It begins tonight, with a headlining set from blissful, bell-ringing minimalist Pantha Du Prince:
For his latest full-length, the lauded Black Noise, PDP traveled to the Swiss Alps to gather sounds there. He combined these recordings with those of acoustic instruments and then transformed the raw data into an enchanted collection of song-based, orchestral techno that could be many rock fans’ gateway drug into club music (albeit a muted, unconventional species of club music). Helping abet the crossover are collaborations with !!! and LCD Soundsystem’s Tyler Pope, who plays bass on “The Splendour,” and Animal Collective’s Noah “Panda Bear” Lennox, who contributes vocals to “Stick to My Side,” returning the favor of PDP’s floor-rippling remix of Animal Collective’s Strawberry Jam song, “Peacebone.” Further, PDP’s “Es Schneit” is based on Durutti Column guitarist Vini Reilly’s 1985 song “Hilary.”
And it don’t stop until the wee hours of Sunday night/Monday morning. It might take something stronger than Red Bull to get you through it all on your feet.
In between, Dave Segal has you covered with a guide to the best of the fest, both international and home-grown. Gird yourselves, it’s going to be a massive weekend.