Let’s be honest, the annual festival circuit is clubland at its most hedonistic and laissez-faire. Today’s electronic scene encourages a staggering amount of cross-pollination and genre-blurring and yet rules and niches do still remain. It’s a reality that the festival environment is able, thrillingly, to swerve and disrupt.
In simpler terms, festivals represent dance music at its most instantaneous, unpredictable, and devil-may-care best – they are a chance for the DJs and artists we love to jump further ‘out of the (record) box’ than they’d usually do. Random track selections, random performances... anything goes, as the below leftfield selections ably demonstrate.
Seth Troxler & Phil Moffa – Blue Rawls
Mr Troxler dropped this eccentric beauty at the recent (debut) CRSSD Festival in San Diego, California, where he was enjoying a ‘back-to-back’ set with Jamie Jones. There were plenty of bass-thumpin’ grooves on show, not least from Justin Martin and Ardalan, which made the arrival of kooky tech joint ‘Blue Rawls’ all the more special. The utterly surprised look on several dancefloor faces as the track’s incredible moody sweep of synthesized strings, android bleeps and glass-shattering operatic vocals segued in was a sight to behold. Troxler, of course, has a taste for the eclectic. Another of his favourite leftfield weapons is Thomas Leer’s early Eighties’ synth-pop careen ‘International’.
Fatima Yamaha – What’s A Girl To Do
A resplendent, transcendent slice of mellow synth-electronica used to devastating effect by Ame at Australia’s Strawberry Fields camping festival last November as they closed out proceedings. More recently, Joe Jobse worked it into a sparkling set of melodic house at Barbarellas, as part of this summer’s Garden Festival in Croatia. The smiles were as bright as the sunshine....
Tame Impala – Let It Happen
Taken from the Aussie band’s massive new crossover album Currents, this track (like the album) rides powerful waves of synth and rhythm in its relentless quest for groove without limits. One might easily expect to hear it played, then, on the contemporary festival circuit and yet Jamie XX’s cunning inclusion during a DJ set at Coachella 2015 turned plenty of heads. Sandwiched been several deep house and UK ‘funky’ licks, ‘Let It Happen’ was a refreshing shift of gear. Pete Tong has also been weaving the single into several of his recent DJ sets, reinforcing its sweet versatility.
John Paul Young – Love Is In The Air
That classic rhythmic build into those insanely catchy, feel-good piano chords and vocals is more than a match for most dance festival crowds – the surge of universal happiness ‘Love Is In The Air’ induces is a freakin’ force of nature. Back in the mid-Nineties, Basement Jaxx’s use of the cut within their various festival and club sets of supreme jump-up house was bold, yet absolutely inspired. The track earned remixes in 1992 (DJ Pierre) and 2001 (Milk & Sugar) but the original was always more than good enough to dazzle.
Paloma Faith – ‘Can’t Rely On You’
Norman Jay MBE is by his own admission an ‘unashamed crowd pleaser’ whose passion for diversity in his festival sets is loved rather than dismissed. Whilst classified as radio pop, Paloma Faith’s Pharrell Williams-produced ‘Can’t Rely On You’ demonstrates the kind of tight, funky twists that appeal to Jay’s keen DJ instincts. As such, the record has been played on many of his recent travels. The odd cynic aside – “I don’t suffer from snobbery” Jay told one journalist last month – his confident tracklisting has proved hugely successful. But what else did you expect?
Words: Ben Lovett
Defected In The House hosts stages at Shakedown (Brighton), Sundown (Norwich), Groovefest (Dominican Republic) and EH1 (Edinburgh) this summer - head to our listings page for full line-ups and tickets
