The dust may have settled and the mud may finally be dry but the memories and aftershock of of this years Electric Zoo are still being felt. One of the world’s most iconic electronic music festivals that marks the unofficial end of summer in NY continues to bring some of the most incredible and world class talent to the shores of Randall’s Island and no matter rain or shine (it always rains), gets fans dancing through the weekend. This year was no different, and if anything it showed how the festival (and the artists they bring out) has evolved to adapt to changing times and a changing media and musical landscape. Fans have begun to expect more from their music and Electric Zoo was here to deliver.
From letting Jauz, one of the industries most promising and prominent up & coming artists curate his own stage, Off The Deep End, to bringing out EDM heavyweights like Armin Van Buuren, Eric Prydz and DeadMau5, this year truly brought something special and memorable for everyone. Luckily, I had the opportunity to sit down with both Jauz and Armin himself to discuss the industry, its history, and their place within it.
The night began sitting down with Jauz backstage at the Off The Deep stage, which he kept bouncing for hours on end. Having some of the biggest experiences in EDM under his belt such as Holy Ship, sitting down with a fan favorite was the logical place to go. Regarding Holy Ship, he enthusiastically described it as “one of the wildest, most fun...most tiring, most life-draining experiences” because it’s basically Summer camp for electronic music DJ’s.
“We, as DJ’s, as producers, as touring musicians never get to hang out with each other. And we’re all like best friends, you know. And so, to be stuck on a boat with all of us together for four days with nonstop parties, is like, the most fun we have all year.”
Of course, Holy Ship is a stark comparison to his weekend on Randall’s Island. The conversation quickly turned to his own stage, which is a first for the burgeoning artist, asked how he felt about it he cheerfully and energetically (I say energetically because at this point it was day 3 of the festival and we were all running on fumes) replied,
“It’s amazing, man. I mean I love being in New York. I get to curate my own stage. So the Off The Deep End party is the one I did at Terminal 5, and it’s like the brand of shows we started that’s like, either a tour or now it’s a festival stage.. it’s kind of my version of like a mad decent block party, you know what I mean? It’s like, ‘Jauz is putting on a show, these are artists that he fucks with,’ and like, for example, we were listening to Sub Focus right now, who is like, one of my favorite artists in the entire world. I’ve been listening to him since I was fourteen years old. So like, everyone else on stage is a good homie of mine, and like it makes sense that they’re on my stage.”
The energy he brought to the stage was palpable and clearly being enjoyed and appreciated by all of the fans. Later that night his team and artists surprised him with a birthday cake and the crowd broke out into their own rendition of Happy Birthday.
Later that same evening I had the opportunity to go speak to one of the industries most well respected and transformative artists, Armin Van Buuren, who had just flown in earlier that day for his set before jetting off to Canada for another gig later that night. Below, for your reading pleasure, is a transcript of my conversation with one of music's living legends and pioneers.
Nice to meet you. Thanks for having me. My first question, of course, is how has the evolution of A State of Trance been?
Armin: Amazing. I never thought the show would last this long, and that’s thanks to the fans. And in a way, this is what I didn’t realize when I started this show but I’m using the show as the center of everything that I do. Whether it’s talking about my life on the road, or premiering my new tracks, you know, saying what’s up to people, um.. And adding the video element to it now makes me feel like a pioneer again. You know State of Trance used to be one of the few online shows every week, and then everybody started doing it. Which is fine, it’s a normal thing. But doing it live again every week in one take, in the studio in Amsterdam with having guests over, adds that live feel to it. You know, I was kind of tired of staring at an ableton screen and only hearing the beginning and end of every track cause I had to mix it. So yeah, I hope the fans appreciate it. I needed that because I missed doing the live radio thing, you know. I was just doing my liners ten times so they were perfect. But I really felt the need to add a next level to a State of Trance, which, you know I think is a little bit my responsibility to-if you listen to a State of Trance, I wanna guarantee that you hear 80 to 90 percent of the Trance tracks at that moment that matters. Of course I miss out on some tracks, I’m not perfect. But that’s been the formula of the show since episode one, and it’s still the formula to this day. So, it’s a two hour nonstop mix with the latest and best of Trance in progressive. That’s what it is, that’s what it’s always been, and that’s what it’ll continue to be. But, you know, it’s 2017, so everything’s YouTube, everything’s Facebook. I had to adjust to that.
Right. So how was that adjustment, and how was adjusting more to life of social media, and having everything be in real time?
Armin: Well, I was thinking for a long, long time how am I gonna move forward? And I talked a lot about it with my management, and two years ago we made the conscious decision to build a radio studio. So first we went into the designing process, and then I saw the bill [laughs], and then I was like.. I’m just gonna do it. It was the most expensive thing I ever built, but I was like, I gotta do this, because uh.. Not so much for me, like “hey guys” but, I felt like..the scene needed this. Also for the young people still to be involved-everybody’s on YouTube and Facebook. Nobody’s watching, you know, TV anymore. Nobody’s listening to radio. Everyone’s on YouTube and Facebook and that’s where I wanna be. So of course the FM station that still broadcasts the show are very dear to me, and of course, it is a radio show. It’s not a TV show. But adding the visual element to it just gives it more of a “now” feel and uh...also I built this studio to rent out to other DJ’s. So hereby, the invitation to other DJ’s, you can come to Amsterdam and rent it. We have staff available, you can stream online..
So it’s almost become, like a mentoring hub of sorts? Like you can go and rent out space..
Armin: Yeah I mean I’m using the studio one day a week. So the rest of the days, the studio is available.
Like an incubation place sort of.
Armin: Yeah other dance artists can use the studio for their own radio shows. Why not? You know. We want to rent it out just for the dance music community to grow.
Nice. What’s been your favorite show that you’ve ever played?
Armin: Armin Only. The Best of Armin Only that I did the 12th and 13th of May in the Amsterdam Arena-the soccer stadium. That was the biggest concert I’ve ever done.
I remember that time I saw you was at Lavo for DJ Magazines, when you were on the top of the list. And I think it was like, it must have been like four or five years ago and I think there was a hurricane in New York. I think it was a weekend, I don’t know it was crazy. But I digress, what’s your favorite venue that you’ve ever played?
Armin: Favorite venue… that’s a tough one. That is a tough one...I played so many great clubs [laughs]... I guess God’s Kitchen and AIR in Birmingham, there was always something special about that place. Same as Passion in Coalville, UK… uh there’s a couple places I need to mention. I always love Passion New York. Actually in a few hours I’m gonna play a new one, Rebel in Toronto. There’s so many good venues. I love Omnia, in Vegas. That club’s really good to me. I just came from there.
What are some of your career highlights? Like what are some of your things that you’re most proud of?
Armin: There’s many to mention. I think the Grammy nomination, the 5 DJ Mag wins, the Armin Only Show the 12th and 13th of May in the Amsterdam Arena. I guess This Is What It Feels Like is a very important track to me. My new single Sunny Days, which is the highest charted single ever of mine in the Netherlands. It went to number one which was unexpected. State of Trance, obviously. You know, big and small things. I guess the biggest highlight of them all is that so many fans have stuck around for so many years, I mean.. It may sound a little cheesy but that’s what it is. Without the fans, I wouldn’t be sitting here, wouldn’t be talking to you. I feel blessed that I started my career in 1999 and the first time I came to New York was 2000 and I’m still here. I’m still around, I’m still playing, and I’m still enjoying it. So that’s the most important thing for me.
So what’s on your bucket list for the things you’ve haven’t done yet. What could there possibly be left?
Armin: I’m really excited for the plans that we have for Gaya, my side project. That is something I really wanna work on a lot. I’ve got a couple of new singles coming up, a new album. I’m more in LA now. I’m songwriting a lot more than I used to.
How do you think music has transformed since when you started in 1999 to where we’re out now with the emergence with all of these new artists and new culture shift?
Armin: Well it was a lot smaller in 1999. You know house music was born ‘88, ‘89, you know the whole history, I’m sure you know it. Chicago, warehouse, came to Europe, blahblahblah. But at that time it was very simple. In the very beginning it was only house. And after that in Holland you were either mellow or you were gabber. And after that came techno and trance and all those genres. I saw the birth of all those names, you know. So it used to be one thing, and it used to be house. And if you were DJing you were a house DJ. That’s it. So there was no techno there was no trance, it wasn’t there. And right now what you see-I’m very interested in cultural phenomenon-same thing that happened with pop music for example, or rhythm of blues, is that all these genres are sort of their own sub genres right now. I mean you have your own techno festival now, you have your own trance festivals now, so every genre has its own festival so to answer your question, it’s diversification. That’s what’s happening right now and that’s the big difference between 1999 and now. Of course, we’re not playing vinyl anymore, everything’s been made on a computer, but I think it’s exciting you know, there’s a lot more music to choose from, and electronic music has spread like oil through all genres of music even if it’s pop or R&B, electronic music is everywhere and will never go away. It’s mixing and merging. So I think it’s a very interesting time if you’re a lover of electronic music you can just choose what side you wanna be on.
Who are some of your favorite artists that have just recently emerged?
Armin: Oh a lot. This summer I was blown away by a lot of the sets I heard. Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, I did a track with them.
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If one thing can be said about Electric Zoo, is that they have done an incredible job of merging and showcasing the history of electronic music while still being able to keep the festival and lineup feeling new and exciting. Whether it be allowing newer artists to curate their own stages or bringing legends to close out the festival, they’ve created an atmosphere that transcends music and touches on people's emotions. Add in the fact that the HARDfather himself, Gary Richards, is steering the EZOO ship and we’re sure to see the zoo expand. The sheer amount of people there who start off as strangers and then through the power of music are able to connect and create lasting relationships is one of the reasons the festival continues to be a behemoth in the space and keeps fans coming back for more.