Day two has come to a close and that means Electric Daisy Carnival New York 2015 has ended. There were good times to be had with outstanding production, quality music across four stages and good people. We recapped for you yesterday the 10 best things from day 1, so here are the 10 best things that went down during day 2 (and some the whole festival) at EDC New York.
01. Dance Circles: People go to electronic music events to listen to music, have fun and dance. That dancing can be done quietly with small body movements or in more coordinated and taxing gyrations. As is the case in some other genres, those who are skilled at dancing, or just let it all loose on the dance floor, are able to draw a crowd and get others involved. In a moment of brief hubris, your author launched himself into one of these circles, probably to the detriment of those who though they might pick up a thing or two, but he is no worse for the experience and may try it again sometime in the future.
2. The Magician: One of the classiest DJs in the business, The Magician took over the stage as the middle man in a succession of three DJs on the CircuitGrounds stage. Known for his "Magic Tapes"—hour long mixes posted on Soundcloud every two weeks—The Magician brings the same flare and curated track selection to his live show with plenty of unreleased music and popular deep house tracks that had the crowd electrified.
3. Tchami: The reclusive Frenchman followed up The Magician with a warm smile and a hug for his predecessor, leaving behind some of the warm piano melodies for some more earthy, future house rhythms that he has helped pioneer. Sporting his signature priest outfit, Tchami kicked off with his religiously-themed "After Life" before launching into a myriad of his own remixes and originals, with a smattering of hip-hop tracks in there. He played a couple unreleased gems including a remix of Major Lazer, DJ Snake & MØ's "Lean On."
4. Eric Prydz: Eric Prydz had the unfortunate task of being paired with Kaskade, who was performing to the largest crowd of the festival thus far on the CircuitGrounds stage. This left the crowd at the primary main stage with more space and for Prydz to get right to work. There was a short hiccup technically at the start, but he got things going, premiering a brand new song at the festival, while only including one previously released track in its original form. He was in rare festival form, switching back and forth between monikers and putting together a asset with IDs spanning multiple years. The one previously released track was his new single "Generate" and people went mad for that.
5. Kinetic Field Stage Production: The primary main stage at EDC was the Kinetic Field and with DJs like Tiësto, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Eric Pyrdz and Knife Party all performing there, the festival had to have some quality production with it. Insomniac transported the stage that was originally built for EDC Las Vegas last year to Metlife Stadium for this event so the cathedral could be used one more time. It was a welcome relief from the massive walls of LED panels found on other stages and best incorporates all the elements of lighting, pyrotechnics, water fountains and lasers throughout the show.
6. Costumes: Electronic music events always have an interesting array of different attire sported by attendees. Whether you have someone in furry boots and tutus or a plastic horse head, there will always be someone looking to make a splash with their outfit. Insomniac events bring out the creative side in people and some of the costumes this year were outstanding including an individual wearing a reflective body suit made of small, inch-wide mirrors, Gumby and a man who was a walking pun in jean overalls with beets attached to his leg as a "beat farmer."
7. Gina Turner: The music business is notorious for being a boys club. EDM is not different. Looking across festival lineups and you will be hard pressed to see many ladies on the bill. They were far and far between at EDC New York, but luckily Gina Turner was on hand to deliver an hour and a half set that appealed to everyone regardless of genre. Her mix of tribal beats and house was a great way to get the day started and on the CircuitGrounds stage, the second main stage, nonetheless.
8. Dixon: The German Innversions boss has become one of the hottest "underground" DJs in the world over the past few years. Similar to the DJ Mag top 100 poll, he has been voted number one in the Resident Advisor top 100 poll the past two years and continues to show why. He was not only buoyed by his label mates Recondite and Åme before him, but Dixon also backed up his booking as the final DJ in the Neon Garden for the weekend with a colorful mix of hypnotic and driving beats with soft, progressive melodies swirling underneath.
9. Neon Garden: The whole stage deserves credit not just for the bookings—tabbing Carl Cox for his Carl Cox & Friends Stage on Day 1 and then a more eclectic lineup centered around Dixon and the Innervisions crew on Sunday. The stage was the smallest inside of a tent, but it was by no means a barren place without any production value. Insomniac equipped the tent with eight overhead light rigs, a front display with puzzle pieces LED panels, more lights and plenty of lasers.
The stage drew a strong, loyal audience that stayed from opening to closing and had quality from top to bottom.
10. Tiësto: The Dutch legend may get hate for his change in style five years ago, but the man has not lost his touch behind the decks. There are few who know what song to play when and have it always be right. Setting up on the main stage at 8:00 p.m. before jetting off the Las Vegas for a late night gig at Hakkasan in Las Vegas. His set was almost entirely his own music from the recently released Club Life Vol. 4, aptly named after New York City, or tracks coming from his label Music Freedom, which gives Tiësto the freedom to express himself as an artist and a label boss effectively. The music built from more melodic anthemic songs to harder, festival-driven tracks.
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