Going to a festival holding such
a title, one would expect to see monkeys, zebras and turtles and that is exactly
what we found there. They did speak English though!
The three-day camping festival
has just hit its 3rd season in the UK and is located right next to East
Midlands airport in a forest. Yes, in a forest, with music stages separated
only by trees, leaves and the occasional bird joining in after a hard week of
nest building.
The festival is definitely on the
funky side, in terms of its music and accessories. Other than the usual costume
and food stalls and the make-me-sick rides, you can enjoy a head and body
message right after some serious body and face paint action. Drinks can be seen
served out of caravans, following which you can of course choose from a number
of waterless bathtubs to relax in and enjoy the view.
Finally a festival that
has succumbed to the bathtub demand!
There are four stages with three
simply being rough land in the forest. They did decide to go commercial and
have a tent for the main stage. Walking around the stages you bypass a variety
of customised humans from flamingos to apes. The organisers have also joined
forces with some performers, who came in the form of monkeys trying to climb
trees, huge buffed up rabbits on stilts and some vegetarian tigers. I can only
imagine what would be going on in the minds of the general intoxicated festivalgoer.
Your ears would have enjoyed a
wide spectrum of music, ranging from the techy house, swishing to the funky
beats and reaching the experimental zones. I’m sure we even heard church/gospel
house. There were a small number of big name artists such as Groove Armada,
James Zabiela and Sasha. However, the majority of the artists were quite
underground, which was fantastic as this meant there was a lot of room for
discovering new artists and genre exploration.
As the moon started crawling up
the sky, the vibe did become darker and spookier although the cooler breeze was
very welcomed by our onesie-covered bodies. One of the great things for a forest
festival located near the airport is that there are no humans to complain about
the music so the hip shaking doesn’t end until 4am. The sleep-deprived ants are
another story!
It’s hard to say where this
festival will be going in the coming years or what improvements they can make,
as there are no limits to how colourful and creative this event can be. For a
festival that is in its 3rd year, the organisers have definitely
done a great job, especially in making this event something memorable.
Oddly enough, this event isn’t as
famous as it should be. Not sure if that’s a marketing issue or that the
organisers are happy with a low-key event. The place was only half full but,
for those that were there, it was great not queuing for drinks or losing your zebra
friend among the tigers. Not going to lie, I do love a half-full festival. My
inner kangaroo was definitely able to jump all around without fisting anyone.
All in all, some fantastic funky
vibes, sensations and visuals in this one of a kind fiesta. Definitely looking
forward to what’s in store for next year.
