NEWS
EVENTS
We kicked summer off with We Are FSTVL
House | Thursday 11th June 2015 | Annalisa
Now firmly in its third year, We Are FSTVL descended onto the huarache-filled fields of Essex to bring together some of the most exciting names in dance music for a two-day extravaganza. With the likes of Seth Troxler, Gorgon City, MK, Loco Dice and Masters at Work gracing the line-up, we went down to check out the festival, suitably equipped with Air Max’s to “blend” in. This was the only weekend of the year that we could firmly say “The only way is Essex!"
Saturday saw the likes of Carl Cox headline the main arena. This man always brings the party, and boy did it go off. The We Are FSTVL team put on a spectacular display of pyrotechnics to make sure that the 15,000 revellers went home with some great memories of the opening of their UK festival diaries.
The almighty What Hannah Wants tent also went down a storm with the crowd. With the likes of Redlight, DJ EZ and of course the delectable Hannah Wants throwing down some classic garage gems, this tent encapsulated the vibes of the genre that built a generation. Big shout to Stacey and co for all their hard work, it definitely paid off!
Saturday also hosted the Defected In The House arena, which saw the powerhouse duo Masters at Work do their thing, Used and Abused with Loco Dice and Art Department, Toolroom Knights who held down the VIP area and for the oldies, Clockwork Orange with Tall Paul, Brandon Block and Alex P.
As the day drew to a close, we could see that many revellers were actually quite annoyed with the way We Are FSTVL organised the drinks tent. Having to buy tokens for drinks, which you had to queue for, you would then have the pleasure of queuing again to get your drink in exchange for the tokens. Ok so this is not a new idea, and many festivals have employed the same tactics, but there were not enough bars to accommodate all those wanting to get their drink on. What compounded the issue was the fact that you couldn’t even buy any water, let alone soft drinks, from the burger stands and food stalls.
This is just not safe. Water should be made available to buy from these stalls, as people don’t want to have to stand in line for an hour, only to be told by their mate with a £10 lanyard that they just missed their favourite DJ. Yes, you heard correctly, a £10 lanyard to know set times for Saturday. It seems like festival organisers are trying everything and anything to maximise their cash flow to meet the rising costs of these big name DJs.
Anyway, on to day two, which saw everybody more focused on the music that was being delivered. Even though on the main stage you had Steve Aoki, Steve Angello, Anime Edge and Dance, and Knife Party pounding their way through the evening, we found that most of the crowd were looking forward to some minimal musical magic, duly provided by Cocoon, who had their own stage with Sven Vath, AME and Dixon.
Hospitality brought the drum and bass sounds to town with their unmistakable style, even managing to get EZ down for their tent for a second day. The Paradise arena had an equally sublime line-up, with Jamie Jones, Jackmaster, Marco Carola, Claude Von Stroke, Richy Ahmed and Patrick Topping all coming together to give everyone a taste of Ibiza.
Most of the arenas closed at 11, but the party continued in the MK Area 10 VIP Village tent. Joining MK was Lee Foss, Dusky and the man of the moment, DJ S.K.T, who closed off the night with his high-energy, party-rocking style. Speaking with DJ S.K.T afterwards, he said that this was one of the most enjoyable festivals he has done and that the crowd truly loved every minute of his set. Something we would agree with as over the course of the weekend we heard various DJs play his massive single ‘Take Me Away’.
On the whole, We Are FSTVL was a great weekend, with one of the best line-ups that a London(ish) festival has seen in ages, and it’s still in its growing stages. It’s definitely one to ink in your future festival diaries. We just hope that next year they take the advice of their audience and have more bars, an easier and more visible option to return unused drinks tokens, release the set times online (which they actually did for the Sunday) and allow food stalls to sell water and soft drinks.
Photo credit: Paul Underhill
