Photo credit /
Justine Trickett / Fanatic 2017 - Lead, Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra, Lake, Violin
Samantha Milligan / Fanatic 2017 - Levelz, Margaret Dygas, Aerial view, Fingers, Trigon, Disco ball
Max Miechowski / Fanatic 2017 - Ryan Elliott, Matthew Herbert, Bradley Zero, Party crew
Gottwood Festival 2017: Five key performances
- PublishedJun 15, 2017
- Words
- Share
- "Stunning" and "picturesque" are two popular descriptors for Gottwood, and rightly so. The Welsh festival is both of those things—until it rains. At 8:17 AM on the first day, the organisers posted a friendly note on their Facebook page warning people to "please come prepared" for the "wet and persistent weather." Unfortunately, I was already en route with only a pair of white Nikes and barely enough socks to get me through the weekend. It chucked it down during the closing sets on Friday night—around the same time my tent was broken into. Saturday, then, began bleakly, as I slid into the main site—which had changed from a luscious green to a slick of brown—to file a police report.
Anywhere else and this might have ruined my weekend, but Gottwood is special. It's got an aura that keeps you in high spirits even in your darkest hours. This has a lot to do with the people, from the perpetually up-for-it punters encrusted in glitter, to the wearied staff who still beam at you after a long shift. Together, they're Gottwood's lifeblood. Strangers become friends for life in an instant and most visitors—artists included—return year-on-year. Gottwood is a family affair—it even says so on the wristband.
Musically, if you're not into disco you might struggle. It was everywhere, from obvious winners like Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (played by Antal) to the downright cheesy (Horse Meat Disco belted out ABBA—with great success). Singalongs were big and numerous, but so were the rare gems and obscurer edits that pervaded throughout. Disco isn't my thing but luckily there was plenty else to get stuck into. Here are five key performances from the smorgasbord you'll find at Gottwood.
LEVELZ Gottwood is primarily about having fun, and who better to deliver that by the bucketload than the Manchester party crew LEVELZ? On Thursday they hosted the Barn stage, home to most of the weekend's bass music. It was wall-to-wall all night. LEVELZ are a 14-strong troupe of DJs, producers and MCs. But more importantly, they're close friends and have been for years, which lends their shows a certain vibe. They're intimate and raucous affairs—check out their Boiler Room for an idea of the sort of silly chaos that ensues every time. Joe Muggs recently described LEVELZ as "28-legged party animal," and the beast was on top form for the festival's opening night. Nine members were on hand—more than enough to stir up mischief (during the day, for example, they had commandeered a nearby sausage stand). The MCs were gobby, slapstick and fierce, while the tunes zigzagged from grime and UK garage to James Brown and Beats International's "Dub Be Good To Me." Their own cheeky "King Of The Disco" track felt especially fitting. After staff cut the music around 3 AM, they started up a singalong to the theme tune from popular Australian soap opera Home And Away. Why? Because they just weren't ready to go home.
Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra Most of the live acts at Gottwood performed on the Lawn, an expanse of grass outside the manor house that overlooked the lake and the woodland beyond. It was the best spot for surveying the site and recuperating in the daytime, soaking up the weekend's occasional blasts of sunshine. Afrobeat veteran Dele Sosimi headlined here on Saturday. After Friday night's downpour, sitting down wasn't really an option, though the charismatic performer would have kept everyone on their feet regardless. His band—a collective of mostly UK-based musicians on brass, percussion and guitars—were totally in sync, serving up tunes as bright and endearing as the African prints worn onstage. The crowd were swept up in the band's funky, dubbed-out grooves from start to finish, totally oblivious to the grey skies above and the mounting sludge below.
Matthew Herbert Each day, the action took a little while to warm up. The stages would rarely get going before sundown—unless someone like Move D was performing, in which case everyone would show up en masse. 9 PM felt like the magic hour when tents would suddenly switch into full-on rave mode. Matthew Herbert was given this hallowed time slot at the Hypercolour takeover on Saturday. Catching acts in the Walled Garden required the most forward planning— or a really good blag—because by nightfall there was always a queue. But once you were inside it was worth it. Herbert pulled all sorts of weird and wonderful treats out the bag, like his own edit of Moloko's "Sing It Back," a druggy mix of Aaliyah's "Try Again" and the stone-cold Strictly Rhythm classic "Deep Inside" by Hardrive. He got everyone thoroughly limbered up for Roman Flügel and Jamie Russell, AKA Cedric Maison, who tore the place apart. It was my first time seeing Herbert, but it certainly won't be the last.
Ryan Elliott By Saturday I was chomping at the bit for some techno. Ryan Elliott seemed like a reliable option, though really he can take things in any direction—deep and soulful or cooly slamming. Helena Hauff, meanwhile, was going in hard over in the Treehouse, which by now had been churned into a quagmire best tackled with wellies. I had none, so I chose to brave Trigon instead, a mostly open-air stage hemmed in by hay bales and with a raised (and mud-free) viewing platform. The Panorama Bar resident had played an "alternative set" earlier in the day, which pivoted around Photek's dreamy "T-Raenon." Unfortunately it had been poorly attended, though his second performance was anything but. This time, he kept things sleek and snaking, moving from tough blasts to headier trips via a sprinkling of breaks—a sound that, much to everyone's delight, cropped up in several sets throughout the weekend.
Margaret Dygas As the weekend rolled on everyone naturally gravitated towards their favourite stage. Mine was Trigon, which was one of the best bets for the closing Sunday night. Zip had originally been billed but was too sick to travel, so all the other DJs played extended sets. Margaret Dygas stepped up to carry the crowd home. She's been known to toss in the odd curveball in her time, and when she dropped Babe Ruth's prog rock epic "The Mexican," there was a unanimous hands-in-the-air moment. Dygas's mixing wasn't the slickest, but nobody cared. These sorts of gorgeous surprises were in abundance at the festival. She went out in a storm of wild selections and a blaze of lasers. Afterwards, I slopped back to someone else's tent with a horde of new buddies to extend the party a little longer—another festival standard. My Nikes will forever wear the mark of Gottwood, and so will I.
0303