Over the course of these past few summer months that are slowly but surely drawing to a close, I have been fascinated by, no, obsessed with what I see as the mass commercialization of electronic music, particularly in the United States. The industry is growing and changing more rapidly than I could ever have imaged possible if you’d consulted me a few years ago, and I have been deeply drawn into the analysis of the direction that electronic music is taking and the implications for the future of the movement. I, of course, have my opinions and biases concerning “pop” electronic music, but what I have been truly interested in is more concerned with the effect that this popularization has on the creative process of the artists, and on the experience of it live.

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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!

Its been over a week and we still haven’t recovered from the Electric Zoo music festival. For the first electronic music festival in New York City, we would say it was a success. With a great selection of music from DJs in house and dance, The Electric Zoo proved to be more than a festival. It was an event that gathered a dance and music culture from the tri-state area, and bringing along its taste-makers from parts of the world - including New York’s own Danny Tenaglia and Roger Sanchez. With four stages, there wasn’t a moment where a stage was empty, yet the crowds were manageable and one could move about with ease. With some sun, it seemed like an oasis on a playing field for dance and music lovers – made more apparent as the night fell and draped the sun underneath the city skyline to massive lighting effects on the stages.

Packed with an audience that knew their music, the DJs met them in return with their A-game – hooking the crowd along with every notch of beat thrown their way. Roger Sanchez, the Queens native, sent the audience into a frenzy with his rendition of Fat Boy Slim’s “Right Here Right Now.”  With a remarkable set list, English DJ, Ben Watt created some excitement with his take on MGMT’s “Kids” and Kaskade’s “Move for me”. Always a crowd favorite, Steve Aoki delivered by keeping the crowd on their toes and jumping throughout his set. Like the Rockstar-DJ he is, Steve commanded from the stage and fueled the audience with a barrage of beats combined with his touch of sound effects – all while making use of the great sound system in place by playing with the channels. With a vocal break in his hard set to The Bloody Beetroot’s “Warp”, Steve hopped on his table, and with extremity, screamed in tune with the track.

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If you’re looking for one last hurrah this summer, look no further than the Electric Zoo, New York’s biggest electronic music festival happening this labor day weekend. The massive line-up of over 50 artists includes Armin Van Buuren, Steve Aoki, Danny Tenaglia, Ben Watt and Deadmau5 on Saturday; David Guetta, Richie Hawtin, ATB, Steve Bug and Markus Schulz are playing on Sunday.

The festival, which will take place at NYC’s own Randall’s Island Park, is easily accessible by public transportation. Tickets are still available, $70 for single day passes and $130 for both days. For more information or to view the set times, visit the Electric Zoo’s official website.