In a modern age where electronic music is become more and more prevalent, it’s unsurprising that new festivals dedicated to those genres alone are still being created. One example is Sunfall Festival which will make its debut in London in July 2016, and is working in association with the established platforms like Phonox and Outlook. The line-up features Jamie xx, Goldie, Joy Orbison and more, and the concept is simple: ‘Party together by day, go your own way by night at one of our many late night club sessions’. Whilst I welcome this with open arms, it seems that established UK festivals are increasingly prioritising DJs to live bands. Take a look at the Parklife line up for instance. Wolf Alice, Blossoms and Circa Waves are virtually the only bands on the bill. Called me old fashioned, but I think live bands sound better in a massive isolated field during the height of British summer, and electronic stuff sounds better in a club setting. Sunfall may just teach us all that DJs sound good anywhere.
Everyone knows that Techno is like marmite; you either love it or hate it. Once again I’m going to break the mould, as I stand somewhere in between these two positions. Whilst I can’t listen to it for pleasure, I can somehow manage to get into it on a night out when I’m surrounded by Techno enthusiasts. I recently managed to catch a fraction of Jane Fitz’s 3 hour set for Backdrop, a fairly new night at World HQ, and I found myself entranced by the repetition and infectiousness of the mental moves around me. Raving aside, there is one Techno track that I’ve managed to enjoy from the comfort of my own bed. This is Denis Sulta’s ‘It’s Only Real’ which was released in December 2015. It came as no surprise that Sulta is from Glasgow, a city with a close affiliation to Techno, but what did strike me was his ability to fuse the two elements of an energising beat and a sedating and melancholic melody on ‘It’s Only Real’. If you know your Techno, you’ll recognise the track as a staple of many recent sets, but if not, give it a try.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kfzWt8NYaA
I’m trying something new and attending my first ever Cirque. I feel like I’m regressing, as Cirque is one of the more mainstream music events in the city, and in most cases people progress from seeing the big names at Cirque, to developing more edge. Through observing others, Cirque seems to be that stepping stone between getting incredibly intoxicated so that you can tolerate a DJ, and realising that you actually do enjoy the music produced by said DJs of an electronic persuasion. I’m not selling out just yet, but I thought I’d try to see what all the hype is about after a friend messaged me promo-style: ‘The new Cirque event has given me so much life!’. Trusting his judgement, I bought a ticket and checked out the two headliners, Toddla T and Stylo G. Born and bred in Yorkshire, Toddla T’s most well-known track ‘Take It Back’ grates on me with its uplifting Pop and topic of unfulfilled romance, but if I managed to enjoy Blonde and Bondax, I shouldn’t have too much trouble getting into this on the night. The struggle will come with Stylo G. ‘Call Mi A Leader’ is a pretty excruciating take on Bob Marley’s ‘Could You Be Loved’, and please, let’s just not talk about how wet ‘My Number 1’ is. I’ll try not to speak too soon though, as it remains to be seen whether Cirque Du Soul’s priority is music or throwing a party which is appealing to the eyes. I hope I’m proven wrong.
Sophie Ahmed
