Blending together a mixture of funk, fun, and bananas, Swedish duo Dada Life always bring the party to fans, no matter where they are. With love for their fat sausage bass and catchy slogans, these two dominate the field of memorable set making. Dada Land captures their essence and entertains their growing 1.1 million people fan-base. Wanting to celebrate with their fans and spread everything that is “Dada”, they went ahead and set sail on Dada Land: The Voyage. With their hearts set on California, their first stop was at the San Manuel Amphitheater, home to a number of festivals, including some of Insomniac’s Wonderland series: Beyond, Nocturnal, and Escape from Wonderland. With such a perfect outdoor venue and camping as an option for attendees, that night definitely left people arriving beautiful and leaving ugly.
From a campers perspective, it seemed that the process took a lot longer than it should’ve. People found themselves waiting a unnecessarily longer length of time than most regular camping events at check-in. Once they were through the gates though, it was a new world of it’s own that was made specially for Dada freaks. Staff at the campsite was helpful and friendly, as they assisted the campers with any form of necessities needed. Campers were met with tons of activities to choose from. One special activity in particular was the Silent Disco, which featured a lineup of local artists from 8PM-2AM. After a night of meeting new people and sharing the excitement of what was to come, the big day finally came as the sun rose up. Dada Land had arrived.
The day’s weather was perfect, nice and sunny with a very steady breeze moving through the hills of the venue. Dada Land also featured tons of different activities to choose from and various food stands covered one side of the event’s area. This made the event enjoyable for attendees who began their event with a set from Andybody, (who had the opportunity to play a second set later in the event). AC Slater and Brillz took on to the stage after, and each gave a solid one hour set. Once Andybody stepped off from his second set, the balloon landing had arrived. While it wasn’t possible for the Dada boys to play their classics set from the ballon due to winds, they still put on a great warm up that featured old music anyone could appreciate. As the classic set came to an end, the sun set over the hills, and prepared the attendees for an incredible line up of following acts.
Young, talented, and cool Frenchman Madeon came up first. His set was incredibly diverse and unique, playing tracks like Porter Robinson’s ‘Lionhearted’ and his famous remix of Deadmau5′ ‘Raise Your Weapon’. Next up was another Frenchmen who proved he was going to be the hardest set of the night: Mercer. He more than did his job as he made the hills a hard stomping fisting pumping dance floor with DJ Snake’s Parisian Remix of ‘Turn Down For What’ and his newest track with Autoerotique ‘Murda Dem’. Morgan Page brought a set that showed his ingenuity in mixing beautiful melodic vocal tracks in to hard thumping electro tracks like his mix of his track ‘Against the World’ with Vinai and TJR’s ‘Bounce Generation’. Fresh off of a number one single, Oliver Heldens played a perfect pre-set to the main set of the night, with his groovy deep house. Of course he played his track ‘Gecko’ along with his remix of Disclosure’s ‘Latch’.
The moment of the night came with special tracks that made it even more memorable. Dada Life spun together a set that featured tracks from all across the dance-music-umbrella. With their newest track ‘One Smile’, the crowd put on smiles that were given at the front door to wear, giving Dada Life a sea of smiles facing directly at them. Another memorable moment from the set was Dada Life’s mashup of ‘Born to Rage’ with Armin Van Buuren’s ‘Ping Pong’, which gave the crowd the groovy yet hard-hitting atmosphere many were looking for.
The night was met with over-the-top results. From the cozy yet wide space, to the amazing sets, Dada Life made sure that their first voyage was going to be one to remember. Whether somebody was going bananas for the night or just looking to relax with a few friends, it’s evident that people took notice to Dada Land’s excellent production, talent choices, and overall experience. People were exceedingly nicer and more friendly than those at many other events held at this venue, and memories were made that really shared the true essence of Dada Life. Dada Land: The Voyage set the stage to make everyone smile, and Dada Life gave it to them all night.
Photo Credits: Insomniac Events