Click here to see full photo gallery from Camp Bisco X.

The rolling green hills and bountiful vast fields of upstate New York provide a very rural, laid back lifestyle, the polar opposite of New York City’s over-crowded hustle and bustle mentality. Hosting a music festival here is ideal for a large portion of NYC inhabitants and east coasters alike: it’s accessible via public transportation or car, cheap, and easy to pencil-in around your work schedule. This three day event (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) hosted by the Disco Biscuits was about to be a weekend of musical bliss.  Camp Bisco was on the verge of celebrating its 10th year anniversary with some of the finest artists, producers, and DJ’s our generation has to offer. Luckily, in a few short hours, this festival was about to become my reality.

Thursday

We departed for Mariaville (15 miles outside of Schenectady, NY) around 10 am on Thursday morning. Though the town was only 180 miles away from New York City, it took our crew a lengthy seven hours to make it inside the Bisco gates. To our dismay, the campgrounds were thoroughly flooded with people. Tents were chaotically scattered and assembled so close to one another, it was nearly impossible to find a spot. (For those of you planning to attend next year, get there early- even if you have a media pass, get there early.)  A half hour and eight clueless security guards later, we finally weaseled our way into the Rio de Janeiro campsite and set up our weekend home base.

Just by looking at a map of the grounds, I felt very at ease. In a festival environment it is easy to feel bombarded with excessive stimulation, but there was an attractive intimacy to Bisco’s layout. All of the campsites were named after iconic electronic cities: Ibiza, Rio, Tokyo, Amsterdam, London, Los Angeles, New York, Barcelona, etc. The two main stages were set up right next to each other so it looked like one massive stage with a barrier down the middle, separating the stages into Main Stage A and Main Stage B. As soon as one band finished on stage A, the next band would start on stage B five minutes later. This allowed you to more or less stay in one sport for the majority of your day, without having to sit through half hour set changes. There was one large white tent where the larger electronic acts would play by night called the Grooveshark Tent and a smaller tent titled the Dance Tent. The only other two smaller stages in the whole venue were the Silent Disco Tent and Showcase Stage.

The entire set up was perfect, small, and easy to navigate. But as soon as we started to talking to the people around us, everyone was unanimously baffled by the grandiose crowd, complaining that there were twice as many people at Bisco in 2011 as there were in 2010. This was the first year in history that Camp Bisco had sold out it’s 30,000 tickets. However, compared to Bonnaroo, which holds 100,000 annually, Bisco felt tiny. I also quickly learned that it was inappropriate to call this festival Camp Bisco or just Bisco. Looks of utter disgust would cross attendee’s faces if I ever mentioned those two phrases, they would look at me with wide eyes and respond in a dark condescending tone, “You mean Camp?” (Side note. If you plan on going to Camp Bisco in the future, or if you decide on bringing it up in conversation, just call it Camp. Trust me, just do it.)

The Disco Biscuits were hosting this musical festival and were due to play 6 sets in the three day period. It was only appropriate that we started out this adventure by watching the Biscuits first. We made our way over to Main Stage A to catch the set. Their steady jams and bizarre lyrics took me back to my high school jam-band loving days. The set was smooth, relaxing, and topped off with an incredible lazer show. However, the strobe lights were a bit overbearing and felt as if they were about to burn a hole through my retina. My crew backed away from the stage and moved towards the rear of the field where there was ample room to dance and move about freely. Right after the Biscuits, we headed to the Grooveshark Tent to catch Skirllex. The energy of this show was slightly overwhelming and the tent felt more like a sauna than an open-air space. I broke away from the bass heavy crowd and headed towards Archnemesis, who were playing in the Dance Tent. This show made my night. I had not heard of the DJ duo before I stepped foot in the tent and it seemed like everyone I ran into prior told me to check them out. Their set sampled everything from early 20’s blue and jazz to modern hip-hop and soul. Again, there was space in this tent to move about freely which enhanced the atmosphere. Archnemesis brought their set to a close and we headed back to the Grooveshark Tent for the last show of the evening. Lotus played to an over crowed vivacious group, hitting everyone softly with their melodic electronic grooves.

Bisco X attendee, Sara Finkle, told HiFi, “Lotus absolutely killed it! They catered perfectly to the Camp crowd while keeping their wonderful happy Lotus vibe.”

Once we were back in our tent and tucked into bed, I found it impossible to calm my wired brain. My boyfriend and I decided to walk around and explore the grounds for a little bit, you know, since that’s the sane thing to do at 4 in the morning. We walked into the Silent Disco Tent and  both of our jaws hit the floor, the space was phenomenal. The artwork featured on the stage was very mythical and eerie, but beautiful. Two DJs were standing side by side battling one another in a silent abyss. As you walked into the stage area, staff members were passing out headphones that covered your ears. You could navigate between station 1 and 2, and chose which DJ you wanted to listen to. Your headphones would light up either green or blue depending on what channel you were tuned into. This way you could see what everyone around you was listening to and watch them react with the music. That put the cherry on top of a great evening.

Friday

I awoke to the burning sun forcing me out of tent at ten in the morning. I got up and joined the crew for a very lazy breakfast of milk and frosted mini wheats. Word got out that a few people were going to be leading yoga at Main Stage in a few hours. My friend and I decided that this would be the perfect way to start out the day and stretch out our bodies. Unfortunately, upon arrival, we learned yoga had been held at 10 am. Fortunately, we were greeted by the Easy Star All Stars and happily danced along to their reggae-tastic covers of Radiohead, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles.  RJD2 took over next as he plunged into his hit Ghostwriter. Break Science were right by his side backing him up on keys and drums. Together they performed Smoke & Mirrors and The Horror before RJD2 surrendered the stage to Break Science and Redman.

The next show on my schedule to hit was Four Tet. There is something unique in Kieran Hebden’s touch that makes his knob tweaks sound angelic. The sun was resting low in the cloudy sky and a light summer breeze passed through all of us inside the Grooveshark Tent. Four Tet’s light show was composed of warm pastel tones thats mirrored his tunes. Unfortunately, Shpongle was about to take over the Main Stage and we quickly rushed out of the tent to see what all this Shpongle hype was about.

How do we even begin to put the Shpongletron experience into words? Even if I pulled the most elaborate descriptive words from dictionary and artfully arranged them into picture-esque sentences, something would still be lost. Let’s just say that this was the musical highlight of 2011 . (My whole crew agreed.) Simon Posford and Raja Ram (together they create Shpongle) converted the stage into acid drenched rain forest straight out of the ’60s, filled with musicians and mythical creatures. There were viking cat-women, a slinky human costume that had a torso and 4 legs, and beings I only thought existed in the Beatles, ‘I am the Walrus.’ The crowd was equally as bizarre and freaky. When the music started, everyone responded in unanimous movement. Horns, brass, strings, blue-grass, glitch, ambient, psy-trance, psychedelic downtempo, psybient hand percussion: you name it, it was there.

“I felt like I was peering into the brain of an omnipotent sound being. Or maybe like living the dreams of the God of Music,” stated crowd member Alex Hoffman.

As Shpongle dove into The Stamen of the Shaman, the rain started plummeting out of the sky. We all looked like maniacs, losing our sanity to a crazy looking band in the pouring rain. It was amazing. Nothing can compare to the happenings of Shpongle.

The rain kept beating down on the crowded field for what felt like eternity. If there was one thing I should have brought, it would have been rain gear. Apparently there has not been a single Camp to date that hasn’t witnessed rain. The entire site was oozing mud. At one point it felt like we were all wading through quicksand that was caked up to our shins. My crew tried our hardest to scramble back towards our camp site, and we returned to discover the once lush green hill had been transformed into a gigantic mud slide.

An angry member who’s site was destroyed yelled out, “WHY DO YOU THINK THEY DECIDED TO CALL THIS CAMP SITE RIO DE JANEIRO???”

I laughed hard, but abruptly stopped when I saw our camp site had been equally destroyed by water. Shock. Sadness. Anger. Exhaustion. With no choice left than to embrace the mess, we headed back out to show and ended our night with two unbelievable performances by MSTRKRFT and Ghostland Observatory.

Saturday

After a night like that, we were blessed with about 8 hours of sleep. Our crew awoke late in the afternoon and started packing up our campsite. We knew that we wanted to catch the Disco Biscuits last set and also Bassnectar before we departed. Exhaustion was weighing heavy in all of us, and we slowly trekked back to the Main Stage to see the final two acts. The Biscuits performed a very calming and soothing set which almost put us right to sleep. Basnectar shook us back to consciousness as the invasive wobbling bass lines pierced through our raw skin.

Somehow I managed to sleep the entire ride home and woke up in New York City. The layers of mud caked on my feet shook off the dream-like state I had been lingering in and made me realize I was out of Mariaville and back in Brooklyn. Bisco was a one of a kind experience. It felt great to camp outside and be bombarded with phenomenal electro-talent for three days straight. Though it was exhausting, the times I had and shows I experienced were priceless. I can’t wait to return next year. Thank you to the Biscuits, promoters, and everyone else who made this event possible.

The third and final day of the Sónar Music Festival in Barcelona was most definitely not a winding down, as the masses gave it their all for one last push, making Saturday’s festivities just as explosive as those of the previous days. Despite a smattering of rain for a brief interlude, the crowd was out in full force with the vivacity as we had come to expect from Sonar attendees.

A highlight of Saturday’s Sonar by Day was without a doubt Colombia’s Bomba Estéreo, who rocked the SonarVillage outdoor stage with their animated trademark electro tropical grooves. The powerhouse lead vocalist grabbed the audience through the force of raw energy and didn’t let anyone’s attention wander for the duration of the entire set. Chaos nearly erupted when she invited five women to join her and the entire first half of the audience attempted to charge the stage. Another high point of Saturday’s daytime events was Jackmaster’s invigorating set in the SonarDome. Providing the perfect taste test of what was to follow as we entered the night, Jackmaster lead a spirited mass of dynamic partygoers in warming up their legs and ears for a night that promised to be full of some serious action on the dancefloor and behind the DJ booths.

After making the trek outside the city to the enormous Sonar by Night event space for night number two, we made a beeline for the mammoth SonarClub room, where Dizzy Rascal set the stage on fire with their hip-hop inspired beats and some serious attitude. Providing a brief respite from the wide assortment of techno, house and dubstep was Fuck Buttons, who’s live set at the SonarLab held audience members rapt by offering their nonlinear and experimental beats as an alternative to the traditionally dominant 4×4 sound. Glasgow based label LuckyMe’s showcase was also full of interesting talent, with Machinedrum’s and Éclair Fifi & John Computer’s sets particularly standing out as innovative yet true to the urban sounds of hip-hop and dubstep that LuckyMe is so revered for.

Probably the most highly anticipated act of the evening was The Chemical Brothers, who performed their show to thousands upon thousands of fans, completely packing the largest of the rooms. As was to be expected from the globally celebrated British duo, the show was of epic proportions, including a brilliant light show, which accompanied a selection of classic Chemical Brothers tracks as well as new material.

A total of 84,976 people attended the festival making this year the most successful Sonar yet. We look forward to see what’s in store for next year!

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As the sun rose on day two of Sonar Festival in Barcelona, the masses once again flocked to the downtown location of Sonar by Day, pouring through the gates in even larger masses than the previous day’s festivities. Spirits were once again at peak levels during the afternoon hours, with Europe’s electronic music revelers taking full advantage of the beautiful weather and vibe of the city, the company of fellow partygoers, and of course the stunning array of musical talent from all over the world.

Once again, stand out acts were difficult to determine, as each artist contributed something creative and unique to the boundary-breaking display of electronic music across the three stages. Of particular distinction was the UK’s Hyperdub group King Midas Sound, who presented a brilliantly dreamlike set pairing their bass heavy and reggae influenced rhythmic sound with a backdrop of dramatic and hypnotic lighting in the darkened SonarHall. Also taking advantage of the confined space of SonarHall was Nosaj Thing, who performed his visual show to a thoroughly enthusiastic crowd. Matching a visual display projected against the wall behind him, Nosaj Thing took the audience on an aural and visual journey through his hip-hop inspired beats, dropping favorite tracks like “Coat of Arms” and “Fog” at key moments.

After a long day of music in the sun, we headed to the first installment of Sonar by Night, which takes place Friday and Saturday night in a massive old airplane hanger just outside of Barcelona’s city limits. Three enormous stages hosted a slew of even more enormous talent, with thousands upon thousands of people going absolutely mental for the breathtaking lineup and environment. Noteworthy acts included favorites like veteran French super-duo Air, DFA Record’s LCD Soundsystem whose performance of their beloved old track “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” got the whole room singing, and German house group Booka Shade, who all lived up to their stellar reputations as forerunners in the realm of genre bending electronic music. Indie electronic staple Hot Chip also played a thrilling live set under the open air night sky to the tune of thousands of cheering fans at Sonar by Night’s second biggest stage, SonarPub.

Mary Anne Hobb’s showcase at the SonarLab stage was also a big hit, showcasing some of the finest talent currently on rotation in the overarching realm of dubstep and UK funky. First the BBC Radio DJ herself took the stage, dropping some seriously grimy dubstep tunes and making the massive bassline reverberate through the ground and up into the enthralled audience. Second was a rare appearance by the illustrious Joy Orbison, who’s set was an extraordinary treat for UK funky fans. Flying Lotus took the stage next, spinning a set that focused on samples of some heavy hip-hop beats, and of course his own production, which contrasted effectively with his more house tinged set of the night before, and lead perfectly into the showcases’ closing set from the king of UK funky, Roska.

On the techno and electro side, 2manydjs spun a rambunctiously fun mix of electro tracks both new and old, with a multitude of stellar remixes and visual graphics animating each tracks record sleeves. Techno master Plastikman (otherwise known as Richie Hawtin) and the legendary Claude Von Stroke also each tore the roof off the epic venue. The latter’s closing set at the main stage, SonarClub, provided the ultimate ending to an incredible night, dropping monumental tracks like “Who’s Afraid of Detroit?”, shifting into some wicked drum and bass just when the crowd least expected it, and slowly bringing up the lights on the dancefloor throughout his set to emulate the sunrise outside, effectively preparing the crowd to face the bright day that awaited after the last note ended.

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Day one of Sonar, the self-described festival of “Advanced Music and Multimedia Art”, taking place June 17-19 in Spain’s vibrant coastal city of Barcelona, kicked off yesterday with this weekend’s first edition of Sonar by Day. Located in the heart of downtown Barcelona, Sonar by Day features a variety of artists across three different stages, representing the broadest spectrum of what is considered to be electronic music. Thousands of partygoers, including locals, Europeans and music fanatics from all over the world, attended this roaring celebration of music and art that represents the beginning of what promises to be an incredible and inspiring weekend.

While the array of incredible musical talent on display makes choosing favorites nearly impossible, there are a few some stand out acts that were a cut above the rest. We first checked out the UK’s infamous Pete Tong’s set in the open air SonarVillage, which was overrun with revelers enjoying the beautiful bounty of sunshine and outstanding beats. Unaffected by the fact that it was still only early afternoon, the space was already vibrating from a multitude of dancing feet. Hyped from the vibe of the joyous atmosphere, we headed to Caribou’s excellent performance, who played to a packed audience in the SonarDome. Their onstage unity and aptly cheerful set list of tracks chosen primarily from their newer album “Swim” made for the perfect late afternoon warm-up for the coming night’s events. Another noteworthy act was Broadcast, who’s visual backdrop of surrealistic video footage contrasted against a dark stage and hall created a beautiful aesthetic of wonder and almost melancholy.

After an actio-packed day, we started our night at FACT and Plat du Jour’s Hyperdub Off Sonar event at Club Mondo, featuring Cooly G, Ikonika, Darkstar, Kode 9, and more, with a special surprise appearance by the supremely talented Flying Lotus, who will be performing again at Friday’s Sonar by Night under the auspices of Mary Anne Hobbs’ stage. Hundreds of dubstep fans packed themselves into the dark, sweaty, and seriously energized Hyperdub party, where the artists proceeded to blow the roof off the place with a heavy onslaught of bass music. To nobody’s surprise, Flying Lotus’ set in particular was an outstanding combination of his own production set to a background of more traditional house rhythms, and naturally caused the crowd to go completely mental with aural joy.

Next up was Desolat’s Off Sonar party, featuring Loco Dice and Marco Carola, among others. This massive event also served as the opening night of Ghoa Beach Club, a brand new open air space right on Barcelona’s waterfront. Energy levels remained high and the bass kept thumping as the artists carried the crowd straight into the dawn, keeping the dancefloor packed and he partygoers begging for more as the music finally came to an end well in the morning.

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What better excuse to take a vacation than an all-star line-up in one of Europe’s most vibrant cities? Enter Sónar, Barcelona’s annual music festival, now in it’s 17th year. With a line-up that includes The Chemical Brothers, LCD Soundsystem, Flying Lotus, Hudson Mowhawke, Hot Chip, Kid Koala’s The Slew, and New Young Pony Club (among others), not to mention the beautiful backdrop of Barcelona, this is one summer festival that you won’t want to miss.

CLICK HERE for info and tickets, which are €155 (a little over $200) for a three-day pass.