Now that spring has come, it's time for the festivals to start appearing like the tulips that start to bloom in early April. Sure: April showers bring May flowers, as the old saying goes, but most of the festivals listed below are taking place inside, which leaves you with little excuse.

Photo credit: bewareofthehuman

10. Festival Electrónica en Abril
April 24 – April 26
La Casa Encendida
Madrid, Spain
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Despite going under the non-descript "April Festival of Electronica" moniker, the seventh edition of the Madrid event will be anything but: both dance floor and head space will be accommodated over the course of three days at La Casa Encendida—a cultural centre of the Madrid Savings Bank Friendly Society. Canadian ex-pat and tribal drum guru Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, Berlin experimentalists nsi., shadowy Detroit synth duo Dopplereffekt, dubstep doyen Shackleton and French weirdos dOP feature, but there is plenty more to sink your teeth into as well.

RA pick: The Field playing songs from his new album? Yes please.

Photo credit: Andy Crowe

09. Bang Face Weekender
April 24 – April 26
Pontins Camber Sands
South + East, United Kingdom

What can you say about Bang Face Weekender that quite does the unique festival justice? That it's the type of event that has a 3-D rave room where you put on free goggles and start ducking asteroids? Or perhaps that it has an inflatable battle zone room? Or maybe just that Kevin Saunderson, Alec Empire, I-F, Andrew Weatherall and Zomby are among the more than 50 DJs that will take the stage at this three day orgy of acid, bass, techno and God knows what else. Well…it's a start at least.

RA pick: Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and Venetian Snares come together for a live 303 & 808 analogue show that will most likely have to be seen to be believed.

08. Skol Sensation
April 4
Anhembi
São Paulo, Brazil

From what we can tell, Sensation is a little bit like Cirque du Soleil: Huge decorations, people flying in from the rafters, explosions in the sky, costumed "creatures" floating amongst the crowd. Lucky, then, for those that aren't digging the Las Vegas vibe that Kompakt man Gui Boratto will be helping provide some of the soundtrack, eh? We always knew that Gui had the big room in him—now he'll have a chance to prove it. Other DJs at the massive event include Ferry Corsten, Mark Knight and Fedde Le Grand.

RA pick: The sweet sounds of Boratto's triumphant "No Turning Back."

Photo credit: Atze de Vrieze

07. Awakenings
April 10 - April 12
Gashouder
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

It must get a bit boring running a festival year after year. No organizer would admit it, of course, but how many times can they book the same big names before it begins to all seem a bit rote? That's why we like Awakenings: Giving each of its three days a distinct theme, it brings back the joy and surprise of an event. Really into Japanese DJs? Back-to-back sets? Lineups from Awakenings past? They've got you covered on all accounts with Ken Ishii, Derrick May and Dominik Eulberg & Gabriel Ananda headlining each respective night.

RA pick: Steve Rachmad playing some classic techno.

Photo credit: Alter.Ego.

06. Mayday
April 30
Westfalenhallen
Dortmund, Germany

You should probably know exactly what to expect out of a festival subtitled "Massive Moments." Paul van Dyk, Sven Väth and Fedde Le Grand headline the, er, massive main room at Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, which was once called by Chris de Burgh "the best place in the world to make music." That shouldn't stop the discerning techno fan from making the trip, though: There are plenty of more intimate acts on tap for smaller rooms. Josh Wink, Gabriel Ananda, Dominik Eulberg, Âme and others are all set to tackle the difficult challenge of going up against the aforementioned superstars elsewhere.

RA pick: The hearstring-tugging house of Kollektiv Turmstrasse.

Photo credit: Danny Brooms

05. Communikey
April 17 – April 19
Various Venues
Boulder, Colorado

Back for its second edition, the Communikey Festival will once again bring experimental-leaning electronic music to Boulder, Colorado for a weekend in the middle of April. Whether this sleepy college town will warm up to it is anyone's guess, but with a line-up that includes Claro Intelecto, MLZ, Andy Stott, Frivolous, Thomas Fehlmann, Christian Martin and more, they have a great shot. Aside from the music, the festival will also boast an advanced screening of Speaking in Code, a documentary that tells the story of what happens when DJs get lost in the music, and a Max for Live workshop.

RA pick: Check out Bunker man Spinoza in a rare appearance outside of New York at the Unsung Heroes showcase.

Photo credit: Danny Brooms

04. Strp
April 3 - April 4
Klokgebouw
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Day 1 | Day 2

Give points to Strp for eclecticism: Few other international festivals would put techno true believer Speedy J and disco man Morgan Geist on in the same night. But that's exactly what will happen in Eindhoven in early April. Strp has made some concessions, though: The first night will be devoted to the very dancey stuff like J and Geist, while the second will concentrate on live acts. Aphex Twin and Florian Hecker, Squarepusher, Tim Exile will do the honors there, while a clutch of acid aficionados (030303 DJs, Ceephax Acid Crew) and dubsteppers (Hudson Mohawke, Rustie) will take to the decks as well.

RA pick: Woolfy performing tracks from his forthcoming DFA album.

Photo credit: Caesar Sebastian

03. Coachella
April 17 – April 19
Empire Polo Field
Indio, United States
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

If you like indie laced with a bit of dance all mixed up in a California desert, then have we got the festival for you! We're talking about Coachella, of course, which has become one of the United States' largest festival events. Each year the talk inevitably revolves around the headlining act—My Bloody Valentine will play a rare set there this year, for example—but plenty of electronic acts are there for the taking. Featuring in 2009: Supermayer, Gui Boratto, M.A.N.D.Y., Junior Boys, The Chemical Brothers, Glass Candy and countless more.

RA pick: Hercules & Love Affair's relentless live show.

Photo credit: Alina Floroi

02. Rokolectiv
April 10 - April 12
The Ark / National Museum Of Contemporary Arts
Bucharest, Romania
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

If you read enough DJ interviews, you've heard that Romania is the next big thing. That's because the country's DJ and producers are open to so many new sounds, something exemplified by Bucharest's Rokolectiv Festival. Now in its fourth year, the festival will bring in experimental (Fennesz), dubstep (2562), house (Frivolous) and disco (Lindstrøm) acts over the course of three days to the city's young electronic music fans. We can already hear the strange hybrids starting to take shape...

RA pick: We never pass up a set from Prosumer.

Photo credit: Denis Mysenko

01. Time Warp
April 4
Mainmarkthalle
Mannheim, Germany

This is the big one. Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Ricardo Villalobos, Loco Dice, Joris Voorn and many more will all converge on Mannheim for this unofficial kickoff to the summer festival season. Stadium techno/minimal/house/whatever will be the order of the day, but expect it to be the sort of arena-filling tunes that sound just as good on headphones. And expect some pleasant surprises: Last year brought an extended set from Hawtin, and we're guessing that somebody will have something just as special up their sleeve for the festival's 15th anniversary.

RA pick: Recent RA podcaster DJ Koze for the win.

Header photo credit: Caesar Sebastian