By the time May comes around, most people have already got their festival calenders mapped out. Those with a shred of organisation and that aren’t swimming in student debt will go to Glastonbury. Folk that are in it for the atmospherics as opposed to the music and the cast of Made In Chelsea will head to Secret Garden Party, 80% of the population of Bristol will go to Boomtown; you could go on forever. One thing is almost certain though: if you’re living in London and you’re between the age of, say, 21 and 35, you’ll be going to Field Day. If you’re not, the chances are you wish you were.
This year’s bill was arguably its most impressive yet. Saturday (6 June) saw headline sets from FKA Twigs, Hudson Mohawke (live) and Caribou with the likes of Floating Points, Awesome Tapes of Africa, Nina Kraviz, Chet Faker and Django Django appearing in amongst the hefty line up.
Both the idyllic weather and the monumental array of artists on offer mean nearly all tents are packed. Floating Points plays the Resident Advisor stage mid-afternoon to a crowd who eagerly await his signature mixing. Of course he delivers. He fades the bass, mids, tops and volume throughout jazz infused set and give those who came to get in amongst the electronic side of the line up exactly what they came for.
Following right behind him is Awesome Tapes From Africa. Slightly unexpectedly, the crowd remained heaving as Awesome Tapes, real name, Brian Shimkovitz, played some of the funkiest, most intriguing beats that were witnessed all afternoon.
Side tracked en route to Chet Faker we decide to swap the Crack tent for the sights and sounds of Django Django on the mainstage. They weave us through their new album ‘Born Under Saturn’ before closing with a string of old Scotts-tinged favourites (see: ‘Default’ aka that song that no one actually knows the words to other than the one that’s in the title). Rumours of Chet Faker’s rendition of Backstreet’s ‘No Diggity‘ begin to surface and we’re left devastated albeit blown away by Django.
The sun slips away as Caribou takes to the stage dressed head to toe in white. Smokey blue lights wash the stage leaving just a silhouette in view throughout the performance which saw Dan Snaith working his way through works old and new with expert precision; song by song proving himself a more than worthy headliner. The flawless delivery on tracks ‘Sun‘ and ‘Odessa‘ have the crowds enchanted and realising that they’d made the right choice when it came to selecting who would wrap up their first day of the festival.
A credit to the organisers, Field Day is quickly becoming an inner city festival that ought to be envied.
