On Friday, U of T undergraduates will foot the bill for a massive party featuring some cutting-edge artists in the electronica genres of trance and drum’n’bass.

“It’s an opportunity for students to get together, socialize, listen to music at a really low cost,” says Students’ Administraive Council (SAC) Vice-President Lindsay Tabah.

SAC represents 33,000 undergraduate students, and while the $20,000 event is a drop in the bucket of their $6 million budget, some wonder if this is a justifiable expense.

Although tickets will only be $10, the rave will only have space for 1,500 students, which is about 4.5 per cent of the undergraduate student body.

“The problem with holding a huge event is that you need to rent a space that’s large enough to hold the event, and the large number of people attending the event,” said Promotions Commissioner Courtney McDonald, who’s committed one-third of her budget to the event. “We tried hard to get some good deals and venues, and what we’re providing is the best deal that we could get.”

The event will include a few U of T student performers, have an environmental theme to lead into Environment Week, and is benefiting from student volunteer support.

U of T Faculty of Architecture students helping with the setup of the area will be volunteering their services, among others.

The Atlantis Pavillion at Ontario Place will be divided into two areas, one featuring Jungle/D&B, the other mainly trance.

In the trance area, headliner Reefer Decree, a duo based in Copenhagen, Denmark, will play live.

According to Tabah, this is a “once-in-a-lifetime experience,” featuring “unique, original music.” Quivering Virgin, Black Light Activist and Yeb are also featured.

Teebee, an artist from Norway, will mainstage the D&B area. The lineup also includes Telefunk Soundsystem, Chocolate, Scratch Free Press, back 2 back, Federal Sound and Sennes & Fury.

More information on the headliners can be found on their websites are at www.certificate18.com and www.reeferdecree.dk.

Tickets for Optic Biosphere are available from Metropolis Records, all SAC offices and at the door. Buses for Ontario Place will depart from Convocation Hall every half hour and UTM and UTSC every hour on the hour.

Optic Biosphere is set to take place on Friday, March 1 from 10 p.m. at the Atlantis Pavillion at Ontario Place.