Opulent Temple Podcast

One of the most memorable lineup experiences to date! The full on psy influenced band performance known as Infected Mushroom, comes to Burning Man. All band members fully immersed in the harsh elements of Burning Man, yet still rocking the OT dance floor in concert fashion. Put your helmet on tight! You'll need it.

Opulent Temple resident, DJ ICON, electrifies the dancefloor with her banging bass-heavy vocal-infused Electro House sound on this beautiful night on the playa under a full moon. The sound system was booming, the fire was blasting, the energy was surging and the love was overwhelming... this was definitely a night to remember. Tracklist: 01. Mightyfools and Jordy Dazz - Drum Fail 02. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - Papi (Sidney Samson Remix) 03. Rihanna - Where Have You Been (Hardwell Club Mix) 04. Knife Party - Rage Valley 05. The Bloody Beetroots - Rocksteady (Gigi Barocco Remix) 06. Afrika Bambaata & The SSF - Just Get Up and Dance (JELO & Frederik Mooij Remix) 07. Morgan Page vs Nima Nesta - Derby Flight (Morgan Page Bootleg Mix) 08. TJR and Whiskey Pete - Face Melt 09. Afrojack - Rock the House 10. Far Too Loud - Firestorm 11. Smookie Illson - Drop It Low 12. Peo De Pitte and Jay Robinson - The Bagger 13. Birdee - Freak 14. Kaskade ft. Rebecca & Fiona - Turn It Down (Le Castlevania Remix)

My live set at the Opulent Temple Massive 2012 was an incredible time, I love seeing a room travel through a set together and I really wanted to take this room on a trip through a good chunk of breaks sub-genres.  In this set you’ll find some old skool flavor, nu-breaks, progressive breaks, dubstep, tech-breaks and psybreaks... phew!  

This set comes from the best tuesday night I've had at Burning Man where I rocked into the late night hours at Opulent. It starts with a few electro fav's then transitions into a non stop breaks set you'll sure to enjoy!

As the intro states, in my view the Wednesday night 'Sacred Dance' party is the most important party we do all week at Burning Man, for it best encapsulates our 'party with a purpose' ethos. It was a beautiful packed night, and this kind of set is one in which I can't help but try to cover a lot of ground to cover a lot of emotion. An electro groove gives way to tech funk and dirty breaks, which makes it's way to some banging techno and ending on a progressive, melodic note to close it out. Hope this takes you back to some playa moments under the stars and the fire.

TekFreaks live Saturday at Opulent Temple Burning Man 2011! The TekFreaks (Cosmic Selector & Jeff Taisch) blow it up on Saturday night at Opulent Temple after Elite Force and before Billy Casazza. This energetic electro house / tech-funk duo has been electrifying dance floors throughout the west coast with relentless dance floor crushers. This set features theTekFreaks very own remixes and edits in addition to some of the best electro house of the summer of 2011 and has been described as 'headbanging, fire cannon gushing, heavy metal rockin, and dancefloor jumping". Life is short enjoy! For promotional purposes only.

Dj Brian Williams, a new resident of OT brings a funky ,chunky style of music from beginning to end in this new mix of electro house. It has a banging gritty groove to it! So, open up your mind , sit back and take a listen.

This mix is this sixth installment of my mix series entitled "Dreams Fulfilled". It was inspired by my sets at Opulent Temple 2011 and includes a wide array of breakbeat tracks from electro, to psy, to big beat tracks.

As a brand new Opulent Temple resident, I wanted to bust out with a new mix to give people a little sample of what is to come on the playa. It's been really exciting seeing how many amazing things the OT family has accomplished since my first year on the playa in 2010, and seeing this "large scale joy creation" go down has kept me more and more motivated as time passes. In this mix, I share with you a lot of my favorite tracks and grooves, dark and captivating. Before choosing each song I closed my eyes and imagined myself on the playa, in the O-Pod. I hope you enjoy this musical journey, and hopefully it can take you to that place we all hold so close to our hearts. Let's go home!

For the next installment of the OT podcast, we take a different tact to present a look back at 10 years of OT at Burning Man as remembered by co-founder Syd Gris. Syd discusses the origins and walks us through some highlights, low lights, funny stories and musical samples from his own sets and other guests for each year starting with the first camp in 2003. You'll hear how Hybrid stumbled onto their 2004 set, a livid then forgiving Scumfrog, being stuck in an RV with Tiesto and his hot Dutch girlfriend with no AC, The first and last dubstep set at OT, the bamboo disaster, how Syd killed the first O Pod DJ Booth, why Adam Freeland pissed on the camp, perspectives on how 'the band' stays together, what has sustained the effort through 10 years, and other tidbits. Enjoy !

Part 2 of Carl Cox's legendary set on the playa at Opulent Temple in 2008.

Were you there Friday night when he played summer 2008 at OT? WOW. One of, if not the greatest night we've ever had the pleasure to host. Legendary. Nearly two hours of electric, magnetic, pure techno and tech house beats. Twisted, dark, dirty, and driving - with a little bit of a tribal twist. Everything we love. We were lucky enough to win his heart - and support for Opulent Temple. "The Opulent Temple guys are a great bunch of people and the way they create the Opulent Temple is amazing. I want to do whatever I can to help them. Music is art and it's important that is recognised." Listen to the epic set by Carl Cox, that went down in Burning Man history as Opulent Temple's biggest night ever.

I'm always blown away that we're able to throw our annual White Party at the Bentley Reserve in San Francisco. It's hands down one of the most elegant venues in the city. Opulent Temple is very grateful for the Bentley Family's continued support. It's been great to watch the party grow over the last three years and a real treat to play to a packed hall of people having a great time. Vinkalmann Mix image by Josh Adler

'Calm' is not a word that tends to describe JD Mack, both as a person and as a DJ. He somehow manages to move seamlessly from one track to the next while rocking out in the DJ booth just as hard as anyone on the dancefloor. This mix is a recording from a tight little intimate jam in a psychedelic loft space full of topless burlesque dancers, irate police officers (some of whom were actually caught tapping their feet to the music) and abundant vodka tonics, in no particular order.

From the archives, the indisputable king of Glam Scum, or is scummy glam? Either way, the Scumfrog has graced OT since 2004 and never disappoints. He just knows what makes a playa set, just wait for the Johnny Cash to come in .... House music with balls, and so much more!

Confident. Exuberant. Raw. Innovative. These are just a few of the words industry insiders and fans have used to describe the talent behind one of America’s favorite house DJs, Donald Glaude. In the early 1990s when the rave scene took hold up and down the west-coast Donald, along with DJ Dan in San Francisco and Ron D Core in Los Angeles, helped define west-coast house music through the 1990s. Donald Glaude is a pioneer of House Music. In this set, Donald shares his flavor of ravey electro house while rocking the decks live at Opulent Temple Burning Man 2010. Enjoy!

Long time UK DJ and Global Underground legend makes his debut at OT's Thursday night white party for a rocking tech house set. Live as it happened, enjoy!

One of the pioneers of the beloved tech funk sound, Elite Force, brings his full arsenal to bear, burn night at Opulent Temple, to send people home with every last ounce of bounce danced out of them. Enjoy the re-ride with this live set from 2010.

This mix was inspired to me by my experience on the playa this year. I put together and picked all of my favorite songs from all of my sets out there including some tracks that I really wish Iwould've had out there. This is a high energy set and brings me back to the peak time hours out on the playa listening to a bunch of my heroes throw it down dirty.

Veteran OT resident Vinkalmann returns with a chugging progressive mix. Straying from his typically moody tracks, this set reflects a peak time flavor.

DJ Aphrodite aka Gavin King, is the man behind Aphrodite Recordings. It all started way back in the summer of love '88' running an Acid House club called Aphrodite, the namesake has been with him since. Aphro joined Opulent Temple at Burning Man 2010, breaking up the four to the floor routine to bring his style of high energy jungle & upfront drum & bass. The frenzy of thrashing bodies jumping about and fists pumping in the air was an unsuspected surprise for the Tuesday night crowd at OT.

It had been a goal of mine to get Armin to come to Burning Man since there was an OT. Having come up in the trance scene of the late 90's, dancing to early huge Armin tracks like 'Blue Fear' on Jerry Bonham's Spundae releases, it was a tenacious effort of chats over cocktails w Armin and his management whenever they would role through SF. Having won the #1 spot in DJ Mag's worldwide poll, he was well acquainted with their editor at the time, Leslie Wright (who wrote a 6 page feature article about OT for DJ Mag in 2008, read it here: opulenttemple.org/archives/000139.php ) During the London party celebrating his repeat victory again in 2008 later that year, she cornered his agent, spit in her hand, made him do the same, and made him promise he'll route Armin through OT the following year. And so it was. Armin Van Buuren and agent David Lewis came out (yes, on their own dime) to play Thursday night 2009, alongside Infected Mushroom. I paid off my diligence by scheduling myself to open and dip back in to a rare progressive set at Burning Man. Everyone 'knows' Burners aren't big on trance, but of course, as predicted, they were there by the thousands to see Armin and I saw my job as not trying to bring the house down with big tracks, but to set him up with a solid steady progressive offering with melody and muscle. This is that set.

The crowd-pleasing, in-demand duo return to match the enormity of the gargantuan effort that was "Rites of Massive" with a heavy dose of electro house anthems recorded LIVE at the fundraiser for the Burning Man camp held on Treasure Island June 25th, 2011.

TekFreaks: (Cosmic Selector & Jeff Taisch) bring you a live recording of a set played at the Opulent Temple party 'Sacred Dust' at the end of 2010. This live recording is being offered for promotional purposes only.

Let's just say it's Bass-Driven-Warehouse Music for want of a better description. And Simon Shackleton has been writing, recording, releasing lots of it for the past 16 years or so under aliases such as Elite Force, Lunatic Calm, Zodiac Cartel, Dustbowl, Flicker Noise and others and currently single-handedly runs award-winning multi-genre label, U&A Recordings . He was also voted Best Producer at the 2011 Breakspoll Awards. Mr. Shackleton is headlining OT's Rites of Massive fundraiser this coming weekend under his most acclaimed alias to date, ELITE FORCE. Opulent Podcast is proud to welcome him to the decks. If you enjoy this mix of full on breaks and tech funk, it's just a preview of the magic that will unfold this Saturday at Rites of Massive. For this weekend's purpose, Bass-Driven-Aircraft Hangar Music still has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

"Dunes Can Dance" - Opulent Temple's resident DJ BILLY CASAZZA travelled to the other side of the world to bring back this latest installment of the Opulent Podcast. Recorded live at the Transahara music festival, four hours away from civilization, deep in the Moroccan Dunes. Billy brings it tough with this deep tribal tech....to keep you going from the Moroccan Dunes to the Nevada dessert, enjoy!

The co-founder of LOT 49, one of the more popular labels represented at our San Francisco events, Dylan Rhymes has laid down a serious lesson in the ways of the tech-funk sound that is gradually taking over the world - and our hearts. Surprising twists and turns, bouncing electro, and driving tech-funk sounds comprise Dylan Rhymes set. Trippy noises and rock vocals complement his dark and dirty thumping beats. His last track is the among the first times the playa heard "Aaran San Ozlow Nyzz" (I Wanna Rock With You). If this isn't a track that is meant to be played at Opulent Temple @ Burning Man, we don't know what is. Check it out and listen for yourself !

ELiKi has been playing with music since the age of 7 when he picked up his first clarinet. Now at 22, he's been a punk rocker, hip hopper and now he finally knows he's found his love; Providing people with fun parties to go to and making people dance. Over the past 3 years ELiKi and friend Olivia Balmain, have thrown renegades in Golden Gate Park and held down residencies in clubs all over San Francisco under their Frisco Fidget Production company. 2010 was the first year ELiKi camped with Opulent Temple, and he can't imagine doing it any other way. "The feeling I got every night at OT can never be compared. Knowing that I was a part of the amazing group that worked hours on end to bring this spectacle to the playa gives me the craziest feeling of accomplishment... I can't wait to do it over and over again."

Hailing from Toronto, JD Mack (aka Nick McAlister) has made the long commute home to the desert for the last three years. Although he doesn't get to San Francisco as often as he would like, JD has become a mainstay at Toronto's BurnT community events such as Toronto Decomp and Undiecomp events thrown by the TOAST of Toronto. This set was recorded live at Undiecomp 2011-- one of those nights where you're gathered with 500 of your closest friends who are climbing the walls just waiting for someone to rip the roof off. It comes out swinging and doesn't stop, so get ready for a rough ride.

J.B. Vries picked up a guitar at the ripe age of 13 and never looked back. During his early music career he aspired more towards being the next Slash from Guns n’ Roses than a club DJ and only became infatuated with electronic beats when first exposed to ATB, The Chemical Brothers, and Paul Van Dyk. The electronic sounds were enticing to say the least and almost overnight the aspiring heavy metal guitarist set his sights on becoming a club thumping DJ and producer. Today, J.B. lives in Downtown San Francisco where he continues to produce, DJ, and progress as a musician and performer. "This Opulent Temple mix is a culmination of recent influences in psy and techno. My recent collaborations with OT Resident DJ Billy Casazza have resulted in a tried and tested stompfest of a tune titled 'Running WIld', scheduled to release April 26th on Dichotic Recordings. The Trevor Flynn remix is 4th up in this mix and wrapping up this mix is a single one of my singles titled 'Pre-Fade', also forthcoming on Dichotic. Thank you for lending me your ears, enjoy!"

Jamie Lin has played major role in the SF Bay Area's electronic dance scene for many years now. She was invited to camp with the infamous Opulent Temple in 2008, and is now one of the many talented and diverse Resident DJs the camp has to offer. This set was recorded live on Friday night in 2009, as she opened up the dancefloor for the major players like DJ Dan, Carl Cox & Christopher Lawrence at Opulent Temple. This live mix is filled with chunky basslines, bumpin electro, tribal vibes, tech house and sweet vocal treats. Enjoy this loud, while remembering the fond memories of the dusty playa, and return to the place we like to call home.

My days as both a fan and supporter of Opulent Temple date back to before I became a serious DJ, so it was both a thrill an honor to play at the camp for the very first time at Burning Man back in 2009. I played in the late afternoon on Friday and up to that point most of my Burning Man sets were primarily breaks so I was feeling ready for a change of style. This recording of my set from Opulent Temple in 2009 features several variations of house music which I rarely play in my live sets these days, and I think it gives away my Deep End roots a little too. I hope you enjoy it! Many thanks to Syd Gris, Jeff, Dex, Dutch, Dulce, Cos and the entire OT crew for inviting me to play. And thank you to Brian Peek and Mark Rahmani, who do a fantastic job with the OT podcast, for having me on the show. Long live the Opulent Temple! A little background on Zach Moore.... An Ohio native and a San Francisco resident of seventeen years, Zach Moore is best known in the San Francisco dance community for his affiliation with The Space Cowboys (Jan '10-present) and The Deep End (2006-2009) and for the two weekly iTunes podcasts he produces, The Space Cowboys' RIPEcast and The Gough Street Sessions. Over the years, Zach’s love for electronic music has run the gamut (deep, vocal, tech, progressive & electro house, breakbeat and techno) but of late the focus of his live sets and recorded mixes has been the breakbeat and tech funk genres. Among the artists that most heavily influence Zach's style are Soul of Man, Slyde, Plaza de Funk and Krafty Kuts, The Stanton Warriors, DeeKline, Elite Force/Zodiac Cartel, Meat Katie and Dylan Rhymes. For more background on Zach, visit him at djzachmoore.com. And to hear more of his mixes, check out Zach's SoundCloud page athttp://soundcloud.com/djzachmoore. Photo courtesy of Jeff Hubis

Decompression is always a special day to remind us of the amazing people and adventures we shared on the playa. This latest podcast features a set from the 2009 afterparty by resident DJ Brother Hill who was inspired by his opening ceremony set at Opulent Temple that same year. This mix builds from mellow progressive to thumping electro and breaks. A classic beginning for an epic night of OT dance celebration.

Atum has been DJing psychedelic trance for over 15 years. He's played along side some of the best artists in the world, and some of the best parties in the bay area. His first burn was in '99 where he and Dutch played a 5 hr tag-team set for Saturday night at Boomtown. Atum has now branched out from DJing and has started producing music with Jirah as Psymmetry. He and Jirah have also started up a new record label designed to be a label for the artists. Check it out atwww.atrecords.info. This set was recorded live on Thursday night in 09, right after Infected Mushroom. This is a true journey through psychedelic trance, touching on all the different aspects the genre has to offer. Enjoy and play it loud!

In true Burning Man fashion, Ali B kicks off with a politically charged message "Time For the Revolution" to build up momentum backed by techno-tastic beats. His set encompasses a truly diverse range of electronic genres, from techno to breaks to electro to blips and beeps and back to breaks, taking us on a very twisted trip. His presence behind the decks is super-charged and full of energy. "Yep, Burning Man is one of a kind," nods Ali. "The desert is like a big blank canvas or the white walls of a gallery and for one week a year it gets filled to the brim with all sorts of crazy stuff - moving and stationary artwork, music, crazy vehicles, bikes, costumes and lots of fire." Ali B, founder of Air Recordings, definitely adds a big splash of modern edge with his colorful brand of raw funk.

Sunrise sets at Burning Man have always been a sacred and cherished moment by dancers and dj's alike. Its a time to celebrate the closing of an epic evening into arrival of a new day. Having seen my first ever sunrise at Burning Man from behind the turntables at Opulent Temple in 2006, it was only fitting to close my 5th and favorite year with a celebration and tribute to my time spent on the playa. This is a mix of my favorite melodic morning breaks along with a few fav's from throughout the week

Recorded using CDJ1000's on a Pioneer DJM800 (Not Ableton) at the Opulent Temple Sacred Dust party, November 2010. The mix speaks for itself. It was one of those nights where everything goes perfectly. If you were there, you know what I'm talking about. The temperature in the room went up a good 10 degrees. I've been experimenting with a bit more sample work than normal, clearly apparent in the first half a dozen tracks. The rest is pure raw power tech. I even mashed up a couple Glitter tracks at the end before rounding it off with that new John Digweed track. I am diggin' it and I'm sure you'll be diggin' it with me. Watch your bassbins with this one, it's mastered hot.

This most recent Opulent Temple Podcast features a recording of a set by resident electro / tech funk duo TekFreaks playing live on the Opulent Temple stage at the "Sand by the Ton" event on July 29th 2010. This event was part of their spring/summer west coast tour that included stops in Portland, the SF Bay Area, Santa Barbara, Los Angelas, Reno, and Boise. While on tour the TekFreaks, Opulent Temple residents Cosmic Selector and Jeff Taisch, smashed dance floors and won new fans. The set opens with Deadmau5's classic "Strobe" remixed by Plump Djs with slamming dirty breaks overtones and includes a number of pre-releases, custom edits and soon to be classics from the likes of Tim Healey and other electro heavyweights! The TekFreaks deliver the goods with their own production remixes of anthems like Phoenix - "1901" and Green Day - "Brain Stew" . We hope you enjoy the podcast take the opportunity to visit us at tekfreaks.com for more music and information!

White out conditions this night - and though the weather settles down about twenty five minutes into the set, the downpouring of bass in this all-out electro house extravaganza never lets up. What will never translate is the warmth felt by all - when the flamethrowers ignite.

Known for their classic techno tribal trance shows, front man Bunny does a ripping dj set taking us through some big time party electro, classic remixes, techno and tech trance, and even some big breaks. His own vocals and interactions with the crowd are interspersed thoughout the set. His mixing across these genres is impressive and spot on and you'll find yourself immersed in the sound scapes at times for a true back to the playa transporting. The set sounds fresh and different though you might recognize some of the tracks, the programming from one place to the next makes the whole set have it's own unique cohesion.

After weeks of thumping beats, we switch's things up with a chill out mix from our resident dj and Opulent Podcast executive producer, Brian Peek. With a full range of electronic sounds, this mix paints a melodic & stoney vibe beginning with Dirty Vegas' take on 'Another Brick In The Wall' to set the tone proper. Vocal downtempo chunk and fun midtempo groove makes for a moody mix that keeps your head nodding without nodding off. Brian calls this mix Real Bad. Enjoy!

The biggest name in American trance, at his first Burning Man, brings it to us just how it should be on a Saturday night. Driving trance, big and beautiful melodies, new takes on classic re-mixes, big tracks made for the desert, and into a more pretty yet sinister psy influenced progressive trance to keep the pace intense but still accessible.

One half (along with Meat Katie) behind the leading edge of tech funk on Lot 49 Records, Dylan Rhymes, in his first playa appearance brings his dirtiest, funkiest, sickest tracks. A veteran producer who's produced monster tracks in many a genre, he brings the naughty house, bassy breaks, fucked up glitchy shit, all out bangers, but all united in dirty fun. Infectious.

Prime time at Opulent Temple with brand new flame throwers to play with. Intro for context of the purpose of our efforts by myself & Shahid Buttar. Covering the music bases with purpose as well. A who's who of some of my favorite producers : Blende, Miles Dyson, Lee Coombs, Uberzone, Justice, Rogue Element, Dylan Rhymes, Alex Metric, with a great seldom heard mash-up of Freeland's 'Hate' with Bassbin Twins' 'Dogs'. This is Syd at OT.

Confident. Exuberant. Raw. Innovative. These are just a few of the words industry insiders and fans have used to describe the talent behind one of America's favorite house DJs, Donald Glaude. Ranked 68 on DJMag.com's Top 100 DJs List in 2005, Donald skyrocketed to 48 this year and his genius keeps on growing… This set was recorded live at Opulent Temple / Burning Man on thursday afternoon in 2009. 

At Opulent Temple 2010, located at playa coordinates 2:00 and Baghdad, you will find Dulce playing her signature hard funky breaks sound - just like the massive peak tunes on this podcast mix - along with dashes of dubstep, glitch, and IDM. Dulce has come a long way since first joining OT in 2006. The next year brought on her infamous Sunrise set - that time, that place, at that one special moment in time that was so quintessentially Burning Man. These years crucially shaped Dulce's next steps as a true performer and her appreciation of those of you equally rocking out on the dance floor. Burning Man 2010 is a special one for DV, marking her 5th year with Opulent Temple. POINT BREAK is a mix designed to commemorate her past years with OT and the relationships fostered as a result, from yesterday's friends to today's family. To be a core resident DJ for OT is no easy accomplishment. That title means you have made major contributions and input countless hours and sleepless nights - not only during 12 days in the desert - but YEAR ROUND to create something magical for our community to enjoy. This mix is dedicated to those core residents: Syd, Rich, Vinkalmann, Dutch, Drew, Cos, Jeff, Dex, Billy C., Billy S., Jason, Brian - for the friendship, the inspiration, and the sheer magnitude of major contributions that make Opulent Temple possible.

"PINOTECH" - the latest mix by DJ BILLY CASAZZA is full flavored with hints of funk. A mature and lasting taste of deep dark tecno, infused with hard driving beats. The bass line will loosen your palate and invigorate your senses. Billy finished two of his favorite bottles of Pinot Noir for this set, after listening - you may not need any!

This mix, titled "2 o'clock Sunrise" was recorded live at Burning Man 2009 and perfectly represents the calm and windfree mornings at Opulent Temple early in the week. Tributed to greeting the rising sun with those faithful dancers who still remain in the arena, pounding their feet into the dust at daybreak. Since breaking onto the airwaves with a 30 minute feature spot on Live 105's SubSonic in 2002, Billy Seal has remained active in the dance music scene in and around San Francisco. Playing some of the funnest clubs in the city (Ruby Skye, 1015 Folsom, Supperclub, Endup, DNA Lounge, Mighty, Shine) he has earned a reputation for playing an uplifting and energetic sound.

Jeff is one half of the highly acclaimed musical duo TekFreaks alongside fellow Opulent Temple core resident Cosmic Selector. Jeff is constantly redefining himself through his musical selections by creating a fusion of old school and new school sounds and brings a high energy vibe to the dancefloor one track at a time. More information can be found athttp://www.tekfreaks.com andhttp://www.jefftaisch.com

With a career spanning well over a decade, DJ ICON has captivated audiences the world over with her enthralling DJ sets, magnetic stage presence, and massive bass-heavy blend of Nu-School Breaks, Electro House and Dubstep. ICON's highly anticipated production endeavors have proven to be as exciting as her DJ career. Her first release on Illeven Eleven Records “Welcome To My Dancefloor” is a collaboration with Dustin Hulton featuring vocals by Nikki Carabello and has been getting some serious heat and support by leading producers and DJs in the industry. So what's next for DJ ICON? A promising slate of more productions and collaborations are in the works, as she continues to make her mark in the worldwide dance music industry as a triple threat DJ, promoter and producer. And if the last thirteen years have proven anything, 2010 will continue to bring big things from this driven and versatile performer.