Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) UK 2016: In Pictures

More than 50,000 music fans united at Milton Keynes Bowl for the world famous dance festival Electric Daisy Carnival UK, which included triumphant sets from dance legends Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Martin Garrix, Eric Prydz and Axwell /\ Ingrosso.

 

 

Saturday’s EDC UK showpiece was the biggest and best yet.

Taking centre stage at the kineticFIELD and standing a massive 30 metres tall by 70 metres wide, the fully immersive Crystal Village spectacle towered over revellers during its first EDC UK showcase.

The stage’s unique design housed cascading waterfalls, a fog-breathing dragon and the unmissable symbolic owl, and hosted incredible performances by some of the biggest international names in dance music, with sets by Martin Garrix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Oliver Heldens, Eric Prydz, Martin Solveig, Don Diablo and Alison Wonderland.

Throughout the day at the circuitGROUNDS, festival-goers saw outstanding DJ sets from drum and bass legends Andy C, Noisia, Caspa & Rusko, Roni Size, Goldie and many more.

Over at cosmicMEADOW, electrifying big room sets came from trance heroes Paul van Dyk and Gouryella, while the neonGARDEN stage was a constant party with sets by Duke Dumont and UK garage pioneer DJ EZ.

Electric Daisy Carnival wasn’t just about the music. The line-up of the world’s premier DJ’s and global acts were joined by dynamic displays, carnival creatures, performers and sensory sights aplenty.

“This weekend we hosted another amazing edition of EDC UK at Milton Keynes and we thank all of our headliners and performing artists for joining us in celebrating the incredible culture of dance music,” said Pasquale Rotella, founder and CEO of Insomniac.

“The UK is where so many genres of dance music were born, and it’s exciting to see the scene still growing and flourishing today.”

Melvin Benn, of Festival Republic, added: “We’re very proud to have celebrated the second year of our partnership with Insomniac with another successful Electric Daisy Carnival UK.

“Avicii delivered an incredible headline set and we’re thrilled to have had some of the biggest international acts spanning across all dance music genres performing this year.

“The Crystal Village stage was shipped over from the US for the first time and it was truly a phenomenal spectacle.”

 

 

 

We Are WHSE presents: Cream Ibiza - Vandit Records, with Paul van Dyk, John '00' Fleming, Giuseppe Ottaviani and others

A bill featuring the likes of Paul van Dyk, John '00' Fleming, Guiseppe Ottaviani and Solarstone is difficult to avoid for trance fan like me, writes TopReviews4U editor Paul Christian.

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I'd never seen J00F play before and really love the driving progressive and psytrance sound he has made his own for many years at the forefront of cutting edge electronic music.
But, leaving aside his fantastic set, I must turn to the rather odd venue.

Southwark's Great Suffolk Street Warehouse, or We Are WHSE as it calls itself by virtue of repeated lighting effects, was bizarre.

I have been to clubs in disused or repurposed Victorian railway arches before, but they had always had a door and were actually inside.

This venue was essentially like The Arches in EastEnders and I expected at any moment to see Phil Mitchell sliding out from under a car, brandishing a monkey wrench.

 

I still haven't decided whether this was a fantastic or truly terrible place to host events.

What was fantastic was the atmosphere generated by John '00' Fleming, who provided the highlight, as well as a certain Mr van Dyk's pulsating peak-time performance, which began with his own seminal trance banger For An Angel.

Fleming ended his early set with the incredible RITMO remix of The Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up, to a stunning light show.

It was clear that the main 'room' or Arch One as it is literally and aptly known had been lavished with the greater care.

The second arch suffered from a lack of lighting and low volume, and the basic mixing desk looked sparse and unprofessional, rather than stripped back and retro.

Other bugbears were the queueing and toilets.

We waited 30 minutes for a cloakroom berth for one coat, which meant a large slab of the action was missed entirely.

And the toilets were basically portable cabins and open stand-up festival urinals.

 

In fact the entire operation was like a cheap (almost) indoor festival, complete with infuriating drinks token system – which meant waiting in line again.

 

But I can't grumble too much as the music was spectacular and more than made up for the terrible/awesome/not really sure venue.