Kendra Brea Cooper
In his book "Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture", Simon Reynolds describes how "the rave works as an intensification machine, generating a series of heightened here-and-nows-sonically, the music's repetitive loops, and visually, by lights, lasers, and above all the strobe..." In a society that champions planning and goal setting, the EDM festival is the snowballed result of the live-in-the-moment experiences rave culture offered in the past and an escape from the future.
Digital Dreams is a massive festival hosted in Toronto during the summertime. This year, acts like Tiesto and Flux Pavilion helped sway the people. The crowd's party ancestors stem from the rave subcultures of the 90s. The rave's move into the mainstream has exploded into massive EDM festivals around the globe.
The Electric Daisy Carnival is hosted in multiple countries, and doesn't let the roller coaster of seasons stop the music because it's held year-round. Every time this festival touches down, the blend of art and technology brings a couple hundred thousand people together.
Tomorrowland is held in Boom, Belgium and is one of the largest EDM festivals in Europe. It has been the sound ground for major electronic music artists like Moby and Avicii. The thing about EDM is that there might be little in the way of lyrics or "message", but there is something special in it's ability to bring thousands of people together to share an experience.
Located in the mountains of small town Salmo, British Columbia, this festival had humble beginnings under the shade of the forest trees. Here is where vibrations bounce of the mountain walls and back onto the freedom-loving crowd below. You have to hear the music in this way, because your individualistic headphones will not do it justice. It was made for the communal.
Winnipeg hosts the MEME festival August 14-17 this year. It's a mesh of art and sound that focuses on Manitoba creativity. Perfect local love.
Spend Labor day weekend in New York losing yourself in pulse mimicking dance beats. There's a desperate feeling that comes with dance music. It's so much like a heartbeat that a sudden stop could mean sudden death (of time that is).
This is a sixteen stage festival that bounces around from country to country making sure no one goes without their summer dose of dance music. It's not entirely an EDM festival, but any electronic music fan will not be let down.
Creamfields is a globe trotting festival out of the UK. Big names are exposed by bright lights for one of the best EDM experiences out there.
On Sept 28th and 29th of this year, the Ultra Music festival claimed historical ground in Japan as the largest EDM event to ever take place in the country. It's certainly a new and exciting era for dance music. Most tickets are sold out for the March 27,28,29 event in Miami, Florida.
Sonar takes the festival experience a step forward with it's new art instillations that add to the other world, new perspective drive. It takes place in Barcelona, Spain every June, and promises to take you to the progressive edge of EDM and technology.
Pop culture and all that ideology sitting in the blind spot. Also crafts.
