California native Mackenzie Johnson, or MAKJ on stage, has had no downtime since the onset of his new career as a music producer and DJ. Starting from a young age, he traveled often for his previous profession and was exposed to the various musical stylings in nightclubs at the time, gifting him with a vast knowledge of dance music and DJ techniques. Back in the States, MAKJ apprenticed the late DJ AM, who is world renowned for his scratching skills.

Fast forward a little bit, and Mackenzie is getting his bootlegs and mashups played on Hardwell and Tiesto’s radio shows, exploding his career forward at an exponential rate. This year, he has releases lined up on Hardwell’s Revealed Recordings label, the Bingo Players’ Hysteria Records, Nicky Romero’s Protocol Recordings, and Robbie Rivera’s Juicy Music, not to mention continuing residencies in Vegas and bookings at top festivals. We had the chance to ask MAKJ a few questions this week, so catch the full interview after the jump! Also, don’t miss him headlining the Yost Theater in Santa Ana this Friday with Henry Fong!

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As our war-torn legs, feet, and minds recover from the madness that ensued on Indio’s beautiful Polo Grounds this past weekend, we are soon reminded that our favorite day of the week is right around the corner. This can only mean one thing: it’s time for another installation of Polaroid Thursdays. In case you didn’t get your deep fix inside the Yuma tent at Coachella, don’t fret, because some of the best in the game are coming to our home field to play.

Germany’s tech and deep house prodigies Tube & Berger are making a pit stop at Couture on the 18th, blessing us with infectious tunes all evening. We’ve got another 5 tickets to give away this week, so tell your friends where you’ll be on Little Friday. Contest and entry details after the jump!

Polaroid Thursdays – Tickets | Facebook | Twitter

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Last weekend, the team had the pleasure of catching Sander van Doorn at one of Sin City’s favorite hotspots, Marquee Las Vegas. While the brand already hosts some of the best dance music parties in Vegas, New York, and Sydney, they continue to show the utmost dedication to representing and booking only the world’s best talent. They’ve recently expanded into the digital music marketplace, launching a new self-titled compilation series called Marquee, which features some of the company’s resident and affiliated DJs.

Volume 1 features 2 discs, each with hand-selected tracks, reaching across a broad spectrum of genres for every audience to enjoy. The style of mixing from Mr. Q is very enjoyable, and he ensures that there is never a dull moment throughout the 2.5 hour journey. Pick it up on iTunes, and play it through your car stereo on the next drive to Vegas!

CD 1 TRACKLIST

CD 2 TRACKLIST

Purchase Marquee on

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With their grand opening and premiere just last week, Polaroid Thursdays has already created a presence that resonates deep within the veins of our beloved Los Angeles. While dance music events are abundant throughout the city, all but one fail to throw aside the nonsense and focus on what really matters… the music. That’s right, there are no gimmicks, high entry prices, or $16 drinks to deal with at Polaroid. What you fill find are all-star lineups and a room full of people just like you, ready to dance the night away. Jacques Renault and Lane 8 delivered groovy performances on the debut night, making for a boldly successful launch of what will be one of our favorite weekly events for months to come.

This week features two of our favorite producers, Amtrac and Bit Funk, both of whom are an absolute pleasure to catch live. In case you still need convincing for some reason, we’ve got 5 tickets up for grabs to give to a few lucky winners. Contest and entry details after the jump!

Polaroid Thursdays – Tickets | Facebook | Twitter 

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If you’ve been around long enough, you’ll know that DSCO is no stranger to the scene. Hailing from my own hometown Irvine, DSCO (real name Ruben Smulovitz) started off with a colorful solo career before making a move up to Los Angeles, where he crossed paths with former partner in crime Kevin Chapman to form the duo No Body. After a long and successful run together, the group eventually disbanded. Ruben, anxious to make more music, continued his solo career with much prosperity and effect.

With two charting EPs for Techibeats Records under his belt, DSCO continues to break the boundaries and push limits with every production, infusing elements from trance, house, dubstep, electro house, drum ‘n bass, trap, and everything in between. One thing is for certain, Ruben shows no signs of slowing down, releasing new tunes at an exponential rate for all his fans to enjoy. Keep up to speed with this guy, because he is flying to the top. Check out some of my favorite DSCO tracks below.

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After teasing fans with this ‘little’ gem at Ultra Music Festival, R3HAB & David Solano demonstrate exactly why “Do It” has been classified an anthem of epic proportions. Out today on Spinnin’ Records, “Do It” is proven to be festival tested and ready, combining key elements from both artists to create a chart-topping hit.  Powerful hands-up synths lead the listener into a euphoric state of mind, building up the energy before finally unleashing a large helping of R3HAB’s signature chainsaw sounds. To celebrate the release, the pair are hosting a contest which rewards fans based on the success of “Do It” in the rankings. See details below for your chance to meet the DJs, or even shoot paint from a cannon during the LIC tour.

CONTEST

A new Daft Punk album? Ultra teasing us with a performance from them in 2014? Tomorrowland move the all-new “Tomorroworld” event to Atlanta, Georgia? I think I like the beginning of Spring a lot. Despite being busy as all hell in recent weeks, it has proved nearly impossible to stay in the dark about all the recent happenings in the dance music world. It seems almost torturous that we have to be up and ready for Coachella in just a few short weeks, but this is what we all look forward to every year. Keep calm, rest up, put your game face on, and get The Goods.