Kaskade’s boutique electronic roadshow — Identity Festival — has been a huge success this summer. Touring the US with forty different artists over the course of twenty different cities has given the electronic music scene the ability to redefine it’s potential. (Check out some of our favorites from Jones Beach like Chuckie, Manufactured Superstars, and Nero if you don’t believe us.) Looking a few years back, no one would have ever thought that a touring EDM festival like this could actually work. Yet, when you have star power like Kaskade and Steve Aoki, it can. Simply put, “It needed to happen,” says Steve Aoki. And what the Identity Festival seems to represent is the new generation of ideas for electronic music in America. The tour stopped on Sept 3rd to hit Mountain View, California for a show at the Shoreline Amphitheater. Naturally, Dancing Astronaut was there to catch some of our favorite artists to give you the scoop on what went down that beautiful day.

Nervo

Nervo is awesome. The twin sister DJing duo from Australia also happens to be songwriters and models. New to the dance festival scene, Nervo seems to be getting a lot of attention from their music productions. We got a chance to catch their set right after Nero’s performance. Similarly to their podcasts, it was very smooth and melodic. Here’s one of their mashups that they played in what was an energetic, upbeat and exciting set:

During their set they also dropped their latest track, “We’re All No One” (NERVO Goes To Paris Remix) featuring Afrojack & Steve Aoki. Take a listen!

Pretty Lights

The sun begun to set as the crowd anticipated Pretty Lights. By this time the venue was packed and people were rushing to enter the main stage. Countdown clock comes up on the screen and the crowd roarred. The clock hit zero and the LEDs sprung to life.

Pretty Lights’ set was amazing. One of the most amazing sets some of us at DA have seen in a long time. His visuals were captivating and entrancing — not to mention the best of the night. Pretty Lights played a lot of styles of music ranging from Dubstep all the way to underground hip hop and disco. We stood there speechless and took a long moment to watch Pretty Lights’ music. It was the perfect blend of electronic and classic sounds in a very intimate setting.

Pretty Lights closed his set by offering all his fans the ability download all his music for free. “We’re changing the game” he says. Find all his tracks on his website on prettylightsmusic.com.

Kaskade

The night ended with a monster set from the man himself, Kaskade. We’ve seen Kaskade perform several times in the past, but this time we were blown away. According to a recent video, Kasakade explains that “this is the first time I have ever toured with a stage and that I have been this close with design and imagery.” Clearly this is Kaskade’s largest production yet.

New elements of his setup include a massive LED platform, tall white projection drapes, and a huge video wall. Together with the help of his crew, Kaskade’s performance was a vivid show of light, sound, and video. This new concept was a direct result of his vision for Identity Festival. “I wanted to build something from the ground up that enhances my music, that really compliments it, that is more of an entire experience” said Kaskade in an interview. Watching his show was something else. It was almost like jumping inside of a music video. His mixes also featured video that was in sync with the music and lights that never missed a beat. This was possibly one of the best shows Kaskade will have ever put on. For that, we were happy to be there to see it.

In all, Identity Festival was a great concept that worked out well. Not only did it give the artist new and exciting experiences, but it also gave the audience the ability to watch a really well put together show. Dancing Astronaut was happy to be part of that and wish for the next coming of the Identity Festival. To catch a glimpse of what happened in Cali that evening be sure to check out this official video recap below, and don’t forget to head to Facebook to see more photos from the show.

Tags: kaskade, Nervo, pretty lights, recap, video

Categories: Music