I have delayed this review of Parklife out of respect for Robert Hart. The 26 year old sadly lost his life at the festival, following a mindless, unprovoked attack, defending his girlfriend. No one deserves to die during what is meant to be a fun-filled happy occasion and the thoughts and prayers of Britain’s clubbing community lie firmly with Robert’s family and loved ones.
The public and police response in the wake of this tragic event has been nothing short of admiral and now hopefully justice will be served following the arrest of a suspect.
Parklife was on the whole an amazing festival with line-ups and performances that were second to none. Unfortunately when an event of this magnitude attracts close to 100,000 revellers it’s always going to be a hard task to police it properly and there will always be a minority of ‘pricks’ (excuse my language) in attendance who cannot handle their drugs, alcohol and aggression. This consequently puts a taint on proceedings for the majority of people who come for nothing more than to have a good time and enjoy the music.
On the whole the crowd was amazing. Having attended other festivals abroad I have come to the conclusion that nobody else throws a party like us British and even the typical, soggy, rainy, Mancunian summer weather couldn’t dampen the atmosphere across the muddy swamp that was Heaton Park; with spirits being lifted even higher when the sun eventually made a cameo appearance late Saturday afternoon.
After drying off listening to some cool underground tech house in the VIP Village I headed to catch Waze & Odyssey at the Collonade stage. One of the highlights of the festival site, the stage, which on the Saturday was curated by Manchester label Drop The Mustard, had a real intimate vibe. Surrounded by woodland and with a Roman inspired Colonnade in the backdrop, it provided the perfect setting to catch the duo drop banger after banger; with the massive Ibiza smash of last year, their remix of R Kelly’s bump n grind, receiving huge adoration from the crowd.
Saturday afternoon saw Richie Ahmed play a storming set in the Kaluki tent that had the place absolutely bouncing. The DJ has rocketed to massive success as of late, signed to Jamie Jones’ ever popular Hot Creations label and his tracks being supported by Radio 1 dance legend Pete Tong, who recently nominated Ahmed’s single ‘The Drums’ his record of the week. Off the back of this performance it’s easy to see his rapid rise to fame has been undeniably justified.
Snoop Dogg was on fine form closing the Main Stage and produced a set jam packed full of his West Coast California hip hop classics, while across the site Jamie Jones and Seth Troxler closed Saturday’s proceedings at The Warehouse Projects, Temple Stage, with a stomping back to back techno set.
Sunday came, and the weather had improved massively, although for me all the best action was to be found inside the dark, Bugged Out Arena; a tent which was perfectly kitted out with a thunderous Funktion One rig and dazzling lighting and visual set up. Nina Kravitz had whipped the crowd up into a full on rave before the king of house and techno himself Carl Cox once again took to the decks. The music and atmosphere was exceptional and Cox put the rest to shame; for me, delivering the best DJ set I caught over the two days.
If you get the chance to catch Coxy play this summer my advice would be to do so. The man is a musical powerhouse at the pinnacle of a ridiculously successful, DJ career that has spanned nearly 4 decades. As soon as you see the big man in full swing and hear those legendary words down the mic ‘Oh Yes, Oh Yes’ you’ll see why, as it’s almost impossible not to get yourself lost in Carl’s legendary party vibe.
The Parklife Festival was another massive success from The Warehouse Project Team. They pulled together the best label and promotions teams from across the UK and with a ridiculously star-studded line up made sure Manchester’s summer started with a bang. Off the back of this, and with the announcement that they are set to make a return to the much revered Store St. venue for their autumn and winter programme, Manchester clubbers certainly have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months.
Check out this Parklife guest mix from the one and only Seth Troxler!
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