Annie Mac has become nothing short of an inspirational, ground-breaking tour de force over the past few years. When we heard that she would be taking the AMP team out to the Mediterranean island of Malta over the Easter weekend to launch their very own Lost And Found Festival, we knew we had to be there. With a line-up that reads like a who’s-who of the music scene right now, the promise of sun, boat parties and beats, no wonder it enticed an abundance of clubbers and DJs alike.
You can get to Malta from most of the major UK airports, in comparison to other European dance festivals getting to Lost and Found festival was relatively easy.
We stayed in one of the main hotels recommended from the festival website, just a stones throw from the daytime party location Café Del Mar at St Paul’s Bay. Being held so early in the season it was apparent that this sleepy island wasn't ready for what was about to hit it – 7,000 British partygoers were joining us, imminently.
Friday
Café Del Mar seemed to be the windiest bit of the island, even in the sunshine. None the less that did not stop the ravers who were ready to party at all costs. Friday kicked off with a pretty wild pool party hosted by Toddla T. North Base, DRS, Jamz Supernova and Mele joined Toddla on the decks. Between them they pounded out sounds of house, DnB, grime and bass. Toddla took things up a notch, giving the crowd a pure injection of energy-induced dirty beats. Cisk time (local Maltese beer) was flowing nicely as the hazy sun set in the early evening. If this pool party was anything to go by, then the rest of the weekend was bound to be pretty spectacular.
We caught the festival shuttle service, which took around 20 minutes to get from St Pauls to Ta’ Qali. We arrived at the main festival site around 10pm, which was far too early, at least it gave us the chance to get our bearings and mooch around the festival site. Numero Uno is a small site which resembled Ibiza’s zoo project, a warren of stages, VIP viewing platforms and bars. Palm trees, pink flamingos and neon lights created quite a magical atmosphere. The chill out area provided the masses a space to recharge their batteries and get some nourishment.
As night fell, it turned quite cold and us unprepared Brits got caught out in vest and shorts. Fortunately the hoodies at the merchandise tent provided us with some much needed warmth. The evenings were a more serious affair with a calibre of DJs to match. Neon cocktail glasses flanked the Tropicana stage, which saw a line up of Oneman,Julio Bashmore, and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. Rising geordie star Patrick Topping opened proceedings on the Palace stage, followed by Hot Since 82, the Martinez Brothers and finally closing with Hot Creations Heavy weight Jamie Jones.
As we caught the shuttle bus back to our accommodation we chatted to a few of the partygoers. It seemed most peoples highlight from the evening was a storming set UKG legend DJ EZ. EZ opened with Sticky & Ms Dynamite’s infamous Booo!, with a surprise that not only got the crowd wild, but also made Annie herself go nuts. Most commented on how well the event was organised, which one would expect from the team that run WHP.
Saturday
Early Saturday morning we headed down to the Annie Mac All Stars boat party, all aboard for the rave on the waves. Most of the crowd were surprised to see their favourite artists in such a close proximity, and Annie was hounded for non-stop selfies. Redlight was the surprise guest, who went B2B with Annie,Monki, Melé and Toddla T, they blasted us with track after track on the three-hour boat ride.
It was great to see the Maltese bar staff letting their hair down and joining in with the merriment. Toby Tea (the white tiger mascot) who appeared all over the festival over the weekend, getting fist pumped into the air by the crowd. The boat party even witnessed an engagement, as reveler Ian got down on one knee in front of everyone and proposed to his girlfriend Victoria. Of course she said yes… #theloveboat
Better prepared and wrapped in several layers, we were ready for whatever Saturday night had to throw at us. Torn between the four stages we caught sets from Barely Legal,My Nu Leng, Doorly, Ten Walls, Skream, Artwork, Jackmaster, Duke Dumont, Cajmere, with MK nicely closing the palace stage with an immense set. Redlight was one the standout set for us, already a fan of his music, he dropped house classics as well as his own 9TS, Lost in your love and new track Gold Teeth.
Sunday
The crowds didn’t start filtering in until much later in the day, which meant that Monki, Shadow Child, B-traits didn’t get the crowds they deserved.
Taking the main stage just before sunset was base-heavy house DJ Hannah Wants. Her set at Lost and Found was unsurprisingly a hit; mixing classic ‘90s garage tunes with her own contemporary bass and house beats. The crowd went berserk when she dropped Faithless’ Insomnia. Her hit Rhymes went down just as well with raised hands to the sky for the track's bass heavy drop.
Over the course of the night we saw sets from Catz n’Dogs, Paul Woolford, Kerri Chandler, Flat White, Tiga, Green Velvet and Haitian-Canadian electronic musician, producer and DJ Kaytranada. Leading on to the penultimate act of the day Heidi that set the crowds ready for the headline act.
Annie entered the booth and greeted chanting crowds with a croaky voice. The weekend had clearly taken its toll. She didn’t care; the Annie Mac party faithful was here to dance. She opened with a belter Après Chicago, followed by a plethora of electronic bassy bangers. Her set contained highlights from Waze & Odyssey, Grum, Ten Walls, Adam F (Eats Everything Remix) and stand out track of the weekend for myself and others was Melé’s superb drum-ladden Ambience.
Annie hyped her audience into a frenzy as she jumped on the speakers draped in an Irish flag to Dumont’s The Giver, the crowd chanting “Annie, Annie, Annie F**cking Mac” their hands illuminated and a sea of phones recording the moment. Confetti cannons exploded for the grand finale and she played out to Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody, the crowd lapping up every minute of the loved-up vibes. Annie put on an immense performance with dance-floor hit after hit, showing us exactly why she is the UK’s premiere live, and radio DJ.
We’ve been to quite a few festivals, but this definitely felt like a game changer. We felt incredibly lucky to be part of something so special, and to be welcomed with open arms by the Maltese. Lost and found far outweighed my expectations. It was beguiling, bewitching, brilliant and proved an unforgettable experience. Not a bad way to spend an Easter, is it!
When a tannoy booms out over the sticky-hot concert hall of Malaga’s Cervantes Theatre announcing that the concert will begin in two minutes, the thrill of expectation is tangible. Named for Don Quixote´s creator, this 19th century theatre located on a marble-paved square hidden in the warren of Malaga’s cobbled backstreets is the fitting setting for the concert of Miguel Poveda, the 42 year old singer who has been described as ‘one of the best flamenco artists of his generation’.
From my ornate four-seater opera box, I stare out over the audience. Every seat facing the narrow proscenium stage is taken, which is a huge tribute from this province where everyone lives and breathes flamenco, and where some of Spain´s greatest artists – ranging from Juan Breva and Paca Aguillera, to La Trini and El Nino de Velez – were born. When the concert starts there is a sudden hush, which is an even greater tribute from this southern Spanish audience who generally greet every event of their lives at top volume.
The lights lift in a wide fan, illuminating Poveda and his seven piece band. He is small, with fine hands and expressive features. Despite singing with top artists, including Paco de Lucia and Passion Vega, Poveda is a humble artist and before he swings into his first number he tells the audience how much their participation gives him the courage to sing his songs: “Your heart gives my heart strength,” he tells them. They respond with cheers and friendly catcalls asking him to sing this, or that favourite song.
He explains that there will be three parts to the two-hour show First he says that he will sing his favourite songs ´because I enjoy doing them.” Next he tell us that he will sing the flamenco numbers and the third act will include several Argentine ballads.
If the first part of the show is enjoyable and the third part polished, the flamenco section is startling in its intensity. I thought that Poveda was sweating because of the 29 centigrade temperatures, but Miguel Poveda is an artist who sweats every line, every movement of the music he sings. When he interprets works by the great poet, Lorca, I don’t need to understand the words in order to grasp the meaning of these Cante Jondo songs about broken hearts, death and despair – Poveda is like Houdini: a contortionist of flamenco art who wrings every meaning from every syllable and every tremulous note.
As Lorca stipulated in his famous lecture on the subject of Duende: ‘that mysterious power that everyone feels but no philosopher can explain’, Poveda battles with Duende and he surrenders to Duende. Best of all he takes his audience along for a roller coaster ride.
Takedown Festival now in its 3rd year has grown with serious momentum, previous bands have moved up the line up as of this year as they’ve gone from strength to strength and this year is no exception, in the heart of Southampton University today (7/3/15) see’s some of the finest talent from goth rock, punk, hardcore and straight up alt rock.
First up on the main stage is Zoax, poised with a lacking crowd and having that difficult challenge of being the first band of the day front man Adam Carroll took no prisoners with moments only spent on the stage before joining the crowd, it’s safe to say he made a lasting impression on the people who were there to experience them.
Adam Carroll – Zoax
EMP!RE are up next which fall a bit short, it’s not that they are a bad band but it all feels like a rehashed version of Skin Dread, that being said they are a good band, within a few more years they will hit their stride and settle into a sound of their own.
Dave McPherson – INME
When you consider some of the songs from INME’s debut album Overgrown Eden haven't been played for nearly ten years it seems like a daring feat to bring such a set to a festival crowd, however these songs still sound as fresh as they did all those years ago, Dave McPherson’s vocals matured and made for one of the stand out moments from the whole event.
Rolo Tomassi hit the stage like a punch to the gut, front woman Eva Spence bounds across the stage like a pocket rocket, with a growl to match, it is clear to see that they are in a league of their own tonight and that certainly isn't a bad thing.
The Blackout’s set has to be met with an air of sadness, tonight not only see’s the guys play their last South Coast show but their last festival slot too, tonight like every time The Blackout play boasts a band who not only put everything they’ve got into a set but love every minute of it, it is also a full circle as they playedon one of their first tours with Charlie Simpson (FightStar) and are ending things playing along side him tonight.
Charlie Simpson a far cry from his Busted days or FightStar projects Charlie’s solo stuff is more tinged with a country vibe, this unfortunately falls short after such a electric line up which isn't the shift in momentum that was to be expected this close to the headline slot.
Tonights Headliners Mallory Knox cut their festival teeth at Takedown 2012, so this festival holds a special place in the hearts of these guys, having just got back from their US tour with Pierce The Veil and Sleeping With Sirens jet lag certainly didn't stop them putting everything they had into closing the proceedings tonight, coming on to the boys are back in town, it is safe to say in light of their last album Asymmetry Mallory Knox have established themselves as one of the best of British in 2015. Whatever this year has in store for them it is clear that we will all be waiting with bated breath.
Gavin Butler/Sean Smith – The Blackout
Over all Takedown has something for everyone, even the fashion conscious boasting several stalls including merch and clothing lines, food halls and plenty of bars across the whole of the stages to keep everyones thirst suitably quenched, It is an exciting time for Takedown as it has established itself well and truly as one of the best small festivals to showcase the vast talent we really have here in the alternative UK scene.
Known as the ‘Merrie City’ in the Middle Ages, Wakefield hasn’t had things quite so rosy in recent times with the decline of the British coal and manufacturing industries in the 1980s. With new investment in infrastructure coming into the city over the last decade, could Long Division help the city be ‘Merrie’ again?
Arriving in the city, there’s clearly a lot of potential with many striking but run-down buildings in the centre. In fact, the first stop of the day was at one of these success stories, Unity Works, a Grade-II listed building dating back to 1867, recently restored into a multi-purpose event venue by a co-operative of investors. In fact the restorations to the main 700 capacity main hall are so recently completed, there still a faint whiff of paint in the air.
With Candy Says pulling out of the festival due to a broken down car, Tuff Love was an alternative in the Unity Works Minor Hall, billed by festival organisers as music for driving. Starting at a slow tempo, introspective plod, the Glaswegian trio were unpolished, but progressed into a more jaunty sound as the set progressed, with the vocal harmonies of the guitarist and bassist mixing well over the fuzzy bass. They deserved some sympathy for the sound issues they experienced, including repeated feedback, amp problems, then a broken string which necessitated finishing the set on a borrowed guitar.
After a few tours of the surrounding blocks trying to find the venue, Juffage took to the stage at Westgate Chapel. When he asked, “Are you guys ready for some pop songs?” this was assumed to be sarcasm, considering his proclivity towards complex, layered math rock, however his set was definitely accessible. It felt as though Juffage was delivering his own feverish sermon at the chapel; with his voice soaring and intensity building up in each song, the set was absolutely captivating and technically excellent. Juffage clearly takes his music seriously, lamenting throughout his set that the sound set-up lost the top end of his vocals, but his perfectionist tendencies paid dividends as his slot was one of the highlights of the day.
Back to a packed Unity Hall, Post War Glamour Girls got underway with ‘Sestra’, the brooding album opener from ‘Pink Fur’, clocking in at over six minutes long. The Leeds quartet showcased new material, ‘Pseudo Macho’, ‘Felonious Punk’, ‘Wax Origins’ and ‘Count Your Blessings’, with ‘Felonious Punk’ and ‘Wax Origins’ standing out as potential highlights from their next album. Final track ‘Gustave’, from their latest EP perhaps demonstrates the best qualities of PWGG, with James’ harsh, growling vocals countered by Alice’s serene tones and ending in a frantic jam with both vocalists kicking over mic stands.
“Just play the tunes Gruff and do that voodoo you do”, shouted a member of the crowd during the delay to the start of Gruff Rhys. The Super Furry Animals lead singer’s solo set was halted for about 15 minutes with problems getting the accompanying background video presentation to work. Eventually, Gruff nonchalantly strolled on stage with a faux-wolf-head hat and a muppet-style puppet of the Welsh explorer John Evans, whose story of sailing to America to discover a tribe of Welsh Indians was recounted. Gruff’s acoustic strums combined with his soaring, echoing vocals were entrancing and backed up the grandeur of the storytelling.
Next up at Players Bar were The Sunbeams, although upon entering, seeing the drummer playing topless almost resulted in seeing what else was on nearby! The Sunbeams are a young, loud and in-your-face Leeds trio, and when a member of the crowd shouted “you’re like the Cribs”, although this displeased the band, they weren’t too off the mark. With catchy riffs and heavy drums backed up by boundless energy, the band really clicked in the songs which involved backing vocals from the guitarist. The young but small crowd were delighted by their high tempo, angular guitar riffs and screaming vocals.
Under an absolutely huge spinning disco ball in the trendy Havana bar, Chorley’s Then Thickens took to a makeshift stage on a dance floor. A project started by Kong’s Jon Lee Martin, the band pumps out a vibrant, foot-tapping sound and deserve their recent plaudits. The band’s sound didn’t suffer appreciably from the absence of co-vocalist Helen Thorpe, with their snarling guitars and funky riffs making their tracks sound even better live than on the album.
Next door in Mulberry, Salvage My Dream’s bassist quipped “This is the furthest north I’ve ever been in my life” to the small crowd. Travelling from London on the National Express early the same morning, the band had quite a trip, but their usage of violin differentiates them and works well with their jangly guitar hooks.
“This is our first ever daytime gig in a graveyard with no alcohol” declared Too Many T's at the outdoor stage in the Orangery. The lack of alcohol available at the Grade II listed Orangery did affect crowd numbers throughout the day but Too Many T's energetic raps harking back to the early 90s 'golden age hip hop' was a festival hi light. With fun rhymes over funky beats, there's definitely a nod to Beastie Boys and Jurassic 5. Free stickers too!
Back to the Unity Works Major Hall, I Like Trains came into full swing, entrancing the crowd with a setlist mainly from their back catalogue but also showcasing a new track. Their fantastic instrumentals were displayed in ‘A Rook House for Bobby’, building into an epic finale. Introspective and contemplative, the band made the grand seem effortless, barely breaking into a sweat over their 45 minute set.
A peculiar fusion of Math-rock with American Punk-rock influences, Wot Gorilla? played one of the most energetic sets of the day back at Havana. With complex, mathy guitar strokes and shrieking vocals overlaying heavy drums, Wot Gorilla? aren’t for everyone’s taste, but their vigour is captivating. They’re well worth watching just to see if your eyes can track the speed of the guitarist’s chord changes – it’s exhausting even just watching!
After giving up on a Slow Club set three tracks in due to poor sound quality at Warehouse 23, it was over to see Islet at the Unity Works Minor Hall. With an intriguing description in the show programme describing them as “a band without rules, where everything is possible”, they were definitely worth a look. Islet are characterised by fluidity, both in terms of swapping instruments between each other and also for not staying on stage. It’s clear that the band sees themselves not only as musicians, but as entertainers, as they’re constantly popping into the crowd, walking, hopping, running and even crawling between the audience members. Most of their tracks are discordant at first, with each member appearing to do their own thing in a disconnected, jarring way, then connecting together into a vibrant, catchy sound. Some of the tracks did miss the mark though, but the band deserves full marks for effort and showmanship and were a memorable and fitting end to the day.
So did the festival make Wakefield “Merrie” again? There was a friendly buzz around the city centre during the daytime and the overall organisation of the festival was fantastic, with the few cancellations communicated well by social media and most venues running close to time.
Unless you’ve a penchant for fast food, options for eating were limited. Sunday's fringe festival which we unfortunately were unable to attend promised craft and food stalls. It's a shame that apart from a lone baked potato van at the Orangery, there were no such stalls available on the Saturday. More options for eating near Unity Works would have been very welcome, created a central focal point for the festival and added to the atmosphere.
Amongst a backdrop of festivals which will do anything to wring extra money out of attendees, Long Division feels like it is trying to give back to the public rather than take, with the availability of free festival programmes, free badges and outrageously cheap £5 t-shirts.
Perhaps the jewel in Long Division’s crown is the accessibility of the venues. Many other festivals, whether city centre or field based, planning the logistics of your day taking into account band clashes, the walk between venues, long queues for toilets and bars can be a headache inducing. With most remote venue Players Bar, just a couple of minutes walk from main venue Unity Works planning your day just isn’t a problem with Long Division. For the indecisive, it’s even practical to see two band half-sets within a 30 minute time period.
As a whole, Long Division represents outstanding value for money and draws in some household name artists such as The Cribs, Slow Club, The Wedding Present, and Gruff Rhys. As the festival organisers point out, when the first festival took place in 2011, Unity Works, Warehouse 23 and Players Bar didn’t even exist; Wakefield is a growing city and Long Division is a growing festival – and I can’t wait to see what it has in store for us next year!
There is nothing like the utter glee of throwing off the shackles of work and life for one final splurge of hedonism at the festival season’s last hurrah – Bestival. Seasoned Besti-goers have sat back and watched the Glastovians, Creamfielders, V-lovers and Reading-heads toddle off for weekends of muddy silliness, and smirked a wry smile at the thousands of Moss-alikes in their tedious wellies-with-knicker-shorts combos. Now, the waiting game is over and Bestivites the country, nay world over, are flocking to the Isle of Wight for four uninterrupted days of pure high summer mayhem in the beautiful setting of Robin Hill, by hook or by crook (well, by ferry, hovercraft or swimming really…) they are chasing their bit of paradise.
Thursday saw campsites being opened early due to the large number of eager beavers waiting at the gates, and better parking organisation around the Yellow parking area meant that everything ran super smoothly getting in. With an array of campsites to choose from there’s a home-turf for everyone, and tribes are picking their areas, giggling with memories of campground legends from years past. The sun is already out as tents pop up, and the arena is beginning to buzz. Heading up to Peace Hill, sun-soakers are taking in a lively performance from Juke and The All Drunk Orchestra, with glittery hippy types up and dancing like loons immediately.
Many Bestivites count snacking on delicious butter-slathered corn-on-the-cob a rite of passage up on Peace Hill, but there’s also stunning Lobster and chips brought in from local Vetnor, fabulously flavoured ice creams (honey and ginger anyone?) and the very acceptable Bestivale available for the discerning gourmand. If you’re looking for a mental challenge, there are talks at Bestiversity all weekend, and the Science tent has many interesting experiments to try out with the help of some extremely knowledgeable scientists. Heading for a wander up the hill, Tiny Town is a giddy little exercise in hiding in kids playhouses to scare the living daylights out of each other, and the wooden Maze is surprisingly complicated, good for a race around and it’s always comical to bump into someone dressed as a Panda or Palm Tree, at speed.
Despite the woods and Bollywood/Port area being closed for Thursday, there are lights and sounds everywhere, with a million things going on. Caravanserai is a little wonderland through a magic door, you can sit in the sawn-halves of gaudily decorated proper caravans to drink your cocktails, have a boogie on the Carousel dancefloor or cuddle up with your mates in the Wurlitzer seats for a while. Next door is The Feast Collective, a new addition to the Bestival family. The big tent hosts a myriad of incredible food outlets to satisfy any craving – handmade maki rolls, raclette oozing over… everything, baked camembert, hearty goulash, Indian street food, great British pies, American loaded hotdogs and even incredible soft-shell crab burgers. The quality of food around the Bestival site always amazes, but this is truly a step into the weird and wonderful. To compliment all this, there are heaps more benches and tables out than in previous years and the music coming from the newly housed Polka Stage in the Travelling Barn is excellent. If none of that is quite enough, watching the sun shimmer on the record-breaking and truly incredible gigantic Disco Ball installation, or getting an eyeful of ‘Christina’ at The Grand Palace of Entertainment, or maybe some first night music like the odd brilliance of The Correspondents, or classic Beck to tip you over the edge into your Bestival adventure.
Friday sees the opening of Bollywood and The Port, the dance/electronic capital of Bestival. The Port is a huge ocean liner type installation where DJ’s play from the roof along with dancers, firebreathers, a couple of giant mermaids and arial acrobats suspended from a crane above the crowd, it’s like everything that could be hilariously weird to the terminally trippy has come together in one heart-pounding bass heavy place. The Sunday Best shop and cocktail lounge is selling jam jars full of icy mojitos, Bollywood is violently bright and brilliant, with people draped over the box seats underneath shimmering coin-laden umbrellas and the Helter Skelter/Wall of Death/toboggan run combo downfield is a big kids dream.
Heading into the deep dark woods there’s a noticeable increase in the number of giant net hammocks hiding amongst the trees, where naptime is a genuinely acceptable event for grown ups in the middle of the day. Glittering lights, waterfalls, playparks, hidden pools and a massive synthesiser installation to play with are just some of the things you can see in The Ambient Forest, before you burst into a clearing at The Amphitheatre. Spoken word artist/rapper Kate Tempest’s pre-show interview is witty, intelligent and truly captivating, hearing her talk about her work and life is a real insight to a genuinely talented individual. Back at the Main Stage, secret act Lethal Bizzle is hyping up the crowd with an attempt at a mosh pit and The Harlem Shake. Up next Laura Mvula’s beautiful vocals soar across the arena but there’s not much of a crowd, whilst over at The Bandstand, Motif are playing to a sun-baked audience and getting jazzy.
Back at The Amphitheatre, Scroobius Pip’s Satin Lizard Lounge is kicking off with spoken word artists Harry Baker (with a hilarious rendition of Ed Sheeran’s A-team based on desserts), the nervous ball of energy that is Tim Clare (we loved ‘Noah’s Ark and Grill’) and the raw, honest words of Kate Tempest.The evening sees the main stage light up for Disclosure, and a guest appearances from Eliza Doolittle for ‘Me & You’ and Sam Smith for ‘Latch’, gets the arena bouncing, but headliner Outkast come across a bit flat in some places. Hits ‘Ms Jackson’ and ‘Hey Ya’ have everyone up and screaming but more rap-based songs don’t quite hit the mark. Heading over to The Big Top, newly reinvented La Roux (with her band who are performing at a big UK festival for the first time) draws a huge crowd for her soaring vocals, and both new and old tracks go down a storm, particularly ‘Bulletproof’ – one of those perfect hazy Bestival night moments that everyone will remember.
Fancy dress Saturday is sort of a misnomer at Bestival now, everyone dresses up all weekend anyway, but Desert Island Disco is the theme and everyone seems to have embraced the sparkles, sequins, rainbow and afro combination with wild abandon. Though the theme isn’t as clear as previous years and there aren’t as many ‘big’ costumes as we’ve seen before, everyone is joining in, and there’s a pleasingly distinct minority of the sort of people who buy “Festival Fashion” that seem to come in droves at other festivals. An early start and crazy booking for Welsh Reggae-Metal band Skindred, who usually hit up festivals like Download at Donington Park and have a distinctly black-tshirt wearing fanbase. They absolutely tear it up on the main stage, gaining many new fans with current album tracks such as ‘Ninja’ and anthem ‘Warning’ – getting the crowd to join in for some t-shirt whirling for their ‘Newport Helicopter’. Despite a sparse and lazily sunbathing crowd, pop princess Sophie Ellis Bextor surprise all with a solid set featuring hits and covers, notably Moloko’s ‘Sing It Back’, as well as ditching her red-ridinghood dress halfway through for a theme appropriate saucy grass skirt costume. Joking “If the giant disco ball were to fall on me and kill me, it would of course be… Murder on the Dancefloor” she ends the set with a giggle. Bestival stalwarts and kings of comedy The Cuban Brothers are always the funniest thing you’re going to see all weekend and this is no exception. Lewdness, rudeness, downright dirtiness, nothing is out of bounds for Miguel and co. but the music and the dancing holds up, Archerio, Kengo and Dominico one up each other with B-boy and breaking moves whilst Miguel takes his keks off and gets busted by security whilst quipping that he used to “do too much nose-whiskey” and telling everyone to “touch each other in the correct manner”.Kengo/Kenny (“the bastard”!) comes out in a white jumpsuit to do a touching rendition of Whitnney’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ and the finale of three Cubans doing a press-up tower with Dom barrel-flipping over the top is truly impressive.
Over in The Big Top, a very special event is the final show of Dan le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip, before they head off to pursue their own individual projects. Personally introduced by Bestival curator Rob Da Bank himself, the duo come busting in with ‘The Beat That My Heart Skipped’ Dan and Pip show why their three album collaboration has been so successful, as the crowd go mental. Pip laments “The first time that we played was here in this tent. We weren’t even allowed on the stage, we were in a DJ booth on the front and it was really late”. ‘Sick Tonight’ is powerful and has everyone singing along despite the speed of Pip’s verse and the pair joke “Can they jump and clap? Yeah! This is Bestival it ain’t no fucking Reading or Leeds crowd!”. ‘Get Better’ is a fan favourite and their first ever song ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’ (with a little addition of ‘Thou shalt not question Rob Da Bank’) is perfectly executed. Sharing a hug and final photo on stage, Dan and Pip go out with a bang. It’s the end of an era and Bestivites who’ve been with them from the beginning are right there with them.
After a recharge up at The Solace Tent, and an open-mouthed stare at the sheer size of Bestival from the hill-top, it’s down to the main stage for the ambient and soulful London Grammar, followed by headliner Foals, whose sound gets a bit lost in the noise of the surrounding tents. The grassy area outside The Polka Club is ambushed by the tartan clad New York Brass Band playing a rousing rendition of ‘Happy’ and The Big Top is packed from the inside of the tent right out to the food outlets surrounding for Basement Jaxx. Many are questioning the decision to put Foals on the main stage and Jaxx in the tent, as the sound is severely dampened from the outside, and from the view that Foals did not hold a particularly dense headline crowd earlier compared to the thousands who are trying to get into the Big Top. ‘Good Luck’ and ‘Red Alert’ almost lift the roof off the tent and security try in vain to get those who’ve shinned the poles for a better view, to get down.
The final day at Bestival has come, and Sunday’s vast lineup of music, poetry and activities is no less full or impressive than the last few days. Clean Bandit take to the main stage for an amazing sunshine filled electronic set with the crowning jewel ‘Rather Be’ belting out across the arena and proving to be the perfectly apt lyrics for the Bestival crowd who are hugging each other close; “We’re a thousand miles from comfort, we have travelled land and sea, but as long as you are with me, there’s no place I’d rather be”. Due to the cancellation of Busta Rhymes, the main stage crowd is instead treated to another member of the Bestival family, DJ Yoda – whose hilarious AV show and samples from movies and TV are played on the giant stage screen, along with a flashing line of text proclaiming “I am not Busta Rhymes’.
Major Lazer play a raft of current mixed up current hits such as Oliver Helden’s ‘Gecko (Overdrive)’ and Keisza’s ‘Hideaway’ whilst club dancers thrash about on the stage and Diplo pretty much steals stage gimmicks from everyone (Skindred’s Newport helicopter as seen earlier in the day, neon ticker tape canons, even the Zorbing ball a la The Flaming Lips and a frankly embarrassing attempt at a circle pit…). In the Big Top one of the most incredible shows of the weekend – Chvrches completely makes up for the aural assault of Major Lazer, with swooningly beautiful vocals and the kind of electronic wizardry that makes you feel like your heart is trying to get out of your mouth. The tent wasn’t full, but the people who made it in there can count themselves lucky to have caught an absolutely stunning set from the Scottish band.
Sunday headliner ChicFeaturing Nile Rodgers was beset by a band tragedy – guitar tech and long time friend Terry Brauer having died just before the show began, and Nile broke into tears a number of times during the set. Despite this, it was the great disco showdown that we had been promised by Bestival, Nile’s incredible discography speaks for itself and the sheer quality of Chic shone through. Hits a plenty had everyone pulling out their best Saturday Night Fever style moves and winding up Bestival in the best way possible, pure unadulterated party. The closing ceremony saw the giant disco-ball hoisted into the air via crane, glittering in the spotlights, and a barrage of incredible fireworks lighting up the arena over Peace Hill, and anyone who grabbed a pair of shimmery glasses from the physics area of the Science tent got an extra special psychedelic show on top of it all.
Of course, nothing’s ever really the end at Bestival… The woods are calling with secret parties and DJ sets, The Port is aflame and going strong, The Grand Palace of Entertainment is still as indecent as ever, and ‘Almost Famous’ is being screened in The Amphitheatre… we’re going wherever the night takes us, for one last time this year…
The final night of Bestival is drawing in, a glittery crowd is itching to get it's disco on at the main stage area, and a floor sparkling with strewn sequins shimmers in the neon of the bars. The world record breaking giant disco-ball has been hoisted into the air via crane on the Magic Meadow and spotlights sent fragments of light all over the site.
Chic and Nile Rogers take to the stage in a dazzling array of white leather and gold, and Nile almost immediately breaks into tears and tells us "I just found out, we got a phonecall at the hotel room that my old guitar roadie Terry, died a few minutes ago". At this sad news, the Bestival crowd begins to chant Terry's name and cheer on Rogers.
Gaining composure, Nile and the band start strong with 'Everybody Dance' but a few more speakers would be useful behind the sound tent as it's quite quiet for those further back on the hill. The little extras start early as loveheart graphics fill the giant screen and red streamers are shot from a stage cannon, and Nile laments, "I just want to let you guys know… a little bit about why we're here to play for you… a few years ago I was diagnosed with very very aggressive cancer and they thought I might not be here… thank you for giving me the energy", but moves on to lighter subjects with quip "So when you hear us play a song by Madonna, I don't want you to get weird, cause I played that shit in the first place… Mojo… I wrote all that shit" and invites Bestival to sing along, "If you don't know the words, sing any old bullshit it sounds fine up here".
A huge medley of songs Rogers has written or had a hand in creating gets everyone up and dancing with proper disco moves, 'I'm Comin Out' and 'We Are Family' have the entire arena singing and going wild. Many are surprised at the sheer number of songs they know by Nile and the huge dance party is getting rowdier, despite the tired eyes and sore feet on day four of Bestival.
Madonna hit 'Like A Virgin' incites some very amusing camp dancing all over, and Duran Duran favourite (and namesake of the B.I.G.) 'Notorious' go down a storm, but Nile breaks down in tears again for departed friend Terry, and the crowd hold phone screens and lighters aloft in support. Daft Punk summer hit 'Get Lucky' is the song of the night, moving into 'Let's Dance', the hits keep on coming, as giant multicoloured beach balls are released into the crowd.
'Freak Out' sees the first explosion of stage fireworks and 'Good Times' is a jam session in which fans are hauled up on stage to join the party as glitter rains from the rafters. With the incredible voices and solid musical ability of Chic, as well as Nile's creative talent across the years, this makes for an amazing and memorable show, a perfect close to Bestival's Desert Island Disco. As Chic and Nile exit the stage, all eyes turn to the hillside where the massive closing ceremony fireworks light up the night sky in a magical goodbye to yet another stellar year here at Robin Hill. Rob Da Bank and co. just seem to know the meaning of party and more importantly, pull it off bigger and better every single time. Waiting a whole year is going to be hard…
With a clear sky and the cold creeping in after a soft ambient set from London Grammar, Bestival's Saturday headliners Foals alight the stage with little fuss or presence of entrance.
The arena is bustling with the anticipation and little snakes of people holding hands are making their way through to the front. Even the man in the gigantic box-cum-totem pole is making his decidedly difficult way through, much to the dismay of those who would actually like to see.
With their drummer sporting a feathery capelet and other band members rocking silver metallic leggings, it's nice that Foals are attempting to get into the spirit of Bestival. The songs are interesting and musically sound, 'My Number' and 'Blue Blood' are well received by the crowd but as Foals continue through their set staying true to type, there's a certain saminess that creeps in, and by the time 'Late Night' and 'Electric Bloom' come round the arena headcount has dwindled severley.
With the band expected to now go into an extended hiatus, "This is going to be the last show for about eighteen months" muses Yannis, the band give a deeply soulful set which understandably is missing the mark of drawing in those who are looking to Desert Island Disco tonight.
A pretty poor attempt at crowd-walking during encore finale 'Two Steps Twice' is comedically ironic as one step was all it took for Yannis Philippakis to go straight through the clutching hands of fans to the arena floor, and a huge ticker-tape and streamer explosion snows over the Bestival night sky with a bang.
The quality of the headline acts here at Bestival 2014 is undeniable, but with Basement Jaxx filling the Big Top to dangerous capacity and beyond only an hour later, it's a little confusing as to why they were not main stage, where big beats could go arena-wide for everyone, and Foals were instead in the Big Top where nuances of sound could be enjoyed by fans – which was struggling to come across outside.
Photography by James Bridle, please do not use without prior authorisation from the photographer.
Highly anticipated Friday headliner Outkast were set to be something special at Bestival 2014, with a set of high adrenaline dance numbers and some Andre 3000 style cheekiness. As such, the arena is holding a ram jammed sardine can of bodies lined up ready to get their krunk on.
With an epic visual intro and some blindingly bright lights, Outkast hit the stage with gusto to a backdrop of a greyscale American flag. Opening with 'Bombs over Baghdad' the sound isn't great across the site, there's a heaviness missing from it.
Wearing some sort of wig/furry hat that looks like frosted roadkill and a jacket sporting the slogan "My Dad has cool albums", Andre bounces about the stage and hypes up hit 'Ms Jackson' as the crowd roars. Bestival has always been known for great crowd participation but the high pitched 'oohs' were especially loud and proud tonight. 'Ghetto Music' is accompanied by a frankly pointless screen loop of faceless ladies gyrating their backsides at the camera, and the arena crowd begins to thin. For those who know only the Outkast hits, the rap filled tracks are less lively, and wide-eyed revellers head off for rowdier pastures.
Krumping or twerking attempts aside, 'Hey Ya' is definitely well received with everyone trying their best to 'shake it like a Polaroid picture', in an extraordinarily British and sort of rubbish way, but the rest of the set is lukewarm and the crowd has halved at least. It's a shame but there's so much on 'after hours' at Bestival, it's not the end of the world, or tonight's adventures…
Now in its fourth year, Sundown festival has played host to many of the biggest names in music, and this year was no exception. Returning as headliners for the second time, Chase & Status closed the Saturday night, while Ellie Goulding closed the festival on Sunday.
FRIDAY
But all the fun actually begun on Friday night. After waiting nearly 2 hours in the queue for my friends to get their wristbands, we eventually made it to the campsite, with aching bodies from carrying everything for so long.
We weren’t going to let that stop us though, as the Big Top opening party proved to be one of the highlights of Sundown. New to 2014, the action kicked off at 5pm, but after a few drinking games, we joined the growing crowd of energetic teenage ravers a few hours later. Commercial house tracks and big room EDM bass drops were the soundtrack to the party, consisting of ‘Backstreet’s Back’ being mixed into Martin Garrix ‘Tremor’ – certainly not something you hear every day, a dubious Nirvana remix and some old classics in ‘You’ve Got The Love’. It all made for a great night, with an impressive laser light show shining up the packed tent.
We also checked out some of the stools selling funky sunglasses, hipster shirts, bum-bags galore and the festivals best-seller, judging from all the lads wearing them, – black printed bandanna’s.
SATURDAY
The morning after, the campsite looked like a bomb had hit it – especially the far from sanitary toilets located at the bottom of the campsite. But that’s all to be expected, in fairness there was the option to pay an extra £25 to get some brilliantly titled and much cleaner VIPee toilets for the weekend if you wished.
Entering Sundown’s main site just in time to see Disclosure and Tinie Tempah collaborator Sasha Keable perform on the main stage, it was a nice ease back into the party spirit to cure our near-hangovers. Sasha Keable’s sound is mainly synth led electronica with an impressive vocal laid over the top of each track. Performing tracks from her debut ‘Lemongrass and Limeleaves’ E.P, ‘Living Without You’ showcases her powerful vocal range and ‘Sweetest Talk’ takes influence from Jessie Ware’s soulful R&B sound. ‘Careless Over You’ creates the first sing-a-long moment with Sasha’s voice climbing over the rolling drum and synth beats. It’s the collaborations with Zinc and Disclosure which get the biggest cheers and sing-alongs. ‘Only For Tonight’ pumps up the party atmosphere with air-horn sounds just in time for set closer ‘Voices’, with the crowd jumping and singing back every word. Already signed to Tinie Tempah’s Disturbing London label, a few more releases and Sasha Keable will soon be a household name.
Also on Tinie’s label are All About She, who perform next. The London based UK garage three-piece are made up of record producers James Tadgell and Jon Clare and singer Vanya Taylor. It’s Vanya who grabs everyone’s attention though, with a similar stylish appearance and voice to Estelle, she wastes no time in showing off her vocals. ‘I Can’t Wait’ is a highlight, while new feel good track ‘Beyond Heaven’ hears Vanya work the crowd singing “Sundown you take me there” before asking “where are all the lovers at, put your hands in the air.” ‘Like That’ sees Vanya dedicate the track to a birthday girl on the front row before the trio end their set with the song everyone’s been waiting for. ‘Higher (Free)’ still sounds as fresh as when it was released last November and reached the top 20 in the UK. Sung a capella for the first chorus, it’s given an emotive re-work before the garage beats kick in which return ‘Higher’ to its original club-ready state.
Before Foxes takes to the stage, there is an unwilling yet entertaining twerk off to Nicki Minaj’s new single ‘Anaconda’ between Kiss FM DJ’s Michael and Tania, who introduce each act and deserve praise for building the hype effortlessly. Foxes bounces onstage, looking ever the pop star, in a dress and massive sunglasses. Aside from the music, Louisa is loved by, females who want to be her, and males who want to be with her. The whole set is a highlight. Performing the main singles from her debut album ‘Glorious’, including ‘Youth’, ‘Let Go For Tonight’ and ‘Holding On To Heaven’, each song receives mass sing-a-longs with fans arms waving in the air. She’s not bothered by the worsening weather either, which she has experienced the worst of after a storm engulfed her set at Nottingham’s Splendour festival in July. Instead she shouts to the crowd, “fuck the rain”, and they oblige, continuing to jump with her. ‘Clarity’, her massive Grammy award winning collaboration with Zedd goes down a treat and proves one of the weekend’s biggest sing-a-longs.
Meanwhile, over at the Big Top tent, house music lovers are being treated to the best in the business, with the whole day hosted by Defected Records! Earlier in the day Copyright and Cristoph have bass heavy sets before Food music label boss Shadow Child. But it was Second City and Mark Kinchen who provided the best sets of the day. Second City aka 27-year-old producer Rowan Harrington took the crowd on a journey of commercial to more underground house hits including a remix of Breach’s ‘Jack’ (who would play the same stage later), his collaboration with Route 94 ‘Freak’ and his own track ‘I Enter’, but sadly his brilliant new collaboration with Ali Love ‘What Can I Do’ doesn’t get played. Ending with his recent number one piano-house smash ‘I Wanna Feel’, everyone’s hands wave while their lungs are given a full workout much to Harrington’s happiness.
Later, Marc Kinchen, whose set is swapped with Sam Devine’s, draws a massive crowd to the tent. Opening with a dub of ‘My Head Is a Jungle’ before recent single ‘Always’, MK is joined by four less than covered dancers waving fans in front of their face, creating the Ibiza atmosphere, when in reality we’re inside a sweaty tent.
Chase and Status, who headlined Sundown festival back in 2011 returned to close proceedings on Saturday night. And what a show it was. An intense laser light show, a number of unexpected special guests and some insanely heavy drum & bass, dubstep and everything in between made it the show-stealer of the weekend. Performing tracks from all three of their albums and some older material, it was a career spanning set with each track sending the crowd absolutely crazy. I’ve actually never seen more mosh pits throughout a set. And it just gets even more out of control when Tempa T pounces onstage to rap his part in ‘Hypest Hype.’ Later, British singer Jacob Banks is welcomed onstage to provide his soulful sing-a-long vocals to ‘Alive’. Moko appears large as life in the background video appearing to jump out of the screen during ‘Count On Me’, similarly with Plan B seeming to smash the screen during ‘End Credits’ and ‘Pieces’. Set closer ‘Smash TV’ from the duo’s 2008 debut album ‘More Than Alot’ made for the perfect end to their genre defying set!
SUNDAY
Sunday hosted a far more pop orientated line up on the main stage while well respected drum & bass label Ram Records took over the Big Top. On the main stage, three-piece M.O, who are receiving regular plays on Radio One from the likes of Mistajam, are bringing the 90’s girl band back! They’ve toured with Little Mix and recently signed with Universal in the US – and it’s not hard to understand why. Arriving just in time to catch the last two songs of their set, the first is an impressive cover of Beyonce’s ‘Drunk in Love’, made completely their own. The second is new single ‘Dance On My Own’ with a garage beat which samples Sweet Female Attitudes ‘Flowers’ – one of the biggest UK garage hits from the 90’s.
Ex-The Voice contestant, Becky Hill, bounces onstage in a white crop top and sparkling Aztec skirt, making the most of the British sunshine. She described her sound recently as “leftfield, alternative, cool pop” and that seems fitting. Two Inch Punch-produced opener ‘Caution to the Wind’ is the perfect solo introduction to the world for Becky who I have been a fan of ever since she appeared on The Voice. Since then, she has achieved two number one singles in the form of drum & bass Wilkinson collaboration ‘Afterglow’ and recent house hit with Oliver Heldens ‘Gecko (Overdrive)’ – both of which receive mass sing-a-longs during her set. You can’t help but love how down to earth she is, there are no airs and graces as she admits “my onstage chat is rubbish” after she cracks a joke about the sun being up for Sundown. She later tells the crowd “I’ve got a bottle of vodka in my room so I’m going to the RAM tent to rave it up” – she comes across as a typical partying teenager. Becky’s rise to the top has been stratospheric but she’s still the same loveable singer, as she tells the crowd, “I was recently working in LA and I got a call from my manager and he said, ‘Becky you’re number one”. She proves that she’s a real pop-star in the making during her next disco infused single, the MNEK-produced ‘Losing’ which she says is out in a few weeks. It’s safe to say that she gave the best live vocal performance of the weekend and I’ve already bought tickets to see her again!
Looking like Annie Mac and sounding similar to Katy B, Jess Glynne is the next rising female vocalist to perform. With two backing singers, a drummer, guitarist and keyboardist, Jess performs a set full of catchy pop hits in waiting. She asks the crowd, “did you enjoy my fellow husky, Becky?” much to the crowd’s applause. Jess gets straight into her recent number one with Route 94 in ‘My Love’ before it’s mixed into her second worldwide number one with Clean Bandit ‘Rather Be’, with both attracting mass sing-a-longs and smiling faces. “This is the last festival for us, so let’s go out with a bang”, exclaims Jess. Gorgon City-produced Set closer ‘Right Here’ which reached the top-ten saw the crowd swaying their arms and dancing along to the house beat.
John Newman appears like a young Elvis with slicked back hair and perfected dance routines from the start of his penultimate set of the weekend. Backed by a seven piece band made up including three female singers. The longtime Rudimental collaborator performs the majority of his debut number one album ‘Tribute’, taking the ever-growing crowd on a journey of soulful pop. Each track comes complete with John showcasing his beyond impressive footwork throughout set opener ‘All For You’, ‘Try’, and ‘Cheating’. It’s obvious that he’s a real showman with plenty of onstage confidence, treating the gig like a real show, saying “welcome to this evening’s entertainment”. During ‘Losing Sleep’ he throws himself and the mic around the stage before he pauses the song to shame a member of the crowd. “This guy’s trying to start a fight during my set. We’re not here to start a fight, we’re here to enjoy the music. Let’s put our middle finger up to him” – and everybody does. Back to proceedings and John gushes about his girlfriend, asking, “Did anyone see Ella Eyre earlier? That’s my other half” – of course everybody cheers. Later, John thanks the crowd for getting him where he is now, “We’ve done 38 festivals this season. It all started for me with Rudimental and it’s taught us that we’re ‘Not Givin In’”. The Rudimental collaboration sees John and the backing vocalists sing their heart out with John running along the front row of the audience to the lucky fans delight. Set closer, and number one single, ‘Love Me Again’, sees him fall to his knees at the end. John’s energy and showmanship far exceeded my expectations and I’d definitely recommend anyone to go and see him.
Ending the weekend was Ellie Goulding, who barraged through tracks from both albums ‘Lights’ and ‘Halycon’. Songs like ‘Figure 8’ and recent single ‘Goodness Gracious’ showcase Ellie’s unique breathy vocals. ‘Starry Eyed’ is dedicated to all of Ellie’s fans who have been with her from the beginning. Madeon-produced track ‘Stay Awake’ pushes Ellie’s vocal range to its highest and most impressive point. After a quick costume change, Ellie performs a chilled electronic cover of Alt J’s ‘Tesselate’ before switching to James Blake’s ‘Life Round Here’ – two breathtaking, somewhat haunting renditions. Picking up the guitar for an acoustic version of ‘Guns and Horses’, Ellie shows off her unmistakable vocal capabilities. Laughing she says, “It’s about the time where I like to do some voluntary movements which some people may call dancing” before pop hit ‘Anything Can Happen’. Teasing the crowd she jumps down to run across the front like John Newman did during ‘I Need Your Love’. Then comes the sad news, “This is my last show for quite a while and I’m not sure when I’m going to be back on tour”, Ellie genuinely seems upset but powers on through ‘Lights’ which sees everyone light up their camera phones, creating a special memory for everyone there. Finishing with ‘Burn’, Ellie signs off hinting at a return for the following year.
Ellie certainly won’t be the only one coming back to Sundown festival if this year’s brilliant event is anything to go by!
