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David Guetta Rocks Masada in New Video

424 meters below sea level, a rave was raging

by
Lily Wilf
February 26, 2014
David Guetta at Masada (YouTube)
David Guetta at Masada (YouTube)

Like most other raves, David Guetta’s concert in Israel last October featured thousands of sweaty, intoxicated, and tank top-clad young people. Unlike most other raves, the French DJ’s performance was 424 meters below sea level atop King Herod’s historic fortress of Masada. Now, four months later, Guetta has released a twelve-minute video about his Israel show titled “A Party 424 Meters Under the Sea.” And, to quote Guetta himself, “these mountains are crazy.”

Performing alongside the Israeli electronica duo Infected Mushroom and former Swedish House Mafia member Steve Angello, David Guetta was the main attraction of the first ever “Minus 424: Dead Sea Rave.” He was not, however, the first popular artist to perform at this legendary historical landmark. In recent years, Israel’s most highly regarded artists have performed at the Dead Sea site during warm-weather months. In early fall, there is a series of sunrise concerts that attract audiences of all ages. And every summer, the first-century story of Jewish rebels fighting the Romans at Masada is retold through an interpretive sound and light show. The Guetta crowd, though, was not there for the history. As one reveler says in the video: “It’s the lowest place on the earth, but we’re gonna be in a very high state.”

In addition, although you wouldn’t be able to tell from the beer, the cigarettes, and the girl in the crowd inexplicably donning Mickey Mouse ears, Guetta’s Masada act was about more than just a good time. He debuted his single “One Voice” at the show, which he produced in partnership with the U.N. to raise money for aid relief in typhoon-stricken Philippines. The crowd went wild.

Guetta’s video, which has over 160,000 views in less than a day, begins with an informational narration about Masada: “This site attracts people from all four corners of the Earth. The question is, why?” If the video is any answer, Masada’s magic might now be in the music.

Lily Wilf is an editorial intern at Tablet.