If we have discovered something concerning the EDM world by now, it is stranger than fiction.
The digital music group is not any stranger to the outrageous, however 2023 stretched the bounds of its plausibility. It was a 12 months that redefined bizarre from the membership to the principle stage, and even seasoned ravers have been left shaking their heads in disbelief.
From Rezz creating a branded intercourse toy to Skrillex DJing inside a faculty bus in Times Square, this previous 12 months noticed no scarcity of head-scratching and “you can’t make this stuff up” moments. Though at instances difficult to consider, these surreal tales present that typically actuality dances to the beat of its personal drummer.
As we put together our champagne countdowns to ring in 2024, let’s have a look again at a few of the 12 months’s most bizarrely true tales. Read on to find 23 of probably the most absurd tales that really occurred in 2023.
A person was sentenced to jail after “terrorizing” neighbors with loud EDM for 5 years
A person in Barcelona was sentenced to at least one 12 months in jail after intentionally “terrorizing” his neighbors with loud digital music day by day and evening for a interval of 5 years, we reported in August.
The man’s neighbors had complained to him about how disruptive the “unbearably loud” music was beginning in 2012, claiming it led to bodily and psychological points. After ignoring a warning issued in 2014 by the native municipality, he ceaselessly performed music exceeded 57 decibels, which is considerably louder than the 35 decibels allowed by regulation.
A sister of one of many victims mentioned her “bones were vibrating” at one level, and an aged neighbor reportedly testified that he was prescribed a “sedative-hypnotic treatment” attributable to extreme insomnia. Another neighbor’s Alzheimer’s illness is alleged to have worsened because of the anxiousness from the loud music.
Consequently, the person was sentenced to at least one 12 months in jail. He’s additionally banned from working in any job associated to digital music.
Rezz developed a branded intercourse toy
Fans of Rezz might be vibrating to a special beat in 2024.
The digital music famous person is releasing a HypnoVizion-branded dildo as a part of her merchandise line, we reported earlier in December. The intercourse toy, which is able to come in a customized field—no pun supposed—began out as a joke inside the brazen engines of EDM Twitter however turned a actuality after legions of followers expressed real curiosity.
Naturally, the responses have been outrageous. “Things I can expect: Serotonin,” one fan quipped. “my rezz dildo purchase can be a tax write off,” wrote one other, an OnlyFans creator.
(*23*)
Beyoncé swept the Dance/Electronic classes on the Grammys
There’s little doubt you heard about Beyoncé’s dominant Grammy sweep of this 12 months’s Dance/Electronic classes again in February. She’s by no means touched a sync button nor has she ever break up a sea of v-necks to order a Red Bull-vodka at Club Space, however Queen Bey is now etched in the EDM historical past books.
Despite the grandeur of her RENAISSANCE album, it is robust to argue how weird it’s to see Beyoncé’s identify in the annals of the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album, the place she’s joined by Daft Punk, Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk, Skrillex and different pioneering producers. Naturally, Twitter had a area day on the time.
Kevin Edwards
Will Ferrell DJed at a USC frat get together
Will Ferrell graduated from USC in 1990 however has since returned in an official capability to ship the varsity’s graduation speech in 2017. His return this 12 months rallied college students as soon as once more, albeit in a a lot totally different capability.
Ferrell hasn’t been identified to grace the decks, however the Old School actor made like Frank The Tank and delivered some school hijinks that members of Sigma Alpha Mu are positive to recollect. Sporting athletic shades, headphones and a backwards USC cap, Ferrell’s headlining second was clipped and shared to TikTok, the place it amassed of hundreds of thousands views in quick order.
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DJ Snake threw an impromptu rave in a McDonald’s
Picture this: you stroll into your native Mickey D’s anticipating a fast Big Mac repair, solely to search out the place reworked right into a full-blown rave with DJ Snake. That’s precisely what occurred again in June, when he took over a McDonald’s restaurant on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris and hosted an in-store pop-up rave to rejoice his partnership with the enduring quick meals chain.
Tables have been cleared to make room for an improvised dancefloor and money registers have been changed with Snake’s turntables earlier than he took the stage—effectively, counter—at 10pm. McDonald’s workers continued to hustle in the kitchen behind him, fist-pumping and raving as he threw down his menu of hits. Talk a couple of perk.
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A DJ duo snuck into the 2023 Creamfields competition by means of a waterlogged tunnel
Bread Gang have turned sneaking into music festivals right into a science of types, however a go to to Creamfields noticed the squad rolling up their sleeves in contrast to ever earlier than.
After initially being stopped by safety, the Australian DJ duo searched the encompassing space and recognized an unlikely entry level: a waterlogged tunnel. After stripping right down to their underwear, the blokes navigated the slender passage and located themselves squarely inside the inside safety perimeter of Creamfields, one in every of Europes largest digital music festivals.
Bread Gang documented their misadventures sneaking into the enduring fest again in August and declared an undefeated document of “three for three” this summer time after ill-advised gatecrashes at Boomtown and Tomorrowland.
Shaquille O’Neal threw his personal digital music competition
Basketball legend, angel investor and headlining DJ Shaquille O’Neal added one other title to his résumé this 12 months: music competition organizer.
The NBA Hall of Famer and shatterer of backboards, followers of whom affectionately name DJ Diesel, is an outspoken advocate of digital music whose unbridled enthusiasm for the style has captured the hearts of its most impassioned fanatics. They’ve embraced Shaq as a “dubstep dad” who tirelessly champions rave tradition and the whimsy of its group, particularly the guy music producers with whom he supplies its soundtrack.
The charismatic Diesel, who collaborated with many promising bass music artists this 12 months and launched a full-length album, introduced “Shaq’s Bass All-Stars Festival” again in June. He then threw what he claimed was the largest bass music competition in Texas, a one-day occasion in Fort Worth that includes Alison Wonderland, Crankdat, Kai Wachi, Sullivan King and extra heavy-hitters.
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Electric Zoo was a zoo
New York’s famed Electric Zoo sadly lived as much as its identify in 2023.
It all began when the competition’s organizers canceled its first day completely. Blaming nebulous provide chain points that hindered their capability to assemble the principle stage on time, they posted the announcement simply hours earlier than gates have been scheduled to open on Randall’s Island.
Citing unexpected challenges that arose from that controversial cancellation, they then revealed they have been denying entry on Sunday attributable to capability considerations. Videos of ticket-holders storming the competition’s gates promptly circulated on social media, resulting in an announcement by NYC Mayor Eric Adams that town deliberate to take motion in opposition to Electric Zoo’s proprietors. They are actually dealing with a category motion lawsuit.
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Skrillex, Fred once more.. and Four Tet DJed from a faculty bus in Times Square
Skrillex, Fred once more.. and Four Tet, followers of whom affectionally dubbed “Pangbourne House Mafia” this 12 months, managed to utterly dominate New York City’s music scene for a complete week.
The trio’s once-in-a-lifetime rave at Madison Square Garden, which bought out in a matter of seconds, was the fruits of every week that included a shock DJ set reside from a droptop faculty bus in the center of Times Square. The pie-in-the-sky efficiency additionally gave rise to Four Tet’s viral “Country Riddim” second, which took on a lifetime of its personal and exploded throughout their headlining Coachella set.
A DJ stunned a younger bullying sufferer by driving him to promenade in a fleet of supercars
High-schooler George was ready to stroll to his promenade after experiencing an particularly troublesome faculty 12 months attributable to bullies in his class. But when London-based DJ and vehicle fanatic Tomi Adenlé confirmed up on his doorstep with a jaw-dropping fleet of luxurious supercars to present him a classy elevate to promenade, his faculty 12 months wrapped with fairly a finale.
Among the spectacular convoy taking George to his promenade was a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin and a number of Porsches and McLarens. He additionally bought to journey in Adenlé’s private experience, a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ estimated to price over $500,000.
“When his friends booked a Limo without telling him we had to show up for the boy! Shout out to George for still heading to his prom even though he had a tough end of year,” Adenlé wrote on social media. “Also, his Dad told him that he would have to walk to prom but he had actually organised a supercar convoy instead! School is tough, especially when bullying is involved. But things do get better.”
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Mau P launched an OnlyFans account
Back in May, red-hot Dutch DJ and producer Mau P dropped his sweltering home monitor, “Your Mind Is Dirty,” on John Summit’s Experts Only imprint.
But followers have been forewarned to attend till they bought dwelling from work to press play, as a result of the monitor actually falls into the NSFW class. Combining Mau P’s signature thick basslines with provocative vocals, “Your Mind Is Dirty” finally turned a worldwide home hit and riled up crowds at festivals over the world.
The breakout producer additionally launched a tongue-in-cheek OnlyFans account in tandem with the frisky launch. “what am i even doing,” he commented on the time.
A person shocked himself on an energized practice rail on his solution to Lollapalooza
A person on his solution to the 2023 Lollapalooza competition was hospitalized in crucial situation after making bodily contact with an “energized” practice rail, we reported again in August.
He reportedly jumped down onto the tracks “to take pictures” earlier than by accident touching the charged practice rail. A girl was then shocked, police mentioned, when she tried to help the person. After each have been electrocuted, a number of of their associates descended onto the tracks and managed to take away them.
When the Oak Park Fire Department arrived on the scene, the girl was acutely aware however the man was in cardiac arrest, officers mentioned. Both victims, who’re in the 20s, have been transported to Loyola Medical Center, the place the latter was listed in crucial situation.
Chris Hemsworth launched Chris Lake and FISHER’s historic live performance on Hollywood Boulevard
Thor dropped the hammer on Hollywood Boulevard in October, when Chris Lake and FISHER made historical past after shutting down Tinseltown. The home music superstars recruited Chris Hemsworth, who performs the god of thunder in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to document a customized introduction for his or her historic “Under Construction” live performance in the guts of Hollywood.
Hemsworth, one of many world’s highest-paid actors, understood the task. His narration provided a Mjölnir-sized dose of awesomeness because the duo took the stage, laying the groundwork for a mind-blowing evening that followers will not quickly overlook. He even hit FISHER with a playful jab on the chrome-domed DJ’s head, which he known as “as bald as a full moon in the sky.”
“They looked at each other with stars in their eyes and said, ‘Build it,’ and they shall come,” Hemsworth mentioned. “Well, it turns out dreams do come true because these dickheads pulled it off.”
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Eprom DJed alongside precise robots
Dispirited by the awful tenor of immediately’s conversations about futurism, Eprom conceptualized a full-fledged alternate universe for Syntheism, his third album. He even went so far as learning Akkadian cuneiform, the earliest identified writing system, to develop its universe.
He then constructed a portal to that universe by advantage of his groundbreaking “Syntheism Robotics” live performance at Denver’s Mission Ballroom again in July. Fans attending the one-night-only headlining present noticed Eprom carry out in tandem with motion-control robots manufactured by Motorized Precision, a number one robotics firm with a portfolio together with Disney, Netflix and Star Wars producer Lucasfilm.
“It’s always super exciting to work with the robots, and we’re really pushing the limits of what is possible technically,” Eprom advised EDM.com on the time. Read the complete interview right here.
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An artist turned a loaf of bread into the art work of Aphex Twin’s debut album
What’s mistaken, babe? You barely touched your Selected Ambient Works 85-92 bread.
Iain Ross, higher often called “Thug Loaf,” has amassed a big following by stenciling iconic album covers into baked items. The grain-smith’s creations have featured everybody from MF Doom to Taylor Swift to Playboi Carti. Along the best way he has paid homage to well-known digital music works too, maybe most impressively when he recreated Aphex Twin’s influential debut album in bread kind.
So what precisely contains Ross’ distinctive recreation? He mentioned the recipe consisted of 300g of Canadian bread flour, 50g of darkish rye, 242ml of water, 70g of levain starter and 7g of salt. The painted cowl artwork on high was executed utilizing a mixture of black activated charcoal powder and food-grade coloring.
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Skrillex dropped two new albums
When we printed an article with the headline “Welcome to 2023, the Year of Skrillex,” manner again on January 2nd, we knew one thing particular was coming. But nobody might’ve foreseen what went down subsequent.
His first album in almost a decade, Quest for Fire, arrived utterly with out warning in February earlier than its follow-up, Don’t Get Too Close, stunningly launched a mere 24 hours later. Tack on a historic Madison Square Garden rave and a totemic five-hour set at Red Rocks, and 2023 was certainly the 12 months of Skrillex.
The dubstep icon was finally named one in every of EDM.com‘s greatest music producers of 2023 after probably the most prolific 12 months of his illustrious profession.
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Dada Life’s Stefan Englbom climbed the best mountain in the Americas
Dada Life’s Stefan Engblom traded bananas for snow boots in 2023, a 12 months that noticed him conquer the tallest mountain in the Americas. One of the world’s elusive Seven Summits, Aconcagua is located inside the huge Andes mountain vary at a summit elevation of twenty-two,838 toes.
Engblom’s route by means of the perilous terrain of Aconcagua was removed from a stroll in the park. He mentioned he suffered from Acute Mountain Sickness, a situation brought on by diminished air stress and decrease oxygen ranges at excessive altitudes that may result in shortness of breath, fatigue, complications and problem strolling.
Two others developed critical medical points in the course of the climb and needed to be rescued by a helicopter after falling sufferer to high-altitude pulmonary edema, or HAPE, a extreme and doubtlessly deadly development of AMS characterised by an accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
“Climbing Aconcagua has been an extraordinary adventure,” Engblom advised EDM.com in an interview earlier in December. “The expedition didn’t start upon entering the Andes but rather began nearly a year ago with dedicated training. I sought a tangible experience with real-world implications.”
Carl Cox DJed on the Great Pyramids of Giza
Techno icon Carl Cox is revered for taking the style to locations it is by no means been, however he outdid himself on May twenty ninth, when he DJed at one of many Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Just like Cox’s timeless techno tracks, the Great Pyramids of Giza have been constructed to final an eternity. The tombs have been erected some 4,500 years in the past with an estimated 2.3 million stone blocks, every of which weigh as much as 15 tons, per National Geographic. If there have been ever a construction to resist Cox’s blood-pumping model of digital music, it is the Pyramids.
With the illuminated pyramids setting a mystical and jaw-dropping backdrop in the gap, Cox carried out an awe-inspiring DJ set filled with techno bangers that echoed by means of the Al Giza Desert.
David Guetta created a deepfake Eminem vocal—then dropped it a present
Will the actual Slim Shady please rise up?
Back in February, we reported that David Guetta paid homage to Eminem by creating a deepfake vocal and dropping it reside throughout a DJ set. He mentioned he prompted an AI-powered app to put in writing a verse about his signature future rave sound in the fashion of Eminem, then fed it by means of a separate platform to generate the eerie deepfake as if the Detroit hip-hop icon have been reciting the bars himself.
The social experiment proved to be a thought-provoking one given the proliferation of AI in the music trade in 2023—and the way seemingly straightforward it’s to recreate an artist’s vocals with uncanny accuracy.
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Taylor Swift-themed raves toured the nation
Taylor Swift’s historic “Eras” tour in some way morphed into an digital music phenomenon in 2023. Amid the explosive success of the record-breaking tour, which is on tempo to change into the largest in reside music historical past, Swift-themed raves proceed to pop up all around the nation.
The organizers of a devoted collection of Swiftie raves have been attracting 1000’s to their occasions, which mix heavy-hitting drops with Swift’s many singalong anthems.
Meanwhile, a “Taylor Swift-Inspired Dance Party” is presently on an intensive nationwide tour, which has already hit Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago and plenty of different main cities. The get together even took over New York City’s iconic Webster Hall to shut out the summer time.
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SVDDEN DEATH needed to condemn fire-breathing at reveals after ravers ignited plumes in a crowd
After a gaggle of ravers engaged in the hazardous act of fire-breathing throughout a efficiency by SVDDEN DEATH, he spoke out to sentence their reckless actions.
The digital music famous person, one in every of EDM.com‘s greatest music producers of 2022, headlined his personal curated competition, Summoning of the Eclipse, again in October. Videos shared on social media in the wake of the occasion appeared to indicate plenty of attendees utilizing lighters to ignite and blow massive plumes of fireside amongst the gang watching his set.
The dangerous stunt is completed by filling the cheek cavity with a lighter’s gasoline earlier than sparking it as near the face as potential and spitting by means of pursed lips, forcefully directing the gasoline by means of the flame. Most states require fireplace performers to acquire a certificates of registration from their Fire Marshal’s Office since newbie, unlicensed fire-breathers might have problem controlling the route of the blaze’s spray, usually resulting in extreme burns.
Emphasizing the significance of accountable competition habits, SVDDEN DEATH finally took to social media to dump a sobering splash of chilly water on the ill-advised antics and condemn the “dangerous” act of fire-breathing.
A $52 million adults-only mini golf course with reside DJs is coming to Vegas
Back in August, we reported on Swingers Crazy Golf, an adults-only miniature golf course coming to Las Vegas.
The model’s proprietors not too long ago raised $52 million to fund an enlargement and open the brand new Sin City offshoot, which is anticipated to debut in the spring of 2024. Featuring 5 programs, the 21-and-up “crazy golf” expertise will tee up throughout 40,000 sq. toes of house contained in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
There will not be any shushing right here as reside DJs spin dance music all through. And since liquid braveness is par for the course in Vegas, caddies will ship themed cocktails to gamers in addition to bites from Vegas street-food distributors.
Swingers Crazy Golf
A cache of medicine valued at $400,000 was seized at a rave in Australia
An illicit rave in southern Queensland ended with the seizure of over $400,000 price of medicine by native authorities this summer time.
Titled “Weedy Wonka’s Winter Solstice,” the four-day occasion had been promoted by the use of social media. Its organizers reportedly tried to evade authorities by promoting a decoy handle whereas the actual gathering befell on a rural plot of land effectively exterior downtown Brisbane.
A big cache of medicine was seized, together with an estimated $160,000 price of ketamine and $127,000 price of MDMA. Illicit portions of hashish, cocaine, LSD and extra have been additionally recovered.
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