Too techno for the hip hop kids & too hip hop for the techno crowd

 Un chico haciendo cualquier tipo de música en la trap house 

In a dark kitchen in the middle of a sweaty night in Las Vegas, all 6’4” of Dan Reynolds is hunched over a laptop, slapping beats on the table and crooning lyrics into a tiny microphone. Before long, he and the other three members of indie rock band Imagine Dragons would be playing “It’s Time,” that same laptop-demo-turned-supersized-anthem, from the roof of a parking garage to a wave of thousands of screaming fans. This song title to the single from their 2012 debut KidInaKorner/Interscope release “Continued Silence EP” is an all too apt descriptor of the band’s hard-earned success—but it’s also emblematic of the deep-seated anxiety Reynolds and the rest of the band experienced leaving behind any realistic expectation of a normal job to do the thing they love most.

A third-generation Las Vegas native, Reynolds is no stranger to the adage “the house always wins,” choosing to pave his musical career with a near obsessive work ethic and hundreds of unused demos rather than roll the dice with the first songs that sprung from his mouth. It’s no surprise, then, that he was drawn to guitarist Wayne Sermon, another founding member of Imagine Dragons. Having practically grown up in a recording studio and graduated Berklee College of Music, Wayne had been practicing his guitar through meals and other socially inappropriate situations as long as he could remember; he challenged Dan in a way that was both uncomfortable and exactly what they both needed. When they began writing songs together and recognized something special was happening, Wayne called up his Berklee friend Ben McKee, who promptly dropped out of school with only a few credits left, moving across the country to play bass for the band. This sort of reckless/genius behavior is typical for Ben, who has an uncanny penchant for spicy food and a suitcase full of unbelievable road stories. More recently, the band was joined by drummer Daniel Platzman, another Bostonian schoolmate who seems way too nice to be playing rock and roll until you actually see him in action.

Several tours and three self-released EPs later, Imagine Dragons had made a serious name for itself, particularly in the west coast circuit. Although their songs vary from nearly whimsical and light to brooding and powerful, listeners are drawn to the inherent honesty in the music. The only rule of thumb for the band, it seems, is to write from a true place; the result is songs that literally run the spectrum of human emotion. Attend a concert, and it becomes clear that the live performance of deeply personal songs has a real effect on people. And the band itself is not immune, as demonstrated when Dan literally passed out into the drum set during a finale song, sending cymbals and drum stands crashing while the rest of the band played on until the close.

Great songwriting is bound to be noticed eventually. As proof that the harder you work, the luckier you get, one of those people who noticed was Grammy winning producer Alex da Kid (Eminem, Rihanna). Alex and Dan began collaborating on projects, and soon the band had developed a relationship with Alex and his team. The alchemy resulting from Alex’s hip hop sensibilities and Imagine Dragons’ anthemic rock is nothing short of explosive. The byproduct of this creative collision is “Continued Silence,” a six song in-your-face sonic grenade that breaks musical boundaries and yet is strangely relatable by its improbably diverse audience.

Despite it all, on any given day when they aren’t on the road playing shows, you can still find Imagine Dragons huddled away in a rehearsal room somewhere, banging out song after song in search of the next perfect track. Like most things in Vegas, the band is angled at going big or going bust. For the sake of those who love great music, we hope it’s the former.

Variedad y creatividad son los principales valores de Sweet Drinkz – alias Alberto Moreno – a la hora de ponerse delante del público. El DJ y productor aragonés lleva más de 20 años curtiéndose y forjando su forma particular de entender la música y el arte de ser DJ, desde que a finales de los 90 empezase a adentrarse en el mundo de la mezcla. Fue escuchar las mixtapes y recopilatorios salidos de eventos y salas tan importantes como Florida 135, Sónar o Monegros, lo que llamó su atención en un primer momento, llevándole a ir nutriendo esa vena coleccionista y a crear sus propias mezclas sin siquiera ser consciente de ello.

De forma autodidacta y con un amigo de la infancia, Sweet Drinkz fue moldeando su carácter, principalmente como DJ de música electrónica, desde los 14 años, influido por las publicaciones y el eclecticismo de International DeeJay Gigoló Records de DJ Hell, las sesiones de la Love Parade de Berlín – retransmitidas por la cadena alemana RTL2 –, las de los afamados 2ManyDJs, trabajos tan determinantes como el de Justice vs. Simian, la electrónica surgida en Manchester – de manos de Laurent Garnier y The Haçienda – o las producciones de Ed Banger Records y el movimiento French Touch. Sin embargo, su mayor influencia fue la del colectivo australiano Bang Gang DJs – del que formaba parte el fallecido DJ Ajax – ya que fueron ellos quienes le inculcarían ese amor por la técnica depurada y la variedad a la hora de seleccionar la música, forjando así su manera de entender la profesión.

Con una perspectiva que no distingue de géneros a la hora de hacer bailar a su público, Sweet Drinkz se ha ganado a pulso el cariño del respetable que asiste a sus sesiones, con una selección muy variada, que puede ir desde los géneros más clásicos como el house, el techno, el electro, el hip-hop o el disco hasta las nuevas tendencias vanguardistas y futuristas de la música urbana y la electrónica. No importa la etiqueta. Sweet Drinkz no tiene prejuicios a la hora de seleccionar la música y, gracias a su técnica, siempre sorprende a su público con mezclas arriesgadas, edits y remixes inesperados, llenando de vida la pista de baile. Lo único que importa es la música con sentimiento, sin distinciones. 

Gracias a sus estudios de sonido, Sweet Drinkz puede presumir de afrontar las sesiones con garantías que pocos DJs pueden brindar hoy. Curtido en el circuito nacional e internacional, con el freestyle por bandera y con el único propósito de sorprender y hacer disfrutar a la gente, Sweet Drinkz ha pasado por Berlín, Madrid, Barcelona, Ibiza, Valencia o Bilbao, llevando su sonido fresco y sin ataduras a todos los públicos. 

Además, Sweet Drinkz también es una de las cabezas pensantes de las sesiones Face Down Ass Up, Dollar y Pangoleo, clubes dedicados a las últimas tendencias en bass music.

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