Festival Review: Field Day Aphex Twin
A day-long electronic utopia.
Every summer, All Point’s East Field Day sets the bar high with its celebration of electronic music. The 2023 Edition is one for the books. Having tempted all retired and just-starting-out ravers with Aphex Twin as a headliner, they attracted a demanding crowd – an inter-generational mass of experimental music lovers, hungry for new kicks. Luckily, they delivered that and beyond.
Our experience began in an enclosed North Stage tent and with stretched-out beats of Actresses who equipped us with all the sensory and ethereal stimulus we’d need to immerse ourselves into this one-day utopia. The spacey techno was a beautiful invitation to explore what’s on the verge of reality and a dream. Especially fitting, as the next act, Sudan Archives was too good to be true. She owned the stage like there was no tomorrow, showing off her impressive violin A-game and performing fan favourite tracks. Hitting all the notes on the spectrum of pop, R&B and rock, Sudan Archives was a ray of joy and confidence that stayed with us until dusk.
As Victoria Park transformed into a place of instant satisfaction and easy-going vibes, every area showcased the best of international scenes from Jon Hopkins, Bonobo, Elkka to yunè pinku and many more. Still, our eyes were fixed on the East Stage. Fever Ray with their fabulous band aka a bunch of sassy characters satisfied the needs of the present radical romantics.
First, there was a bondage chair and stud with flower decks. The rest is herstory. A phenomenon of a person, Arca, graced her devotees, ready to be sacrificed for their deity there and then. In a glorious mix of live performance and an out-of-this-universe DJ set, Arca proved that she is that superhuman goddess, she seems to be through the lenses of her art. Taking the best out of her Kick albums, Arca blessed the restless souls of Field Day with transcendent beauty and fierce sound rampage. Slay.
As the sun set, Aphex Twin overtook as the hottest star around. Expectedly, Richard D. James, a master of the unexpected threw us into a delightful confusion full of sonic surprises for us to eat it up in a split second. The strangecore visuals glorified artist's bouncing heads fused with mashed geometrics and, occasionally, Charli XCX. In Aphex Twin’s world, everything becomes him. To the strobing lights and scratchiness of the atmosphere, our minds got turned upside down, screaming to break from the skulls and merge with this consciousness-melting experience. It doesn’t matter if it was music re-invented in front of us or a mere triumph of randomness. We’re sold.