Since 1998, Dustin Zahn's work has put his career on a steady ascent. Along the way, he has gained years of experience and unrivalled musical diversity as both a producer and performer, earning him respect among techno and house legends, purists, and contemporary DJs. With a preference for marathon sets and his laid-back approach to life and music, he seamlessly traverses through various genres to create a unique, hypnotic vibe. As a producer, his releases on labels such as Drumcode, Rekids, CLR and his own Enemy Records have brought him international success. And his remixes for the likes of Adam Beyer, Chris Liebing, Green Velvet, Dubfire, Nic Fancuilli, Mark Broom, Joel Mull and more have helped catapult him into the collections of DJs everywhere.

In this exclusive 6AM interview Dustin reveals that The Great Beyond festival is a culmination of extensive global experiences, aiming to create a unique and inclusive techno event by prioritizing artistic integrity, fostering community connections, and challenging industry norms, while navigating the logistical challenges of a rural setting.

Can you share the origin story of The Great Beyond festival? What inspired its creation?

We’ve been to countless campouts, festivals, and clubs with varying results. Me personally, I’ve been around the world. I’ve played the best. I’ve played the worst. From that, I formed a lot of opinions on what worked and what didn’t. This is an accumulation of all of our experiences. TGB is far from perfect, but we try to present a party based on what we’ve learned.

 

What sets The Great Beyond apart from other techno festivals, particularly in terms of its vision and philosophy?

Questions like these are tricky, because differentiating one’s self might be confused with negativity or superiority. We’re not trying to compete. We just want to exist. In terms of attitude, our philosophy and approach is more punk rock than what you typically find in the commercialized dance industry. I grew up as a teenager who was always looking for something more. I needed to find my music and my people. Hopefully, TGB can fill a void for somebody currently in a similar position.

 

How do you select artists and performers for The Great Beyond? What criteria do you prioritize?

There are no requirements or prerequisites. But the short answer is, like many things in life…the more you have to offer, the more you’re desirable. I personally look for artistic integrity or sincerity first. I also prefer to book people for roles they specialize in. Hard techno DJs have hit me up and go “Bro, I can go deep! Let me get that spot.” Ok, but that’s not you. I don’t care if you can do a decent job. We’re going to give that slot to someone who has dedicated themselves to the perfection of “going deep.” On the other hand, I’m more inclined to call the hard techno DJ when we need someone to bang it.

There’s also people who have impressive history under their belt, but then they haven’t really been active in the last few years. Promoters are interested in people with legacies, but they’re even more interested in people with legacies who are still doing something with it. Remaining active is important. If you can’t excite yourself to stay motivated, how are you going to excite me or anybody else? Meanwhile, If somebody else is excited and hungry, I’m more likely to pay attention to them.

 

How do you balance maintaining an underground ethos while also growing the festival's reach and audience?

We’re still trying to figure out the growth part.

 

 

What role does the location, surrounded by cornfields and soybeans, play in shaping the festival experience?

For people not used to this type of setting, I think it forces them to react differently, relax, and go with the flow.

How do you foster a sense of connection and inclusivity among attendees, considering the camping aspect of the festival?

I think constant communication is an important aspect to any healthy local scene. Never stop expressing the need to be respectful and support each other. By the time a party happens, ideally people will have developed a shared set of morals and expectations that will form a natural basis. If that doesn’t work, share food.

 

What challenges have you faced in curating and organizing The Great Beyond, and how have you overcome them?

I’ve lost count of the challenges, personally. Overcoming them just required growing up and taking more responsibility. I guess it was inevitable, but I had a good run.

Looking to the future, what do you hope The Great Beyond will achieve or represent within the techno festival landscape?

The European market, be it festivals, agents, the media, whomever…they essentially control markets in the Americas and dictates who’s cool, and what it will cost a promoter to book them. Fuck that. They don’t understand our scene or our economy. I think it’s important for Americans to take our scene back and let mother fuckers know our terms if they want to play for the people in this country. The moments we’re sharing together are for us, not for them.

Plus, a big part of the European market partners with the biggest agencies in America. This means so many club and festival line ups are largely determined by packaged deals from the same agencies whose primary focus is on projects like landing movie stars in the Marvel universe. I thought this was counter culture music. Why do these people hold the majority of control in our scene? I realize every worker has a number they need in order to leave the house, but often times the agencies’ demands are pure unsustainable exploitation.

The best outcome I could hope for is that attendees are inspired to form a new party circuit of like-minded people that operates on terms we dictate as a collective. This is how we keep our scene alive.

How do you manage the logistical challenges of hosting a camping festival in a rural setting?

Time, preparation, ibuprofen, and a fatty j.

 

What strategies do you employ to minimize the festival's impact on the surrounding farmland and ecosystem?

Containment and careful consideration. I’m a vegetarian for both humane and environmental reasons. It’s not hard to convince me to pursue the green route if the option exists.

 

Are there any unique challenges specific to organizing a festival in a rural location, and how do you address them?

Literally everything must be trucked in and back out. It’s a very expensive logistical nightmare. Questions like “What time should Rodhad play?” are the fun and easy ones. Most of our time is spent on “truck is full…who has room for 1000+ garbage bags in their car?” There’s so much we’d love to do, but the logistics are impossible for now, or possibly forever.

 

How do you handle diversity and inclusion within the festival, both in terms of lineup representation and attendee experience?

Balance is important at all of our parties. Sometimes we nail it better than others, but we genuinely try every time. Personally, if we come up short a time or two, I try not to stress. What matters to me is that when we call it a day with throwing parties, I hope people will look back and say “Overall, big picture…I think their bookings were pretty fair and balanced.” If that happens, then I feel like we did our job.

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Click here for more info about The Great Beyond