UMF - a three letter acronym that has forced its way into the consciousness of every music fan over the past few years. To those of you who may still be in the dark, we are referring to Ultra Music Festival; an event which initially rose to prominence in the dance music hotbed of Miami. Originally meant to provide a showpiece event for the annual Winter Music Conference (one of the largest networking opportunities in dance music) it has now gone on to become an important milestone in the dance calendar itself. From small beginnings as a one day shindig in 1999, it rose to become a landmark 3-day festival in recent years with this year's extravagant festivities taking place over two consecutive weekends. The reason for its success is relatively simple. The best DJs and producers in the world combined with jaw dropping production on an enormous scale (if there's one thing Americans know it's how to put on a show!). Within a short space of time the brand has developed a stellar reputation for its eye catching visuals and all encompassing audio visual experience.
The Ultra group quickly branched out with festivals in as far off places as Santiago, Chile, Sao Paulo in Brazil and most recently Seoul in Korea leading the way for a European leg of the adventure which will take place July 12-13 in Hvar, Croatia. With a large crowd expected from the Emerald Isle, College Times was intrigued to see we will get our own little taste of Ultra this summer in Dublin. As it happens a number of European locations have been selected to host countdown parties in the build-up to the main festival (which features a sumptuous lineup we might add). Ireland is primed for its own countdown party and it seems Ultra have chosen wisely in their partnership.
On Friday July 5th Dublin based promoters Residence will host the Ultra warm-up with none other than Deniz Koyu. We're already looking forward to a sweet combo of Residence magic with the renowned quality of Ultra. The occasion marks another impressive feat for Residence who this year have already succeeded in bringing the likes of Hardwell, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Dada Life to Ireland as well as establishing a new standard for dance nights throughout Ireland. Their partnership with one of the most iconic dance brands out there signifying they seem to be on the right track after just recently celebrating their first birthday.
It seems they have also chosen wisely in Deniz Koyu when picking the man to lead proceedings on July 5th. The producer is without doubt the one of the heirs apparent to the dance music throne. It all kicked off for him in 2011 with the release of Tung on Flamingo Recordings which attracted monumental attention and resulted in his tracks being playlisted by everyone from Tiesto to Swedish House Mafia. Fedde Le Grand voted Deniz "Breakthrough DJ/Producer 2011", Sebastian Ingrosso called him "big time talent", and Axwell replied to the question of a Swedish journalist if he had personal favourites among young DJs: "Deniz Koyu. He makes damn cool music at the moment."
Koyu has also consistently impressed throughout 2013. His track 'Halo' a collaboration with Dirty South on his Phazing label without doubt another bonafide banger. With all this in mind it’s no wonder he takes pride of place on this years Ultra Europe lineup and is ideally placed to headline this tasty Residence-Ultra sandwich at The Village on July 5th.
