As a lover of literally almost everything the guy puts out, I’m ashamed to admit, I’ve never seen an Eric Prydz set live and in person.
When I knew I’d be attending this year’s Euphoria Music Festival and saw his name drop as part of the lineup, in addition to the rest of the MASSIVE talent roster, my heart lept. Something inside me told me that this was going to be a weekend to remember.
Without straying too much from the focus of this piece, the last few months for me personally had been, to put it mildly, rocky. A bittersweet (but civil and kind) breakup with a friend turned more, followed almost immediately by the death to someone I viewed as a father figure, followed by the natual depression that comes with dealing with loss, a major car accident and subsequent injury, not to mention the daily chaotic hussle and bussle of just … life.
Euphoria, although I was on media detail, was going to be my weekend to enjoy some of my favorite music, and the ONE set above all that I was hell bent on catching, was that of Mr. Prydz.
As the sky grew darker, and the stage lights of the festival grounds grew brighter, I saw the crowd around the Elements Stage begin to grow. It was almost time …
“Euphorians” (as the festival organizers have dubbed their patrons) congregating with their respective crews, totems, and flags. It felt like some post-apocalyptic gathering of tribes, each with a flag bearer designating each group’s identity. The dust about us swirled as the lights on the stage blacked out and the cheers of the crowd began to grow.
I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply as everyone around me began roaring with excitement, and then … it began. The opening synths of Pryda – WOWOW echoed aloud and everything around me began to melt away.
The phrase “… it was at this moment …” seemed to have become a mantra for me that weekend with a plethora of meanings and contexts, but it wasn’t until the cool dusty wind of the Euphoria festival grounds swept across my face and those opening notes flooded my eardrums like river bursting through a dam, that it was fully and completely realized.
Prydz prowess on the decks was godly. Impossibly long and flawless blends, utter and devistatingly perfect song selection, as well as the perfect amount of subtle enthusiasm and crowd appreciation. As Mr. Prydz closed his set with the appropriately titled “Opus,” I looked around at my own little tribe of friends and couldn’t help but smile at the seemingly simple revelation that had occurred over the course of the last hour and half, yet took a trip to Euphoria Music Festival, a dozen or more friends, and one Mr. Eric Prydz to help make happen. There were moments during his set, that I forgot everything in my life that stresses me out and could focus on nothing but the music.
…. the music.
Music is the most important and fundamental thing that brings us all together, and veterans and jaded scenesters sometimes forget it is the reason we all find ourselves where we are.
Thank you Eric Prydz for that reminder.
Check out more from the maestro himself on his soundcloud
Matthew is a well known and respected DJ and promoter based out of Houston, TX. Dunn has well over a decade behind the decks, played alongside some of the biggest names in dance music, and is a fixture in the EDM community both on local and international level.
