Exclusive Monstercat Mix for EDC Las Vegas 2017

From: Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, but streaming from all beat-of-your-own-drum vectors (Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Music, Twitch, et al)

The crew: The Monstercat label grew out of a YouTube channel started by Mike Darlington and Ari Paunonen as a space for friends to showcase their music. Facing an onslaught of amazing songs, Darlington and Paunonen launched the label as an outlet collective in nature but diverse in style, growing its profile through symbiotic compilations, playlists, podcasts, and digital radio stations. “Our artists are so far-reaching; I feel we span across as many different sounds as we do different regions,” says Conor Systrom, the label’s publicist. “We have guys from the UK, the Netherlands, the US, British Columbia who can be putting out hardstyle, bass house, dubstep, drum & bass and trap, all within two weeks.”

When & where: Saturday, June 17 on the Kalliope Art Car.

Why you should care: Because you want to saturate in a sense of boundlessness, a conduit for catalytic oscillations, ultra-low fluctuations, and seismic trills. “There’s a reason we’ve been doing events titled ‘Uncaged,’” says Systrom. “We don’t believe sounds or people should be pigeonholed. We want people to be able to find a healthy balance of music that doesn’t play it safe but assures they can find something they enjoy. And we want people to feel that the Monstercat family isn’t exclusive to just people on or working for the label. It’s a community for really connecting, not a show where you stand with crossed arms.”

For fans of: Vibrant future bass with voracious appetites for energy. Dirtyphonics, Jauz, Andy C, and San Holo are just a few of the EDC performers who have appeared on Monstercat. “We’re always trying to push things forward without it being pompous,” says Systrom. “I would say that we’re trying to have as much high-octane fun as possible while stretching our comfort zone in electronic dance music.”

Sounds like: The Big Bang, from the magnetism of heavy bass to the elastic reaches of dilating tempos and kaleidoscopic melody. Monstercat is an expanding universe of mechanized percussion, twitchy filters, and pitch-bent fusions making subwoofers palpitate.

Take a spin: As unapologetically encompassing as the label, the Monstercat mix doesn’t stick to any particular guidelines or guardrails. It’s a highly tactile interplay that shows culture instigators in full force.

EDC Las Vegas 2017 takes place Friday, June 16, through Sunday, June 18, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For more information, visit the official website.