Electric Castle is an annual music festival held on the Transylvanian domain of the
Bánffy Castle, near
Cluj-Napoca
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status
, subdivision_name2 ...
in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, and combines music, technology and alternative arts. It features many genres of music including rock, indie, hip hop, electronic, techno, and drum and bass as well as art installations.
In the seventh edition, the festival has received the award for the Best Medium Sized Festival at the European Festival Awards, where Electric Castle has been nominated since its existence. On its past editions, the festival had confirmed names such as
Florence + the Machine
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
,
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, pe ...
,
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
,
Nils Frahm
Nils Frahm (born 20 September 1982) is a German musician, composer, and record producer based in Berlin. He is known for combining classical and electronic music and for an unconventional approach to the piano in which he mixes a grand piano, upr ...
,
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...
,
Bring me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fis ...
,
Deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...
,
alt-J
Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ) are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwilym Sainsbur ...
,
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
,
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...
,
Sigur Ros,
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...
,
Rudimental
Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle.
They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...
,
Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation is an American electronic music duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Their musical style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop and Brazilian music, including bo ...
,
Die Antwoord
Die Antwoord (, Afrikaans for "The Answer") is a South African alternative hip hop group formed in Cape Town in 2008.
The group comprises rappers Watkin Tudor "Ninja" Jones and Anri "Yolandi Visser" du Toit, a male/female duo, and producers ...
,
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in Letter case, all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris ...
,
Gorillaz
Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...
and many other artists that performed on one of its ten stages.
History
EC 1 - 2013
The first edition of Electric Castle Festival took place from June 21 to 23. More than 32.000 people passed through the festival's gates and on the 4 stages over 90 artists performed.
Lineup:
Morcheeba
Morcheeba is an English electronic band formed in the mid-1990s with founding members vocalist Skye Edwards and the brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. They mix influences from trip hop, rock music, rock, folk rock and downtempo, and have produced ...
,
Pendulum DJ Set,
Feed Me,
James Zabiela
James Zabiela is a DJ and music producer, producer from Southampton, England. In his early years his signature style was a fusion of Breakbeat and Progressive House music; more recently, however, he is regarded as a Progressive House, Techno a ...
,
Fritz Kalkbrenner
Fritz Kalkbrenner (born 1981) is a German disc jockey, DJ and music producer.
He is a grandson of the East Germany, East German artist Fritz Eisel and younger brother of Paul Kalkbrenner.
Discography Albums
* ''Here Today Gone Tomorrow'' ...
, Dope DOD,
Dub Pistols
Dub Pistols is an English electronic music band founded in 1996 by Barry Ashworth and Jason O'Bryan.
Career
The band's first singles were "There's Gonna Be a Riot" and "Best Got Better" in 1998. Their first album, '' Point Blank'', came out ...
,
Stanton Warriors
Stanton Warriors are a British DJ and production duo consisting of Dominic Butler and Mark Yardley. Originally from the West Country, the duo have performed internationally with their infamous Stanton Sessions parties in Europe, North Americ ...
,
A Skillz
A.Skillz (born Adam Mills) is an English electronic musician.
He has worked across the UK at FabricLive, Spectrum, Chew The Fat, Supercharged, The Boutique and Sugarbeat as well as gigs around the world at major events, festivals and music indus ...
,
Krafty Kuts
Krafty Kuts (real name Martin Reeves) is an English producer and DJ of electronic music and breakbeat.
His first album, ''Freakshow'', was released in 2006 on his Against The Grain label and contains guest artists Tim Deluxe and Ashley Sla ...
,
Wankelmut
Jacob Dilßner (born 17 July 1987), better known by his stage name Wankelmut, is a German electronic music DJ and record producer based in Berlin. He rose to fame internationally through the remix hit " One Day / Reckoning Song (Wankelmut Remix)" ...
and
Telepopmusik and many others.
EC 2 - 2014
![Electric Castle - EC Sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Electric_Castle_-_EC_Sign.jpg)
The second edition of the Electric Castle Festival took place from June 19 to 22. It had an audience of 79,000 (11,000 only in the camping area), becoming the second biggest Romanian music event ever. The 2014 edition went under the slogan of "bigger, stronger, better", with 4 festival days, 5 stages and over 130 artists.
One of the first headliners of the festival,
Rusko
Rusko () is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
.
The municipali ...
, was announced in December 2013. Rusko was about to perform for the first time in Romania. The list continued with artists like
Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation is an American electronic music duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Their musical style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop and Brazilian music, including bo ...
,
DJ Fresh
Daniel Edward Stein (born 11 April 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Fresh, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, best known for making electronic music. He is one of the principal members of the drum and bass group Bad Company, ...
and
Bonobo
The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...
. Due to medical reasons Rusko had to cancel the concert being replaced by
Dub FX
Benjamin Stanford (born 11 June 1983), better known by his stage name Dub FX (stylized as ''Dub Fx'' or ''DubFx''), is an Australian musician and worldwide street performer.
Born in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia,Moses, Allan (2010)Dubbing int ...
.
Die Antwoord
Die Antwoord (, Afrikaans for "The Answer") is a South African alternative hip hop group formed in Cape Town in 2008.
The group comprises rappers Watkin Tudor "Ninja" Jones and Anri "Yolandi Visser" du Toit, a male/female duo, and producers ...
were announced as the headliner in March 2014,
Gramatik
Denis Jašarević (born 19 October 1984), known by his stage name Gramatik, is a Slovenian electronic music producer, originally from Portorož, Slovenia. He currently resides in New York City.
Early life
Denis Jašarević was born in Portoro ...
and
Sasha being the last names announced to perform this year. Die Antwoord have included Romania in their world tour for the first time as well. Their concert will represent the release of their new album called
Donker Mag
''Donker Mag'' (Afrikaans for "dark power") is the third studio album by South African hip hop and rave group Die Antwoord. It was released on 3 June 2014 by Zef Records.
Singles
The album's lead single "Cookie Thumper!" was released on 18 ...
.
The number of the artists invited was 130, the number of stages on which the artists performed was 5.
Lineup:
Die Antwoord
Die Antwoord (, Afrikaans for "The Answer") is a South African alternative hip hop group formed in Cape Town in 2008.
The group comprises rappers Watkin Tudor "Ninja" Jones and Anri "Yolandi Visser" du Toit, a male/female duo, and producers ...
,
Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation is an American electronic music duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Their musical style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop and Brazilian music, including bo ...
,
Bonobo
The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...
,
Dub FX
Benjamin Stanford (born 11 June 1983), better known by his stage name Dub FX (stylized as ''Dub Fx'' or ''DubFx''), is an Australian musician and worldwide street performer.
Born in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia,Moses, Allan (2010)Dubbing int ...
,
DJ Fresh
Daniel Edward Stein (born 11 April 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Fresh, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, best known for making electronic music. He is one of the principal members of the drum and bass group Bad Company, ...
,
Gramatik
Denis Jašarević (born 19 October 1984), known by his stage name Gramatik, is a Slovenian electronic music producer, originally from Portorož, Slovenia. He currently resides in New York City.
Early life
Denis Jašarević was born in Portoro ...
,
Chris Liebing
Chris Liebing (born Christopher Liebing on 11 December 1968) is a German techno DJ, music producer and radio host and the founder of the record label CLR.
Liebing was born in Gießen, Hesse. In the early 1990s, he became active on the Frankfur ...
,
Kraak and Smaak,
Wilkinson,
Foreign Beggars
Foreign Beggars were an English hip hop and dubstep group. Since their formation in 2002, the group's trajectory had seen them evolve from an underground hip hop group to an electronic crossover act. The group consisted of four artists individ ...
,
Delta Heavy
Delta Heavy (often stylised as DELTΔ HEΔVY) are an English drum and bass production duo consisting of Ben Hall and Simon James. They found fame with their 2012 single "Get By", which entered the UK Indie Chart at number 30. The duo's debut a ...
,
Oliver Koletzki
Oliver Koletzki (born in Braunschweig on 5 October 1974) is a German dance and house music producer and DJ. He is currently based in Berlin, Germany.
Koletzki rose to international fame with his track "Der Mückenschwarm" (meaning "the mosquito ...
,
Dub Pistols
Dub Pistols is an English electronic music band founded in 1996 by Barry Ashworth and Jason O'Bryan.
Career
The band's first singles were "There's Gonna Be a Riot" and "Best Got Better" in 1998. Their first album, '' Point Blank'', came out ...
,
Akua Naru
Akua Naru (also known as Akua Olatunji), is a rapper from Connecticut, United States. Naru has been particularly successful in Europe, where she has lived since 2008. Her hip-hop music incorporates styles including soul and jazz. In 2018 she beg ...
,
DJ EZ,
Suie Paparude, Notes and Ties Orchestra, The Correspondents, Adam Freeland, Fred V & Grafix, Gramophonedzie and many others.
EC 3 - 2015
The third edition of Electric Castle took place from June 25 to 28. It had an audience of 97.000 people, 6 musical stages and over 150 performing artists. The festival spread on 10.000 square meters surface.
Lineup:
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
,
Rudimental
Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle.
They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...
,
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...
,
The Parov Stelar Band,
The Cat Empire
The Cat Empire are an Australian jazz/funk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999. For most of the band's duration, the core members were Felix Riebl (lead vocals, percussion), Harry James Angus (trumpet, vocals), Will Hull-Brown (drums), ...
,
The Glitch Mob
The Glitch Mob is an American electronic music trio from Los Angeles, California. It consists of edIT (Edward Ma), Boreta (Justin Boreta) and Ooah (Josh Mayer). Chris Martins of '' LA Weekly'' noted that they "have undoubtedly found the largest ...
,
Maya Jane Coles
Maya Jane Coles is a music producer, audio engineer and DJ based in the United Kingdom, born in London of British and Japanese descent. Under her real name, she mostly composes and plays techno music, while her alias Nocturnal Sunshine creat ...
,
Sub Focus
Nicolaas Douwma (born 13 April 1982), better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English DJ, record producer, songwriter, musician and sound engineer from Guildford, Surrey. He has been releasing records since 2003. On 12 October 2009, ...
,
Sigma
Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...
.
Netsky Live,
The Subways
The Subways is an English rock band from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Formed in 2002, the band consists of Billy Lunn (lead vocals, guitar), Charlotte Cooper (bass guitar, lead vocals), and Camille Phillips (drums). Founding-drummer Josh ...
,
Nouvelle Vague
French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...
,
Roni Size Reprazent and many others.
EC 4 - 2016
The fourth edition of Electric Castle took place from July 14 to 17. With a new festival setup, spread on 18.000 square meters surface, the festival brought over 120.000 people in 4 Days.
Lineup:
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...
,
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fis ...
,
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...
,
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...
,
Paul Kalkbrenner
Paul Kalkbrenner () (born 11 June 1977) is a German musician, producer of electronic music and actor. Because he breaks down his tracks into elements that are reassembled onstage, Kalkbrenner is considered a live act, as opposed to a DJ. He is ...
,
Gorgon City
Gorgon City are an English electronic music production duo consisting of two North London producers Kye "Foamo" Gibbon and Matt "RackNRuin" Robson-Scott. Their 2013 debut single " Real" peaked at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart. They are also w ...
,
Enter Shikari
Enter Shikari (stylised as enter: shikari and occasionally as ΣΠΤΣ℞ SΗΦΚ∆℞Φ) are a British rock band formed in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drum ...
,
Rusko
Rusko () is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
.
The municipali ...
,
Flux Pavilion
Joshua Steele (born 15 January 1989) better known by his stage name Flux Pavilion, is an English EDM producer, DJ, singer-songwriter and label owner who has been performing since 2008.
Flux Pavilion has headlined three US tours, two UK tours, ...
,
Dilated Peoples
Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. They have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song " This Way", a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West. Better known in the UK, they reached t ...
,
Camo & Krooked
Camo & Krooked are an electronic music duo from Vienna, Austria with their musical roots embedded in drum and bass, consisting of Reinhard "Camo" Rietsch (born 12 November 1983 in Salzburg) and Markus "Krooked" Wagner (born 31 July 1989 in Lilie ...
,
Pan-Pot
Pan-Pot is the name of the Berlin-based techno duo, German DJs and music producers Tassilo Ippenberger and Thomas Benedix.
Since their launch in 2005, Pan-Pot have established their presence in the modern techno scene, reaching popularity with t ...
,
Art Department
Art department in filmmaking terms means the section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall ...
and many others.
EC 5 - 2017
The fifth edition of Electric Castle took place between the 12th and 16 July 2017. Held under the motto "The most spectacular EC yet", it was the biggest edition of Electric Castle until that time with over 171.000 visiting the festival during the 5 days.
Lineup:
Deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...
,
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
,
Zedd
Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German DJ, record producer, and songwriter.
Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaiserslautern, G ...
,
Alt-J
Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ) are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwilym Sainsbur ...
,
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...
,
Moderat
Moderat is a German electronic music supergroup originating in Berlin between Sascha Ring, also known as Apparat, and Modeselektor members Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. The band have released four studio albums to date, their most recent ...
,
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
,
Duke Dumont
Adam George Dyment (born August 1981), better known by his stage name Duke Dumont, is an English DJ and record producer. He is best known for his hit singles "Need U (100%)" "I Got U", " Ocean Drive" and " Won't Look Back" which both reached n ...
and many others.
EC 6 - 2018
The sixth edition of Electric Castle (EC6) took place between July 18–22. Held under the "Meet me at the Castle" motto, EC6 continued the festival's expansion with a 30% increase on the festival grounds and covered structures for more than 25.000 people.
Lineup:
Damian Marley
Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards.
Early life, education and family
Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marle ...
,
Jessie J
Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
,
Mura Masa
Alexander Crossan (born 5 April 1996), also known by the stage name Mura Masa, is a Guernsey-born electronic music producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Crossan is best known for his song "Lovesick (Mura Masa song), Lovesick", which ...
,
Richie Hawtin
Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He becam ...
,
Groove Armada
Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of whic ...
,
San Holo
Sander van Dijck (born 26 November 1990), better known by his stage name San Holo, is a Dutch DJ, musician, and record producer from Zoetermeer. He gained international recognition for his remix of Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode", which currentl ...
,
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice are an English rock band from London, England. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012.
Wolf Ali ...
,
Subcarpați,
Little Big,
Kensigton,
Alison Wonderland
Alexandra Margo Sholler (born 27 September 1986), known professionally as Alison Wonderland, is an Australian electronic dance music producer, DJ, and singer. Her debut album, ''Run'', was released on 20 March 2015, which peaked at No. 6 ...
,
Little Boots
Victoria Christina Hesketh (born 4 May 1984), better known by her stage name Little Boots, is an English electropop singer-songwriter and DJ. She was previously a member of the band Dead Disco. Since performing as a solo artist she has released ...
and many others.
2018 saw the first Elrow party in Romania and the first stage takeover for a festival in Romania with the
Hospitality
Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...
- Hospital Records -
drum and bass
Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
night at a secondary stage.
EC 7 - 2019
![Amber Galloway Gallego at Electric Castle 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Amber_Galloway_Gallego_at_Electric_Castle_2019.jpg)
The seventh edition of Electric Castle (EC7) took place between July 17–21. Held under the "All things hidden/All things beautiful" motto, EC7 highlighted the contrasts a festival goer sees during the daytime vs during nighttime. This year was also the first time New Media Castle, a showcase of art installations by visual artists, took place inside the castle and the adjacent buildings.
Lineup:
Florence + The Machine
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
,
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, pe ...
,
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...
,
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fis ...
,
CHVRCHES
Chvrches (stylised CHVRCHΞS and pronounced "Churches") are a Scottish pop band from Glasgow, formed in September 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and, unofficially since 2018, Jonny Scott. Mostly deriving f ...
,
Sofi Tukker
Sofi Tukker (stylized in all caps) is a musical duo based in Florida consisting of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern. They are best known for their songs "Drinkee", " Best Friend", and " Purple Hat". "Best Friend" was featured in a commerc ...
,
Metric
Metric or metrical may refer to:
* Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement
* An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement
Mathematics
In mathem ...
,
The Vaccines
The Vaccines are an English indie rock band, formed in West London in 2010. Band members Justin Hayward-Young (lead vocals, guitar), Freddie Cowan (lead guitar, vocals), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys, vocals) and ...
,
Zeds Dead,
Zomboy
Joshua Mellody (born 1 June 1989), professionally known as Zomboy, is an English dubstep music producer, songwriter, and DJ whose mascot is a zombie.
Biography
Before Joshua Mellody was active under the name Zomboy, he had an Electronicor ...
,
Jauz
Sam Vogel, also known by his stage name Jauz ( ), is an American DJ and electronic dance music producer based in San Francisco, United States. He founded his own record label, Bite This, in 2017.
Early life
Vogel grew up in Northern Californi ...
,
Sigma
Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...
,
Infected Mushroom
Infected Mushroom is an Israeli musical duo formed in Haifa in 1996 by producers Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani. They produce and perform psytrance, electronica, dream trance and psychedelic music. They are one of the best-selling groups in I ...
,
The Black Madonna
Marea Stamper (born 1977), better known by her stage name the Blessed Madonna (formerly the Black Madonna), is an American DJ, producer and musician. ''Mixmag'' named her the DJ of the year in 2016. She founded her own record label called We St ...
, Lamb,
TOKiMONSTA
Jennifer Lee, known professionally as Tokimonsta (stylized as TOKiMONSTA), is an American record producer and DJ based in Los Angeles. She has collaborated with artists such as Anderson .Paak, Earthgang, Isaiah Rashad, Selah Sue, and ZHU. Additio ...
,
Polo&Pan, and many others.
Accessibility for the hearing impaired
Electric Castle 2019 was the first Romanian festival to implement a sign language translator for the hearing impaired with the help of
Amber Galloway Gallego and her team. The sign language interpreters were positioned on a raised platform on the right of the Main Stage and translated all major acts.
EC 8 - 2021*
The eight edition of Electric Castle (EC8) should have taken place between July 14–18, 2021.
Expected 2021 Lineup:
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in Letter case, all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris ...
,
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...
,
Placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
,
Foals,
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
The Neighbourhood
The Neighbourhood (sometimes rendered as "THE NBHD") is an American rock band formed in Newbury Park, California, in 2011. The band is composed of vocalist Jesse Rutherford, guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, and bassist Mikey Margot. ...
,
Machine Gun Kelly
George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thom ...
,
Sheck Wes,
Fisher
Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral.
Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to:
Places
Australia
*Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland
*Elect ...
,
Zhu,
Bicep,
Rezz,
Amon Tobin
Amon Adonai Santos de Araújo Tobin (born February 7, 1972), known as Amon Tobin (), is a Brazilian electronic musician, composer and producer. He is noted for his unusual methodology in sound design and music production. He has released eight ...
and many others.
EC_Special - 2021
As the pandemic led to constantly changing sanitary regulations, the organizers chose to postpone EC 8 for 2022 and came up with a new concept, adapted for those uncertain times.
EC_Special brought back, between August 6-15 2021, the festival vibes everyone has been missing so much. The 10-day festival was an eclectic journey across 30 venues in Cluj-Napoca and the legendary Bonțida.
Lineup:
More than 300 music and new media acts. The most awaited artists were
Asaf Avidan,
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
Sigma
Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...
,
Noisia
Noisia (stylised as NOISIΛ; "VISION" turned upside down) was a Dutch electronic music trio consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from Groningen, Netherlands. They produce a wide variety of music including dr ...
, Mind Against,
HVOB
HVOB (for Her Voice Over Boys) is an Austrian electronic duo founded in Vienna by Anna Müller and Paul Wallner.
Biography
Anna Müller and Paul Wallner founded HVOB in 2012. The duo focuses on "restrained and minimalist" electronica with the ...
and
Ben Böhmer
Ben Böhmer is a German composer, producer and DJ from Göttingen, Germany. He primarily produces and performs deep and progressive house music, and is currently signed on to the labels Anjunadeep, Keller Records, Cercle Music, and his own label ...
.
EC 8 - 2022
The next edition of Electric Castle (EC8) took place between 13-17 July, 2022 and brought more than 272,000 participants during the whole festival period. Over 5 days, participants who chose to camp right next to the festival, became the residents of an awesome mini-society called EC Village. The sold out campsite welcomed 15,000 people and the dedicated stage from this area was one of the 10 music stages at the festival.
Hundreds of artists performed on the other stages, among which the most anticipated were:
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in Letter case, all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris ...
,
Gorillaz
Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...
,
Disclosure
Disclosure may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012
*Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo
* ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton
** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...
,
Moderat
Moderat is a German electronic music supergroup originating in Berlin between Sascha Ring, also known as Apparat, and Modeselektor members Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. The band have released four studio albums to date, their most recent ...
,
Caribou
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
,
Editors
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...
,
Mogwai
Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogw ...
,
Yves Tumor
Sean Bowie, best known by the recording alias Yves Tumor, is an American musician and producer of experimental music, born in Miami, Florida and currently based in Turin, Italy.
To date, they have released four studio albums: ''When Man Fails Y ...
,
WhoMadeWho
WhoMadeWho is a Copenhagen-based experimental pop trio, who formed in 2003. The band consists of jazz guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg, drummer Tomas Barfod and singer/bassist Tomas Høffding.
Career
The band released several 12-inches on German di ...
, DJ Seinfeld,
Apashe
John De Buck (born 9 May 1992), known professionally as Apashe (pronounced 'A-pa-she'), is a Belgian-born Canadian musician. He was born in Brussels, Belgium and currently lives in Montreal, Canada.
Life and career
Apashe was born in Brussels ...
,
Lola Marsh or
Balming Tiger
Balming Tiger is a South Korean musical collective founded in 2018 in Seoul. The group consists of director San Yawn, rapper Omega Sapien, DJ Abyss, music video directors Jan'Qui and Leesuho, singer-songwriters Sogumm, Wnjn, and Mudd the Student, ...
.
EC 9 - 2023
The ninth edition of the festival is scheduled on 19-23 July, 2023. The first wave of artists will be headlined by
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...
,
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
,
George Ezra
George Ezra Barnett (born 7 June 1993) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. After releasing two EPs, '' Did You Hear the Rain?'' (2013) and '' Cassy O (2014), Ezra rose to prominence with the release of his hit single, "Budapest", ...
,
Pendulum
A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the ...
(LIVE) and
Peggy Gou
Peggy Gou is a South Korean DJ and record producer based in Germany. She has released seven EPs on record labels including Ninja Tune and Phonica. In 2019, she launched her own independent record label, Gudu Records, and released a DJ-Kicks ...
. More artists will be announced.
The Castle
Bánffy Castle (or Bonţida Bánffy Castle) is an architectonic Baroque monument situated in
Bonţida, a village in the vicinity of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It was built during the 15th century and was owned by the
Bánffy family Bánffy is a Hungarian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Katalin Bánffy, 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman
* Dezső Bánffy (1843–1911), Hungarian politician
* Eszter Bánffy
Eszter Bánffy, (born 1957) is a Hungarian pre ...
(of which
Miklós Bánffy
Count Miklós Bánffy de Losoncz (30 December 1873 – 5 June 1950) was a Hungarian nobleman, liberal politician, and historical novelist. His books include '' The Transylvanian Trilogy'' (''They Were Counted'', ''They Were Found Wanting'' and '' ...
was a member). The owner is Katalin Banffy.
The castle was desecrated during World War II by German troops and neglected by the communist regime in Romania; it is currently being restored by the Transylvania Trust as a cultural center. Through the presence of the Transylvania Trust and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, who are the organizers of the International Built Heritage Conservation Training Centre set up within the Castle, the high quality restoration and long term protection can be ensured.
Electric Castle Festival is supporting the restoration process by donating an amount of the money earned from the tickets sale.
Impact
The festival generates revenue for the Bonțida community as a large number of locals convert their homes into hostels to provide accommodation for the festival goers. Also, some locals provide parking spaces for the participants' cars and cheap alternatives for food and drinks.
The organisers have raised money for the Bánffy Castle's restoration, and managed to restore the roof and build flooring, through the ongoing Give me a Brick campaign, encouraging festival goers to donate "bricks" or "mortar" through the festival bars. The "bricks" and "mortar" are sums of money equivalent to an actual brick and an actual bucket of mortar.
Through the continued implication of festival sponsors, the sports ground for the local school was restored and furniture was bought for classrooms.
Awards
2013 - After the first edition in 2013, the festival was nominated by
European Festivals Awards The European Festival Awards were initiated in 2010 by the European festival association Yourope and the festival website Virtual Festivals Europe. The awards are presented annually in January of the following year at the European music conference ...
for the Best New Festival and Best Medium Size Festival titles, later on being shortlisted at the Best Medium Size Festival among festivals such as
Melt!,
Balaton Sound
Balaton Sound (also known as Heineken Balaton Sound between 2007 and 2012 and as MasterCard Balaton Sound since 2013 for sponsorship reasons) is one of Europe's largest open air electronic music festivals. Held annually since 2007 on the southe ...
,
I Love Techno
I Love Techno is an international techno music event that takes place in Montpellier, France. National and international DJs perform every year at this event. Associated with the event is a set of music prizes known as the Elektropedia Awards, ...
or Volt.
2014 - The festival was again shortlisted among the best European festivals by
European Festivals Awards The European Festival Awards were initiated in 2010 by the European festival association Yourope and the festival website Virtual Festivals Europe. The awards are presented annually in January of the following year at the European music conference ...
2015 - Electric Castle was shortlisted for the third time for the Best Medium Sized Festival by
European Festivals Awards The European Festival Awards were initiated in 2010 by the European festival association Yourope and the festival website Virtual Festivals Europe. The awards are presented annually in January of the following year at the European music conference ...
2017 - Electric Castle was shortlisted for the fourth time for the Best Medium Sized Festival by
European Festivals Awards The European Festival Awards were initiated in 2010 by the European festival association Yourope and the festival website Virtual Festivals Europe. The awards are presented annually in January of the following year at the European music conference ...
2017 - Electric Castle has received the award for Best Camping Award, by
European Festivals Awards The European Festival Awards were initiated in 2010 by the European festival association Yourope and the festival website Virtual Festivals Europe. The awards are presented annually in January of the following year at the European music conference ...
2018 - Electric Castle was shortlisted for the fifth time for the Best Medium Sized Festival by
European Festivals Awards The European Festival Awards were initiated in 2010 by the European festival association Yourope and the festival website Virtual Festivals Europe. The awards are presented annually in January of the following year at the European music conference ...
2018 - Electric Castle has received the award for Best Food & Drinks Award, by
European Festivals Awards The European Festival Awards were initiated in 2010 by the European festival association Yourope and the festival website Virtual Festivals Europe. The awards are presented annually in January of the following year at the European music conference ...
2019 - Electric Castle was shortlisted for Green Operations, by
European Festivals Awards The European Festival Awards were initiated in 2010 by the European festival association Yourope and the festival website Virtual Festivals Europe. The awards are presented annually in January of the following year at the European music conference ...
2019 - Electric Castle received the award for Best Medium Sized Festival by
European Festivals Awards The European Festival Awards were initiated in 2010 by the European festival association Yourope and the festival website Virtual Festivals Europe. The awards are presented annually in January of the following year at the European music conference ...
See also
*
List of electronic music festivals
The following is an incomplete list of music festivals that feature electronic music, which encapsulates music featuring electronic instruments such as electric guitar and keyboards, as well as recent genres such as electronic dance music (E ...
References
External links
Electric Castle Festival Official WebsiteElectric Castle 2015 - Official After MovieElectric Castle 2014 - After MovieElectric Castle 2013 - After MovieElectric Castle 2015 Review
{{Coord missing, Cluj County
Music festivals established in 2013
2013 establishments in Romania
Tourist attractions in Cluj County
Electronic music festivals in Romania
Summer events in Romania