or the second year, Insomniac events brought some of Europe's premier electronic music artists and DJs to downtown Los Angeles for a two day festival of house and techno. Featuring some of the biggest names in dance music, some of whom are rare visitors to Los Angeles, the event drew an eclectic crowd of ravers, techno fans, and people who just wanted to dance all day outside in Downtown L.A. The outdoor venue, bracketed by trains, massive graffiti walls, and the Spring Street bridge, really came alive as day turned into night, the crowds got heavier and the visuals amped up. Trains passed by periodically, sometimes seemingly in sync with the music, and the production team's lights beamed into the sky, onto the buildings and city infrastructure creating a trippy urban wonderland packed with party people.
Day One featured artists like Ben UFO, Adriatique, Loco Dice and Dixon. Loco Dice b2b William Djoko was a highlight from Day 1, as the two got the crowd dancing hard to a mix of techno and house tracks.
Day Two had the more rare and impressive lineup, headlined by two of Europe's techno Queens, Helena Hauff and Nina Kraviz. The pair's chemistry was evident from the start, as they blazed through a mostly techno set and played off each other's energy to create an intriguing, dangerous vibe.
Earlier in the same stage, Peggy Gou had perhaps the best set of the entire weekend, mixing reliable techno bangers with unknown tracks, all backed by the best visuals of any performer. Four Tet, who plays L.A. often, closed out the smaller stage playing some of his reliable favorites along with tracks specifically selected to appeal to the SoCal audience.
Earlier in the evening, Ame and Kink played some frankly bizarre but appropriately trippy dance music from multiple genres, and Honey Dijon got the crowd moving as one unit with a mostly house music set that included a fantastic remix of the Anderson Paak and Mac Miller tune, Dang!
Overall the event was a success musically, and the production was top notch. Insomniac has carved out a niche for fans of European DJs that rarely make it to LA and put them in an environment that attracts a diverse crowd that all seemed to be having a fantastic time. Please enjoy this gallery of images from both days of the event...
