The Decibel Festival was an annual music and digital arts festival in Seattle, Washington, which featured live electronic music performances, visual arts, and new media.
History The festival was launched in 2003 by Sean Horton and a team of volunteer staff. The festival consisted of concerts, performances, film screenings, exhibitions, panels, lectures, workshops, and commissioned works across locations throughout Seattle, including the Capitol Hill neighborhood and Downtown Seattle.
Audiences grew from 2,500 to 25,000 over the festival's 12 years.
Following years of unsuccessful efforts to become a non-profit organization, and Horton's move to LA to work for Red Bull, The Decibel Festival ended in 2015. The founder described this as an "extended break."
Since 2015, Decibel has continued to host and promote smaller events, describing itself as "a Los Angeles-based event/production company." These events are chronicled on the organization's social media.
Decibel organized a weekend of events in 2023 to celebrate 20-years of Decibel. The event title was stylized as DecibelXX.
Artists
The Decibel Festival hosted over 1,100 acts, ranging from underground dance and experimental electronic music to transmedial art.
Selected festival lineups:
2015 lineup 2014 lineup 2013 lineup 2012 lineup
Performers included:
3 Channels 12th Planet Addison Groove Akufen The Album Leaf Alexi Delano Alter Ego Amon Tobin ISAM LIVE Apparat AraabMuzik Atom™ Autechre Baths Ben Klock Ben Frost Biosphere Bok Bok Bonobo Booka Shade Boys Noize Breakage Bruno Pronsato Carl Craig Caspa Catz 'n Dogz Charli XCX Christopher Willits Claude VonStroke Cobblestone Jazz Dabrye Daedelus Dan Bell DARKSIDE Deadbeat Deadmau5 The Dead Texan Derrick May Dinky Diplo DJ Krush dOP Duke Dumont Egyptrixx Empire of the Sun Erykah Badu Ellen Allien Eluvium FaltyDL fennesz The Field Flying Lotus Flume Four Tet Frank Bretschneider Frivolous Funkstörung The Gaslamp Killer Geographer Girl Unit The Glitch Mob Gold Panda Green Velvet Gui Boratto Harold Budd ill-esha Isolee Itak Tek Jacob London James Blake Jeff Samuel John Tejada Joker Justice Kangding Ray Kevin Saunderson KiloWatts Kimbra Ladytron Lorde Loscil Lusine Machinedrum Mad Professor Mala Marcus Nikolai Marcel Dettmann Martin Buttrich Mary Anne Hobbs Matias Aguayo Matmos Matthew Dear Max Cooper Meat Beat Manifesto Michael Mayer Moby Mochipet Moderat Modeselektor Monolake Mount Kimbie Mountains Move D Mt. Eden Murcof Nicolas Jaar Nils Frahm Nina Kraviz Nortec Collective Odesza The Orb Orbital Pepe Bradock Quantic Ramadanman Richie Hawtin Robert Babicz Robert Hood Robin Guthrie Sascha Funke School of Seven Bells Scott Pagano Scuba Shackleton The Sight Below Simian Mobile Disco Smash TV Soul Clap Spacetime Continuum Speedy J Star Slinger Starkey Stars of the Lid Strategy Styrofoam Subtle Switch T.Raumschmiere Telefon Tel Aviv Theo Parrish Thievery Corporation Thomas Fehlmann Tiger & Woods Tim Exile Tim Hecker Tipper Trentemoller TOKiMONSTA Tycho VibeSquad Vladislav Delay Voodeux Wighnomy Brothers Wolf + Lamb Zedd Zola Jesus Zomby
Venues
Throughout its duration, The Decibel Festival was hosted at various venues across the Seattle area, including The Showbox, The Showbox SoDo, Q Nightclub, Neumos, The Crocodile, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, The Triple Door, Islander Cruise Ship, EMP Museum, and Re-Bar.
The Decibel Festival was a member of ICAS (International Cities of Advanced Sound).
See also
List of electronic music festivals
References
External links
Decibel Festival