10 Electronic Coachella Sets That Changed My Life (and the One That Got Away)

6 days ago 10

One writer’s journey from rocking to raving at Coachella in Indio, California.

Indulge me for a second while I do that old man yelling at clouds thing. I’ve been going to Coachella since 2005 — so long that I still remember when it was mostly guitar bands on the mainstage.

I also didn’t plan to still be going in my early 40s. But as I approach my 18th Coachella this year— and with the festival celebrating its 25th anniversary — I’ve been able to reflect on how much this annual desert bacchanal not only means to me, but has shaped my development as a music lover.

One of James Murphy’s most potent lines comes to mind, from the song “Losing My Edge,” where the LCD Soundsystem frontman famously sings: “I hear that you and your band have sold your guitars and bought turntables.”

Somewhere along the lines, I traded my guitars for turntables, too.

Since 2023, electronic music has been the dominant genre in my life, and a lot of that has to do with Coachella. As the genre evolved on the polo field, so did I. So I went back through old lineups and my camera roll to trace this musical journey that has rewired my brain.

Here’s ten electronic sets at Coachella that changed my life — and the one that got away.

Daft Punk

Sahara Stage | 2006

Let’s get the worst part of this story out of the way first. I was on the polo field the day Daft Punk practically birthed modern EDM from a pyramid at Coachella 2006. But we were overweight, underhydrated, and convinced ourselves to leave after Depeche Mode because “It’s Daft Punk. They’ll be back again soon.”

Wrong. Never been more wrong about a thing in my life, nor have I ever regretted anything more. Lesson learned. Coachella bookings, like life itself, are full of fleeting moments you have to tune into and appreciate while they’re happening.

Nothing is promised tomorrow. Especially a Daft Punk set at Coachella.

LCD Soundsystem

Coachella Stage | 2010

The disco ball that changed it all. Coming from hard rock and metal, LCD Soundsystem was the gateway drug to electronic music for this elder millennial who grew up listening to West Coast hip-hop, metal, and emo. Though it was Dirty Vegas, the Crystal Method, Goldie, and especially The Chemical Brothers who opened my eyes to electronic music as a genre, Nancy Whang’s shimmering, disco-influenced synth work moved me in a way no other had before.

Also, that is the only photo I have in my archive from this set for some reason.

Disclosure

Coachella Stage | 2016

We rolled up to Disclosure’s mainstage debut with so much excitement after seeing them in 2014 at the Outdoor Theater. That year, “Latch” was the song of our weekend. Getting the chance to run it back just two years later on Coachella’s largest stage was so much fun.

It’s hypnotic to watch the Lawrence brothers play in decked-out, semicircular rigs opposite each other because you can see the breadth of their musical ability on display as they bounce between instruments while doing vocals, too. “Latch” dropped. We transcended.

Richie Hawtin

Mojave Stage | 2017

Detroit acid techno pioneer Richie Hawtin debuted his “CLOSE – Spontaneity & Synchronicity” stage show at Coachella. He stood directly in front of a massive video screen with tables to his left and right, both within arm’s reach. There, he tinkered for 60 minutes, pushing buttons and twisting knobs amongst a mass of keys and cables.

His shadow was contrasted by the visuals — much in the same way Gesaffelstein utilizes stage lighting now — which displayed static traces of his hands on the boards while he manipulated the thumping bass and computerized soundscape. I knew about analog synth. I just didn’t know it could be like this.

Rezz

Sahara Stage | 2018

Friday night of Coachella 2018 weekend two marked my first encounters with bass music, Canadian artist and producer Rezz. She performed on the festival’s newest stage at the time, New Sahara — an upgrade from its previous iteration as a smaller tent bordering on death trap.

The towering behemoth impressed, not only for its sheer size, but for the mass of lighting that allowed for immersive production to match Rezz’s hypnotic sound. She had me lost in the sauce with “Relax.” Her remix of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing In the Name” caused such an intense eruption in the tent, as close as we’ve gotten since the electric feeling in the air when the band last headlined in 2007.

Disclosure: The photo is from Rezz’s Shrine L.A. show later that year.

Soulwax

Mojave | 2018

“Holy shit, they have three drummers! And more analog synths than LCD Soundsystem!” I’d never heard Soulwax before Coachella 2018, but the band made an instant impression. The stutter-stop pace of “Is It Always Binary,” pulsing energy of “E-Talking,” and spiraling “Krack,” opened an entirely new world for me. The Belgian Dewaele brothers are akin to mad scientists when it comes to sound, and they were cookin’ in the lab that night.

Cirez D

Yuma Tent | 2019

I’d made an annual practice of greeting the Disco Shark — what with it being the spirit animal of Coachella and all — in Yuma as my very first activity every day one. But I seldom ventured inside once the tent’s higher-billed acts and headliners were throwing down.

I braved the line to get into Cirez D at the suggestion of a friend, and I’ll never forget the feral energy in that moment. It was humid and moody. The lighting, insane. Having never heard Eric Prydz’s alter-ego at work, it was the heaviness of the set that resonated most. As I’m writing this I’m beginning to see a throughline in the type of EDM I like. Dark, with pummeling bass.

Another disclosure: I took this photo in the Yuma, but not during Cirez D.

The Chemical Brothers

Outdoor Theatre | 2023

Ever since the video for “Let Forever Be” shifted my perception of reality, I’d been wanting to see The Chemical Brothers live. It wouldn’t happen for 24 more years, but it was so worth the wait to hear them pull out banger after banger. The visuals morphed from psychedelic, neon clown-scapades to an evil monster king shooting light (or laser beams) out of his fingertips about as quickly as you read that sentence. We were half a field away watching the madness, and you could still hear the people in the front screaming — either in glee or substance-induced fear. Either way, total ripper.

Underworld

Mojave Stage | 2023

“I remember hearing ‘Rez’ from Underworld about 6am,” Coachella co-founder Paul Tollet said in the Coachella movie of his journey to Organic in the San Bernardino Mountains in 1996. “It was just a feeling I never had.” Same for me, Paul. Same for me. In 2016, a friend explained to me that “the pioneers” Underworld were playing, going on to say, ”Don’t miss ‘em.”

I opted for M83 into Ellie Goulding instead. It was a solid choice, but if I would have known then what I feel in my soul now, I would have signed up for this life-altering experience many years earlier. Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are an unassuming force to be reckoned with live — Hyde especially, as he barn-burns his way through a catalog that masters the art of tension and release. If you haven’t seen or heard them, watch their Boiler Room London set straight through.

Knock 2

Do LaB | 2023

The best Do LaB sets are the ones you didn’t know were going to happen. My friend Josiah tells the story of accidentally stumbling upon Skrillex absolutely melting faces in the festival’s semi-secret dance structure in 2017 at his first Coachella ever. I had a similar moment when I got the text alert for a surprise Knock 2 set. I wandered over, only to get my DNA rearranged by the intensity of Knock’s unrelenting, frenetic mix of house and trap. I was listening to “Room 202” for months after that.

OMG TBA

Coachella Stage | 2023

The happiest accident of my life was ending up on the rail for one of the biggest parties the world has ever seen because we stood back from the crowd when Blink-182 was on stage. Thanks to Frank Ocean wanting an ice rink, then injuring his ankle and/or dipping when he didn’t get said rink, Coachella’s weekend two crowd was blessed with a rare showings from OMG TBA aka Pangbourne House Mafia, the absolutely murderous combination of Fred Again, Skrillex, and Four Tet.

They came to the moment at different places in their careers: Fred, the on-fire upstart; Skrillex, the established legend; Four Tet, the elder statesman. They left having proven their merit separately and collectively as superstars.

Fred’s strongest set pieces — built up on the emotional pandemic journaling of his “Actual Life” series — was most poignant throughout. Skrillex came to party, standing on the decks and hovering over the crowd all night, dropping heaters from “Quest for Fire.” Four Tet was the wild card, entertaining the crowd with unexpected pop gems from Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Milie Cyrus, plus a few skeleton-shaking riddim bombs in iconic tracks by Nirvana and FISHER. His villainous giggle each time made it all the better.

It was a night I’ll never forget, and still think about often.