by Oliver Scherillo

For electronic music fans, part of the weekend never dies. This week, L.A. area house heads, electro fiends and all variants of EDM lovers are still recovering from a whirlwind weekend of blips, beats and freaks over a Halloween weekend thick with soul-shaking bass.

Even the cancellation of long-running annual event Monster Massive failed to subdue the raving masses, who had plenty of other events to pick and choose from. HARD Haunted Mansion, KCRW’s Masquerade Ball (featuring a DJ set by Moby) and a surprise Sunday show by Holland’s Afrojack at the Music Box (not to mention Insomniac Events’ Halloween-themed “Escape From Wonderland” rave-style event near L.A.) collectively pulled in over 30,000 dance music fanatics all over the greater Los Angeles area—proving that Southern California is still the largest music market for DJs in the entire United States (although Las Vegas and Miami wish it was them).

Promoter Gary Richards once again held his HARD Haunted Mansion in the heart of L.A. (at the Shine Auditorium) and pulled in around 15,000 on his own. Hot names such as Skrillex and Laidback Luke on the roster of the two-day fright fest helped draw the masses, but second tier acts from Belgium almost stole the show.

by Oliver Scherillo

Click here for HARD Halloween Friday photo gallery

Friday night’s turn by Belgium’s Soulwax (whose documentary “Part Of The Weekend Never Dies” is a must see for anyone interested in why EDM is taking over the world at the moment) thrilled dressed-up fans as graphics played out behind the DJ duo. Saturday, Kortrijk Belgium’s hot Goose dazzled in only their second-ever U.S. appearance, showing America their particular brand of mesmerizing dance music (see their “Synrise” for proof).

by Oliver Scherillo

Despite draconian security measures employed at the entrance (the city of L.A. is, pardon the pun, “hard” on dance music promoters), the entire weekend went off with nary at hitch at HARD. Once past the airport-like checkpoints, fans of all ages were set free by beats, freaks and a frighteningly loud (yet stellar) sound system that could be heard from blocks away—pinging off the surrounding buildings at the University of Southern California.

by Oliver Scherillo

Click here for HARD Halloween Saturday photo gallery