Source: Bestival
It’s known as “the last big festival of the year” and Bestival 2015 went out with a big bang. This years summer of love themed festival squeezed some of the world’s biggest artists into a music packed weekend. In the sunny, but windy, weather we travelled to the Isle of Wight to give you the run-down of the some of the action.
Friday
Source: Dan Dennison / Bestival
Big Narstie – Bollywood Stage – 7/10
It’s truly difficult to find a bigger Grime stage presence (and I’m not referring to his size, only) than Big Narstie. His mid-afternoon slot in the decorative marquee Bollywood stage went off on all sorts of levels. Armed with a joint in one hand and a mic in the other, his ridiculous lyrics and heavy drops had the crowd heaving – all added to by his comical speeches inbetween songs. Where better to pick up pulling tips, as well as skank out to some Grime? BASE. LT
Source: Caitlin Mogridge / Bestival
Action Bronson – Big Top – 8/10
The cult hero from the street of Queens New York, Action Bronson, emerges onto the Big Top stage with a lit joint. By the time he throws the rest of the joint into crowd – sharing is caring – he’s already delivered a handful of bangers including ‘Actin Crazy‘ and ‘Strictly For The Beats‘. For an artists that’s not considered very mobile, Bronson puts all of his energy into every lyric he spits while patrolling the stage. What better way to finish his set than dropping ‘Baby Blue‘ and then walking off the stage to the sunset-esque sounds of ‘Easy Rider‘. A great set from the big man. JP
Source: Garry Jones / Bestival
Flying Lotus – Main Stage – 8/10
It’s rare to see such an experimental artist like Flying Lotus perform on the main stage of a UK festival. The design for the set is like nothing we’ve ever seen as a 3D cube surrounds Fly Lo while visuals rush over his tent like screen. The combination of these visuals and his obscure sounds hypnotise the crowd leaving them in head bobbing, zombified state, but they soon break character as Fly Lo drops his and Kendrick Lamar’s single, ‘Never Catch Me‘. The creative mind of Flying Lotus is definitely on full show as he perfectly balances the abstract rap and electronic sounds with impressive visuals. JP
Source: Tom Martin / Bestival
Duran Duran – Main Stage – 6/10
So many hits are roaring through the Main Stage speakers as the 80’s super group Duran Duran bring the nostalgia to Bestival. The Birmingham band have just released a new album entitled, Paper Gods, but it’s clear that the crowd are only here for the classic hits like ‘Wild Boys‘ and ‘Rio‘ – just to name a few. Lead-singer Simon Le Bon seems to be loving every second of the performance and proves it by telling the crowd “This is the most important gig of our career”. Despite the band playing some of their newer material, it’s hard see them as anything more than a novelty act; the show could have been better by just sticking to their greatest hits rather trying to reinvent themselves. At least you can go home and gloat to your parents. JP
Source: Caitlin Mogridge / Bestival
Tame Impala – Big Top – 9/10
The calm and almost effortless manner in which Kevin Parker and his bandmates belt out their psychedelic artwork is a real experience. Opening with their 7+ minute track ‘Let It Happen’, the first off their latest album Currents, they transformed Bestival’s Big Top (the largest tent stage) into an orb of trippy visuals/ light-work and heaven on the ears. One of the bands that really get away with being pretty stationary while performing, the crowd spent more time with their eyes shut and hands up than fixating on the Aussies on stage. Playing a good mix of songs between all three of their albums, we heard the likes of ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’, ‘Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind?’ and the insane ‘Apocalypse Dreams’ to wrap it up. LT
Source: Caitlin Mogridge / Bestival
FKA twigs – Big Top – 10/10
Leading up to her Bestival performance, FKA twigs released a mind-blowing EP, accompanied by a contemporary art short film/ music video, entitled, M3LL155X. The pre-performance expectations are running high inside the Big Top tent as thick smoke builds up over the stage to give an eerie atmosphere. As the beat drops a hooded character elegantly walks on the stage as the light show nearly blinds you. Before long FKA twigs unveils herself from the hooded cloak and from here, things only get better. Twigs, with her relentless amount of energy, performs continuously with her 3 member band and rarely has a break. Her pitch-perfect voice echoes the tent while she effortless dances to a brilliantly choreographed routine which adds to this atmospheric performance. FKA twigs makes the most of this restricting stage and delivers one of the best festival performances we’ve ever seen. JP
Source: Tom Martin / Bestival
Monki – Big Top – 7/10
Lucy Monkman aka DJ Monki’s late night Big Top set on Friday went off. Finishing at 4am, Bestival’s second largest stage soaked up the remainder of its partiers just as a sponge would, and until the very end, the vibes were strong. A smooth blend of fast-raced progressive house and bass-heavy electronica went down a treat – the ex-Rinse and current Radio 1 DJ knew what the crowd wanted. Thoroughly enjoyed. LT
Saturday
Source: Official Facebook
Kurupt FM – Temple Island – 8/10
On to the open outdoor stage of Temple Island bursts: MC Grindah, DJ Beats, DJ Steves, Decoy and Fanta-C, the collective of comedic London-based radio show hosts known as Kurupt FM. The cast of BBC 3’s ‘People Just Do Nothing’ rocked out in full character to turn up the crowd in classic ‘rudeboy’ style – bangers from a range of base-heavy genres were dropped left, right and centre with DJ Steves at the helm, yet it was more the on-stage antics of the group that had the crowd entertained. The constant flow of dim-witted comments between the five were absolutely jokes, as well as the lanky DJ Steves’ skanking out around the stage. Hilarious, and so worth the watch. LT
Source: Promo
Novelist – Temple Island – 9/10
South London’s 18yr old rising star Novelist hammered Temple Island with the best Grime has to offer. The daytime set saw belter after belter flying from the speakers, only to be caught perfectly in flow with Nov’s venomous bars. His stage presence was massive and full of energy, and constantly he encouraged the crowd to keep hype levels to the maximum with comical shoutouts during reloads. For an artist that’s been in the game no longer than a year, this guy owned the stage, banging out tracks like ‘Lewisham McDz’ and ‘One Sec’. In time he’ll have an even stronger set of tunes under his belt (hopefully with some big collabs) to deliver at his disposal – then he’ll hit 10/10! “OI, MY SELECTOR’S GOT DIFFERENT POWERS CUZZY.” LT
Source: Victor Frankowski / Bestival
Sleaford Mods – Big Top – 7/10
Nottingham’s punk poetry duo provided a raw showcase of passion at the Big Top. Frontman Jason Williamson fired off a load of biggun’s from the Mods’ critically acclaimed Divide & Exit album, as well as 2015’s Key Markets. Not a massive turnout for the Mods, but with such a niche, distinctive style it didn’t come as much of a surprise; those who were present were consumed by the hard, pacey vibes. ‘Face To Faces’, ‘Tied Up In Nottz’ and ‘Noone’s Bothered’ were three amongst the incredibly original set of tracks that received a lot of hype. As a first-time watcher of the Mods, it came as a surprise to me that the relatively simple backing tracks were streamed from a laptop rather than played live, but I suppose it’s just the style they were going for – very entertaining nonetheless. LT
Source: Carolina Faruolo / Bestival
The Chemical Brothers – Main Stage – 7/10
Saturday Main Stage headliners, The Chemical Brothers, bought the party to the Isle of Wight with a big performance. This bass hungry crowd are exposed to some of the most iconic electronic tracks with ‘Hey Boy, Hey Girl‘ and ‘Galvanize‘ thumping through the speakers while their over elaborate visuals flash in the background. Within their continuous, but entertaining, rhythm, the Brothers perform some a few of their newer tracks ‘Go‘ and ‘Sometimes I Feel So Deserted‘. The performance was high energy and great fun giving the crowd the perfect balance of old and new. JP
Source: Garry Jones / Bestival
Stormzy – Invaders of the Future – 7/10
Big Stormzy was a PROBLEM at Bestival. Watching the Croydon MC tear up his night-time set at the Invaders Of The Future stage was no peaceful task, as the entire crowd was a massive frenzy the whole way through. The Mobo Award winner’s recent banger ‘Shut Up’ received a wild response, with the lyrics echoing from all ends of the tent. Sh*t really went down when Big Mike insisted on creating the largest moshpit Bestival has ever seen to the drop of his track ‘Know Me From’, and I think he may have succeeded. One thing’s for sure, Isle Of Wight’s never seen so many roadman. LT
Source: Victor Frankowski / Bestival
Hudson Mohawke – Temple Island – 8/10
After giving us a little “taster” on the Nando’s stage earlier that evening, Hudson Mohawke saw out the night on the Temple Island stage. The Scottish producer has a tight working relationship with some of Hip-Hop’s biggest names such at Kanye West, Drake and 2 Chainz, just to name a few. Their common interest is Hudson’s ability to combine heavy beats with some epic horns and, as he drops ‘Chimes‘, you can see why half the rap game now works with him. The relentless bass smashes through this decorative stage and the roof nearly blows off as Hudson drops his TNGHT track ‘Higher Ground’. Not only is Hudson dropping some absolute bangers, but he’s bringing the party to the crowd as he hands out bottles of Champagne. Bass, bangers and bottles seem to be the ingredients to a Hudson Mohawke performance. JP
Sunday
Source: Official Promo
Logan Sama – The Port 7 /10
Grime’s biggest DJ had a good few bangers to drop at The Port, Bestival’s quirkiest and most unique stage. Known for his heavy role in Grime’s live performance and radio presence, the London don peeled off over an hour’s worth of classic instrumentals and tracks, ranging from Skepta’s ‘I Spy’, to heavy ones from the Newham Generals, Dizzee Rascal, Fekky, BBK and many others. It didn’t just stop at Grime though – Logan found ways of dedicating parts of his set to different parts of his audience, calling out the 80s babies by dropping some old skool Prodigy, and calling out couples (and couples to be) with a mix of bashment and dancehall. ‘Oi Logan, PULL THAT BACK.’ LT
Source: Victor Frankowski / Bestival
Boy Better Know – Main Stage 8/10
Grime’s royal family rocked up to the Main Stage on the last day of Bestival to deliver a slice of madness. Each member of the crew shared a solo banger of their own during the intro to the set, Skepta’s ‘It Ain’t Safe’ sent the crowd crazy, followed closely by JME’s ‘Awoh’ and Jammer’s ‘Murkle Man’. As a group, they effectively displayed the diversity and talent that’s earned them the level they’re currently at – the mostpits spoke for themselves. Frisco hit the stage with a feature from Shakka for the track ‘Walking With The Elephants’, as well as Shortie, who introduced the track ‘Too Many Man’ – just one from the archive of hits held between BBK. The bossman Skepta wrapped the set up with none other than ‘Shutdown’. The audience didn’t leave disappointed. LT
Source: Victor Frankowski / Bestival
The Jacksons – Main Stage – 8/10
With The Jacksons being part of my childhood, the first sight of them bought me a flush of excitement, as it did for the whole crowd. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon did their thing as good as they ever did and, with strong reference to their departed brother Michael, made their set one for the history books. They played the absolute classics like ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘ABC’ as a tribute, and of course the crowd sang along whole-heartedly. As the evening set got darker, on came the impressive visuals/lighting, and with the aid of their incredible blues/funk band, The Jackson Brothers hit off a load more feel-good hits, as well as some impressive dance solos! All of this made for a very entertaining set. LT
Source: Victor Frankowski / Bestival
Missy Elliot – Main Stage 8/10
It’s been 6 years since the Sunday night headliner Missy Elliot has performed in the UK, so this performance was always going to be big. Just as you imagine, Missy brings the early 2000’s back to life in every aspect; from the outfits she’s wearing, to the cheesy visuals on screen behind her, to the anthems she performs. With a full dance crew behind her, Missy performs a whole range of singles including, ‘Work It‘, ‘Get Your Freak On‘ and ‘Pass That Dutch‘, to name a few. Missy has most definitely one the largest crowds this weekend and what better way of show her appreciation than throwing a pair of signed trainers into the crowd. It’s a rare sight to see Missy Elliot in the UK, let alone the Isle of Wight, but she made every minute count with a great performance. JP
The post The Bestival 2015 Review – The Summer Of Love Finishes Festival Season! appeared first on Hit The Floor.