EDC 2012: Arty Says There's No Euro Comparison to EDC (Russian or Otherwise)

For his EDC debut, Russian wunderkind Arty brought an eye-opening trance experience to the early birds of the festival's final night. With a blood-red background and a stage set up that looked like the Umbrella Corporation, this 22-year-old sensation performed remixes of, “Losing My Religion,” “We Are Your Friends,” “Teenage Crime.” The LED wall behind him underwent transformation from an amorphous, blue and orange tribal vibe to a blinding, disco ball visual spectacle during his single “Kate.” He brought some much-needed low end back into the set with “Rebound” squeezing out all of his energy with awkward dance steps, high jumping and fist pumping as he ended his set with “Hell Yeah!” by Tiesto and Showtek.

We had a change to catch up with him after his first ever appearance at EDC to talk about the  bizarre events of Saturday night and how the experience of EDC is unlike anything he's ever been part of.

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OC Weekly: What is the most bizarre thing you have seen so far on the road?

Arty: Tonight at EDC was not the best time slot, but it was totally cool. The people chanting my name and coming out around the stage definitely made it one of the best experiences of my life.

What are your thoughts on EDC being shut down last night due to the wind?

I'm really sorry for guys like Avicii and I can't imagine when you're waiting for such a show that is going to be one of the best experiences of the year. The guys probably felt like shit when Insomniac tells you, you have to stop the show. I feel really sorry, but I hope they get the experience of EDC, because even for me at 7:30 p.m., it was a sunset and it was really cool. I Had a lot of fun, it was amazing.

What are the differences you have seen in playing EDC with festivals in Russia and Europe?

There is nothing in the world that you can compare to EDC because of the whole experience. When you come to America, you expect the raging kids, you know, they like the punching, hard songs. Then you go from one club to another club. It's not about the tracks, it's about the emotions. That is what I'm trying to bring into my set, emotion. The experience is so different the people are different. The first time I played at Imperial Festival it was a chill sound and vibe. After I played at Ibiza and people went nuts. It was such a good show. So you never know what to expect. You have to prepare your set in a proper way and people will go crazy.

Who are you listening to right now?

Porter Robinson, Madeon and Alesso, those are the guys I really like right now, and use in my set. They are really young and have great energy.

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