Phoenix, Deadmau5, Macklemore, Eric Prydz Among Future Headliners

Just when you thought the world of Australian music festivals couldn't get any crazier, here's a big old announcement from the team at Future Music Festival, who are looking to show people they are staying strong by putting together an incredibly huge line up for their 2014 event.

It's a little less indie-focused as the past couple, but there are mighty big names on board to ensure that those keen on a big day of EDM action at the end of summer can have just what they want.

Here's the line-up:

Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Phoenix, Hardwell, Knife Party, Eric Prydz, Chase & Status, Rudimental, Tinie Tempah, Kaskade, Paul van Dyk, Baauer, Markus Schulz, ATB, Dada Life, Chuckie, Arty, Martin Garrix, Naughty Boy, 2 Chainz, Cut Copy, Sub Focus, Netsky, Porter Robinson, R3Hab, Bassjackers, Adventure Club, Carnage, Deniz Koyu, Dannic, Dyro, Monsta, Stafford Brothers, Timmy Trumpet, Walden, Tenzin, Will Sparks, Sven Vath, Helena, Paul Kalkbrenner, Dubfire, Gesaffelstein, Maya Jane Coles, Brodinski, Kaytranada, Gorgon City, Guy Gerber

Here's the dates:

Saturday 1 March – RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane
Sunday 2 March – Arena Joondalup, Perth
Saturday 8 March – Randwick Racecourse, Sydney
Sunday 9 March – Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Monday 10 March – Adelaide Showgrounds

Here's what it sounds like:

Here's what we reckon:

DEADMAU5:

It doesn't matter who you are, you've most likely come across some of Deadmau5's work over the past half a decade or so as progressive house began to dominate the dance music world. A huge stage show, banging tracks, a list of remixes and collabs so long that you wouldn't even bother trying to list them, means he's a legit headliner without doubt.

PHOENIX:

Oh how we love these French indie-pop dreamboats. Phoenix's slick brand of electro inspired pop-rock is catchy, inoffensive, danceable and just so much damn fun. Their new record Bankrupt! just dropped recently and they've chosen Future as the place to show Aussie audiences how it goes down live.

MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS:

What's that? You've never heard Thrift Shop? Hahaha, you're so funny. These guys sold the fuck out of all their massive shows the last time they were here, so if you missed out then you get a chance to see them on a far bigger stage this time around.

KASKADE:

This 41-year-old is seen to be the king of stadium house right now; he's just dropped his new record Atmosphere (like, last week) and even sparked a riot with a block party he was DJing at in Los Angeles getting out of hand a couple of years ago. The prog-house gun will be showing why he's so adored at Future next year.

KNIFE PARTY:

Pendulum are dead and you can't do anything about that right now. But Knife Party are very much alive and they are destroying charts and clubs all around the world with their brand of incendiary electro house and dubstep. Their return to Australian shores is going to be epic.

ERIC PRYDZ:

He may not be the hottest name among the kids right now, but the brilliance of Eric Prydz in the world of commercial house cannot be understated. He was scheduled to come to Australia a few years back, but it was his crippling fear of flying that kept him away. Here's hoping he can overcome that to make it down for Future next year; God knows we've been wanting to see him for long enough.

HARDWELL:

Prog-house gun Hardwell returns to Future again in 2014, but you'd understand why he'd be invited back just about every year. The young fella 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; his latest Revealed mix was pretty damn solid and is a bit of a taste of what we can expect next Autumn.

BAAUER:

Is the Harlem Shake the Macarena of our time? No, probably not, because there are millions more videos of people dancing to Bauuer's smash hit 2012 single. He will no doubt drop it at Future and you had better be there shakin' what you got.

MARTIN GARRIX:

Dutch DJ Martin Garrix isn't even fucking old enough to get into clubs!!! But that didn't stop him from making one of the biggest tracks of 2013 in Animals; an accomplished electro house number that sounds like something someone with far more clubbing experience would produce. If you head to Future, don't tell the security that he's underage, but maybe keep him away from the beer tent. I hope he has someone looking after him.

TINIE TEMPAH:

Electro hip hop wunderkind Tinie Tempah is just getting better and better as the years go by and we'll get to hear just how good he has become this November when he finally drops his second LP Demonstration. We'll have a few months to let the songs sink in before he makes his way back to Australia for Future, where he will send the crowd into a damn frenzy.

NAUGHTY BOY:

Naughty Boy is the stage name of Shahid Khan, a super talented producer who released his debut album Hotel Cabana just last month. The song La La La, featuring the smooth and soulful vocals of Sam Smith has been monstrous though, going top five here in Australia and topping his native UK's singles charts.

2 CHAINZ:

One of the casualties of the ill-fated Movement Festival (due to a court case he went on to win), it didn't take too long for 2 Chainz to get another offer to hit Australia and he'll be an epic presence at Future, rest assured. The guy has appeared with everyone – Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, Drake and Pusha T to name but a few – and has dropped three pretty great records over the past couple of years. He'll be a rare but welcome dose of hip hop at Future 2014.

CUT COPY:

By the time we get to see Cut Copy in Australia for the Future Music Festival we'll have the full Free Your Mind record in our shelves – no longer relying on weird promotion stunts to hear their music – and we'll know just how exciting it is to be welcoming them back to our shores. They've been one of the most tasteful exponents of electronic music anywhere in the world for years, we're so proud to call them our own and so excited to dance around like dickheads when they hit Future.

ADVENTURE CLUB:

Canada's Adventure Club are one of the biggest names in the world of dubstep these days and it's not hard to see why when you listen to their stuff. They made plenty of new fans in our country after a series of appearances as a part of Big Day Out last year and you can rest assured there'll be drops galore when they smash the shit out of Future next year.

WILL SPARKS:

There are a number of Aussie talents who are showing the world that we can produce seriously good EDM fare; young Melburnian Will Sparks is one of the most impressive. The past few years has seen him dominate stage across the planet and continue to produce music that makes plenty of punters smile and we reckon he's probably only gonna get bigger as time goes on.

SVEN VÄTH:

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. He is welcomed back into the Future fold with open arms for the 2014 event.

MAYA JANE COLES:

Hype is sometimes so warranted, you wish there wasn't so much of it surrounding an artist just in case people are being put off by all the gushing. That's kinda what it's like with Maya Jane Coles. Her brand of deep house is so palatable that she deserves to be rated up there with the best of them. Her debut LP of earlier this year, Comfort, is such an accomplished piece of work and we can't wait to hear some of those great songs live.

BRODINSKI:

French producer Brodinski kinda kicks against how his fellow countrymen's brand of dance music is often categorised. He plays a huge variety of styles, which has meant he's able to play with all manner of different acts and as such has a heap of different experience. We don't know whether it'll be noisy techno, melodic minimal fare, or big, fat house that pumps from the system at Future – probably another good reason to check him out.

CHASE & STATUS

For ten years Chase & Status have cemented themselves as one of the most dominant forces in UK breakbeat music and Aussie audiences have shown great respect for that; packing out their shows when they have visited down here. They return for some Future action and given they're the kind of band that just work at festivals, it's mighty good news.

Tickets are on sale from Tuesday 1 October.