Local DJ: EDM now part of pop culture

DJ MARS Miranda

Electronic dance music (EDM) is not just about having a good time.

Local DJ Mars Miranda is out to prove that, contrary to some people’s perception, there is more to EDM. He was one of the speakers at the Globe Tattoo Trend Talks, a series of forums that gathered key players in the music scene.

“Most of the time, people only get to see us playing electronic dance music in clubs, and they think it’s just about partying or having a good time,” he said during the press conference for the event.

Miranda, who performs in such clubs as Republiq, Privé and 71 Gramercy, and impresario Stephen Ku, discussed the business side of music at the first edition of Trend Talks, recently held at Solaire Resort and Casino’s Grand Ballroom. It focused on the surge in popularity of EDM in the Philippines.

“People pay good money to attend EDM gigs and famous DJs are starting to come in. That means there’s a market for it,” he said. “EDM has grown; people are enjoying this fun type of music.”

Miranda noted that EDM has come a long way since the 1990s, “when it was usually played only in warehouse parties that just a handful of people knew about.”

“Now you hear it in clubs, bars, restaurants, noontime shows, popular radio stations… it has become part of pop culture,” he said.

Asked what he thought was the biggest factor that propelled EDM, Miranda said the Internet played a huge part in making music material from around the world a lot more available and accessible.

 Evolution

“Back then, we were limited to whatever was being played on the radio or what mainstream media dictated,” he said.

“But the process has become faster; we’re now more current and in tune with whatever’s happening across the rest of the world,” he added.

Famed Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren was also featured in the Globe series. He shared his insights on the evolution of dance music, particularly progressive trance and uplifting trance.

The Grammy-nominated DJ headlined, on the same day, a solo dance music concert titled  “Armin Only: Intense,” at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Ingo Vogelmann and Pav Parrotte opened for him.

MIKHAIL Schemm

Other speakers at Trend Talks were EDM experts and industry insiders, like Ricky Daker, Domini Primero, Katrina Razon, Mikhail Schemm and Nicky Jurado, who discussed EDM’s origins in Manila, and its influence on the current music scene.

According to Miranda, EDM, despite being dismissed as a fad, has a lot of potential in terms of collaborations.

In last month’s Wanderland 2014 music festival, Miranda took the stage with Radioactive Sago Project, Inky de Dios, Kat Agarrado of SinoSikat? and Sarah Marco of Taken by Cars. They formed a “super group” that dished out cracking tunes fusing jazz, rock and dance.

“There’s so much you can do with EDM. It’s just a matter of working with musicians from different genres and creating something you would never expect,” Miranda said. “Through these collaborations, I hope we come up with something new, and help the music scene grow.”

(E-mail [email protected].)