After a (not so) brief hiatus, we're back! Now that spring - and the start of festival season - is upon us, it feels appropriate to pick up where we left off. Last week, a few friends went to Dreamstate San Francisco (actual location: Daly City) and the Friday headliner is the inspiration for today's episode.

Back before HOLO became an international sensation, Eric Prydz was just a lowly progressive house DJ, quietly establishing himself as a true master of dark and hypnotic melody. Even though he's most known for "Call On Me", that track sounds nothing like the rest of his catalog; fans who go to one of his shows expecting that kind of sound from will be sorely disappointed. His productions and live sets are a masterclass in melodic subtlety, but he can still bring the hammer down just as effectively. When that incredibly iconic snare first starts to hit, you know you're in for a wild ride.

This 2018 set from Tomorrowland includes all the classic Eric Prydz elements, plus a rather large number of unreleased tracks, works in progress, and bootlegs (see the track listing below). It has a slow, tantalizing build for the first 40 minutes, in a very linear way that only he can pull off. Once you're at the top of the climb though, it's a fantastic plateau all the way until the end.

The video is really well done and the show had a ton of amazing visuals, so I highly recommend actually watching the video at some point. But you know, sometimes you just want the music (please).

1. Cirez D - Echostage NYE ID 01 (Working Title)

Original post: https://youtu.be/p_rXt7sWn_E?si=lLhVLIOk9gyUYjmq