Credit: Gemma Bell
Festival season has officially come to an end! As the Autumnal season sets in, we desperately try and grip on to any lasting memory of the summer festival haze, by having one last glitter fuelled jaunt down to Somerly House, where Soundclash Festival has made a home for the day.
Quite clearly aimed towards the thriving university scene between both Southampton and Bournemouth they seem to have all bases covered with the impressive lineup. Spanning drum and bass, house, garage, and techno over five different stages, it’s easy for you to find one that floats your boat. Andy C and Groove Armada take the headline slots with big names like Jamie Jones, Pendulum, Artful Dodger and Jackmaster also featuring.
There’s no sign of the summer of love left, and it’s bloody freezing, but that doesn’t stop the hoards of fresh-faced teenagers descending on mass to the festival site.
For us, the call to the Switch stage is too great to ignore, with the whole day covered by some of the biggest names in house and techno of the moment. We manage to catch the tail end of Jackmaster’s B2B set with fellow Glaswegian and newcomer Jasper James. Their energy is high, and the tent is full! Jackmaster never fails to disappoint with his disco cuts and upbeat house mashup; he’s clearly not carrying Jasper James who gives as good as he gets! It sets the scene nicely for the eagerly anticipated Hot Creations head honcho Jamie Jones. Sadly Jamie’s set gets off to a delayed start and is cut short for reasons unbeknown to us. Having just seen Jamie in Ibiza recently, it seems that’s where he left most of his ‘A-game’, or maybe his heart’s just not in it?
Darius Syrossian takes the reins and keeps the crowd pumping on an energetic set of a pure unadulterated house. His smiles and general bouncy attitude seem infectious, and all is forgotten of Jamie’s unexplained disappearance.
Now we have the biggest dilemma of them all, there are three fantastic headline acts to choose from, and just when we feel a game of ‘rock, paper, scissors’ will be the only solution, fate steps in and crosses one of them off the list. Unfortunately, Amine Edge & Dance failed to show! So we decide to skip to the Switch stage and main stage for equal parts of Solardo and Groove Armada.
Solardo have completely exploded on the scene over the last 18 months, and with a substantial catalogue of absolute house anthems already under their belt which has been signed by labels like Hot Creations and Viva Music, it’s relatively safe to say that these guys are on to big things! Despite the fact that we are only being treated to one-half of the duo, we don’t get half the performance. Dropping the summer’s top hit “Tribesman,” which is being played everywhere by everyone, is a moment not be missed.
It’s hard to drag yourself away from the energy going off in the Switch tent, but the call of missing a DJ set by the one and only Groove Armada is not something I’m ok with. Obviously, it’s not a decision I regret, and I make it over just in time to hear them dropping a Solardo tune too – “Acid Jump“. This is followed by various remixes of their old and faithful tracks like “Superstylin,” and “I See You Baby“. They finish off in an explosion of confetti and lasers as far as the eye can see, and yet again smash it right out of the park.
This was the fourth edition of Soundclash festival, and although there’s clearly still some teething problems to face regarding the organisation. However, I think they’re on to a good thing, and with the next edition on the 30th April 2017 already set in place, we’d love to see where they can take it next.
You can keep an eye on ticket sales for the next event here; Soundclash Festival.
