AURA Music and Arts Festival is upon us this weekend and we wanted to introduce you to some of the stellar acts scheduled to entertain all of us night owls once the main stages close. (Full festival lineup/schedule here.) At 2am on Friday and Saturday, head over to the Silent Disco tent where you can catch these guys partying down into the wee morning hours:
DJ FELIX FUSIK | Friday, 2am – 3am:
Felix is a multi-instrumentalist musician, producer, Bboy, and DJ from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He started his journey into music as a Bboy coming up in the classic late 90’s Florida Bboy scene and is a founding member of Unique Styles Crew. As a musician, Felix founded and is the drummer of the world known live band Fusik who currently performs for festivals, Bboy events, clubs, and events around the globe.
“I’m going to be putting together a mix of records that will make you move with a range of Classic Funk, Soul, Boogie, African rhythms and more. The DJ has a connection to the crowd, and the vibe in the place determines what record gets played next. This is my first silent disco – I’m really excited about it all and happy to be part of this amazing festival. Be prepared to dance and have a good time with good vibes.” – Felix
www.soundcloud.com/felixfusik
www.facebook.com/felixfusik
Instagram: @felixfusik
WEAZILDUST | Friday, 2am – 3am:
Weazildust, who is known as Packy Lunn and drummer for Jimkata, will be spinning sexy electronic beats to kick off Silent Disco.
“Born out of several cold months alone with Ableton Live, WeazilDust is a dance music project of ‘what if I do this?’ and other mash up/sample experiments extending from the mind of Jimkata drummer Packy Lunn. If you grew up in the 90’s and are a fan of roots electronic music, or if you have a fetish for big chains, then this is the DJ for you.” – Time Magazine
https://soundcloud.com/packy-lunn
DJ SCOTTY SOLOMON | Friday, 3am – 4am:
Seeking out the best in Tech House, Deep House, Nu Disco and Indie Electro, Scotty Soloman’s sets are funky, groovy, and sexy incorporating elements of drum & bass, breakbeat, and dub. He has played several silent discos at SOSMP and has something special planned for this weekend.
“There will be a heavy dose of reggae infused, organic, atmospheric and funky Drum and Bass from me this year. This is a slight departure from the more house music oriented sets I have played in previous years. I am also stoked to announce that I will be playing an all vinyl set this year along with a few other guys from South Florida. It could be a possible Analog vs Digital / Vinyl vs Laptop situation this year. This is a first for me at AURA and pretty sure no other music festival has had a feature like this.” – Scotty
ZWANGBANG w/ CHEWIE | Friday, 3am – 4am:
Scotty Zwang is the current drummer/percussionist for Dopapod and this weekend he will be performing at his second AURA Silent Disco. This year he’s bringing along Dopapod’s lighting/sound master Chewie, aka Luke Stratton.
“As far as the DJ set goes, I tend to stick to a house, disco, funky kind of vibe. I’m also a big fan of hip hop and drum and bass. This year, the silent disco is billed as ZwangBang featuring Chewie – which before Luke Stratton was doing light and sounds for Dopapod, he was a drum and bass producer and DJ. I had him come up at last year’s silent disco as a special guest to scratch and do special effects. I figured this year it’d be cool to bill both of us and do something we don’t normally get to do together.” – ZwangBang
Read more from Scotty Zwang in our Dopapod interview HERE.
JAYJOHERO | Friday, 4am – 5am:
Jayjohero specializes in soul and funk and will be preparing a set of rare tunes mixing in some new sounds as well.
“I’m going on at 4am and I’m only here to cater to those who came to party and move! I’ll be closing the night so I’m about to put people on to some late grooves that you ain’t heard before. I just want people to be tore up and vibing and grinding and getting their two-step on with me.” – Jayjohero
Instagram: jayjohero
Mixcloud: jayjohero
MATTHEW CONNOR | Friday, 4am – 5am:
Specializing in Ambient, Bass, R&B, and Future Garage, Matthew Connor is a Music Producer / Vocalist / DJ / Music Curator based in Jacksonville, FL. Currently he works as an independent music producer working with artists from rappers, to pop singers, and even younger DJs just starting off. When he isn’t in the studio, you can find him selecting music on any given night at one of his DJ residencies which include: “Bangarang Saturdays,” “Beacharang,” all “Passion Project Presents” shows, and all of the legendary Strata Clothing parties.
“In a festival setting it’s good to give your spirit a rest from all the intense music and exhilarating atmosphere. I figure what better time for that than inside headphones late night. I’ll be providing the soundtrack appropriately. It’s definitely a great change of pace from open air music experiences. It’s more intimate – especially late nights into early mornings.” – Matthew Connor
www.soundcloud.com/thematthewconnor
www.facebook.com/matthewconnordvvvl
BEDSIDE | Saturday, 2am – 3am:
Bedside is a Miami-based horn driven producer DJ duo. Travis Acker and Trace Barfiled are trained performing musicians and multi-instrumentalists whose focus on electronic music production drive Bedside’s high fidelity yet organic sound. No stranger to a dance party, they both have kept dance floors moving from their early days in punk and ska bands to grooving festivals in funk bands. Their utilization of live elements such as improvisational trumpet provide an exciting live set while never missing a beat. Critics call them “The Future of Miami’s Dance Music.”
“This is Bedside’s debut at AURA Music and Arts Festival, and it’s going to be one books with a several special guest sit-ins. The set will include a combination of original production, remixes and mashups along with Trace live on trumpet. Our set will be tailored to the AURA crowd which means our club ready dance party will be stepped up with even funkier disco and hustle beats. You don’t want to miss this party on Saturday at 2am.” – Bedside
http://bedsidegrooves.com/
Facebook.com/bedsidegrooves
IG: @bedsidegrooves
BEAT THIEF INC | Saturday, 2am – 3am:
Beat Thief will be playing his 4th AURA festival, and 13th SOSMP festival in total. His sets range from Jungle, Glitch Hop, Future Bass,Trip Hop, and Acid Jazz, to Footwerk and Juke. He’s known for his ability to fluidly mix & blend over 100 tracks in less than an hour, each set on the fly and unrehearsed. In addition to the disco, Beat Thief may also guest appear on stage with a band doing some sound effects and turntable scratching.
“Imagine an environment filled with beautiful people with multiple dimensions of auditory influence… If you’re not grooving to one of the DJs, then switch channels and find your vibe with the next performer. If you’re just wanting to chill, take off the headphones and watch all the crazy people dancing to no sound, see multiple groups of people vibing to different types of music and they are completely unaware. There is truly something original and unique about a properly done silent disco. Its multi-dimensional experience is unmatched. Especially at SOSMP.” – Beat Thief
https://www.facebook.com/beatthiefinc
Twitter/Instagram: @beatthiefinc
https://soundcloud.com/beathief-inc
http://beatthiefinc.bandcamp.com/
BELLS AND ROBES | Saturday, 3am – 4am:
Bells and Robes is an electronic duo from Gainesville, FL creating music that fuses psychedelic ambient textures with the intensity of hard-hitting bass music. Taking influence from psychedelic rock and the future beat scene, Bells and Robes takes the listener on a journey to a space while keeping their feet moving and hearts racing.
“This is our first silent disco experience, and we are looking forward to providing a dreamy soundscape for listeners to truly explore, dance, and get lost in the music. We’ll be combining a DJ set with live performance. We’ve been working hard to create a set that combines the high energy dance environment of a DJ set with the freedom of a jam band set. We’ll have live electronic drums and keyboards and feature a lot of free form improvisation. We hope the set keeps everyone dancing but also takes them on a journey they won’t forget.” – Bells and Robes
CRAIG HENEVELD AKA UDNTPRTY | Saturday, 3am – 4am:
Tampa DJ Craig Heneveld, also known as UDNTPRTY (pronounced “You Don’t Party”), will be spinning a collection of drum and bass at this year’s AURA.
“If the festival goers want to continue the dance party and want to throw high kicks to some Drum and Bass, they should come by the Silent Disco! I’ve DJ’ed all 5 of the previous AURA Festivals. Silent Disco or not, getting down with the festival folks during a DJ set is a blast and I’m really looking forward to the response to some amazing Drum and Bass tracks.” – UDNTPRTY
www.facebook.com/udntprty
www.soundcloud.com/craigheneveld
www.mixcloud.com/craigheneveld
itunes.apple.com/mz/podcast/udntprty-craig-heneveld-podcast/id313867871
www.beatport.com/artist/craig-heneveld/98249
www.beatport.com/artist/udntprty/300845
DJ TONY D | Saturday, 4am – 5am:
Tony D’Amato is a South Florida-based bass player, beat maker, and DJ with an ear for soulful, jazz-minded house and disco music. Expect plenty of original productions and re-edits for the dance floor.
https://soundcloud.com/tony-d
http://twitter.com/tonyrdamato
VLAD THE INHALER | Saturday, 4am – 5am:
In addition to providing the closing sounds Saturday night, Vlad is also the organizer and host of the silent disco.
“If you like feeling classy and nasty at the same time, my AURA set is for you. Ghettotech has a way of making people enjoy getting a bit obnoxious. Also, it’s basically all 160bpm, so it’ll wake you up if you’re getting sleepy. Peep game.” – Vlad
(We did a thorough interview with Vlad discussing all the Silent Disco features, as well as his other ventures, which you can read about HERE.)
See you at AURA!
AURA Music & Arts Festival Links:
www.AURAMusicFestival.com
www.facebook.com/AURAMusicFestival
Twitter & Instagram: @AURAMusicFest (#AURAfest)
Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park Links:
www.MusicLivesHere.com
www.facebook.com/MusicLivesHere
Twitter: @SOSMP (#Suwannee)
