Creamfields: Cream of the Crop
At the start of the summer,
Mixmag joined forces with Creamfields to launch a guest mix competition where one
lucky winner would literally be living the dream with a guest set & AAA (batteries
not included) at Creamfields '11
Two weeks ago that dream
competition was won by my best mate & Bradfords #1 DJ - Marc Landish
So on Saturday 27th Aug,
me, him and his bro Ben aka Popcorn Playas, headed up full of giddy visions of what
may unfold...however nothing could have prepared us for the sheer scale of excellence
& hospitality that waited for us at Daresbury, Cheshire that weekend!
Once we'd checked in at accreditation,
received our artist wristbands & settled at the bar for a few pre match cheekies,
we headed to the superb Igloo dome, fully fitted with a visual 360 Degree projection
interior as the back drop to where Marc was playing
As showtime came my Lil homie
grew into his setting as pre set nerves transformed into master stroke tune selection
which had more heavy drops than the rain! An opportunity that he well and truly
took with both hands in full glory, so much so I felt like a proud father on Jezza
Kyle who got the DNA results back I wanted - POSITIVE! The Marc Landish Show concluded
to a rapturous reception from the ravers, security, production & Mixmag massive!
Job very well done bro!
With Phase one of the weekend
successfully complete we turned our attention onto Phase two: GETTIN' COMPLETELY
KIBOSCHED
With the weather as sporadic
as Ashley Coles commitment we stood at the back of the North stage & joined
Katy B on her mission to witness a strong performance from her & her band who
set a smooth evening groove to a field full of happy revellers singing along full
voice!
After heading backstage to
get some more liquor we casually bumped into Pete Tong. He had a word with us about
the ever growing popularity of Ibiza Music Summit before providing a solid set in
the Eric Prydz tent summing up why he's this year celebrating 20 years in the business!
Mr Consistent!
Squinting our eyes to consult
'The Lanyard' (a must have festival essential item, don't leave your tent without
one!) We devised a strategy and formulated a hyper party game plan that started
with us nipping over to get involved to the sounds of Mark Ronson in the Annie Mac
tent.
As a truly talented producer
he is revered as one of the best & most influential in the game so I was excited
to see what his tune collection would consist of...and he didn't disappoint! Crossing
genres like a Jedi called Cross Fader with seamless ease to a very appreciative
crowd, he came to a close by sharing a heartfelt message for Amy Whinehouse before
playing 'Valerie' that was sung at maximum lung poppin’ volume by a rammed
out tent paying our respects
Sticking to our schedule
we darted into catch the finale of Steve Angello’s set as he got everyone
sitting down for 'Save The World' before rising up to an explosion of confetti &
sparks
From there it was a mad muddy
drunk dash to catch legends of the scene headliners Chemical Brothers turn in a
stellar performance full of absolute classic gems & impeccable visuals.
With no time to waste we
landed right back into the thick of it to witness Annie Mac smash her tent to smithereens
followed by DJ extraordinaire Erol Alkan. As this was a few Jack Daniels later we
were buoyantly bouncing back of stage facing out to about 10 thousand people jumping
away, Mucking Fental! By the time he dropped his remix of 'Metronomy - The Bay'
it felt like the planets aligned to transcend pure top energy in that tent! The
reaction was unreal & culminated in Erol & Me at the front of the stage
dancing away soaking in the atmosphere before me giddily giggling to my sen like
a two year old taking a mental Polaroid image to savour this scene, amazing!
What was already proving
to be the greatest night ever ascended even further when one of my favourite artists
Boys Noize let me jump on the mic n holla at the rammed out Creamfields crowd to
a chorus of cheers! A spectacular seminal moment of my Life so far!!!! What a way
to bring Day 1 to a close
After a day like that I was
ready to get my head down fresh for day 2
SUNDAY
As we arose on Sunday &
looking to resurrect our energy we were treated to a musical masterclass from Chester's
Timmi Magic, a name most likely not known to most but one most should look out for.
Sprinkling old skool hip hop n 80s chic with a swagger behind to match, his soothing
selection did an 'Xplosive' job in charging our souls for another mammoth sesh
Another artist who ripped
out the rule book of genre was Jackmeister playing a selection ranging from Fleetwood
Mac to Ripgroove in the Strongbow tent! His last track was the original Top Gear
theme before passing the mantle and electric crowd across to Zinc who came on and
ensured everybody was still there to ‘Wile Out’.
Switching it up at the South
stage for penultimate act of the festival, Afrojack rocked into action! A man who
is built for such an humongous occasion, he was in his element, joined on stage
by 3 vocalists belting out lyrics to 'Be' & 'Rolling in the Deep' over his impeccable
arsenal of tunes including the beast 'Replica' he's definitely one to watch on the
big stage
As Creamfields was drawing
to an end & with Headliners ranging from Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta &
Sven Vath, I opted to rejoice once again in the Strongbow tent for a full on skank
out shek about too the Lionel Messi of DJs, Jaguar Skills! Every time he plays crowds
lose their minds, mosh pits spill out of control, feet barely touch the floor and
at the end, no one wants to leave! An unbelievable talent who is in a league of
his own, hoooOOOO
For most this would have meant the end,
packing up tents or passing out in the mud, however thanks to one magical wristband
we were invited to the official After Party which coincided with a certain Creamfields
head honcho's birthday. So away we went with a free bar raving for another 6 hours
of ear arousing tunes to round off a spectacular few days that has put Creamfields
firmly at the top of the festival calendar.
Stay tuned for our final
instalment from Festival season '11 as we bring you Bestival in High Blog Definition!