Words & Photos: Gary Lambert
Friday at All Points East – Victoria Park, London – 28 August 2023
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I love festivals. Festivals make me feel like the happiest person on earth. Ten years ago I was sat at a table at Kendal Calling chatting to someone who had finished their shift and said “if you want, I can get you a job working the festival circuit, just doing stuff”. I worked…
Chaos - that is the best way to describe Aphex Twin's headlining set at Field Day. Shortly after Arca's set finished on the main stage, people started to assemble in the pit more than an hour before Aphex was due on stage. Every single person jostling for position to witness Aphex Twin make a rare appearance in public. It was a mix of old heads, ravers, vaping young morons and lax EDM fans.
As the sun set on London and the seconds ticked down until Aphex walked on stage, people grew tenser and tenser. It was one of the odder crowds I've been in - a mix of people so eagerly awaiting the act and the people who were there only to say that they had been in attendance. As the music began, and the shockwave of music and light was unleashed onto London, the interlopers began to disperse. The set was not for the casual listener. It was caustic at times. A wall of images and sounds that never ceased, moving through time quickly, never resting on one single note, a continuous stream.
It was impressive to see a festival headliner play so opaque. This was not a set for gaining new fans or trying to open up one's appeal. This was an artist presenting a piece of work that was completely and utterly them. I didn't understand or even like the set every second, but it had something that was unmissable.
Hurray for the Riff Raff kicks off a tour of Europe and the UK featuring songs from their Nonesuch debut album, LIFE ON EARTH, this weekend with sets at Todays Festival in Turin and All Points East in London. The tour continues with concerts in Northampton, Dublin, Glasgow, Leeds, Wiltshire, Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Brighton, and Paris. Details/tickets here.