Winter Goes Out With A Bang: Total White Out Conditions at Soundgarden Hall

On Friday, March 22nd, House of Hearts proved to Philly once again that they know how to throw a party.

Dubbed, “Lights Out White Out”, the show was a play on HoH’s long-standing “Lights Out” themed parties, and attendees were heavily encouraged to wear white.

  While some did not get the memo, or perhaps just wanted to stand out, the vast majority of the concertgoers were rocking all white, which added nicely to the environment of the show.

DJ Aramis and Elvis Suarez opened the night, as well as House of Hearts resident DJ Johnny V.  Headlining the show were trance artists Matt Lange and Moar Levi, who is signed to the Anjunabeats record label.

The atmosphere that the all white attire provided went well with the trance music being played by the DJs, and from the moment we arrived until the moment the lights came on and the night ended, everyone could be seen dancing and enjoying themselves.

If you were there, you don’t need us to tell you how good of a night it was – you just want to relive it, so catch all of the photos below!

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[Photos by Steven Garfinkel]

You can view an expanded photo gallery below (click thumbnails to enlarge):

Make sure you catch the next House of Hearts Lights Out show on April 20th at Soundgarden Hall – http://on.fb.me/Z6PIKB

Above & Beyond: Things Gets Theraputic at Soundgarden Hall

Trance music fans got a three hour group therapy session at Soundgarden Hall on Friday, February 15th from EDM legends Above & Beyond.

The sold-0ut show, presented by Steez Promo, catered to an older crowd than usual at SGH, as patrons had to be at least 21 years old to enter the venue. This also allowed everyone in attendance to consume alcohol throughout the venue, something that is normally reserved for specific areas of the club.

The opening slot for the night went to Blake Jarrell who set the stage for Above & Beyond as SGH began to fill quickly to capacity. Joined on stage by various dancers and performers, Jarrell dropped some tremendous trance tracks, titillating those who showed up early to catch his set.

The crowd continued to grow in size and by the time Above & Beyond hit the stage for their three hour set at 11pm, it was packed, hot, and sweaty inside SGH. Fans erupted into cheers as the headliners took the stage in front of a giant digital wall which read “Hello Philly, it’s good to be back”.

Sipping Yuengling lagers, Tony McGuinness and Jono Grant dove right in to their roles as Zen masters, taking trance fans on a spiritual journey, and rocking them into a euphoric trance.

The next three hours were just sheer madness as the purveyors of Group Therapy tore down the walls of inhibition, stress, and any other negative feelings that existed in the crowd before their set began.

As an added bonus, Super8 & Tab who had been added to the bill earlier in the day played a one hour set from 2am-3am to ease the pain of those that wished Above & Beyond could play eternally.

The evening was a wild success and allowed older trance fans to have a rare night at Soundgarden Hall that they could call their own. We give it four crazy thumbs up!

Above & Beyond’s next stop is NYC for their Anjunabeats Volume 10′ Launch Party at Roseland Ballroom this evening.

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W&W to Mission Control, We Have Lift Off

It seems like it’s nearly impossible to catch an EDM show in Philly these days that lasts more than a few hours and doesn’t feature at least one set of dubstep, trap, or some other form of bass music.

That’s why we were so excited for Friday, November 30th at Soundgarden Hall where a trance heavy line-up of DJs, headlined by dutch duo, W&W was hitting the decks. When we first heard that W&W were coming to town, we just had two W&W questions, where and when? After we got those answers, we had a few more questions for Willem & Wardt themselves. We sat down with them at Soundgarden before their set and you can check out our interview with the guys right here:

In addition to the headliners, there were opening sets by locals Johnny V, and Michael Myers b2b Tom Colontonio, followed by throw-down sets by Ummet Ozcan, and Kyau & Albert.

We were very impressed with Ummet Ozcan. His dark brand of trance infused with progressive and techno tones really had the place bumping. It’s easy to see why his tracks can often be found hanging around the upper echelon on the Beatport trance charts.

Kyau & Albert were up next and we were anxious to catch them live for the first time. This German duo has been producing tracks (including supplying their own male vocals) and remixing some of the biggest names in the biz since the 90’s. As expected, they had Soundgarden Hall rocking. Their upbeat track selection was matched, and even exceeded at points, by their own energy as Kyau jumped around stage with the fervor of a kid on a sugar high. Dropping several of their own hits, as well as many other well known tunes, they did a superb job of keeping the crowd engaged throughout their entire set. We look forward to their return to Philly in 2013.

Finally it was time for the headliners, W&W, to hit the stage. Performing for the first time in Philadelphia, their set was very impressive. As confetti canons, dancers, hand held cryo-guns, and Soundgarden’s impressive laser/light show provided all the visual stimulation you could ask for, W&W laid down some choice tracks that showcased their unique brand of electro-trance.

Highlights included their newest single “Lift Off” (which is set for release tomorrow), the ASOT 550 anthem “Invasion”, “Moscow”, and one of our personal favorites, Hardwell vs Above & Beyond: “Thing Called Spaceman (W&W Mashup)”. It’s easy to see why the biggest name is trance music today, Armin Van Buuren, is such a big fan of W&W. The guys were a pleasure to speak with, and an even bigger pleasure to see perform. We hope it won’t be long before they make their way back to Philadelphia so we can all Lift Off again.

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Interview with Sander Van Doorn

We’ve had plans to speak with DJ/producer Sander Van Doorn since we crossed paths at Tomorrowland in Belgium this past July. The award winner, globe trotting,  superstar will be rolling into town this Friday night to play at Rumor so we had a few quick questions for him before once again catching him showcase his skills in the DJ booth.

Independent Philly: Why did you choose the Surname Van Doorn to DJ under?

Sander Van Doorn: Well, my actual surname is Ketelaars so I did make a decision to go with Van Doorn. Just sounded better than Ketelaars, easier to remember I think.

IP: It’s been a year since you released your last album, do you have any plans to release one in the near future?

SVD: Yes working on it now, but no release date in sight. Maybe the end of the year, but letting it flow naturally so we’ll see what happens.

IP: What other projects/tracks are you currently working on?

SVD: I am part of the Halo 4 remix album which is very exciting. That is out in October.

IP: Who’s another DJ/Producer that you’d love to collaborate with that you haven’t had the chance to work with?

SVD: Moby.

IP: Is there an up and coming DJ/Producer who is currently below the radar that you think deserves some attention?

SVD: I think Julian Jordan is one to watch.

IP: You have an upcoming show in Philadelphia on September 21st at Rumor. What can your fans expect from a Sander Van Doorn set that have never seen you in person?

SVD: Will be very high octane, be ready!

IP: What’s the largest crowd you’ve ever performed in front of?

SVD: Not totally sure, I think around 150,000.

IP: If you had to choose between DJing, Producing, and Remixing, which would you do exclusively?

SVD: Producing for sure.

IP: Tell us something that would surprise or even shock our readers…

SVD: I worked in my brother’s aluminum shop before I got my first DJ gig.

We’re looking forward to catching Sander Van Doorn at Rumor this Friday for their one year anniversary party. If you’d like to join in all of the fun we highly recommend purchasing advanced tickets.  See you there Philly!

Ferry Corsten Puts EDM Fans in a Trance at TLA

Good Friday and the first night of Passover too place last night in Philly but all the religions in the world couldn’t stop trance fans from packing into the Theater of the Living Arts to see DJ Ferry Corsten.

Corsten, who hails from Amsterdam, is credited with creating the sound known as Dutch Trance in the 1990’s.

The show, Corsten’s first in Philadelphia in the last seven years was presented by Mass EDMC, NV Concepts, and Steez Promo, and opened with support from local DJs Jeff Heart and David Vaux.

Playing on decks situated between two large digital screens, Corsten’s set kicked off around midnight to a roar of cheers.

From that point it was like a 2 hour work-out for the dancing TLA patrons, the smoke cannons on stage, and Corsten’s smile. His constant grin was a testament to how much the man enjoys thrilling crowds and whipping them into a trance.

The crowd enjoyed it every bit as much as the DJ.

You can check out a full photo gallery below: