Lights All Night Artist Spotlight: Ekali
Written by Parnia Razi on December 24, 2018
Ekali is a fresh and young electronic DJ/producer from Vancouver, Canada who has been making waves in the music industry over the past few years. He started out playing the violin and was exposed to music from an early age. However he never quite felt comfortable being an instrumental musician nor a vocalist. He then began his career in production, posting and sharing his remixes on SoundCloud. As they quickly gained popularity, he also gained the attention of some well-established producers like ZHU, G Jones, and Skrillex, all of whom he has collaborated with. Yet most notable to his rise as a producer was when Drake sampled Ekali’s track “Unfaith,” on his songs “Preach” and “Wednesday Night Interlude” from the album If You’re Reading This Its Too Late. With his versatile sound, he can make ambient downtempo, elegant build-ups and emotional drops, but also tracks that go hard and lean more into the trap/hardstyle production. In the past two years, he has played at well-known festivals like Coachella, Shambhala, and EDC, giving him clear status as an up-and-coming artist and showing true talent in playing exciting live sets.
Not only does Ekali play incredible live sets and make brilliant fresh music that informs some of today’s popular hits, he’s also one of the few artists in the EDM genre who has come out as part of the LGBTQ community. Speaking out against homophobic hate on Twitter, Ekali recently revealed that he is bisexual and won’t tolerate homophobia in any forms. This honesty and openness is valuable and respectable for any artist, but especially one in the electronic scene, which tends to lack diversity. Other artists reached out to publicly support him on Twitter, from Alison Wonderland to Chet Porter.
Ekali is joining an exciting lineup for Lights All Night Festival in Dallas this New Year’s Weekend, and you won’t want to miss the chance to catch one of his exhilarating live sets. With other artists like Rezz, Gucci Mane, Diplo, and more, Lights All Night is where the biggest party in Texas will be for New Year. Taking place on December 28th and 29th at Dallas Market Hall, you can click here to see the full lineup or click here to snag your tickets before they’re gone!
Check out the Lights All Night playlist below for a mix of tracks from my favorite artists on the lineup!
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