Tik Tak Festival: Five artists not to be missed for its 2014 return

Tik Tak Festival: Five artists not to be missed for its 2014 return

Amsterdam is a city shrouded in unadulterated urban decorum, quirky cultural mediums and no shortage of creative stimulus. It’s seen in its people, the mass of cyclists that frequent the city and come summer, a plethora of music festivals catering to the cutting edge of modern dance music. Unapologetically leaning towards the bass favorings sects for its 2014 edition, TikTak Festival has always boasted one of the more eclectic streaks of programming to bless the city’s central remits on an annual basis. This year’s instalment at Amsterdam’s Arena Park is as much a celebration of dance music’s urban blood as it is an opportunity for the nation’s prized musical assets, both high brow and under the radar, to collect for a seminal showdown of bass, brawn and hip shaking splendor for one day only. 2014 musters talents ranging from Steve Aoki, Waka Floka Flame and Jillionaire through to such national treasures as The Partysquad and Dirtcaps. With one of its most impressive line-ups to date just days away, Dancing Astronaut spotlights five artists not be missed amid this bass-favoring event.

Check out the full line-up on Tik Tak’s official website.

Yellow Claw

Momentous records and inspiring live aura in check, treasured Amsterdam trap outfit Yellow Claw need little introduction to either side of the global dance spectrum. They’ve made the blending of trap, moombahton, hard style and big room look seamless among the saturated digtal market, using the juxtaposition of tracks such as “Shotgun” and “Lick That” to draw a line in the sand as to where a popular sound can make new noise for the masses. 2014 has already spelt the formation of their Barong Family imprint alongside Spinnin Records and a much-anticipated second installment of their Amsterdam Trap Music EP series for Mad Decent. With a road block of new material still to emerge for the summer and more momentum behind their live movements than ever before, Yellow Claw has come to represent an unprecedented peak in European trap music and further evidence of its buoyancy on a global scale right now.

Waka Floka Flame

Five years on the other beat have served Riverdale’s Waka Floka Flame well, but the chimes of 2014 had all eyes and ears on an obvious convergence towards the world of electronic dance music from the rapper turned popular club mouthpiece. The buzz surrounding Waka’s hotly anticipated Flockaveli Psychotics LP hasn’t hurt this aura, with rumored collaborations alongside Flosstradamus, Diplo and Skrillex suggesting that this may be a quality attempt at a crossover album from the hip-hop kingpin. Meanwhile, work alongside Yellow Claw, Steve Aoki and Borgore have made his verses far more common on global dance floors than anyone may have anticipated at the turning of the year. The jury is still out as to whether the Flame himself is sitting on crossover gold dust, but his presence at Tik Tak for 2014 is not to be shrugged at.

Martin Garrix

Next to Steve Aoki, Dutch heavyweight Martin Garrix marks one of the few big room interventions at Tik Tak for 2014. His right of passage on the bill is relatively simple, as the hype as continued to build around the young chart toppers name, that ability to hit all heights of universal energy has remained unwaivered. The trail to “Gold Skies” has been matched with the emergence of collaborative duties alongside Dutch peer Afrojack this month, pulling the Spinnin/Scooter Braun prodigy back into the limelight amid a whirlwind of festival duties. Tik Tak may be just one of his many European pitstops, but the youngblood is packing enough musical heat to warrant a look up come Tik Tak this weekend.

GTA

 GTA’s ‘Death To Genres’ mantra has been warmly received across the continents to date, but 2014 beckoned the next step in momentum from the Miami duo and their distaste for commercial conformity. Tour duties alongside Rihanna, a Major Lazor collaboration and an inaugural spot for ThreeSixZero Music later, there was little denying that Julio Mejia and Matt Toth had struck a unique industry balance for a relatively young duo. Eclectic sets and that heavyset sound have not stopped GTA from playing with the big boys of the global festival circuit, making Tik Tak a rare and wonderful opportunity to relish in a European appearance from the Floridian heavyweights this summer.

The Flexican

Tinted trap, groovy house and infectious indie pop were never particularly popular bedfellows until The Flexican hit the circuit with his Midas like formula for mixing things up. Mexico-born and subsequently bred in The Netherlands, the cross-pollination of South American culture and Holland’s fertile musical plains has made him an unmistakable asset to its live prospects over the past several years. That sparing formal release schedule is padded by Major Lazer collaborations, that panache for versatile remixes and those infamous sets that scale the functional, the frivolous and the cutting edge of modern dance music from across the industry spectrum. If you want to hear what making maximal impact from left of centre sounds like in modern industry terms, The Flexican in an unmissable point of reference amid this year’s Tik Tak celebrations.