In the middle of back-to-back Ultra performances for its fifteenth anniversary, we revisit Dirty South‘s set from the festival’s tenth anniversary in 2008. Five years ago Ultra was a two day affair with four stages, a few headliners, and Dirty South slotted amidst his ascension to dance music popularity. In a world without Speed Of Life, Dragan came equipped with work on Swedish records such as his remixes for Axwell’s “Let It Go” and for Buy Now’s “Body Crash.” The drop of his remix for Tracey Thorn’s “Grand Canyon” gives goosebumps time after time — listen below and find yourself in agreeance.
It happened almost 365 days ago, but it feels like only yesterday that Madonna strut to the center of Ultra Music Festival’s main stage to claim that she has been at Ultra in spirit for many years, that a DJ saved her life, and to ask the crowd how many people had seen Molly. These statements became so controversial, many had forgotten what she was actually doing on stage that night — introducing Avicii and premiering their “Girl Gone Wild” collaboration.
Avicii has reached into the depths of his USB for a long-lived, unidentified track to serve Ultra Music Festival with its third official 2013 anthem. Aptly titled and suitably anthemic, “UMF” had been among the ranks of the biggest drops in Avicii’s sets dating back to 2011 — originally sweeping the web labeled as “ID,” sharing the same origin of “Levels.” The production is instantly recognizable as a Tim Bergling production, not only because of its worldwide airplay, but from the masterful chord progression that’s swept his audiences since day one.
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With the first weekend of Ultra Music Festival at a close, we count down some of its best moments. From Major Lazer stripping the crowd of their shirts to Zedd bearing some skin, there was no shortage of entertainment.
This morning we revisit Ultra Music Festival 2011, where everyone’s favorite fun-loving Frenchman, Martin Solveig, played an hour-long set at the UMF Korea stage. In typical Solveig fashion, he gave the crowd a set filled with unique mash ups and remixes, slipping in crowd favorites through and through. The pre-SmashSolveig delivered a captivating performance as he interacted with his audience and electrified Ultra on a Friday afternoon in Miami. Two years later, a post-Smash Martin readies to play the Main Stage this Friday at Ultra. Jump past the break for the full tracklist.
From live streaming to tweet streaming, fans from outside Ultra Music Festival have had endless access to the world within. For dozens of fans in Miami, however, all the YouTube videos and live sets weren’t enough. Gate crashers were the biggest issue surrounding crowd control this weekend as dozens were arrested or injured for climbing fences or trying to break into the festival. Three people were even caught swimming across Bayfront Bay in attempt to gain entrance to Ultra. Miami Fire Rescue received over 50 calls on Saturday alone and brought over 12 people to the hospital…for broken ankles.
Deadmau5 is back at Ultra Music Festival, eyeing the main stage of weekend two after his weekend one reunion. It wasn’t too long ago, however, that he last played Miami’s massive event — it was 2011, and Joel was fresh off the release of 4×4=12. Naturally, he came equipped with his headdress and a set packed with original productions. Deadmau5′s set from Ultra two years ago evokes a nostalgia through songs like “Some Chords,” “Cthulhu Sleeps,” “Raise Your Weapon,” and just about any of the below selections.
Ultra Music Festival is now live from UMF TV! Although we can’t all be in Miami for the festival’s first weekend, we can still relish in some high definition live sets from many of the festival’s top acts, courtesy of Ultra Music’s YouTube stream. (more…)
With the second day of Ultra over and another beautiful day in Miami in the rear view, the festival’s momentum continues to pulse forward. Day 2 was filled with unforgettable sets and unlikely moments; from Hardwell’s continued dominance over main stages to Zedd’s appearance on stage for deadmau5′s closing set, Day 2 was not short on surprises. OWSLA’s UMF Radio Stage showcased the new wave of bass music while Disclosure made their UMF debut at the Live Stage, bringing the future garage scene into the spotlight. Kaskade opened with a brand new track before losing power and Carl Cox and Richie Hawtin closed out the day with a 5-hour set for the history books.
Day 1 of the 15th annual Ultra Music Festival has come and gone, and Dancing Astronaut was on the scene to give you the scoop. We present some of our favorite sets including Fatboy Slim and Boys Noize, the ins and outs of the festival as experienced from the ground, along with tracks from the likes of Fedde Le Grand and Afrojack that made an Ultra debut. We bounced around between the Main Stage, Live Stage, Ultra Worldwide, UMF Radio, and we have the highlights to prove it. If you were able to be at Bayfront Park and even if you were not — let’s relive the best of Friday of Weekend 1 of UMF.
