10 Acts That Will Make Ultra Music Festival 2016 One For The Books

For many in the North American electronic music scene, Ultra Music Festival marks the beginning of festival season. A cross section of the DJ/producer elite use it as an opportunity to debut tracks that will become each year's soundtrack, and the surrounding Miami Music Week serves as a veritable beacon by which countless industry connections are made each year. Be that as it may, this year's edition of the festival will make for a particular mile marker in the electronic music landscape. We've already pointed out the unprecedented representation that house and techno artists have on the 2016 lineup. In addition to that, there are also a handful of acts that will make this year’s edition of Ultra an occasion not to be missed by anyone invested in the various iterations of electronic music culture. So, on that note, here are 10 acts that we feel will make Ultra Music Festival an incredibly memorable affair this year. 10) Jauz Jauz kicked off The Friendly Tour in a particularly memorable fashion, bringing out the likes of Skrillex, Diplo, Borgore and Getter for an unprecedented back-to-back set at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood. In the time that has passed, he’s continued to keep his name in the mouths of electronic music fans by debuting track after track at his hyphy, bass-heavy performances. Being that Ultra Music Festival makes for an ideal test site for new music, it only makes sense that Jauz would have saved some of his projects for his audience at the massive. If you’re a fan, make sure you don’t miss his set. 9) The Prodigy Once upon a time, you couldn’t have a conversation about contemporary electronic music without The Prodigy’s name coming up a time or two. The “godfathers of rave” contributed in no small part to the electronic music of the ’90s and that of the turn of the millennium - and now that this musical movement is undergoing a shift towards more classic styles, it only makes sense for them to come back into the scene to educate the masses. The Prodigy’s particular style of electronic music is markedly darker and more industrial than much of what you’ll hear at Ultra Music Festival 2016. They’ve gone about a year with few releases, so you can likely expect them to drop some new music during the gathering. 8) Maceo Plex Granted, there’s no shortage of techno with this year’s Resistance Arcadia Spider stage, as it's enlisting the likes of Marco Carola, Seth Troxler and Loco Dice. However, as he’s of Cuban descent, Maceo Plex spent a considerable chunk of his upbringing in Miami. If his aurally stimulating brand of techno weren’t already enough to stoke your interest, it’s not a far cry to assert that he’ll see the homecoming as an ideal occasion to test drive some new music as well. Macao Plex hasn’t released any new music yet in 2016. If there’s a time and place for him to do so, however, you can bet that it’s Ultra Music Festival. 7) SNBRN SNBRN has been involved in some interesting projects lately. While on its own his unique blend of tropical and future house already turned its fair share of heads in 2015, he’s proven himself more than just a one-trick pony by engaging in collaborations with the likes of Shaun Frank and Dr. Fresch. As the tides of contemporary house music continue to turn, SNBRN is an artist who appears ready to stay ahead of the curve. As such, his performance at Ultra will be one not to miss among some of the more one-dimensional acts on the roster. 6) Fedde Le Grand One year ago, Fedde Le Grand brought his Darklight concept shows to Ultra Music Festival in hopes of exposing a new generation of dance music fans to the sounds of underground house and techno. If the sheer number of artists billed for the Resistance Arcadia Spider stage is any indicator, these seminal dance music styles are now at the forefront of music fans’ awareness. While the current popularity of house and techno can’t realistically be attributed to Fedde Le Grand in such a big way, it certainly indicates that he’s got a finger on the pulse of electronic music. For that reason alone, it will be interesting to see what he brings to the table for his performance. 5) DJ Snake Few artists boast the hitmaker reputation that DJ Snake does. The Parisian DJ/producer appears quite prone to striking gold, as each year tracks like his remix of AlunaGeorge’s “You Know You Like It” or his Major Lazer and MØ collaboration, “Lean On,” wind up dominating the airwaves. Seeing as how he’s been gearing up for the Pardon My French tour with fellow Frenchmen Tchami and Mercer - and hanging out with veritable phenomenons like Skrillex - his set at Ultra should be something of a spectacle. 4) Eric Prydz Very few artists can boast having the sort of impact on electronic music that Eric Prydz has. The Swedish DJ/producer created ten years’ worth of music for his transcendental live sets without releasing any of it until last year’s EP series which led up to the release of his epoch-making artist album. Not content to make history with those efforts alone, however, he put together a stage show that has effectively redefined electronic music live performances. The holographic cube that has become the monolithic centerpiece to his Epic 4.0 sets has become nothing short of legendary, and his set at Ultra will not disappoint. 3) Martin Garrix After leaving 2015’s festival season on a somewhat tumultuous note, Martin Garrix is going into 2016 with projects that ought to set his diehard fans’ minds at ease. He recently announced the launch of his new label, STMPD RCRDS, indicating that some massive new releases are likely on the horizon as well. It was at last year’s Ultra that Garrix debuted his Tiësto collaboration, “The Only Way Is Up,” among other tracks. We know that he’s got a Julian Jordan collab in the works, as well as one with Ed Sheeran - so it doesn’t seem like he’s about to skimp on us with his upcoming set. 2) Pendulum Once upon a time, Pendulum was the name in drum and bass. The band founded in Perth, Australia by Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen (who now perform as electro house duo Knife Party) became a sought-after name in electronic music at a time shortly before the musical movement fully broke into mainstream consciousness. For their highly anticipated reunion at Ultra, fans can expect Pendulum to pull out all the stops for an audiovisual spectacle that will dazzle the senses. 1) Rabbit in the Moon As far as live reunions are concerned, however, none shares more history with Ultra Music Festival itself than Rabbit in the Moon. An act that was practically synonymous with the breakbeat movement that exploded from Miami in the late ‘90s, the group performed at the very first edition of the festival for a crowd of 7,000 before the members of the group eventually parted ways. At the 18th anniversary of that same gathering, however, Bunny, DJ Monk and David Christophere will unite once more for a performance that will put this edition of the festival in the history books. While they’ve kept relatively quiet in regards to what festival goers can expect from their set, it stands to reason that it will be nothing short of legendary.