Entertainment

The 5 Best Summer EDM Festival Sets (Listen)

by Zack Graham

It's October. Halloween marketing is already upon is. We must, sadly, say goodbye to summer. What better way to do it than to relive five of the best sets from this summer's EDM circuit?

Let's start from the beginning.

1. Adventure Club - UMF Miami

Yes, March is technically the spring, but this list wouldn't be complete without a contribution from Ultra.  Luckily, Adventure Club delivered an eclectic set that meshed their original and remixed material with the likes of Benga, Feed Me, Delta Heavy and Tim Ismeg.

2. Cazette - Tomorrowland Belgium

Tomorrowland is considered the most iconic EDM festival in the world.  This mix is a testament to Cazette's proficiency at progressive house. Lots of weird synths and unexpected drops in here; this mix is a treasure trove of sounds.

3. W&W - Tomorrowland

W&W have quickly won the EDM spotlight since meeting randomly during Trance Energy '07, establishing their own label called Armada Records. This is the only set that's straight trance, but it's a thing of beauty. W&W has garnered the popularity of Tiesto and David Guetta in half the time.

4. Mat Zo - Electric Zoo

The Israeli son of a professional violinist, Matan Zohar (stage named: Mat Zo) puts a richly harmonic spin on house, trance and dub that has gained him a substantial following. His was one of the stronger sets from the Electric Zoo 2013, which was cancelled due to 'drug-related deaths' by festival organizers under pressure from the New York City Mayor's Office.

5. Carnage - TomorrowWorld

TomorrowWorld, which is an offshoot of Tomorrowland, just ended in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia. It was an outrageous fiscal success, despite the unfortunate curtailment of Electric Zoo.

The festival had many highlights, Diplo's own 'Mad Decent' stage among them. But Carnage, an Atlanta-based producer that broke into the electronic scene with a trap remix of Hardwell's “Spaceman,” was a surprise sensation. Spoiler: He starts with a remix of John Williams' Harry Potter theme song.

Top Photo Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images