Stone Roses, Prodigy, Bloc Party In Massive Future Music Festival Line-Up

It's hard for us to say what the biggest festival line up the country has ever seen is, because each and every year festivals continue to outdo each other and outdo themselves by offering something bigger and better than ever before. This morning's Future Music Festival announcement is certainly up there with the biggest we have ever seen and there is something there for absolutely everyone.

There's a heap of crossover action for those who love pop, indie-rock, electro, breakbeat and more. There's a specially programmed techno stage under the Cocoon Heroes umbrella, bringing one of the finest techno line ups we have seen to the country and heaps of great trance on the Wake Your Mind stage.

How's this for a line up?

The Prodigy, The Stone Roses, Bloc Party, Dizzee Rascal, Azealia Banks, Rita Ora, Boys Noize, Hardwell, The Temper Trap, FUN., Madeon, Rudimental, Ellie Goulding, Steve Aoki, Gypsy & The Cat, A-Trak, Kill The Noise, Feed Me Live, Zeds Dead, DJ Fresh, Nervo, Zane Lowe, Borgore, The Stafford Brothers & Timmy Trumpet, Tenzin, Bombs Away

COCOON HEROES featuring Sven Vath, Richie Hawtin, Ricardo Villalobos, Seth Troxler and Magda

WAKE YOUR MIND feat Cosmic Gate feat Emma Hewitt, W&W, Tydi, Andy Moor, Super8 & Tab and Ben Gold.

Plus special guest, PSY (Gangnam Style).

Grab a coffee, crank this playlist nice and loud and read all about who you'll be spending the next five months looking forward to seeing.

It happens on the following dates:

Saturday 2 March – Doomben Racecourse, Brisbane
Sunday 3 March – Arena Joondalup, Perth
Saturday 9 March – Randwick Racecourse, Sydney
Sunday 10 March – Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Monday 11 March – Bonython Park, Adelaide

THE PRODIGY:

Honestly, what do you want us to say? If you are a living, breathing fan of dance music and you're not already all over the work of The Prodigy then you need to get onto this immediately (seriously, right now). This is not your average dance music project; since 1990 this band has smashed out a heady mix of breakbeat, drum'n'bass punk rock, industrial and hardcore fucking techno to millions of adoring fans and they've always done it with such power and finesse on the live stage. They return to Australia to play Future Music Festival and it is going to be fucking massive.

THE STONE ROSES:

We just knew that someone was going to bring The Stone Roses to Australia after news of their reformation was confirmed last year and today we can confirm that that someone is indeed the Future Music Festival. This is one band who tops plenty of indie nerds “must see” lists (including number of our team) and after the festival secured the reformed New Order last year, we ought not be surprised that they managed to snag The Stones Roses to headline the 2013 event. There's not much we can say about these Madchester pioneers that hasn't already been etched in the contemporary music annals; they're one of the most important alternative rock bands to ever exist and seeing as they are now in the Guinness Book of World Records after selling 220,000 tickets in 68 minutes for their Manchester reformation shows earlier in the year, we suggest snapping up a ticket very swiftly.

BLOC PARTY:

Utterly adored in Australia, as they are pretty much everywhere, Bloc Party return to our country after a huge showing at this year's Splendour just prior to the release of their latest album Four. Much was said about the British indie rock band's future during their hiatus, but they have emerged as a solid unit with a whole heap of excellent tunes and a live show that retains the charm that so many of their fans love so much. This will be the band's first Future Music Festival and their inclusion on the bill is a great example as to how this event is crossing over to all music lovers.

DIZZEE RASCAL:

When he was 18-years-old he released Boy In Da Corner, one of the most exciting hip hop records we had heard in a very long time. Now, almost ten years on, Dizzee Rascal continues to forge a career with a unique and diverse approach to making music. While his UK grime roots are still present, he has stepped more into the mainstream of late, adopting pop, electro and drum'n'bass styles more and more. He has a couple of mates on the Future bill this year so it will be interesting to see if there's any collaboration going down.

AZEALIA BANKS:

The darling of hip hop in 2012, Azealia Banks came from nowhere to prove that she is one of the most intense, exciting, talented, energetic and fun rappers on the planet. This young woman blew minds with her blink-and-you'll-miss-it set at Splendour In The Grass earlier in the year; she absolutely tore the house down with her brief set and hopefully everything is going to work out perfectly and we can enjoy more of her brilliance at Future Music Festival in 2013.

DJ FRESH:

For over a decade and a half DJ Fresh has been pumping out vital sounds from the UK underground. As a member of drum'n'bass team Bad Company he was responsible for some of the finest moments in a scene where such moments were rather plentiful, though more recently he's shifted more into the mainstream as dubstep's popularity has risen and risen. He has just played Parklife, but he told theMusic.com.au this week that the show he will bring out for Future is going to be a far more epic undertaking, with massive production values.

STEVE AOKI:

This is a guy who has live a life. When Steve Aoki was just a young fella he founded Dim Mak Records, a label that has released music from the likes of Bloc Party, Battles, Mystery Jets and Gossip and currently boasts a roster including Armand Van Helden, The Bloody Beetroots, Fischerspooner, Infected Mushroom and so much more. He is a club promoter, a producer, a DJ and released his first artist album Wonderland earlier this year, scoring guest appearances from the likes of Rivers Cuomo, LMFAO, Kid Cudi, Lil Jon and more. When this guy performs live, you start to understand what the word party really means; this dude holds the crowd in the palm of his hands and makes them go absolutely bananas at every possible moment. Save up your energy to see him dropping bombs at Future next year.

GYPSY & THE CAT:

These Aussies really proved that they are a world-class indie-pop outfit with their 2010 debut Gilgamesh and now Gypsy & The Cat are back in the saddle with The Late Blue, which will be released independently on Friday 19 October. The band will no doubt be a force on the live scene over summer but will bring the party vibes in the biggest way when they smash out a big performance at 2013's Future Music Festival.

RUDIMENTAL:

This UK quartet has felt the loftiest highs in 2012, as their single                 Feel The Love became a smash hit in plenty of places around the world, including Australia, where it has hit Platinum sales status! Rudimental are in Australia right now, proving that they can live up to the hype that that song earned them, we're just thankful we don't have to wait long for them to come back.

PSY:

Just watch the fucking video, okay?

RITA ORA:

This young British singer has quickly become a household name in the UK as she topped the charts with three consecutive singles; Hot Right Now, R.I.P., and How We Do (Party). Rita Ora continues Future Music Festival's tradition of bringing out fresh pop acts who are blowing up around the world and Ora will no doubt satiate a large contingent of the audience     who can't get enough of the more mainstream leaning pop music.

BOYS NOIZE:

Alexander Ridha is one of the more important names in electronic music today; his Boysnoize Records label has released a heap of great electro over the past half-decade or so and much of it has been the music of Boys Noize, the name that Ridha performs under. Working with everyone from Skrillex to Daft Punk to David Lynch to Snoop Dogg and so many more huge names, it's safe to say that Ridha talents are well respected in the world of contemporary music; but what matters most is that he can rock the hell out of a stage and he'll be doing just that at Future in 2013.

HARDWELL:

Prog-house gun Hardwell returns to Australia for Future in 2013, following a quality year in 2012 thamks to the great Spaceman single. The 24-year-old hit the ground running with his early singles, but you get the feeling he's really coming into his own with some of these new productions. All we can say is that they are going to sound pretty bloody great in the warm Autumn sun pumping through an enormous system as we sip on a cool beer this March.

THE TEMPER TRAP:

From the AFL Grand Final to the Future Music Festival comes The Temper Trap. We won't bore you with details that you already know; we'll just mention that the inclusion of this Melbourne group really boosts the indie quota of the 2013 Future Music Festival and that to have such a huge local name on the bill is admirable and, frankly, should be pretty awesome.

FUN.

Another band who were here for Splendour earlier this year, fun. are, true to their name, one of the more joyous live acts you could hope to see. If you need uplifting, then you need look no further than this New York indie-pop trio (though they tour as a much larger outfit) and we reckon they'll be doing plenty of cheering up at Future next year. Their chart topping tunes are massive and they know how to deliver them.   

MADEON:

You can't program a festival like this without some massive electro house from France on the bill, in our opinion, so we're very glad to see the name Madeon on the bill for Future Music Festival 2013. He has smashed out a string of great singles over the past few years, so now all we are hoping is that Madeon is able to make those songs come across as good as we know they are when he plays this mighty festival next year.

ELLIE GOULDING:

The comparisons to Florence + The Machine and even Adele are surely flattering, but the fact is Ellie Goulding is an amazing singer with a unique style and freaking fantastic songs behind her. She is the critics' darling in her native UK and has been nominated for a stupid number of awards since her great debut LP Lights and she's just winning more and more praise with its stunning follow-up Halcyon. Australia, you are simply going to love her.

A-TRAK:

This Canadian dude is one hell of a DJ (he won the World DMC Championship when he was 15 for crying out loud), he owns Fools Gold Records (who release the likes of Kid Sister, Duck Sauce, Crookers, Chromeo and plenty more super cool acts) and he travels the world playing sets to whichever country requests him. If you haven't seen A-Trak yet, you need to get to more festivals. But you're in for a treat when he plays Future next year, let us assure you that.

KILL THE NOISE:

Oh yes, there is dubstep. Of course there is dubstep. Kill The Noise is the nom de plume of the prolific New Yorker Jake Stanczak and, even if you don't like dubstep, he's worth having a listen to as he incorporates elements of electro and house into the mix to smooth things off a little bit. It's the kind of music that must be enjoyed loud, with a drink in hand and plenty of friends nice and close by for high five purposes.

SVEN VATH:

Techno veteran Sven Väth is a more than worthy addition to any festival bill around the world; the guy has been busting out quality trance music since the mid-1980s and continues to deliver with more relevance than the majority of his far younger contemporaries. The German will this year be heading up the Cocoon Heroes stage, his own creation, with a few other masters such as…

RICHIE HAWTIN:

Another true legend of the game, we hate to think what the world of minimal techno would be like without the influence of Canadian-British DJ Richie Hawtin. MixMag recently named him the sixth greatest dance act of all time, he's been nominated for – and won – more awards than we care to mention, but most importantly he has continued to make music that makes us want to dance at all times.

RICARDO VILLALOBOS:

Ricardo Villalobos is another one of those guys who has made such an impact on minimal techno over the years that it is hard to express just how important a figure he is when it comes to this kind of music. With Villalobos, Hawtin and Väth all busting out tunes at Future next year it is looking to be one of the finest showings of this style of music we've seen in ages.

COSMIC GATE FEATURING EMMA HEWITT:

You should be well and truly familiar with these hard trance loving fellows if that's your preferred style of music, but Cosmic Gate's recent work alongside the wonderful Australian born singer Emma Hewitt has brought a whole new, palatable element to their sound. The big songs they make together will be perfect for such a party atmosphere as Future 2013.