Blog - EDM

As the countdown to EDC hits single digits, hundreds of thousands of ravers are syncing their internal BPMs, ready to converge on Las Vegas for one of the world's largest and most popular music festivals.

Insomniac's EDC Week annually transforms the city into one giant dance party. And if you're looking to squeeze the juice out of the experience, TAO Beach is among the best venues. Designed for hedonistic poolside partying and dopamine depletion, the famed dayclub at the Venetian Resort is once again bringing the heat from May 15-18, serving up sun-kissed luxury with a side of SPF and dance music.

Expect sun, synths and some of the scene's most iconic selectors, including Porter Robinson, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki and Zedd, the lattermost of whom will headline a "10-Year True Colors Anniversary" to celebrate a decade of his game-changing sophomore album.

c/o Tao Group Hospitality

Robinson, the iconic, shapeshifting electronic music virtuoso, will kick off the festivities at TAO Beach on Thursday, one day before EDC. Zedd, fresh off a pair of massive Coachella performances, will take the decks Friday before Garrix, who is prevalently considered the world's top DJ, headlines Saturday.

It'll all wrap on Sunday with a takeover by Aoki and his storied Dim Mak label. That event will feature Laidback Luke, NIIKO X SWAE, RayRay and EDM.com Class of 2025 star Linney.

You can purchase tickets and table service via the links below.

Thursday, May 15: Porter Robinson
Friday, May 16: Zedd
Saturday, May 17: Martin Garrix
Sunday, May 18: Steve Aoki x Dim Mak Takeover

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Big Gigantic have officially announced a new album, FLUORESCENCE, their first in three years.

The upcoming project appears to mark a vibrant new creative direction for the influential duo, who have long been known for their distinctive fusion of funk and electro-soul with live instrumentation. They described it as "all fun, light and positivity—a celebration of the boundless energy that makes dance music and festival culture feel so alive."

While specific details remain under wraps, the album's title evokes images of bright, glowing colors, likely a metaphor for its uplifting soundscapes.

"There is so much depth on this album, from the funky, to the soul, the bass bangers, some high energy uptempo and even some downtempo chill vibes," the duo wrote on social media.

The summer release timing positions FLUORESCENCE perfectly for festival season. Big Gigantic are poised for a high-profile appearance at Bonnaroo, where they'll perform a pair of sets, including one to usher in the debut of the festival's innovative 360° Infinity Stage. They're also returning to Colorado's iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre for their beloved recurring series, "Rowdytown," on September 27th.

The album's rollout is set to officially begin this Friday by virtue of a pair of new tracks, "Free Spirits" with (ALIGN) and "Move Around." Fans can pre-save the upcoming double-single here and check out previews in the Instagram carousel below.

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The organizers of Austin City Limits Music Festival just dropped its 2025 lineup, and it's clear the two-weekend Texas institution isn't surrendering its crown anytime soon. 

ACL returns to its longtime home of Zilker Park over two weekends in 2025: October 3-5 and 10-12. The festival, which has transformed from a humble PBS concert series into a cultural juggernaut, continues its tradition of curating a lineup that's both commercially viable and credibly diverse.

Dance music superstar John Summit has been tapped to headline along with Sabrina Carpenter, Hozier, Doja Cat, Luke Combs, Doechii and The Strokes. Other notable electronic music acts on the bill include Zeds Dead, Sammy Virji, Passion Pit, Polo & Pan, Disco Lines and LP Giobbi.

You can check out the full ACL 2025 lineup below and purchase tickets here. GA tickets start at $360 and GA+ at $750 while VIP passes will run you $1,670. Single-day tickets will be available at a later date.

C3 Presents

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A new heavyweight alliance has formed at the heart of the electronic label ecosystem after Create Music Group acquired Canadian independent dance music powerhouse Monstercat.

The deal marks one of the most high-impact mergers the genre has seen in recent memory. The acquisition brings Monstercat’s iconic brand, massive digital reach and artist-first ethos into Create’s expanding platform for rights management, content monetization and label services.

Founded in 2011, Monstercat has since grown into one of the world’s most influential electronic music labels. Its influence at the intersection of EDM and gaming is immense, thanks to partnerships with Rocket League, Beat Saber, Fortnite and Roblox, among others.

Today Monstercat boasts a catalog of over 8,000 recordings from influential artists like Kaskade, Alan Walker, BT and SLANDER among many others. The label also released Marshmello's breakthrough 2016 single "Alone," the masked hitmaker's first record to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Monstercat will continue to operate independently under its President, Daniel Turcotte, while co-founders Mike Darlington and Ari Paunonen stay on in advisory capacities.

"Our mission has always been to build sustainable, long-term careers for exceptional artists," Turcotte said in a press release. "Create gives us the reach and support to do that at a larger scale, without changing what makes Monstercat special. We’re still artist-first—only now with more tools to serve them."

As part of the deal, Create has also committed $50 million in investments over the next two years to boost Monstercat’s artist development efforts, platform infrastructure and international expansion. The music giant, which is said to generate over 150 billion monthly streams, also plans to expand Monstercat Gold, the label’s subscription-based sync licensing service for content creators.

"Monstercat is everything an independent label should strive to be—exclusive, globally trusted and capable of breaking artists and songs at the highest levels," added Jonathan Strauss, Co-Founder and CEO of Create Music Group. "Mike, Ari, Daniel, Orri and the entire Monstercat team have built a culture and community at a scale rarely achieved in the music industry. We are excited to support their mission."

Billy McFarland knows the power of a brand that breaks the internet. But that same notoriety has become both his greatest asset and most stubborn obstacle.

"Fyre certainly is the most talked-about festival in the US for the past seven or eight years," he tells EDM.com in a candid interview.

McFarland, the founder of the ill-fated Fyre Festival, tried to rewrite the ending this spring. Fyre Festival 2, his bid for redemption, was slated to take place in Playa del Carmen, but the effort collapsed within days of going public.

As media attention swelled, city officials abruptly distanced themselves, some denying involvement altogether. The same viral current that once propelled Fyre into global consciousness had returned and, once again, proved too volatile to contain.

"The Playa del Carmen situation is almost too hard for me to believe what happened," McFarland recalls. "They did a press conference with us. They posted about us. And then, once this all went public, the media wave that Fyre inevitably creates happened. Their only response was like, 'Fyre? We’ve never heard of Fyre,' and they just did a total 180 and decide to lie and distance themselves rather than try to understand how to deal with the wave that is the US media. I think it's going to be really hard to guarantee to our supporters whether it's a ticket-holder, a brand sponsor, a documentary company, that this won't happen again."

In the aftermath, McFarland announced he would step down from leading the controversial brand. But as one door slammed shut, others opened as several alternate Caribbean destinations reached out in hopes of hosting Fyre's next chapter. 

The two likeliest contenders in advanced discussions to host the event, he tells us, are the Honduran island Utila and Turks and Caicos. However, while McFarland remains confident either could fulfill the vision, he’s just as certain he’s not the one to lead it.

"It's going to be much easier to stand up in the face of the media if it’s not just Billy and team," he said. “It’s very easy for someone to say, 'Oh, we’ve never spoken to Billy,' but it’s much harder to say, 'We haven't spoken with established festival company, you know, X, who now is backing Fyre.'"

McFarland’s reasoning is rooted in a paradox he likens to a "weird arbitrage." Fyre attracts attention with ease, but that attention comes loaded with skepticism. The same name that drives headlines also reactivates the very questions, doubts and liabilities that have trailed McFarland since 2018, when he served federal prison time for wire fraud related to the original event on the Bahamian Island of Great Exuma. 

That paradox ultimately pushed him toward the once-unthinkable decision to sell. McFarland is under no illusion about the brand’s baggage, but he insists its gravitational pull remains intact.

"The draw of what will happen at Fyre, whether it's an event or something else, I think that is what will drive people to always attend and knowing it's different," McFarland says.

Fyre has become cultural shorthand for viral ambition gone sideways, spawning documentaries, punchlines and persistent fascination. Even leftover merch, seized by federal authorities and auctioned years later, fetched unexpectedly high prices. McFarland now says the challenge is finding the right buyer, someone who can build around that cultural momentum without being crushed under the weight of Fyre's infamous past.

"Eight days ago we put up the sale form for the Fyre IP. We’ve had 700 offers since then," he says. "A lot of them are noise, but a lot of them are real. A couple of the bigger festival players. Other media companies, like entertainment companies. So it's been a pretty interesting mix."

A number of the conversations now underway center on long-term alignment, he adds. And many of the festival operators with whom he's spoken agree: the hardest part is already done.

"I’d rather a higher chance at Fyre Festival succeeding than trying to maximize profit," he explains. "They know how to install a stage, have security and run a smooth show. But they see the attention aspect as the rare asset. That's what they struggle to create."

One of the most prominent buyers circling Fyre's trademarks isn’t a festival promoter at all. McFarland recently announced that the brand had licensed its name to a new streaming and FAST video platform, Fyre Music, set to launch later this year. The project is being led by filmmaker and media entrepreneur Shawn Rech, cofounder of the true crime streaming platform TruBlu.

McFarland hopes Fyre's future operator won’t lose sight of what he views as the brand’s original spirit. While the first Fyre Festival’s promotional firepower came from influencer hype and viral marketing, he contends that its bedrock was rooted in curated adventure. He points to the years before Fyre made headlines, when he hosted small Caribbean getaways for like-minded travelers, where the hook was who you met and the risks you took to get there.

That ethos, he believes, is more relevant now than ever as the music industry's event organizers shift from grand spectacles towards curated niche experiences.

"It’s not just about staring at a stage anymore," McFarland says. “People are craving something different. They want to feel like they’re part of something, not just lost in a crowd."

While McFarland is stepping away from day-to-day control, he isn’t disappearing entirely. His ideal role is less about logistics and more about shaping the spirit of the experience.

"What we are good at is so different, and what I am bad at—thankfully there are a lot of professionals who can do it in their sleep."

George Smaragdis, the influential electronic music producer known to fans around the world as Starcadian, passed away last week following a fatal biking accident in Manhattan.

According to the New York Police Department, Smaragdis, 44, was riding his e-bike on Broome Street around 10am when he slammed into the door of a parked Mercedes van that the driver had opened. The impact sent Smaragdis careening toward the street and into the path of a delivery truck, which ran over and crushed him.

The artist sustained severe head trauma and was ultimately pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. The drivers of both vehicles remained at the scene and no arrests have been made at the time of this writing, although authorities are investigating the incident and the possibility of criminal charges.

Smaragdis was celebrated globally as Starcadian, a masked figure whose spellbinding, sci-fi-inspired music blurred the lines between fantasy and futurism. In an eerie Instagram post shared in January 2025, he wrote: "Hi I'm alive and working very hard on the best album I've ever made, I can’t wait to play it for you."

Starcadian's debut album Sunset Blood, released on Halloween in 2013, became a cult classic in the synthwave community and had its music featured in HBO's Vice Principals as well as commercials for ASICS and League Of Legends. The late producer, who often called his tracks "ear movies," released four full-length albums in his career, building a mythos around the Starcadian persona that drew fans not just for the sound, but for the story.

"I am absolutely gutted to learn of Starcadian's passing a few days ago," fellow synthwave artist Robots With Rayguns wrote on X. "He was not only an extremely talented artist but a supportive friend and peer who inspired me and gave me invaluable advice over the years that I’ll never forget. We lost a musical titan and an incredible human being."

We at EDM.com express our sincere condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of George Smaragdis.

As summer's final sunbeams stretch across the California coast, Kaskade is preparing to bottle them into one unforgettable day of music on the shoreline. He's announced the return of Sun Soaked, his open-air festival, which lands for the first time in seven years on September 6th, 2025.

This new chapter for Sun Soaked marks its long-awaited return to Southern California, but in a brand new location, Huntington State Beach. After a seven-year pause, the festival is reemerging with fresh momentum and a lineup that's as golden as the sunset it will soundtrack.

For fans, Sun Soaked has always been an invitation to step into Kaskade’s world, where music, community and the Pacific horizon converge. With the move to Orange County, the festival opens a new chapter of celebrating summer’s closing moments.

"Sun Soaked is a shapeshifting project," Kaskade said in a press release. "The first year we put it together with grit, sand, music and a lot of tenacity. The second year, we went bigger—and it got better. Bringing it back to Southern California now after seven years is so exciting for me."

"I’m a beach guy, I want my toes in the sand and the sun on my face while I do what I love—and I’m hoping there are some people who want to share that with me."

Backed by Insomniac Events, the fest is bringing together a cross-section compelling electronic artists, from the masked mystique of Malaa to the melodic drive of MEDUZA. Fan-favorite duos SIDEPIECE and Walker & Royce will show off their signature approaches to house music while Anabel Englund’s hypnotic vocals bring a touch of dream-pop allure, and MPH and SKILAH round out the bill.

A pre-sale for Sun Soaked will begin Thursday, May 8th at 10am PT before the general on-sale the next day at the same time.

Sun Soaked

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Cassian has released a new single, "SOS," marking his debut on John Summit's Experts Only label.

It's the latest high-profile debut for the Aussie DJ and producer, who is currently gearing up for his first-ever performance on Tomorrowland's storied Mainstage this summer. Cassian, who was recently honored by EDM.com as one of 2024's top audio engineers, also performed at the record-breaking Las Vegas Sphere as part of Anyma's groundbreaking "End of Genesys" residency and served as its Music Director, "overseeing the entire audio experience," according to a press release.

Perhaps best known for his cinematic flourishes in melodic house music, Cassian slinks into darker techno territory here, and the result is as polished as it is punishing. He produces a layered, driving bassline and laces the arrangement with operatic vocal hooks, giving it a dystopian edge.

Playfully opening up about the track's origins, Cassian said someone told him he looked like the Easter Island statues, or moai, the massive stone figures carved by the Rapa Nui people to honor ancestors.

"Someone told me I look like the Easter Island statues, so at the start of the year, I went on a trip to check them out in the flesh," he said. "When I arrived, they started singing this song to me. I quickly recorded it and then was immediately possessed by a spirit who sampled it and produced it into 'SOS' So I guess it was a spiritual ghost producer."

You can listen to "SOS" below and find the new single on streaming platforms here.

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Vulnerability transforms into power in IMANU's new EP, Entangled, out now via Zeds Dead's Deadbeats.

The EDM.com Class of 2023 artist once again delivers a masterclass in structural subversion, bending genres and tossing conventions into a shredder. But he maintains a melodic accessibility, mapping the neurochemistry of heartbreak across five tracks that refuse to let listeners maintain emotional distance.

"Hush" is a surefire highlight, KROY's feathery vocals floating above a dark and dreamy trap beat that feels almost comforting until you realize the production is steadily devouring you. The effect mirrors the track's lyrical desperation, a love so consuming it borders on self-destruction: "Every bridge I ever crossed, it gives me power to / Hold on to you like it's the last thing I will ever do."

Elsewhere, "All Too Late" showcases IMANU's technical virtuosity as jungle breaks splinter and reform with finesse. Rhode's revelation that "beneath the surface it's all decay" lands with particular potency, suggesting that the dazzling production complexity might simply be disguising our collective emotional erosion.

He closes out Entangled alongside Flux Pavilion with "Kintsugi," a haunting track where the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold serves as perfect metaphor for the EP. Tasha Baxter's lyrics declare her transformation through damage, a masterful closing statement that suggests destruction might be the most authentic form of creation: "This time the wall hit me back / Fine china breaks on impact / You don't know the new me / Being put together differently."

You can listen to Entangled below and find the new EP on streaming platforms here.

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The electronic music community is constantly evolving with new sounds inspired by the scene of yesteryear. EDM.com's weekly Fresh Picks series discovers new music and unearths influential tracks that help define the underground dance scene.

You can find the below tracks on EDM.com's Fresh Picks Playlist. Follow to stay up-to-date and submit tracks for consideration here.