- A little after 9 AM on the second day of Subsonic Music Festival, the soft tones of Four Tet's "Planets" echoed around the empty festival grounds. While most of the 5,000 attendees dozed in tents dotted throughout nearby fields, early risers lined up for burritos, coffee and toasted cheese sandwiches. The music had been running for 21 hours, and there were still 30 to go. Delivered across five stages throughout the weekend, the sounds ranged from house and minimal (Fred P, Daniel Bell) through to dubstep (Goth-Trad) and techno (Ryan Elliott). By the time I heard that Four Tet track, things were just getting started.
This was my third time at Subsonic, which has been held annually since 2009. I'd last attended in 2010 when it was still a low-key event with far fewer attendees and only a handful of international guest DJs. Now, it's a major festival with all the markings of a professional event, this year selling out for the first time. Aside from the extra stages, not much has changed—for house and techno fans, it's still the best festival north of Sydney. Some things are different, though, the most obvious being the extreme effort many people put into their Burning Man-style outfits. But from the decorations through to the food and drink options, all the other changes were positive.
The best spot is still the cosy River Stage, nestled under trees by the water. You reach it via a short path downhill, which adds to its sense of seclusion. I spent about ten hours there across Friday afternoon and night, catching the night's internationals—Fred P, A Love From Outer Space (AKA Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston)—along with two local DJs, Kali and Ben Fester. They played atop a small wooden stage with Funktion-One stacks on either side, moving through twisted disco, house and brighter fare (DJ Koze's "XTC" was played just before the sun went down). Towards the end of the night at Paradiso, one of the larger stages, Francesco Del Garda played an uptempo set of spacey techno and UK garage.
Saturday evening hosted tougher sounds, with Maayan Nidam and Goth-Trad on Paradiso, along with a string of local tech house DJs (Mantra Collective, Kerry Wallace, Gabby) at the Pizza Lab, a small 24-hour stage. There were still big names—Ryan Elliott, Pearson Sound—due to spin on Sunday evening, but I needed to head back to the city. After six years away, two nights was enough to remind me that Subsonic is still my favourite festival.
Photo credit /
Francesco Vicenzi - Entrance
Barbara Fischer - Crowd
James Gillot - Welcome Ceremony, River
The best spot is still the cosy River Stage, nestled under trees by the water. You reach it via a short path downhill, which adds to its sense of seclusion. I spent about ten hours there across Friday afternoon and night, catching the night's internationals—Fred P, A Love From Outer Space (AKA Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston)—along with two local DJs, Kali and Ben Fester. They played atop a small wooden stage with Funktion-One stacks on either side, moving through twisted disco, house and brighter fare (DJ Koze's "XTC" was played just before the sun went down). Towards the end of the night at Paradiso, one of the larger stages, Francesco Del Garda played an uptempo set of spacey techno and UK garage. Saturday evening hosted tougher sounds, with Maayan Nidam and Goth-Trad on Paradiso, along with a string of local tech house DJs (Mantra Collective, Kerry Wallace, Gabby) at the Pizza Lab, a small 24-hour stage. There were still big names—Ryan Elliott, Pearson Sound—due to spin on Sunday evening, but I needed to head back to the city. After six years away, two nights was enough to remind me that Subsonic is still my favourite festival.
Photo credit / Francesco Vicenzi - Entrance Barbara Fischer - Crowd James Gillot - Welcome Ceremony, River