A brief comparison between Ultra Music Festival´s Weekend 1 and Weekend 2

1. @Eikenhead

2. INDEX
1. Weekend 1 & 2 in numbers
2. Ibiza & Asot Stage Comparison
3. Bass Station & Jacked Stage Comparison
4. Ultra Europe, OWSLA, Dropzone & Trapped Stage Comparison
5. Mainstage Comparison
6. Weekend 1 Must See Artists

4. WEEKEND 1
Number of acts per day:
March 15, Friday = 47
March 16, Saturday = 61
March 17, Sunday = 71
Total = 179

5. WEEKEND 2
Number of acts per day:
March 22, Friday = 47
March 23, Saturday = 76
March 24, Sunday = 72
Total = 195
Quality, not quantity. At this level, an increase in total number of acts have no
significance whatsoever in the quality of the weekend. W2 has 16 acts more acts
but your availability to visit stages doesnt grow with more acts overall.

6. ULTRA IBIZA & IBIZA SPACE STAGE ASOT STAGE
• This stage is basically the Main Stage • European heroes of modern trance
of Ultra on Friday, Weekend 2. gather under Armin’s huge infrastructure.
This means we get to see Tiesto and Eric Yes, they are great. But weve seen them
Prydz in a closed stage, thats exciting and countless times at Ultra.
different. Plus, we ignore the typical
Main stage performance that repeats
year after year at Miami.

7. BASS STATION STAGE JACKED STAGE
•The “pit” of Ultra • Less identity than the bass music and
(Dante’s last circle in hell, a must see) D&B Scene
• Bass music & Drum and Bass • Dutch House/Electro House
• The different tent. Its important to have a • Compilation of recurrent Ultra acts
niche in this massive events
• Tantrum Desire is THE SHIT. • That crowd has watched Afrojack and
Sidney Samson way too much.
D&B legends anyone? Sidney Samson is alright.

8. ULTRA EUROPE STAGE DROPZONE STAGE
& &
OWSLA STAGE TRAPPED STAGE
I like Dropzone and Trapped better than Ultra Europe. (OWSLA, label of Skrillex is as good as them)
But, heres the tricky part…
• 4 artists of Dropzone are already on Main • 2 of the best stages cancell each other out
Stage on Weekend 1.
• OWSLA is a label Stage. Dropzone and • Concentrates raw and heavy sound
Trapped are “Ultra-created”. in one day
That means we have dubstep
at accessible times (and on main stage ) There are still good heavy acts outside this though)

9. MAIN STAGE COMPARISON

10. WEEKEND 2

11. Tiesto is the reason why im writing about EM today (I call it Electronic Music, not
everything electronic is dance music, as the term EDM erroneously stands). But
he has been a Main Stage act every single year at Ultra, so its ok for first timers
to visit, hes the legend. But not a stop in my journey.

12. You knew Avicii was going to be a Main Stage act before the early bird tickets
came out. 0 surprise. He repeats a good part of his Tomorrowland set on EVERY
single performance. Dude, it just takes some days to mashup something different
than Dennis Koyu and The Who. Hes been flying in the Levels cloud way too long.
Better bring him as Tim Berg and change the style a bit.

13. “Hello, yes, this is David Guetta. What? No, i dont mix and perform live very often. Yes i
have 22 Billboard top 40s, yes im a millionaire. Yeah i had a lot of talent back then
hosting Paris nightclubs but i sold out and now i produce for big names that use me”.
Well, he made it big for a lot of producers, so thank you and fuck off frenchie.

14. I do like Calvin Harris. His set at T In the Park in 2011 is beautiful and he sings, so… yes
there is merit in the process. Still, i think hes more concerned about getting big in the pop
charts than anything else.

15. My favorite song ever is not some dark underground tune, its “Calling” from Alesso and
Ingrosso. Hes very crafty and accentuates the bass with style and power. But in my
opinion his sets sound the same as many artists that play mainstream prog house
nowadays.

16. This girls are just OK. They make better make up commercials than they spin turntables. I
saw the short-haired chick asking what to do with the decks at Tomorrowland 2012. For
me, a product of beauty and a reason to attract the media and crowd using looks intead
of tunes. They have some good productions but they are always collaborations. There you
have it.

17. Laidback Luke and Benassi are great producers but i think the new wave of EM is
scalating quickly and displaying talent and heavy lines which are better than theirs.
Eric Prydz is a genious. Gervais is the soul of the Miami Space terrace and Dirty South
productions are animalistic. Lets be fair.

18. WEEKEND 1

19. Knife fucking Party. Death Electro and music to have a seizure to. Whats remarkable in
great acts such as this one is the musical background, Swire and McGrillen have it with
Pendulum. They played Main Stage at Glastonbury and produced one of the most savage
records of 2012. Highly elaborated noise and ear-piercing music.

20. Porter Robinson. Prodigy of the New Electro. From his basement to Main Stage. Hes
exactly what our scene needs, 100% original and astonishingly powerful beats. Flexibility
and innovation. Raw bangers, versatile productions and meaningful remixes. The kid has
got it all.

21. Hardwell has this hard hitting style with deep feeling that reminds me of Tiesto. His
mashups have a mixure of high style and bombastic productions. Hes one of the faces of
new electro and progressive house, and his sets are capable of destroying any Main
Stage at festivals.

22. Joshua Steele aka Flux Pavilion. The fury of UK Dubstep and one of the best acts of
modern electronic music around. Owner of Circus Label and even a singer. Theres a
sweet energy and joyful feeling in his music. The mix of high pitch and heavy bassdrops
makes him one of the best djs at Main Stage this year.

23. Hugo Pierre Leclercq. The kid with the golden touch. His number 1 attribute is the style.
Smooth, elegant and cheerful productions with versatile basslines. Hes minimixes and
rapid changing tunes makes him a must see. A variety of influences and a touch of french
electronic style is visible in his music, after all, thats were Daft Punk came from.

24. I think Kaskade and A-track are the best american producers. Ive been listening to
Kaskade since his mellow-house driven productions. I saw him at Coachella and he
literally destroyed the crowd with massive progressive energy. Also he was the big act at
EDC LV last year and sold out Staples Center at LA. One of the scene heroes.

25. Wolfgang Gartner, the genious. His hard pounding tracks are a mixture of brain melting
electro and high pitch house. One of the few who stay true to the scene and a voice for us
who truly love electronic music and not the hype of it.

26. WEEKEND 1
MUST SEE ARTISTS

27. Friday/Weekend 1
ARAABMUZIK
The crafty master of drum machines. One of the fastest live djs in the world.
Delievers hard hitting bass music made out of a complex amount of samples.

28. Friday/Weekend 1
JAMIE JONES
From London’s underground scene to Ibiza’s fabulous events. Groovy house and
techno star Jamie Jones goes big in Carl Cox & Friends Arena this year.

29. Friday/Weekend 1
BOYS NOIZE
The black angel of techno music, laber owner and majestic producer. Massive
audiovisuals, being ½ of DOG BLOOD, original sets and a powerful noise
machine makes him one of the best acts around.

30. Friday/Weekend 1
CRYSTAL CASTLES
Live, raw and in-your-face experimental electronic music. Alice connects with the
audience while striking variations of noise stick into your ears like bullets.

31. Friday/Weekend 1
NICOLAS JAAR
“Space is Only Noise” is an artwork. His minimalistic view of electronic music is
genious. And his focus on details makes his music as enjoyable as a ride in a
calm river.

32. Saturday/Weekend 1
PRETTY LIGHTS
Derek Vincent Smith, one of the main attractions on Saturday. Unique sound,
overwhelming stage visuals and soulful tracks are Pretty Lights specialty. He
produced hip hop in his early days, something that has influenced his style and
sound in a big way. Funky drops, swaggy tunes and a bright future for this star.

33. Saturday/Weekend 1
ALVIN RISK
Mauricio Alvarado, the best of the OWSLA label and stage. Moombahcore
producer and one of the few hardcore acts that develops a style of his own. Raw
power and fresh beats make him relevant in this scene.

34. Sunday/Weekend 1
MAJOR LAZER
Diplo’s sound through a different perspective. The caribbean-core movement
joins the Amphitheater of Ultra this year to wave the flag of Major Lazer and to
give us a peek at their new album Free The Universe. A concept that was born
with Switch and Diplo, now in the hands of one the best producers around.

35. Sunday/Weekend 1
RUSKO
Chris Mercer, the sound of underground Leeds arrives to Ultra Worldwide Stage.
Dark UK-Dubstep and savage Drum & Bass, hooligan attitude on stage and
massive bass driven productions are part of this must see act.

36. Sunday/Weekend 1
DILLON FRANCIS
Moombahcore Star. Owner of a unique happy-low tempo-hardcore style that gets
him the spotlight under the Trapped Stage, a collective of the best Moombah and
Trap acts in USA. He’s one of the reasons i bought an early bird ticket to Ultra this
year.

37. Happy Ultra.
@Eikenhead