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Are you press looking to cover Cyberfest 2001, take pictures, video, etc? Please contact Stephanie Smiley at Pushpress media. Phone: 435-615-9881 ARTICLES Cyberfest on mtv.com (second article) Cyberfest Press Clippings (Old and New) Note: Upcoming
Interviews with Sason RE: Cyberfest SF 2001 will appear in the November
Issue of Spin (Out October 15th), Lotus, Mixer, Time Out NY, Rolling
Stone and the Los Angeles Times. Cool World
Dance and music festival sheds light on the future. "This year's Cyberfest has been a huge turning point for dance and music festivals as well as electronic music," said Coolworld Cool World founder and Artist Producer Sason Parry. "We've seen a lot of hype surrounding this summer's 'dance music' tours, events that never actually materialised. The success of the Cyberfest Music Festival series once again proves Coolworld's longevity, dedication and credibility." Further Coolworld Cyberfests are scheduled to take place in Houston (September 22) and Miami (November 24). _____________________________________________________________ BPM
/ DJMIXED.COM Cyberfest 08.16.2001 Coolworld's annual Cyberfest festival series sold out its first stop in San Francisco, Cyberfest, sold-out with 22,000 dance music revelers in attendance. The event was held on August 11, 2001 at the Cow Palace in Daly City and was successfully produced with no problems related to attendance, parking, traffic, security, police or paramedics. Coolworld's Cool World founder and Artist Producer, Sason Parry, comments on the success of the show, "This year's Cyberfest has been a huge turning point for dance and music festivals, as well as, electronic music. We've seen a lot of hype surrounding this Summer's 'dance music' tours... events that never actually materialized. As this scene gets closer to mainstream notoriety, the success of the Cyberfest Music Festival series once again proves Coolworld's longevity, dedication and credibility... not only within the underground dance music scene, but also within mainstream pop culture. Cyberfest has become the quintessential showcase of the digital generation." Event highlights included live performances by The Crystal Method, Planet B, Kevens and Uberzone along with DJ sets from DJ Skribble, Keoki, Dieselboy, WishFM, Christopher Lawrence, DJ Dan, Reza, Bad Company, Kaos, Method One, Sage, UFO! and many, many others! CYBERFEST Houston will be held on September 22nd, 2001 at a spectacular open-air site on 140 acres. The line-up for this event includes The Crystal Method, De La Soul, Biz Markie, Darude, Pharoah Monch, Madison Avenue, Kevens, Planet B, DJ Skribble, DJ Icey, Keoki, Christopher Lawrence, AK 1200, WishFM, Dieselboy, Romanthony of Daft Punk, Aphrodite, Shy FX and Skibadee, Galaxy Girl, DJ Bizz, D:Fuse, Dave Ralph, Adam Freeland, Jesse Saunders, Chris Spect and many more to be announced. CYBERFEST Miami will be held on November 24th, 2001. _____________________________________________________________ MTV.COM _____________________________________________________________ SPIN.COM _____________________________________________________________ JIVE
MAGAZINE Cyberfest 2000 in Melbourne, Florida was one of the largest events the southeast has seen. Produced by Cool World and boasting an incredible lineup such as Carl Cox, Spacemen, Ed Rush and Ryme Tyme, Cirrus, Run DMC, WishFM and many more. Cyberfest was a fun festival for those looking for a good place to party, listen to good music, and have fun. Located next to the Melbourne airport in central Florida, the location for the event was ideal. The venue itself was a large mall, with the entire back parking lot enclosed to provide the main outdoor stage, a chill area, a half-pipe, carnival-like rides, and vending areas. There were also several smart bars, selling fruit drinks for energy and recovery. Indoors the venue was separated into "stages" by partitions, with entrances in the middle and front of the partitions, with the back exits flowing to the outdoor area. Logistically, it was not ideal, but the stages were marked well enough to be found. The indoor lighting was very minimal with track lighting in every stage. The outdoor sound was good while the indoor sound was lacking for the size of the rooms. To the left of the indoor stages, was the vending area, with vendors peddling wares like t-shirts, drinks, and promoting their events. At the end of this hall was the locals area, which had no special lighting other than the fluorescents which normally light up the venue. The sound in the Bayzone, or locals area, was poor, as several DJs had difficulty with the tables and needles jumping on the upraised flooring. The visuals behind the stages were a good effect, with each of the main stages having two large screens behind the decks while a cornucopia of visual stimulation went on. Each room showed something unique to that sound. Throughout the night in the Gateway one could see computer-generated turntables, or split images of Carl Cox bobbing his head, in the video. The vibe itself was generally good, but a majority of the people were there for the event and not the music. This is common for such large-scale events of this kind. "I just came to party man, I don't know who's playing," said Mark, 22,from Orlando. This answer was repeated often from party-goers when asked who they came to see. The main outdoor stage hosted most of the live act. Cirrus performed an early set on the outdoor stage, and were barely visible with all the "exotic dancers" performing on stage. Their performance was one of the best of the night and set the stage for things to come. Versa-Style, a Florida local, was one of the highlights in the breaks stage. His easeless scratching, mixed with his track selection hyped the crowd, bringing in others from the surrounding stages. Meanwhile, Stryke was pounding the masses with his hard-hitting sounds. For a moment, people thought Carl Cox had arrived early. On the Gateway, the stage devoted mostly to house, J-Luv delivered a rousing progressive set, forcing everyone to get up and dance. Back on the main stage Random J was just finishing up a great live trance P.A. Vortex and Cosmic Kitty were playing on the breaks stage. Cosmic Kitty, who's mixing was okay, at best, had the energy, smile and charisma to keep the crowd into her set. Decked out in an all-silver outfit, Cosmic Kitty had all the males in the crowd watching her on the ones and twos. On the main indoor stage Trip Theory fired up the crowd by performing such break-beat favorites like The Roll Song. Ulises played on the locals stage, but the ambience and attention wasn't there. Luckily, Ulises also spun on the Infinite Universe stage, mostly designated for breaks, but the crowd quickly warmed to is Latin house sounds, before he gave way to Mike and Charlie. Mixmaster Mike performed on the outdoor stage. He spun anthemic hip hop tracks, and missed while beat juggling, yet the crowd was into his set. As he played, Gin & Juice, and Rock the Bells, several people wondered aloud if he was caught in the early 90's. Back inside, Humpty Vision was playing to the crowd, spinning tracks off his new album, Shut he F*** Up and Dance. Once he mixed in Robot Man, it was just a matter of time before he played the Prisoners of Technology NWA remix of Dope Man. His lack of ingenuity never bothered the crowd as they continued to bounce back and forth to his energetic, fun set. Frankie Bones came on after Humpty Vision, keeping the pace going with his hard techno tracks, but in truth, Bones was just keeping the decks warm for Bad Boy Bill. The main outdoor stage shut down early, while Run DMC was finishing their set, forcing everyone inside to hear the music. The Spacemen were on the main indoor stage, giving a visual festival along with an eiry style. Had Fox Mulder been at Cyberfest he might have finally found the truth; the truth that the Spacemen put on a great show. 3-D Chroma Depth glasses were passed out to enhance the event. Spaceships exploded on the screens behind them as the alien performed in front. On the Gateway stage, it was difficult to tell if Bad Boy Bill was spinning if you weren't watching him. His set started out in a more progressive manner, shocking much of the crowd, but three tracks in, it was the old Bad Boy himself. Scratching back and forth, Bill did not cut any new ground with his tracks, but the crowd came to see him do what he does best. Bill spun such tracks as Pumpin, Blow Ya Mind, and other classics, before ending his set with Josh Wink's How's Your Evening So Far. Deep Sky followed the Spacemen with another exuberant performance. Banging on their equipment at full speed, it was difficult following the previous act, but Deep Sky kept the momentum, even as the crowd began to slightly dwindle into the other stages. As Bad Boy Bill's last track played out, the crowd had packed in to the Gateway stage at this point in anticipation of Carl Cox, and the man delivered. Mixing in from Bill's last track, Carl took over and for the next two hours floored the crowd with his pounding techno and bob-and-weave delivery. Several artists including Bad Boy Bill and Humpty Vision stayed to watch Cox on the decks, crowding the backstage area. _____________________________________________________________ GROOVERADIO.COM Big event to
feature Oakey, Cox, Dan Cyberfest 1999 was one of the best-attended dance music festivals in American history. Promoters report that 27,000 people came to see the Chemical Brothers, Goldie and Josh Wink. For more information on Cyberfest 2000, visit Coolworld here. In fact, promoters are calling Cyberfest 2000 "America's largest annual all night dance and music festival." The organizers of the Southern California party How Sweet It Is, held last March in San Bernadino, Calif., might have a problem with that description, however: Police reported that 28,000 people attended that event. Is there a battle brewing over which party holds the record for biggest turnout? Let us know which party you think was the biggest in America by registering your thoughts below. _____________________________________________________________ MANHUNT.COM Let's dispense with the stereotypes many of us have about dance and music festivals, those infamous gatherings where teenagers indulge in drug consuming orgies while listening to some weird thump-thump music. Yes, there is widespread drug use, but not anymore than a typical 40 oz. And blunts packed rap concert. Yes, the music does all sound the same to the untrained ear who can't distinguish DJ Icey from DJ Rap. However, just as Hip Hop's foundation was laid with rock, jazz, soul, and funk bricks, the electronic scene draws from the well of Hip Hop. Remember that "Planet Rock" song your older cousin used to break dance to? It spawned several new genres like House, Techno, Breakbeat, Trance, and Jungle. All these musical styles were in full display at the Cyberfest dance and music festival held in Melbourne,FL on Sept. 2nd Even though Hip Hop doesn't embrace the dance and music festival culture, dance and music festivalrs themselves for the most part are open to Hip Hop. Cyberfest had KRS-One, Run-DMC, DJ Craze, and DJ Infamous on the bill. The massive size of the Melbourne convention center allowed one to roam at will checking out the various rooms as well as the main stage outside, which was also home to the skate vert ramp, water gun fight area, and plenty of rides. Craze and Infamous threw down hard drum & bass sets that had the glow sticks high in the air and the sweat pouring down from the frantic dancers asking for more. After this assault, the main stage was set for the Blastmaster to teach. As usual, his show didn't disappoint, what with his back catalogue of classics and B-Boy crew The Breeze Team putting it down with their routines and amazing moves. And for the U.S. Open fan in you, he threw out a whole box of autographed tennis balls. Hold on to those, they'll be worth something someday. About the only low point of the evening came when the always-courteous police decided to pull the plug at the beginning of Run-DMC's set, claiming that the noise levels violated local ordinances. With nothing left to do but party the rest of the night, the offerings were plenty: Trance room with BT, Breaks outside courtesy of Prizm & Eclipse, Drum & Bass via Kevens, or sampling the various offerings of the vendors and making instant friends out of 5,000 people, since dance and music festivalrs often go out of their way to talk, hug, and give candy out to everyone who crosses their path. The carnival atmosphere and laser shows made Cyberfest a total playground for the musically inclined, and the promoters delivered for the up all night crowd, closing down the show at 6 AM. But that's OK, cuz there were plenty of after parties on hand at the various hotels surrounding the venue. Already an annual event on the left coast, we can only hope they can keep up the tradition here. _____________________________________________________________ EXCITE.COM _____________________________________________________________ CITYSEARCH.COM Cyberpunk Paradise _____________________________________________________________ PLATFORM.NET Controversial Detroit-based hip-hop group D-12 will be among the headlining acts at the eighth annual Cyberfest, taking place at an outdoor location in downtown San Francisco on August 11th. Joining D-12 at the electronic music festival will be Beastie Boys DJ Mix Master Mike and AK 1200, among some 40 other bands playing on seven different stages. The festival will also feature a laser light show, skate park and a circus. This event is all ages and tickets will be a bargain at $35 available at Ticketmaster West Coast locations. Past Cyberfest's
have drawn groups like rap pioneers Run-DMC and big-beat visionaires
the Chemical Brothers. To purchase tickets, log on to www.coolworld.com.
D-12's debut album, Devil's Night, hit record stores today (June
26th). --Mark Allwood It was 93 degrees, and very sunny, when Cyberfest started at three P.M. It started early because it had to end at four A.M., while most parties end between six and nine, and the lineup for this party was absolutely stacked with top performers from around the world, who all needed time to create their piece of the best thirteen hours of music that I can possibly think of. It was actually over 60 hours of music, considering there were 5 rooms. The Venue for Cyberfest 2000 was the Big Fresno Fairgrounds. This Venue was over 500 acres of dance event fun, packed with carnival rides, vendors of drinks, food, cloths, music, and dance and music festivalr goodies, and DJ booths providing even more music beyond the 5 main areas. For the first four hours, this was a day party, and too hot to dance, so most people spent this time walking around and getting acclimated to the environment. What I found was a wide diversity of Party Goers from up to six hundred miles away. The Bay Area seems to have a mature and healthy dance scene, as many of the better dancers were from that area. It seemed like every time I saw precision or accuracy beyond what is normal, and I asked those dancers where they were from, the said the San Francisco Bay Area. There were also party people from Seattle, Reno, Phoenix, LA, San Diego, and virtually every other city anywhere near Fresno. Overall, the vibe at this party was good, but not quite as good as at Electric Daisy Carnival, and the same would have to be said for the Venue, as there was not nearly enough dancing room in the House or Trance Areas. EDC also had better provisions for sound. One element that EDC, or any other event, could not compare to Cyberfest in, was the DJ Lineup. This Line up was just unbelievable. It was such a great lineup that it deserves to, and will, be listed it in it's entirety. Sanctuary: 3-4
Liquid, 4-5:30 Tom Silk and Dyloot, 5:30-6 Reflector, 6-7 Eric Spire,
7-7:30 Nizam, 7:30-9 Mars, 9-10 Souls of Mischief, 10-10:30 Plan
B, 10:30-11:30 digital Underground Bass Dimension:
3-4 Niman, 4-5 Deacon, 5-7 Ghost and Frank Nitty, 7-8 Raymond Roaker,
8-9:30 Slim and Orion, 9:30-10 Third Sight, 10-11 Dufunk, 11-12:30
Aphrodite, 12:30-2 Andy C, 2-4 Ed Rush and Matrix. There was some variance from this schedule, but nothing major, so it was a big challenge deciding what you were going to hear, and what you were going to have to miss. If you have any appretation for Jungle at all, you were going to miss excellent House and Trance sets by DJs like Carl Cox, DJ Dan, Donald Glaude, BT , Paul Oakenfold, and Richard "Humpty" Vission, because Cyberfest simply had the best Jungle Line up that the State of California has ever had the opportunity to host. This "Ultimate Jungle Lineup" began with Aphrodite just after eleven, and continued on with Andy C, Ed Rush, and Matrix until four in the morning. For Myself,
and many other party people, the party started once the sun started
to set, and Mars began his performance. Complete with trippy video
effects on screen, Mars set this party off. The Sanctuary was a
huge outdoor auditorium, and was where Cyberfest came together.
Once Mars had finished his set, the sun was all but forgotten, and
we started off into a night of unforgettable music. Whether you
prefer House, Trance, Jungle, or all three the same, you the best
of each within a minute's walk. All of the loyal members of the Junglist nation were rewarded with not only closeness to there leaders, but with five hours of the best Jungle anywhere, anytime. This does not mean that Cyberfest was a just a big Jungle Party, just that the Jungle at this party was phenomenal. So phenomenal, that I did not even bother trying to hear one beat of Donald Glaude's set, a DJ who is the highlight of any event, just not when he is up against Aphrodite. Fortunately, I did pull myself away from the Jungle Area long enough to hear the last half of Carl Cox's set. This was the best House Music that I can remember hearing. I was so in tune with the music, that did not feel like I was not dancing to it, but instead, that the music was being created instantly to match what I was doing. This might have been the best set of the entire thirteen hour marathon, and in the case of Cyberfest, that means a lot. Well Party People here it is! When I took at a look at the line-up for this Cyberfest afer the parking lot at EDC, I felt disappointed. The reason being the best line up, ever was to be at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds in San Jose. Well, my heart was lifted when I found out that the location changed and I was able to go to the party! In terms of how the good the party was, it was definitely sick. The 93 degree temperature did however slow me down. I don't know about anybody else, but dancing in high heat sux! As the night
progressed, I saw performances by two artists I had never seen before.
Plan B, and Souls of Mischief. Plan B, had a grungy type of Trance
style and were accompanied by an MC, they were pretty good. Next
was Souls of Mischief. When 4 guys with Microphones come on stage
the sound is a bit hard to fix, especially with no time to check
before the talent goes on. As far as hip-hop they were good, but
as far as the sound went, very poor. I really hope the sound guy
got yelled at for that one. I'd like to get one thing straight before I go on. UK drum & bass is the SHIT! Nothing compares to it, and no one else can truly imitate the style of the best music in the world, UK drum & bass. No that that is settled.....Andy C was definitely sick. Accompanied by MC GQ, his set sent people into a world more evil and dark than hell itself. This set was so good, I can't even explain it. If you like Hard, Fast, Tech drum & bass, then this was the room for you. Truly sick! Next however....drum roll please.....were the godz of Drum & Bass: ED RUSH + MATRIX!! Junglists, if you have not heard ED RUSH live you haven't heard shit. These Virus Records guys are a must see for all Junglists. Matrix spun first. Playing many tracks from his new album, (Sleepwalk - available on the Virus Label right now if you want to pick it up) he went off. During the most popular songs from Sleepwalk, "Apache" and "Temperament," the crowd was screaming! Matrix didn't spin for too long though, due to sound problems. If Ed Rush and Matrix didn't ask the sound guy to fix the problem for 10 minutes, Ed would not have spun. Fortunately, the problem was fixed and God himself stepped up to the tables. This man is all about Tribal Drum & Bass, he loves tribal beatz just as much as I do. Rush blew the roof off! The crowd couldn't get enough of him. One dope track after another, including a song that really got the crowd moving. Ed played a sort of melodic Drum & Bass track, where he slowed the beat down to almost nothing and then slowly sped it back up for an insane build up! One of the most unique uses of the turn tables that I have ever seen. His hour long set was potentially ended by the party officials, as it was past 4 AM, but this didn't stop Ed, he was yelled at twice to get off, but kept spinning. It was definitely sick! Junglists, this party was definitely a 10+! Everyone who attended Cyberfest 2000 will unequivocally agree that the Trance room was the party... beginning to end. From 3:00 p.m. until 4:00 in the morning, the energy only escalated. I didn't think it possible for people to party so hard, for so long. With respect to the other incredible sets that Dan, Glaude, Cox, Aphrodite, Mars, et. al. spun, nothing came close to the BT/Oakenfold experience. For those who were at Electric Daisy, BT's set was a return to that excellence. Having the crowd primed by Thomas Michael, Christopher Lawrence, and Dave Ralph, certainly helped... but from the moment BT stepped to the tables, there was no escape-- you were transported into the next dimension. I must say that the visuals and lasers were impeccably constructed, for every person, in every state of mind, they were incredible. After BT finished his heart-stopping set, the room was filled beyond capacity... Oakenfold was due. After a few minutes of working out technical difficulties with the sound, the master of Trance taught California what music is about. Oakenfold's set can only be described as the most soul-filled existential experience a person can have through music. Three quarters of the way through his set when he threw that Radiohead song on, half of the crowd was literally floored. For a DJ to be so hyped, and far surpass every expectation you might have of his music, is a truly rare and unbelievable experience. Hearing his set made the 10 hours of driving and logistical nightmares I went through worth every second. As they say in his G.U. New York cover, Oakenfold is the man you want in control. PHOTOGRAPHS |
