For only being 3 years old, EDC Orlando sure knows how to party.
Last weekend marked the third year that Insomniac brought their crown event, the Electric Daisy Carnival, to Tinker Field in Orlando, FL. After a drawn out wait for the release of the lineup, it was revealed that several massive dance music artists would be headlining the festival. The roster included acts like Richie Hawtin, Jamie Jones, Calvin Harris, Excision, Zeds Dead, Seven Lions, New World Punx, and Porter Robinson on Friday and Saturday. This year, over 30,000 people attended the festival in Downtown Orlando, and those festival-goers were treated to some absolutely incredible sets from the weekend’s talent and pristine production.
Photo by Alex Perez
Just by walking through the gates of the fairground, it’s clear that Insomniac has elevated levels of standards even with their security. Taking the tragic losses of life over this past summer very seriously, ticket holders would give full head-to-toe pat-downs; hats, bra, wallets, socks, and just about every other crevice were checked to best ensure that festival goers weren’t walking through with illegal drugs into the grounds. After making it through the check-in, attendees were immediately greeted with a view of the Motorola Tower, a thirty-foot LED cell tower. It also functioned as The Kandi Shop, where ravers could make kandi as personal souvenirs for the weekend. They also got to see the multiple food trucks and vendors, carnival rides, as well as the Neon Gardens and Circuit Grounds. And just like last year, the Kinetic Field was just around the corner.
Photo by Erik Kabik
For an event with such a reasonable ticket price, the production level for the festival’s stages was remarkable. The Neon Gardens tent featured an understated but impressive LED wall and a rounded ceiling to capture the sound. The Circuit Ground’s triangular, blinding light structures and burning pyrotechnics were aggressive enough to properly couple two days of bass music. And The Kinetic Fields showcased a hypnotic, breathtaking combination of lights and lasers. In addition to the stages and the numerous rides, the weekend also included multiple art installations. Jen Lewis’ interactive light installation, “The Pool,” was set-up near the Neon Gardens for attendees to tinker with, and it’s been a recurring member of the EDC circuit this year.
Photo by Le Panda
Still, in terms of quality, the music spoke for itself. A late departure on Friday afternoon meant only four hours of festival, but even that was enough to satisfy. At the Kinetic Field, ATB opened the night with a shout-out to the audience and some hard hitting trance. His remix of trance-classic “Ecstasy” broke the crowd out into a frenzy, and at the end of the night, he welcome up collaborator Dash Berlin with their track uplifting track “Apollo Road.” Dash took the reigns for the second hour of trance. His remix of Alice Deejay’s 90s classic “Better Off Alone” drew a cheer from the swarm of people at the main stage, along with “Jar of Hearts,” “Dragonfly,” and several of his own remixes and “dashups.” Meanwhile at the Neon Gardens, Richie Hawtin performed a seamless set of groovy techno that got people moving on a cellular level, as evidenced by his LED visuals of amoebas and cells performing mitosis. To close out the night over at the Circuit Grounds, Excision played a relentless, break-neck combination of tracks of his “Shambhala 2013 Mix” to create a combination of dubstep, trap, drum and bass, and electro. He also showcased several tracks like “Bounce” and “Annihilate” from his new project with Downlink and KJ Sawka, Destroid, as well as a new original.
Photo by Blaise Joseph
Saturday opened up with John Digweed’s deep house and a ride on the Ferris Wheel. After a switch up in the schedule, The M Machine gave a heart-pounding, hard electro set, and Umek continued the funk house persuasion on the main stage. Mouths dropped and bodies seized at the Circuit Grounds when Seven Lions dropped Terravita’s classical-step track “Bach Off,” along with the rest of an incredible mix of dubstep, trance, and progressive bass-music. At the same time over at the Kinect Field, Madeon an impressive and creative set that combined bigroom, bass and electro with disco and deep-house using combos like Kill The Noize’s “Saturn” with an acappella of Disclosure’s “When A Fire Starts to Burn” or Breakbot’s “Baby I’m Yours” with A-Trak’s “Disco Nap.” Closing out at the Neon Gardens was a four-hour block of funk-filled four-four with Art Department and Jamie Jones, the latter of which easily won for best set of the weekend.
All in all, it was another welcome return for one of Insomniac’s premiere events, and hopefully the Electric Daisy Carnival will make its way to Orlando once again next year.
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