by Rebecca Hollman
AIM (Art – Innovation – Movement) is a 3-day art and music festival located in Saint-André- d’Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada; about an hour outside of Montreal. AIM is a unique festival focused on live performance, interactive art, sound and digital technologies more than just your “typical” festival experience. This festival is an intimate and immersive experience- offering non-stop music for more than 32 hours. Besides music, AIM offers educational and artistic workshops and interactive experiences. Overall, this festival is heavily focused on artists, set design and visuals; and as the producer of the festival says, “no fast food music!”
AIM just announced the first phase of their 2018 lineup- check it out below.
This year’s lineup features a wider variety of genres than 2017- with trance artists like Grum, Aly & Fila, and Orjan Nilsen, house artists like Amine Edge & DANCE and Claude VonStroke techno artists like Sasha and Dubfire and bass artists like Brillz and Ricky Remedy. 2017’s lineup was almost exclusively techno, with a little bit of trance and tech house. 2018 features tons of bass artists and an entire bass stage- The Bass Camp- which is a huge change from last year. Although still featuring prominent techno and trance artists, this year’s AIM is definitely all about the bass.
Here is a list of my favorite artists on this year’s lineup to check out before the festival. Make sure not to miss these sets.
Dubfire
Dubfire is a tech-house/techno producer from Washington DC that has been producing since 1991. Originally in a DJ duo called Deep Dish, Dubfire separated to start his own career and focus on techno tracks. He has his own record label called SCI+TEC and plays shows at major festivals and clubs around the world.
Sasha
From London, Sasha has been producing techno beats since the late 90’s. One of the pioneers in techno and house music, Sasha was headlining festivals like Ultra back in the first primitive years of the EDM festival scene. Sasha’s record label, Last Night on Earth, features many other amazing techno artists.
Dodge & Fuski
Dodge & Fuski are a dubstep duo from Los Angeles on Never Say Die record label that have been producing beats since 2009. Originally releasing drum n bass and dubstep tracks on UKF in the hey-day of dubstep, they have now moved away from dnb to heavy bass/riddim.
Grum
Grum is a trance/minimal tech house producer from Glasgow, Scotland on Anjunabeats, Armada and Spinnin Records. Grum’s debut album Heartbeats was released in 2010 and went to number 1 in the US iTunes Electronic Dance Music Charts.
Jody Wisternoff
Cody Wisternoff is a trance DJ and producer from Bristol, United Kingdom. Jody has been producing and releasing tracks off of Anjunabeats record label for quite some years and also has a few side projects- including Way Out West: the duo of him and Nick Warren.
Amine Edge & DANCE
A duo from Southern France, Amine Edge & DANCE produce deep house and tech house. CUFF, Amine Edge & DANCE’s record label, features many other amazing tech house artists. The duo regularly plays festivals in Europe and occasionally in North America.
Claude VonStroke
Claude VonStroke is the creator of the infamous Dirtybird record label. On top of producing fire deep house and tech house tracks, he has also brought along many artists through the Dirtybird label and also hosts two Dirtybird music festivals per year- Dirtybird Campout East Coast and West Coast.
Way Out West
A duo comprising of Nick Warren and Jody Wisternoff, Way Out West produces trance and deep house on Anjunadeep. From Bristol, UK, this duo has been producing and playing trance around Europe and the States.
https://soundcloud.com/soundhead-podcast/soundhead-podcast-50-way-out-west
Kill the Noise
Kill the Noise is an American bass producer that has worked and released tracks with the likes of Skrillex, Snails, Dillon Francis, Deadmau5, Feed Me, and many others. Kill the Noise’s unique style of bass and house vibes makes for an exciting live set.
John O’Callaghan
From Ireland, John O’Callaghan is a psytrance and trance DJ that has been producing for many years. He has his own record label, Subculture, and plays lots of festivals in Europe and North America. Recently, John O’Callaghan has introduced KEY4050, a special psytrance festival set experience that premiered at Dreamstate SoCal.
AIM is located in Saint-André- d’Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada and takes place on July 6-8, 2018. AIM offers the option for car-less camping. Click here to read more about the AIM experience, camping, shuttles and how to purchase tickets. Both the festival and the camping area are 18+.