What Went Down: Future Music Festival Asia 2014 @ Bukit Jalil National Stadium

By JUICE Malaysia  •  in Reports
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source: Matthew Oldfield

Text Celeste Goh

Day 2 – A State of Trance 650: New Horizons
After the successful instalment last year, A State of Trance (ASOT) returned to Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA) once again, as part of their 650th leg, New Horizons, with a new lineup of captivating trance and EDM DJs to keep the FMFA revellers on a continuous high on the second night.

Kicking things off from the home front was Ramsey Westwood, the EDM DJ from Penang, who was the first Malaysian DJ ever to perform at the acclaimed Ministry of Sound nightclub in London. Also representing Malaysia that night, the trifecta trio Trimix, three different KL individuals with their music specialities in progressive, tech and trance, which were blended together into an ecstatic catalyst of sounds.

From under the wings of van Buuren himself, Dutch-born-Australia-based DJ MaRLo soared across the sunset skies of Kuala Lumpur that evening, as he brought forth to the ASOT crowd a signature blend encompassing influences of trance, techno, tech house and a mishmash of various other chunky sounds. Also from under the Armada Music umbrella to perform that night was Ukrainian trance and progressive house DJ Omnia, a self-taught DJ of only 26 with a distinctive edge and music style that have garnered him international recognition.

As night fell and the party was at its adolescence, the “Modern Day Mozart” Andrew Rayel delved the ASOT set into a mixture of trance music peppered with chops of classical sounds, before handing the beacon over to the more renowned German DJ Markus Schulz. A frequent collaborator with van Buuren, and other artistes like Depeche Mode, Fat Boy Slim, and Telepopmusik, Schulz warmed up the throne nicely with his steadfast music style of trance, before the King of ASOT himself took over, bringing the revellers to a climatic set.

Despite being knocked off his usual position on the DJ Mag Top 100 by Hardwell recently, his fans remained true to the once (and perhaps, future) trance king, as they drank in what the trance DJ had to offer for this leg of the ASOT650 tour. Bless the trance king’s heart too, as he spared a moment of silence during his set, leading the crowd to say a prayer for the families and friends of the 239 passengers and crew on aboard the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which went missing earlier last month.

Ending the night and the year’s ASOT series in Malaysia was van Buuren’s Armada counterpart, Paul van Dyk. From his earlier trance days to his more recent Evolution into EDM, DJ Mag’s Longest Running DJ (15 years straight!) wrapped things up on a pleasant high, giving the trance fans in Malaysia a chance to escape from the recent events that have been happening right in our backyard. Whilst the aftermath following the night was one that still set everyone on the edge of grief and anger, looking back in retrospect, at least there was one night of escapism that brought the country together through something everyone could relate to – music.

Sponsored by Asahi, Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance 650 went down on the second day of Future Music Festival Asia 2014 on Friday 14 March ’14.

For more photos of the festival, click here.