On October 6th, nestled in the verdant, bristly Pine Barrens, years of careful positioning came to fruition at the reimagined Submersion Festival. Hosted at the idyllic Paradise Lakes Campground, this year’s rendition came as an expansion from the single-day event that took place last year in Philadelphia. In addition to being three days long, the revelers at Paradise Lakes were also treated to two deliberately curated stages that showcased global and domestic producers and DJ’s across a panoply of disciplines, such as KOAN Sound, Emancipator, Luke Vibert (along with his Wagon Christ alias), Mike Wallis, Nu:Tone, Ultrasloth, and over 70 other acts. The weekend that ensued was a celebration of the dueling forces of sound system culture and electronic music that have dovetailed across the span of the last 20 years.  

Entering the grounds after turning off Route 206, attendees were treated to stunning views of autumnal pines draped in crisp auburn and bright green foliage. A single road runs from the entrance of the grounds to the camping section nestled in the rear, with the property’s waterfront extending throughout the length of the fairgrounds. On that warm, breezy afternoon, the fanfare of early arrivals, staff, and artists settling in the for the weekend was as evident as the apparent marathon at hand; with two insular stages running well until the morning sunrise on the focal nights of the weekend, and a seemingly endless rolodex of expectation-defying acts, there was a distinct flavor to the approaching fall air.

To the left of the main road upon first arrival was the Beach stage, which bolstered an impressive Danley Sound Labs BC218 rig, provided by the team at The Sound LIVE. Directly across from the Beach Stage was the vendor row, offering a range of cuisines catering to all dietary lifestyles, as well as a 24/7 cafe which provided hot caffeinated beverages essential to those late-night adventurers raging against their own circadian rhythms. Parallel to the Shakedown, the vibrant visual arts hub organized and overseen by Andrew Croz drew a consistent stream of onlookers and potential collectors, and felt right at home against the pristine backdrop of the lake’s meditative surface. Moving further down the main road, a quick 3 minute stroll would put you face-to-face with both the DanceSafe on-site hub and the One-Source Productions’ time-tested Funktion-one EVO7 rig at the Woods Stage. Just another quaint walk ahead, and you’d reach the natural boundaries of the festival, capped off with the chill-out zone often frequented and operated by TheLilyPad crew and attendees looking to shake off the adrenaline for a passing moment. The intimate size and layout of the event created a natural orbit between two adjacent, independent stages and the wider campgrounds, defeating any chance of sound bleed through careful zoning and placing all campers in close proximity to the action. 

Picturesque sunsets made appearances everyday as the light settled over the horizon, scattering the remaining sunshine throughout the now iridescent treeline. The road connecting the Beach and the Woods stages came to life in the night as colored lights and hidden lasers illuminated the canopy above. The general atmosphere of the grounds was like that of a playground; smiles and laughter were in fervent abundance, and with the festival’s modest patronage, you were seemingly one degree of separation from any single stranger around you. There’s a tangible, familial sort of glue at the center of earnest fandoms, and for The Rust Music and Aspire Higher, friends and fans are often one and the same. It’s that cultivated relationship between the organizers, their production teams, and their respective supporters that made the largest impact across the weekend.

The community at large is the quintessential ingredient that makes these curated and personal experiences possible. The degree of comfort achievable when seasoned know-how, determined muscle, abundant moxie, and a heaping dash of luck collide is the goal of every professional and artistic endeavor as a business, but the cascading sea of bright eyes and brighter attitudes allows the paradigm to transcend business altogether. This year’s principle organizers, Jesse Boyer and Ryan Karolyi, put the duality of their friend-based following and industry experience on clear display. Like threading a needle, every aspect of site operations churned away with velvet smoothness, working in the background of an event designed to run front to back with minimal downtime for roughly 72 hours. That specificity and consistency directly translates back into the comfort at the center of any choice festival experience, smoothing over any potential snags in the road before you have the chance to trip.

Winding through a weekend of programming stuffed to the gills with heavy hitters and venerated songwriters can often feel arduous, deciding where you’re sacrificing time and for what gain. Submersion’s traversable design and meticulous stage curation was envisioned to help alleviate those decisions, placing like-minded groups of appreciators front and center with their preferred flavors of electronic production for extended blocks of time. The negligible distance and proper directional channeling made swapping the vibe seamless and inviting, providing a constant balance that kept the event swinging with pendular determination. The headlining acts of the weekend put on stellar displays of musical forte; Koan Sound rocked the house at the height of Saturday night, only to subsequently ring out the final notes of the weekend during a emulsified sunrise performance. The dnb legends Chase & Status and Nu:Tone brought deep dives through decades-spanning catalogs and rare cuts, contrasting with the effervescence of acts like Emancipator and Entangled Mind putting the focus on the interplay of melody and harmony. From the low-riding rhythms of Bogtrotter and DRRTYWULVZ via their BogDogg project, to the lunar serenades of MALAKAI and Lusine, to the Thought Process Gabagool Remix extravaganza, or any of the other salacious underground talent across the lineup, every palate eventually met its most succinct match, allowing Submersion to deliver on the promise of discerning sound for discerning soundheads, in an environment ripe for enjoyment and poised for audacious revelry.

Writing about our own events is something we often eschew; our focus is traditionally on highlighting and chronicling the living history of this audio-social phenomenon we find ourselves mutually steeped in, and that often entails keeping our gaze outward in order to spotlight the lion’s share of our peers. Breaking away from tradition, we felt it necessary to chronicle this incredible weekend both in service of Submersion’s ongoing rise and evolution as an events series, but also as a thank you to the wonderful grip of fans, friends, artists, staff, volunteers, and world-wide wellwishers, without whom this would not have been possible. The magic of Submersion Festival is in the relationships that serve as its foundation, and those relationships include all of you, too. 

With just a few waning months left in 2022, planning has already spun up to full speed in designing the next iteration of Submersion Festival for 2023, and between now and then, there’s a slew of content under preparation for public consumption. If you’re looking to relive the bliss this stellar weekend, your fix is well on its way, and if you’re just tuning in and wondering what all the fuss is about, stay tuned for the various audio and visual recaps poised for steady release.

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