UEME : the underground electronic music experience

Abstract

The global electronic music scene has remained underground for its entire lifespan, momentarily materializing during an event, a place defined by the music performed and the people who desire the experience. As festivals around the globe begin to take shape, the identity of electronic music defines itself almost instantaneously with a strict desire to return to its roots and find a new place to redefine itself in the next moment. The next moment is envisioned in Chicago. The city becomes a stage, through its current reputation as an event place, and through a new idea for an electronic music event alive within the interstitial spaces of the downtown. The art of electronic music, specifically the DJ and the sampling of music old and new, becomes the underlying process by which spaces are "sampled" to create a movement of light, sound and crowd through the dense architecture of Chicago's loop.