Like most things, the electronic music industry runs in trends.
Whether it's a new subset of genres, changes in production, or how shows are put on, the tides of the future often pull in favor of what’s new and exciting. Lately, those tides have been washing up on the lovely shores of Mexico and neighboring tropical beaches in the form of destination music festivals — label and artist-curated events with lineups specifically catered to the group's fan following, hosted in sprawling, all-inclusive tropical destination resorts.
The most recent of these announcements came last week, when Grammy-nominated alt-electronic duo ODESZA announced its own curated destination event with SUNDARA Music Festival. Hosted at the Barcelo Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico, SUNDARA marks the first-ever festival from Foreign Family Collective, a label owned and run by ODESZA’s Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight. Also featured on the lineup are RL Grime, Alison Wonderland (who recently announced a much-anticipated B2B set) and Rüfüs Du Sol, to name a few. Each artist on the lineup will be performing two unique sets during the four-day, four-night event.
While enjoying this incredible slate of artists, attendees will get the chance to take advantage of the numerous amenities the Barcelo Resort has to offer, including more than a mile of Caribbean shoreline, eight pools, more than 20 different restaurants and various entertainment venues. In addition to this, Harrison Mills of ODESZA promises to have much more in store in terms of surprises and “one-of-a-kind” performances.
“For us, we’re going to be working as hard as we can to make this the most unique, immersive experience we’ve ever done before,” said Mills, who caught up with CL on a phone call before the duo headed to Suwannee Hulaween last weekend. “Very unique sets in every capacity. We’ll have lots of surprises.”
SUNDARA is arguably one of the best destination offers out there, but its price tag has left it open to controversy and backlash. At over $1,300 a head, SUNDARA prices leave out many college-aged ODESZA fans, a demographic that makes up a significant bulk of the duo’s following. ODESZA isn’t alone in receiving criticism upon announcing a destination gathering.
EDM veteran Bassnectar received similar backlash when he announced his first-such tropical destination festival this past July, while cult-electronic group Above and Beyond, whose fanbase regularly travels all over to see them, was forced to cancel its Anjunabeach festival due to fan fallout and lack of interest. Despite these struggles and fears, the ODESZA duo plans to go ahead with SUNDARA in an effort to make it the best fan experience for those in attendance. ODESZA is optimistic that it can provide a spark for future Foreign Family-curated events that will be more accessible to those with less disposable income.
Those attending will be treated to three sets from ODESZA — the group is set to perform a special extended live SUNDARA set, a NO.SLEEP DJ set that harkens back its fan-celebrated mixes, and a first-ever ambient sunset set. Adding to the experience is the opportunity to hang with the artists themselves, as Harrison said that at the very least you’ll run into the duo poolside:
“We’ll be hanging out with everyone. We’ll be walking around all the days that you’re there. The whole point is to really hang out with the community and put on that awesome experience.”
Fans with the means to foot the bill will be more than pleased come Spring Break 2019, and while we empathize with those who can’t attend, it’s hard not to be in awe of the party ODESZA will be hosting down in Mexico.
Resort packages went on sale this past Tuesday, but you can still find some available on the SUNDARA website. Check out Mills' full Q&A with CL below:
SUNDARA Music Festival, March 13-16, $1399 & up. Barcelo Resort, Riviera Maya, Mexico. More info: https://sundarafestival.com/
First off, congratulations on the SUNDARA announcement. Seems like a Foreign Family Music Festival has been a long time coming — why now?
Thank you. It’s just something we’ve been working on for a really long time. An opportunity arose and we kinda started puzzling the pieces together. It’s so important to us to curate the right people, and as soon as we found that a few people were available we just started building around that to make the best experience we could.
As far as timing, was it more around working around those artists you wanted or the venue?
It’s a lot of things. With putting on a festival, you want to build this big, immersive experience. To us it’s such a big deal, we’re sparing no expense. We want to bring everything there and make it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
How did you guys end up picking Riviera Maya over fan-favored venues like Red Rocks or The Gorge?
We had been there for a New Year's event a few years ago. We were told how events were being placed there and heard about other people, like Phish, throwing events there and got more and more interested. It just seemed like the perfect setting for the type of music we were trying to play and the experience we were trying to create.
The event is billed as providing a bunch of different experiences and stages. How will the stage and production set up be for you guys?
Yeah there’s a lot of different venues. There’s going to be stages outside and inside. There are a lot of moving parts, but we’re figuring that all out over the next few months before finalizing ideas.
Taking a look online there’s obviously a lot of excitement, but there’s also some disappointment from fans who maybe can’t attend because of traveling and the cost to attend. What do you tell those fans who can’t go to SUNDARA?
Yeah, I understand how the price can be too steep for some people, and we’re paying attention to that for future events. But we’re also working really hard to make this one big, immersive experience. We’re trying to include everything in it and make that value worth it. It’s got full inclusive lodging, all food and drink. Everyone’s playing two sets, we’re doing three, and they’re all going to be completely unique. We’re trying to build that value, and we’re sparing no expense. We’re really trying to make it once-in-a-lifetime.
Do you think this will be an annual event?
This is why it’s so unique and special, we don't know. This could be the only time it ever happens.
How did you guys go about picking the lineup? Are these people you all know well or did they all fall under a certain sound you were going for?
Rüfüs is one of our closest friends, the band kind of came up on the Foreign Family label. A lot of the others, some of them we know, some of them we’ve toured with and some we are just big fans of.
Was the two-set idea always something in the works when picking these artists?
Yeah we tried to pick artists that we find really diverse. We feel like they could do a lot of different kinds of sounds and styles. We really wanted to show that diversity within all of the event.
You guys are playing three sets over the weekend with the extended SUNDARA set, NO.SLEEP DJ set and an ambient set. How refreshing is it for you guys to have these varieties of sets given that you’ve been touring the same A Moment Apart show with your drum line for over a year?
It’s really exciting. We get to experiment in new ways and flex a muscle we don’t get to use a lot. We have such an affinity for that type of music that it feels like a really fun experiment on our side. We care so much about wanting to make it the best experience possible, so we’ll probably practice it 1000 times, try some new things during the show. It’ll be really fun.
SUNDARA is pitched as a very intimate and exclusive event. Will people have the opportunity to hang out with the DJs, yourselves in particular?
I can’t necessarily speak for all the other artists, but we’ll be hanging out with everyone. We’ll be walking around all the days that you’re there. The whole point is to really hang out with the community and put on that awesome experiences.
What makes the Foreign Family festival and its community different from other destination festivals?
We’re all friends first, it feels like. It really does feel like a family. We work really hard to make it about the music. We really care so much about putting out the best product and things that are authentic and genuine to us. I think that will really reflect in our sets and just hanging out with people there.
Why should fans spend that money on SUNDARA when there are other events or festivals that are comparable or even cheaper?
For us, we’re going to be working as hard as we can to make this the most unique, immersive experience we’ve ever done before. Very unique sets in every capacity. We’ll have lots of surprises. You’re going to be in the same community as all these other artists on the beach, all curating these different shows, playing more than once. Having everything from lodging, food, music, yoga. I really think it’s going to be incredible. I’m so excited to hang out with everyone and do our best to make the best thing possible.
This article appears in Nov 1-8, 2018.