‘There’s something very magical here’: Set against a backdrop of ancient Mayan ruins, the festival showcases some of the best electronic music that the country has to offer
Day Zero was founded in 2012 to coincide with the apocalypse, as predicted by an ancient Mayan calendar. 14 years later, the world hasn’t ended (more or less) and Day Zero is still going strong.
The party takes place deep in the jungle, near Tulum – the site of one of the most significant archaeological ruins in Mexico, an imposing Mayan fortress which towers over the Caribbean Sea. Damian Lazarus – the DJ who founded Day Zero – had been visiting the area for years before deciding to organise a party there. Tulum has a long history as a site of hippie culture and spiritual pilgrimage; now and then, Damian meets someone who tells him they were there in the 1960s, dancing naked on the beach with hundreds of people. “It had a bit of Goa vibe, but it was a well-kept secret for a long time,” he tells me. “When I first came there was literally nothing, just a couple of small hotels on the beach. But over the next few years, it started to develop, and after a certain point I realised I wouldn’t be able to prevent its commercialisation.”
Damian has developed a reputation for playing in unusual settings, from forests to mountain-top igloos to archaeological ruins, but Tulum has a special place in his heart. “There’s something very magical here,” he says. “Beneath our feet here there’s an entire universe of underground caves. You have this pristine ocean and then, on the other side, the most incredible jungle.” It’s certainly a beautiful place: I’m not sure if this counts as a spiritual experience but, having arrived from the depths of a bleak British winter, I did almost burst into tears of joy when I first saw the Caribbean Sea.
Because Damian feels such a strong sense of connection to the local area, sustainability is at the heart of Day Zero. The festival has partnered with SOS MARES, a project which restores and cleans coral barrier reefs from the Caribbean to Colombia. It’s also working on reforestation with the local government; organising beach cleanups, converting all the plastic waste generated by the festival into biodegradable fuel, and ensuring that the jungle is left in pristine condition, which involves a painstaking process of wrapping up individual trees (some of which are otherwise poisonous to the touch.)
For Damian, it’s also important that the festival engages with the local area, whether through organising music lessons with school children (I saw one of their concerts, which was very cute), or closely collaborating with representatives from the indigenous Mayan community. Throughout the festival, community leader Carlos ‘The Reindeer’ Sanchez’ leads a series of ceremonies which honour the land and showcase traditional Mayan culture.
Day Zero is a fairly small festival, but it’s so dense with nooks and crannies that it’s easy to get pleasantly lost: there are winding paths through the jungle, art installations and design features everywhere you look, and even an underground cave where you can swim (or enjoy a quick nap, as many people were doing). When you first arrive at the site, the first thing you notice is the sound of thousands of cicadas, screeching away in the night, and the way the surrounding trees are illuminated once you enter the festival has an otherworldly beauty. The music is split into three sections: the Main Stage, a pyramid structure which sits in a natural amphitheatre; The Club, which resembles a futuristic Mayan temple crossed with a UFO, and El Teatro, the design of which takes inspiration from a classic Mexican cinema.
The line-up included a stellar selection of international artists, including DJ Tennis, Patrick Mason, Seth Toxler and Skream, but I spent most of my time at El Teatro, which exclusively platforms Mexican talent. Drawing acts from all over the country, the stage provided an excellent snapshot of Mexico’s electronic music scene, which has exploded in popularity over the last few years. “I’ve been very closely connected to Mexico for many years; I've travelled all over meeting new up-and-coming artists, and trying to support them wherever I can,” says Damian. “A couple of years ago, I decided to create a third stage which would showcase only the most exciting artists to come out of Mexico – I think we’re the only international festival here to do something like this.”
Along with Damian, El Teatro is curated by Metrika, a Mexico City-based DJ and producer. “Throughout the year, I’m always listening to new music and grabbing whatever comes,” he tells me. “It’s a profound joy to witness the evolution of these sounds, and to create a space where the heart and soul of Mexico can be celebrated and embraced by all who join us. Day Zero’s commitment to featuring this stage is crucial, as it offers a unique platform in an environment where international parties often prioritise booking international artists.”
The line-up showcased a mixture of genres and vibes, from 90s house to dark disco to techno. One of my favourite acts was Mandrake, a DJ and member of the influential collective Mayan Warrior, whose propulsive, euphoric set ended with a drag queen scaling the side of the stage. Metrika’s set – which blended house and techno, and was entirely comprised of his own music – was also incredible. My overall impression was that the music was more melodic – and perhaps less cold – than you might find at an equivalent line-up in Berlin or London, which a handful of the people I spoke with told me was characteristic of the Mexican scene.
One of the El Teatro highlights was Mystery Affair, a queer DJ from Guadalajara. When I sat down with her on the day of the festival, a Mariachi band was playing in the background, which was appropriate: she told me that her home state is the source of many of the things we think of as classically Mexican, including tequila and mariachi bands (apparently, it’s still fairly common to hire one and turn at someone’s house as a grand romantic gesture, whether you’re trying to seduce them or to apologise for some indiscretion – which would definitely work on me.)
As with elsewhere in Mexico, the music scene in Guadalajara is growing at a rapid pace. “We are still into Latin stuff, pop and reggaeton but electronic music is getting a lot bigger,” she tells me. One of the most popular genres of dance music is “indie”, but this means something different than it would in the UK – Mexico’s club kids are not, by and large, throwing it down to Razorlight or The Arctic Monkeys “When I say ‘indie’ I mean dark disco, bassy stuff. It’s sort of a fusion of house, disco and techno, and it’s super-Mexican,” she explains.
Damian is notorious for throwing parties with an epic runtime, and Day Zero is no exception – opening at 4pm on Friday, the event comes to a close at noon the following day. At El Teatro, the final slot was filled by Kalexis and Maria Nochedyia, two friends who – despite living in different cities – regularly perform back-to-back. Kalexis is based in Monterrey, a city in the North-East. “There’s always been an interesting music scene there,” she says. “It is very controlled, there are lots of rules and curfews, and lots of places have been shut down. So in a way the city is always reconstructing itself. There are lots of interesting things happening now with a younger crowd. Rock and punk have always been big there, and even when the music is electronic it still has that kind of vibe.
Kalexis played Day Zero for the first time last year, and was glad to be back. “It was a completely new experience for me, and I really loved the production of the festival. The line-up was super cool and I liked that the El Teatro stage, although it’s still quite big, has more of an intimate party vibe,” she says.
Maria, who lives in Mexico City, says that the club scene there is stronger than ever. “Since I started getting into electronic music I’ve seen so many cool places open. Every night there’s a couple of good parties. During the pandemic, it really changed, because while other countries were having a lot of restrictions, you could still party here – I think that really accelerated the process,” she said. There are now far more international festivals, and far more opportunities for local artists to develop their careers.
When I spoke with Diego earlier, he agreed this was a real phenomenon, although he suggested it was mostly contained to three neighbourhoods. “At the same time,” he says, “I love that people from all over the world are living in my city, for sure. It's good for the culture.” Kalexis agreed that the influx of people has had some positive effects. “I like that there’s more community globally, and it’s easier for DJ’s to get together and socialise,” she says. As Day Zero makes clear, Mexico has one of the most exciting electronic music scenes in the world right now.