Electric Zoo Transformed Is Not All About What's Now, But What's Next

Article by: Marcus Dowling|@marcuskdowling

Tue September 08, 2015 | 00:00 AM


Six years ago, New York City’s Electric Zoo stood out as a beacon in the sea of darkness that was America’s growing awareness of electronic music. Seven Electric Zoos later, the event has now “transformed” into a bright spot amid the plethora of dance music festival experiences that have exploded in recent years.

Electric Zoo’s Marketing Director and 20-year veteran promoter Michael Julian speaks with an awareness of America's history of dance music emerging from clubs into festivals. He’s quite aware of the issues inherent in Electric Zoo's attempt to remain progressive and competitive while maintaining a high standard of excellence in an evolving and crowded festival environment. In attempting to find the happy middle ground between the two, Julian feels quite confident in the festival's “transformative” era ahead.

Electric Zoo 2015 Courtesy Of 4

Photo by: Electric Zoo

“What we wanted to do this year is we wanted to find a way to give [Electric Zoo] a little refreshment, a little bit of a rebrand,” Julian says. “We weren’t looking to improve, we wanted to change things and come out with something different. A lot of us have been here since the first Electric Zoo, so we know the brand deeply, so [the transformation] was not hard for us to get started.”

Electric Zoo 2015 Courtesy Of 3

Photo by: Electric Zoo

Key to that refreshment was the staging for the festival, which saw Electric Zoo call upon SFX Entertainment partners ID&T to redesign the festival’s main stage and the Riverside stage as well. The Dutch company’s past and ongoing successes include the mystical, impressive and iconic wonders that are Mysteryland, TomorrowWorld, Tomorrowland and Mysteryland USA. Julian described working with ID&T as “amazing,” noting that they took not just their own visions for what Electric Zoo could be, but also feedback from the fans regarding everything from “sound, stage designs, talent, bathrooms and more.” ID&T being able to make the visions of Electric Zoo planners and excited Zoo attendees come to life is what “drove the team for the entire year,” Julian says.

Electric Zoo 2015 Courtesy Of 5

Photo by: Electric Zoo

Despite, on the festival's third days in 2013 and 2014, the festival’s difficulties with drug-related issues and inclement weather, respectively, Julian was “thankful” to see 2015’s third day go off without a hitch. The issues surrounding both that as well as what is now a crowded festival lineup over Labor Day Weekend (Burning Man, Nocturnal Wonderland, Made In America and a plethora of other events also occurred over the weekend) meant that numbers were down, but in regards to retaining a significant core fanbase, Electric Zoo’s “transformation” felt like a massive thank you and promise of something more (and something missed) for those who were not in attendance in 2015.

Electric Zoo 2015 Courtesy Of 2

Photo by: Electric Zoo

Electric Zoo has always had an innate animalistic theme. Fittingly, the main stage featured a massive phoenix with multi-colored, glowing eyes and lights throughout its enormous wingspan. Artists including Alesso, The Chemical Brothers and Above & Beyond played in a covered DJ booth in the center of the staging, with LED walls behind the massive booth for the artists’ visual projections.

While not the Chutes-and-Ladders meets-Rube-Goldberg seen on other main stages at ID&T events, Julian does note that there’s “more to come” and that they decided “not to rush” in seeing the fruits of the creative partnership between ID&T and Electric Zoo.

Electric Zoo 2015 Courtesy Of

Photo by: Electric Zoo

Riverside was a much more fanciful affair, and we’re not just talking about Australian tropical house DJ Thomas Jack’s curation of Sunday’s breezy and party-friendly vibe. The stage’s theme centered around a wild octopus with blue, black and white-striped tentacles swirling above its head into the sky. Its head space doubled as the DJ booth. LED screens were also present directly in front of the booth. While not the tall monstrosity that was the main stage structure, it was certainly emblematic of ID&T and Electric Zoo's more-bang-for-their-buck aesthetic.

Electric Zoo 2015 Courtesy Of 7

Photo by: Electric Zoo

Electric Zoo opted to be progressive in their lineup offerings this year, doing well to highlight not just legendary and mega-pop acts, but also giving significant time to breakout stars in prime time slots on all stages. Aside from respected names like The Chemical Brothers and Above & Beyond on the main stage, emerging dance-to-pop star Alesso closed the festival on its final day. This task was handled in the past by the likes of Skrillex and David Guetta. Established legend Green Velvet and underground-to-mainstream Claude vonStroke tag-teamed on Saturday night in the techno-friendly Sunday School tent.

Electric Zoo 2015 Courtesy Of 6

Photo by: Electric Zoo

As the presence of both dance and festival culture settles firmly into America's mainstream, the difficulty of over delivering against ever heightened fans' expectations grows. Thus, “transforming” festivals becomes even more important, so festies know their favorite events are continuing to evolve with music and cultural trends.

At his core, Michael Julian is both idealistic and honest regarding Electric Zoo's transformation. “The connections people make at this festival aren’t fake," he says. "It’s not just a word I’m throwing around. This [transformation] is all about the fans and adding value to their experience. We wanted to give fans the space and experience to find themselves in the music and relax.” In succeeding in evolving from progressive beacon during festival culture's early days to now aiming to become part of what's to come from America’s dance and festival obsession, Electric Zoo is clearly not all about what's now, but rather what's next.