Photo courtesty of Eric Prydz’s Soundcloud.
With a combination of high frequencies, a kaleidoscopic light setup and many of his unreleased tracks, Eric Prydz’s set engaged his fans at Ultra right from the start.
The Swedish king of house music, also known by the names Pryda and Cirez D, conducted his performance at Ultra Music Festival 2014 on Friday, March 28. Presenting the festival version of EPIC 2.0, Prydz wanted to incorporate his unique sound of house and his holographic light performance, but on a bigger scale. Under the name HOLO, it was “the biggest hologram ever used in North America.”
After his first ID was played, Prydz mixed in his Pryda release, “Welcome to my House.” The vocals played through, and a punchy bass drum got the crowd moving. The sequenced light setup and the break made an excellent transition for a new production under Cirez D.
The drop at 3:58 astonished the crowd, as his famous, punchy snare boomed out of the main stage. The dark vibes of his Cirez D side might not be as popular, but they made his fans bounce to the beat.
Continuing the same vibe, a performance like this is expected by Prydz; he seldom uses large drops. His continuing style of house creates a sense that the whole set is one unified song.
At 9:18, his drop from another Cirez D ID shows the producer bathed in extravagant light from behind the stage. The video is great, but doesn’t quite do his epic light show justice. About a minute later, a logo of his techno label, Mouseville, takes over the screen.
An array of strobes hit the main stage at 11:19, but the fans still did not witness any holograms yet. Prydz progressed his set with another Pryda ID, which has been identified online as “Mambo ID 2013 02.”
The light performance was submerging the crowd in blue, which was the color of choice for this Pryda track. At 16:54, an epic break started developing, with Prydz sustaining it till 17:24. He played a euphoric treble, with a liquid drop to one of his Cirez D tracks, “Firestone.” At 18:43, the massive, synth-driven beat turned the crowd to dancing to his own groove.
Lazers generated their light arrays at 20:22, making the whole stage illuminate, as phaser sounds were complimenting them. The lights continued to change color in a psychedelic fashion, leaving only one word to describe them: epic. A spaceship emerged from the back of the screen, and the lights released like pouring rain on the next drop.
Prydz continued his set with a two-year old Pryda release, under the name “SW4.” His lightshow performance was perfectly in sync with his music, resulting in the climax of his set. Once the ecstatic, modulating synth kicked in at 25:10, the crowd couldn’t help but “awwing” in amazement.
His style of mixing is uncommon, compared to other big names in electronic music. Prydz did not touch the mic at all, rather he let his music do the justice. A trait that many producers do not have, but should learn to incorporate into their dj sets.
The music advanced with a “Power Drive Edit,” and Eric Prydz raising his hand to the beat, as a maestro conducting his own orchestra. When the drop hit, a pattern of loop rolls and lasers amazed his fans. The video cannot display the lights as they were meant to be live, so it does not give them half the awe they deserve. A holographic version of his face kept showing from the back of his screen, as part of his HOLO performance.
A “Mokba Edit” maintained the vibe, as Prydz was playing a blend of all the types of tracks he produces. At 40:17 his transition was a bit rough, but he emerged with a remix of “Tether” by CHVRCHES; the only track that was not one of his originals in the set.
His mix progressed with another epic breakdown, bringing the Interlude remix of “Every Day” to life. The little specks of light on the screens gave the sensation of stars, dancing through the stage. The UMF attendees seemed like they were in a world composed of dreams and euphoric vibrations.
The new release of “Liberate” lingered out of nowhere, with the lights creating epic holographic clouds on the stage. The sphere of lights was one of the best holograms of the whole set, looking like a fiery sun, encompassed with stars and blue specks. Prydz mixed in one of his most famous works, “Pjanno,” in order to start closing his one-hour performance in Miami.
Eric Prydz ended the mix with his Pryda track, “Viro,” a three-year old production. This epic set is a perfect example of his euphoric mixing skills, consisting of a large number of tracks he created under different aliases. However, they all sounded like a uniform song, which is what Eric Prydz is all about; a one-hour electrifying dream in seventh heaven.
Do you have any memories of Eric Prydz (and his aliases) to share? Pictures, thoughts and emotions are all welcome under #KingPrydz on twitter!
You can check the unofficial tracklist here.
