Review: Myon & Shane 54 at Exchange LA Awakening 7/13/12

Since its inception at the end of June, Awakening Friday’s sponsored by Insomniac at Exchange LA has grown to massive heights. The doors are stormed earlier, the costumes are more elaborate and the artists, well, they continue to present. Last Friday, Hungarian duo, Myon (born Márió Égető) & Shane 54, (Előd Császár) packed the house early. Their live sets, similar to their radio show, International Departures, is wildly diverse. There are classics, new tunes, fresh edits, genre-fusing melodies and above all, mashups. There are few artists today who have mastered the art of the mashup and Myon & Shane 54 are one of them. They managed to stay grounded in their trance roots while also appealing to mainstream audiences with their top 40-like remixes.

Trance vocalist and Myon’s girlfriend, Aruna, took the stage after resident DJ, Kristina Sky to show off her recently acquired DJ skills. Aruna, the beloved vocalist from hits such as “Let Go,” “The Great Divide” and “Live Forever,” looked a little uncomfortable behind the decks, which turned into an decent warm-up set. Her stage presence left a little to be desired, only interacting with the crowd when she climbed up on the stage numerous times only to get a mild reaction. Aruna ended her set with an amazing live performance of “Live Forever,” her collaboration with trance legend Ferry Corsten. and was the ideal transition for the Myon & Shane to take the stage.

Myon & Shane 54 opened their set with their Summer of Love remix of “Our Love” featuring Craig David, they’ve built their name upon: mashups – seven in a row to be precise. A combination of “Kick Out the Epic Motherfucker” with the break from Bluestone’s “Namaste” was just the right amount of electro-trance fusion the crowd looked forward to. Jesse J and Blake Jarrell were fused into one another to form “Dubai Domino.” There was no reason for the crowd to not move. Shane had a hard time standing still and unleashed a massive amount of energy during each part of a track. Myon stood grounded on most of the mixing duties, providing smooth transitions into the two-track combos that were continuously delivered. From “Samui All Around You” to “Surrender Sweet Disposition” Myon & Shane 54 showed just how well their mashups cater to a widespread audience.

The second half of their set was devoted to trance pleasantries. Above and Beyond’s “On My Way To Heaven” had the crowd singing harmoniously, as did their amazingly well received remix to Andain’s “Promises,” released last summer. Directly following, their remix of Andrew Bayer & Molly Bancroft’s “Keep Your Secrets” continued the slew of sing-a-longs. All three tracks garnered big reactions but it was the abrupt stop of music that had heads turning. Aruna came back to the stage to perform live under the trio’s Velvetine alias with “The Great Divide.” Aruna, who resides in LA, sounds exactly how she sounds on the record live, which in today’s day is something to be treasured. Clearly comfortable on the mic, the songstress led the audience to the show’s climax. The duo kept grinding away at the audience, throwing mashups and tracks like “Air for Life,” “Bang The Drum,” “This Is Silence,” “Elektra Satellite” and their remix of “Every Little Beat.” Each track was a prime choice and always managed to be a dancefloor destroyer. There wasn’t a lull moment in the near-two hour presentation. Hammering kicks, big melodies and blistering basslines came one after the other to the make the “Awakenings” evening, a Myon & Shane 54 special edition. After what was a “MONSTA” of a time with Filo & Peri at Awakening this Friday night, next week Armada takes the stage by storm with DJ Eco and Sied Van Riel. Don’t miss out.

Buy your Tickets for Next Week’s Awakening at Exchange LA

Article by: Mark Luzzi