156 Ultra TMY
On this splendid day, the Fifth Ring Aeronautical Base was buzzing with more excitement than a bag of microwave popcorn on high heat.
Particularly at the main stage, the festivities had commenced at the crack of dawn, and now, the crowd's uproar resembled a challenge to the sun itself, a contest of who could be the loudest.
Now, you might wonder, what was the cause of all this exhilaration? Well, it happened to be the second day of the Ultra Music Festival, which to electronic fans meant one thing: a performance by China's top 100 DJ.
Who was this esteemed DJ? None other than the incomparable TMY!
The moment was upon them.
"The Princess is here!"
"It's TMY, folks!"
"I'm pumped!"
"I watched a recording of her live event, and let me tell you, the Little Princess's music is unparalleled. Everything else pales in comparison."
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As they waited in anticipation, conversations buzzed with nervous excitement. Each individual in the crowd seemed to teeter on the edge of their seats.
The scene was absolutely wild. Even the helicopters executing aerial stunts in the sky might have heard the groundswell of cheers below, heralding the arrival of "TMY!"
Who would have imagined that these three letters had acquired such formidable street cred in the world of electronic music? It hadn't been that long since TMY burst onto the scene.
"She's here!"
Amidst this electrifying atmosphere, when the clock struck 9:00, there was a sudden snap, and the entire venue, including the stage, burst into radiant illumination, akin to a twinkling Christmas tree. A melodious hum emanated from the speakers, competing with the brilliance of the daylight sun.
The crowd's clamour subsided to an almost imperceptible hush.
People held their breath, not out of a desire to conserve oxygen, but in anticipation of the imminent main event.
Then, the stage lights exploded into a dazzling display, confirming what everyone had already deduced. The audience erupted into a fresh wave of exuberance.
Why, you ask? It was because, within those brilliant lights, three colossal letters materialized.
TMY!
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Meaningless shouts permeated the air.
Subsequently, rhythmic chants took hold: "TMY! TMY! TMY! TMY! T..."
Charisma radiated like an overpowering aura, and TMY hadn't even graced the stage yet. The crowd was already ecstatic, as though some unseen puppeteer manipulated their every emotion.
And in the next instant, the DJ platform at the heart of the main stage began its ascent, unveiling an elegant silhouette. She acknowledged the sea of admirers below with a smile, her presence commanding the spotlight, enchanting and radiant.
No makeup, no extravagant attire, no mythical halo – yet in that moment, she gleamed brighter than a supernova.
For at that juncture, she was unequivocally the star of the show – TMY, Tang Miaoyi!
A genuine marvel in the hearts of Chinese electronic music enthusiasts.
And guess what? Even Miaoyi was slightly taken aback. Moments earlier, she had fretted about her stage presence, and now she soaked in the adulation.
It's incredible how such moments can inflate one's ego...
"Wow... this is beyond imagination." Miaoyi motioned to strike a subtle pose for the cameras. She was genuinely awestruck by the fans' fervour, her smile slightly stiff. "Is this what an electronic music festival does to people?"
Such a phenomenon had never transpired during her initial debut. The disparity was akin to night and day.
Yet Miaoyi swiftly adapted. She hailed from a world where level-headedness reigned supreme. Having traversed the golden age of electronic music and previously performed live, she exuded unwavering confidence. She was well-equipped to handle this atmosphere.
It took approximately five minutes for the cheers to gradually subside. It was then that Miaoyi seized a microphone from the DJ table, raising it to her lips to address the audience below.
"Hey there, how's everyone feeling at Ultra today?"
The response was resounding.
The crowd was like bees in a hive in both numbers and volume. Thousands of voices all speaking up at once caused a resounding roar throughout the arena.
Miaoyi basked in the moment. Now in her element, she raised both her hands above her head with her microphone in one of them, her eyes sparkling like diamonds.
In that instant, she felt like she was born to perform electronic music. With every gaze fixated on her, she felt far more comfortable than she ever did alone.
"Thank you! Now, I want to hear all of you! Where are we?!?"
The entire crowd answered in one voice. Where are they?
"Ultra! Ultra!"
Miaoyi spoke directly into the microphone, her voice cutting through the noises, "Louder!"
"Ultra! U! L! T! R! A! ULTRA!"
Miaoyi's attire fluttered gently in the breeze. "And what are you here for? Let me hear it loud and clear!"
"ELECTRONIC MUSIC! TMY!"
They craved electronic music, specifically from TMY. That was the sole aspiration coursing through every fan's mind within that audience.
Looking out into the crowd, various flags representing different nationalities waved as one, as if no borders had ever existed. Here, they all shared one common objective, irrespective of their origins.
They were here for TMY's electronic music!
"All right, If you're so insistent..."
Acting as if she didn't just rile up the crowd intentionally, Miaoyi slowly retrieved a pair of headphones from the mixing console. She positioned them atop her head, her dainty fingers gliding over the controls on the mixing table...
"...I'll give you what you want."
Whoosh~
An explosive faller* reverberated throughout the venue, cutting through the noise of the crowd. In the subsequent moment, a gentle yet crystalline melody unfurled. Slow and contemplative, it was a piano melody.
From the outset, it captured the undivided attention of all listeners.
This introduction was extraordinarily beautiful, breathtaking even...
At that instant, countless fans uttered the same sentiment in unison. For just seconds after the commencement of this musical piece, they recognized it – it was none other than Miaoyi's hallmark Electro-House-style composition.
"It's 'Faded'!"
"OMG, 'Faded'!"
"This is unbelievable..."
Undoubtedly, many fans were well-acquainted with this track, as it stood as TMY's solitary masterpiece within the realm of Electro-House. With its unique structure and the song's powerful but sombre tone, this style of electronic music had conquered the world.
Were it not for the fact that only TMY, the innovator herself, could craft such music, the electronic music landscape would have already completed its revolution.
Countless producers toiled daily in their attempts to decipher the secrets behind TMY's diverse styles, endeavouring to grasp the essence of this young prodigy.
Frequently, industry insiders pondered, "Have electronic music enthusiasts lost their minds?"
However, one fact remained indisputable – TMY's style transcended the ordinary.
And the moment "Faded" commenced, that fact became all the more apparent.
Moreover, "Faded" isn't just a track in TMY's repertoire; it's the most critically acclaimed song in her repertoire. Though "Closer" had been listened to more, that was mostly caused by commercial usage; in stores, radio, etc. Faded was widely considered the best showcase of TMY's skills.
This isn't your typical run-of-the-mill tune; it's the Mozart of electronic symphonies. What's more, at the last Amsterdam Top 100 Awards, when they announced TMY's ranking, guess which melody they played? You guessed it – "Faded"!
When that track hit the airwaves at the awards, it was akin to introducing a catchy tune to a room full of music aficionados. TMY, an 18-year-old high schooler with a talent for creating sensational tracks, became an overnight sensation.
Otherwise, today's Ultra event would've been as electrifying as a burnt-out lightbulb.
In the world of electronic music, there's a line widely regarded as fact by TMY's fanbase: TMY is incomparable to any other artist, past, present and future.
Certainly, some may arch an eyebrow at such claims, but astonishingly, a substantial portion of the fanbase nods in agreement.
The ambiance at the live show was nothing short of electric. As "Faded" transitioned into its electronic phase, the colossal screens above the main stage began to glow. A drone shot of an abandoned city began playing, as the camera slowly followed a small figure wearing a black hoodie.
The drone followed as the silhouette made its way around the city, jumping over walls and gates as it transited the desolate metropolis. The drone followed gently behind, simply providing a cinematic view as the silhouette moved.
What intrigued the audience the most was that in the corner of this video was a small watermark reading "CG Animation."
"It's so realistic..."
"Is this even CG?"
"Somehow, it fits the song perfectly!"
"This is beyond epic..."
As the song was beginning the second chorus with a spliced electronic voice, the video began cutting through different scenes of the city with the same timing as the vocal cuts, with the silhouette placed at different angles. In a few of the cuts, the front of the silhouette was able to be seen, and some eagle-eyed fans could make out a few features, namely some neck-high brown hair with blond tips, and a black mask covering the lower half of her face.
When the second drop hit, the girl took center stage in the video, the drone having circled around to her front. Now, she was almost standing still, with just the background changing around her to the beat of the song.
As the song began to end, the girl stared straight at the audience for the first time. The camera moved backward so the entirety of her body was in the frame, and the image began to look more...real.
The girl lifted her foot and slowly pushed it forward. Stunning both the crowd and all the viewers watching via the live stream, her foot broke past the screen, as she began to walk on air down to the stage.
At that moment, as the girl stepped foot on the vast stage, the final notes of "Faded" serenaded the crowd, and the grand opening act had come to a close.
Before the audience could fully wrap their minds around the jaw-dropping holographic extravaganza, the girl pulled down her mask and slowly parted her lips.
"Hello, Ultra!" Her face was almost identical to Miaoyi's, and her voice was just as smooth and rich as TMY's.
And if you happened to glance at the DJ booth at that very moment, you'd notice something odd – it wasn't the holo-girl speaking; it was TMY herself, holding a microphone and lip-syncing.
It was safe to assert that the creators of this performance were nothing short of unpredictable. It was a spectacle that left spectators flabbergasted and in awe, an amalgamation of genius and astonishment.
It wasn't until the echoes of the music had completely dissipated that the girl uttered one final phrase;
"I'm TMY. Who are all of you?"
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(*Risers and Fallers are sfx used in electro. Mostly used during transitions, a riser builds from soft background noise to a massive whoosh. A faller is the inverse, which starts as a massive whoosh, and fades back into the background. The beginning of "Windfall" by TheFatRat could be considered a faller)
