Mexico’s Day Zero Festival marked its 10th year in style with Funktion-One sound systems from distributor and rental partner Loto Audio on all three stages. The festival, which is the brainchild of organisers Damian Lazarus and Crosstown Rebels, is renowned for its melting pot of music, mysticism and natural wonder.
Born on the final day of the Ancient Mayan Calendar in 2012, the one-day spectacular takes place in the Mayan jungle surrounding Tulum on Mexico’s Caribbean coastline. Over the last decade, it has grown a community of like-minded partygoers from all over the globe, attracted by both the deeper festival experience and its stellar music programming.
This year, international electronic music acts, such as Nina Kravitz, The Martinez Brothers, Seth Troxler and Carl Craig, joined founder Damian Lazarus and a host of Mexican stars, including GRAMMY Award winner Nortec Collective.
Day Zero Production Manager, Carlos Lopez, said: “It was a long ride since the first edition, especially to this one after many cancellations of other shows around the globe. Despite all the challenges, it was finally possible for it to happen and what better than the 10th anniversary. We’re very happy with the result and seeing the crowd dancing again.”
Loto Audio has supplied the festival’s Funktion-One sound for the last four years. Lopez continued: “Loto Audio is the only company I trust to do the sound for this festival. The crew are always committed and on top of every single detail.”
Loto Audio Founder, Ramón Salazar, explained: “Many people say this is the best party of its kind in the world. Every year people from around the globe, including many production guys, congratulate us for the sound, which is always amazing. We just set-up the sound systems and turn up the volume, but we always get such positive comments.”
Keen to impress the production team and audience, Loto Audio opted to deploy its Funktion-One Vero system on the Main Stage. The natural amphitheatre was home to two hangs of nine Vero enclosures and 16 F124 bass speakers, with Res 5T and Evo 6 infill, and PSM318 monitoring. A more compact system was needed for The Club Stage, where Vero VX combined with F124 bass and PSM318 monitoring
Loto Audio’s Alexander Danielewicz said: “This year, we considered using Vero VX on the Main Stage but decided Vero was the better choice in this instance because we wanted to blow the production team and audience away with its SPL, impact and coverage capabilities. We deployed VX on The Club Stage instead and the results were spectacular.”
El Teatro Stage showcased an array of local DJs and producers, who enjoyed the classic Funktion-One sonic performance of Res 5Ts with F221 bass.
“Funktion-One sound brings the feeling of freedom and joy,” said Lopez. “The aesthetic of the different boxes we use at the three stages matches perfectly to the jungle and the sound is impactful and clearly resonates with our guests.”
Danielewicz commented: “In terms of audio performance, the bar was set very high this year and it will be a challenge to make it even better next year.”