Bal en Blanc 18 – April 8th, 2012
Well, it’s almost that time of year again as Montreal hosts it’s soon to be 18th edition of BAL EN BLANC on Easter weekend (April 8th). This year, Alex, Cube, Cube and I will all be there. Yes, you read it right,
Cube AND Cube. To whom am I referring the second Cube as? Well, his first name is Fusion and he was born from within the magical depth of none other than Godskitchen!
That is correct folks, after having the Godskitchen Boombox here 2 years ago; Production Playground (organizers of Bal en Blanc) has acquired the rights to the premiere north American debut of the Godskitchen Fusion Cube. If you don’t already know what it is, check out this video beneath:
Amazing stuff isn’t it?
Anyways, without further ado, here are the DJ list and set times (Trance side) that will be streamed via AH.FM for those who cannot make it to this event (all times in EST starting on April 8th, ending April 9th)
- 21h00 22h30 Insomnia
- 22h30 23h30 Omar El Gamal
- 23h30 01h00 Beat Service
- 01h00 02h00 Jochen Miller
- 02h00 05h00 Armin Van Buuren (with Nadia Ali from 2h00 to 2h20)
- 05h00 08h00 Markus Schulz
- 08h00 10h00 Ferry Corsten
- 10h00 12h00 Ben Gold
Excellent DJ booking choice in my opinion although I would have preferred to have a different DJ close the night (or day… I mean this freakin event ends @ 12pm the next day!) since Gold did it already last year. I do expect a different set from Markus this time (due to the different time slots from the usual 7 to 10) and I am very curious as to how Ferry will follow up Markus’s set especially since his new CD (WKND) is pretty trance commercial and might not fit well in the wee hours of the morning when most of us will need some bass heavy tech trance to keep going. Then again, a break after Markus and right before Gold might be a good idea too.
Finally here is the House side in which they now call it the “Principle” side. Unfortunately we are still missing one name and the set times.
Pascal N Vesselinov
Kingdom
Nadia Ali
Arty
Fedde Le Grand
Steve Angello
Danny Tenaglia
Steve Angello and Fedde definitely justify the use of the word “Principle” since as most of us know, commercial House is really the main music of the clubbing world nowadays, replacing the Hip Hop reign that was prominent a few years back. One thing to note is that yes, ARTY is playing a special House set in the principle room. He recently switched over (much like our dearly missed Allure, i.e. Tiesto) and I will sure miss him. Danny Tenaglia will definitely be the old school’s favorite DJ and I have a feeling that he is the one that will be closing an extended set of 4-5 hours although this is just speculation for now.
All in all, a huge night for all of us and we hope to bring you guys the best impartial reviews as possible!
for more info: BalEnBlanc.com
p.s. A few hours after posting this article we received an official press release from the event organizers so here we are, sharing it with you:
Godskitchen’s Fusion Cube promises to be quite the eye-opener!
Bal en Blanc celebrates its 18 years
with a stellar – and grown-up – lineupMontreal, March 8, 2012 – As it officially reaches adulthood, Montreal’s White Party Week is getting ready to honor its 18 springtimes with both the excitement of youth and the maturity of a well-oiled organization. From Thursday to Monday, April 5 to 9, the energizing beats of electronic dance music will hit the floor once again to shake Montreal out of its winter torpor.
A White Party Week of peak caliber
The highpoint of these celebrations will of course be Bal en Blanc, which is offering 15 hours of blazing rhythms impelled by a selection of DJs that are the stuff of dreams, on Sunday, April 8 starting at 9 p.m. – and running until noon the next day – at Palais des congrès de Montréal (Montreal Convention Center). International headliners will be out in force, with Steve Angello, Danny Tenaglia, Fedde Le Grand, Arty (house set) as well as a last artist to be confirmed in the Main Room, while Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Markus Schulz, Ben Gold, Jochen Miller and Beat Service will perform in the Tech Room. In a live performance, Nadia Ali, one of the most prominent vocalists in electro pop dance music today, is also joining this lofty crowd, in which the legendary Tenaglia (here in 1996 and 2000!) will evoke the roots of the event as part of a gathering of talent that balances regulars from way back and new arrivals. Insomnia and Omar El Gamal (Tech Room), along with Kingdom and the duo Paskal & Vesselinov (Main Room), will represent the Québec scene and round out this DJ honor roll. As has been the case for a number of years, everything will happen in two immense adjoining rooms especially laid out to host the roughly 15,000 people expected at what will unquestionably be the don’t-miss rendezvous of the spring season. (Note that the programming for related events will be announced at a later date.)
The Godskitchen Fusion cube: a striking visual spectacle
A production broad enough in scale to match the biggest cultural happenings in our city, Bal en Blanc continues to elevate standards in terms of sound, lighting and projections, offering a total experience of which its thousands of white-clad participants are an integral part. Two years after the visit of its formidable Boombox, British entertainment giant Godskitchen is back with the Fusion Cube, a brand new multifunction stage structure combining digital animation and special effects that provide DJ sets with a spectacular impact. Launched in late 2011, the Fusion Cube will be enjoying its North American premiere, having made only three appearances thus far: in Kiev, St. Petersburg and Johannesburg. And it goes without saying, a number of other visual and physical installations will heighten the ambiance of this 18th edition.
Two things you mustn’t forget: have your tickets…and your finest white duds
A celebration of openness and diversity, Bal en Blanc couldn’t claim to be fully realizing itself without preparing its most attractive white getup. That’s something important to bear in mind when planning for Easter weekend (not forgetting bunny rabbits and chocolate, of course). But above and beyond anything else, tickets have to be purchased before it’s too late:
Regular tickets are offered at the individual price of $137 (taxes, $2 box office fee and $5 police fee included, service charge in addition) on balenblanc.com (via Ticketdriver) and at specialty sales points (see the complete list on the Facebook page : Groupe Officiel de Productions Playground). VIP tickets, offered as a complement to regular tickets, are now sold out.
Info for the public: tel. – 1.888.418.PROD; email – info@productionsplaygroud.com; Web – balenblanc.com, productionsplayground.com; Facebook – BALENBLANC 2012 – 18E EDITION; Twitter – BALENBLANC.
Danny FTW !!!
Can’t wait :))