HalLAween: HARD Haunted Mansion

www.hardfest.com

For many people, last year’s inaugural installment of HARD Haunted Mansion came out of nowhere. An all-star lineup consisting of Justice, Soulwax, Simian Mobile Disco, Boys Noize, Deadmau5, 2ManyDJs, Sebastian, and Crookers led to HHM being one of the most in-demand parties of the year, selling out weeks before the night of the event. Those in attendance were not disappointed. Some of the highlights included the late DJ AM masquerading as Thomas Bangalter from Daft Punk, mesmerizing live performances by Simian Mobile Disco and Soulwax, and Deadmau5′ memorable intro. Needless to say, faces were melted, minds were blown, and plans were already being made for HARD Haunted Mansion 2009.

One year later, despite a monumental debut that burned the Soulwax moniker “Part of the weekend never dies” onto the retinas of thousands of ravers, the HARD folks find themselves in a position where they still have something to prove. Their summer festival left a bad taste in many mouths, and some are still boycotting their festivals in an attempt at retribution. I have something to say to those individuals: come on!

Let’s talk about karma for a second, specifically, bad karma, and even more specifically, Gary Richards’ bad karma. The thing about Richards’ bad karma is…he got his. Word on the street after the festival got shut down was that he incurred a seven figure loss. Seven figures. Mull that over for a second. Christ, I would openly weep in front of a large crowd if I lost a 4 figure sum of money, maybe even 3 figure (where my broke college alumni at?). I try to refrain from playing the blame game most of the time(this was especially difficult when the Dodgers lost the NLCS), but if you feel the need to throw blame around, throw some toward the dumb kids who thought it was okay to launch themselves 20 feet off the stands to get onto the concourse, or the typical group of bumrushing idiots who think its okay to jeopardize the safety of festival-goers and the functionality of the festival itself in order to save a few bucks. The HARD guys acknowledged that they chose a shitty venue, gave everybody their refunds, and shifted HHM 2009 back to the Shrine. If you’re not going to HARD because you want to see the legendary Sasha and company hold things down at Monster Massive, that’s fine…but don’t hold a grudge and boycott HARD because of your misguided, vindictive agenda. Please be smart about it.

Enough ranting. I need to convey something to you fine people: HARD Haunted Mansion is going to be bonkers. As most of you know, it’s a two day thang now, ensuring that rave sure as shit is going to be king on Halloween weekend (Isla Vista police enforcement will be relieved). It will take place at the Shrine Auditorium next to USC, and will consist of two stages of positive, raucous electronic music. Here are my reasons why HARD is going to once again be the place to be on Halloween weekend.

Basement Jaxx – Saturday

Dance music denizens Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Burton, also known as Basement Jaxx, are a force to be reckoned with. Commonly mentioned in the same breath as other British EDM duos like the Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Groove Armada, and Orbital, the Jaxx have managed to strike a rare balance between mass commercial appeal and personal, artistic authenticity, as shown with how their funky, infectious brand of house has garnered adulation in both the mainstream and the underground. Rave anthems like Where’s Your Head At? and Jump n Shout remain lynchpins in DJ sets around the globe 10 years after their production. Basement Jaxx DJ sets are rarities and will surely be a breath of fresh, funky, dance-your-ass-off air for LA ravers. Frankly, they should be billed above Justice, but that’ll be our little secret.

Basement Jaxx – Where’s Your Head At?
Basement Jaxx – Jump n Shout
Basement Jaxx – Fly Life (Xtra mix)

2ManyDJs – Friday

Stephen and David Dewaele are one half of the immensely popular Soulwax, the electronic pseudo-rock band known for the seminal album Nite Versions and their absolutely fucking awesome remix album “The Remixes…”. Subtract the non Dewaele half and you get their DJ project 2ManyDJs. Not much to say about these guys other than that they bring the party. Their DJ sets draw from -everywhere-, quite literally from ABBA to Zappa, and are straight up fun. Don’t be misled by their early timeslot from last year’s HHM, they are headliner material.

Soulwax – E-Talking
The Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy Hey Girl (2ManyDJs remix)
Justice – Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax remix)

Major Lazer – Saturday

DJs Diplo + Switch + an affinity for old school cartoons = Major Lazer. Their new album “Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do” is one part dub reggae, one part house, one part funk…maybe? That sounds slightly right. Truth is, these guys are taking their music in a daring new direction where traditional genre pigeonholing falls short. What matters is that it’s fun, fresh, and will get your booty movin.

Major Lazer – Hold the Line
Major Lazer – Pon de Floor

A-Trak – Friday

Kanye West’s former DJ is all grown up. Alain Macklovitch has come a long way since winning DMC’s World DJ Championship in 1997. In addition to conquering the DJing world with his deft hands and technical prowess behind the decks, his reputation as a producer is gaining steam as well, with several of his productions and remixes (including his new critically acclaimed remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Heads Will Roll’) being played all around the global DJ circuit. Truly a DJ’s DJ, he spins everything from house to hip-hop to R&B.

A-Trak – Say Whoa
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (A-Trak remix)
Duck Sauce (A-Trak+Armand Van Helden) – aNYway

Buraka Som Sistema – Saturday

Buraka Som Sistema is a 5 piece electronic music collaboration from Portugal. Their typical sound (technically labeled as “Kuduro”) is somewhere between breakbeat and dubstep, laced with a distinct world music flavor. Their upbeat, high energy live sets are making major waves in the global dance music scene, as shown by their presence at uberfestivals like Coachella and collaborations with artists such as M.I.A. The trifecta of Buraka, Major Lazer, and Basement Jaxx is going to make you sweat your costume off on Saturday.

Lykke Li – Dance Dance Dance (Buraka Som Sistema remix)
Buraka Som Sistema – IC19

The Bloody Beetroots – Friday

These two Italian chaps (who don Venom masks during their DJ sets) have successfully been championing their own brand of tough as nails electro for the past few years. Nowadays, their sound is highly emulated by all of their peers, and signing with Steve Aoki’s record label ‘Dim Mak’ has quadrupled their popularity, especially in Southern California. These guys will bring some serious edge to Friday night’s festivities. Be sure to peep their massive remix of Tiga’s ‘Mind Dimension’.

The Bloody Beetrots Ft. Steve Aoki – Warp 1.9
The Bloody Beetroots – Rombo
Tiga – Mind Dimension (Bloody Beetroots remix)

Modeselektor – Saturday

Do a Google image search for Modeselektor. What you’ll find is that these dudes are a lot like the music they make: strange. But in the good way, no doubt about it. Their unique fusion of dubstep and techno is taking electronic music to new heights, and their collaboratory album with Apparat (the self-titled ‘Moderat’) is one of the best electronic albums of the year. If I’m not mistaken, these two will rightfully close Saturday night on the main stage.

Modeselektor – The Black Block
Moderat (Modeselektor + Apparat) – Rusty Nails

Misha will post his preview for Monster Massive 2009 very soon. Until then, start thinking about how the hell you’re gonna beat 100,000+ people out of terrible USC-area traffic on Halloween night. See you Saturday!

-Rob

© 2009, Rob. All rights reserved.