Live music is all about making connections. Connection to the sound, to the beat, and to the people around us. But just because most of us haven’t had the opportunity to get back into gigs and clubs recently, it doesn’t mean we have to miss out on finding those moments that matter – with Nordic Spirit teaming up with Junction 2 to bring the dancefloor to us.
On the 9th January, 2021, Junction 2: Connections brought the sound of three cities together with 20 different leading house and techno artists live-streaming sets from Berlin, Detroit and London. The festival played out over 6 hours around the virtual world as fans packed Nordic Spirit’s digital Detroit Hex stage to listen, watch and dance through the night.
The virtual dance world
The stages were lit up by artists like HAAi, Seth Troxler, DJ Holographic, Ben Klock, Rødhåd, Daniel Avery, Dixon, Hessle Audio and Peach, with the J2v virtual world hosting fans as personal avatars who could explore art installations, hangout at the bar, interact with friends in multiplayer and dance on screen – all the time listening in their own homes and enjoying a full-on festival experience (without the portable toilets…).
London sets were recorded during lockdown in the capital’s iconic Millennium Mills – marking one of the last 2021 events to take place in the derelict venue before it gets completely redeveloped. Taking a small socially-distanced crew to set up their decks in the empty buildings whilst the cameras took them (and their studio light shows) to the main stages of the virtual festival, the artists broke new ground by headlining without ever seeing the crowd. “It was new territory for me”, says Daniel Avery. “I love the interaction of the crowd but at the same time it felt like something new, something challenging.”
Hidden treasures
Anyone finding their way to the Hex stage during the night to watch the streams from Detroit could collect hidden digital cans of Nordic Spirit to get a free sample. If you didn’t manage to collect enough digital cans on the dancefloor, you can claim your own free sample of Nordic Spirit now. And if you missed out on Junction 2: Connections you can listen back to individual sets here, as well as catching up with all the latest news, line up and details for the next live festival.
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