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About Last Night – Parklife

  • Music
  • Feature
  • 4 minute read

 A Berghaus and 4-pack of Red Stripe

Words by George Williams

Photos by James Speakman

Armed with a vintage Berghaus and a 4-pack of Red-Stripe, we headed over to Manchester for Sacha Lord-Marchionne’s highly anticipated Parklife Festival, to check out what went down at Heaton Park.

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The beginning of the day started in typical Manchester fashion; incredibly wet. With over 80,000 people descending into Prestwich, it was bound to be as chaotic as ever. Festivals have this amazing skill of attracting an eclectic variety of people, and Parklife is no stranger to this. The atmosphere was incredible despite the mud almost flowing over attendee’s wellies. “It aint a festival if the weather aint shit” I overheard one reveller shout to his mates as we walked past the queue.

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Following the recent monstrosities of events that have taken place in the UK, security was tight and took much longer than was anticipated. The security personnel did a great job of making this process as fast as possible and were a real credit to the festival.

Once inside we regrouped with friends and made our way to the Palms House stage where Dekmantel Soundsystem were warming up the tent. Well known for delivering some of the grooviest disco sets around, today was no different. The dynamic dutch duo dug deep into their coveted record collection, providing some seriously funky vibes to kick off the day.

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Following on from this was possibly one of the greatest selectors ever to grace the stage, Kenny Dixon Jr, better known as ‘Moodymann’. Following the backlash from his controversial set closer at Field Day in the previous week, there was an element of uncertainty as he walked onto the stage, but that was quickly forgotten once he began bartending for the crowd. Playing the likes of DJ KOZE – ‘Bad Kingdom’, to closing his set with Manchesters very own, New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’. An incredible set through and through.

 basement-parklife-27Up next was Korean legend Hunee, definitely the highlight of the day for me, something I believe anyone who witnessed this set would agree on. How anyone can mix Acid house and Disco in one fluid movement astounds me. Absolutely magical from start to finish, and with such an evident passion for what he does and each and every song he plays. A truly talented DJ, finishing his set beautifully with Princes ‘Chelsea Rodgers’. 

Succeeding Hunee was Bas Bron, or more familiarly known by his stage name ‘Fatima Yamaha’ – honing from Amsterdam. Fatima certainly knows how to draw in a packed crowd. The rythmic chants of the audience during his performance of ‘What’s A Girl To Do?’ was crazy. Following his release of ‘Araya’ on the Dekmantel record label earlier in February this year, this was an absolute crowd charmer and rounded off his set perfectly.

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Penultimately was queen of the decks, The Black Madonna. After recieving Mixmag’s ‘DJ Of The Year’ in 2016, she was definitely not to be missed. Serving the crowd with a perfect mix of disco and techno, I can see why she achieved that title. Issuing such a spirited and powerful performance from start to finish.

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To round off the day, one of the worlds most in-demand DJ’s, proud Scotsman Jack Revill A.K.A Jackmaster. As an unmatched selector, Jack showed us beyond question why he deserved to present his own stage for Parklife, finishing the festival with a fine selection of house anthems, such as the Acid feulled Love Revolution’s ‘Give It To Me Baby’ and the timeless ‘Longo’ by Ditongo.

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