Moon Hooch

Exclusive Interview with

Beautiful Grime

Raver girl of the month

turning the decks to pure bass

with flux pavilion

EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE -

Okeechobee music festival

verdugo brothers

spotlight artist - lexxica

a taste of space ibiza

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AndrewRayel

Interview by Rob Torres – Rob Roy L.A. Photography by Nhan Tran

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Andrew Rayel, one of electronic music’s top artists, has continued to dominate the scene since his previous artist album, “Find Your Harmony.” Andrew has continued to put out collaborations with a full range of artists and dominated stages worldwide. His latest artist single, “Winterburn”, a collaboration with Digital X featuring the vocals of Sylvia Tosun, has continued to stay on top of the music charts. We had the chance to catch up with Andrew Rayel for a brief interview in Los Angeles at Exchange LA in the heart of Los Angeles, alongside having a sit-down interview where he gives us a little insight into his new upcoming track and what he has coming up for this year!

Andrew, just want to thank you for sitting down with us before your set. You’re here in LA - how are you doing?- Glad to be here in Los Angeles, which is one of my favorite cities. I enjoy the LA vibe very much, and connecting again with the Rayel family, which I know is in full support out here tonight. I am truly grateful for all my fans that come from all over the world to see me play. My message to them always is ‘Thank You’ from the bottom of my heart. I’m really feeling pumped right now; my last show in LA was one of the best shows that I have performed in. Exchange has always been good to me and I thank them for always taking care of me with the utmost respect.

Congratulations on your latest hit (“Winterburn”) which is topping the music charts. How are you feeling about the reaction you’ve been getting with this latest track?Thank you very much, I was very happy with the feedback that I have received globally, but this was not a one-man project – my good friend Digital X was the one that put it all together and we added the vocals from the amazing Sylvia. She truly perfected the song, and as such I’m definitely happy for their support. All I can say is that there is much more to come and follow soon.

You’ve recently just got one ASOT done in Toronto; how did your night go with the ASOT Team?-I had a great time with them, the whole Armada crew. They have such great staff and they always make it very accommodating, so I am definitely happy about that. I am proud to announce myself as being on the Armada artists roster. I’m very thankful for Armin van Buuren – he saw my passionate drive and gave me the opportunity to showcase my music. I am eternally grateful for his wisdom and his teaching.

Last time we chatted, we were talking about the progress of your new artist’s album; what’s the status with that and what can you tell us… Album name? Artist colabs? Any clues?-What I am allowed to tell you is that things are going great with the planning and everything. I’m still trying to create more sounds to add. I don’t want to hold anything back from the next artist album. I have the passion and drive to make it the next best artist album in my portfolio.

Can you give us a little hint, when we are expected to hear this next artist album be released to the public? -With all the coordination and a busy tour schedule going for the album, it’s coming along well. Hopefully, by the end of the year, it should be ready for the Rayel family and everyone to grab!

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When coming to Los Angeles, what is one of your favorite things to do in the city – when you have the time, of course?-Every time I come to LA, I like hitting up the different sights I know. LA is way too huge to try to get around it in one day; everyone in the city of Los Angeles is so busy and on the move all the time. I like it that way and honestly couldn’t ask for another city to spend a few days off in, and enjoy all that California has to offer.

Andrew I want to thank you on behalf of Raver Magazine for your time, and this interview. Is there anything you would like to say to your Rayel family before we close out?- I want to say thank you for always sticking behind me in my music, my direction of music. Most important to me is feeling the energy every night from the people that come and see me play. I am happy to know that you enjoy my sounds and performances that I pour my heart into, time and time again. ‘HOPE TO SEE YOU SOMEWHERE AROUND THE Globe’ - AR

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Enter the Cave with Moon Hooch

Interview by Michael BeasRaver Magazine is always on the lookout for new styles of music that are filled with creativity and positive energy. That being said, we bring you Cave Music. This genre of music is rapidly hitting the dance music scene – one event, one person at a time – and it’s starting with the trio known as Moon Hooch. For those of you not familiar with Cave Music, it’s similar to house music, but with a more primitive, raw, jagged feel that can take you by surprise.

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Sax players Mike Wilbur and Wenzl McGowen, and a drummer James Muschler, are redefining the world’s dance music. Together, they are creating a new vibe of music that will blow you away. High intense energy from start to finish is how they can best be described. No matter when or where they are, a party shortly follows. I had a chance to witness them play firsthand in Asheville, NC. and I can’t argue to the fact that they literally tore it up on-stage. People everywhere were jumping and dancing to the tunes they spat out of their musical instruments. With a groovy flare that is truly unique, they made me realize how musical emotion can build up inside of people. The musical inhibition against expressing yourself is almost like a fear or a phobia of sorts that can sometimes be hard to get out and set free. Moon Hooch gives you that musical freedom to let go and forget about what the rest might think. They encourage you to release the inner spirit that wants you to dance, shout, and above all be free.

Before their set, I had a chance to catch up with sax player, Mike Wilbur, and here’s what he shared up with me.

How was it touring with They Might Be Giants, Lotus, and Galac-tic People? And how is the Moon Hooch Tour going?

It was great, and an amazing experience to tour and make good music with good people who are passionate about the same things we are passionate about. Our tour is underway, we are meeting people from all over the place, and we are doing what we love best.

How did it all begin?

We met while studying at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. I’m from Boston originally, but we all crossed paths and we clicked – not just with music, but also with philosophy and ethically.

There is talk of a new release com-ing up. How is it shaping up and when can we expect it to come out?

It’s hard to finish things up sometimes when you’re on the road touring, but everything is lining up pretty solid and we hope to get it out by early spring sometime, so stay tuned in for the latest.

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Jamie jones

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Does an Artist Name Make a Difference?Exclusive Interview with Trap Baby Now Known as Beautiful Grime

Photography and Interview by Michael Beas

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Blake Lancaster, known by his stage name Trap Baby, has just made a change that is taking the music world by storm. He now goes by the name Beautiful Grime that really opens the door for new styles of music which he is talented in producing. Most artists of a young age stick with their original names and, as they grow and develop their musical careers, they have a tough time switching to something that better defines their paths. It’s a tough change. It takes courage and drive to not give up and to realize that sometimes that change can be for the better. For Blake, that change is starting one fan, one track, one drop at a time.

I had a chance to catch up with Blake in Charlotte, NC. Here is what he had a chance to share with us at Raver Magazine:

Blake, tell us a little about your music, how everything got started for you, and how did things come about for creating music?The love of music, as well as making music, started at a young age for me. It was something that I could always turn to – my mom had me at a GT magnet school from 1st through 5th grade, so I always learned instruments and loved making new sounds. As far as creating EDM, I just believe it truly is the best genre in my opinion because of how it can touch someone’s heart & soul.

You go by Trap Baby, but word on the street is that it’s about to change to something new? Why the change, and what’s in the works for you in 2016?Yes, it’s true Trap Baby will be truly missed, and who knows, may even be back in the future, but a buddy that passed away gave me that name because of the giant baby face I always had on at shows and events. But due to (trap) in the name, it puts me in a corner, which shouldn’t be the case at all because I’m all over the place with my music and what I play. So as of now, things are being changed with my social media and soundcloud to change the name. Trap Baby will forever be the hype, but (Beautiful Grime) is about to bring something to the music world no one would of even thought of. As of 2016, I’m keeping things on the low for right now.

In a few words, how would you define success?Success, to me, is probably way different than what it would be to most people, but that is because I look at life a lot differently than anyone someone would normally meet. Success to me would be when the day comes that someone tells me my music helped them or changed their life, or even that it just touched them; also, success would be to touch someone’s heart with my music, who doesn’t even listen to EDM or know about this scene as much... that would truly be success, just to touch lives with my music.

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Where would you like your music to take you, not just this year, but beyond?Any place where there are beautiful souls ready to have a great time.

Fans come from far and wide to listen to you play. Your music has a kind of raw underground vibe that’s becoming highly addictive these days. Before you perform, what’s the one thing you strive to make sure your fans take away from your music?Hmm, one thing to take away from my music? Honestly, I don’t know, but I strive to touch everyone’s soul and vibe with my music and what I play. I want someone to have a great time and forget about the drama or stress in their life, and just feel the music and have a great time with beautiful-minded people, and when they walk out the door that night, I hope they can feel a lot better than when they came in.

Last question, if you could go on tour with any artist, who would it be and why?Now that’s a hard one... I look up to so many producers/ DJs because I get my inspiration from so many different artists and sounds. But I honestly couldn’t just pick one. It would have to be a few, such as, TELYKAST, Getter, Lookas, Harwell, Marshmellow, Phaseone, Ookay, Carnage, and Virtual riot. I mean, I don’t think I could ever just pick one, I have so many artist that I look up to.

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RAVER MAGAZINE | 15 Photography by Chase Morgan

JUST KIDDIN

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RAVER MAGAZINE | 17 Photography by Chase Morgan

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Raver Girlof the month

BrettModel at Nhan Tran Models of Eclipse Model and Talent

Hometown: Charlotte, NCPhotography: Matt Vivanco

Interview: Nhan TranWardrobe by:  Cat Bertolino Higgins, Cats Eye Design

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1. March madness and music festival season is in full swing – How does it feel to be the raver mag girl to kick that off?Amazing! I feel so honored to have been given such a huge opportunity to not only appear in RAVER Magazine, but to appear at such a crucial time of year. Being able to showcase something that I’ve spent so much time learning is extremely exciting and has been so much fun!

2. How did you start getting into hula-hooping? About one year ago, my brother’s girlfriend showed me a hooping video that a mutual friend of ours had made. In a matter of seconds, my jaw literally dropped and I found myself overwhelmed with excitement and intrigue. It was so mesmerizing to watch. I’ve been a dancer my entire life, and yet, there was this amazing style of dancing that I had never seen or even heard of before. I remember saying to myself, “I HAVE to learn how to do this!” About one month later, I received my first hula hoop as a Christmas gift from my parents and it’s been a hobby of mine ever since.

3. Any interests in poi light dancing or gloving?Absolutely! I’ve always had a love for learning and acquiring new skills. After all, you don’t know what you might be good at until you try it!

4. What other hobbies or interests do you have?Let’s see. I absolutely love to travel and explore the outdoors. I’m a huge animal lover so you will always find me involved in some sort of animal-related activity, whether it be with a rescue organization or just a job in general. Dancing has been a love of mine since I was a small child and still is to this day.

5. Weirdest story you like to tell people?This is a tough question because I have so many weird stories to tell! The weirdest, however, is probably the time I decided to take a dead snake to show-and-tell. I was only in the first grade at the time so I really didn’t know any better. I remember one morning before school, I found a small, grayish-colored garden snake in our yard. I didn’t see snakes very often, so when I realized it wasn’t alive, I decided it would be the coolest thing to take that day for show-and-tell. My parents went along with my “brilliant idea” and handed me a small plastic hermit crab-type cage to put it in. I filled the bottom with dirt and then proceeded to pose this snake in a ‘letter Z’-type pose. Sorta like how I imagined a cobra would be. It never occurred to me that these animals are physically incapable of moving in such a way, which makes it even funnier! Anyway, show-and-tell began a little early that day, and I was chosen to go first. Not because what I brought was the best, but because it was decomposing and causing the entire classroom to smell horrible. As soon as I was finished, I was escorted outside and forced to throw my discovery into the dumpster. This story is probably too weird for most people, but it definitely happened.

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Flash Factory

Photography by Chase Morgan JAMIE JONES

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RAVER MAGAZINE | 21 Photography by Chase MorganJAMIE JONES

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Charlotte, NC. Joshua Steele, better known by his stage name Flux Pavilion, came to play to a sold-out crowd that toppled easily into the thousands. Producers Domii and DJ Tronix opened up with a two-hour-plus, back-to-back set as they prepped the decks for what would turn out to be a solid performance by the dance music record producer, Flux Pavilion. With a subtle yet bold embrace, he brought the “Bass Cannon” sound that he is known for. Everyone was blown away by the pure energy that he brought to the stage. The walls shook, the people raved on deep into the early morning hours, and no one left disappointed. No encore was needed as the crowd was pretty much spent and worn by the time 2 a.m. rolled about. In conclusion, Flux will continue to push out wicked ear-shattering bass and alluring visuals that fans will never stop enjoying.

Turning the Decks to PURE BASS with Producer / DJ Flux Pavilion

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Flux Pavilion Charlotte, NC. Was presented by Label Presents, Sugar Society and Disco Donnie at Label Charlotte, NC

Photography and Interview by Michael Beas

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Enter

The Portal

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5 Reasons We’re Saying “Okee” to ‘Chobee’ All-Star Rookie: Okeechobee Festival Delights 30,000 in its first year The Mighty Jungle: 15 DJ’s that Blew Us Away at Jungle 51 10 Snapshot Moments from Okeechobee Music & Arts FestivalSomething for Everyone

EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE:2628293032

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Organization Okeechobee’s organizer, Soundslinger, is made up of executives that have previously worked on music festivals such as Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, so it’s no surprise that Okeechobee impressed the vast majority of festivalgoers when they were treated to short travel times between camping and music areas, efficient and effective security screenings, brilliantly scheduled and non-divisive set times, and clean spacious campgrounds with grass that literally cleaned your shoes for you.

5 Reasons We’re Saying “Okee” to ‘Chobee’

No mess Okeechobee was one of the cleanest camping festivals in recent memory. A paved road gave everyone easy access to the festival, but the sunny weather dried up the dew from the cool nights, which kept things from getting muddy. The facilities were cleaned frequently throughout the day as well. Okeechobee’s volunteer cleaning crew was exceptionally enthusiastic.

By Zach Leete / Photography by Celeste Swatling & Ana Massard

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30,000 people has never felt so big and so small all at the same time. When everyone gathered for some of the show stopping performances like Bassnectar, it felt like one huge family of ravers. However, from moment to moment, the festival was an intimate meeting ground perfect for learning more about yourself and others.

Zones W/ Personality Okeechobee was comprised of a handful of distinct areas offering attendants different ways to escape from reality. There’s nothing more relaxing than waking up, making a mimosa, and meandering the length of Aquachobee beach zone, but if you’d rather start your day with group yoga, Yogachobee offered classes throughout the day free of charge. Okeechobee also featured the bazaar-like Chobewobee Village – a gypsy paradise filled with art, goods, and unique experiences. The Grove is the official grounds for Okeechobee’s main acts and headliners, but if you’re still thirsty for bass once the Grove closes at 2 a.m. There’s another 7 hours of jungle raving going down in Jungle 51 (just watch out for the aliens).

Legandary lineup With a lineup that included surefire contemporary acts such as Skrillex, Kendrick Lamar, Bonobo, Bassnectar, and Big Gigantic; and an array of legends like Robert Plant, Hall and Oates, and Kamasi Washington; Okeechobee had something for everyone. Nobody was bored with the constantly shifting and genre-bending sounds resonating from the Grove.

Big Fest - Small feel

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All-Star Rookie: Okeechobee Festival Delights 30,000 in its first yearBassnectar, Skrillex, a legendary PoWoW!, and 24-hr festivi-ties made Okeechobee’s debut absolutely legendary

When Soundslinger announced Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, the news was met with equal parts enthusiasm and skepticism. The concept: bring a diverse musical line-up reminiscent of the great Bonnaroo to rural Florida excited many, but others doubted another “big” music festival could make it.

Those concerns have been addressed and erased. Okeechobee was an astounding success, selling out 30,000 tickets right as the festival opened its gates to festivalgoers. Okeechobee was an everyman’s music festival, there was truly something for everyone.

Hip-Hops heads crumped and dougied with Kendrick Lamar, Future, Mac Miller, and Lil Dicky. EDM fanatics shuffled and headbanged to Bassnectar, Skrillex,

RL Grime, Bonobo, Big Gigantic, and Kill the Noise. Hipsters were treated to special performances by Portugal. The Man, Mumford and Sons, and the Avett Bros. Meanwhile, the old school received some of the best gifts of all: Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Hall and Oates, Ween, and Tom Morello!

Okeechobee’s music consisted of high-caliber talent and special, rare performances that you simply won’t find anywhere else; but that’s just the beginning. Morning beach parties and group yoga classes, self-healing exhibitions, interactive art installations and constant surprises meant that no two people had the same experience at Okeechobee. Soundslinger deserves a standing ovation for truly creating a world within a world at Okeechobee.

By Zach Leete / Photography by Celeste Swatling & Ana Massard

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15. Driss Skali 14. Memek13. System of Survival12. NU11. Simone Gatto Live10. Anton Zap9. Keith Worthy8. Brian Cid7. Ricoshei6. Chris Nitti5. Marcel Fengler4. Damian Lazarus3. Legacy Detroit2. Voiski Live1. John Acquaviva

The Mighty Jungle: 15 DJ’s that Blew Us Away at Jungle 51By Zach Leete / Photography by Celeste Swatling & Ana Massard

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10 Snapshot Moments from Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival9:04 a.m. (Day 1) – Dipping our toes in the waters of Aquachobee beach with a mimosa in hand and Mixmaster Morris playing in the background. We drain our beverages and join the first yoga class of the day with Allie Flavio.

8:11 p.m. (Day 1) – Experienced electro duo Classixx provides the Grove’s first real taste of EDM for the night. “Do You Like Bass?” EDM fans pour into the Grove. Only 3.5 hours till Nectar!

12:08 a.m.(Day 1) – Bassnectar has already dropped remixes of Washed Out, Kanye West, and A$AP Rocky. Lorin is delivering another god-caliber set and virtually all 30,000 attendees are gathered. Note – there’s room to get close to the stage without getting locked in the swath of bassheads glued to the front rail.

2:10 a.m. (Day 1) – Bassnectar was stellar. Some peo-ple hang around to catch Portugal. The Man afterwards, those that do are extremely lucky. The weather is chilly as we exit the Grove, but the short, 10-minute walk to camp gives us enough time to excitedly gossip about how unex-pectedly badass that entire day was.

8:11 p.m. (Day 1) – Experienced electro duo Classixx provides the Grove’s first real taste of EDM for the night. “Do You Like Bass?” EDM fans pour into the Grove. Only 3.5 hours till Nectar!

By Zach Leete / Photography by Celeste Swatling & Ana Massard

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1:06 p.m. (Day 2) – We didn’t make it to Yogachobee this morning, but we do discover a fellow camper baking up THC-infused potatoes for festivalgoers. We grab a de-licious baked potato and lazily stroll into the Grove where a handful of bands we’ve never heard of have taken to the stage. One of the bands, Swimm, puts on a charming lunchtime set.

6:53 p.m. (Day 2) – Blunts are being passed around as Bonobo drags his audience deeper and deeper into his surreal rabbithole. Bonobo starts his set with a barebones drum-focused intro that he morphs into a deep house set that would make Dillon Francis’ alter ego, DJ Hanzel, blush. The barebones visuals prove that Bonobo can capti-vate a crowd with purely skill alone.

9:53 p.m. (Day 2) – Our ears are still ringing from Big Gigantic’s bombastic performance on the “Now” stage, but we have virtually zero time to recover – Kendrick Lamar, one of Okeechobee’s main events, is currently lighting the crowd on fire with expertly crafted instrumen-tals backed by a full band, and rapid fire verses that leave us breathless.

12:45 a.m. (Day 2) – It’s Skrillex. Need I say more? We’re losing our minds along with 30,000 others as Sonny Moore climbs on the DJ table and shouts for the crowd to keep their hands in the air. From one minute to the next we are assaulted by some of the most precise and technical mixing that will be heard all weekend. Pure bliss.

8:08 p.m. (Day 3) – We’ve spent the day smoking, drinking, and listening to Future. Sunday is a recovery day for many, but recovery only lasts so long when Gramatik locks down the 8 p.m. - 9 p.m. slot. The Slovenian DJ is a festival-veteran, and his Okeechobee set almost reaches the level of legend he established last September at To-morrowWorld.

10:32 p.m. (Day 3) – Odesza brings his set to graceful close. The entire crowd is filled with feelings of euphoric joy. For many, including Raver Magazine, the festival is now over. We head for the gates and soon our equipment is packed and our car is rumbling out the gate of the festi-val. Mumford and Sons wail in the background as we leave the lights of the festival behind for the darkness stretching into the future.

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Something for Everyone!Jungle 51: An unidentified blasting object (UBO) crash landed in forest overlooking Aquachobee. All night, pulses of sound erupt from the UBO as mesmerized ravers dance until sunrise. If you didn’t think Okeechobee catered to ravers, you didn’t take a trek into the jungle.

Aquachobee: Okeechobee’s daytime hang out transported festivalgoers into a lush, tropical paradise complete with sand, beach beverages, and live entertainment from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The oversized Ferris wheel gave guests a chance to capture the gorgeous Okeechobee vista on camera. Hermitude’s set on Sunday marked one of the only times that Aquachobee’s crowd exceeded that of the Grove.

Yogachobee: Yogachobee was designed to give patrons a place to center themselves. It featured workshops from morning to night with special surprises in between.

the grove

yogachobeeYogachobee was described as a “portal-within-the-portal”, a concept that should be embraced more frequently when planning music festivals.

Chobeewobee Village: Fashion killas assemble. Chobeewobee Village’s vendor line-up featured everything from designer hats with wood-burned brims to organic mustache cream. For those who took the time to explore the village, shady rest areas and secret stages could be found by following clues and notes posted around the grounds.

The Grove: This is where the real magic happened. The Grove featured three huge stages that were relatively close together, yet angled at precise angles to avoid noise overlap. Being able to hustle from stage to stage without missing a full song was one of the many delights of Okeechobee.

By Zach LeetePhotography by Celeste

Swatling & Ana Massard

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aquachobee

yogachobee

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Verdugo Brothers

By: Hannah Carlson

As you both are becoming more popular throughout the world, what is your ultimate goal for your career in the music industry? You both had an interview with Jam-sphere in 2012 about where you saw yourselves in 5 years; it’s 2016 and your answer was, “Our goal is to win a Grammy” by next year.” How close are you to that goal? We think it’s safe to say that we over-estimated just how much work it takes to win a Grammy. It’s awesome to reflect on how ambitious we were in 2012, but the reality is that guys like Kaskade have been voting members of the Grammy’s for years and have yet to win. We are certainly not giving up, and it will always be a goal of ours to at least be nominated.

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What is the biggest accomplishment as a DJ duo you have achieved so far? What has been the biggest chal-lenge? The biggest accomplishment was winning that contest to open for Moby in front of over 14,000 people on Jesolo Beach in Jesolo, Italy. It was our first European show & we won based off of sheer online votes and support. So we will never forget. As far as the biggest challenge? We both agree that our biggest challenge has always been consistency. That’s just the honest truth. We know that in order to be successful, you must be consistent.

You both have graduated from Sacramento State Uni-versity; what do you plan on doing with your degrees? Do either of you do work outside of entertaining and serenading the crowds with your music? Yes, we both work and we do a lot of private and corporate magic shows outside of music, so contact us if you are in-terested. However, we hope to do entertainment full-time in the near future.

With support from artists like BlasterJaxx, Thomas Gold, Carl Cox, and Markus Schulz (who was the cov-er feature of our February edition), have you collabo-rated any of your music with them? Or plan on collab-orating with any “big name” DJs? We would love to collaborate with any of the guys. But for now, the focus is to just put out more of our own music and to be consistent moving forward. We have stuff that will be coming out on Starkillers’ label, BRAWLA, and some other things in the works, so we’re really excited.

How did you both get into magic? What does it take to be a magician? How long have you been magicians? What is the hardest trick you have learned so far as a duo? Do you perform magic separately from DJing or do pre magic shows at events, or just focus on street magic? Who are your biggest inspirations? We were both originally inspired by David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Siegfried & Roy, and David Blaine primarily. We grew up watching these legends on T.V., and one day we met a magician at a Chuck E. Cheese. Shortly after, our mother talked the magician into giving us lessons, which ensued for the next 6 months. We were between the ages of 9 and 12 when the lessons started. We continued doing magic for about the next 4 years straight, doing birthday parties for other kids and entertaining family and friends.

After focusing purely on music, we finally got back into magic, about 2 years ago now. We’ve always talked about combining magic & illusion with our DJing, and we are fi-nally doing that. Our first official show combining both arts was in Anchorage, Alaska last year in 2015, and the crowd loved it!

What pushes you everyday to be the best DJs in the world? How many hours a day do you put into produc-ing music and mixing? We’ve been producing now for about 10 years, so I think it’s safe to say that we’ve put in our 10,000 hours.

You both are physically fit; what are your workout rou-tines and diet, especially as busy, hard working DJs and magicians? We believe that getting to know your own body is import-ant. For us, we get results with just weight lifting, minimum 3 days a week, and doing cardio at least 2 to 3 days a week. If you combine that with eating right and proper nutritional supplementation, you will see and feel results. Our goal is not to be body-builders, and we know this may not work for everyone, but it works for us.

You were on America’s Got Talent in 2015 – what hap-pened with that? How far did you advance? Did it help with exposure? What did you hope to get out of that experience? It was our very first experience, so we didn’t know what to expect. After waiting about 8 hours, we were given 90 sec-onds to impress. We are happy to say that we executed our illusions to our own music flawlessly; however, we lacked an emotional story for the judges to connect to, so we did not advance. We learned a lot, though, and we will be back to try again.

What would be your advice for up-and-coming DJs to-day who need a little encouragement when the going gets tough? We should literally be the posterboys for the struggle. We have faced so many obstacles and we have persevered many times over the years. Our greatest advice to any up-and-comers is to be yourself, be an original, treat people right, don’t ever play yourself, and be consistent. Consistency is the major key component to anyone’s success. And it will be for ours, too.

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By: Nhan Tran

Lexxica

Spotlight Artist of

the Month:

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You just dropped your new single “Hello Friday” – what inspired you to write that song?

I wanted a song that inspired the weekend. The anthem that instantly takes you to a place that makes you want to dance and live in the moment. This song is all about fun!! It’s about getting away! Escaping the mundane, when you just need that rescue with your friends…when Friday is here and you are under the lights and the whole world disappears. You feel free and alive and it’s the only place you want to be!

What was it like working with Grammy-nominated producer Rusty Varenkamp on your new track?

Rusty is brilliant. We wrote my EP together, “Only If You Want to”, and the EP out later this summer. I love working with him and he gets my vision. I can communicate a sound, an idea, and he can instantly run with it and produce what I was thinking!! We make a great team!

This month’s new artist spotlight comes to us from Los Angeles, California. She is an EDM singer/songwriter and one of the hottest new EDM female artists on the fast rise. We present to you, Lexxica. With her distinct, sultry sound fused with the melodic good vibes of electro, house, and even dubstep, her tracks will make you jump out of your seat and set you free. With the release of her new single “Hello Friday” that is already catching fire, we sat down with Lexxica and had a chat with her in her world of making EDM music.

What was it about EDM that drew you in?

EDM is an experience… it creates a euphoric feeling that you just want to get lost in. Maybe it takes a bad day and makes you want to escape… dance, smile, move, jump. It gets in your soul, and pumps energy through your tens. It awakens you. Awakens the life inside of you.

Listening to your tracks such as “Hello Friday”, “Only If You Want to”, and “Slow Down”, you have such a distinct and sultry sound; what is your inspiration in making music, especially EDM?

Thank you. I think you have to get inspired by the music, the lyrics – get lost in the translation of the two. When I get inside the studio, I dance, I move – I light candles all over the studio and close my eyes, and everything else fades away.

There are some legendary female vocalist such as Sia, Miriam Bryant, and Haley Gibby that have worked with the likes of David Guetta,

Zedd, and Kaskade; would that be your ultimate goal, to lay a track with those artists and be in that elite league of the mentioned female vocalists?

Absolutely!! I would love to work with Zedd. I love his sound. It’s so fresh and current. And I would love to be like Havana Brown and do a song with Pitbull.

So what is in the works for Lexxica? New album/EP? Producing? Writing? Performances?

I love being in the studio and I love writing; the finishing touches of the album are in the works. I have another single called “Heart’s Collide” coming out next. It’s one of my favorite songs so far – it’s about the experience of love and passion. Shortly after that, I will release “Human Race” with a music video and then the EP late this summer!

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LEXXICA

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SPACE IBIZA

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A Taste of Space IbizaBy Maddy Pertiwi / Photography by Daniel Gultom

Space Ibiza is widely known as being the prominent club in Ibiza. To give a glimpse of Space Ibiza’s atmo-sphere, Colosseum Club presented “Space Ibiza On Tour” on 30 January 2016. For this special event, the Colosseum Club brought Firebeatz and Camilo Franco out to play to the masses.

This is the second time Space Ibiza has given us a glimpse of what it’s like to be in and party in one of their clubs. Last year, Colosseum Club brought “Ibiza Calling” with Ramon Castells and Quintino, and just like this year’s performance, it was simply breathtaking.

Firebeatz, the duo from The Netherlands, delivered their massive dance floor hits for the second perfor-

mance in Jakarta. Camilo Franco came to play also as he tore up the decks with roaring drops and prolific sounds that few could match. Camilo Franco is one of the resident DJs at Space Ibiza, and his Balearic Tech House sounds brought down the house.

Colosseum’s resident, Beathoven, opened the night with some pumping House tracks. In the middle of their performance, a dancer came out and worked up an array of aerial acrobats. The stunning acrobatics were conducted 5 meters high from the floor. Her intri-cate routines left the crowd open-mouthed as the per-formers moved in sync with the music.

When Camilo Franco appeared, everyone was ready

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to hear the sound of Ibiza. Camilo officially started the night with some current hits. Smoothly, he transitioned to more House tracks. The result… a front stage packed with a crowd raging to his tunes. We saw that Camilo came prepped, himself, to capture the night with a vid-eo crew that caught footage which he published on his Facebook page.

The main performance of the night came from Fire-beatz. Tim Benjamin Smulders and Jurre van Doeselaar continued to smash the dance floor with their tracks. They dropped some of their hits, but surprisingly, they also dropped some classic House tracks, remixed to their own sounds. The crowd loved it and danced hard-er to their tracks.

To close the night, Trilions, Colosseum’s resident, came in for a show. He didn’t slow down the tempo, keeping the crowd entertained with his massive hits. Trilions played their own song, “When We Rave”. We all danced until the sun came up.

What a way to close out the month!

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#RaverMagazineWho’s HOT in EDM?

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#RaverMagazine

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our team:

Matt Vivanco Photography and Fashion Director

Nhan Tran Fashion VP and Photography,

California

Chase Morgan Creative Director and Sr. Vice

President

Hannah Carlson Director of Entertainment

Management

Rob Torres Broadcasting and Sr. Journalist

L.A.

Manfred Reyes Villa

Columnist, New York

Michael Beas CEO and Founder

Celeste SwatlingLead Designer

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our team:

Wid Bastian Chief Content Officer

JJ Columnist Jakarta,

Founder Rave Colony

Maddy Pertiwi Columnist Jakarta,

Founder Rave Colony

Schamy Nieme Columnist, Bolivia

Zach Leete Columnist, Florida

Fernando D’ Avila

Columnist, Texas