My first impression of Beach Break last year (2012) was ‘where is the beach?’ so I was really looking forward to one of the festivals I enjoyed most hopping over from Wales to good ol’ Newquay bringing everything that was great about it to the seaside, just like an overpriced 99 flake from an icecream van is infinitely better and somehow more justifiable by the seaside than running down the stairs of your block of flats and shoving kids out of the way to get to the hairy icecream man.
With my tent set up in the camp site, a few yards from the better-to-do young people with way more money to spend on hired caravans for the weekend, I shoved my jealousy away and consoled myself with the running tap, hot water and relatively clean toilets and showers available for all and hopped on a free shuttle service into town to take in the best of day one.
Getting distracted by shopping, free wifi and cheap booze at Sainsburys meant I didn’t get to the main stage on Fistral Beach till late afternoon when foreign Beggars were on and I was just in time to catch them perform Apex. David Rodigan was next up on my ‘must see’ list and half an hour into his set, it dawned on him that this wasn’t a typical RamJam crowd and kudos to him for his Faustian efforts pulling out Major Lazer and Baauer’s Harlem Shake to get the pop loving crowd going. The Hospitality stage takeover provided the late night entertainment with High Contrast, Danny Byrd, NU:Logic and Dynamite MC.
Day two was a different story as the heavens opened sporadically throughout the day meaning only the bravest – and Jake Bugg fans – ventured to the main stage on a very windy beach. I have to admit actually slightly looking forward to Jake Bugg having caught myself humming one of his tunes recently but then 20 minutes into his set, I realised the only people who knew any of the songs where those who had actually bought his sole album. This was a 19 year old new artist with just a debut album and 2 notable singles under his belt headlining a festival main stage when he really should on a BBC introducing stage at Reading or Glastonbury.
Nevermind any of that, the witching hour was fast approaching and I needed to get suitably drunk for Digital Soundboys night at one of the clubs in town. Having seen them a few times this summer already, I knew exactly what to expect and wasn’t disappointed, Dismantle, B.Traits and Shy FX championed that carnival sound with a healthy dose of Breakage’s Drum n Bass staple.
It was finally time for Rinse FM at the Sailors Club in town and I was seriously looking forward to this new disco version on Skream (google ‘skream quits dubstep for disco’). Roska, Jackmaster and Eats Everything brought the vibes first as the club filled up for one more night before the man himself took to stage and tore it up. This was undoubtedly a disco set, but it was somehow current and fun without the horrible glitter and simpsons character ‘disco stew’ that comes to mind when you think of the genre.
Alas the festival was at an end, it had its highs and its lows having sampled life on the beach back in Newquay compared to the more conventional set up they had in Wales, but what matters most is what the organisers take from this and have in store for us next year.
Published on 28 June 2013 by Jesse.Olu
