“One like no other. »
This is the philosophy of the Elements Music and Arts Festival.
Taking place in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, the festival returns for its seventh edition August 9-11. Elements features an impressive lineup featuring top-notch electronic and crossover music, adding Illenium, Kaskade, Slander, Green Velvet consecutively Patrick Topping, Subtronics, Azzecca, LSDREAM, Bob Moses, Girl Math, TroyBoi, Chris Lake consecutively. Cloonee, Liquid Stranger, The Blessed Madonna, BLOND:ISH, The Illustrious Blacks, Hamdi and The Disco Biscuits.
Each year, Elements applies the DIY mentality of the early 2010s Brooklyn scene to the participatory nature of Burning Man.
“At our core, we are festival enthusiasts and fans and have been lucky enough to travel to incredible occasions around the world where we have discovered much of our inspiration,” says the Elements team, made up of discoverers Brett Herman and Timothy Monkiewicz and general manager Dan Slutsky. “We deeply value events that leverage exclusive interactive briefings, large-scale conceptual art, extravagant spectacles, and a strong sense of community, like what can be discovered at Burning Man. We’re Running It’s hard to channel those building blocks at Elements, combining our favorite facets from our own exclusive reports as enthusiasts and putting our own unique spin on them – the weirder and wackier, the better.
The festival team grew up in the Brooklyn warehouse rave scene of the 2010s, an era that thrived on creativity and occasional production in a legal gray era. Taking inspiration from party groups such as The Danger Party and Rubulad, the Element team used creative locations for their occasions, such as a deserted grain silo at the Gowanus Bay terminal, a Thai restaurant, and an old church. These cutting-edge locations have become spaces where synthetic beaches were built, ninjas fought on ziplines, slides cascaded from rooftops, and participants danced relentlessly until dawn. sun. Herman’s trips to Burning Man then motivated the team to offer interactive shows and art on a larger scale, as well as invite attendees to dress up for other themes, allowing them to revel in the espresso.
“For five years, we hosted parties in Brooklyn warehouses, from intimate gatherings of 400 other people to giant celebrations with 6,000 attendees,” the team explains. “We enjoyed hosting those events, but we also found that they were ending too temporarily and were driven to create a four-day camping festival as an extension of that domestic network. Elements has become the best canvas to make our wildest dreams come true and has given us the opportunity to share them with our network in a whole new way.
A Forest is from the Elements of Music and Arts festival.
In fact, the team that created the camping festival proved to be an ideal extension of their events and a way to federate their community. At first, the team combined three summer camps that had never before been used for a musical show to bring the first ones together. Elements to life campsite. They then became the first band to use the Pocono Speedway since the ’70s through the surrounding woods creatively rather than the track itself.
Since its inception, the festival’s artistic reach has grown impressively. Elements now features 4 extravagant level designs, 3D mapping and projection, interactive art, and notable surprises such as pirate ships, water slides, and psychedelic forest art. These are just some of the notable pieces that can be discovered at this three-day event.
“[This year] we are expanding the entire festival to create more areas for dancing and relaxing under new shade structures, as well as [adding] a new vendor market, new environments, art and surprises in the forest, sets and much more. more,” says the festival team. “It will feel like another festival, doubling the interactivity and convenience for fans. “
They say that attendees deserve not to miss the Elements Plaza, Red Bull Skydive, Vibe Villages and the new Water Stage, The Funktapus. Elements Plaza is “the central hub where all the elements converge,” says the festival team. The domain features photo shoots, trade displays, a Ferris wheel, food, crafts, a lounge, large-scale art installations and shaded seating. While the team doesn’t need to reveal too much about Red Bull Skydive, it says it will bring a skydiving exhibition in 2023 that sees a local team dive into the festival. “Beyond Burning Man, we’ve never noticed this happening at a festival, and we’re as excited as the shoppers who were in awe as those other people floated through the festival with tails of colored smoke,” the team said.
A dragon cuts through the crowd at the Elements Music and Arts Festival.
An airy silk artist plays a set on one of the stages.
As for Vibe Villages, they say, they paint every year with groups of participants who have their own creator netpaintings. These participants pitch a concept to the festival team, bringing their own themed camps to the space, creating “an interactive wonderland” at the camps where festival-goers have the chance to dance with a headliner playing in an intimate set. The Burning Man theme camp style and participatory spirit sparked this idea. “We firmly believe that the most productive opportunities are created together,” says the team.
Finally, The Funktapus, the new aquatic panorama. The level is 75 feet tall and features a 120-foot-wide octopus-themed immersive experience and a 50-foot geodesic dome with 360-degree projection mapping. Festival-goers can listen to bass music, techno, drum’n’bass, and dubstep at Funktapus. “This will be a fully immersive environment, completely reinventing last year’s aquatic scene, with an underwater design that will turn the water theme on its head,” says the Elements team. “We can’t wait to share it with the participants. “
Beyond music and experiences, the festival team is committed to self-expression and community. In 2023, the occasion featured Art of Change, its socio-cultural programming aimed at amplifying LGBTQI voices. The festival also features fitness and wellness programming, adding yoga. , dancing and sound baths. Plus, it’s solar-powered and offers local organic food provided through Pocono Organics.
“In fact, we believe that those types of immersive, artistic and participatory events have the ability to definitely have an effect on the lives of participants, leaving them with a sense of joy and discovery that can make their lives bigger beyond the doors. to Elements,” said the festival from the team. That’s why we do what we do: create moments that motivate other people to do what they do in a more artistic, caring, and compassionate way, while laughing at the same time. Community is everything to us and we work tirelessly to continue building as our own while making your comfort, safety, and delight our most sensible priorities. Come and do magic with us, you may not regret it.
Here, Forbes sits down with Nala and VNSSA’s Girl Math and TroyBoi to talk about their favorite Elements memory, what enthusiasts can expect from their sets, packing essentials, and more.
From left to right: Girl Math and TroyBoi.
Lisa Kocay: What excites you most about this year’s Elements Music & Arts Festival?
Girl Math: “We’re so excited to bring the power of Girl Math to a wonderful festival. It’s been a lot of fun to travel through those festivals together and we know that the Elements audience will surely bring it along.
TroyBoi: “I’m excited for the level I’m betting at this year and to meet some of the artists in this crazy lineup. “
Kocay: What can enthusiasts expect from your set?
Girl Math: “Fans can expect lively dance music and lots of smiles. We enjoy betting together, which adds a new point of excitement to the party on our part.
TroyBoi: “I like to take other people on an adventure in my sets by playing with a variety of songs created by me and other artists. If you have come to dance and you like trap, hip-hop, electronic, house, experimental, dubstep , British bass and much more, then my set is for you.
Kocay: What 3 songs are you excited about for the festival?
Girl Math: “The songs we’re excited about are all of our unreleased records, whether collaborative or collaborative. “
TroyBoi: “The 3 songs I’m looking for the most to bet on are 3 of my upcoming songs that will be released this year. There’s nothing better than releasing new music and feeling the audience’s reactions.
Kocay: What are the essential elements of your packaging?
Girl Math: “Chapstick, snacks and tea. “
TroyBoi: “My packing essentials are my laptop, headphones, USB drives, toiletries, and a replenishment of clothes for after my set. “
Kocay: Who are your 3 must-see artists and why?
Girl Math: “We suggest you check out all the bad a** women in the lineup. You can’t go past Azzecca, Sara Landry, CloZee and more.
TroyBoi: “Honestly, it is very difficult for me to choose three essential artists because there is a very varied lineup at the festival. I’ll check out each of the stages when they arrive and look for new artists I’ve never noticed before.
Kocay: If you could give one piece of pro advice to a new Elements participant, what would it be?
Girl Math: “Get ready for the cold weather at night. “
TroyBoi: “Get into your rhythm, wear comfortable shoes, stay close to your team, eat food for extra energy during the day, and make sure you stay hydrated. “
Kocay: What’s your favorite memory of Elements?
Girl Math: “Nala: I enjoyed betting on the air level last year. It’s a wonderful atmosphere.
“VNSSA: Honestly, everything about Elements is fantastic, so I can’t pick a favorite. “
TroyBoi: “One thing I don’t forget about the Elements Music Festival is the feeling that you are transported to another world the moment you arrive: the colorful colors, the incredible settings, the art, the happiness of everyone who toasts and each other. nature. I’m looking forward to experiencing it all this year.
Here, Forbes catches up on new artists from Elements, Ahadadream and The Illustrious Blacks.
From left to right: Les Illustres Noirs and Ahadadream.
Kocay: What excites you most about this year’s Elements Music Festival?
Ahadadream: “[I’m] excited to notice it for the first time. It’s one of the highlights of my festival season. I’ve heard some clever things and the position is incredible.
The Illustrious Blacks: “We’re incredibly excited to release our new single, “Let the Music Set You Free,” produced through Tedd Patterson, as well as the first songs from our upcoming album.
Kocay: What can enthusiasts expect from your set?
Ahadadream: “A percussion and bass driven powerhouse with a ton of unreleased tracks from me, my friends, and upcoming releases from More Time Records. “
The Illustrious Blacks: “Fans can expect natural chaos, pure madness and sexy antics in the Technegro colours. “
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