Rumbled the Jungle of Future Music Festival Asia 2014

Coming from the “jungles” of Australia to Kuala Lumpur, Future Music festival, the foremost electronic extravaganza to hit this city. Paired together with the 650th episode of A State Of Trance (ASOT), the second time hitting Malaysia it was to be the pinnacle of EDM and Progressive House festival of the year.

Unfortunately enough the event was mid-week and the weather conditions weren’t kind. Haze was thick and the air was barely breathable – especially on the first day. That didn’t didn’t dampen the crowd of thousands lining up to enter the venue. Traffic flow was fast moving, thanks to the pre-allocated electronic tag system, not making lining up a more arduous process.

Headlining the first day event was the world renowned Deadmau5, gracing the crowd with tunes from his latest EP. Being an act only for those who has a 3-day pass it was definitely a show not to be missed. The light show during ‘Strobe’ took visuals to an amazing high, evidently pleasing the masses. The setting was perfect, all around you everything fits like a glove to FMFA’s slogan “Rumble in the jungle”.

Aarmin Van Buuren took the lead on the second day, landing again with the ASOT 650, a bigger ASOT than it was last year with an A-list trance DJ lineup to match. As the event started and more ravers pass through the security entrance of The Bukit Jalil Stadium and flooded the event floor, techy beats from MaRLo greeted the nights’ event. Taking a minute to appreciate the ambiance around – with the ferris wheel and hot air balloons rotating around, fun games and promotional stalls to get free things from – the venue didn’t lack anything you needed to fill in your time before the banger headline acts come on.

Water, food and other facilities were more than sufficient for the thousands of ravers’. Due to heavily marked up prices and premier product placements food and water, refreshments were heavy on the wallet. Nonetheless, a complete array of scrumptious food lined up by local vendors made it worth the buck.

As the sun set and night dwellers pop up like mushrooms, the range of people that could be seen is nothing short of entertaining. From Donations can be made to the rate my school of your choice; your child's teacher(s); to a Grade-level team; to a Department; a Special Program or for distribution to those in greatest need. guys in banana suits to people getting “higher” than the hot air balloon – everything was in check to complete the festival experience. Aarmin Van Buuren took the night away with his impeccable show with his cheeky stage presence, unmatched technical skills and a solid set of trance music. Going well at the pinnacle of the night, after other notable DJ sets from Markus Schultz and Omnia revving up the crowd, the “king of trance” took the crowd away, matching his charisma with the undying energy of trance lovers from all around. His mixes were tight, no faltering or buffer between tracks – the whole set was smooth as butter. Highlighting the night would be the minute of silence led by the renowned DJ to think of passengers on flight MH370. Hearts lifted up and signs were passed around commemorating the still missing passengers for their wellness – truly a touching moment.

As epic as the night was, casualties did occur. Due to irresponsible and inexperienced ravers, day 3 of FMFA was put to a stop. Several deaths took place – taking the matters to higher authorities. Disputes were running wild while attendees became rowdy waiting for the final confirmation of the events cancellation, anxiously waiting over by the entrance barricaded by armored police. After much deliberation and confirmation of the events cancellation sunk in, it became nationwide news instantaneously. Despite the cut short event, we still can’t forget the work of thousands of people who made Future Music Festival Asia happen, disregarding the mistakes of those responsible for the cancellation. (Photos : Ashish Parmar/Matthew Oldfield/Paulius Staniunas)