If you were to imagine today’s electronic music scene as a TV show about kids in high school, it’s pretty apparent who would play which classic character.
Calvin Harris would be the pretty-boy quarterback.
Deadmau5 would be that nerd who’s really smart, but kind of a douche
Skrillex would be that weird kid who everyone likes for some reason.
The most obvious though is that Dillon Francis would be the class clown. For as long as I can remember, Dillon has been taking every opportunity he can to make fun of everything he can (including himself). Whether it’s a series of off-color snapchats, letting a few fans buy piñatas off his merch website, or coming up with alter-egos, Dillon’s always looking to make people laugh.
Dillon’s also been doing something else for as long as I can remember, and that is putting out tracks that are as impressive as they are diverse. It might not seem like such a jokester would have time in between his shenanigans to really focus on music, but Dillon is one of the best products that EDM has to offer.
Other than the fact that he’s the reason moombahton is being played at festivals, Dillon’s put work into multiple hits throughout his career that range from twerk music to big room house. That’s the cool thing about seeing Dillon live. All you can really count on is that you’ll hear a bunch of different stuff and it’ll be a ton of fun.
These five artists embody that same spirit of jubilant diversity.
TIGHTTRAXX – Terra Firma
As stated prior, Dillon Francis is the reason moombahton became a defined style of music. As such when finding an artist that fans of his will enjoy, the ability to make a solid track between 100 and 110 BPM is paramount. Well not only is this track “Terra Firma” a moombahton banger, but the soundcloud page TIGHTTRAXX represents an ability to also make house, dancehall, and plenty of other genres…just like Dillon.
Ardi Alamsya – Trojan
Another moombahton track that makes you wish your legs had springs, this guy Ardi Alamsya is from Indonesia and he has less than 500 followers on Soundcloud. Oh and his bio which reads: “I don’t have a specific genre, I make what i like and i play it.” is extremely accurate. His new EP (which you can preview on his page) is mostly trap but also has some jungle house, and the rest of his tracks are just as diverse.
Burns – Run Things
Although Dillon has so many alter egos at this point that I’ve lost track, the one that’s always stood out the most to me was DJ Hanzel. See unlike DJ Rich as Fuck and all the other gimmicks, DJ Hanzel actually pertained to a concrete genre of music: deep house. Breaking into the scene right around the time deep house was blowing up, DJ Hanzel would often make an appearance during Dillon’s sets, but the tracks he would play weren’t the kind that would fit your basic deep house radio playlist. Hanzel went one deeper and played deep house that was funky as hell but still maintained Dillon’s eclectic style. Burns is an artist that makes that kind of deep house.
5 & A Dime – Siren
They say don’t judge a book by its cover, and this next artists is an excellent representation why. He might have a moderately silly artist name, but 5 & A Dime has the same diverse style as Dillon with a flare for the 808. One of the reasons Dillon was able to succeed the way he did was because of his ability to embrace the 808, and if you’re fan of the way Dillon used you’ll definitely dig this guy’s tunes.
Axel Boy – Break It
Another guy with a very diverse taste in production. This particular track is a dubstep heavy-hitter, but if you check his page there’s plenty more styles and sounds on there. Dillon might not have personally put out a lot of dubstep (if any at all), but as the curator of the #Soundslike series I feel obligated to introduce (or reintroduce) our readers to styles they may not have given much time in the past. The most important thing when recommending music based on artists is making sure that each of the recommended artists’ music maintains the spirit of the original artist. Axel Boy’s tunes are pure fun just like Dillon.
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