Reviewed: Seismic Dance Event 5.0

Seismic Dance Event 5.0 happened November 11-13th in Austin Texas for its second time at The Concourse Project, which was nominated for DJ Mag’s Best Club in North America. With headline sets from techno stalwart Charlotte De Witte, absolute legend Fatboy Slim, and a mind-blowing experience from I Hate Models throughout the weekend, things got sweaty inside the Volcano.

What started off a bit damp, with rainstorms pushing back gate opening on Friday by two hours, staff were in good spirits even with the mad dash to finalize everything in time for doors. Mulch had been laid down the night before and mud was not a serious issue for the grounds. Rain was not an issue afterwards for the weekend but it did make things outside require extra layers for warmth.

Courtesy of Seismic Dance Event / Clark Terrell

On Saturday inside the Volcano the vibe leaned more house than on other days, with Austin local Robert Roman of ubiyu, bringing absolute vibes to start the day off. Charles D picked things up and things progressed darker through the evening. Capacity got reached early on Friday inside with a line wrapping back for those trying to see The Martinez Brothers and Fatboy Slim. Fatboy Slim really impressed with updated cuts of classics with all the right visual elements that fit perfectly with the Volcano theme. Sunday at the Volcano was again thick with smashing techno sets from Joyhauser, REBŪKE, and a mind blowing performance from I Hate Models.

This years edition of Seismic Dance Event saw an increased overall capacity as evidenced by the line at the Volcano stage and the Frequency stage received a huge upgrade from last year. A new area behind the Tsunami stage was setup and saw an increased dance area with the back of the crowd a bit elevated due to an incline which gave it an amphitheater vibe and helped with ensuring a consistent sound through out. With airplanes from the Austin airport taking off and landing, there was a definite DC-10 vibe in the air as basslines blasted out of the L’Acoustics sound system.

Every day at the Frequency stage saw heavyweight tech house names grace the stage, with Joel Corry dropping solid bangers to close out Friday night. Saturday saw the Frequency stage packed with house heads early for belter sets from Nala, Matt Sassari, CID, NOIZU and finishing out with Shiba San.

Mary Droppinz set the hype level high for the Frequency stage early on Sunday, rinsing in some UK Garage and Breaks amongst some house vibes, not oft heard stateside at a festival focused on house and techno, and she absolutely smashed it. Joshwa brought the heat with some tech house weapons, and LP Giobbi absolutely destroyed the sunset set. The energy did not drop once through out the night ending with Gorgon City delivering a clinical mix session. For as cold as it was outside, once you were moving you barely noticed.

The Tsunami stage was also bigger than ever this year. Focusing on the more melodic and progressive side of dance music, Nora Van Elken and Miss Monique and Cassian delivered absolute vibes on the first day. Kevin De Vries brought some bassweight with him to the Tsunami stage and Maceo Plex’s live set was the “BBQ Techno” that we needed.

Sunday at the Tsunami stage featured more live sets in the afternoon with Kasablanca showcasing a dream Eurorack modular synth system, multiple original Sequential Circuits synthesizers, and other bits of kit that Dave Smith had his hand in designing. Colyn, Camelphat, and Dixon really solidified the night for the progressive heads.

Seismic Dance Event has announced that it will return to the Spring and Fall format for 2023. We here at Data Transmission can’t wait to see the continued evolution of one of the best boutique festivals in North America. We expect the lineup for the Spring won’t be anything short of amazing.