321 Go!

"Do the D.A.N.C.E.

Wave your arms

Stick to the B.E.A.T.

Move with the beat

Just easy as A.B.C.

It's easy as can be

Do the DANCE

Move your body

Do the DANCE

Dance the night away."

Ryan, standing backstage, heard the distinctive children's vocals. They came from D.A.N.C.E., the hit retro-disco single by the French electronic music duo Justice. The song had ranked fourth on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 best songs of the year last year. Its lyrics mentioned many of Michael Jackson's songs, making it a tribute to him.

At today's UMF, Justice had remixed the song. It began to diverge from the original at the start of the second instrumental break, with a retro disco bassline full of groove.

Ryan had made his way to the edge of the stage, where he saw the densely packed crowd gathered in front. Only the music video for Tremor had shown a sea of people like this. It was impossible not to feel nervous.

Ryan wasn't the only one feeling it—even Deadmau5 looked more serious than usual. Performing after one of Justice's biggest hits was a lot of pressure. The song had peaked at number one on the UK Dance Singles Chart and reached number ten on the Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart in the United States.

It might have been only number ten, but the Billboard club chart was based on playlists from nightclubs across the United States. The person with the most number-one hits on the chart was Madonna, followed by Janet Jackson, then—surprisingly—Mariah Carey. Clearly, it wasn't a chart created specifically for electronic music. That made D.A.N.C.E.'s tenth-place finish all the more impressive.

Ryan doubled back from the edge of the stage. He wore the same red suit as Deadmau5, with a white shirt, red tie, and red gloves. Deadmau5's helmet had been reduced to a plush toy, simply painted red like the original.

As Justice finished their set, Ryan and Deadmau5 were escorted onto the stage by staff.

As an outdoor music festival, the event was nowhere near as tightly organized as a live concert broadcast on television. There were always a few minutes of downtime while the next performers got ready.

Standing onstage, Ryan watched a large portion of the audience turn and walk away.

The sun was setting. After watching performances all afternoon, the ticket holders were already famished and planned to take this chance to eat and rest. They'd return in the evening for Tiesto's performance on the main stage. That was the main event.

Besides the main stage, four other stages were hosting performances in different areas. One featured the pioneer of house music, renowned British DJ Carl Cox. This year, he'd brought his own stage, "Carl Cox & Friends," to UMF. Another was the Rabbit Hole Stage, hosted by the American music group Rabbits on the Moon, which focused on experimental, psychedelic trance music. There was also the Amnesia Ibiza Arena. Amnesia was one of Ibiza's oldest and most famous clubs, and the festival had invited its staff to give attendees an authentic Ibiza experience. And finally, the Dance Rock Stage was dedicated to rhythm-focused Techno.

All in all, this year's Ultra Music Festival offered its attendees plenty of choices.

After some people left, only a few thousand remained at the main stage. Ryan and Deadmau5 gave the staff a thumbs-up, and a prepared recording began playing. Deadmau5, who concealed his face beneath a helmet, wouldn't speak to the crowd through a microphone. That would ruin the mystery his hidden identity created.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Deadmau5, and I'm glad to be here at UMF. As you can see, I've had a little makeover. A few days ago, before a performance, three dangerous sex offenders broke into my room. My Dr. Ray managed to subdue them, making potential victims safe again. Unfortunately, some equipment got damaged while Ray was fighting them off. But I think it was worth it. What do you think?"

The crowd responded enthusiastically. As far as the audience was concerned, now that they knew what had happened, they didn't care whether Deadmau5 was wearing an exquisitely crafted custom prop or a crude plush toy. Either way, they looked about the same.

The original opening remarks had been taken from the first YouTube video Deadmau5 uploaded, serving as a kind of introduction.

Amid the cheers, Ryan began his live PA performance, playing a melody on the square buttons of a sampler. It looked like he was playing an electronic keyboard.

Ryan silently recalled the melody in his mind. He'd gone over this part several times last night. He could play it smoothly enough, but he couldn't exactly call himself a "composer." The original Ryan could at least write a song. Aside from the songs he'd copied thanks to his déjà vu, the Ryan of today had almost no original talent. The melody he played sounded like a middle schooler randomly mashing keys.

Boos began to rise from the crowd.

Sweat the size of peas beaded on Ryan's forehead beneath his red suit. His nerves made him play faster and faster, and the melody grew more and more chaotic. Just as he felt everything was about to fall apart, the sampler suddenly "malfunctioned," refusing to play another note. Two seconds later, Deadmau5 pushed a button on the mixer beside him, and the speakers began playing a steady beat. Clearly, Deadmau5 had taken over and saved the performance.

Ryan let out a long breath. At least he hadn't ruined the whole set.

"Look at how nervous he is. I wonder if he wore a diaper onstage." A tall girl with curly blond hair and sunglasses grinned from behind the crowd.

Beside her, Abigail, with a more slender figure and copper-colored corkscrew curls, felt Ryan's anxiety and held her breath for him. "He doesn't have as much performing experience as you."

When it came to performing experience, Ryan really couldn't compare to Taylor, who'd been appearing at the US Open and NBA games since she was barely ten.

Just as more people began thinking they should grab something to eat or check out another stage, the music suddenly changed. Deadmau5's well-known progressive house track Not Exactly quietly transformed into an unusual melody.

It had a unique sound that no one in the crowd had ever heard before...

·

Backstage, a muscular middle-aged man chatted with one of the festival staff.

"I can feel how quickly electronic music is growing in the United States. The crowd here is almost as big as the one at ADE." The speaker had short black hair, and his broad shoulders strained against his short sleeves. His voice was deep, and his face was sharply defined.

The middle-aged man standing beside the muscular one wore a black shirt and had a slightly stocky build. His slicked-back hair revealed a precarious hairline, and he had a thick beard. He replied modestly, "This place can't compare with ADE. We got dozens of complaints last year, and this year will only be worse. You should definitely visit ADE sometime."

He was Russell Faibisch, one of the two founders of Ultra Music Festival.

"That's the downside of an outdoor festival. Get in touch whenever you like, if you're willing to come." The muscular man nodded.

Russell Faibisch bumped fists with him. For a festival founder to personally accompany someone meant the muscular man wasn't just any DJ guest.

Just then, the music from the main stage drifted backstage.

The muscular man's expression suddenly froze. He moved closer to the front of the stage, where he could hear more clearly.

"Who's performing right now?" he asked. As the music reached the backstage area, his expression changed. Curiosity, surprise, confusion, and admiration flickered across his face.

"Deadmau5. He's a young artist from Canada who's only emerged in the last couple of years," Russell Faibisch replied. He'd clearly forgotten that Deadmau5 had brought an extra guest with him today.

"That sound is incredible," the muscular man exclaimed. "It's completely new."

"He's pretty good at tinkering with sound effect plugins," Russell said, lost in thought.

"I've got to talk to him once he's done performing." The muscular man grew even more curious about Deadmau5.

·

In the audience, Taylor and Abigail noticed the people around them being drawn in by the electronic music playing.

"This sounds completely different from the version we first heard in the studio!" Taylor realized. The melody was still the same, but the tone and details were far richer than before. The small changes had made all the difference. Now the song was incredibly catchy; after hearing it once, you wanted to hear it again.

Did he really do it? A thought came to Taylor.

Then the music moved into its progressive section. As several layers of rising effects built on one another, the energy began to gather.

Three Two One Go!

The crowd at the main stage erupted into a frenzy...