Farr Festival 2016 review

Laura Zuanella indulged in sets from John Talabot, Jeremy Underground and Denis Sulta in the enchanting forest settings of Farr Festival.

Henry Lewis

Last updated: 12th Dec 2016

Images: Jake Davis for Here & Now

With a growing number of new gatherings taking place every year, hosting an event in the peak of festival season when the competition is tougher than ever can be a challenge for some, but yet again the spectacularly forward-thinking Farr Festival has proved why it's not a worry.

The boutique festival is a haven for like-minded electronic enthusiasts who are keen for an experience beyond the mainstream, and now in its seventh year, Farr has got everything in order, resulting in a near flawless musical get-together. 

Once we finally made it into the site on the Thursday night, we headed straight through the leafy surroundings and found ourselves in a rustic location almost completely covered by towering pine trees, we were completely emerged in a whimsical wonderland as we witnessed the sounds of the Fortune boys on the Terrace, which was the ultimate warm up for the three days ahead.

Afterwards, we headed towards the This Must Be The Place tent and caught a DJ set by South London collective Jungle. The festival-friendly tracklist saw the lads open with the new Justice single 'Safe And Sound' and dip into recent favourites from the likes of Riton and Kaytranada.

Wandering back to the Terrace to catch Brummie group Shadow City Soundsystem, we heard even more quality cuts including the throbbing Dirt Mix of Head High's 'Rave' as the crowd lapped up the chaotic rhythms under the swooping green branches.

Once we'd stumbled out of our tents on the second day, we dragged ourselves away to the Hidden Palace, which was as secluded as the name suggested, to catch FunkinEven's afternoon set that was filled to the brim of disco, house, techno and everything in between including tracks like Loose Joints' disco staple 'Is It All Over My Face'. We were more than ready to start the debauchery all over again.

Later on in the evening at a packed out Terrace stage we witnessed a B2B2B between selectors Joy Orbison, Midland and Ben UFO, it was a complete tour de force as the trio showcased their eclectic styles. The pumping set list included a mixture of classic cuts like Quincy Jones's feel good jam 'Ai No Corrida' all the way to Saturday night headliners Paranoid London's throbbing 'Eating Glue'.

Proving to be the highlight of the festival later in the evening was maverick vinyl junkie Jeremy Underground. This chap's flawless and seamless performance showed why he's one of the most in-demand DJs. He took us on a journey as he flaunted his passion for a broad range of music tastes, switching things up between disco, house, electro and acid and back again.

Standout jams from the impressive showcase included Mike Servito's heavy hitting remix of Justin Cudmore's 'Crystal' and The J's joyous disco hit 'When Did You Stop', which filled the forest as the lighting seeped through gaps in the trees. 

For the final day of raving, we decided to kick things off at The Shack stage to the sounds of Numbers label's very own Denis Sulta. The rising stars' set was a mixture of fierce 90s house favourites and recent club bangers in the form of Camisra's feel good 'Let Me Show You' all the way up to Deetron's atmospheric 'Photon'.

Next up, we ventured over to the Boys Own curated Hidden Palace to catch veteran spinner Gilles Peterson and immersed ourselves in the exceptional house cuts and disco anthems that the universal enthusiast had on offer. The leafy backdrop was the perfect accompaniment for his genre-flittering set as he made memories that would last a lifetime for those in attendance.

With the party nearly grinding to a halt, we headed back to The Shack for John Talabot. The mostly melancholic set was the ultimate soundtrack as night turned to morning in the woodland. Midland's seminal 'Final Credits' and the final selection of Chic's uplifting 'Everybody Dance' was a near perfect ending to a truly remarkable UK festival.

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