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Glade returns in 2011 more powerful than ever before
Reported by Agnes Klos
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Submitted 25-07-11 03:10
The Glade festival has been described as the UK’s most forward-thinking electronic music event. After the cancellation of the festival last year, Glade decided to go back to its grassroots in 2011 and returned more powerful than ever. Despite the obstacles on its way; the change of the location in the last minute, scaling down in numbers - strictly to 5000 capacity and unstoppable rain, Glade forged through and proved to be a success once again. Agnes Klos wanted to check if the 2011 edition of the festival would maintain Glade’s magnificent reputation after being voted Best Dance Festival 2008 at the UK Festival Awards.
Featuring a wide selection of the biggest and most respected names in cutting edge electronic music, hosting two main arenas focusing on trance culture, four Sub Stages, gigantic Nanosystems and mind blowing art space, Glade 2011 truly became the UK’s spiritual home of Trance.
This year saw a more creative and artistic version of Glade. Even with a last minute change of location, the surroundings of Houghton Hall (King’s Linn) that received the “Garden of the Year Award” provided Glade with a home that was indeed a true beauty. From the 10th through to the 12th of June this year, the festival enjoyed the same size as it was many years ago when it all started. Despite this, the festival retained its values that sent us on a quest to unravel the magic of a festival adventure.
The inspiration for the aesthetic theme of Glade 2011 was based on all the essential ingredients surrounding us in the environment, The Elements. Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Mind; which could be also translated into Yin, Yang, Spirit, Matter and Unity. “Man needs colour to live; it’s just as necessary an element as fire and water, air and earth,” the words of Fernand Legar, the famous French painter who was a major figure in the development of cubism and a prime expositor of modern urban and technological culture. Legar's words suited this festival perfectly.
There was loads of novelty for me at the festival. It was my first time at Glade. It was also my first time I had ever experienced the boutique camping, which was recommended to me by many friends and it turned out to be a smart choice. Obviously, the costs were that bit extra but hey, can anyone put a price on the private showers and toilets at a festival? (Yes, the promotors - Ed) These luxuries are usually well worth it and on many occasions it had been proved to me that the money was rightly invested. A good example: As the boutique camping was located next to Origin Stage (which was the most appealing stage to me), I was able to get up in the morning, have a hot shower very quickly, without waiting in an endless queue and still manage to catch the early sets of the DJs that I had set my sights on. A perfect hassle free solution!
The festival was divided into two sections: the south and the north, with a small passage leading from one musical field to the other. The south side played host to the stages where the psychedelic extravaganza took place such as the Origin stage, Fuse and the chill out tent called Inspiral. It is worth knowing that the Origin stage carries the historical seeds of the entire festival since the same team that started The Origin Festival in South Africa is responsible for the beginning of Glade in the UK. Therefore, for all psytrance fans and for all those who have never before experienced a big outdoor psytrance stage, it was definitely a place to be the entire weekend.
The astounding line up of the Origin Stage was so diverse this year that we were literally spoilt for choice. Running later (till midnight) than it had been allowed in the previous years, operating on a full Funktion One sound system and with the stunning geometrical décor provided by Liquid Fairies and the one-of-a-kind Shrine, the Origin Stage created an oasis for music lovers.
Exactly at noon on Friday the first beats of the festival rolled in served by Twisted Records’ DJ Ott who prepared his audience for the deep, filthy tech house and electro set by Atomic Drop. As the day progressed the music policy changed to a more psychedelic direction and stomping sets were delivered by Logica, the top Brasilian duo (the sons of the organisers of the world-renowned Universo Paralello festival, note: just one son performed at Glade), who are known for their very eclectic style. Logica's performance was followed by Liquid Ross who kept us glued to the dancefloor with his driving beats. Next up were The Commercial Hippies from South Africa who are genuine entertainers behind the decks, displaying their passion for music with there hands and dictating the dance moves to the audience. After a while, I did not have to listen to the tracks anymore, I was able to dance off them, by simply looking at Anton and Gareth's extremely entertaining dance routine in the DJbox. The evening was finished off with the darker flavours of psy served by Electrypnose and Ajja.
It came as no surprise that Saturday as the middle day of the event blew festival goers away, playing host to a whole array of heavyweight legends on the scene such as Sonic Species, Tristan, Prometheus and Man With no Name. For our aural pleasure the label heads of the well-respected brands: Nano Records (represented by Regan), Alchemy (Shane Gobi) and Iboga (Emok) made an appearance themselves on the Saturday line-up, serving up a selection of top quality tunes.
The last day of the festival, Sunday moved into the realms of the uplifting progressive psytrance with the likes of Hamish, Atmos and Allaby. Each of them with their unique style displayed flawless technical skills and sculpted sets dominated by chunky bass driven tunes which blended seamlessly one into another. The undisputable highlight of the evening was a set coming from an artist in his own right, Captain Hook. By fusing the best elements from two different music genres: techno and progressive psytrance, Captain Hook has introduced a new level of sound on the scene that is distinctive, intriguing, deep and also very sexy. His track ‘Marshmallows’ will undoubtedly stay in my memory forever, with the vocal reverberating through the field and the rain drenching my body. Even though it was pouring down, nobody could move away from the dancefloor and in a way it was the rain that added that mystical aura to the unforgettable Captain Hooks set. With the mud under our feet, dancing in the rain felt indeed like ‘walking on marshmallows’. The day was perfectly wrapped up by Quantize, Form and New Zealand’s favourite Antix.
When the music stopped at the Origin Stage at midnight (only on Sunday at 11pm) ravers were still able to enjoy some top quality psytrance tunes served at the latest addition to Glade, the Fuse Stage. The Tortoise tent did not look very impressive from the outside at all. It appeared small but once I walked into that low-ceiling space, my eyes were bombarded with numerous lasers shooting in every possible direction and gigantic pipe like décor that resembled a scene from The Matrix. The amazing laser show provided by Visual Architects added an incredible depth to the tent and the space created a visual illusion of being enormous.
The Fuse Stage offered (as is implied in its name) a fusion of sounds from all over the UK hosted by six of the UK’s leading party organisers. Friday night saw the north take control of the Fuse Stage, with the Manchester-based night known for their spectacular décor and production, Illuminaughty along with Planet Zogg from Sheffield. Among artists on the line-up were Greg Zogg, Insomniscene, Johnny-M, Mazieg, Nosf, Re-Creation and Sabretooth. On Saturday night the proceedings belonged to the west with Planet Shroom from Bristol and Toadstool (Gloucestershire) taking to the stage. The highlights of the night were the performances by the immensely popular four member band, Oood, and DJ sets from Toad, Ben Edge, Sean Shift and Morph v Lurk. London and Brighton took over Sunday night supported by Liquid Records (who hope to be back next year with their own Liquid Stage). They played alongside the Wildthings Records who brought a strong line-up filled with spectacular live acts and DJs, among others Chameleon, DJ Beardy, Earthling, Hedflux, Monk3ylogic, Tron, Spiney and Beardyweardy.
Meantime, the UK chill café and record label InSpiral, open 24 hours all weekend, took care of the punters who were in a need of a more relaxed vibe. During the day the décor looked innocently white but at night the columns of the InSpiral Stage revealed an entire ocean of changing colours, creating an awe-inspiring but at the same time calming space. The stage featured a cross spectrum music policy from down tempo soul music, laid back chilled grooves to dub, reggae, breaks, beats dubstep, techno, disco and many more. When the other stages closed, InSpiral offered lush techno sounds and it became a late night dancing venue for those who hadn't had quite enough. The acts that stood out during the festival came from artists such as Young American Primitive, George Barker, Tripswitch and Mixmaster Morrist.
Another interesting feature of the festival on the South Side was The Sanctuary, a stunning space that aimed at rejuvenating the body, invigorating the soul and unscrambling mind. There were various classes on offer from yoga, meditation to massage and emotional release workshops. Whatever I needed, whether it was a stretch before hitting the dancefloor, or a relaxing back massage to help me sleep or even finding out my true destiny with the palmist on the spot, I could simply immerse in the world of wellbeing at the beautiful Sanctuary.
From the artistic point of view, Glade could be described as a temple of hidden art. Regardless of whether one stayed on the south or north side of the festival, the space was brimming with the artistic work. I particularly liked The Doors of Perception by Expanded Eye. Once you walked through the door into a small room, there was a sign on the wall “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear as if it is infinite”. To go further I had to choose between two doors, it felt a bit like being in the movie ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Sometimes to get to another room I had to crawl on my knees as the ceiling was so low and then I was forced to sit curled up on the ground to read another message. Finally, I managed to find my way out. The purpose behind it was to discover the hidden chambers of the consciousness and to release the limitless potential of the mind. Not sure if it really happened, maybe I should have walked through the maze again. The experience was definitely interesting and heaps of fun though.
It was the first time I had also encountered Signs at a festival, brought by Will Vincent. A series of signs were erected all over the site to remind us to look over the shoulder and trust nobody (just for giggles of course). For instance, one of them said: “Your boss knows you’re here”. The next day when I passed the sign again there was another note underneath saying: “That’s because they’re here too!” - hilarious and truly entertaining.
Festival experience is a collection of small moments that stay in your memory for a long time. One of these memories from Glade would definitely be finding a sealed packet filled with fresh pieces of pineapple inside my bag (which I'd left by the DJ box while dancing). When I got back to the tent and discovered the strange present in my bag, my friends laughed and said: “You were attacked by The Kindness Offensive”. I said surprised: “Say what?” It turned out there was an organisation under that name operating on the site whose aim was to create a string of massive uniquely styled Random Acts of Kindness. I found out later that they gave away over 1.5 tons worth of goods to the festival goers and I simply became one of their victims.
The north side of the festival played host to one of the main stages called Glade and three sub stages: Beta, Overkill and The Rabbit Hole. The Glade Stage was born at Glastonbury Festival and is known for having no musical boundaries. It reflects the eclectic mix of electronic music and this year it hosted some of the world’s most cutting edge live bands and DJs/producers. The highlights of the festival belonged to the live show of a Danish producer, Trentemoller; performance of acid house pioneer DJ Andrew Weatherall; European techno maestro Adam Beyer with his ‘Drumcode Session’; and dancefloor friendly deep house and funk-fuelled DJ set from boundry breakers, Global Communication.
The Beta tent was a brand new party at Glade which set to develop new sounds and push the creative boundaries. Brought by Bristol's Motion based Team Love and London’s Mixcloud/Man Make Music, the tent showcased the forward thinking producers of underground dance music. Whenever I stumbled into the tent I heard different musical flavours starting from house to hip-hop, boogie to broken beat, disco to dubstep, drum-n-bass to future garage. Meantime, Overkill returned for its triumphant 6th year to Glade, bringing the freshest and harshest experimental dance music. From the filthiest dubstep to the deepest bass lines, served by names such as No-U-Turn & Virus legend Ed Rush, old school heroes 2 Bad Mice, Scottish techno pioneer Subhead, dubstep hitters GothTrad and the extreme Drumcorp. Another stage on the north side was the extremely popular Rabbit Hole. It was so busy and packed most of the times that it was hard to get through it to the end. No wonder it caused a sensation among clubbers, when the space was filled with the secret tunnels, gigantic carrots and club hidden somewhere around the maze. In the end, who wouldn’t like to get lost in Wonderland for one night only?
It is also worth mentioning the ‘Nanosystems’, a whole host of new, smaller venues that were scattered across the site, adding an extra dimension to the festival. They featured a mix of music and off-the-wall entertainment that provided an exciting alternative to the main music stages. A few good examples: The Bassment, hosted by two of the south wests longest running and most loved club nights, called Beatz&Bobz and Rinseout, who united forces to create a haven for the bass seekers; Dance Off Saloon where one could let their hair down with high-spirited line dances and where cowboys had a chance to show off their lasso skills plus Full Colour Arcade - a place to construct and arrange music with your own feet.
However, the biggest attraction of the entire festival was The Pyramid which symbolised the heart of Glade. The Pyramid grew in height and stature as the festival proceeded. Each year a pyramid is built by different collective, in 2011 it was provided by the Pirate Technics famed for big builds with amazing detail. During the day festival goers were encouraged to write on the pyramid their deepest secrets, hopes, fears and messages. At night it came alive with projections and distinctive artwork brought by SDNA, exploring the theme earth, air, water, fire and mind.
The organisers prepared an unforgettable show for our aural pleasures on Saturday night. At exactly 9.45pm when the darkness fell on the field, the Pyramid became a gathering point for performers, hoppers, poi-people, fire-players and jugglers. Surrounding the gigantic pyramid in a circle, they all started the magnificent display of their skills. To celebrate the unity of all five universal elements that inspired Glade 2011, we had a chance to witness a spectacle of human expression and homage to the power of fire.
The air was fizzing with excitement. All gathered waited impatiently for the feast to come. First, sparkles came from the pyramid, slowly on each side, then burst like a volcano high into the sky. Once the breathtaking fireworks started shooting from the top of the pyramid a roar of clapping and cheering pierced the air. Afterwards the magnificent pyramid was lit with real fire. It began burning slowly, then faster and faster, from inside the fire moved gradually to each side, producing copious amounts of smoke. It was only when the powerful fire took over the entire sculpture, the silence fell on the field and all eyes were focused on the sky-scraping red flames. At that time, we were all hypnotised, lost in the never ending moment of time and space.
It was truly hard to find time to check out the myriad of various happening on the site, especially with the rain spoiling our fun for two days out of three. When it comes to festivals, the experience depends greatly on the weather conditions. If it is sunny most of the time, then festival goers are more willing to go around and explore every single corner of the site; if it is rainy, people simply will come out to see the main acts and then hide inside their warm dry tents. This is the reality. Still, with so much to see nobody could complain that their minds were not expanded even slightly at the almighty festival we call Glade.
All photos courtesy of Agnes Klos. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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Other Features By Agnes Klos:
Back2Basics - 10 Years of Party Productions & Tomorrowland Stage Hosts
Atmosphere Records - The opening of IBIZA 1936
Entering the world of Waldfrieden in Germany with DJoanna
Piracy is not a crime – sail away with Feestgedruis!
Progressive flavours with DJ R'Deem ahead of Neelix party
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: Jessica Alici on 28th Jul 2011 17:05.32
Aaah - takes me back to what was an amazing festival! Good review Agnes 
From: slacky on 27th Aug 2011 12:32.59
Nice work. T'was a wicked festival!
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