Another summer series of Electric Island has concluded with a rock solid 2 day festival finale back on Toronto Island this past labour day weekend. It was a dope edition of the fest with some stellar sets but frankly, I think that Electric Island needs to start switching things up a bit in order to keep growing in a progressive way.
Day 1 kicked off with a medium-send Sonny Fodera set but things really started to heat up when UK duo Dusky got on the decks. Chris Liebing was up next and kept the vibes going with American legend Claude Vonstroke closing out the mainstage. Shoutouts to all the DJs spinning the second stage (Nittin, Gab Rhome, My Favorite Robot and Cri) because every time I went over there, the beats were banging and sometimes even better than the main stage.
Day 2 was a little rockier especially as the festival got cancelled due to a potential storm at around 7:15 right in the middle of Dixon’s exceptional set. That was obviously and literally a huge damper on things but biggups to the management. There was nothing they could have done and I thought they handled themselves professionally while getting everyone off the island in a safe and timely manner. They also threw 2 amazing after parties that were free for all island goers so that was a great way to make up for the big L we took. CODA was nuts with original day 2 headliner Sven Vath playing a marathon 7 hour set from 10 to 5 am (lol). It was literally one of the best nights I’d had at CODA in a while, Sven fucking killed it. The club was rammed wall to wall, couch to couch. I heard amazing things about the One Loft AP too, a venue that this blog is particularly fond of.
This year, they added a second stage which seemed like a long time coming but it really was a great addition. It was also awesome to finally be back at the festival’s namesake. That being said, the layout of the festival hasn’t changed much in 5 years and I think that the festival could diversify their sound. I understand that it’s a techno festival but when you have house acts like Claude Vonstroke and The Black Madonna coming through, I expect them to bring a bit of their own flavour. Claude Vonstroke mostly played tech and The Black Madonna played a fair bit too, both sets felt a little strange and forced to me. This blog values all sorts of electronic music and I personally think that Electric Island could showcase more electronic genres.
Despite the above criticisms and the general desire for change, it was a good rip overall and the HOL crew will definitely be back on the island next season for some heaters. See you all at Jamie Jones’ “Paradise in the Park” on September 24th, much love.
T.A