“Oh Yes, Oh Yes!”
Ravooors assemble!
In an homage to the fantastic Hitman’s Hidden Notes, we present Degen EDM.
EDM is a wide-ranging, endlessy enjoyable genre, bringing listeners through emotional journeys through build-ups, euphoric drops, rhythm, energy, dank beats, MDMA, and “vibes”.
With this publication, expect curated…
Sets
Songs
What we’re listening to now
Artists
Concert and Festival recommendations
Playlists
…and whatever else we can come up with.
“we” = BowTiedGopher *for now*
**Start Here**
If you haven’t listened to a ton of EDM, we recommend you start with few songs from the following artists. Each artist sub-section will contain some of their gud songs and some of their gud DJ sets.
Feral club rats and house heads can skip to the next section since you’ve heard most of these (and they’re kind of basic tbh).
Songs will have a Spotify link despite our YouTube Music preference. Mash-ups or unreleased songs will have a Soundcloud link if available, YouTube link if not.
Sets will have a YouTube link.
*denotes personal favorite
**denotes mash-up or unreleased song
Avicii (RIP)
If you are a human, you’ve heard one of his songs. He was a progressive house genius.
His music is characterized by joyful melodies and unique genre-blending. We’re not country music fans, but Avicii made some absolute BANGERS with country vocalists.
Noteworthy Songs: Levels, Seek Bromance, The Nights, A Sky Full of Stars, Wake Me Up, Drowning (remix)*, Little Talks vs Teenage Crime**
Sets: 2012 Pier 94, Ultra Music Festival 2016, Tomorrowland 2015
Swedish House Mafia
Pioneers of modern-day EDM. The trio split in 2012 and has since reunited, released new music and gone on tour once again (highly recommend going btw).
Noteworthy Songs: One (possibly the most important song in EDM history), Don’t You Worry Child, Moth To A Flame*, Save the World, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (remix)*, Turn on the Lights, Underneath It All**, Don’t Go Mad*
Sets: Ultra Music Festival 2013, Coachella 2022, Madison Square Garden 2011
Martin Garrix
He’s been headlining major EDM festivals since he was 17. Don’t need to say much else. Specializes in big room and progressive house.
Noteworthy Songs: Forbidden Voices*, Animals, High On Life, Tremor, Gold Skies*, The Only Way Is Up, In the Name of Love, Pizza
Sets: Tomorrowland 2022, Ultra Music Festival 2022, Amsterdam Rooftop
John Summit
A former CPA, he’s become a favorite of tech house phone warriors. Nowadays, EVERYONE wants to make music like John Summit, and for gud reason.
Noteworthy Songs: Human, Human (HIBELL Extended Mix)* {up there with songs of the year} Escape (remix), Don’t Forget My Love (remix)*, Better Than This, In Chicago, i miss u (John Summit Remix)
Sets: Electric Daisy Carnival 2022, Club Space 2022
Fred Again
Fred’s been around for a long time but is just now hitting mainstream. He makes a really unique style of house (electro-pop-dance-house?) and hypnotically utilizes a sample pad in live sets.
![Fred again.. plays electrifying Boiler Room set full of IDs [Video]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hVfC!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb2bf37e1-07bf-4a29-a579-7c658c679594_1920x1080.jpeg "Fred again.. plays electrifying Boiler Room set full of IDs [Video]")
Songs: Turn on the Lights*, Maria (we’ve lost dancing), Danielle (smile on my face), Jungle*, Lights Out, Rumble (unreleased, live from Boiler Room)**
Sets: Boiler Room 2022 (best EDM set of 2022 and it’s not close) , London 2021
This list is omitting a ton of legends (Tiesto, Alesso, Hardwell, Carl Cox, Armin van Buuren and many more), but it’s a good place to start for someone just getting into EDM.
What We’re Listening To Now
Been on a bit of a deep house kick lately, with some tech house thrown in here and there.
Songs
Consciousness (Eric Prydz Remix) - Anyma, Chris Avantgarde & Eric Prydz
Need To Feel Loved (Tinlicker Remix) - Reflekt & Delline Bass
Da Fonk (feat. Joni) - Mochakk
On My Knees (Cassian Remix) - Rüfüs Du Sol
Almost Home (Above & Beyond Extended Deep Mix) - Above & Beyond
Sets
Eric Prydz Presents HOLO at Creamfields North 2022
Tale of Us- Tomorrowland 2022 WE3
We far surpassed Substack’s email limit, so going to stop here. ‘Til the next time…..
-Ravooor
This will definitely be the soundtrack to my work next week.
I first heard EDM on a high school trip to Europe, but I fell in love with EDM back in 1999 when my buddy gave me his Paul van Dyk CD on a long bus ride. Before long I was convinced that Oakenfold was the coolest man on the planet, and at the time, he probably was.
It was still pretty niche here then if you weren't in the drug scene, so I spent most of my time listening to Ministry of Sound's internet radio livestreams and the Above and Beyond weekly radio show - a podcast before the term existed.