Blog - EDM

Fasten your seatbelts, because Excision and Sullivan King are back with another collaboration filled to the brim with bass-fueled turbulence. 

“Encore” is not coy about its intentions. The track opens with a surge of crowd noise—“One more song! One more song!”—a war cry both self-referential and entirely earned. Within seconds, that chant is obliterated by a boot-stomping kick drum and a serrated synth line, giving way to a distorted sample of Jay-Z’s unmistakable “Can I get an encore, do you want more?” That’s the listener's cue to brace themselves, because what follows is an unrelenting descent into decibel overload.

The first drop arrives with the subtlety of a wrecking ball. It’s a cacophony of low-end growls, layered with enough rhythmic scaffolding to keep bodies moving. A second drop follows closely behind, tailor-made to turn any dancefloor into a raucous pit. Drop number three represents a shift into high-speed mayhem, bludgeoning the tempo into a new gear. The track is a ceaselessly ferocious adventure that represents the best of both artists' talents.

Excision and Sullivan King have a long-standing rapport, forged in previous chaos like "Codename: Reckless,” “Our Fire,” and “Bass to the Dome,” among others. Their chemistry here isn’t accidental; instead, it’s the result of years of calibrating joint sonic demolition.

This marks Excision’s third output of the year, following “INSANE” with SVDDEN DEATH and yvm3, as well as “Air” with Gryffin and Julia Michaels. Sullivan King has been on his own warpath in 2025, surfacing with his CHAOS WILL BRING PEACE EP and a string of collaborative singles that continue to sharpen his genre-fusing edge.

You can stream "Encore" below.

X: x.com/excision
Instagram: instagram.com/excision
TikTok: tiktok.com/@excision
Facebook: facebook.com/excision
Spotify: spoti.fi/3lLJ5jl

X: x.com/sullivanking
Instagram: instagram.com/sullivanking
TikTok: tiktok.com/@sullivanking
Facebook: facebook.com/SullivanKingMusic
Spotify: tinyurl.com/5n6u9uxa

Shambhala Music Festival has a curious magic to it. You rarely meet people who’ve only attended the legendary music festival once. Shambhala leaves an unshakeable impression on guests, encompassing not only attendees but artists as well.

Shambhala has welcomed world-class musicians, launched prospects to stardom, and even sparked the genesis of artists who've performed there. The Farm, as it’s affectionately called, holds countless memories. Its roots run deeper than Fractal Forest’s towering tree. Those trees can’t speak to us, but fortunately, the artists can.

Below you will find love stories shared with EDM.com from six renowned artists who, like many readers, have been irreversibly touched by Shambhala.

The festival is extra special to me for several reasons. Firstly, Shambhala is iconic, in general, from the stage designs to the atmosphere of the whole event. It’s always been a festival I’ve heard of and wanted to play. In 2016, my performance turned many heads. It was a catapult, one of the reasons my career gained major traction. The festival is special to me, and I’m excited to be back! 

– REZZ

Shambhala will always feel like home for us. People are always shocked when we explain how long we've been going to the festival. I started going in my late teens, long before I'd ever even bought turntables or collected vinyl. At that time, festivals and raves were still very much underground; it was all word of mouth. A few years later, I brought Duncan [Smith] up for his first time. We both couldn't believe a place like Shambhala existed. And really, the rest is history. We eventually bought turntables, mixers, and started collecting a ton of vinyl. The Funk Hunters were born–a friend gave us our name while we were at the festival!

We started DJing around British Columbia. Each summer, we'd make the trip back up to the Kootenays to be at Shambhala. It was our can't-miss trip of the summer. Fun fact, I went on to work for the festival for many years as event staff before we got booked at the festival. You can imagine how exciting it was to finally get to make our festival debut. I think we played Fractal Forest and the Rock Pit on the same weekend in 2010. That was our first year; it was a dream come true. I've been attending the festival for well over 20+ years now, and we've played the festival for about 15 years straight!

The fact that the festival has remained truly independent since day one is an incredible testament to the brand, culture and community Shambhala has built. The founders and stage directors should be really proud of the impact and legacy they've had on the entire electronic music community worldwide. We are lucky to travel to a lot of amazing places to play music. The conversation in every corner of the globe with fans and DJs always comes back to Shambhala.

"One day I wanna come see you guys play at Shambhala!" or "Shambhala is my bucket list trip, I'm coming to Canada next year to experience it!" people tell us. How cool is that!? Everyone knows about it and it's still going strong 25 years in! 

– Nick Middleton, The Funk Hunters

A long mountain drive, a stilt walking elephant man, and naked people in the cold valley creek welcomed me.

Coming from Australia, it was nothing like I'd seen–or would see again, apart from Burning Man. My first visit was also my first year in North America. I'll never forget it. I remember there was drone footage of the set that leaked a bunch of the then-unreleased Gemini EP! 

One of its main perks is that it's in Canada, meaning you don't need a U.S. visa, which takes so much money, time and effort that most artists can't perform until one-and-a-half years after they start blowing up. The bookers have great taste, so you have this melting pot of all the cool and weird music blowing up in Europe, Australasia and North America. I can't wait to be back! 

– What So Not

Shambhala is one of those festival experiences that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Just an epic all around festival with amazing scenery, great people running the event and crowds who are 100% invested in the experience. At the same they’ve been able to make the festival feel grass roots throughout the many years we've played it. Just an awesome experience all around!

– Big Gigantic

It's hard to put into a few short paragraphs what Shambhala means to me. It's where I developed as an artist and where I met a lot of my friends. I attended for a few years before I was invited to play there in 2005. I came early for a few years before the fest started, where I re-painted the great Chewbacca and built some ponds with JPOD. I've played every year since 2005, minus the COVID years. From 2007 to 2009, JPOD and I performed three-hour, two-by-four sets as the Stickypod Connection, and we started releasing our sets. 

In 2010, I started performing by myself again. After releasing my 2011 set, my career took off. Shambs was my year-end celebration, where I poured my heart and soul into my set–making custom songs, dubplates and crafting the best multi-genre journeys I could. I’m approaching 20 years of playing at Shambhala, 18 currently, and I’ve attended for about 23 years. I will always be grateful for the opportunities that Rich-E-Rich, the Fractal and Shambhala brought me, but I also made it happen; I gave it everything I had. 

I know that the collective DJs who have frequented the Fractal Forest over the last few decades have influenced music culture worldwide. It's a special group, and I'm very proud to be a part of it. Fractal Forest for life.

– Stickybuds

Well, where do I begin? It’s hard to understate how much Shambhala means to me. I quite literally wouldn’t be here right now without it. I first heard of Shambhala around 2012, when a friend played me Stickybuds’ 2011 Fractal Forest mix. At the time, I was a few years into learning how to DJ and produce, and I was predominantly focused on Drum & Bass, although my taste in music was always very eclectic. Stickybuds’ set spoke to me on a level that no other electronic music ever had. It combined all the music I loved: funk, soul, reggae, hip hop, dubstep, and drum & bass. It was a fusion of genres I had never experienced before. It sent me down a path of discovering countless amazing artists who performed at the Fractal Forest, such as Featurecast, A.Skillz, Slynk, The Funk Hunters, and many more. Before long, I was making music inspired by these artists under the name Father Funk, and everything started to click. 

In those days, playing a Shambhala set was literally my wildest dream. An unfathomable reality. Fast forward to 2016, and I played my first one as a fresh-faced 22-year-old. I’ve had countless unforgettable experiences at Shambhala since. This year will be my seventh year performing and my ninth attending. Nothing compares to the magic of the farm. You can imagine how much it means to me to play at Shambhala. It changed the trajectory of my life. Not only did it inspire me to start Father Funk, but I now live in Canada, living off my music my entire adult life. Who knows what my life would look like if it weren’t for how Shambhala and the Fractal Forest inspired me all those years ago. 

Thank you, Shambhala, for saving my life, for giving me purpose, a career, and for introducing me to my family and, most importantly, my home. 

– Father Funk

X: x.com/shambhala_mf
Instagram: instagram.com/shambhala_mf
TikTok: tiktok.com/@shambhalamusicfestival
Facebook: facebook.com/shambhalamusicfestival

Space Laces is gearing up for the launch of "Vaultage 004," set to debut at Denver's Mission Ballroom on November 29th, 2025.

Announced across his social media platforms, the mix and live show promises a new iteration of his long-running "Vaultage" concept. 

The first "Vaultage" mix dropped in 2018, followed by "Vaultage 002" in 2019 and 003 in 2021. Each one has built on the last, with evolving visuals, increasingly complex transitions, and a steady stream of unreleased material. The time between releases has only added to the mystique. "Vaultage 003" even included a subtle easter egg that drew some fan speculation, so listeners may want to keep an ear out in case something similar appears this time.

VAULTAGE 004
MISSION BALLROOM
PREPARE FOR THE END pic.twitter.com/WsGHljH8c7

In February 2022, Space Laces brought "Vaultage 003" to life for the first time at Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado, across two nights. This performance marked the series' live debut, transforming the carefully constructed mix into a full audiovisual experience. That moment set the foundation for what comes next, with an entirely new chapter now set to unfold in the same room where "Vaultage" first came to life.

Known for his obsessive attention to detail and cinematic show structure, Space Laces has transformed Vaultage into more than just a DJ mix. It has become a narrative experience, blurring the line between chaos and control. The "Vaultage 004" debut in Denver is poised to push that boundary further.

Tickets are available now here.

X: x.com/spacelaces
Instagram: instagram.com/space_laces
TikTok: tiktok.com/@space_laces
Facebook: facebook.com/spacelaces
Spotify: spoti.fi/3va9Ov4

Editor's Note: Tomorrowland organizers issued the following statement shortly after the publication of this article, which has been updated accordingly:

Due to a serious incident and fire on the Tomorrowland Mainstage, our beloved Mainstage has been severely damaged.

We can confirm that no one was injured during the incident.

We can announce that, DreamVille (campsite) will open tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) as planned and will be ready for all DreamVille visitors.

All Global Journey activities in Brussels and Antwerp will take place as planned.

We are focused on finding solutions for the festival weekend (Friday – Saturday – Sunday).

More updates and detailed information will be communicated as soon as possible.​

A massive fire tore through the grounds of Tomorrowland's storied Mainstage on Wednesday, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky and forcing emergency responders to battle the blaze just two days before the event was scheduled to begin.

Videos circulating on social media showed flames consuming the elaborate structure, a cornerstone of the iconic EDM festival, which is scheduled to begin Friday, July 18th. The fire appears to have originated on the right side of the stage before spreading rapidly through the installation.

"Our showpiece, which took two years to build, is gone," Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen said in a statement. "Fortunately, the other stages are intact. The intention is truly for the festival to go on. But we can't work magic, so it will be without the Mainstage. Our production team will now do everything to make something beautiful out of it."

“Cancellation was never considered, but the organizers are relying on the authorities," she added. "If tomorrow it turns out that the site is not safe and we receive instructions from the authorities, we will follow them. Safety is always the priority."

Local authorities reportedly urged residents in the surrounding area to keep their windows and doors closed as firefighters work to contain the blaze. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

"We suddenly heard bangs and saw fire near the stage, a huge amount of fire," an anonymous employee told Het Nieuwsblad. "We were just putting the finishing touches on it. One more day and it would be finished."

This is what the #Tomorrowland stage looks right now according to Belgian news outlets VRT NWS & HLN pic.twitter.com/CaGY1PFY3b

"We can confirm that no one was injured during the incident," Tomorrowland's organizers announced in a statement, adding that the festival's campgrounds will open July 17th as planned.

Tomorrowland annually attracts roughly 400,000 people and features multiple stages across its sprawling grounds, though the Mainstage's destruction represents a major disruption to the planned festivities and efforts to manage crowd control. It serves as the centerpiece of the event, hosting the biggest acts and drawing the largest crowds throughout the weekend.

EDM.com reached out to Tomorrowland for comment but did not receive a response by press time.

Tomorrowland is diving deeper into its fantasy universe with the release of its first official comic book, The Odes of Orbyz. Set in the frozen world of the 2025 festival's theme, the story expands on the origin of ORBYZ, a mythical civilization buried deep beneath a vast ice cap, now emerging as the glaciers begin to melt.

The sixty-page softcover comic brings the world of ORBYZ to life in a new format, adapted from Tomorrowland’s original story by writer Chris Roberson. The comic features line art from Nick Brokenshire, colors from Triona Farrell, and lettering from Jodie Troutman, with visual elements drawn directly from the festival’s 2025 Main Stage design.

Set in the subterranean metropolis of Nymbuz, the plot follows Tybla, a warrior turned spiritual leader, as she investigates a wave of disappearances tied to unrest in the mines. When a sudden explosion tears through the frozen ground down below, suspicion turns toward the surface-dwelling Fallarine. Tybla’s search for answers pushes her beyond the borders of Nymbuz and into conflict with her own internal beliefs.

The comic is filled with references to Tomorrowland 2025’s stage design and symbolic details spread across the festival grounds this year. For both attendees and fans at home, The Odes of Orbyz offers another way to step into the mythical and immersive world that Tomorrowland creates without needing to be on site in Belgium.

Tomorrowland presents: The very first Tomorrowland comic, The Odes of Orbyz. A unique piece that, just like the similarly titled fantasy book, brings to life the origin story of the 2025 festival theme, ORBYZ. Order now, https://t.co/kLqjbuc9u8 pic.twitter.com/pNyLawFZTV

The Odes of Orbyz marks Tomorrowland’s first foray into the world of comics, building on a growing body of fiction that now includes four full-length fantasy novels. As part of the festival’s expanding creative universe, the release of The Odes of Orbyz is part of a longer arc within Tomorrowland’s storytelling still unfolding.

The book is currently available in English through the Tomorrowland website for €19.99. Purchases include a digital edition, and physical copies will be available at the Tomorrowland Store on the festival grounds both weekends.

Tomorrowland 2025 will take place on the weekends of July 18–20 and July 25–27 in Boom, Belgium. You can find the full lineup here. 

X: x.com/tomorrowland
TikTok: tiktok.com/@tomorrowland
Instagram: instagram.com/tomorrowland
Facebook: facebook.com/tomorrowland

AEG Presents Rocky Mountains is breathing new life into the heart of downtown Denver with its 2025 Civic Center Park Concert Series, a bold new summer institution that blends world-class electronic music curation with the historic soul of a city on the move.

Set inside the storied Greek Theater, the series plays out as both a final farewell and a landmark celebration before the venue closes for major renovations this fall. For decades, the neoclassical venue has stood as a rare architectural canvas for Denver’s live music scene.

This year’s lineup reads like a declaration of intent to make Denver the dance capital of the Mountain West. August kicks off with Jamie xx on the 6th, with the producer taking helm of the amphitheater’s open-air stage. Gorgon City will follow up two days later on August 8th, 2025, to continue the festivities.

AEG

On August 9th, 2025, Boiler Room is returning to Denver for its most ambitious local showing yet. The series is scheduled to conclude on September 15th, 2025, with a blowout performance courtesy of Sammy Virji. 

By embedding electronic music within Denver's public space, the Civic Center Park Concert Series reimagines what nightlife can be and where it can belong.

Leave it to Alison Wonderland to make finding the rave half the fun.

Just days after announcing the completion of her next album, described by the artist as the “best thing I’ve ever made,” Alison Wonderland is throwing the rulebook out the window with a surprise live event concept.

Teaming up with GeoGuessr, the beloved online geography game, Wonderland is launching a series of secret pop-up shows under the “Wonder Rave” banner. The first event kicks off this Friday at a hidden U.S. location. The only way to find out the venue is to play a custom Alison Wonderland-edition of GeoGuessr, now live for fans eager to pinpoint where the "Run" artist will be performing.

It's an interactive twist on the standard tour rollout, and a move that reinforces Wonderland’s position as one of electronic music’s most creative minds. The campaign also serves as a cryptic lead-in to Wonderland’s next full-length project, the follow-up to 2022’s Loner. By fusing digital gameplay with real-world community, Wonderland is reimagining how artists bring fans into their world, not only to watch the journey unfold, but to actively chart its course.

Check out the game here to uncover the location of Wonderland's upcoming pop-up this Friday, July 18th, 2025. Tickets are available now.

Alison Wonderland

X: x.com/awonderland
Instagram: instagram.com/alisonwonderland
TikTok: tiktok.com/@alisonwonderland
Facebook: facebook.com/awonderdj
Spotify: spoti.fi/3clhKRg

Armed with the potent tools of meditative composure and a mastery of subwoofers, Steller delivers a state of bass-induced catharsis in her new EP Here & Now.

Self-released, the project functions as a field guide for living in the moment, scored by seismic drops and searing synths. The four tightly packed tracks serve as a reminder to eschew the notion of tomorrow, for there is only the here and now. The titular track begins with a spoken-word crash course on the elasticity of time before igniting into a lucid, body-jolting drop. Created with the expressed purpose of opening her sets on tour, Steller reorients listeners from the word "go."

"My goal with this tour and this project was to create a moment where people can just escape for a bit and tap into something real," Steller said in a press release shared with EDM.com. "We all need an environment that encourages this, and I hope these songs give people what they gave me while writing them."

"Downslide," a collaboration with Seth David, slides into orbit with playful menace. Horn stabs and erratic synths zigzag across a space carved by gritty, asymmetrical basslines in a way that's unnerving and addictive. "Down With You" then drops the oxygen levels with minimal structure and distorted gravity to create an introspective feeling without losing altitude. Somehow, the lower Steller brings the bass, the more it causes you to ascend. The final track, "Eternal Love," floods the senses. It’s the palette-cleanser, wrapping the EP up like a memory you can’t quite place but desperately want to keep.

Steller built this project during a rare kind of creative surge—a total artistic unraveling followed by clarity. For an artist coming off a breakout tour, collaborations with Wreckno and Ragga Twins, and a B2B set with Zingara, this EP feels like a meditative mission statement. If Here & Now is any indication, Steller will be a significant player in the bass music scene for many more 'heres and nows' to come.

You can listen to Here & Now by Steller below.

X: x.com/StellerSounds
TikTok: tiktok.com/@stellersounds_
Instagram: instagram.com/stellersound
Facebook: facebook.com/StellerSounds
Spotify: tinyurl.com/en6h9m6w

You’re front row for your favorite artist. The lights flash and the bass reverberates through your body all night long. After the show is over, the adrenaline wears off, but something else lingers—a high-pitched ringing that certainly wasn’t part of the set. You brush it off and the ringing fades the next day. But what if it didn’t?

That’s the question Maarten Bodewes—co-founder of Loop Earplugs—found himself asking after a night out during college nearly seventeen years ago. He stood too close to a speaker and ended up with tinnitus (the perception of ringing, buzzing, or other phantom sounds in the ears) for weeks. That moment became the catalyst for Loop, a hearing protection brand that’s now sold over 11 million earplugs across 150 countries.

All those years ago, Loop was just an idea born of pain. It was a wake-up call for Bodewes, not just about hearing damage, but about the lack of hearing protection options. He began testing all the earplugs available at the time, but they were "ugly foamies or awkward transparent ones that stuck out of your ears," Bodewes told EDM.com. They were uncomfortable, distorted the music, and worst of all, made wearers feel like they didn’t belong in the room. "People dress up to go out," he said. "No one wants to ruin their look with something clunky sticking out of their head."

The statistics are sobering. The World Health Organization estimates that around 1.1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss from unsafe listening practices at concerts and festivals. Plus, a 2023 EDM.com poll found that nearly half of music festival attendees don’t wear ear protection.

Some feel earplugs will ruin the music. For others, the post-show ringing in the ears is part of the experience. A temporary buzz, maybe even a badge of honor. But audiologists and researchers say that sensation—referred to in the scientific community as a "temporary threshold shift"—is actually your ears begging for help. This sensation commonly affects artists as well. Martin Garrix and Alesso have both spoken publicly about the impact of tinnitus on their careers.

Part of the problem is that people don’t realize how quickly the damage can set in. Exposure to high volumes, even briefly, can have long-term consequences. To make it worse, the ears don’t have pain receptors, so unlike a cut or burn, hearing damage doesn’t trigger immediate physical pain. By the time the ringing or muffled hearing kicks in, the harm may already be done.

According to the National Institutes of Health, hearing loss can begin at just 85 decibels (dB). The average electronic music concert clocks in at 100–112 dB, with front-row levels often spiking to 120 dB or higher. That’s more than enough to cause permanent damage in under 15 minutes. Exposure to those sound levels overstimulates delicate hair cells in the inner ear, which are the microscopic structures responsible for translating vibrations into sound signals. Once damaged, they cannot grow back. This results in long-term hearing loss, tinnitus, and increased sensitivity to noise over time.

Johns Hopkins University

These risks propelled Bodewes to sketch a different vision for earplugs. He believed hearing protection should be less of a compromise and more of an accessory. "I love everything that's loud, whether that's festivals, concerts, fast cars or motorcycles," Bodewes described his passion for sound. He wrote his college thesis on reinventing earplugs, and while holding a day job at Microsoft, spent nights and weekends attempting to create a new type of earplug with longtime friend Dimitri O.

In 2016, they launched Loop’s prototype and pitched it to a Belgian startup accelerator. After getting accepted, Bodewes immediately quit his job and poured all his savings into Loop. Going all in like that was tough but necessary. "I'm not very risk averse. If I drive a motorcycle, I drive all out, if I play poker, I go all in quite often," Bodewes said about ditching stability to pursue his passion. "If you want to solve a problem that you face personally, you're very motivated, it’s not about making money."

The early Loops were 3D printed and spray-painted by hand in Bodewes’ backyard. They were sold mostly to friends and family. Through word-of-mouth and a growing reputation for quality, Loop started gaining traction.

As momentum built, Loop doubled down on the scene that inspired it in the first place—nightlife. "We always went to festivals and Tomorrowland was just 10 kilometers from where we lived," Bodewes shared about his personal connection to dance music. He describes his tastes as "100% electronic music." At home, Bodewes enjoys listening to Lane 8’s seasonal mixtapes and other melodic house artists like Ben Böhmer. He also recounts Pete Tong, Swedish Mafia, and deadmau5 as some of his favorite live performances. He even named their website loopnightlife.com and signed emails off as "Nightlife Evangelist."

Bodewes' enthusiasm and understanding of the electronic music community inspired him to position Loop differently than other earplugs. The product was marketed as liberation instead of protection, desire instead of guilt. "Other brands said, ‘It’s too loud, protect yourself,’" he pointed out. "But our message was, ‘go front row.’"

Loop Earplugs

Loop's mindset resonated with ravers and club-goers who had grown tired of choosing between their hearing and the music. "If you wear earplugs, you can go out longer and be closer to the stage," Bodewes emphasized about Loop’s mantra. "It's more comfortable and you go home without a beep in your ears."

While most earplugs sacrifice sound quality for protection, Loop set out to do both without compromise. Traditional foam plugs often distort the listening experience, muffling music and cutting off certain frequencies entirely. The result feels like you’re hearing the show through a wall.

Loop’s approach was different. They engineered and patented a circular acoustic channel—roughly the length and curve of the human ear canal—to reduce volume without degrading clarity. Paired with a precision mesh filter, this setup helps preserve the full frequency range of sound by filtering sound waves rather than blocking them, so you still feel the bass and hear the highs, just at a safer, more sustainable level. 

Research backs up what Loop offers. A randomized controlled trial published in JAMA Otolaryngology found that concertgoers wearing earplugs experienced significantly less hearing loss and tinnitus than those who didn’t.

Ear protection is becoming part of rave culture’s uniform. And with brands like Loop leading the way, the message is clear: you don’t have to choose between hearing your favorite drop now and being able to hear it again five years later.

But great sound isn’t enough. If earplugs aren’t comfortable, no one would keep them in long enough to prevent hearing damage. Most earplugs are a one-size-fits-none situation. They either slip out mid-set or dig into your ear canal after an hour. 

Loop prototyped dozens of designs to fix that. They tested different insertion angles, canal lengths, and tip materials using electronic dummy heads and 3D-printed mockups. The final result was a system of soft-touch, food-grade silicone ear tips that come in multiple sizes, paired with an ergonomic loop-shaped shell that evenly distributes pressure. This design doesn’t just make the earplugs more comfortable, it keeps them stable during movement, crucial for when you're dancing at a music festival.

The improved fit also helps reduce the occlusion effect—the frustrating phenomenon where one's voice or footsteps sound oddly amplified when you block your ears. By minimizing this, Loop earplugs feel more natural and breathable. You forget you're wearing them.

Loop Earplugs

Solving comfort and sound was critical, but making people want to wear earplugs meant getting the design right as well. Most earplugs on the market looked disposable. They were foam sticks or translucent cones you hoped no one noticed. You wore them in spite of how they looked.

Loop wanted to flip that. The goal wasn’t just to make earplugs less ugly; Bodewes wanted them to feel like jewelry. "Sometimes I compare earplugs to sunglasses," he said. "They started as functional tools for pilots, now they’re a fashion staple." That same logic drove Loop’s approach. Their signature circular design is fashion-forward. It doesn't scream hearing protection. Instead, it’s sleek and expressive.

Colorways played a big role in Loop’s form factor as well. Bodewes saw earplugs as an extension of identity. From subtle neutrals to reflective metallics, Loop offers options that work with your outfit, not against it. Limited-edition collaborations, seasonal drops, and soft-touch finishes helped position the brand not just as a tool but as a lifestyle accessory and form of self-expression.

In 2019, the New York Times named Loop the best earplug for concerts. "That gave us a really good boost," Bodewes noted. "We expanded into retail, partnering with chains like CVS in the USA and Saturn in Europe, and became profitable by the end of 2019." But growth came with new challenges. "In the beginning, we thought we could scale 3D printing all the way, but if you do really high volumes, that's difficult." Bodewes shared. "When we moved to injection molding, the first run came back with warped plastic and we had to fly to China and fix the products by hand."

Loop overcame those early hurdles and found its footing, scaling quickly and reaching a broader audience faster than they ever expected. "Fifty to sixty percent of our customers never bought earplugs before," Bodewes revealed. "We're creating that category as we go."

One milestone still loomed large, bringing the brand to Tomorrowland. "It was in our minds from the very start," Bodewes affirmed. "We went to Tomorrowland, even when it was small, and had a personal motivation to see our product at that festival."

It took almost five years of growth, iteration, and relentless pitching to make it happen. "We had to be grown up enough to work with them," Bodewes explained, referring to the level of product polish, brand maturity, and marketing muscle required to partner with arguably the most prolific electronic music festival in the world.

Loop’s first official partnership with Tomorrowland launched in 2022. But it wasn’t just a sponsorship. Loop created custom earplugs specifically for the festival, even adjusting the carry case, packaging, and accessories to match the Tomorrowland aesthetic. The limited-edition earplugs featured a gold-accented ring and the words "Live, Love, Unite"—a nod to the festival’s iconic slogan. The case was designed to resemble a compass, symbolizing sound as a guide.

Now, with the 2025 edition of Tomorrowland around the corner, Loop is entering its fourth year partnering with the festival.

Loop Earplugs

This year, Loop has hit another milestone. They became Coachella’s first official earplug partner. To mark the occasion, the Loop released custom earplugs featuring a desert-sunset gradient, sold on-site at the festival grounds and online. 

Loop has also ventured outside the music world, partnering with McLaren Racing earlier this year. These earplugs featured the team’s signature papaya orange and carbon black while spotlighting Loop’s most advanced model yet, the Switch 2. Unlike traditional earplugs, which offer a single level of noise reduction, the Switch 2 lets users toggle between three distinct modes—"Quiet," "Experience," and "Engage"—with a discreet rotating dial built into the ring. It’s a design that mirrors the McLaren ethos: precision, control, and adaptability.

What started as a niche product has now become part of the culture. "In the beginning, it was a game for us to find the first person wearing Loops out in the open," Bodewes beamed. "Now, you go to the front row of a festival and everyone’s wearing them. It’s really cool to see that shift."

Loop Earplugs

That kind of global visibility might seem inevitable now, but a few years ago, Loop nearly lost everything. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, nightlife shut down overnight, and so did Loop’s core customer base. "Our revenue dropped almost 90 percent in just two weeks," Bodewes recalled. "No more festivals, no more going out, and retail stopped ordering entirely."

It was a make-or-break moment. Instead of waiting it out, Loop adapted. They pivoted to a fully direct-to-consumer model. People stuck at home—parents, students, remote workers—started buying Loop earplugs not for parties, but for peace and quiet. Others turned to Loop for help with overstimulation, sensory processing, or better sleep.

That wave of unexpected demand led to the release of Loop Quiet, earplugs built for calm. Designed with soft-touch materials and optimized for long wear, it helped reposition the brand beyond nightlife. The messaging evolved as well. They shifted their tagline from "Protect your ears in style" to a more inclusive ethos, "Your life, your volume."

This wasn’t just a clever rebrand. It was a survival strategy that unlocked new audiences and use cases, ones that now make up a significant share of Loop’s growth today. "We now ask ourselves how we can empower people to live fully whether they want to go loud at a festival, focus during the day in a busy office, or sleep on a plane," Bodewes stated.

Orders started pouring in from people craving focus, calm, or simply less noise—parents in loud homes, overwhelmed students, remote workers in shared spaces, and light sleepers in need of rest. A particularly meaningful wave of users came from the neurodivergent community—people with autism, ADHD, sensory sensitivity, or anxiety. For those who experience auditory overload, even routine environments can feel like an assault. Loop offered a way to soften the edges of the world and turn the volume down without shutting everything out.

"When we started Loop, we didn't think of being able to help like this," Bodewes marveled. "Now, when we hear stories about how it helps people walk around, be at family events, be in the classroom, and stay more calm, it touches our team quite a lot."

What began as a rave accessory has evolved into a tool for everyday resilience. Loop isn’t just helping people hear better—it’s helping them feel safer, calmer, and more at ease in their own lives.

Loop Earplugs

Looking ahead, the company is expanding into new categories and audiences. "We’re working on four or five new products, some in the hearing space, some beyond," Bodewes revealed. "We’re going to use electronics and advanced tech and there's going to be a lot of cool new collaborations coming in sports and fashion too." Loop is no longer a scrappy startup. It has 300 employees and offices in Antwerp, Belgium, as well as Amsterdam, New York City, and Shanghai.

"We’re still building for that 10% though," Bodewes emphasized, referencing the early days when 90% of people thought no one would buy fashion-forward earplugs. "Sometimes our ideas may split opinion but we have to trust our gut."

For Bodewes, the goal is still the same as it was almost two decades ago: give people control over how they experience the world, whether that means turning it down or tuning back in.

As lights strobed and basslines thundered across continents, a cultural revolution was quietly unraveling behind the DJ booth. 

The directorial debut from journalist Alexei Barrionuevo, Waiting for the Drop: Rise of the Superstar DJs, is a blisteringly honest look at the genre's reality over the last decade, featuring candid interviews with electronic music heavyweights including Tiësto, Carl Cox, Hardwell, Nervo, and more. Shot between 2013 and 2023, the film captures pivotal moments during the global EDM boom in real-time, onstage, backstage, and behind closed doors.

From its early stories in the U.K., Netherlands, and Ibiza during the 80s and 90s to its North American crossover moment in the 2010s, the film charts EDM’s euphoric ascent. But it doesn’t flinch from the dark side either, including the rise of SFX Entertainment and its dramatic collapse, as well as the impact of social media on DJ culture and fan expectations.

Barrionuevo, a former Billboard Editor, positions EDM not merely as a sound, but as a generational identity. "EDM was a pivot point in modern youth culture," he says. "A time when Millennials, seeking something of their own, seized an opportunity to create a tribe."

The film is set for a global digital release later this summer via Indie Rights, beginning with a launch on Amazon.