If you can draw one conclusion from the promotional video for Ultra Music Festival 2016’s updated Resistance stage, it’s that the age of the techno bro is upon us.
For the past couple of years, owing to what tastemakers termed “the deep house movement” – and what turned out to be a much broader trend in favor of more obscure styles – underground house and techno have become increasingly in vogue as electronic music enthusiasts’ music tastes have evolved. I’ve been using the umbrella term “hipster house” for these styles, but I might have to go ahead and retire it for the simple fact that the music of substance is doing what few expected: It’s becoming the status quo.
You know the guy who religiously attended shows with names like “Bassacution” or “Dubsplosion” in 2011? That guy’s a techno bro now. When the fad genres got stale and dazzling lights of the main stage lost their luster, he slowly but surely resigned himself to the time-tested appeal of the repetitive four-four groove.
This isn’t lost on the guys running the show, either. Just take a look at the phase 1 lineup for Ultra 2016 – Names like Dubfire and Carl Cox are neck and neck with those of David Guetta, Afrojack and Avicii.
Really, what more compelling evidence could you ask for than the promo video for the Ultra Music Festival Resistance stage? After clips of footage taken by celebrated videographer Final Kid from various locations of Arcadia Spectacular’s “Afterburner” – which will be the centerpiece of the staggering “Arcadia Spider” concept for the stage – theatrical-quality CG renderings of the monolithic structure shooting spectacular jets of fire into the sky cap the video off in a thunderous climax. For better or worse – the flames of the Arcadia Spider may well be the funeral pyre at which the obscurity of the underground burns.
Be that as it may, I would be lying if I said I’m not excited to experience the Ultra Music Festival 2016 Resistance Stage in person. Perhaps the electronic community is actually mature enough not to trample its sacred roots simply because they’ve been unearthed to follow the EDM movement into the mainstream spotlight. Either way, things are about to change.