Norin & Rad: A Pair of Local DJs Putting OC Trance on the Map

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Before joining Norin & Rad, Bruce Karlsson had been dabbling in producing and other music projects while Nick Sember started spinning hip-hop before transitioning into electronic music. The two met through mutual friends and quickly realized they had a common interest in electronic music. Naturally, they joined forces. But what they created was a bit of a surprise considering their musical backgrounds–an inventive, icy-clean brand of trance that banged inside clubs all over OC. They captured the birth of their sound well in 2010, releasing their Pandemonium/Varuna EP.  Lately, big things are happening fast.

After garnering attention on Markus Schulz' Global DJ Broadcast, they were suddenly hailed as the “Breakthrough DJs/Producers of 2011” by  English trance heroes Above & Beyond with a remix of their song “Hellion.” This weekend these Orange County locals join Jaytech at Insomniac's new “Awakening Fridays” at Exchange LA
for a special Anjunabeats Night Session edition. We caught up with
Nick, aka “Rad,” from the group and talked about his transition from a Huntington Beach boy to a touring member of the Anjunabeats family.

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Upon hearing their collaboration with Recurve on “The Gift,”  Above & Beyond gave the group even more love, playing Norin & Rad's remix of Estiva's “Better Days” at Global Gathering Gathering
last year giving them more recognition around the world. “We are so
grateful for their support,” exclaims Sember. “This year has definitely
been our big year and it's been pretty amazing.” Norin & Rad have
shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the trance community
such as Markus Schulz, Super8 & Tab, Cosmic Gate, Andy Moor and Mat Zo.
They even joined the Anjunabeats stage at the Electric Daisy Carnival
2012. “EDC was incredible! We got an amazing set time (9:30pm-10:30pm)
and the crowd was awesome” he says. “Working with [Above & Beyond]
is inspiring. They really take care of their artists.”

“You would think trance music and being from Southern California don't go together,” laughs Nick. “Yet we got a lot of recognition from OC and LA. The support is overwhelming.” The two used to play at the Shark Club in Costa Mesa, where they would pack the club with their friends. Now they're joining their Anjunabeats record label family all over the world, including Tomorrowland–the biggest EDM festival in Belgium— and Electric Zoo in New York. “We have no idea how much our music has influenced fans all over the world yet,” he adds. “When we see our downloads coming from Egypt and India it's like a dream come true. We can't wait to be oversees overseas and see these fans.”

This Friday Norin & Rad will bring their heavy basslines and unique twist on trance and house music to Insomniac's new weekly Awakening. Boasting the same high-end production experience and design fans have come to expect from Insomniac events and the Funktion-One sound system. “We just developed some really good visuals for EDC which we can't wait to use on future gigs.” says Nick. “We will also hopefully be playing a finished remix of an old song that is very popular in the trance world, two new original tracks, and mash-ups for our fans.” With their dedication and passion for a broad swath of genres, Norin & Rad will continue to produce new tracks and hopefully start their full album next year, so be on the look out for this dynamic OC bred duo.

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