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TOTALLY DADA

Swedish progressive and electro two-some Dada Life know how to kick out the epic motherfuckers. Catch them at one of their Dada Land festivals, however, and you'll get the full dada experience...

Dada Life is all smiles after their latest Dada Land: The Voyage day festival in San Bernardino, where the nonsensical duo have rolled out the fullest extent of their imagination at the San Manuel Amphitheater. The festival, whose fresh line-up included AC Slater, Madeon and Oliver Heldens, took thrilled party-goes on a journey not just on land but across water too, with a water park helping to keep things cool in the summer heat. It was also the first time that fans could access the Swedish duo's brand new app, Dada Land, to view the line-up, post photos, link up with other fans and win contests.

If these new elements weren’t enough bonuses added to the Dada experience, the weekend also marked the first time that Olle Cornéer and Stefan Engblom had ridden in a hot air balloon – part of their grand vision for the 'World’s First DJ Tour via Hot Air Balloon' - even though the landing had to be delayed due to wind, making it more of a tied-float-up-behind-the-stage balloon ride. DJ Mag USA sat down with Dada Life after their first set of the day to find out more about Dada Land and their enterprises in the sky.

So what was it like riding in the hot air balloon?
Stefan: “It was intense! The flame is so huge, and it's like two inches above your head.”

What sparked the idea of the hot air balloons?
Olle: “It started with the idea of doing Around the World in 80 Days, you know, with the hot air balloon, and then we thought, 'Come in a hot air balloon... and just travel with this hot air balloon.' And the concept ended up being Dada Land: The Voyage. Too bad the wind was a bit heavy, so we could only go up and down. But the idea was to come in with it, land next to the stage, jump straight on stage and do the classics set. Next time!”
Stefan: “It was a good idea, but we can't really control the wind.”

Are you going to try it in your next Dada Land in Texas?
Stefan: “We don't know. It’s all about finding the field that’s big enough. There are a lot of rules around it, like where you can do it - airfields can’t be near, power lines, so we're happy that we are able to do it here.”

How many Dada Lands have you guys held?
Olle: “You mean like The Dada Land Compound [the precursor to Dada Land: The Voyage, whose touring achievements included setting the world record for the largest ever pillow fight]? Oh no idea. But there's a lot of them coming, even more.”
Stefan: “We've only had them in like major cities so far. We've been in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, like in the major cities. We were supposed to do one in Toronto but that got canceled because of that strange law...”
Olle: “For us, it's like we always wanted to do a Dada Land Compound because we can turn the whole vibe and the whole thing into Dada Land, and just have people experience the whole Dada Life and Dada Land experience. When we play EDC, or other festivals, each has their own vibe, and we are just one act amongst others. But here we have it all.”

Did you choose the line-up for it?
Stefan: “We tried to, but it’s so complicated with who's available and who's not available. We just came from Tomorrowland, so a lot of people are at Tomorrowland playing there.”
Olle: “We tried to have a conversation with our management, you know, “Who do you want, send names,” and then they would come back with suggestions, like, “this one's open.” It's a conversation.”
Stefan: “It's impossible to say, 'We want you!'”
Olle: “In a perfect world, yes. Unfortunately, it’s not like that.”

Who would you vote for DJ MAG Top 100, other than yourselves?
Stefan: “It would be.... DJ Tom Ford? I don't know.”
Olle: “Yeah, I don't know... That's a really hard question to answer.”
Stefan: “I'm going to vote for Dada Life! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, that's it.”
Olle: “I don't think you can vote for the same one...”
Stefan: “I don't care -1, 2, 3, 4, 5!”

WORDS: SHANNON MARIE