Did Aoki and Guetta Officially Kill EDM at Tomorrowland

July 26, 2014.. Remember the date. It is a day that will forever be commemorated, cenotaphs will be built, calendars and diaries will come printed with mournful reminders. For this day marks the weekend that EDM was battered to the point that it is officially on life-support, surrounded by a (sparse) group of its loved ones, deliberating over separation of its over-used, antiquated plug-ins, sample packs, and of course, big-room drops. More specifically, it marks a time where two world-famous, rich-as-fuck, DJs dropped what quite possibly might be (kanye voice) two of the worst tracks of all-time.

It all went down this past weekend at the 2015 edition or Belgium's Tomorrowland Festival, the culprits being, David Guetta and Steve Aok. Let's dig into it:

EXHIBIT A: DAVID GUETTA

This weekend, David Guetta played his new single to a sprawling crowd of thousands of people. In fact, make that tens of thousands of people, as the flag-waving crowd have developed a nifty method of packing another person on top of the shoulders of every single audience member, doubling their capacity tupperware style. Anyway, the point is this new single, is absolutely, resolutely, unequivocally, a screeching big-room remix of children's nursery rhyme and early-learner's improv game, "If You're Happy and You Know It". See a video of him performing it at the World Club Dome above.

So, with dropping of his new single, has Guetta officially killed EDM? One must ask themselves, if this type of musical content is what one of the industry's most known producer's is putting his time and money into, can anyone really have much faith into the future of the sub-genre that turned dance music into a billion dollar industry in the United States? It would be one thing if the cheeky sample that Guetta built his new track around led into a drop that displayed even the smallest modicum of creativity, but, it doesn't, and leads straight into an utterly monotonous slice of big-room assault. Even starting somewhere that is undeniably different (even brave, perhaps), the tracks ends somewhere that is undeniably—the same. What room is left for a sound that's new ideas lead into the same climax over and over again?

EXHIBIT B: STEVE AOKI

Here's the master of ceremonies himself, Steve Aoki, who this weekend saw Guetta's nursery rhymes and raised him one schlocky, cinematic anthem, face-palming anthem. Instead of releasing his usual go-to "Wonderwall" remix, Steve Aoki dropped another big-room rework, this time of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." A track usually connected to Hollywood's most famous aquatic tragedy, has made us all cry, in a very different, more depressing way.

As showcased in the video above, Aoki began his titanic (get it?) selection triumphantly facing his hordes of fans, arms open. Here's the kicker: the extremely massive crowd, who immediately recognizes Celine Dion's iconic vocals, actually goes with it? Not only do EDM flag-waving DJs continue to drop tracks the mark a new low in innovation, as well as a severe absence of integrity and ideas, but the fans who find themselves absorbing said sound, don't seem to even realize how awful the music is their listening to. When both the DJs and fans engaging with EDM come off so utterly unimaginative, and satisfied with the shamefully mediocre—what more is left for growth in a genre?

VERDICT

RIP. Case closed.

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