Dash Berlin Destroys Mansion Miami

by Andrew Winninger · Published August 7, 2013 · Updated August 7, 2013

The connection between a musician and listener has the potential to form a unique bridge. I could quote sociology articles that go into how we evolved to love music or psychological studies on why music plays such an important role in childhood development, but suffice it to say no other art form has the ability to drill straight into your core and elicit the emotional responses that music does. Hearing a song at a later point in life can instantly bring you back to where you were and what you were feeling the first time you connected with it.

I discovered Dash Berlin in Las Vegas last year. I was there for EDC 2012 and on the Thursday before it started, my crew and I managed to work our way into Tao at the Venetian. I was unaware they were performing prior to arrival, but I learned that Dash and ATB would be delivering some of the finest trance had to offer that evening. I was familiar with ATB’s stuff, exceptional in its own right, but Dash was something new to me. I was digging the upbeat feel and as soon as I heard the ATB vs Dash Berlin vs Niki and The Dove “DJ Ease My Apollo Road” mashup (or Dashup, as they’ve been branded), I was hooked. Something about the hard-hitting beginning that leads into the calm, haunting minor piano melody. The twisted synth arpeggiation in the breakdown and the way the bass builds back up into madness, the effect overlays and the vocals. Oh god, the vocals. The first time I heard,

“Oh oh DJ, ease my mind, will you, play that song again, cause we were in love. Before, before the rain began and if I cry, cover my ears”,

I was on the verge of shedding manly tears myself and in an instant, that emotional connection was formed. Listen to it and you’ll understand why Dash is regarded as one of the masters of vocal trance.

The rest of the set was uplifting bliss and included “Man on the Run”, “Better Half of Me” and other Dash staples that left me in a euphoric state as I exited Tao around five in the morning, ears still ringing. It took me a week of digging after my return to Florida before I could finally put a name to the song, but it stayed on my playlist for months. When I learned he was coming to Mansion in Miami this past Saturday, I grabbed a handful of tickets immediately. Having just seen Tritonal there last weekend and Knife Party a month before, I was familiar enough with Mansion to know their light and sound systems are some of the best in South Beach.

Many assume Jeffrey Sutorious, the touring DJ and group’s front man, is Dash Berlin, but Dash is actually a conglomerate of three Dutch producers, also consisting of Eelke Kalberg and Sebastiaan Molijn, who have been crafting trance hits together for the better half of six years. When a musician’s slogan is #musicislife, you can assume they take their job seriously and anyone who’s ever heard a Dash Berlin production or seen Jeff DJ can attest to the fact that they practice what they preach.

As Dash hopped behind the decks at approximately 1:30, the lights around the perimeter of the club sparked up and spelled out his name, welcoming him to Miami and letting us know it was show time. He greeted people with a scrolling message on an ipad and from the first downbeat of the first track, Dash went off and the laser beams from the ceiling and glow sticks in the crowd followed in syncopated fashion. His foot never stopped pounding the floor and he was bouncing all over the booth, often hopping up on the ledge that separated him from the trance family to conduct their chanting and movements to the music like a puppeteer to his marionettes. Without a doubt one of the more energetic performances I’ve seen. He opened with the 4AM remix of Hardwell’s “Apollo”, a track featuring Amba Shephard’s ethereal vocals asking for empathy and reassuring us that we’re the lucky ones and that Saturday night we were. Throw in a side of Dash’s signature melodies and upbeat synth work and the crowd was immediately strapped in and along for the ride. He followed with the Dash rework of Alesso & Dirty South featuring Ruben Haze’s “City of Dreams” that had the entire club singing the chorus alongside that familiar guitar riff. As the lasers rained down from above and the temperature started to rise, he moved onto Dash’s 4AM bootleg of “Better Off Alone”. Interestingly enough, Eelke and Sebastiaan were also involved in the production of that track and others for Alice Deejay.

The breakdowns and buildups continued as he fed us banger after banger and by the time he got around to dropping the Dash Berlin vs. 4 Strings “Take Me Away Till The Sky Falls Down” Dashup, Dash had worked the crowd into a frenzy that erupted as the first few notes of the classic anthem “Sandstorm” by Darude trickled in over the speakers. Just when I thought the set had peaked, “The Greater Good” vs “Raise Your Weapon” comes on. The goose bumps that shot up my arms as soon as I recognized that familiar melody and heard Greta Svabo Bech’s voice were probably visible from space. His epic 3 and ½ hour set ended appropriately enough around 4AM and even though the lights and heat had reduced him to a sweaty mess, he was humble enough to stick around and snap some pictures with the fans that had swarmed the booth. It was over as soon as it had started and Dash was on his way back to his hotel for a shower and nap before catching a flight to Cancun to begin the Mexican leg of his 2013 world tour.

The combination of the music, Mansion and my boys made for one of the most enjoyable nights I’ve had out in Miami in recent memory. If you ever have the opportunity to experience Dash Berlin live, even if trance isn’t one of your favorite genres, I’d encourage you to do so. The quality of his productions match the energy he brings to the stage and subsequently drives into the crowd.

Check out a few tracks from the set: