Exploring new Electronic Dance Music is something that I like to do during my free time. I become thrilled when I discover any new, refreshing sound that catches my attention.

Because I enjoy finding new sounds within the EDM genre, I have a whole bunch of music streaming apps such as SoundCloud, Spotify, Shazam, MixCloud and Apple Music. Usually, my whole day revolves around these apps – literally. From when I wake up all the way to when I go to sleep, I play a constant flow of refreshing tunes for my ear drums to enjoy and to add a hint of spice to my day.

When I was first introduced to this genre, which happened to be in the year 2013, I stuck to two sub-genres: trance and electro-house. I was very loyal to these two sub-genres, which feature artists such as Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, Above & Beyond and W&W. I refused to listen to anything else other than sounds that were of the these categories.

This all changed right around the time when I started going to EDM festivals, because I would literally stay at these events from start to finish (the main artists that I wanted to see weren’t going to play until the very end of the shows). Although I always wound up exhausted from being on my feet, jumping and dancing for 8-12 hours, I found it to be worth it.

Experiencing the different sounds brought by all the diverse artists that fall under the EDM umbrella completely changes your perspective on their work. All of a sudden, I was exposed to new names, such as Will Sparks (melbourne bounce), Yellow Claw (trap), Eric Prydz (techno house), Oliver Heldens (deep house), Illenium (bass house) and Don Diablo (future house).

I started becoming more open and embraced their unique work. I suddenly had the desire to become more familiar with these new genres, and with artists similar to the ones that played the festivals. A more recent example of this sense of discovery happened at Escape: Psycho Circus 2017, where I became exposed to Rezz. I did not know who she was or what genre she fell under, but she blew me away with her performance. Her sound is so unique that it literally falls into it’s own sub-category.

Overall, when going to the events your choice, go at the beginning and support the openers and their work. They got booked for a reason. And who knows, maybe you too will find excitement in discovering something new.