Dubspot is proud to be hosting the official will call pick-up to 2011’s Electric Zoo Festival goers. Now in its 3rd year, New York’s electronic music festival Electric Zoo will come to Randall’s Island Labor Day weekend for 3 days of enormous line-ups of world-renowned DJs. Beginning Friday, September 2nd and lasting through Sunday, some of the biggest names in electronic music will take the stage, covering a wide range of styles.
Electric Zoo promoters Mike Bindra and Laura De Palma, along with their production company Made Event, have had the unique challenge of bringing major electronic music artists to an American audience that’s not always paying for the music. That said, the two have developed an event that sold out in its 2nd year, drawing 50,000 people, while somehow keeping the community aspect of electronic music alive and well with a variety of arts and crafts on site.
Starting the festival with a serious bang on Friday is superstar trance DJ Tiesto. Dubspot picks for Friday include a potentially unforgettable set from Richie Hawtin as Plastikman, Carl Cox, Rusko, and Egyptrixx. Saturday sees recent pop co-opt David Guetta at the throne, with Bloody Beetroots, Danny Tenaglia, 12th Planet, and SBTRKT. The last day of Electric Zoo features headliner Armin Van Buuren, Boys Noize, Afrojack, Diplo, and Nicolas Jaar—the last of whom has one of the best albums of the year with Space Is Only Noise.
For his Plastikman set on Friday, Hawtin will lead a truly unique experiment into audience participation. Alongside developer RJ Fischer and Brian McDade, Hawtin has created an iPhone and iPod Touch app called SYNK, that will allow the audience to manipulate aspects of Hawtin’s set. In addition to his already tech-savvy performance, Hawtin will be creating all the visuals himself, using Canadian company Derivative‘s state-of-the-art TouchDesigner technology, as well as controlling lighting through a customized, Ableton Live-powered MIDI setting. Hawtin will also perform a DJ set as Richie Hawtin on Sunday.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Plastikman Live @ Future Music Festival, 2011
If you aren’t catching Plastikman Friday night, you’ll definitely want to catch Carl Cox, one of Britain’s house and techno legends. Cox has been a major force in bringing house and techno to a wider audience, and in addition to holding down a 10 year residency at Ibiza’s Space, he is known for being one of the best festival DJs in the world.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Carl Cox Live @ Ultra Music Festival, 2010
By far the biggest, and most exciting dubstep set of the weekend will go to Rusko, whose earth-shattering bass frequencies are largely responsible for the genre’s spread around the globe. If Rusko’s high-energy music isn’t enough, he brings his music’s energy into his live performance, easily winning for most active DJ behind the turntables.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Rusko Live @ The Metro Chicago, 2010
For the last day of the festival, Dubspot will definitely be checking out German electro house maestro Boys Noize, who has become synonymous with what will be legendary about electro house. And if you thought electro has passed its prime in 2011, check out the man at the Dubspot-sponsored Summerstage a couple years back, where you’ll get an idea of what to expect at the Zoo this weekend.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Boys Noize & Dubspot @ Summerstage NYC, 2009
There is no question that New York’s Danny Tenaglia is a proper house music legend, if an underrated one. Responsible for pushing the house sound into new territory, and establishing himself as a major figure in the New York club circuit, Tenaglia continues to make music and DJ around the world, managing the difficult task of remaining a classic figure who still brings something fresh to his sets.
Egyptrixx put out one of our favorite records this year with his LP Bible Eyes, out on the Night Slugs imprint. The record stood out for its uncanny embrace of pop and future bass dance music, using a masterful array of synth layers and melody to keep emotions running along with feet.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Egyptrixx – “Chrysalis Records feat. Trust”
With his self-titled debut album a couple months back, UK producer SBTRKT easily clocks in as another Dubspot pick for Electric Zoo on Saturday. The album features the low-slung sounds of UK funky and 2-step with a variety of guest vocalists, all of whom manage to bring his dance floor plates back home to the bedroom or a late-night living room hangout.
Click here to view the embedded video.
SBTRKT feat. Little Dragon – “Wildfire”
Nicolas Jaar’s Space Is Only Noise challenged his Wolf + Lamb following with a record that explored an immense array of styles and sounds, channeling everyone from J Dilla to Serge Gainsbourg.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Nicolas Jaar – “Colomb”
/files/2011/08/electric_zoo_thumb.jpg
The post Electric Zoo Festival 2011 NYC: Plastikman, Rusko, Diplo, Guetta, Tiesto, BT, Skrillex, Moby, Boys Noize, MSTRKRFT, Tiga, Tenaglia, Carl Cox, Dubfire + appeared first on Dubspot Blog.