As 2015 unfolds, we're thinking back on 2014 and lamenting the DJs and producers who didn't think to grace the Valley of the Sun with their presence. We're anxious to see which DJs will make an appearance in the Valley this year, and we've come up with 10 artists we hope make the trip. This is a wish list, based on DJs who haven't ever been to Phoenix or haven't been here for a while, mixed with an unabashed dose of personal bias.
See also: 10 Coachella 2015 Bands We Hope Play Concerts in Phoenix
The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brother's psychedelic spin on dance music was a fresh spin on the '90s sound, and found a niche within the music community that's still distinguishable today. The Chemical Brothers have kept things relatively low key since 2011, 2012; after they went on a world tour, released their live album Don't Think and did the score for the movie Hanna. Although, within the past few months there have been teasers for new music on Pete Tong's radio show on BBC Radio One, tour dates in Europe released, and an expected album drop in 2015.
Royksopp Royksopp made a return to relevancy in 2014 when they dropped their final album, Inevitable End. Although this is their final album, the duo is not breaking-up, or stopping making music. In a statement on their website, they said, "We feel like this is a goodbye to the traditional album format, In our consecutive run of albums, we have been able to say what we want to say and do what we want to do with the LP. We're not going to stop making music, but the album format as such, this is the last thing from us...B+B"
The duo is slated for Ultra Music Festival in March, but no other tour dates for 2015 have been released.
The Magician Hailing from Belgium, The Magician rocked 2014 with his hit original tropical house track "Sunlight" featuring Years & Years, and many popular remixes, including ZHU's "Faded" and Watermat's summer banger "Bullit." So far The Magician has booked a winter tour, Potion, through Europe that spans January 31 - March 20. We're hoping he plans something global for the summer, fingers crossed!
Disclosure DJ duo and brothers Disclosure have blown-up in the United States since the release of their 2013 debut album Settle. If you've made it this far without hearing "Latch" or "White Noise," consider yourself officially living under a rock. Disclosure was one of the UK's best kept dance music secrets, and they definitely helped bring more lounge, deep house styles of dance music to mainstream airwaves. They've since work with huge artists like Mary J Blige, Pharell, Jay Z along and Nile Rodgers. There are currently no upcoming dates on his website
The Prodigy Although I'm not sure about how I feel about their latest release, "Nasty," The Prodigy are classics. They are responsible for famous tracks like "Smack My Bitch Up," "Firestarter," "Voodoo People" and "Out of Space." Until recently, The Prodigy had not released new music since 2009, and currently the group has booked a tour through the UK in May, and performances at Future Music Festival in Australia. There is a huge shortage of drum n bass and breaks style shows in Phoenix (I know they exist, but it is not the most popular genre around town), and having a name this big roll through town would be huge.
The Knocks The Knocks exist in this space where they are underground but they're not. On one hand, most people wouldn't recognize them by name, but on the other hand they've been covered by almost every big music blog and publication, including SPIN and Rolling Stone. The New York-based duo produces a catchy, feel-good style of dance music that combines: Nu Disco, house, progressive house and pop. Their 2014 Comfortable EP got a lot of attention, along with their original track "Classic." The Knocks have produced a lot of popular remixes, some including Tegan and Sara, Grouplove and HAIM. The currently have no tour dates scheduled for 2015.
Deadmau5 Say what you will about Deadmau5's provocative attitude, the guy makes good music. Deadmau5 released a new album last year and is due for another world tour. So far he has been included in the line-up for Bonnaroo and The Governor's Ball Music Festival, along with a few shows in Toronto. Deadmau5's tech-savvy style mixed with his obvious perfectionism has historically translated to visually exciting, quality live performances with intense visuals and light shows. He hasn't stopped in Phoenix since 2011, maybe 2015 will be the year.
Ratatat Hear me out... while I'm aware that this is a shot in the dark, Ratatat is on the Coachella and Governor's Ball roster this year, so maybe they will book a few more shows? Ratatat was a bit ahead of their time when they arrived to the music scene in the early '00s. Last year the duo released a few new tracks online, and it is rumored that they are working on a new album, LP5, that will be released sometime this year.
PeaceTreaty PeaceTreaty is well-known within the dance music community, but hasn't gained as much recognition as their resume would suggest. They have support from dance music royalty like Diplo and Afrojack, remixed tracks by Sydney Samson, Robbie Rivera, Dada Life and Steve Aoki and have played some of the world's biggest music festivals and dance music events like Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Zoo and Tomorrowland (to name a few). No tour dates for 2015 have been verified.
The Aston Shuffle Chances are you've heard an Aston Shuffle remix, or remix of one of their original tracks without knowing it. Most notably, fellow-Aussie Tommy Trash's remix of their track "Won't Get Lost" was a massive club anthem when it was released. The Australian duo released a new album, Photographs, in March of last year. Although they currently haven't released any information regarding a 2015 tour, they're definitely overdue for a visit.
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