Sunday 5th August 2018, Morden Park
I’ve been waiting for ages for Eastern Electrics (EE), especially as it’s my last festival for August and chance for a wiggle with my gal Jordan. Funnily enough I think it’s the least prepared I’ve ever been as I picked my outfit the morning of haha. I’ve never been to Morden Park before so this was a great opportunity to experience another part of London. In terms of the festival’s operation, everything ran so smoothly; extremely organised entry and exit. Luckily as press we didn’t even have to queue up (thanks Big Box London PR). The press/artist area was lovely with clean, fresh toilets, shade, comfy sofas and a fully stocked bar.
There’s quite a few stages, so working out where you wanna go first is like a kid in a candy store. We ended up heading to the Big Top, run by RAM Records, first which was hosting the best of dnb and jungle. Shimon b2b Benny L w/ IC3 was on when we arrived there and I instantly felt like I was back home. Catching up with so many familiar faces and just having a well deserved boogie. The vibe and energy in there was insane. Straight after the previous set IC3 stayed on stage to MC for Original Sin. I didn’t catch the first part of the set as I wanted to get round all the stages but, when I did make it back halfway through it was one big jungle sweatbox; reminded me of the squat rave days (if you know, you know). In terms of tracks it was a mix of old school bangers and newer songs. I’ve already seen Bad Company UK at Fabric so it was nice to see them playing to an even bigger crowd; they were joined by MC 2 Shy. It was good have a little bit of change when Dimension came on with MC ID. Listening to the same type of dnb can get a bit repetitive so it was refreshing having them play rollers and liquid dnb.
Conveniently Electric City, run by South London Soul Train, was right round the corner from The Big Top so we decided to have a little explore. Before hand I wasn’t planning on going as I had no idea who anyone was that was playing, but I think this was actually my favourite stage/section. You were immediately transported to what looked like a Hawaiian beach with real sand and even a volleyball court! On stage at the time were the Disco Wonderland DJs who were playing so many old skool tunes; I mean who would have thought I would be having a dance to Michael Jackson songs?! Everyone in there was having the time of their life and unlike the other stages, there wasn’t one person that was just standing there not doing anything. Can I just add it was packed in there as well.
Whoever designed The Switchyard, run by Matt Jam Lamont, stage/section needs an award because visually it was insane; looks like something that should’ve been in Stomp The Yard. The stage looked like a massive boombox with the rest of the area all industrially built. This stage was playing the best of garage and bass all day long. I managed to catch Cartier’s set where he dropped tunes like ‘Tru‘ and ‘Flowers.’ Jords and myself were well and truely in our element here as we love a bit of bassline. We also managed to catch a little bit of Oxide & Neutrino and Wookie.
Anytime I just wanted some chill time I headed to The Star of EE Pub, run by Reggae Roast. Many other people had the same idea as us and sat in huddles enjoying the music whilst having a drink. There were dedicated reggae fans who were up front dancing to the music as well. Reggae Roast Sound System happened to be on when I was in there. It was a nice bit of nostalgia as many of us have been to their nights when they held them in Camden. I’ve also been to many Trojan Sound System nights as well and have even worked for them. They kept the crowd entertained with the best of ska and two tone.
Most of my time was probably spent at Rinse FM Main Stage. I’d like to congratulate whoever put those artists on the main stage as I think it was the perfect portrayal of what dance music is. This was the first time I’ve got to see Murlo live who as playing b2b Conducta. We were lucky enough to be let on stage for this set but quickly retreated back to the crowd (no one else on stage was dancing, how boring) which looked way more lively. It’s surprising that 67 were allowed to play after the ban of drill music on Youtube has been put in place. I was so happy they did play as not many people know that drill is my guilty pleasure; they performed songs including ‘Let’s Lurk‘ and ‘Skeng Man.’ I’ve been trying to see Kurupt FM for years now and finally that dream came true. Performing songs like ‘Original Nuttah,’ ‘Who Am I,’ ‘Get Out The Way‘ Spooky Remix and ‘Suttin Like That.’ I can’t believe how many people were in the crowd with merchandise and banners saying “F*** Aldona!” I think for me, this was the best set of the whole day.
All photos belong to EE, KoLAB Studios, The Manc Photographer and ShotAway.com.
Overall, this has been one of the best festivals I’ve been to in a long time. Shoutout to Jordan, Hope, Sam and Mcauley for making my day. Also many thanks to Big Box London for sorting us out with tickets. See you next year EE!!!
Earlybird tickets for next year are on sale already so go grab a ticket: https://bit.ly/2ALzOor