Five of our favourite moments from Field Day 2023
London’s one-day dance music extravaganza saw highlights form Jayda G, Arca, Mount Kimbie, Bonobo and Elkka
Credit: Gobinder Jhitta
This year’s edition of Field Day festival is over. The dust has settled in London ’s Victoria Park; the stages taken down. All we can do now is reminisce on what a brilliant day it was for dance music.
We saw none other than Aphex Twin deliver an expectedly mind-blowing headline show. TSHA performed with a full band for just the fifth time. SBTRKT continued his return to the fore, playing his new album. Fever Ray got real weird on the East Stage. Jon Hopkins elevated the West Stage with a live techno-tinged set. And what’s more – it was sunny! We’ve gathered some of our favourite memories from the day-long event.
Jayda G’s sparkling DJ set
Fresh off the back of her new album, Canadian-born, London-based Jayda G, embodied a sense of celebration during her DJ set on the East Stage. Playing in the mid-afternoon, she fired through her usual collection of feel-good house music, getting the huge crowd warmed up for the day’s antics.
It was when she played her track Both Of Us, though, that the crowd really sparked into life. Now a usual sight in Jayda’s sets, she came right out to the crowd, clapping with them as the track built up its piano-laden drop.
Check out Jayda G’s tour date via jaydag.com.
Arca’s fiery homecoming show
For Arca, her 7.25 pm slot on the East stage warming up for AFX was evidently important. The Venezuelan, real name Alejandra Ghersi Rodríguez, used to live in London, she told the crowd, so it meant a lot to feel such a warm reception. And she sounded so good. As she sang with pure sass through her mega mixture of IDM, reggaeton, avant-pop, and techno, performing tracks such El Alma Que Te Trajo and Rakata, she found her feet. We were also a huge fan of the leather outfit, topped off by a Batman-esque eye mask.
See when Arca is next performing near you at arca1000000.com.
Mount Kimbie’s Street View visuals
Mount Kimbie’s Kai Campos didn’t hold back with his modular synth-fueled techno set at the North Arena stage on Saturday. When both members of the band play live, it’s a calmer affair. When it’s just Kai, it seems, things get a bit harder. It was a fun introduction to the event at the early time of 4 pm and left many – who perhaps weren’t aware of Kai Campos’ modular techno sound – feeling pretty puzzled.
The funniest thing about the set though was the visuals. A massive LED screen behind Campos’ head displayed Google Maps Street View images, which at times felt strangely intrusive and at others were plain hilarious. It was incredibly strange to see various blurred faces appear on such a large scale to the eerie backdrop of Campos’ brilliant live set, saw a Doepfer synth at its centre.
Find out where you can catch Mount Kimbie live via mountkimbie.com.
Bonobo’s live band bonanza
While Aphex Twin’s mind-boggling set was the talk of the festival, for those looking for something a bit mellower in the build-up, Bonobo’s headline show hit the spot. As the sun set, he gently cruised through tracks from 2017’s Migration and 2022’s Fragments, making moments of musical magic. While Bonobo’s DJs sets are of course exciting, this was a live set with Bonobo’s full band, which was certainly a sight to behold..
See when Bonobo’s next playing live via bonobomusic.com.
Elkka’s dance workout
Elkka, who showed off her home production setup to MusicTech in 2022, joined the Field Day lineup relatively last minute. Playing a DJ set on the BBC 6 Music stage, she joined the likes of Chloé Robinson, quest?onmarq and Anastasia Kristensen to add to the playfully energetic vibes provided all day long in the unique, domed stage.
She also played her own, forthcoming new hard-hitting track full of thumping drums and swirling synths, which sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Check out Elkka’s tour dates via elkka.com.
