LED OMFG! SD 2015 Recap
LED rang in 2015 in a big way. OMFG! SD was expanded to a three-day event, taking place December 29-31 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. On top of that, a second stage—"The Zoo"—was added to the massive event. The lineup was packed with some of dance music's biggest names, including Tiesto, Eric Prydz, Hardwell, Madeon, Flosstradamus, and Deorro. But before we dig into the headlining acts, we have to address some of the up-and-coming producers/DJs who threw down mind-blowing sets at OMFG! SD.
What So Not absolutely blew up in 2014. Emoh Instead and Flume comprise the duo, but Emoh typically tours on his own under the What So Not name. His set on the first day of OMFG! SD injected the crowd with endless energy.
DJ Sliink and Trippy Turtle brought Jersey Club to The Zoo on consecutive days. The King of Jersey Club, DJ Sliink, was the bed-squeak purveyor on Day 1, and he did not disappoint. The next day, Trippy Turtle—arguably the most popular Jersey Club producer—almost shut The Zoo down. People began lining up to get into The Zoo 25 minutes before Trippy Turtle's set started. Some people were forced to wait in line for 30+ minutes by security due to safety reasons. However, the wait was well worth it. Trippy Turtle had the crowd dancing from start to finish, as he played his own hits interspersed with some awesome remixes. The crowd sang along when he played a remix of Ginuwine's "Pony," and I personally enjoyed when he played some Craig David.
Bixel Boys' #FREELIFE jersey adorned countless OMFG! SD attendees all three days of the event. The jersey's success has helped increase the profile of the LA-based duo. The Bixel Boys played an early set on New Year's Eve, but they still managed to whip the crowd into a frenzy with their "big room underground" tunes. After their set at OMFG! SD, Rob May and Ian MacPherson rushed to their headlining set at Bang Bang in Downtown San Diego to ring in 2015.
The LED DJs were well represented at OMFG! SD. TJR, Brazzabelle, SNBRN, Klatch, and Deth Hertz all played crowd-pleasing sets. Just a few years ago, these LED DJs were playing opening sets at Voyeur. Now, some of them are traveling across the country (or world in TJR's case) to play their own headlining shows.
The headliners for Day 1 and 2, Hardwell and Tiesto, played solid sets for the big room house music fans. Flosstradamus might have had the most energetic set at OMFG! SD, which peaked when they played their hit track "Mosh Pit." The floor opened up during the song, and attendees flung themselves against each other in a display of youthful exuberance.
On the last day of OMFG! SD, GTA played during the countdown to 2015.
Although the countdown was a huge deal, OMFG! SD was far from over. Gareth Emery and Henry Fong followed GTA with fun sets, leading into Deorro. The Melbourne Bounce producer previously announced that he was retiring from touring after 2014, and the anticipation for his set was palpable. The crowd was starting to lose its energy following the countdown, but as soon as Deorro jumped on stage at 2am, everyone went nuts.
Eric Prydz closed out the night with an awesome set. With his progressive house style, it can be difficult to fully immerse yourself in the Prydz experience during a shorter set. However, he made effective adjustments and delivered a hypnotizing set to the attendees who were able to last past 4am.
If you're having withdrawals following OMFG! SD, don't worry: LED Anniversary will be taking place at the Valley View Casino Center on February 15th!
When describing his newest #1 single, "Conscindo," Gartner said the collaboration was fun, but not easy. "It was a bit of a pain in the ass for Mark Knight, because he had to fly out to my studio in Austin [Texas] to work on it a multiple of times, so I felt bad for him!" he said. "Collaborations are a weird thing for me. I never really realize what we have until a couple weeks after it's over, the track has been sitting around for a while, and then it's like I suddenly have perspective on it and hear it for what it really is. When that moment came for 'Conscindo,' I knew exactly what we had on our hands. It sat at #1 on Beatport for about two weeks, so now we're kicking around the idea of turning it into a vocal track and going for round two with it."