I Rode in a Hot Air Balloon With Dada Life

A little over a week ago I was sitting at work, slugging down coffee and mindlessly knocking out emails when I ran across a fresh one from DAD's fearl

dada balloon

Image via Dada Life

dada balloon

A little over a week ago I was sitting at work, slugging down coffee and mindlessly knocking out emails when I ran across a fresh one from DAD's fearless leader, forwarded from Capitol Music Group and titled, "Hey Khal...writer to ride with DADA LIFE in a hot air balloon this weekend?" Regardless of the fact that I've never ridden in what seemed to be a Hindenburg waiting to happen and that I was less than brushed up on Dada news (having become more involved in disco and deep house coverage since beginning at Do Androids Dance), I quickly responded with a definitive Y-E-fucking-S without too much consideration.

Fast forward a few days and my festival companions and I are arriving at Dada Land the Voyage, a festival that's was created and curated by the hard partying Swedish duo and has been growing exponentially in size and audacity since its inception. The event, which was the biggest they've thrown so far at 10,000 attendees, was a testament to all things Dada, with their long established bananas and champagne brand covering every facet of the grounds and people in attendance. The only thing more potent than the feeling coming from an absolutely ecstatic group of fans was the unbelievable grounds that the event was held on, from the huge mountains surrounding us to the rolling green hills we camped on, the vibe there was unbeatable.

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Along with the beautiful scenery surrounding the festival came the threat of Mother Nature's intervention into the plans of the festival. What was supposed to turn into an early afternoon hot air balloon launch, turned into several hours of filling and deflating said balloon, and inevitably coming to the conclusion that the wind was too strong to fly. Persistence and some long, grounded tethers prevailed, however, and after the sun went down the Dada blimp took flight. As we climbed into the balloon before liftoff, Stefan's cavalier assessment of the seatbelt situation on the balloon (read: there aren't any, duh) was enough for all aboard the vessel to get in a quick laugh before defying gravity over the sold out show.

You get to check out some cool situations and meet a lot of people you respect when you're a writer, and the things you talk about and the way you interact humanizes these people in a way not many get to experience. It's one of the best perks of a low paying (and in some cases no-paying) gig and can just as easily result in a poor assessment of someone's character as it can end in an increased respect and even sometimes a friendship. More often then not, however, I find that people surprise you with intrinsically good they are–which was undoubtedly the case with Dada Life, who turned out to be some of the most genuine guys have had the chance to interact with.

What was unique about my experience with Stefan and Olle was that when we stepped into the balloon, for a moment, we were both out of our element and amazed at the simplicity of sharing the best seats in the house. For me to be floating over a music festival with two extremely well-regarded producers, their manager, a balloon pilot, a lucky contest winner, and a guy with a camera, was to say the least, surreal. But more importantly, I got to see two masters of their craft stand back and humbly observe the fruits of their labor. While they took the obligatory pictures with us and shared a few words of amazement amongst themselves, there was an air of reverence that surrounded us that was so tangible I felt like I could bottle it and take it home with me.

unnamed-2If someone had told me three years ago when I moved to Los Angeles that I'd be in a hot air balloon with Dada Life, looking over their sold out mini festival, I probably would have laughed. I'm sure if you tried to explain the same thing to them several years ago they would have had the same reaction. They're on the verge of a huge moment in their careers and with all the noise and confusion and fans and epic-mother-fucking-shows around the world it's funny that it takes a hot air balloon to give a breather and a moment of appreciation. And for a minute, I had a chance to share in that moment, and for that I will always be grateful and will forever be a fan.

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