ELECTRIC GARDENS 2018 MAIN STAGE LINE-UP ANNOUNCEMENT

[lead]Thousands of Sydney electronic music lovers are expected to plant their feet firmly on the green grass dancefloor of Centennial Park this January 2018 for the third annual edition of hugely anticipated summer music festival, Electric Gardens.[/lead]

Today, Electric Gardens reveals the first international heavy-hitters confirmed to play the mainstage of their flagship Sydney event, which last year completely sold out, and in 2018 is destined to make a double-sized return, with four separate, musically-themed arenas. Three further rounds of major artists are still to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

This first release of 2018 artists doesn’t disappoint – all the types of global legends we’ve come to expect of Electric Gardens’ programming in previous years. The following icons of dance music have spent decades entertaining crowds of thousands at the biggest festivals in the world, have countless bona-fide hits and remixes to their names, and have each had a major impact in shaping the trajectory of club music across the past few decades.

FATBOY SLIM

After christening the inaugural Electric Gardens back in 2016 with a truly unforgettable performance, our weapon of choice, FATBOY SLIM, is pulling on his signature Hawaiian shirt and preparing to once again to be the life and soul of Electric Gardens!

If you’ve heard a radio in the past twenty years you’ll of course have gotten around the Brit-Award winning English DJ/producer, who is behind some of the defining dance music singles of our times: ‘The Rockafeller Skank’, ‘Praise You’, ‘Right Here, Right Now’, ‘Birds of Prey’, ‘’Weapon of Choice’, ‘Body Movin’ and more. As well as an incredible body of work to perform, Fatboy Slim has an awesome stage presence – he’s sure to have all of us eating out of the palm of his hand in what’s sure to create an exhilarating few hours of dancefloor euphoria at Electric Gardens.

ARMAND VAN HELDEN

Simply one of the most pivotal figures in dance music – ever, ARMAND VAN HELDEN joins us in the Gardens for his first DJ set in Australia in seven years.

The ever-diversifying Van Helden comes to Electric Gardens following a performance in Melbourne with a full 15-piece Melbourne Symphony Orchestra ensemble. Armand Van Helden has dominated club culture – mainstream and underground – and radio airwaves for more than two decades, blessing the scene with countless classics along the way. The New York electronic music icon will perform a DJ a set packed with his massive hits – U Don’t Know Me, My My My, Bonkers (feat. Dizzee Rascal), I Want Your Soul, Duck Sauce and more. Get ready for a huge spine-tingling moment when van Helden plays his infamous Tori Amos Professional Widow remix, he’s also sure to pull out his classic remixes for New Order, Deep Forest, Daft Punk, and Faithless, his own underground jams, along with plenty of taste-making house selections; from classics to contemporary.

GORGON CITY

London’s GORGON CITY bring one of the most refreshing sounds in the game to Electric Gardens 2018

The UK-based duo of Gibbon and Matt Robson-Scott, who came up as DJs in the dank London basement world before moving into production, now have fans in tastemakers as disparate as Diplo, DJ T and Terry Farley. Their polished, powerful and party-minded sound – a mix of heavy hip-swinging rhythms meets butt-shaking bass – gets people making shapes all over the world. The boys have achieved startling success since the release of their debut album, Sirens – from a run of chart hits and star collaborations in the UK, to a huge international touring presence, that’s seen them perform everywhere from Glastonbury to Coachella to more recently alongside UK heroes Rudimental in NYC’s Central Park.  The North London pair have helped shape the trajectory of deep house with their thoughtful, yet infectious productions. From club-ready work like Ready For Your Love to more emotionally-driven ballads such as Here For You, to their huge new soulful 90s disco-house collab with Duke Dumont, Real Life – the pair’s musical range is admirable, and we can’t wait to soak it all up at Electric Gardens.

MK (Marc Kinchen)

MK The man behind some of the biggest tracks of early house, and still one of the most in-demand DJs on the global circuit, revered producer, remixer and DJ, MK join us in Australia for Electric Gardens 2018.

MK, who grew up in Detroit under the tutelage of nascent techno legends Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, has long been one of the most idiosyncratic house producers around, tempering his feel for soulful New York-styled garage with the energy of hard techno. As well as having near unprecedented levels of credibility within the underground dance music scene, MK’s a hero in the mainstream arena, too. During his time, he’s worked on R & B productions with Pharrell, Will Smith, Quincy Jones, Diane Warren, Tyrese, Brandy, and Pitbull to name a few, and has remix credits for mega pop artists, including Lana Del Rey, Sky Ferreira, and Sam Smith and more.   Through his timeless productions, MK has influenced a new generation of producer. This year tastemaker MK began hosting his own bi-weekly radio show on Beats1, and recently re-launched his iconic label and event brand Area10. He continues to blow away huge audiences around the world with his incredible DJ sets, recently performing at Together at Amnesia in Ibiza, Camp Bisco, V Festival, Parklife UK, and mounting his own Area10 takeover stages at Pacha Ibiza and Creamfields. It’s an absolute honor to have the legendary MK perform for us!

Electric Gardens fans have plenty to look forward to, with the names of several further internationals gracing the mainstage still to come, along with a stage of contemporary underground tech, house and electronic artists, and a stage of Australians and locals, and the Return to Rio stage. Immerse yourself in Electric Garden’s fantastically diverse and friendly crowd in the lush, inner-city oasis that is Centennial Park this summer, and lose yourself to dance.

ELECTRIC GARDENS 2018

ft. FATBOY SLIM
ARMAND VAN HELDEN
GORGON CITY
MK
+ further artists to be announced in coming weeks.
Centennial Park, Sydney
Jan 27th, 12pm – 10pm

ESSENTIAL TICKETING INFO

General sale begins Wednesday, August 16, at 9am, via Eventbrite.
GA: $130 – $160 + bf
VIP: $250 – $350 + bf