Written by Sophie Wyatt
Stepping over the threshold into a festival crowd usually comes with excitement and curiosity and a sense of the unknown. Whilst these feelings were certainly present last weekend, Golden Plains met its punters with a welcoming feeling that encouraged them to return to what felt like home. For returning fans to first timers alike, the festival which entered its 18th iteration had a continuous feeling of excitement paired with comfort. Continuing with its “no-dickhead” policy, the Aussie festival, which relies on no corporate sponsorship whatsoever really leaves no room for confusion when pushing its family-like nature.
Over two nights the festival set in Meredith’s Supernatural Amphitheatre (better known as The Sup), lit up with everything from House to Hip-Hop to German-Turkish Pyschedelic-Pop (courtesy of the magical Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek). A haven for couch-goers in the day, the sup exploded with light from lanterns and cleverly crafted doof sticks by night, turning it into a truly supernatural space.
As the camp ground filled, festival goers made their way down to the sup to witness the opening act – A Wadawurrung Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country grounded the gathering in connection to land we stood on. After the annual moment of respect was concluded, the music began. As the afternoon’s excitement built up in the music, so did the energy within the crowd. Nigeria’s Obonjayar lit up the stage with a number of tracks from his evergrowing discography. It was fair to say that he garnered a lot of shoes in the air (a tradition which involves fans holding a shoe up for their favourite act of the weekend). The tradition is one that people take very seriously at Golden Plains. You don’t want to shoot your shot too early and regret it later down the line! But it was clear from the certainty that people held their arms in the air with, that despite the stellar line up over the rest of the weekend, Obongjayar had made his mark.
Photography by Benjamin Fletcher
Later on into the evening we saw world renowned artists such as BADBADNOTGOOD, and Cut Copy take to the stage to invite the crowd to enter their evening of dancing. Closely followed by an outstanding performance in the early hours by American pop duo Frost Children. Accompanied by intricate bursts of flashing lights, the shape-shifting sounds had people jumping and flailing their limbs in the air without a thought. Becca Hatch continued the energy on in a more refined, stunning performance which included some amazing choreography which accentuated her vocals perfectly. As the music went on through DJRUM and Hybrid Man’s sets, the crowd became somewhat sparser. Whilst the sounds were strange and intriguing, it left something to be desired after such an intense few hours of vigorous tracks.
Sunday brought with it high anticipation. With artists such as the breathtaking aboriginal artist Kee’ahn taking to the stage to play some of her latest project ‘for me, for you x’, to American singer-songwriter This Is Lorelei who brought an indie vibe to the sup. As the afternoon grew on, excitement for French DJ-producer François K kept the crowd buzzed. He brought with him a whole host of disco beats and old-school mixes which saw spilling out of the amphitheater’s dancing area. Jalen Ngonda was also notably one of the weekend’s most entrancing performances. His renditions of his well known hits ‘Just Like You Used To’ and ‘If You Don’t Want My Love’, had the crowd in a hypnotised state. Whilst the crowd prepared to simmer down between sets, they were not given a chance. This was due to the festival’s outstanding interstitial DJs Action Dan, Sweetie and O Honey. Whilst some kind of music was to be expected whilst artists changed over, it was thanks to these DJs that the crowd continued to hype themselves up even more if anything. O Honey’s compilation of upbeat RnB beats mixed in with the likes of old school classics like Lily Allen’s ‘Smile’, brought the crowd to the height of excitement while they waited for yet more highly anticipated artists to enter the stage.
Photography by Max Deutscher @flickbackk
Finally it was time for the act every punter had been waiting for, Basement Jaxx. The mesmerising set turned what was earlier in the day a peaceful setting into what felt like the middle of a heaving club-like dream. Beautiful costumes, delicate ballet dancers and swinging acrobats filled the stage while the legendary duo’s live set swept the festival off its feet. Concluded with the loudest rendition of ‘Where’s Your Head At?’, intertwined with a Drum and Bass-esque ending, the set was by far one of the best we’ve ever witnessed across festivals around the world.
As the festival’s final evening went on, the energy did not falter. With stand out sets from Crazy P and last minute replacement Sally C, the festival was essentially an all night party. As the mist drove in and the Monday morning started to peer over the edge of the stage, London-based DJ and NTS radio host OK Williams brought the festival to an end with a mystical set which slowed things down at the perfect speed. As festival goers cheered the weekend’s last set and headed back to their tents in the daylight, it’s safe to say the weekend was a success on all counts. The vibes did not falter in terms of crowd mentality, to both have a good time and look after each other whilst doing it. While it was Haste’s first time visiting Golden Plains, it’s safe to say it won’t be our last.
