Surf Mesa, Felix De Laet, in Brooklyn

“That was unreal,” my friend and I agreed as we heaved ourselves into a taxi. “I think I lost my mind.”

It was Saturday morning and we’d just left Lost Frequencies’ “All Stand Together” show at East Williamsburg’s Great Hall. Our bodies sore, voices deflated, ears ringing, and one earring left behind. But, if we had it our way, we’d be crawling back to the stage.

When we arrived at the venue just after 10 p.m., the opener, Artemis Orion, was already underway with her first-ever DJ set. And, the California-native was flexing her vocals, too — traversing the stage with a mic in hand to sing along to her moody mixes. Her style is unrestricted to a genre; full of overlapping sounds, unexpected turns and drops, and some beautiful creaky imperfections. A little bit lo-fi, a little bit dark pop. It didn’t take long for her to warm up the smoke-filled industrial warehouse.

Her set culminated in a surprise performance of her unreleased single “Gentle Riot.” Co-collaborator Sasha Rome joined her on stage, babysitting the DJ booth while she adorned the crowd with more raspy vocals, “There’s a rhythm in my chest/And it’s a battle to contain it too/I see your face ahead/All these visions come true.” She bid her farewell with a coy smile, a DJ debut well-done.

It was time to take the energy up a notch, and that’s just what Powell Aguirre, known onstage as Surf Mesa, was there to do. The 23-year-old tumbled out from behind the curtains like a jolt of lighting electrifying the floor. Pulsing strobes, projections of blinking shapes and falling stars glittering behind him. 

Aguirre’s as self-made as they come — starting off uploading bedroom beats to SoundCloud, taking off on TikTok, and now reaching top 10 boards across countries. We grew up in the same suburb outside of Seattle, and I could feel the kaleidoscope of soul and funk influences seeping into some of his mashups. Take dance music, crank up the feels, and chill out the lyrics.

A wave of bodies grooved along as his chart-topping track, “ily (i Love You baby)” came on. The sing-along hit borrows the chorus from Frankie Valli’s 1967 song, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and it sure hasn’t lost its touch. Aguirre’s arguably the perfect artist to remaster it; he has that sort of innocuous, boyish charm while thrashing his mop of brown hair up and down and punching fists into the air. A brazen, unbreakable onstage presence — something hard to take your eyes off of. 

“I think I might be in love with him,” I whispered to my friend. “I think I might be too,” she responded.

After the show, Aguirre told me that he was inspired by the warehouse venue. “It brings a special vibe. Almost underground Berlin techno,” he explained. “That made everything about the set feel more intimate and massive.” He hopes to be back to headline one day. 

By the time the Lost Frequencies was due, the mob packed in, leather jackets were torn off, rave glasses tipped down. The space was steaming, intensifying, perhaps growing a touch rowdy. This type of fervid energy requires someone capable of controlling a crowd with music. A tricky skill to master, even for experienced artists. 

But, if there is anyone who defies expectations it’s Felix De Laet, better known as Lost Frequencies. The Belgium-born DJ is a welcome enigma in the international house music scene; a humble, soft spoken, 30-year-old who wears round glasses, collared, button-up shirts, and is rarely caught without a beaming smile. And, somehow, there is no place he looks more comfortable than behind a DJ booth.

His set took us on a trip through each of his sub-styles, starting out with groovier tropical house, gaining momentum with some high-tempo deep techno, and then pulling us back to ground-level with a few remixed viral radio songs and hits from his new album, like “The Feeling,” “Where are You Now,” “Head Down,” and of course,“Are You With Me.”

If you think you know these songs like the back of your hand, you don’t. Not during a live DJ set. Anything is up for grabs with De Laet; pops and drops, shock breaks, and lengthened choruses. It’s all a process of breathing fresh life into some overlooked or overplayed tracks (Hence, his name Lost Frequencies.) Put simply: listening to his set live, feels like like hearing a song for the first time all over again.

Once “Are You With Me” came on, the crowd was oozing. De Laet has a way of using his arms like a conductor — rolling them up, down, and around — to guide us to the rhythm. As the tension grew, he grabbed the microphone. “Brooklyn, are you with me tonight?” he called out. 

We roared in unison, and there wasn’t a soul in the room that could resist chiming in for the spine-chilling vocals: “I wanna dance by water ‘neath the Mexican sky/Drink some Margaritas by a string of blue lights/Listen to the Mariachi play at midnight” My throat was burning as he steered us towards the final line of the chorus. “Are you with me, are you with me?”

But, the show wasn’t over yet. Closing DJ, Sam Allan, rounded off the lineup into the early hours of the morning, proving himself as another force-to-be-reckoned with in the house music arena. His high-energy mixes were just enough to keep the crowd rolling, and the closing set became an ode to an unforgettable night in Brooklyn — because truly, what could be better than a seasoned headliner sandwiched between three up-and-coming artists?

Final verdict

When the lights finally flickered off, I was able to meet face-to-face with De Laet and ask him how he thought the show went. He grinned, kind eyes, a shallow, hushed voice. “It was a good vibe,” he said softly. “I think people really enjoyed it.”

And it was then that I realized the key to Lost Frequencies success. It’s not just his intuitive ear for beats, but his more sensitive, self-possessed, mellowed-down demeanor — a combination of qualities that allows him to read a room better than most performers, and somewhat ironically, has propelled him into a level of DJ stardom unthinkable to most. But fame or not, he never feels too far away.

He feels like one of us, standing next to us, like we all stand together. 

Lost Frequencies “All Stand Together” tour schedule

A complete calendar of all upcoming concerts including tour dates, venues and links to buy tickets can be found below.