Dutch techno brand Awakenings is bringing nearly 20 years of next-level production and techno culture vibes to Hammerstein Ballroom this Valentine's Day. The first-ever Awakenings NYC's lineup includes Drumcode's Adam Beyer B2B Ida Engberg, Pan-Pot and Julia Govor B2B Kamran Sadeghi; more artists are to be announced as the date draws closer.
As Your EDM reports, Awakenings is a two-day festival that originated in the Netherlands in the mid 1990s. The titans of techno event production made their North American debut at this past Labor Day Weekend's Electric Zoo: Transformed, where their curated tent was consistently packed throughout the three-day menagerie. Based on the sweaty success they saw at EZoo, they're returning with their first-ever stateside solo event, and apparently have more North American events in the works.
Upon the event announcement, founder Rocco Veenboer said "Since my first visit to the U.S. in 1991, it was always my dream to come and bring [the event] to this beautiful country that has inspired me so much," Billboard reports. He adds "I visited two Grateful Dead shows in Giants Stadium and the show they put on was such a powerful visual trip, it completely opened my eyes."
If the fact that the event is being held on Valentine's Day doesn't convey the vibes to expect, Veenboer's explanation should: "It's Valentine's so we wanted to create a more tech house-y kinda sound with a lot of love and 200 percent party-music. Adam and Ida are the king and queen of techno and they are Awakenings residents so they just had to come along," Billboard reports.
Other European-based electronic dance music, arts and culture event production brands have also brought their events stateside to New York in recent years. Dutch-based Mysteryland made history as the first-ever multi-day music festival held at the Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center since the original 1969 Woodstock and after only two years has already become an institution. German-based Time Warp threw down its second annual stateside edition at Pier 39 in Brooklyn this past November; although the event faced some opposition from local policymakers in the weeks leading up to the party, the crew managed to change venues at the last minute and if the photo gallery over at MixMag is any indication, it was a success.
You can sign up for the ticket presale for the Valentine's Day party here. While waiting for February to roll around, listen to Adam Beyer and Ida Engberg going back to back at Paradise in Ibiza this past summer, below.
