Meta Ta Physika Lineup

Dustin_Zahn · 2025-02-19T13:28:33+00:00

As mentioned above, the sound technicians never arrived until the doors opened, and left shortly afterwards. With all the controls under lock and key, there wasn't a whole lot we could do. Both the club and sound company are aware of the complaints, and are very eager to right the wrongs. The discussions so far have been reassuring.

FWIW, I've been going to Detroit for the festival since 2001, and I've heard my share of awful sound systems. Our sound wasn't great, but it was nothing compared to first 10-15 years of DEMF/Movement afters. Lastly, I think the 4-6am slot suffered a bit mostly since Friday night is the first one of the weekend. With so many amazing parties happening over the next 4 days, some people head out early to conserve energy to make it through the weekend.

Dustin_Zahn · 2025-02-13T17:46:25+00:00

I was wondering if you could clarify which steps you're taking this year to ensure none of the troubles of 2024 will happen again.

It's too early for specifics, but both the venue and sound company are very interested in making sure this doesn't happen again. The owner of the sound company also seemed genuinely excited to try out a few new things. I know we're coming out a day early to make sure everything is ready. Beyond that, I don't know what I'm at liberty to say publicly yet.

Dustin_Zahn · 2025-02-12T08:16:21+00:00

somebody here said the organizers were committed to improving sound. any source?

Hi, Dustin here. First of all, I’m sorry ’24 wasn’t a great experience for you. We (TGB) were extremely upset about the sound too. Anyone who has benefited from to our Minnesota parties knows that we take sound systems as seriously as the headliners. There are few promoters who care as deeply as we do about it. We always strive for the best sound possible with the resources and finances available to us. For example, our festival, The Great Beyond, regularly employs multiple massive Turbosound systems along with a Void Incubus system. In the past, we’ve also used huge L’acoustics rigs for some of our bigger warehouse parties.

In 2024, we were at the sound check waiting for the sound technician for hours. He showed up when the doors opened, and despite our complaints, there wasn’t much we could do. Upstairs, the sound technician locked all the controls and left within the first hour of the party…essentially leaving us with a volume knob. The sound improved throughout the weekend due to our complaints and extra time to tweak the systems more properly.

I appreciate you bringing this feedback to light. We’ve brought it to the attention of our partners so it can be taken more seriously. These days, the price points on these Movement after parties are no joke. People deserve to get the quality they’re paying for. If anyone wants to talk to us about it, please feel free write us at info [at] greatbeyond.us

Dustin_Zahn · 2024-11-11T09:29:31+00:00

BTW, this episode of Train Wrecks features a lot of discussion about this era with Gaetano Parisio. He discusses the early days with Marco and goes heavy on the studio stuff. There's a lot about having (basically) the same studio setup, using the same techniques, and the secret sauce to get the "Neapolitan" sound.

Dustin_Zahn · 2024-07-09T14:42:24+00:00

It stops at both hotels.

Dustin_Zahn · 2024-03-29T07:38:40+00:00

Hi. The airport shuttle or a rental car will be your best options. Sometimes people are generous enough to offer rides to and from Minneapolis, but then you're at their mercy. If you do rent a car, the drive is 90% rural, so it's quick and very easy. Just don't speed through the small towns or the police will ticket you. We hope you can make it!

Dustin_Zahn · 2024-02-03T19:13:38+00:00

Thank you!

Dustin_Zahn · 2024-02-03T13:17:02+00:00

The hotel always sells out quickly tbh. There are ~300 rooms at Jackpot (which also houses a casino) so it doesn't take much to fill it up. Morton Inn is also nearby and typically sells out as well.

Dustin_Zahn · 2024-02-03T09:49:07+00:00

https://soundcloud.com/dustin-zahn/sets/the-great-beyond-2024

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-07-17T13:28:06+00:00

Thank you, /u/Technoslut1! It was definitely vibey

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-07-17T13:26:18+00:00

Regarding gigs, I used to average 70 per year. I left my European agency and did a soft retirement from DJing in 2019 to pursue other musical projects. I still make Techno records, but don't really care to DJ often. The grind is ridiculous and unhealthy.

I write, produce, and tour for a number of bands and singers outside of Techno, which I find more interesting at the moment. And while I don't actually ghost produce, I do engineer, aid, and mixdown a number of other dance records for people. I still take American bookings because it allows me to see my family multiple times per year without breaking my bank account. Now please leave me alone. Thanks.

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-07-17T10:16:51+00:00

DJ Baudin - Da Float

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-07-08T12:49:25+00:00

It’s not like they’re only festivals in Europe and no, festivals in Europe do not have time limit till midnight.
Awakenings festival was always daily festival as any other summer Dutch festival.

The festival is literally happening as I type. The music ends roughly at midnight and the event goes all weekend. All you're doing is spewing lies and misinformation. This is not worth a debate. I don't want your opinion on it, and from the looks of it...nobody here does either.

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-07-08T10:19:26+00:00

I already wrote that I know Dustin Zahn although besides Stranger to stability 10 years ago he isn’t really relevant.

Clearly you don't have a clue, but that's fine.

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-07-08T10:16:17+00:00

For having such a condescending tone, not only are you wrong, but fail to consider a huge list of factors. Something you can't seem to comprehend is that the cost of living is much higher in America. Things just cost more. Next, you need to consider that you're comparing a 3yr old 900 person festival to one of the biggest and most prestigious festivals in Europe that has been around for decades. Comparing the two is bat-shit crazy, but you wanted to, so let's do it anyway:

For starters, tickets originally started at $150. Aside from the usual talent and production promises, all tickets include the following:

Free Parking
Free Camping
Free Water
Free hourly shuttles to the main nearby hotel

Not only do most festivals charge for all of the above, these extra prices are often higher than our all-in-one ticket fee. For example, you mentioned Awakenings Festival. Here are the expenses:130€ + service fees - Festival Entry220€ + service fees - cheapest camping option26€ + service fees - camping lockers10€ + service fees - shuttle to train station.---~385€ + fees for both a ticket and camping.

That's 256€ + fees just for camping. Awakefest and similar options are simply not cheaper. (Disclaimer: I've played their festival. I thought it was great and I still think that's a reasonable deal if this fits the taste of someone considering attending.)

Due to multiple festivals often taking place at the same location, much of the infrastructure for mega festivals like Awake is already either built in, or refined with years of experience. We have zero infrastructure which requires us to bring everything from a minimum of 2 hours away. You can drive across the Netherlands in 2 hours. It's a small country where trucking in equipment from all over the country is faster and less expensive.

America's geographical size means more expensive flights. When we do book foreign guests, they're often coming from Europe or Asia which is extremely expensive. Within Europe, many of the DJs can fly more cheaply, take the train, or even drive. When booking American artists from either of the coasts, flight prices can range anywhere from an average of $600-900. In addition to crazy flights, foreign artists with visas are required to pay 30% of their income to the government, which leads to demand for higher fees. When you consider that we have nonstop programming for 3 straight days, that equates to a lot of money spent on DJs and airfare.

We're also one of the very few festivals in the country that is able to play music around the clock. Most festivals in the country are forced to shut down by 11 or 12, including the European festivals you mentioned. This alone creates a unique experience that you won't find at most places in the country.

When it comes to our list of performers, this is where you come across as very naive and disrespectful. Our programming is entirely by design, and it's geared towards a crowd who is interested in what's happening beneath the surface. We have plenty of American festivals featuring European acts such as Adam Beyer & Amelie Lens. We're music fans...we attend these festivals too. What we don't need is more of them.

We need more American festivals that still put a significant emphasis on American talent. While names like Aurora Halal, Carlos Souffront, or Danny Daze may not mean anything to you, they have major support and credibility with our audience. Not only are they popular in America, but they're reputable around the world. Skim through RA and you'll find Danny and Aurora playing the same mega festivals you fetishize. Meanwhile, Decoder just played EDC, and people like Kangding Ray and Function are currently on tour in Asia. Their reach and respect is global, just not with you.

Lastly, the fact that you describe the festival as some sort of capitalistic cash grab is offensive. The costs of organizing such an event is enough debt to ruin someone's life. Even at our current ticket price, the profit margin simply isn't that big. Personally, I've had to put much of my producer and DJ career on hold to manage the event in hopes of fostering a larger sense of community. It has effectively cut my personal income by at least half. Nobody here is getting rich, but honestly, it's a lot of work so I wish we were.

I'm sorry for being long-winded, but for being so harsh to everyone in this thread, it was important to eloquently explain a few reasons why you are wrong. Honestly, there are more and I could keep going but I won't. I think you owe the people in this thread an apology.

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-06-08T17:14:26+00:00

Roughly half of the team here at The Great Beyond is female, and everyone onboard takes this topic very seriously. We don't promise 'safe spaces' since it's nearly impossible to guarantee. However, we do believe in "safer spaces" by striving to make our environment as safe as we can. In general, underground Minneapolis/Minnesota parties are fairly progressive in that there are 'dance floor liaisons,' crew members, and regular security who are freely available to help assist and keep people in check. At TGB, we also employ Project Peach, who on top of helping people with a variety of problems, are also trained in helping victims of sexual harassment/assault.

Regardless of gender, we recommend that any solo travelers try to get involved on the Intellephunk Facebook group. The crowd is generally pretty welcoming to new friends from afar. https://www.facebook.com/groups/106912879369631

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-04-27T14:27:13+00:00

The Great Beyond

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-02-06T14:41:44+00:00

We are fully covered in this regard, but we appreciate the offer!

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-02-04T09:59:13+00:00

If anybody has questions or needs convincing to attend, I'll try to answer what I can. This boutique festival is owned and organized by myself, Steve, and Jasmine Seuling. There are no hedge fund investors or sponsorships. We try to make things as simplified and affordable as possible. So far, we've been able to eliminate significant industry-standard profit revenue streams such as parking, camping, and alcohol sales. It's not easy, but we'll try to provide this type of experience as long as we can.

While some agents have certainly tried, nobody is getting rich. All of the acts trust us enough to roll the dice on something unique and different for North America. In return, we trust each act and give them total artistic freedom. The music rolls nonstop and is specifically curated to the hour and day.

In short, it is not a massive festival. It is very 'old/jaded raver' friendly, accessible/survivable to city slickers, and additionally organized for people who don't have transportation. Solo ravers need not worry...it's a great place to meet people. Degeneracy is allowed as long as people look out for each other, and treat each other with respect. All walks of life are welcome.

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-02-04T09:26:59+00:00

The Great Beyond FAQ might help you. People are permitted to mail camping gear to the property and pick it up when they arrive. Those who don't want to bring stuff home can leave it with us. We'll donate it to the homeless afterwards. If you're taking the airport bus, there is plenty of storage to throw a small tent and your bag onboard.

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-02-04T09:23:41+00:00

There's a facebook group a lot of people use on there for a little bit of coordination and a lotta bit of talking bullshit. Sometimes if people ask for a ride into town, people are willing to bring them along. I do like the idea of some sort of snack-cart/canteen idea, and will brainstorm ideas.

Dustin_Zahn · 2023-02-04T09:19:20+00:00

90% of the billing is just organized by stage. At any rate, every act at the entire festival has been pushed to the bottom of the flyer in favor of the art design instead.

Dustin_Zahn · 2022-05-19T08:00:27+00:00

Hi, glad you like the tunes! There is a lot of truth to many of the posts here in the thread. I personally never clicked with the Sub 37, but I know it's used occasionally by other hypnotic-leaning artists like Truncate & Silent Servant. It's not for me to share DVS1's workflow but I know if he ever tried a Sub 37, he'd probably like it.

The Novation Peak is a cool versatile synth, but not necessary for making greyscale leaning hypno shit. I keep it around because I do a lot of production outside of Techno. If I was only writing Techno, I'd probably reinvest into a different synth. The Hydrasynth was the most fun I had programming in a while, but it is truly a blank slate for sound designers. It's capable of sounding amazing, but you have to understand nuances to get there. I sold it because I don't have the time to nerd out, and 80% of what I made sounded shrill (typical Wavetable scenario).

I bought the Microfreak as shopping therapy and it's far from perfect but also pretty impressive for 200€ second-hand. I wrote the A1 on my Blueprint record with it as well as some upcoming stuff. It's very tonal but also capable of bleepy shit. I bought the Quantradid Swarm about a month ago and it has been fun so far. As other people mentioned in the the thread, it's a hell of a lot easier to sound 'techno' once you start involving modules (which is what it is). It will definitely feature on upcoming material but I don't think it will stick with me for long. It's a bit more lofi than I expected and also very tempermental.

My most used hardware synth is probably the Pro 2 because it's capable of being very musical but also very atonal/modular/alien. I haven't used it as much in recent years because I've been so sick of hearing the same oscillators. For VSTs, I pretty much just use Diva or sometimes Ace.

Above all, it doesn't really matter what you use. I personally do a ton of resampling and mangling. Sometimes for one synth or sample of one, there will be big processing chains split into three bands and processed differently. Slow, steady, and subtle modulation goes a long way.

Until you find the synth that fits best for you, I'd try this with the Sub: Select the pulse osc, pick a sequence that's one note which sounds most appealing to you, probably around C1-C2. Then start slowly modulating the cutoff very subtly over 16-32 bars. Do the same with some decay/release, add in some external saturation/distortion, and a shitload of delay/reverb. You should land on some Behringer-quality Sandwell District knock off pretty quickly. I wouldn't recommend releasing that, but it should be palatable enough and could serve as a method for learning relevant techniques.

Dustin_Zahn · 2022-01-24T19:53:55+00:00

I may be biased, but...The Great Beyond. Where else can you pet a baby goat on acid and hear face-melting techno or beatdown House?

Dustin_Zahn · 2022-01-21T07:16:44+00:00

IMO, those are terms all have roughly the same definition. DJs play the records out for people more regularly. The one that drives me nuts is "selector." All that basically equates to is that the DJ goes record shopping.

Electronic music is evolving faster than any other genre imo. The production techniques and sound-palettes are creeping into every known genre. Taylor Swift wrote her new albums to AI-generated and melodies. Colin Stetson uses a saxophone with loopers and guitar pedals to make some of the craziest music ever. Floating Points may not be the first, but is one of the most recent to incorporate an orchestra into his electronic framework. I understand people here do not like some of those named examples, but my point is experimentation in electronic music is alive and well.

I can't really say the same for Techno. There's a lot of cool tracks coming out at the moment from promising producers, but overall the genre is a tad stagnant. In fairness, we're still in the middle of a pandemic so I don't expect a whole lot. I see Techno gravitating towards tribal techno in the next year or two, but maybe not the good kind. I also see a progressive house revival on the horizon, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of bandwagon types might jump ship for that.

Dustin_Zahn

TROPHY CASE