Across four days and three nights, attendees will be treated to international and local acts right on the shoreline. There will also be art, laser, and light installations, recreation zones, as well as food and a market. 

Organizers announced the first wave in early August with Adriatique, Dubfire, and Nastia topping the bill. Now, Margaret Dygas, Javier Caballero, Marco Carola, and others will join the lineup.

 

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Epizode first started out on Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam. Within four years, they have carved out a niche as a New Years Eve getaway focused on music and arts. The festival usually takes place across 11 days and compromises a varied lineup along with arts, food, and more. 

Being a bit smaller than the flagship event, the Albanian edition is also their first big venture outside Vietnam and is organized in collaboration with UNUM. UNUM is an Albanian house and techno gathering which also takes place Rana e Hedhun (Albanian for “thrown sand”). Both organizers had to postpone their 2020 editions due to COVID-19.

Find more information on ticketing, location, and hotels on the Epizode website.

“After careful consideration of all global factors, we have made a difficult decision to reschedule EPIZODE⁵ to 2021,” reads a statement from the promoter. “We got the official license from the Vietnam authorities to hold EPIZODE this year and with the health and safety as a top priority, we were ready to implement all official guidelines and recommendations.”

“Unfortunately, as the travel tendencies in Vietnam and the rest of the world are still unstable, and the borders opening and arrival conditions are uncertain, we decided to move our fifth anniversary while retaining the lineup,” it goes on. “We’ll be announcing the next round of lineup, and much more activities soon. We’re looking forward to welcoming back all our guests from 90 countries, to celebrate with us in style”

According to a press release, all artists billed for EPIZODE⁵ will remain on the lineup. In August, organizers shared a phase 2 lineup announcement that included such artists as Richy Ahmed, Archie Hamilton and Mr. C to accompany the already billed Goldie, Loco Dice and Dubfire, among others.

Ticket holders are given the option to receive a full refund less a 5% transaction fee anytime before the new festival dates. Those who retain their tickets will be given a free multi pass on top of regular admission.

More information can be found on the EPIZODE website.

Festival Safety During a Pandemic

Although Vietnam has handled the global health crisis better than many countries around the world, some have questioned the safety of a music festival during a pandemic. Organizers have addressed some of these concerns on their website. They’ve stated that refunds will be available to ticket holders if for some reason the event is not allowed to proceed or if travel to Vietnam is restricted.

Organizers have not addressed which specific measures will be taken in regards to social distancing and mask usage but have touched on the matter in a statement.

“We are closely monitoring the situation while following all official guidelines and all recommendations within the legal framework,” it reads. “We want to reiterate that the safety of our patrons is our most important priority. We will follow all official guidelines and recommendations on safety and will take additional steps to ensure you have the best and most secure experience.”

The fifth iteration of Epizode is scheduled to take place December 29th, 2020 to January 10th, 2021. Tickets to the event are on sale now and can be purchased on the festival’s official website here.

Ahead of the event, organizers have shared 20 artists comprising the lineup. In addition to techno/house superstars like Ricardo Villalobos and Dubfire, the roster is sonically diverse enough to include acts like drum and bass figurehead Goldie and experimental Thai artist Sunju Hargun. Notable undercard acts include Russia’s own Abelle, Romanian producer and DJ Mahony, and Berlin-based e/tape.

Mixed Messages

Recent activity on EPIZODE’s social media pages left electronic music fans wondering whether the fifth edition would take place at all. A June 10th post on what appeared to be the festival’s official Facebook page warned customers of a fraudulent announcement, saying that the safety of the festival was still pending review. Two days later they posted a second statement urging fans to only trust information shared on the festival’s homepage, epizode.com.

A spokesperson on behalf of EPIZODE told Selector that the above Facebook page’s admin belonged to the team that managed last year’s event. After being let go, they allegedly seized control of the account to sabotage the upcoming event. A new website and Facebook page are tied to the original founder and intellectual property holder’s business entity, which is backed by the Vietnamese tourist board as well as the aforementioned artists’ teams.

The admin overseeing the old EPIZODE Facebook page has not responded to Selector‘s request for comment.

EPIZODE’s organizers will announce additional headliners in the months leading up to the festival. Tickets and additional information are available on the new website, epizode.asia.