Awakenings brings the heat to NYC for its US debut

As temperatures dropped to a chilling 6 degrees (-11, with windchill), the streets of the usually animated Brooklyn were surprisingly empty, accompanied by silence broken only by a loose horn honk on the wayside.

Despite the biting cold front contributing the most frigid weekend New York has experienced this winter so far, just a couple stops on the L train in the heart of the city, the night was about to begin. On the chilly Valentine's evening, New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom readied to receive thousands of techno and underground fanatics, eager to embrace the first landing of Awakenings on US territory.

Led by Pan-Pot, Julia Govor b2b Kamran Sadeghi, Nicole Moudaber b2b Victor Calderone and finally, Ida Engberg b2b Adam Beyer, before doors even opened, Awakenings' arrival served as a statement for the maturing taste Stateside electronic music fans have begun to develop over recent years.

Keen to explore a side of the electronic spectrum that stems away from the often excessive sensory experience of main stages, the post-EDM boom has branched off a new fascination with the "origins" of electronic music - back to the techno, and the underground.

Awakenings was founded in 1997 and has since become a well-established staple for European aficionados. Rooted in Amsterdam, the brand has begun to expand its reach on an international scale including the UK, and now, New York City.

Perhaps not the first choice venue imagined for the Awakenings experience, Hammerstein Ballroom prevailed in ringing in a successful first edition of Awakenings in the United States. Lifted by its signature awe-inspiring visual production, Awakenings NYC stayed true to its flagship event and kept the crowd tuned in through the night and into the early morning, finally closing its doors at 6am.

For eight hours in the midst of a holiday weekend, the city left behind concerns about the trying weather and the price of an Uber ride back home and instead, focused solely on celebrating the day of love with an aural and visual experience unlike many others present on State soil today. Awakenings has made its first impression on the US, and it seems as though this relationship is set to last.

[Photos: Pearcey Proper and Stephen Bondio]

Valerie Lee is Mixmag's West Coast Editor. Follow her on Twitter