All Photo’s Courtesy of îleSoniq Facebook & îleSoniq Website
Written by: Rebecca Hollman
ÎleSoniq is a 2-day EDM festival in Montreal. Featuring a good mix of house artists, trance artists, and bass artists, ÎleSoniq appeals to all sorts of EDM lovers. This year’s headliners include the likes of The Chainsmokers, DJ Snake, Steve Angello, Carnage, Tchami, and Diplo.
Besides the headliners, this year’s lineup also includes more experimental new-age bass music from 4B, Black Tiger Sex Machine, Ganja White Night, GG Magree, Herobust, Party Thieves and Kayzo, and more typical banger dubstep from Eptic, 12th Planet, Rusko, and Trampa.
Trance artists this year include Andrew Bayer, Andrew Rayel, Cosmic Gate, Ferry Corsten, Ilan Bluestone, Jason Ross, Oliver Smith, Paul Oakenfold and Spencer Brown. On top of these artists, there will also be a special Anjunabeats curated stage.
And lastly, this year’s house names include DROELOE, Green Velvet, Klingande, Laidback Luck, Shaun Frank, Valentino Khan, Shiba San, Grey, andJOYRDYE.
Check out the full lineup below:
The day schedule has been released and you can check it out below. Each day features three stages that stick to one subgenre. The Oasis stage is all about that bass. The Mirage stage is the house stage. And the Neon stage will be a full day of Anjunabeats artists.
FRIDAY
On Friday, the Oasis stage has heavy bass house headliners like DJ Snake and Diplo. BTSM, Kayzo, Herobust, 4B and Valentino Khan round off the stage with their respective styles of bass music. The Mirage stage has house superstars Tchami, Green Velvet and Shiba San. And the Neon stage features back to back sets by Anjunabeats artists, including Cosmic Gate, Andrew Bayer, Ilan Bluestone, Ferry Corsten, Jason Ross, Oliver Smith and Spencer Brown.
SATURDAY
On Saturday, the Oasis stage will be a mix of main stage house, main stage trance, and future house with a scattering of artists like Paul Oakenfold, DROELOE, and Steve Angello. The Mirage stage will be a mix of rap and bass with rappers like Lil Yachty and French Montana and bass DJs like Carnage and JOYRYDE. Last but not least, the Neon stage will be straight bass all day long with artists like Ganja White Night, 12th Planet, Trampa, Eptic and many many more.
And now, the five artists you need to see at this year’s ÎleSoniq …
Green Velvet
Hailing from Chicago, Green Velvet (or also known as his alias Cajmere) is one of the integral players in the house music scene. Creating a mix of tech house, deep house, and techno beats, Green Velvet has been changing the game for quite some time. He has his own record label, Relief Records, which features the best of the best in tech house music. He also has another record label, Cajual Records, which he runs through his alias Cajmere. This record label is also deep house and tech house but features more funky beats and elements. Just click on bolded names to go to their respective SoundCloud accounts.
Rusko
Rusko has been making dubstep since before the dubstep heyday of 2009. After a fight with cancer and a break from making music, Rusko is back and better than ever. Once a leader in the dubstep scene, Rusko was known for his bangers like Woo Boost, Cockney Thug, Hold On and Somebody To Love. Don’t miss this set because it is one of his first sets back after getting into music again. This has the potential to be a throwback set to an amazing time of dubstep. Check out his new EP below.
Ilan Bluestone
A poster child for Anjunabeats, Ilan Bluestone has been making waves in the trance music scene. Ilan is from the UK and regularly releases tracks on the Anjunabeats record label. He recently put out a new album called Scars. Ilan Bluestone is featured in tons of Above & Beyond’s live sets and weekly podcasts and his tracks have been played by the likes of Tiesto, Arty, Gareth Emery, Myon & Shane 54, and Jordan Suckley.
Ganja White Night
The Belgian duo, Ganja White Night, has been blowing up this past year. They played killer sets at lots of festivals last year, and this year will be no exception. Known for their extremely unique style of bass music, this set is not one to miss. They regularly work with and produce tracks with artists like Zeds Dead, Boogie T, Dirt Monkey, Caspa, Skream and Benga.
DROELOE
A duo from the Netherlands, DROELOE is making waves in the electronic scene with their unique blend of styles. They make tracks that cross a wide range of subgenres- from bass inspired tracks, to super-ambient electronic to deep house vibes to future nuwave house. They release tracks on San Holo’s Bitbird Records and have had features from Diplo and Friends, Too Future and Nest HQ.
FESTIVAL INFORMATION
Early Bird passes have already sold out, so hurry to buy your ticket before General Admission sells out too! You can buy your tickets here.
Visit their website for more information about accommodations, festival activities, and more.