TuneLab
Joris Voorn
Awakenings Festival 2025
Another year, another Awakenings Festival, another Joris Voorn set where we all collectively vow to remember more than three track IDs. The pilgrimage to the hallowed turf of Spaarnwoude is a rite of passage, and Voorn’s 2025 outing is a testament to its enduring, rain-or-shine appeal. Picture a sea of committed ravers under a vast tent, the air thick with anticipation and the scent of damp grass. Technically, this is a slightly more dynamic affair than his 2021 set, with the BPM creeping up to an average of 134.8 and a broader key palette anchored in 5A and 12A.
The energy balance shows a slight uptick in high-end frequencies, suggesting more melodic and atmospheric elements woven into the sturdy low-end foundation. Voorn’s style here is progression through accretion, layering synth lines and vocal snippets over a relentless four-four heartbeat, with modulations into 3B providing darker, more introspective pockets. It’s a set that rewards patience, building its narrative brick by brick. The tracklist is a joy for label spotters and festival weapon connoisseurs alike.
He kicks off with the ominous, filtered chords of House of Prayers & Crazibiza’s 'The Beginning', a perfect scene-setter. The trance infusion comes early and effectively with the soaring 'Airwave' by Rank 1, while BEEVIBES’s 'Cocktails Now' offers a splash of quirky, percussive funk. Q.U.A.K.E & Acrobatik’s 'Drones' is a peak-time bomb of distorted bass, and the inclusion of Spektre’s 'Against a Dark Background' showcases Voorn’s knack for selecting driving, moody tools. The journey is a classic arc: from the anticipatory 'The Beginning', through the trance-tinged euphoria of 'Airwave' as a mid-set highlight, to a sleek, cosmic conclusion with DANNE’s 'Andromeda'.