The Mystique Behind Mysteryland

When I was first offered to attend Mysteryland—with sponsored VIP passes—I was shocked I didn’t immediately say yes. Recalling my hesitation, I think it was largely due to recent lackluster experiences. Like many festival goers, I have become a bit jaded and disgruntled by the now overhyped aspects of the money-making machine that is "EDM"

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Because in large part, EDM festivals have become overpriced, predictable concerts where girls feel compelled to dress in ridiculous get-up, and we all feel pressured to be as non-sober as possible to forget the fact that for 12 hours, we’re going to be dehydrated and manhandled in a sweaty mosh pit at some overcrowded, industrial venue.

Phew, that was a mouthful…Despite my hesitations, I decided to go. After all, this was the inaugural year of ID&T’s Mysteryland, a festival 20 years in the making from the people who know festivals best.

And I am so glad I did. Mysteryland took me to the paradise I envisioned original European festivals to be.

Perhaps it was the VIP area filled with more Dutch than Americans. A lineup that was meant to be an education more than a star-studded lineup for the sake of selling tickets. Brands and sponsors I wasn’t as familiar with, such as Rekorderlig, makers of a delicious Swedish cider I willingly paid $8 Birdie Bucks a pop for. Or the ethereal, hippie spirit of Woodstock 1969 grounds that blanketed the festival like a magical mist. We were only 2 hours from New York City, but in the beauty of the natural wilderness and larger-than-life settings, I felt like I was in another world.

For people who sold their tickets in favor of EDC NY because it had a "better line up"— for shame. Mysteryland took a risk in not stacking the regular super star DJs, but I saw it as one of the most brilliant moves they could have done. You certainly had big names such as Aoki and Kaskade, but then there were legends like Moby who just utterly destroyed the crowd. People will be talking about that set for a long time. And who can deny how impressive the sounds were from Sunday School- everyone from big namers Dubfire and Pete Tong, to Berlin duo Pan Pot and Amersterdam producer Boris Joorn gave us a a schooling in true deep house. And lastly, I’m not a dubstep fan, but when I was at the boat for Brillz and Dillstraudamus, I was raging my effin face off. A few articles have said Mysteryland was not about the production- I hope this is not to discredit the production aspects of ID&T. Between the castle that lit up brighter than Magic Kingdom, and laser beams that stretched to Pluto, I don’t know how you could have not been impressed. From the fantasyland theme to the life-size dolls, imagine going through “It’s a Small World” on acid.

And the fireworks—did I mention the fireworks?? The finale of perfectly choreographed pyrotechnics and dancing to haunting and mesmerizing renditions of Avicii’s “Addicted to You” will be forever implanted in my memory. It almost made you forget Kaskade’s epic set. Almost—it’s still Kaskade. But aside from all the typical things I can rave about (ha, pun intended), for me, the mystique of Mysteryland’s can be best illustrated by a story from Saturday night.

It had been a long day, and a rainy one at that. By 11pm, I was wet, tired, and cold; both my iPhone and I were attempting to regain life at the VIP charging station. As I was sitting on a crumpled cushion, a woman approached me— she was in her 40’s and still incredulously beautiful in that tell-tale European way. She grabbed my hands, pulled me to my feet and said in a thick, Dutch accent, "This is no time for sitting. Dance! Talk to people! Everyone is here to celebrate."

She went on to tell me how her son-in-law worked for ID&T, how proud she was looking out at the main stage and knowing he was behind the production. She was beaming so hard I was pretty sure the lasers were emanating from her instead of the stage itself.

She introduced me to other Dutch festivalgoers, none of whom worked directly for ID&T, but were from the same village the company was founded and traveled all the way to Upstate New York "just to enjoy the party." They weren't dressed in fluffies or pasties- they wore jeans and sweaters and still looked way cool. I stood in admiration as I watched this group of all ages dance and laugh together in complete euphoria— not because they just popped MDMA or because of the headlining DJ, but because of something more pure and genuine… And that's when it hit me- this "EDM" craze that has swept the US is something we still see as a fad, a quirk of our youth we are expected to grow out of. American “EDM” festivals have turned into aggressive and destructive ragers. We write articles debating whether DJs are musicians or button pushers. Because of this, our society hasn’t fully embraced dance music as a true form of art.

Yet here was this woman, celebrating and dancing with her family, because for the Dutch and Europeans alike, dance music isn't a fad, it is an inherent part of their lifestyle and culture.

Dammit, the Euros really DO do everything right.

In all seriousness- there are many things we all took away from the festival, but I hope the unifying message was that amidst negativity and arguments over what EDM has become, the scene is still alive and well.

We can't fight the commercialism that has turned a sub culture into a main stream genre out to promote profit instead of peace. But we have to remember- this is still OUR genre, our movement, our music. Only we alone can be the ambassadors of Peace, Love Unity and Respect, and by God I hope those roots, and that message of hope for our generation--continue to resound from the hills of Bethel Woods to the next major American festivals to come.

After Mysteryland, I have all the faith in the world they will.

Video Credits: Many thanks to my friend and incredible videographer, Seth Bunting, who produced such a beautiful film for The Sights and Sounds, and graciously allowing me to use the film on my own blog :)

#mysteryland #mlusa #kaskade #house #deephouse #dubstep #woodstock