Is LA the new Ibiza? Pete Tong might agree!

[OxyKon]

Pete Tong, one of the most respected voices in new electronic music, spoke with the LA Times this past Sunday about the modern EDM scene and how Los Angeles has played a vital role in it’s development in America. His insights prove to be invaluable in legitimizing Los Angeles as a destination for electronic dance music. He tells the Times:

I was around for all the earlier waves, when Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers all came to the U.S. and were embraced here. . .but the records never stuck around. L.A. has been a key reason why this music stayed here, because this is where the big raves were and kids under 21 could get into the music.

Los Angeles is often mocked by cities like London, New York, Miami and Chicago because of it’s shallow entertainment industry stereotypes and 2 AM “Last Call”. This perception is rapidly changing though, as signaled by Tong’s recent move to Los Angeles. The Times writes “Tong hopes to use his legacy and expertise to help steer the genre’s future in America – and broaden the role that an influential DJ can fill”.

Add Pete Tong’s influence to LA already being home to such festival powerhouses as Insomniac and Hard Events, and the city’s importance as an EDM destination is difficult to argue against. Most interesting is Tong’s claim that Los Angeles is now the epicenter for the return of dance music to America. He states:

That conversation is happening right here. Ibiza was once the holy grail, but the center has shifted here”

Surely this statement is debatable, but when it comes from a dance music veteran like Pete Tong, the industry has to at least listen.

Source: magneticmag.com

[russell]

[Mitch]

Hoepfully this leads to something positive for LA (and the electronic music scene as a whole).

[SweetIshDub]

Hoepfully this leads to something positive for LA (and the electronic music scene as a whole).

LA needs something positive, that place blows.