Electric Daisy Carnival UK 2015 Review

Photo: EDC UK

My first and last time at the gigantic Milton Keynes Bowl was 2012, watching Swedish House Mafia bow out as a trio in spectacular style. As a natural amphitheatre, the location is nature's gift to large scale outdoor music events. But this time a main stage wasn't enough; a hidden village beyond the hills houses four traditional festival tents, providing the rich diversity a UK dance festival requires to pull in the crowds.

We arrived later than planned but in time to catch the last half hour of EDM behemoth and current number one DJ in the world (according to DJ Mag), Hardwell. Definitely towards the top of my must-see list, the Dutch superstar didn't disappoint. Pounding bass and relentless electro undercurrents; a high octane start to proceedings. 

I must immediately discuss the main stage (watch the trailer above), probably the biggest and most extravagant I have certainly ever stood in front of. Anyone who's seen pictures from the Las Vegas version of this Carnival will be familiar with the ginormous owls, water fountains, fantasy mirror style screens and of all-day fireworks of the kineticCATHEDRAL stage.

I really don’t know if they shipped that one over or recreated it over here for Milton Keynes, either way the festivals focal point is mightily impressive. The stage engaged the crowd and added an other-worldly feel to the huge arena, a real USP.

Venturing up the steep hill surrounding the entire main arena, or rather the kineticFIELD, we head to the tents. First stop is the neonGARDEN for Route 94. Perhaps exposing my limited awareness of genres, I expected house but received techno. Certainly not a problem, the rhythm sucked us in and there we danced for quite some time. This was clearly the cool kids hang out.

Later Claude VonStroke took over, again with a techno led set rather that the dirty electro we've come to expect from Stroke, but it flowed well, the highlight of which was hearing his latest banger 'Make a Cake' adorn EDC's immense soundsystem. 

We move to the circuitGROUNDS tent to catch Sigma, but must confess, we didn't quite make it inside. This was consistently the most packed area of them all the entire day, playing host to Friction, Sub Focus and Pendulum amongst others. 

The final stop, tucked in the farthest corner, and I’ll admit somewhere we hadn’t anticipated spending much time, the cosmicMEADOW, or trance tent was our last port of call. Hands down, this was our favourite spot of the day! Cosmic Gate, Ferry Corsten (who played his classic Out Of The Blue much to our delight) and Paul Van Dyk, who brought things to a close beautifully.

These were pioneers giving their all in what was really a pretty intimate setting. The production in this tent, perhaps simply down to it being that bit smaller, felt quite spectacular, with a sci-fi inspired cage of neon bars encasing the DJ box. And let's be honest, who doesn't enjoy throwing themselves around to come classic trance on a sunny Saturday afternoon?

Between all this we make regular trips back to the kineticFIELD hoping to catch highlights of the big headliners - Sick Individuals, Steve Aoki (who at one point played the theme tune to the Lion King), and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. For me it did merge together slightly into one long hype machine of electro; for the huge crowd stood fast all afternoon though, I think the acts did what the came to do very successfully.

The great thing about the Bowl’s main arena is the endless grassy slopes surrounding the bottom area. A huge number of people including ourselves, were happy to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, thanks to the perfect views the hills provide.

Final point of course is show closer Tiesto. From trance legend to EDM maestro, Tiesto's transition has felt quick and well executed. Slick electro drops, incredible visuals and relentless volleys of fireworks - this was definitely the perfect ending. Unexpectedly diverse and harnessing what is really a totally unique space, EDC UK seems to finding it's feet pretty well.

Electric Daisy Carnival UK returns to Milton Keynes Bowl on July 9th 2016.

Get your EDC 2016 tickets here.

Tickets are no longer available for this event