Ultra Music Festival photo.
Audio By Carbonatix
Day Two at Ultra Music Festival felt like the main course of a world-class feast unfolding in downtown Miami. From Deep Dish revisiting timeless classics with fresh energy to Carl Cox weaving salsa into his techno command, and Swedish House Mafia transforming Bayfront Park into a full-scale block party with surprise guests, the day delivered across every corner of the lineup. Here are our favorite moments from Ultra’s second day.
Deep Dish
The DC duo, Ali “Dubfire” Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi, has kept a tried-and-true style grounded in deep and progressive house since the ‘90s. Yes, the sound today is cleaner and crisper than their mixes off tape. The music itself can cross into melodic and tech-house territory, but the two continue to capture the best of authentic rave as they have for the last three decades. Deep Dish delivered profound, progressive melodies and hypnotic basslines across a cloudless sunset at the Cove. Sun-drunk vocals lurched out, and luscious harmonies continued to push against the Miami skyline. They played “Party All The Time (Freedom Club Mix)” by Sharam — a patented Deep Dish track with its disco overtures, lyrics shouting “My girl wants to party all the time… party all the time … party all the time” and club-ready bass. Then came Skylark’s remix of their hit “Flashdance,” equipped with guitar strums for a melody and lyrics sampled from Irene Cara’s 1983 pop song, “Flashdance… What a Feeling.” To end it all, they dropped their 2005 remix of “Dreams” by Stevie Nick and transitioned to a newer, more melodic track, showing they can keep the music of the past close to them, but always hungry to push forward. By Grant Albert.
Adam Beyer b2b Joseph Capriati
On one end, it was Sweden’s Adam Beyer and the new fruits of his Drumcode Records. The ‘90s-based label has gradually shifted over the years to more melodic and festival-ready tracks. On the other end was Italy’s Joseph Capriati, whose ability to switch from big-room techno to groove-driven techno-house was a standout. Together, the two have been collaborators for years and can read each other’s momentum to cater to a crowd hungry for dark sounds in a large tent. Acid corroded the speakers, big bass pounded the crowd, and soaring melodies created a thin film over it all. The two undoubtedly pushed unreleased tracks to test, but made sure to keep a little nostalgia with vocals from Green Velvet’s “Percolator” and, miraculously, a techno track that samples Systems of a Down’s “B.Y.O.B.” The two toyed with the effects machine until it smoldered with myriad drum loops and filters. It was loud, blinding, dance-crazed, and two partners behind the decks shared a mutual love for it all. By Grant Albert.
Carl Cox
A three-hour set may be a DJ’s goldilocks zone for festivals. Any shorter, and it’s a mad dash to play inundated hard-hitting unreleased tracks, but any longer, and it’s a slow burn to get the BPM raised. Techno’s finest, Carl Cox, took control for 180 minutes, providing yet another primer on why the Megastructure is his kingdom. It is difficult to pinpoint what turns on a raver’s primal instinct to dance madly when Cox is behind the decks, but his track selection and professionalism rewires the brain. Within thirty seconds, he already had frost-bitten techno of pure simplicity. Throughout the set, he could scale down to nothing less than a bass, hi-hats, and a simple melody that fires from the speakers and sets everyone free in a grand unison. “Oh yes, Miami, the real shit right here,” he says on the mic while bass pounds all around him. He filtered in screaming, soulful voices that plunged into madness when he controlled the decks, the stage, and the energy itself. Lasers shot far off, and the lights flickered out of control. The Ultra Angels danced on the stage and hung from wires, hula hoops, and their own hair while Cox pushed harder and harder. There were cooling off points, like introducing the feels-so-good melodies of Filterheadz’s “Sunshine,” or some salsa music to get the crowd moving in a different way, or even a vocal from Eminem’s “Without You.” But it all ended the same, with Cox delivering an unmatched energy no one on the planet knows better than himself. By Grant Albert.
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The Osaka DJ and producer’s meteoric rise in recent years cannot be attributed to an algorithm or beginner’s luck. No one DJ could accumulate so much music packed into one hour as Yukimatsu could. Within five minutes, he opened with Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t Go Mad,” headbanging and swaying his shoulders with the mix. He transitioned to Raffaele Attanasio’s “Gundam,” a fast techno-meets-trance track that shapes you into a robotic rhythm. Twisting knobs like a NASCAR driver making a sharp turn, Yukimatsu played “Firestarter” by the Prodigy, followed by Fred Again..’s “The Jungle.” By the tenth minute, his shirt was off. There was no order of operations or complex schema for Yukimatsu’s plan that night. He switched to “Trip” by Boys Noize and Skream, with its euphoric peaks and breaks, then to a soulful interlude and back to breaks. We were maybe a quarter of the way there, but Yukimatsu kept digging. He played a track by the experimental techno artist Rrose, who, one must assume, has not been played in Miami, perhaps ever, and then somehow piled on an EDM remix of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Otherside.” If most DJs tried this severe brand of genre shifting at a festival, certainly some members of the crowd would scratch their heads. Yukimatsu successfully not only had everyone dancing but also wondering what on Earth he would play next. By Grant Albert
Outlaw b2b Trym
One of the most electrifying days of Ultra we’ve seen in a while had us trying new things. So we decided to check out the Outlaw back-to-back with Trym set.
For those who don’t know, Outlaw is the dubstep alter ego of world-famous, Grammy-nominated DJ Snake. Going into it, we didn’t really know what to expect, but we knew one thing: DJ Snake can rock any crowd.
Earlier in the week, we saw him do a hip-hop set back to back with A-Trak. This time, he proved he really knows his way around multiple genres. Hopping onto the Worldwide Stage, he kept up effortlessly and delivered a high-energy performance that elevated the entire stage.
Whether it was the “Look at Me” remix or a barrage of hard-hitting drops, the energy never dipped. And with Trym, one of the best in the game, right beside him, the back-to-back felt genuinely legendary. It’s the kind of set that makes you want to see more of Outlaw whenever DJ Snake decides to step into that persona. By Osvaldo Espino
Boys Noize
After that, we stopped by Boys Noize to see what all the hype was about. This is someone who’s toured with Nine Inch Nails, collaborated with artists like Skrillex, and built a reputation for some of the most compelling industrial electronic music out there. And what he does on stage is something else entirely.
With a simple setup consisting of drum machines, pyro, and a turntable, he commands the stage in a way that feels almost mystical. His sound is intense, dark, and oddly hypnotic, almost like a gritty, industrial soundtrack that still manages to feel sleek and even sensual at times. There were moments where he felt like a more industrial, masculine counterpart to Sara Landry, but then he’d flip it completely, blending in Brazilian funk, disco, and unexpected textures that made the whole set feel like a third eye-opening experience.
It’s no surprise Trent Reznor has worked with him, and with the buzz building around his upcoming Coachella set, Boys Noize is proving himself to be one of the most dynamic producers of his generation. And it feels like he’s only getting started. By Osvaldo Espino
Swedish House Mafia
Of course, there was only one way to close out the night. The hype had been building all day for what was essentially a “block party” style takeover, with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello going back to back, two-thirds of Swedish House Mafia. That alone is legendary. But then you add in special guests like Eric Prydz, Armin Van Buren, Afrojack, and Boys Noize, and the anticipation was through the roof.
What made it even more interesting was the crowd dynamic. The younger crowd didn’t fully grasp the weight of the moment. A lot of people under 25 don’t realize the full history, like the fact that Eric Prydz, one of the special guests, was once part of Swedish House Mafia. It created a clear divide between newer fans and veterans of the scene. Armin van Buuren even made an appearance, but it wasn’t until all three members of Swedish House Mafia were finally together, thanks to Axwell pulling up, that everything truly clicked.
From there, it turned into a celebration. Not just of their own catalog, but of house music as a whole. One of the most emotional moments came when they played “Wake Me Up” by Avicii. You could feel it in the crowd. People tearing up, hands in the air, honoring a legend. And then, of course, “Don’t You Worry Child.” That’s not just a song, it’s a stadium anthem. A forever anthem in electronic music. The set was incredible. It just might be underappreciated by some. But for those who really know the culture, it was something special. By Osvaldo Espino
