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The London Electronic Dance festival offered a real mixed bag of electro/techno acts this weekend.
The event held annually in Victoria Park had a spectacular line-up on paper this year, hosting the likes of Leftfield, Soulwax, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Goldfrapp and Aphex Twin.
We gave Guetta a wide berth because his music is that paint-by-numbers, formulaic, ‘I love Ibiza’ shit that only serves as background music for shopping malls and Top Shop.
Rapper Professor Green was the order of the day on the Saturday and pulled off an excellent set performing hits like Just be Good to Green and Before I die to an extremely vocal crowd.
We lingering around the main stage to watch Friendly Fires who we had never seen before and hope never to see again as they were truly terrible.
The two best acts over the two day festival had to be Goldfrapp and Aphex Twin who both hit their respective stages at around the same time. It was a head-to-head between the two and the contrast could not have been more stark.
Like a shimmering diva, resplendent in a tinsel cape, Goldfrapp’s electro-glam was a perfect distraction from the ominous grey clouds.
On the other stage, Aphex Twin, like a demented beast, attacked the crowd with his own special brew of disjointed noise. Things got even more twisted when Die Antwoord’s Ninja and Yo-Landi, decked out in teddy bear suits, dropping some fucked up vocals.
Die Antwoord, who had their own set earlier, FOKKEN ROCKED! Their stage antics and Afrikaans rap was raw and gritty and had the crowd going mental.
Whether or not you’re a festival type, the question still remains in my mind whether electronic dance music translates outdoors. The bands did their thing and the sound system was up to the job, but give me a hot, sweaty club anytime.