Before his set at Electric Zoo, John Digweed sat down to talk to us about his process as a musician and his thoughts on the electronic music movement in the United States. Read on after the jump.

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Festival season is officially upon us, and lot’s of events this year are looking to expand. This includes Made Event’s annual celebration of all things dance music, Electric Zoo, which has added a third day to their weekend extravaganza that will take Labor Day weekend, September 2-4, 2011. The line-up is as follows:

Friday, September 2

☛ Main Stage: Moby (DJ set), Benny Benassi, Rusko, Tiga, AN21 & Ma Vangeli

☛ Hilltop Arena: Richie Hawtin Presents Plastikman (Live), MSTRKRFT, Felguk, Gareth Emery, Markus Schultz, Robbie Rivera

☛ Carl Cox & Friends Take Over Sunday School: Carl Cox, Loco Dice, Joris Voorn & Nic Fanciulli (B2B), Victor Calderone

☛ Red Bull Music Academy Riverside: Crookers, Martin Solveig, Bart B More, Busy P, Feed Me, SebastiAn

Saturday, September 3

☛ Main Stage: David Guetta, Above & Beyond, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, John Digweed, Sander Can Doorn, Sub Focus

☛ Hilltop Arena: Ferry Corsten, ATB, Andy Moor, Dirty South Joachim Garraud, Mat Zo, Sean Tyas & Simon Patterson (B2B), Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano

☛ Sunday School Grove: Luciano, Danny Tenaglia, Carl Craig, Chris Liebing, James Holden, Steve Bug

☛ Red Bull Music Academy Riverside: Skrillex, Super Smash Bros, 12th Planet, Beardyman, Kid Sister, Porter Robinson, Tommy Lee & DJ Aero

Sunday, September 4

☛ Main Stage: Armin Van Buuren, Afrojack, Chromeo, DJ Snoopadelic, Calvin Harris

☛ Hilltop Arena: Boys Noize, Diplo, Big Gigantic, Carte Blanche, Excision & Datsik, Fake Blood, Jack Beats, MiMOSA

☛ Sunday School Grove: Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Gui Boratto, Guy Gerber, Ida Engberg, Nicolas Jaar (Live)

☛ Red Bull Music Academy Riverside: Infected Mushroom, Gabriel & Dresden, Arty, EDX, Hardwell, Kyau & Albert, Mark Knight

More artists TBA!

Payment Plans

Passes to the festival can be purchased HERE. This year, Electric Zoo is also offering a payment plan for those who would prefer to not pay the full sum all at once. This payment plan contains two options. The first payment option allows you to pay a 50% deposit of your order total upon purchase of the pass, plus service fees, with the remaining 50% automatically deducted from your card on August 1, 2011. The second option allows you to pay 30% of your order total plus service fees as your first payment, with the remaining total automatically deducted in equal payments on July 1st and August 1st 2011.

Dust Reduction

Electric Zoo will also be making efforts to reduce dust this year, as the dancing and frolicking of 25,000 pairs of feet coupled with the unusually dry summer took a toll last year, and by the end of the day, the grass had been trampled and a lot of dirt had been kicked up into the air.

Here’s a list of things they’ve put in place to reduce the dust:

• Flooring will be used in all of the tents. This means that where all that dancing is going on, the grass will be protected and dirt won’t be kicked up.
• Dirt service roads will be covered with flooring. As our crew travels in golf carts and other vehicles to get from place to place around the perimeter of the festival grounds, there’ll be far less dirt stirred up.
• Making use of existing pavement for high traffic areas, including the area directly in front of the main stage. The main stage will be moved back this year in order to create more space. This will mean that a large area directly in front of the main stage will now be situated on pavement rather than grass. So when you “tear up the dancefloor” in front of the main stage, you’ll no longer be tearing up grass and kicking up dirt at the same time

They’ve also hired lawn specialists to consult with and work with Randall’s Island Park to improve on the maintenance of the field and to get it as healthy as possible before Electric Zoo.

Check out our coverage of last year’s Electric Zoo HERE, and stay tuned for more information and updates from us as the event draws closer!

John Digweed is a legend in his own right. His long career in electronic music has seen him shape the very formation of the progressive house movement, as well as the crafting of the evolution of the genre through his involvement in some of the most influential clubs and event organizations in the world. It is therefore no wonder that his recent presence at District 36 brought multitudes of fans to fill every nook and cranny of the spacious club. In fact, the space was so full of eager merrymakers it was nearly impossible to move at all, let alone make your way to the restroom or the bar. This way no doubt also due to the magnificent opening set by Basic NYC movers and shakers Sleepy & Boo, who played until nearly 2am to an almost overwhelmingly full house. Their sets only get better with every spectacular event that they organize, making it worth getting there early to catch them every single time. Their ability to build a solid set that compliments the sound of the artist performing after them, while still maintaining their own personal style, is a truly noteworthy talent.

It was clear that there was something special in the air that night, as many people were heard remarking on their long term appreciation for Digweed and his music. Multiple stories were repeated of people’s “first time” with Digweed, and how this single experience had definitively brought them into the world of electronic music and thereby molded their entire future experience of music.

Digweed played an extended set of stimulating progressive house, manipulating the heaving dancefloor with every build-up and drop of the bassline. As usual, he remained quite calm throughout his set, evoking an air of a wise professor or sage priest, powerfully imparting his knowledge and watching it manifest in his pupils. He played deep into the night, far past the closing time of 4am, yet the continuously brimming floor never ceased to respond.

Check out the full photo gallery HERE.

Next Friday May 6, the legendary “DJ’s DJ” John Digweed will step behind the decks at District 36; something I personally have been looking forward to all month. I’m sure that for most of you the man needs no introduction, as his long career in shaping the evolution of electronic music and reputation as an incredibly talented artist are no mystery to anyone who subscribes to the genre. For those of you who don’t know, get familiar:

Even if you’re not an avid follower of dance music but are tuned into popular culture at all you’ve likely experienced music touched by the hands of John Digweed. Originally hailing from England but having clearly arrived on the global scene nearly a decade ago, Digweed has long since cemented his name in the pages of dance music history. His list of achievements is groundbreaking to say the least. The beauty of what he does lies in just how different he really is from his contemporaries. From his early beginnings in England at the age of 15 in the blossoming scene of acid house to the apex of the international DJ’ing world, he has created and maintained a level of integrity that is the benchmark for both DJ’s and producers globally. In fact, he has reached the very top of his profession, being voted #1 in a voter’s poll by DJ magazine in 2001. Digweed has become the people’s choice while maintaining his longstanding presence in underground dance culture. His popularity as both a DJ and a person seems to have no limits, but his efforts transcend DJ’ing alone, he is as much a producer and promoter. His moniker “Bedrock” is actually three things: a record label, a promotions company and a studio production partnership (with Nick Muir).

Check out this outstanding Essential Mix from last May by John Digweed for a taste of what next weekend will bring…

Basic NYC residents Sleepy & Boo will be providing the opening set, to be sure to arrive early to catch them! To get on the guestlist for reduced admission at the door, shoot an email to rsvp@basicnyc.com. Otherwise, a limited number of discounted presale tickets can be purchased HERE.

How do we even begin to describe the magical technoverse that was Electric Zoo’s take over of Randall’s Island this past weekend? How do we communicate the incredible vibe of unity, spirits so high everyone seemed to be floating, and the general sensation that the 50,000 or so people who flocked to the festival grounds were part of one big organism bonded by their common mission to dance and laugh and then dance some more? I suppose we should start at the beginning, when both Saturday and Sunday dawned warm and clear, and thousands of brightly colored revelers donned their face paint, grabbed their dancing shoes, and boarded the bus or ferry to the island, which had been transformed throughout the past week into something akin to Alice’s Wonderland – had she been a raver child. Four massive tents were strategically placed across a field of lush grass, making up the four different stages of the festival: the Main Stage, Redbull Music Academy Riverside Stage, Hilltop Arena, and Sunday School Grove.  In addition to these were the VIP and Media tent, as well as multiple bars, food outlets, and art installations, all set against the magnificent backdrop of the skyline in the distance. Over the span of two days, the festival featured over 60 DJs and producers from all corners of the globe, each of whom brought something unique and extraordinary when they stepped behind the DJ booth. Due to this overabundance of talent, we’ve pulled out our favorites from the bunch, as well as provided you with a glimpse into the minds of a few select artists that The HiFi Cartel was lucky enough to chat with during the course of the festival.

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With Electric Zoo Festival only a few days away, we over at The HiFi Cartel are prepping ourselves in every way possible for what promises to be a truly epic weekend brimming with colorful adventures into the world of electronic music – our favorite kind. While constructing outrageous outfits and buying lot’s of sunscreen are definitely high on our list of to-dos, there is nothing more important than ensuring that the most is made of the incredible array of talent that the good people over at Made Event have blessed us with. With the festival featuring two full days of the best DJs and producers from around the world, navigating your way through this delightful beat driven wonderland can be a bit daunting to say the least, and if you’re anything like us, fear of missing out can quickly become crippling paranoia without a little organization. With that in mind, we’ve put together a brief guide featuring our favorite must-see artists to help you maneuver through the madness. Take a deep breath, here we go…

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You have roughly six hours left to purchase discounted Electric Zoo tickets at $107, and given the most recent additions to the line-up, you’d have to be out of town, out of cash, or out of your mind to miss New York City’s biggest annual music event.

While last year’s line-up was almost all house, this year, Made Event is expanding the festival to include more sectors of electronic music, adding dubstep, electro, experimental, and more. In addition to the previously announced headliners, Flying Lotus, Bassnectar, Boys Noize, A-Trak, Major Lazer, Rusko, Wolfgang Gartner, Diplo, Steve Aoki, Aeroplane and Afrojack are among those that will grace Randall’s Island with their musical touch this Labor Day Weekend. Keep checking the official website (and The HiFi Cartel, of course) for the latest updates on the line-up – and trust us, there is plenty more to come.

CLICK HERE to purchase your early bird passes, and don’t forget, the prices will go up TONIGHT at midnight. Check out photos of Day 1 and Day 2 of the inaugural Electric Zoo by Oliver Correa and Kenroy George, and check in with us later this summer for your chance to win tickets to this massive blow-out.

Last year, Made Event debuted the Electric Zoo, New York’s first electronic music festival, at Randall’s Island. The Electric Zoo will return this Labor Day weekend (September 4-5) with a line-up that includes Paul van Dyk, Benny Benassi, ATB, Above & Beyond, John Digweed and Fedde Le Grand. The Chemical Brothers and Armin van Buuren will headline.

Click here to purchase early bird tickets, which are just $107 for two-day passes. VIP upgrade options will be added soon.