Over the past decade, Lee Burridge’s All Day I Dream has captured the imagination and hearts of music lovers everywhere, offering magical daytime experiences dedicated to the community as much as the music. On May 12-15, The All Day I Dream Festival will debut in the idyllic surroundings of California’s Woodward Reservoir in Oakdale, California to offer its first-ever weekend long camping escape.
For the festival’s inaugural lineup, Lee Burridge will bring together the ADID family from around the world and an eclectic mix of live acts at a serene natural setting – while offering equal attention to the wellness aspect that has culled the hearts of experience seekers across the globe. Reaching beyond its normal cast of Dreamers – ADID Festival stretches to all those seeking a curated and intentional experience. Outside of music, The All Day I Dream Festival, in collaboration with The Waking Hour, will provide full curation towards Yoga, Meditation, Sound Immersion, Plant Music and Wellness Workshops.
ADID Festival will also feature the debut of HoloRealmz, a collaboration between Öona Dahl and Julia Sinelnikova. This new immersive audiovisual experience integrates music, sculpture, lighting and performance art to create an otherworldly realm. HoloRealmz is a cocoon-like art installation launching at music festivals, giving the feeling of Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole to another world, as you enter into a trippy vortex. Comfortable seating and pillows are set up below the morphing installations, so visitors can relax and gaze off into a world filled with surreal sculptures and holographic lighting. The performance line-up features ambient electronica DJ sets, as well as performance artists who incorporate movement, light and poetry readings.
WWD: Hello Öona & Julia. Where did you two first connect/meet?
Julia: I first encountered Oona around Burning Man 2014, which was my first and only time there so far, but ever since special. I saw a glowing elf-like fae in the pyramid booth with a laser pointed to the star Sirius, which turned out to be the Kazbah stage. We kept in touch online and since I travel a lot for stage design and art shows, started intersecting at a lot of Oona’s sets.
Öona: Julia and I briefly met in 2014 at Burning Man while I was playing on the Kazbah during the night. The timing was serendipitous because right before Julia came over to say hi I had a moment where I looked through to the top of the Kazbah and it felt like its laser was coming out of the top of my head straight to the star of Sirius. I filled up with so much energy like it was coming from the stars. I saw Julia for a second and thought they were an angel at first. She gifted me this beautiful hologram triangle she put on my forehead and a piece of her art with her name ORACLE666 on it. I remember I couldn’t really hear what she was saying, Im not sure if we even spoke but I had a feeling that we met before even though it was our first time meeting. I think a dust storm happened and she just disappeared. We kept in touch shortly after.
WWD: What prompted the idea of HoloRealmz?
Julia: Over the past few years we developed a mutually dreamed ethereal world, and the audiovisual and physical manifestation of that is HoloRealmz. We wanted to create a space which blends light art, elevating music, sculpture and performance, a kind of immersive theatrical landscape.
Öona: Julia and I naturally started to collaborate because we both have similar taste in aesthetics both sonically and visually. We both attend a lot of the same events so we are connected to similar places and people. We debuted our first HoloRealmz (Club Experience) in NYC January of 2020 at House of Yes for a sold out show. We had time to re-imagine it in new ways and the HoloRealmz Dome was manifested. We wanted to have a sanctuary where people could chill, trip to sounds and visuals, feel safe, and leave recharged for what may come next. There was the idea of bringing the 90s “ambient chill rooms” back but as a mobile immersive audiovisual social experiment experience.
I always wanted to build a portal that was inspired by an experience I had when I was younger where I saw a circle of mushrooms and I heard distant angelic music around it. I wasn’t familiar with this so I did some research and found out about the ancient folklore of fairy circles. This always enchanted me…
WWD: Can you describe what the experience will be like for fans?
Julia: The goal of this space is to create playful space for creative dreaming, which can transcend to a healing experience. I am interested in meditative art, communication modes in technology, theories of the origin of the universe, myths of the goddess Lilith, holograms and lucid dreaming. Through this artwork we aim to transmute our sounds and movement-based performance into an interlocking, expansive world.
Öona: We like to compare the experience to Alice going through the looking glass or falling down the rabbit hole. Visually when you enter into the HoloRealm you will encounter colorful psychedelic creatures and holographic glowing material from another world. Beautiful and strange live music echoes in surround sound throughout the dome immersing everyone inside together. I like to pretend this is our reenactment of the high celestial soiree. A place that aliens come together to meet, socialize of the cosmos and dance in the heart of the universe.
WWD: What interests you about immersives spaces/installations produced alongside music?
Julia: I have been attending raves since I was 14 years old in Texas where I grew up… once I arrived in NYC at 18, I saw for the first time how immersive, interactive art can be fused with performance and music. I was mesmerized at an event called Unicorn Meat, which was notorious at the time, and ended up being commissioned to create my first immersive projection-mapped sculpture “Astroscopic” (Vimeo) for the event series. Shpongle performed. Ever since then I have been doing stage design for raves and musicians, including for artists including Peaches, Juliana Huxtable, The GZA (Wu-Tang), and Mickey Madden from Maroon 5. After working with Oona to present our first sold-out show at House of Yes in early 2020, I am so excited to bring our spiritual and aesthetic sensibilities together to create this space. I am excited that she is also contributing visual artwork to it and performing, while I am evolving as a musical artist (having just released by first EP) and performing a hybrid set at HoloRealmz.
Öona: There’s art…and then there is art with sound. Both actually, art. When they come together in unity, alchemy can happen. It’s almost like the installation can come to life, like it is breathing.
WWD: What DJ’s will be playing/curating music for HoloRealmz?
Both: We have a lot of special music performances in store… Some artists from the All Day I Dream lineup will be doing ambient sets like All Day I Dream favorites Lost Desert and Lauren Ritter. Lauren will also have special guest Tenesha The Wordsmith performing with her! There will also be some surprise guests coming just to perform in HoloRealmz. We both have something planned for each day. We will be posting a schedule outside the dome and on our socials closer to the festival.
WWD: Why did you choose to debut this at All Day I Dream Festival?
Both: Oona has been performing with ADID for many years, and Julia has attended many of the sets worldwide. Julia has also created an immersive stage design for Lee Burridge’s sunrise New Year’s Day set in 2015-16. We are both excited to be part of their first full festival in California, and also grateful for the opportunity to curate and perform a mostly ambient lineup.
WWD: What can you say about Lee Burridge and his event/experience curation?
Both: Lee really put his thumbprint on minimal house and melodic techno early on. The sound has evolved so much in the last decade incorporating live music and vocals. The beautiful decorations and music really go hand in hand to create a sacred happy space for dancers. We always talked about doing a festival even many years ago, so it’s exciting to see it happen!