elrow Town brings the surreal and stupendous to London

Elrow Town breezed into London last weekend in a blaze of psychedelic colour, animatronics and banging tunes.

It is now a week since the second day kicked off and the hedonistic musical mayhem is still fresh in the memory.

Great sets from Claptone, Fatboy Slim and Idris Elba were the order of the day, seven days ago.

And last Saturday saw Paul Kalkbrenner, Paco Osuna and Steve Lawler entertaining up-for-it revellers across the Psychedelic Trip and Sambodromo do Brasil arenas.

Both main stages were incredible feats, with inflatable giraffes and other critters looming over the dancefloor in the Sambodromo and awesome ‘walking’ praying mantises stalking the massive pyramidal Psychedelic Trip.

The event, in the shadow of the Olympic stadium, in Stratford, brought a hefty dose of the surreal to this corner of East London, with smiles on faces wherever you looked. It was a timely reminder not to take life too seriously.

Here’s hoping elrow Town is now a regular feature.

elrow Town ready to bring crazy carnival to London's Olympic Park

elrow Town London details an eye-popping array of captivating features, extensive food programming and crazy characters for Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 August.

Famed for its immersive production, elrow Town London will set the bar even higher for interactive, audiovisual festivals when it once again takes over the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in Stratford, London.

The crazy carnival atmosphere is set to fill the site of the 2012 Olympics with a different brand of fun and games.

elrow Town London hosts two immersive themes: Psychedelic Trip and Sambodromo Do Brasil. The former transports townspeople to a hippy commune that's built on peace and love while the latter plunges you deep into the rainforest for hair-raising encounters with wild animals, lost explorers, samba dancers and stranded DJs.

The roving international two-day event will feature DJ luminaries such as superstar Fatboy Slim, masked house honcho Claptone, Paul Kalkbrenner, Paco Osuna and Luther star Idris Elba.

For tickets click here

SW4 2016 review

It has become something of a cliché to refer to South West Four as 'South Wet Four' on account of the often awful bank holiday weather, writes TopReviews4U editor Paul Christian.

I have got drenched at several previous occasions at this always excellent event.
But this year I and thousands of other revellers were treated to some lovely late August sunshine.
And the warm weather meant that festival staple - sitting on the grass - was actually an option this year.

From my sedentary position I massively enjoyed watching Sven Vath's atmospheric techno set from the Amnesia tent, and again checked out Paul Kalkbrenner from the humble floor of Clapham Common.

But I had to get to my feet for Sasha and Carl Cox, who were playing in the ANTS tent and on the main stage respectively.
Sasha took the aural soundscape to new levels and they were complemented by amazing red lighting in contrast to the usual monochrome atmosphere of the ANTS colony.

Cox's top-notch techno was a treat to behold with rolling percussing and his "oh yes, oh yes" mantra ringing out across the Common.
There was also time to check out trance legends Above & Beyond and progressive house head honcho John Digweed at the varied Sunday leg of the long-running weekender.

He finished with Egyptian Empire's classic ' The Horn Track' as darkness fell and planes flew overhead.

Next up was the finale, with The Chemical Brothers providing a storming headline set.
Beginning with 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl' was brave as it is probably their biggest track, but the sheer strength of the Chems' repertoire meant the crowd was kept moving throughout.

A superb light show also punctuated the electronic experience.
SW4 remains a potent part of the capital's festival scene - come rain or shine.