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Over the course of the last year, we have all been taken on a variety of magical journeys through unique fusions of music and art. Whether you were sharing the room with a 20 foot gorilla shooting lasers out of its eyes or moving along with gentle flames dancing atop melting wax, the artists providing the soundtracks to those experiences are too many to list. Magical moments are just that. They shouldn’t be degraded to a preferential top list. We don’t do top lists here. What we do here at SoundPark is a bit different. Our Season Closing will encompass some artists that crafted their own magic over the last year. We invited some of our favorites to come by the Park to answer some questions about what impressed them the most in 2013. They also provided a stunning exclusive mix to accompany you well into the New Year.
Our next SoundPark season closer is an artist that blew the socks off of us throughout the summer of 2013. This song was a staple at All Day I Dream events all summer long and was easily recognizable for its stunning soft lead melody and thunderous bass line. This is a true summer anthem and one we think will stand the test of time. Maher Daniel & Gab Rhome’s “Farewell at the Gates of Dawn” was responsible for some tantalizing, breathtaking, moments over the course of the last year and for that we thank them. For this week, Gab Rhome makes his SoundPark debut to highlight details about 2013 as well as provide the soundtrack to your weekend.
As an artist, you are lucky enough to fly around the world – from party to party – bringing fans on your own music journey. What was your favorite party you had the chance to play at this year? What made it stand out for you? It’s hard to really pick a favorite as there are special memories attached to most of them. One thing I learned is that bigger isn’t always better. I played for an extremely intimate crowd in South America that felt ten times more energetic than times I’ve played in front of large crowds. But, playing for bigger crowds can also make you feel great as it’s pretty rewarding. It really depends on the quality of the crowd, the production, and all of the small things required when having an event that seem pointless – it’s often these small things that end up being really important.
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On the flip side, all artists are obviously fans themselves too (something many people forget about). Was there a particular party that can be considered your favorite of 2013 as a fan? I’m a bit biased, but the last All Day I Dream party in New York was truly a special moment for me. It was the first time I was assisting that production and it was right when I started getting involved with the team. There’s just something magical that goes on there that makes it stand out, it was really something else; a world of its own!
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Call it what you will, but 2013 witnessed an explosion in our industry, with the South American scene growing exponentially and the American scene finally getting taken seriously… among others. Looking back on the year, is there anything that stands out to you? Anything that happened you didn’t expect to see? The entire global scene is growing really fast, which is great for all of us. Even though I’m not a fan of the whole EDM thing, I do have to admit that it does still bring a lot of good to the underground scene. It exposes people to electronic music much sooner that they would otherwise, and then they start digging more and more, which often leads them to the underground scene. While most people are complaining about the over poor quality of the aboveground genre, we all started somewhere, and to be honest I’m a bit ashamed when I go back to listen to the stuff I used to love. It’s also really hard to be surprised or see something you don’t expect in this industry, it’s so dynamic that we are constantly seeing things we didn’t expect.
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One particular thing we noticed in 2013 was the massive insurgence of mega-residencies; from Ibiza to New York it almost seemed like some parties are actually cannibalizing themselves. Do you think this will continue in 2014 or do you think it will be scaled back a bit? I think we’re going to be on a roll for the next few years as more and more people get into the genre, which then leads to more money being generated as more people can assist the parties. I do agree it almost feels like a war right now, but as the music is becoming more and more of a business... this can be somewhat expected.
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Photo Credit: Verboten
Looking forward to 2014, where do you see the underground dance music industry going? How do you think it can continue to evolve and keep itself fresh? Trends are changing really fast; it's a bit hard to predict what will be the ''next big thing''. However, there's a general feeling of constant growth that is really pleasant. There has been a important evolution in the industry in the past few years and I don't think it's set to stop soon. The only way to keep it fresh, however, is to have free spirits who are not afraid of following their own vision; we'll get a nice and diverse palette of sounds. That's also the only way to leave a mark nowadays; nobody will ever follow a sheep.