This year’s Stereosonic festival marked the start of summer in a noticeably cooler way. A mild, cool change had swept the city with the sun occasionally popping in to provide that bit of warmth. Even during cloudier hours, the perpetual notion summer was carried on, en masse by crowds in a solid fashion. Classic ripped denim shorts, cropped tops were the staple pieces for the majority with a few opted for the additional headpiece to complete their outfit of the day. The male members recognised this as the fitting moment to display the fruits of their gym membership, forgoing stringlets and whatever else got in the way of raving activities. Retrospectively, many were only able to brave the nippy evening sets by making a spontaneous purchase at the merchandise stand. Hot tip: during the day, a stereosonic flag is a statement piece expressing one’s passion for EDM, doubled as a makeshift blanket for that evening ahead. Everything seemed in place at stereosonic and the #twoday extravaganza really did kick off summer with a bang.
The ‘Electro’ stage showcased a fine selection of local DJs to warm up the afternoon sessions. On stage was KarbonCopy whose original prog-house tracks overwhelmed audiences. Over at the Stereo stage, Peking Duk’s ‘High’ powered set enthused the 20,000 strong crowd to unanimously jump in sync for a good 30 seconds. A sight to behold and an even better event to be a part of. Things only heated up here on in.
Duke Dumont’s arrival at the ‘Hard’ stage was warm and intimate affair. Perhaps in an ode to the location, the DJ/ producer strayed away from his club-friendly norm and indulged in industrial, UK garage tunes. Duke’s DJ set in the Wayville pavilion was comparable to the famed warehouse raves.
Back at the Stereo stage, Parisian trap lord, DJ Snake injected his set with the venom that was swiggity-swooty booty tunes. A dose so potent that when “a whistle blow” everyone bowed down to “Get Low”. Hell, it seemed really cult like from afar. Snake was truly in beast mode and on point with each song transition. Word is, he has been DJ’ing with with vinyls on this Stereosonic tour.
Although very new to the scene, the enigmatic ZHU showed no risk of fading into the darkness even if they did chose to play behind a giant white screen. At dusk, crowds were treated to incredible sets lead by Disclosure. The UK brothers really emphasised their experimental tracks and let their collaboration with FriendWithin steal the show. Evergreen festival favourite Calvin Harris delivered a winning performance complete with confetti, fireworks and CO2 cannons. However, those choosing to miss the end of Calvin’s set by over to RL Grime were locked in for what arguably was the best part of the day. His live show comprised of infinite daps and a whole lot of untapped, bass-heavy trap. Wrapping up day one of the festival was the super smooth Diplo who effortlessly ended the night on positive note. He took to the stage with his signature, booty poppin’ remixes and quick-wit banter ie: namedropping “RAdelaide” at every given opportunity. The atmosphere, the music and the good company of energetic, but well behaved audience, made day one of Stereosonic a refreshing experience compared to that of the past. There is still one day left of this festival and it sure to be just as cool as an ice-cold Kopparberg cider in one hand while fist pumping to the sounds of an internationally renowned dance act with the other. #twodays bring it on.
Reviewed by Jenny Nguyen
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