NEWS
EVENTS
RISE Festival at the Highest Resort in The Alps Swept Us Off Our Feet!
Other | Wednesday 7th January 2015 | Osh
At the end of December, Rise Festival took to the French mountains to put on a week long fiesta in the village of Les Deux Alps, one of the highest resorts in the Alps. Put together with a star studded line up, speed dating on love lifts, Tinder, skiing, ice skating, snow boarding, carol singing, fancy dress, an eighties disco, a snow park with stunt boarders and not to mention, mulled alcohol and pulled pork!
With snow scarce in the region for December, the fact that the white powder was covering the magnificent mountains all around meant that it was perfect weather for snow sports to take place. Around 3000 people were expected to turn up for the week long antics run by Ibiza Rocks legends and Running Wild, and there was plenty of freshly brewed liquor, log fires and roast meat welcoming their presence and filling the air with delicious aromas.
Students, vacationers, skiers, boarders...people just wanting to have a good time, were all lured to this beautiful location to, not only dress up, enjoy the scenery and experience the 2000m altitude, but to witness the likes of DJ EZ at Pano Bar, who blew the night away with a mix of Garage classics, dubstep and of course a massive bassline. Tracks included Sia ‘Little Man, Daniel Bedingfield ‘Gotta Get Thru This’ and MJ Cole - Sincere. Skiing into the cabin, it was a retro and nostalgic setting as people were skanking away in ski gear on all surrounding levels of decking.
Post by Rise Festival.
EZ at Pano Bar
Hannah Wants stuck to what she does best and famously stole the Mid- Week show with her powerful house performance in the Gymnasium, which left the crowded room bedazzled with light shows, projections and LED screens encompassing the walls.
Although Jackmaster couldn’t host the Main Hall the following night, we were graced with a deep, musically rich house appearance from Doorly and Artwork, who, back to back, played a groovier and darker set than any other at the festival so far. The duo also rounded up nicely with an Ibiza Rocks resident take over at Avalanche Club on the second to last night of the week. A full four hours of technical brilliance and special effects. The ambience was as live as a Madness show at Ibiza Rocks Hotel and a balearic- style rave soon broke out, as people were banging the DJ booth, dancing on chairs and benches, cheering every drop.
Set in a typical Alps bar, producing low ceilings and warm fires, a strong crowd formed as Mono_Cult head honcho Matt Long played an array of nineties and early noughties house favourites. A fitting selection for the younger crowd. The stand out tunes delivered were Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Intro, Omar - You Don’t Know feat Tim Fuller, and of course; Stardust- Music Sounds Better with you.
After a bold, early rise, pre- party ski on the slopes, ringed by pro snowboarders demonstrating their skills in outfits unimaginable; an attractive performance was delivered from Clean Bandit. A Sunny afternoon, they played their finest hits out into the fresh alpine air and enlightened us with some new material, as the sun set behind the buildings in the main square of the town. Later that evening was an afterparty to remember, at Les Deux’s most exclusive spot The Yeti’s Cabin. Half way up a mountain, with open log fires ablaze; Toyboy and Robin spun hands- in- the- air house clangers and a solid party vibe was created.
As the final day approached, Skaters of all capabilities, most in some form of festive dress, appeared on the rink for the final dance at the eighties Ice Disco. Dancing the night away to party classics, with mulled wine in hands, as the realisation kicked in that the week in party paradise had come to an end. And what a week it was!
Dan Mackenzie (Dan Mac)
