This weekend (Saturday August 22) marks one of the summer's biggest events: Elements Festival, presented by Bangon!NYC. The spectacle will feature five massive stages centered around our world's elements; set to take place on Red Hook's Brooklyn waterfront, the larger than life culmination of talent is expected to blow minds and challenge the senses.
Join us on our series of stage previews as we explore each of the wondrous elements to be experienced over the weekend.
The Water Stage
Presented by Babel NYC
I had the insane pleasure of seeing Audiofly perform alongside Guti at Brooklyn's Verboten just a few months ago. The Spanish duo, Luca Saporito and Anthony Middelton, had the entire club vibrating until 6:00am. As part of the Flying Circus project, Audiofly performs alongside fellow heavyweight talent like Art Department, Clockwork, Damian Lazarus, and Nicholas Jaar. In a previous post, I described their sound as "the physical epitomization of a digital deep sea ocean exploration, mixed with a Maraca shaking Cinco De Mayo party". I firmly stand by this claim - their high energy funk and cultural beats are forceful yet playful, and always sanction a crazy good time. I simply can't wait to see them in a festival setting.
The Venezuela native, part of Leverage Records, considers himself a story teller over a producer. His melodic ways add a special texture to growing house scene. Playing with tribal flavors and a symphony-like style, Castillo has created a unique, meditative sound project. Noteworthy achievements include releases on the legendary Crosstown Rebels and the founding of Los Angeles' infamous VOODOO and HABITAS events. Check out his latest release, Chance Encounter.
John Dill, part of the Robot Hearts movement, creates and plays music for the lover in us all. NYCs very own Burning Man artist collective brings some of the best, and warmest talent in the scene; John Dill is no exception. Playing the purest feel good melodies, his ethereal style will have the entire crowd swaying, emulating blissfully positive vibes and massive festival smiles. His set with Swamy from Burning Man 2014 is a clear example of his high spirited seasoning. Prepare to join hands and shed tears of happiness.
Los Angeles based producer Hoj plans to bring the powerful house vibes to Elements. You may be familiar with him from All Day I Dream and Cityfox - with events like those under his belt you can assume his talent and sound are impressive and meticulous. Hoj considers himself the personification of mischief - in fact he had chosen his stage name for the pure reason that no one knows how to pronounce it - giving him endless waves of amusement. Use this as an indicator of his style - unpredictable and sharp, and full of tricks. Hoj's performance will be one of the most unique at next weekend's event.
Brooklyn's own Lauren Ritter (who recently performed at All Day I Dream as well) is a female fatale whose name you'll surely get to know. As a resident DJ for Resolute NYC, she knows a thing or two about that unique underground sound. Her flavor is funky and deep, with grooves and oscillations combining for a soothing and sexy essence. She mixes with an exploration-driven style, and challenges the audience to progress simultaneously with her as the performance takes flight. This is one up and coming artist to keep an eye out for. (Check out her All Day I Dream set HERE).
Promotional Links: