On November 10th-12th on the outskirts of Austin, Seismic Dance Event 6.0 will return as one of the best boutique festivals In all of house and techno. With every iteration of this festival, Real Music Events makes a statement with their lineup — and I believe this year made the loudest of any thus far by causing the earth to quake in anticipation.
Any festival starts and ends with the headliners, and in the case of Seismic 6.0, they have assembled three that always deliver no matter the stage or the environment. Friday is the one and only Chris Lake. He is unique because he always brings an outstanding sound with original tracks that nobody can duplicate. Chris has played practically every festival I can think of, yet that commitment and hunger to consume the dance floor with his beats are still as strong as ever.
The same can be said of the headliner for Saturday, known to everybody and anybody by multiple names, but always by his one first: deadmau5. Many would ponder if deadmau5 falls within house or techno, which is why he is perfect for such an event. Put him in any environment and watch him adapt. deadmau5′ eclecticism is perhaps his strongest trait as a musician, and I know he will prove that again in Austin.
And finally, the closer of Sunday, as well as the entire festival, is the timeless legend known to many generations of ravers as Kaskade. What makes him so perfect for this moment is his ability to create exactly that: a moment. He gives us a beautiful, sometimes emotional, but always real moment. This time he will deliver his much beloved Redux concept, where he includes his originals with remixes that all resemble that timeless, old-school, funky and smooth house sound that made him gain traction when he first started as an artist with San Francisco label OM Records. Adding what he learned from his hometown of Chicago, the birthplace of house music, Kaskade Redux always leaves you dancing with a happy heart and tears in your eyes. Watching him play the day after his Kx5 collaborator will leave us always saying this one thing about such a weekend: “I remember.”
Don’t let the headliners distract you. This lineup is deep with solid techno and house masters like 9×9, Anfisa Letyago, VNSSA, special guest MK, and of course, the German rapper-turned hybrid bounce, funk, soul, and tech alien known only as Loco Dice. Also included are two somewhat mysterious names in Space 92 and T78. Both are making rare appearances in Austin this year, giving it that freshness needed in the festival circuit.
The lineup is just the start, though, as a bonus with this event is that it will be in the open space known as the Concourse Project. Right in the middle of the grounds is a massive warehouse that is a dream of any house and techno raver. No neighbors for miles, a first-class light and sound system, and all the DJs grooving with you.
Tickets are amazingly low at $212 after fees for a three-day pass. The area is near the airport and surrounded by hotels, places to eat that Texas BBQ, and chances to explore. Seismic wants to give you a next-generation experience that includes the entire festival and after party, and all you have to do is enjoy it. If you want to take a chance at a new festival in a new city with new people — but you still live every day for house and techno — then ride the wave of the shaking ground made by Seismic Dance Event 6.0. You won’t want to let go.
