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)

Southeast Asia’s largest music festival to feature a colossal list of big names which includes Deadmau5, Paul Van Dyk, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Wu Tang Clan, Baauer, Eric Prydz’s first ever appearance in Asia and the return of Armin Van Buuren’s legendary ‘A State of Trance 650: New Horizons’ plus many more at The Mines Wonderland, Mines Resort City from 13 – 15 March 2014  

KUALA LUMPUR: The organizers of Future Music Festival Asia, Future Music Australia and Livescape Asia today announced its biggest festival yet by unveiling its line-up of epic proportions for next year’s massive festival. The festival will take over the Mines Wonderland, Mines Resort City’s entire vicinity from 13 – 15 March 2014 with an estimated 75,000 fans expected to converge over the three-days.

Slated to be Southeast Asia’s biggest music festival ever, the organisers take cue from the success Future Music Festival Asia has obtained over the past two years and promises more punch and a cosmic show that will seal FMFA as Southeast Asia’s biggest and most epic music festival. The festival next year has been expanded to three days from this year’s two.

The theme for next year’s mega event brings to life a psychedelic kaleidoscope of raw energy and wild enthusiasm as the ‘Safari’ takes over the Mines Wonderland, Mines Resort City. Punters are urged to come decked in their most inspirational Safari themed outfits as the music event unleashes its unbelievable line-up of performers onto a hungry pack of music buffs with a stampede of transcending genres.

Tickets go on sale on Thursday, 17 October 2013. With the mega line-up of acts invading Malaysia, organisers have split ticket sales into four releases that will be sold in stages. Music lovers are urged to go out and safeguard their passes, as FMFA next year is again expected to be a sold-out affair.

“It has been our vision to bring to music punters in this region a massive music experience that resonates long after the festival is over. This is our first steps in making that vision a reality by presenting our biggest line-up to date. From US to Indonesia, music lovers are crossing out their calendars for the coming festival and we can only get better from here on. This will be the largest music festival in Southeast Asia and we guarantee it will be a mind-blowing three-day event”, mentioned Iqbal Ameer, Director of Livescape Asia.

Day 1 will be an invite only event for festival goers who purchase the weekend pass. Deemed as the ‘FMFA 2014 Opening Party featuring DeadMau5 + Friends”, the stage will be dominated by the long awaited arrival of outspoken progressive-house music producer and performer, Deadmau5. Only weekend and VIP pass holders will be allowed access into Day 1.

On Day 2, fans of trance music and Armin Van Buuren will be transported once again to intergalactic heights with ‘A State of Trance 650: New Horizons’, marking the Dutch trance legend’s return to Malaysian shores. The return of ASOT to Malaysia also marks Kuala Lumpur as the only city in the world after Miami to have hosted the show for two years running.

“Last year we had such an impressive turn-out that we just had to bring Armin Van Buuren back for another mind-blowing night. Trance fans can attest that it was not just magnetic but the energy and vibe was staggering. Playing alongside Armin are also going to be legendary names so we can guarantee that this is one night, music fans are not going to want to miss,” stressed Iqbal Ameer.

Day 3 which will be held on 15 March 2014 will see the main Future Music Festival Asia 2014 event take place which will feature four massive stages. The stages on Saturday will feature diverse sounds ranging from Electronic Dance Music (EDM), Trance, Techno, Rock, and HipHop.

Jason Ayoubi, the Director of Future Music Australia said, “I believe we have got a phenomenal line-up and I don’t think Southeast Asia, let alone Malaysia has ever witnessed a gathering of musical talents in a single event of this proportion and scale. So to the fans, I urge you to please get your tickets early. We’re expecting a sold-out show and we really don’t want to have to disappoint you because I promise you, next year, Future Music Festival Asia 2014 will be the biggest music event to happen in this part of the region”.

The epic Future Music Festival Asia, which thrilled crowds of over 55,000 in March this year, has been dubbed as the largest music festival to ever hit Southeast Asian shores. Malaysia is the only country to ever host Future Music Festival outside of Australia. Future Music Festival Asia 2014 is organized by Future Music Australia and Livescape Asia Sdn. Bhd. and is supported by Malaysia Major Events, a division of the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, an agency under Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is also supported by Mixmag as the festival’s Global Media Partner and MTV as its Official Music Channel.

“The Future Music Festival Asia 2014 represents a great mark for Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014. The fact that Malaysia is able to host this festival for the third consecutive year in 2014 on different aspects of our hospitality and culture, once again proves that we are committed to further intensify our interactions as stakeholders in the tourism and culture sector and working towards enhancing the contribution to economic development of Malaysia,” said Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri bin Tan Sri Abdul Aziz, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia.

Tony Nagamaiah, General Manager of the Malaysia Major Events added, “Malaysia Major Events is constantly deriving ways to support activities that could drive tourism into the country. Over 75,000 revellers are expected to attend the festival next year of which over 20,000 are foreign fans. With a proven track record over the past two years, we believe that Future Music Festival Asia is a dynamic platform to attract a large number of tourists into the country and be a part of reaching our goal of 28 million tourists in 2014.”

For the festival next year, fans of Future Music Festival Asia 2014 will be offered choices to purchase either single-day passes for the 14 or 15 March 2014 or a three-day weekend pass which will grant them access into all three days of the Future Music Festival Asia 2014 Weekend. Passes to Day 1 of FMFA 2014 is not available for sale separately.

For more information or to obtain updates on the festival, logon to: www.futuremusicfestival.asia or www.facebook.com/futuremusicasia. Visit also www.astateoftrance.com for more information on Armin Van Buuren’s A State of Trance 650: New Horizons.

Tickets will be on sale from 17 October 2013 onwards at http://redtix.airasia.com. VIP Tickets go on sale on October 30 via www.galactix.asia. For exclusive VIP packages, contact Livescape Asia at +60.3.7772.6272. Tickets are also available for walk-in purchase at selected Rock Corner and Victoria Music outlets. Future Music Festival Asia 2014 is opened to guests aged 18-years and older only. ID verifications will be carried out at the door. *Ticket prices exclude ticket agent’s processing and credit card fees.

Festival rules apply. FMFA also implements a strict no re-entry policy for security reasons. The organizers also reserve the right to deny entry to any guest deemed to be in violation of festival rules.

List of FMFA 2014 acts below. List of acts by stages and days will be released in the next few days:

International acts:

• Adventure Club
• Armin Van Buuren
• Arty
• ATB
• Baauer
• Brodinski
• Carnage
• Chase & Status (LIVE)
• Deadmau5
• Deniz Koyu
• Eric Prydz (First Ever Asian Appearance)
• Gesaffelstein (LIVE)
• Knife Party
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• Marcus Schulz
• Monsta
• Naughty Boy
• Paul Van Dyk
• Porter Robinson
• Rehab
• Rudimental
• Sub Focus (LIVE)
• Tinie Tempah
• Wu Tang Clan feat. Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon
• Yuna
• + more to be announced soon

Local acts:

• 2db
• Anowl
• BATE
  • Basement Syndicate
  • Bunga
  • Dangerdisko featuring Datuk Sheila Majid
  • Deer Society
  • Goldfish +Blink
  • H3
  • Mr.Nasty and GuruGuru
  • Raising the Bar
  • Tubby
  • Xu
  • + more to be announced soon

We have listed ten musicians with their stage names and the reasons why they picked those names.

1.   Sting : Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner

His’ stage name came when he wore a black and yellow sweater (with black strypes) for his performance with the Phoenix Jazzmen. The frontman of the band thought it made him looked like a bee.

2.   Pink : Alecia Beth Moore

The story behind this was actually when she got bullied by her friends at school. So, Alecia (or Pink)’s pants were pulled down by some of her friends at camp and she felt embarrassed by that, and then her cheeks blushed, and her friends shouted at her “Look at her! She’s Pink!”

3.   Slash : Saul Hudson

Slash was given by his family friend, Seymour Cassel. He was called as Slah because he always in a hurry.

 4.   Sid Vicious : John Simon Ritchie

The nickname was originally given by John Lydon, and it’s after his hamster, Sid. And one day, Sid the hamster bit John (Sid)’s hand and he said “Sid is Vicious!”

5.   Deadmau5 : Joel Zimmerman

Joel’s moniker was inspired by an incident when he found a dead mouse in his computer, and he tried to use ‘Deadmouse’ for his chatting account, but it was too long, then he shortened it into : Deadmau5.

6.   Lady GaGa : Stefanie Germanotta

Some say that it’s from her friend, but the strongest source says it’s from Queen’s Radio Gaga. Well, Queen has been inspiring people and will always be.

7.   Iggy Pop : James Newell Osterberg

When he was in high school, he used to play drums for a band called the Iguanas. Which later it was shortened as Iggy. So where did the Pop come from? It came from when he shaved off his eyebrows, and he had a friend named Jimmy Pop who also lost all of his hair, including his eyebrows.

8.   Snoop Dog : Cordozer Broadus

His parents thought he looked like a dog from a cartoon, Snoopy.

9.      Gotye : Wouter Wally De Backer

So Wouter Wally or now mostly known as Gotye found his own name is not very sophisticated for the showbiz’s world. Thank god to French! Gotye is a French version of Wally, and his mother used to call him Gotye when he was a kid.

10.  Bono U2 : Paul David Hewson

Back in the day when he was still in Dublin, all of his schoolmates gave him “Bono Vox” as his moniker, it was Latin for “good voice”.

1.Kiss : Starchild, The Demon, Space Ace, Catman

Real Identity :  Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss
History           :  The makeup of each member of KISS is inspired by their individual characteristics. The Starchild is a hopeless romantic. The Demon is the one with a dark side of humor. The Space Ace is a reference to Frehley’s love of science fiction, and The Catman was inspired by the fact that Criss felt he had nine lives due to the rough Brooklyn neighborhood he grew up in.
Why?                   : The influences of Kiss’ make up are inspired by theatrical bands like Alice Cooper and the New York Dolls.

2.Deadmau5

Real Identity         : Joel Thomas Zimmerman
History                  : The story behind it was very surprising! Zimmerman’s stage name was inspired by a dead mouse that he found in his compter. The story started growing rapidly in chatrooms, and he was constantly referred to as “that dead mouse guy.” After that, Zimmerman changed his username to Deadmau5.

Why                             : Deadmau5 doesn’t like being called a DJ. He feels that the term is highly-antiquated and an improper description of his approach to music.

3.Slipknot

Real Identity           : Sid Wilson, Paul Gray, Joey Jordison, Chris Fehn, Jim Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor
History              : The idea was inspired by Crahan’s clown. Crahan often brought it to rehearsals, then the band decide to scope the concept. The jumpsuits, along with their numbered aliases, are intended as a commentary on the commercialism of the music business.
Why                  :The reasons behind it is to make people to be more focus on their music instead of their physical appearance. “It’s our way of becoming more intimate with the music,” vocalist Corey Taylor told NY Rock. “It’s a way for us to become unconscious of who we are and what we do outside of music. It’s a way for us to kind of crawl inside it and be able to use it.”

4.Bucket Head

Real Identity : Brian Carroll
History : “Buckethead was raised by chickens, according to his official story. He lived in the coop with them on a farm run by evil owners. One day, the chickens scratched his face off, but Buckethead didn’t care. That just meant he got to wear a mask everyday like on Halloween. The Bucket came into his life when the evil farmers threw a bucket of fried chicken into the coop. Buckethead tried to put the poor chicken back together again, but he just couldn’t make it work. Of course the most logical thing to do then was to start wearing the bucket as a hat. Buckethead started playing guitar to add a soundtrack to the horror and sci-fi movies he would watch at the drive-in theater through the hole in the farm’s fence. The drive-in was too far away for him to hear. Now Buckethead travels the world playing his songs and informing the public about the terrible things his feathered friends are being subjected to in fast-food restaurants around the world.“ What a long story.
Why : It’s still a secret, but when he was asked by MTv about his mask, and he simply replied “There is no mask.”

5.Daft Punk

Real Identity : Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter
History : “We did not choose to become robots,”. According to Thomas, he stated that he and Guy-Manuel were in an accident on September 9^th 1999 in their studio. They were working on their sampler, then their studio exploded Thomas Bangalter reportedly once said. “There was an accident in our studio. We were working on our sampler, and at exactly 9:09 a.m. on September 9, 1999, it exploded.” When they woke up, they found out themselves had become a robot!. Well, this could be a good story for a movie.

Why  : There are two reasons, 1. Shyness. 2.They want people to recognize their music more than people recognize their real identities.

Source : www.pastemagazine.com