Kaskade is America’s Best DJ, Pauly D shafted from top 10

by Dave Ruby Howe in News 3654 views
Image for Kaskade is America’s Best DJ, Pauly D shafted from top 10

It would seem as though the new guard of young American EDM fans have made their votes count in the 2011 DJ poll, America’s Best DJ, installing veteran crowd-pleaser Kaskade into the top spot.

It’s been another strong year for the LA based electro house don who backed up his recent Dynasty LP with criss-crossing global tours, stints at all the big budget dance festivals in the US, a booking for this summer’s Stereosonic festival and who could forget that rave-riot he started in the middle of Hollywood?

Taking the crown in 2011, Kaskade displaces last year’s winner DJ QBert and in fact the latter DJ has fallen from the top 10 entirely with this year’s top rankings reflecting the climate of American dance music with Skrillex, Steve Aoki, Bassnectar and Designer Drugs all performing well.

You can check out the thus-far released results for the DJ poll below and shed a tear for the victim of ITM’s 2011 April Fool’s joke DJ Pauly D who, after fist pumping like a champ straight into the #8 spot in the 2010 chart, has been shunted from the upper echelon. It was fun while it lasted.

America’s Best DJ – 2011 Top 10:

1. Kaskade
2. Skrillex
3. Z-Trip
4. BT
5. Steve Aoki
6. Diplo
7. Wolfgang Gartner
8. A-Trak
9. Bassnectar
10. Designer Drugs

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  • BT
  • Kaskade
  • A-Trak
  • Diplo
  • Z-Trip
  • Steve Aoki
  • Wolfgang Gartner
  • Designer Drugs
  • DJ Pauly D
  • Skrillex
  • Bassnectar
  • Stereosonic
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Comments

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mlirosi

mlirosi said on the 12th Sep, 2011

only thing worse than skillex being number two...is skillex being number 1

slatts69

slatts69 said on the 12th Sep, 2011

Skrillex' music makes baby jesus cry

bubbawatson

bubbawatson said on the 12th Sep, 2011

do people not realise that skrillex isnt even a dj? he presses play on an ableton set and twists a few filters for 45 mins...

tylerj23

tylerj23 said on the 12th Sep, 2011

Best photo shop photo I've seen on ITM!

rockbimborock

rockbimborock said on the 12th Sep, 2011

haha - kudos on that photo!

special ed

special ed said on the 12th Sep, 2011

:lol: at the photo, brilliant.

SlicyDicer

SlicyDicer said on the 12th Sep, 2011

Pauly D would be ok if he played good music.

daverh

daverh said on the 12th Sep, 2011

Pretty proud of the 'shop!

theHordern

theHordern said on the 12th Sep, 2011

id rather fucking bin laden in the top 10 then skrillex.

DJ KnightSA

DJ KnightSA said on the 12th Sep, 2011

I don't get the Skrillex hate. He's still a DJ and he's still damn good at what he does. Okay he may focus more on crowd pleasing above the more technical aspects, but if you're hating on Skrillex you've got to hate on that entire sub culture of "rock star" DJ's.

Plus every needs to get VERY used to Skrillex being around. He's only in his early 20's. He's got a seriously long career ahead of him.

thesuntoucher

thesuntoucher said on the 12th Sep, 2011

agree with KnightSA, it's not going to change. Besides, Kaskade? I highly doubt that he is the best DJ in the world

ratticus

ratticus said on the 12th Sep, 2011

I don't get the Skrillex hate. He's still a DJ and he's still damn good at what he does. Okay he may focus more on crowd pleasing above the more technical aspects, but if you're hating on Skrillex you've got to hate on that entire sub culture of "rock star" DJ's.

Plus every needs to get VERY used to Skrillex being around. He's only in his early 20's. He's got a seriously long career ahead of him.

He's a flavour of the month. That month is taking a while to pass, but it will. Also, big up's Z-Trip, guy's a badman.

Purpose

Purpose said on the 12th Sep, 2011

I think it's great that people are obsessed with Skrillex cause it means they wont be at the same gigs I am, and I get to enjoy my music as Skrillex's magnetic field draws all the wankers away from real music.

Dr Bones

Dr Bones said on the 12th Sep, 2011



I'd have to be hating on Skrillex for being in this supposed "rock star" DJ sub culture. Personally, I hate him because his music sounds like a transformer being brutally beaten, probably by Michael Bay.



Music in general is littered with examples of people who've been popular in their early twenties, only to fade into obscurity moments later.



This thread is about America's best DJ, not the world's.



Word. Also good to see Bass Nectar in there. Proper good tunes from both of them.

ratticus

ratticus said on the 12th Sep, 2011

I'm not so much about Bassnectar's new stuff, it gets too bro-steppy for mine.

Dr Bones

Dr Bones said on the 12th Sep, 2011

In fairness, I based that post on stuff I heard from him years ago, my bad. I didn't know he'd gone brostep. Bollocks to that.

daverh

daverh said on the 12th Sep, 2011

Weak.

BobRifo

BobRifo said on the 12th Sep, 2011

i guess playing with your hair constantly, lighting smokes and jumping up and down like a retard, without actually djing is the way to go.

hillyj77

hillyj77 said on the 12th Sep, 2011

there is a god

beaumont_music

beaumont_music said on the 13th Sep, 2011

some of skrillex's stuff is ok imo... all the hate is a bit ridiculous.
he makes a certain type of music. some people like a bit of A.D.D. aspect to their music and he's just expanded on trends explored in styles that were popular in past times, like random cuts, vocal glitching, melodic distortion, 8-bit noises - which can be found in 2nd wave french house, ed banger style stuff, and even the many varients of IDM stuff from the mid 90s. he just presents it in a form that is kinda electro-house meets-stadium dub step. it's big and obvious and well produced and gets a crowd going. i admit it's a bit soulless but thats hardly the point.. people like pendulum and the prodigy make equally vacuous (but huge) stadium style, rock influenced beats and somehow avoid all all the haters... not everyone wants to listen or dance to deep house or minimal techno all the time. most real fans of music change it up and listen to a variety of genres depending on their mood/location/whatever.. there is a time and a place for most genres. it's the band-wagon-jumping douches that are the problem... anyway, i'm off to listen to justice's first record now, because i didn't get the memo that it isnt 'cool' anymore. what a loser i must be..

bubbawatson

bubbawatson said on the 13th Sep, 2011

comparing skrillex to pendulum and the prodigy is ridiculous. they are talented musicians that play actual instruments. skrillex is neither of those things.

Dr Bones

Dr Bones said on the 13th Sep, 2011



You're not seriously comparing Pendulum and Prodigy to Skrillex are you? They are so far ahead of Skrillex in every single way that not only are they not in the same ball park, it isn't even the same sport.



I'm unclear what Justice have to do with Skrillex.

Antix002

Antix002 said on the 13th Sep, 2011

Guys. Shut up about how bad Skrillex is, he doesn't DJ, blah blah blah. Really, nobody gives a fuck EXCEPT YOU.
So he makes music you don't like. He does things onstage you don't like. He's on lists you don't want him to be on. Stop whining. Please.
yeimadbro

ratticus

ratticus said on the 13th Sep, 2011

some of skrillex's stuff is ok imo... all the hate is a bit ridiculous.
he makes a certain type of music. some people like a bit of A.D.D. aspect to their music and he's just expanded on trends explored in styles that were popular in past times, like random cuts, vocal glitching, melodic distortion, 8-bit noises - which can be found in 2nd wave french house, ed banger style stuff, and even the many varients of IDM stuff from the mid 90s. he just presents it in a form that is kinda electro-house meets-stadium dub step. it's big and obvious and well produced and gets a crowd going. i admit it's a bit soulless but thats hardly the point.. people like pendulum and the prodigy make equally vacuous (but huge) stadium style, rock influenced beats and somehow avoid all all the haters... not everyone wants to listen or dance to deep house or minimal techno all the time. most real fans of music change it up and listen to a variety of genres depending on their mood/location/whatever.. there is a time and a place for most genres. it's the band-wagon-jumping douches that are the problem... anyway, i'm off to listen to justice's first record now, because i didn't get the memo that it isnt 'cool' anymore. what a loser i must be..

See I like Justice, and a lot of Ed Banger stuff, as there's still a bit of musicality there. The bass lines were funky, and they didn't just have one sound. A lot of the stuff that came after, like Bloody Beetroots for example, just picked up on the distortion that was present in electro house, and just ran with that. It became less about music and more about filthy beatzzzz, and unfortunately the same thing has happened with dubstep. Old school stuff is awesome, Deep Medi, Hotflush, Tectonic, Honest Jon's etc still put out great music, but a lot of the stuff that's being pushed as dubstep is just about noise more than anything. Skrillex's new song is almost exactly the same as the Sprites Monsters track, there's about a minute of intro, a quick vocal sample, and then a sawtooth bass pattern with fucktonnes of distortion.

This is a conversation I've had a bit recently, just some thoughts I've had about it anyway.

beaumont_music

beaumont_music said on the 14th Sep, 2011

@dr bones i was just making the point that it's now 'cool' to hate on justice, where as once upon a time it very much wasn't.
the vacuous nature of band wagon jumping, supposed music fans is fucking annoying.. i'm sure plenty of people listened to (and liked) skrillex before it became 'cool' to hate him.

and re the prodigy and pendulum, i stand by my thoughts - both groups make superficial big-room tracks that are fat and well produced, and you know what? it doesnt matter because they are ENJOYABLE. no chin stroking required. skrillex does a similar thing using different sounds and techniques. i actually prefer the prodigy btw, but it hardly makes a difference to the point i'm making, because everyone likes different things... excluding sheep who regurgitate internet opinions about stuff and can't form their own thoughts... those people don't actually have any passion for anything...

beaumont_music

beaumont_music said on the 14th Sep, 2011

@ratticus i actually agree with what you've said. my beef is with 'hate for the sake of being cool' people. alot of skrillex's music is utter tripe, but he still makes some enjoyable stuff imo and doesn't warrant anywhere near the amount of hate he receives.
his recent remix of sebastiAn's - love in motion is quite good
so is his track 'rock n' roll'

beaumont_music

beaumont_music said on the 14th Sep, 2011

@bubbawatson - since when does anyone in the prodigy play any instruments. its essentially the production brain child of liam howlett. sometimes they have a guitarist on stage, and some dancers. none of which have any input into the music aside from his core vocalists like keith flint or whoever. get your facts straight.

twistedbydesign

twistedbydesign said on the 14th Sep, 2011


That would've been very insightful if it wasn't retarded.

B_e_de

B_e_de said on the 14th Sep, 2011

Guys. Shut up about how bad Skrillex is, he doesn't DJ, blah blah blah. Really, nobody gives a fuck EXCEPT YOU.
So he makes music you don't like. He does things onstage you don't like. He's on lists you don't want him to be on. Stop whining. Please.
yeimadbro

"Nobody gives a fuck except all the people saying it"

Err, bit of a contradiction there innit?

Please use the mess of straight black hair that only exists on the right side of your head as a tissue please.

dennez

dennez said on the 15th Sep, 2011

a trak should be higher

Phonogram

Phonogram said on the 16th Dec, 2011

2011 DJ poll, America%u2019s Most Bullshit DJ