With more than 20 years of success heading one of the biggest dance event brands in the world, Pasquale Rotella is no less motivated to expand his domain. Insomniac is one of the most trusted names in festivals, with hits including Nocturnal and Electric Daisy Carnival to bolster its reputation — but Rotella wants Insomniac to stand for the whole of dance music culture, from everything you rep on your body to the stuff you put between your ears.
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“Every year is a learning experience, and especially with EDC, our work is never done,” Rotella says in an email interview. “As the Insomniac team grows, we’re able to enhance those experiences — whether that be launching our own radio show, redesigning and stylizing our festival merchandise, producing bigger and better stages, or starting a record label. With Insomniac Records, we took the great relationships we have with so many artists and created a space where we not only book them at our events, but we offer them our resources, support their releases, and elevate them in the dance music scene.”
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This year, the synergy pays off in a 40-track compilation that brings the EDC Las Vegas lineup to life, spanning a variety of sounds, genres, and career levels, giving fans the best overall look at what to expect from up-and-comers and beloved icons alike.
“The Insomniac Records team cast a wide net to artists at every stage of EDC Las Vegas this year,” he says. “We really hope this compilation becomes a signature annual release that Headliners can look forward to hearing on their trip to EDC and take home with them after the show.”
Insomniac Records Presents: EDC Las Vegas 2017 starts big and heavy with “Drop It” from Slander and Basstrick. It keeps the energy high with a fresh tune from Alan Walker and Alex Skrindo called “Sky,” then moves into fun-loving wackiness with Tommy Trash. There are never-before heard tracks from Cut Snake, Ghastly, NGHTMRE, Yellow Claw, GRiZ, Reid Speed, Astronomar, Billy Kenny, and more. It runs just over three hours, so it’s definitely got enough groove to keep you boppin’ on the journey to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
There’s more than just dope tunes to look forward to at this year’s festivities. EDC Las Vegas is known for its over-the-top production, and in its 21st year, Rotella and the crew are still looking to break records and blow minds.
“The new theme of our largest stage, kineticFIELD, is Gaia, which to me is really special because she represents Mother Earth in Greek mythology,” he says. “The design is breathtaking and we have so many incredible pieces that incorporate the elements of nature and technology all wrapped into this powerful female figure at the center.
“We’re also introducing our new Dreamstate stage, quantumVALLEY, where we’ll showcase the best sounds in the trance genre,” he continues. I’m probably most excited to unveil our new Parliament Art Car, which is the biggest and most intricate car we’ve ever commissioned. There will be some surprise appearances you won’t want to miss on Sunday so be sure to look out for the owl’s nest that night. The lineup is all-around fantastic, there’s definitely something for everyone on all of our stages. I can’t wait to see RÜFÜS DU SOL live, I’ll be front row center for that.”
Be there for the magic and the madness Friday through Sunday, June 16 to 18, and if you can’t make it, there’s always the 40-track Compilation to help the FOMO – or make it worse. Buy it up online, and stream below.