Inverted Audio went down to London’s Victoria Park last Saturday to catch this year’s Field Day festival, where an array of tents, stages and distractions beckoned droves of music fans from all round the country and beyond. The blazing sunshine and top line-up meant that few went away disappointed, and here are some of IA’s top picks from the day.
Many of the day’s highlights came from the Bugged Out tent, where an all-star lineup welcomed the festival’s danciest crowd. Jacques Greene plied his trademark sounds in a slick live set, bubbly synth arpeggios and sharp 2step beats fitting the afternoon slot to a tee. Aside from an ill-advised moment of crooning, the set went off without a hitch, with a beefed-up version of fan-favourite Another Girl causing havoc in the excitable crowd. Daphni followed with this reviewer’s best set of the day, kicking off with recent Burial and Koreless material followed by an eclectic selection of house, techno and disco. The limber percussion of KH’s That track… and Joy O’s BRTHDTT were some of the set’s most memorable moment, but it was in the canny selections of some vintage house and Detroit techno that Dan Snaith truly impressed.
On the darker side of the spectrum, Bok Bok and Girl Unit took to the Boiler Room stage repping Night Slugs in a stellar live set of twitching beatscience and funky basslines. Despite a relatively immobile crowd typical of the Boiler Room, Bok Bok’s Not Mad and Girl Unit’s classic Wut managed to get everyone moving. Over at the Bleed stage, Objekt and Karenn’s sets, DJ and live respectively, offered an array of classic techno sounds but neither managed to live up to the visceral propulsion of Shed’s earlier set, which was played out to an undeservingly small crowd in a bafflingly early timeslot.
Small scheduling gripes aside, there was a wealth of other talent on display. The Hessle Audio owners; Pearson Sound, Pangaea and Ben UFO, played out to a diminished but dedicated crowd at the Bugged Out stage, offering futuristic twists on bass and techno sounds delivered with style and impressive mixing chops. Other mentions go to Koreless’ gorgeous live set and Todd Edwards’ great entry on the Boiler Room stage, spinning an exquisite selection of bumpin’ UK garage.
However it was some of the most-attended acts which we found some of the day’s most disappointing. Four Tet’s headline slot was ultimately too low-energy for many after a day’s dancing, and despite colourful balloons and expert interpretations of For These Times and Plastic People, his set never really took off. Meanwhile the Bugged Out stage’s final two acts, Julio Bashmore and TNGHT, played sets best described as crowd-pleasing, that got the people going but from a musical perspective seemed a touch pedestrian.
Of course not every set was going to be brilliant, but the combination of a great deal of fantastic music, blissful weather and impeccable organisation made Field Day an absolute pleasure, abundantly evident in the stream of smiles that left the park at the midnight curfew.