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The Social Festival 2017 Brought House to the Utopian Party Farm [Event Review]

October 1, 2017 By Madhvi Mavadiya

The Social Festival’s founder Nic Fanciulli definitely proved that he can throw a birthday party this weekend. For the event’s fifth year, Maidstone in Kent was taken over by The Social Festival regulars, such as luminary Carl Cox and the iconic Sasha B2B John Digweed session. Kent County Showground, having been transformed into an idyllic party farm with five very different yet captivating stages, house and techno fans were treated to a fun-filled fairground of electronic goodness. This two-day event is a utopia for those wanting to frolic with artists that have been taking to the decks for many decades or those with an appetite for discovering new favourites, perhaps an artist based a little closer to home.

Hosted by Ultra’s Resistance Music, The Meadow was the welcoming hub that brought everyone together to close the summer season like Ibiza knows best. As the only stage open on day one, Friday saw George Andrews and D’Julz kick off the spirited festival antics, but our afternoon delight favourite was UK based Cassy, most famous for her Panorama Bar residency. The feminine powerhouse that is Cassy brought warmth and elegance to the style of techno that we know and love, blasting tracks that verged on the boundaries of drum and bass. Founder of The Social Festival and Maidstone, Kent native Nic Fanciulli then gifted his hometown with a little bit of house before handing over to the The Martinez Brothers and Carl Cox who closed the show for Resistance.

Day two was when The Social Festival got into full swing with the other four stages opening up. While the dark and industrial warehouse styled Barn stage hosted by world-renowned club Fabric got dirtier as the night approached, The Stables was where you could get one with nature, a stage that epitomised autumn raving as many danced through the rain and shuffled on leaves that had turned orange and red. The Caravan and The Haystack were also out in the wilderness, but smaller and a little removed from the main area, perfect if you want a relaxing yet fun time, listening to the likes of Heidi, Nick Curly, Sante, Sidney Charles plus a vast plethora of local electronic talent like Jack Francis or Lewis Clark, something Nic Fanciulli seems to be passionate about showcasing.

We started our Saturday in The Meadow with Emanuel Satie who played classic house tracks and got us dancing and reminiscing about the night before in the same room before we headed straight through to The Barn where Terry Francis took us back to our comfort zone and nights out in London. A stand out session for us was Black Coffee’s performance at The Stables; poised to become more and more of a hit as time passes, his timing and track decisions out under the trees in the little hideaway that the stage offered will go down in The Social Festival’s history as 5th birthday highlight. Monika Kruse got wild back in The Meadow playing that strange and distorted minimal techno/disco beats that she’s known for and ideal for the early evening as the sun was setting.

Helena Hauff was the artist we were most looking forward to seeing and she did not disappoint. Changing up vinyls and diluting her drops is what a stage hosted by Fabric should bring and as she played, more techno fans were drawn to the sound they heard like moths to the flame and before long, the room was packed; Helena was fire! Guy Gerber at The Stables was a sight to be seen as the lighting effects were glorious bouncing off the wooden carved totems that were displayed and of course, the disco balls tied to tree branches high above the crowd. Unfortunately, the rain started to come down a little harder and many were forced to head through the mud to the main stage where Apollonia had a surprise: an early takeover by Sasha & John Digweed.

On the other side of the festival, Icelandic DJ Bjarki dispelled recent controversy and ravers joined in circles in front of the decks to compete in dance offs in pitch black darkness and occasional strobe lighting. These are the moments we live for and Bjarki encapsulated and provided the music lovers with the reason they turn to the dance genre: freedom. Sasha & John Digweed returned to close the show in The Meadow but the real treat for techno fans was in Nina Kraviz’s headline performance that was one of a kind.

Nic Fanciulli definitely planned an excellent 5th birthday party, but the definition of a ’boutique festival’ seems to have been a little misjudged. Drink tokens can be purchased at £10 a pop, which is convenient as most drinks cost £10, while food can only be paid by cash or a food token – that you can obtain by working at the festival as we were told. It can get a little confusing as you’d have to go to three different locations (cash point, token point and bar) just to get a drink and you’d have to find the right bar as one bar ran out of spirits by 1pm on day two. However, the VIP area had a Beetle Juice cocktail bar where you could get very nice cocktails for £5, have a little sit down on a bean bag or a haystack and chill listening to your personal DJ. Paying a little extra for the VIP area is well worth it as it does provide a sanctuary and having access to toilets and showers is always a perk.

A few issues aside that come with every festival, The Social Festival gives house and techno fans to see their favourite artists in an intimate setting and we can’t thank Nic Fanciulli enough for this. Roll on The Winter Social and year six of Social!