We Are FSTVL 2016 review

Image credit: Luke Dyson

Now in its fourth year, We Are FSTVL is renowned for attracting the biggest names in dance music - and 2016’s event would be no different. 50,000 house, techno, EDM and D&B lovers descend upon Upminster ready to make their bank holiday weekend one to really remember, the prospect of two days of electronic music in the sunshine a real treat. 

After navigating our way to the site– via several taxis on Saturday and then opting for a swift shuttle bus (much improved on last year) on Sunday – we arrive and quickly make our way through the entrance gates. Once inside, the sun beamed down onto hordes of girls in flowing festival-friendly ensembles, flanked by guys in shorts and sunglasses as everyone embraced the perfect weather. 

SATURDAY 

Whilst Philip George gets the blood pumping with high-energy house and tech cuts; dropping the chugging Havana Dub remix of Martin Hellfritzsch’s ‘Back In The Days’ to a massive early afternoon crowd, Eats Everything is busy working the ravers in Guy Gerber’s Rumours tent. 

But it’s inside an aircraft hanger where, like last year, we spend the majority of our weekend. Hosted by Loco Dice’s Used + Abused imprint on Saturday, it remains the festival’s best export: a creative use of space with consistent headline-worthy artists taking to the lengthy decks for around 12 hours. 

Henrik Schwarz’ live set works perfectly under the dome-shaped roof, making sure everyone gets lost in his blend of eclectic house and vocal-led choices. Hannah Reid’s spellbinding vocal engulfs the dome as Schwarz eases in his slow-building remix of London Grammar’s ‘Wasting My Young Years’ – when it reaches its peak, the wait is more than worth it; the same goes for his infectious and instantly loveable edit of Emmanuel Jal’s ‘Kuar’. 

Loco Dice, Tale Of Us and Chris Liebing then take their turns inside the techno haven, hammering out unrelenting, heavy-hitters accompanied by intoxicating strobe lights. Back at the main stage, DJ S.K.T is putting in a crowd-pleasing set, dropping house hits like ‘Freak Like Me’ to make the thousands of ravers grin like Cheshire cats before Sigma deliver sing-a-longs by the dozen during their one-hour DJ set. 

Stadium-sized hits like ‘Glitterball’, ‘Nobody to Love’ and ‘Higher’ are all given outings, as friends and partners are encouraged to climb on each others shoulders to the drum ‘n’ bass beats while the sun sets. 

Image credit: Luke Dyson Photography

Meanwhile over in the MK Area 10 tent, Hannah Wants is gearing up for her set as thousands of revellers pile in to mark it as one of the weekend’s biggest crowds. Mixing everything from Gala’s ‘Freed From Desire’ to Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey remix of La Roux’s ‘In For The Kill’, DJ S.K.T’s new banger ‘Poison’ as well as (what we think was) some Lionel Richie right at the end, the Birmingham producer can’t be faulted for her diverse range of tunes. 

House music favourite MK (not Jamie Fucking Jones) soon becomes visible and keeps the energy high with edits of tracks by Hot Natured, Zayn’s ‘Pillowtalk’ and Years & Years as well as Waze & Odyssey’s undeniable ‘Bounce’. 

It’s left to Fatboy Slim, towering over the decks, to close the main stage. Backed by hypnotic neon visuals he takes the crowd on a journey through the varying corners of dance music. 

The Cube Guys’ Mix of Miami Dub Machine’s ‘Mawby’ – mixed into Bodyrockers’ classic ‘I Like The Way’ – is met with penetrating neon blue strobes; Mark Knight’s punchy house heater ‘In the Pocket’ continues the momentum and Roger Sanchez’s infectious edit of Federico Scavo and Barbara Tucker’s soul-filled ‘Live Your Life’ gets everyone emptying their lungs.  It’s a performance that proves why Fatboy Slim is still at the top of his game… 

SUNDAY 

As Sunday rolls around, the weather looks dubious at first but luckily the sun stays shining throughout the whole day. As we make our way to the festival by shuttle bus, the area around Upminster station has never been so busy, with queues of people eagerly waiting in line for a space. 

Heading straight to the main stage we catch the last part of Craig David’s DJ set, in which he drops older R&B favourite ‘Seven Days’ and performs newer hit ‘When The Bassline Drops’ to a crowd of screaming fans. Kurupt FM soon have the audience eating out of their hands, especially when they shout out the “Essex crew” and their “selector” drops Sean Paul’s classic ‘Gimme The Light’. 

Over on our favourite stage, Sven Vath’s Cocoon party is in full effect, with The Martinez Brothers playing an early afternoon set of house and techno to ensure everyone is wide awake. Ilario Alicante follows, delivering a standout two-hour onslaught of stomping techno, whilst alien green strobes and spaced out visuals transport the rammed tent to another dimension.

Floorplan’s screaming Re-Plant edit of ‘Never Grow Old’ reverberates around the room, as performers dressed in white boiler suits and creepy black gas masks jump around at the front of the barriers. 

Meanwhile, the Paradise and Defected tents, two labels and parties that are household names to We Are FSTVL-goers, remain rammed throughout the day. Patrick Topping goes back-to-back with Richy Ahmed for a dream set up of house and tech-house, before Hot Since 82 teams up with Solomun for a world exclusive set that draws in crowds by the thousands as they showcase their strong track selection and mixing skills in the evening. 

As we walk into the Defected tent, Franky Rizardo is working in Dominica’s ‘Gotta Let You Go’ and the vibe couldn’t be any livelier. Riva Starr takes over shortly after, pumping out house heaters like his own ‘Dippin’ Side’ while dancers ensure everyone’s eyes are on the stage.

On the main stage is French ‘future house’ producer Tchami, who opens his set with a remix of AlunaGeorge’s ‘You Know You Like It’ to set the tone for an hour of EDM-meets-house bangers.

Major Lazer-collaborator DJ Snake later powers through his infectious ‘Bird Machine’ and welcomes Bipolar Sunshine for a live performance of their rising hit ‘Middle’. Steve Angelo closes the main stage with an all lights flashing, pyrotechnic filled performance full of EDM powerhouse tracks, successfully following last year’s headline show.

With a booming ensemble of events across the country, festival season really did kick off this bank holiday weekend. But for many, this reviewer included, We Are FSTVL marked the real start of the summer.

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