Usually bad weather can bring the energy down at events, but not in Austin, Texas. The 6th Edition of Seismic Dance Event (Seismic 6.0) this past weekend was a statement of how powerful the underground scene truly is, come rain or come shine. Ravers from all over Texas and other states gathered for three days with powerful vibes and thunderous uproar. Real Music Events and The Concourse Project joined forces to bring some of the best underground House and Techno Artists to date.
Prepare To Launch
The venue consists of a massive 18,000+ square ft hangar turned into club, and ranked 39th in the DJ Mag Top 100 Venues poll in 2023. As the night progressed, harder and faster beats would reign the sets, while everyone kept dancing and turned the warehouse into the Volcano Stage. The inside felt like An upside down airport runway with massive led screens and light beams that pulsed throughout the weekend.
If you wanted some air you could step outside to find the remaining stages. The Tsunami stage was an expansive outdoor stage that hosted some of the grooviest soundscapes. With a hard surface that remained solid during the harder rain days. The cold breeze did not stop anyone from having a blast and dancing til the end of each night. Logistically the layout was pretty easy to navigate.
Security was respectful and professional, with metal detectors and wands to double check. I did not see any major safety concerns. There were just enough food truck options, including vegan choices! Moreover, there was a water station outside and water coolers in the hangar, as well in the afterparties. There were some vendors, including a harm prevention booth by Safe Circles ATX, giving out testing kits and Narcan. Shoutout to 6AM for having a booth as well, definitely one of my favorite teams that host unhinged events in LA.
The smallest stage had lots of magic in it, therefore honoring the name The Realm. A small tent with nothing but amazing energy, sick beats, and a minimalist, bunker-like atmosphere. You could find some of the best regional up and coming underground DJs, and some special second sets by our headliners.
The House Of House
There is nothing like a diverse collection of some of the best House acts in the world. Most sets blended so many different styles of House and Techno. If you wanted some Bass House and Tech House you had Mau P and Chris Lake, with their own afters. Then you had Chicago’s underground princess Azzecca and Super Creep’s VNSSA, with delicious dark grooves, heavy beats, and amazing energy.
Wax Motif rode the Tsunami stage with his G House mastery. He involved softer melodies and mixed in high octane tracks, making it a powerful and one of the most diverse sets in the Festival. Astra Club was a divine encounter of Carlita and DJ Tennis, giving the audience great Melodic-Afro House. Lastly, we couldn’t move onto the next segment until we honor Kaskade’s Redux set. Not only was the rain at its hardest, but it was the very last set at the Tsunami Stage. He delivered soothing Deep House. With the release of his newest ‘Redux 006’ EP, he gathered the audience like a wave and made everyone transcend spiritually. He included some deeper mixes of some of his best tracks, and added some of his Kx5 songs. Truly in awe with that set.
Techno Time
If you felt that House wasn’t hitting the spot you turned into the dark side. The Techno was technoing, I mean it. The adrenaline during the techno sets transformed everyone into feral animals. Even the Melodic Techno sets were so spooky and high energy I got scared for a second.
Space 92, T78, and Eli Brown brought their A game delivering nasty sets that melted everybody’s face into lava. Anfisa Letyago and Patrick Mason blew everyone away with heir sets. Besides, Saturday and Sunday had the highest bpms of the weekend. Saturday’s after party felt like an initiation into a witch coven, a techno coven. The high priestess of Hard Techno Sara Landry invoked accelerated tracks with massive amounts of bass and obscurity. Jenna Shaw made her Seismic Debut opening for Sara with a crazy selection of songs that transported us into the Twilight Zone. Finally, Chippy Nonstop gave us the fine arts of Acid into the end of Night 2.
It did not stop there, as Techno Shamans Klangkuenstler and 999999999 closed down the Volcano Stage with the most twisted sets full of Schrank and the best energy I’ve felt inside a venue in a while. When we had to give our heartbeats a break, we had beautiful Melodic Techno acts. Those Shadows immersed us in a new journey of self discovery with their tunes. And the weekend ended with a powerful show with Korolova b2b Franky Wah. The pair closed down an epic weekend with some of the best progressive tunes. The last song played was ‘Be Strong’ by Korolova, really encompassing the Seismic Experience.
Final Notes on Seismic 6.0
For being a “boutique festival” with only 3 stages in a relatively small venue, it truly packs a punch. The vibes were A+, even though the production was minimalistic. The organizers did an amazing job at making the event fill gigantic with the selection of artists, while providing an intimate insight into the underground scene. I’m wishing nothing but the best for Seismic.
