Field Day 2024
From the raw gabber-infused drills of hard techno, redefining what futurism means to the ear–dampening its operations in the minutiae of deafening sound–to the sample-laden nostalgic thrills of drum and bass breakbeats, sonically simulating chart-topping tunes of old–sensorially stimulating on a cellular level–all went witnessed in waveform at London’s premier electronic music festival, Field Day, this past Saturday 25th August.
The city’s annual one-stop shop for those who dabble in digital audio workstations, the festival again took place in its habitual home vista, Tower Hamlets’ Victoria Park, under the banner of All Points East. This year particularly boasted an electrifying and eclectic lineup across its four main stages, each artist attracting the fanatic, cognisant and unfamiliar alike to their lurid charms.
The usual freeform flow of the day, however, was spelt with a litany of misfortune–a proverbial downpour even–prior to the gates’ noon awakening, as showers took stead in the morning and were forecasted to last throughout. Notified aplenty, the misery could have been profound, or else disconcerting, for the overall vibe at the prospect of being drenched in dualities of sun and rain.
Festivalgoers remained determined and unperturbed to bring frenetic energy nonetheless, steeled in a sea of wellington boots, waterproof ponchos and wide-brimmed hats. Still, fashion reigned supreme, just as much as functionality, with others decidedly opting for exposure to the elements, best befitting the rare glimpses where summer prophetically reared its head (albeit at intervals too few and far between in what has been a downright bleak mid- … August).
‘Field Day’ in the CHUPRA tent (photo taken by Miles Comer, 25th August 2024)
Thankfully under cover of tent, kicking things off atop hind legs and a hay-bale to the buck of a hoof and a breakneck-speed barrage of doofs, class was in session as anthropomorphic equestrian, Berlin-based DJ HorsegiirL, took to the decks for her inaugural happy hardcore set. Versing the crowd in the proclamations of her farmstead (her barn; her rules), you needn’t have turned around to realise that this was when Field Day’s numbers would begin to crest; the masses flooded in to witness what was destined to be a see-it-to-believe-it, can’t-miss moment from conception–the very reason for her viral, micro-niche stardom in the first place.
HorsegiirL’s on-stage persona, as meticulously cultivated as the effortlessly DIY, buried backwoods nature of her found footage backdrop–a montage of carrots, crops and accursed Internet-core content, replete with star transitions–has made tickets highly sought after and historically hard to come by. The agricultural avatar’s image is firmly anchored in all the tranquility of a zip-lock baggy (or more appropriately, its contents), so seeing her sober in and of itself felt like unlocking an exclusive kind of lucidity within the flux of a Lynchian dream–especially, at the jarringly ripe start-time of 3pm. She should have been live approximately twelve hours later, when most are actually lost in the nonsensicality of slumber…
Yet, rabbit handbag cast aside, the early hour (or late; you decide) didn’t stop her from bringing delightful discordance. Throw in some Oklou-style synths, ‘365’ non-stop ‘Nasty’ girl soundbites (synonymous with the summer of 2024), and 00s’ trashiness galore (think Khia and Kesha), and you arrive at her set: one continuous rhythmic stream, snowballing in sounds and samples, riotously ramping up the BPM. All of this cemented her as a personal highlight for me, much to the vitriol she ardently instils in elitist neigh-sayers–a quality that techno’s hard and fast playbook seems to breed among those who deem themselves purer or more enlightened than thou for failing to embrace the fun.
With such momentously mad highs, it was only natural for melodic lulls of equal grandeur to follow, which came shortly thereafter enveloped in the guise of the otherworldly Sega Bodega. Counterbalancing HorsegiirL’s frenzy, Bodega provided a sonorous and much-needed change in pace, trading out the DDJ channels for a minimal live setup: one lone laptop, lots of ambient lighting, and a centrifuge of smog, all poised to explore the sedative dance logic underpinning his latest album, 2024’s Dennis.
Self-released on newly founded label, Ambient Tweets, the LP saw the previous NUXXE-architect delve deeper into the stasis of trance music (its title etymologically derived from a blip in the human consciousness; Bodega noted the cultural significance of two iterations of Dennis the Menace emerging across opposite sides of the pond simultaneously, viewing it not as mere coincidence but as evidence of a shared psyche). Enlisting the vocal contributions of label signees Mayah Alkhateri (his girlfriend and partner under the shoegaze joint, Kiss Facility) and Cecile Believe (a hyperpop icon in her own right) to help realise this vision, it is clear that Bodega fosters more than just contractual obligations within his roster as an A&R.
While Bodega seems to have flipped the script on his standing in the industry as a highly prolific producer–now championing his peers in a labelhead role–he has maintained a notoriously low profile despite numerous prestigious collaborations across the years, from Björk to Arca to Sophie Ellis-Bextor. However, at Field Day, you would be none the wiser; before a congregation of Jaded London devotees, evidently drawn to his Aidan Zamiri-stamped envisioning of aetherium, his underground reputation preceded him.
Reworking the airy atmosphere of his IDM, which already sports paradoxically dense layers of chopped-up and sampled instrumentation as is, ‘Only Seeing God When I Come’ was particularly cathartic to behold. Executed live, with the addition of Bodega’s angelically autotuned murmurs to the mix, and a booming sound system to captured each and every nuance in production, it offered an ascendent experience for long-time fans–equal parts scriptural in verse and UKG in breakdown, which, to some, are one and the same….
Then, as if in perfect harmony (or, deliberately programmed as such), Shygirl took to the East Stage to present Club Shy, averting a clash with her longtime friend and oft-collaborator (Bodega having produced a considerable amount of tracks across all her previous bodies of work). Unexpectedly, despite the tie-in branding with her last EDM-infused EP, it turned out to be a celebration of everything Shy had ever output (Cruel Practice withholding, although she made continuous asides to her first ever single, 2016’s ‘Want More’; “We always want more?”).
Featuring a special guest appearance from Empress Of, only heightening the promise of a VIP package, Shygirl’s set was truly a multi-genre undertaking, only needing to re-envision few songs for intended upbeat effects. Across a high-octane fifty-minute runtime, she skirted the streets of London on grime tracks like ‘LENG’ and ‘Missin u’, took us into the poorly lit debauchery of the club’s backrooms on ALIAS’ ‘SIREN’ and ‘SLIME’, and burst out onto the dancefloor in full force with ‘thicc’ and ‘mr useless’, boasting an accompanying entourage of backup dancers, entrusted with selling the fantasy of Ibiza–all while engulfed in the thick of British rain. However, they so succeeded at this just as much as Shygirl did herself in isolating the illustrious and the opulent within the enigmatic soliloquies she delivered between songs (reflecting on libidos and main character moments alike), all of which ultimately adding the utmost gravitas to her performance. Given these facets, I feel she should have been bumped up to headliner in PinkPantheress’ absence, which was definitely felt as she was missed.
Overall, while 2023’s Field Day was very much a love letter to SOPHIE, with Aphex Twin, Arca, and Yunè Pinku all paying homage to the late producer in various forms, I would like to note that 2024 bolstered a distinctively Brat through-line throughout. Alongside Shygirl’s presence, set to open for Charli XCX on her headline UK tour later this year, I heard renditions of ‘360’, ‘Club classics’ and ‘365’ reworked across sets by Mura Masa, Skin on Skin / Kettama, and (of course) HorsegiirL respectively, solidifying the influence that XCX and the album in general have had in the space this year. I could also positively gush on about each of these sets in their entirety (and endlessly), yet I will spare you the brunt of the burden in rounding up my highlights; go forward and discover these artists. Field Day, after all, is a triumphant fête of the electronic musician and their arsenal–.wav files being the language of their transmutation, and subsequent mastery representing their main field of expertise. With that in mind, I eagerly await what 2025 has in store.
Mura Masa on the East Stage (photo taken by Miles Comer, 25th August 2024)
