overview

Glade 2007, like many festivals that year, fell foul to conditions that were testing in the extreme. Waist high mud and an at times impenetrable site ensured that only the hardiest of ravers dared to defy the festival gods and try again. If any crowd deserved to be rewarded for their perseverance, it was the 10,000 or so people making the pilgrimage to Berkshire's Wasing Park for the sequel. Said festival gods, thankfully, were smiling, and despite a disquieting amount of cloud cover and a few spots of rain overnight on Thursday, and during the early part of Friday, revellers' fears of a repeat of the now legendarily bad conditions were unfounded, and the Glade faithful were rewarded with what is sure to go down in the festival's history as a classic

Given Glade's heritage, growing as it did out of the Glastonbury electronica stage of the same name, it is no surprise that many aspects of the Pilton festival are present here. A laid back attitude, non-segregation of camping and stage areas, and a decent real ale selection all score points for a festival in this reviewer's book. The fact that Glade completely eschews corporate sponsorship in all its forms makes a refreshing change, and makes the whole thing feel much more like a festival, rather than the advertising exercise which many such events have turned into.

One of the first things that hits the first time Glade attendee is the size of the site – it's tiny! Taking less than ten minutes to walk from end to end, this isn't a festival which requires a meticulous amount of planning, and wandering in and out of the numerous tented stages as you go is usually rewarded with some hidden gem or another, and given that the stages are laid out in something resembling a straight line, this is not a festival where boredom is likely to set in!



The Wasing Park site itself is beautiful, surrounded as it is by ancient trees and rolling countryside, and the efforts of the festival planners complement the natural surrroundings, rather than clash with them, with a multitude of flags, installations, shelters and seating dotted around the main arena and beyond. Capping the whole thing off is a magnificent installation in the form of Inspiral, which rewards the curious festival goer who wanders right through the site with a stunning chill-out area, complete with sculpture, ambient lighting, and one of the best after-dark lightshows seen at a festival in recent times.

That all being said, this is a music festival above all, and one with a firm focus on all things electronic, ensuring that the dancing shoes of the revellers in attendance a solid workout across the weekend. As may be expected, the main Glade stage is the scene for many of the highlights. The first major discovery of day one came in the form of A.Human, an outfit blending electronica, prog rock and grunge in a manner which seemed to combine all the best bits of Nick Cave and the Pet Shop Boys, without sounding as awful as that combination really should. 'Black Moon' got the small crowd moving early on, and the set hardly let up for the full hour they were on stage.



However great it can be dancing in a darkened tent with complete strangers, it is nothing compared with dancing in the sunlight with complete strangers, and this may explain why the outdoor Origins stage was easily the most well attended over the course of the weekend. Dedicated to the psy-trance subgenre, the atmosphere around this particular stage was magnificent. Transwave set the standard as the sun began to set, and by the time Cape Town native Protoculture came to the decks, there was no chance of it being anything less than extraordinary. An extended take on 'Ghost in the Machine' was crushing in its power, and by the time it faded out, Protoculture had taken his crowd on a journey which would not soon be forgotten.

Despite the promise of the Origins stage, curiosity compelled me to check out the Bangface event taking place in the Overkill tent. Bangface bring together acid house, jungle, hardcore and techno, and this showcase brought together some of the biggest names on the scene. Glowstyx arguably got the better end of the deal, playing a stormer to open the event to a packed tent. By the time The Doubtful Guest took to the stage, people were starting to wander away to find a spot for tonight's headliners, Pendulum.

Given that everyone in the country, including your gran, must have seen Pendulum live by now, it may seem surprising that so many people packed into the Glade tent for tonight's show. The simple truth, though, is that they are a tremendous live act that never disappoints.

Tonight's highlight laden set drew heavily from second album 'In Silico', as well as featuring a few surprising dips into debut longplayer 'Hold Your Colour' including a stunning rendition of 'Slam' which caught many off guard with its sheer weight. Of course, it was the more recent material that really got the Glade crowd moving, and by the time signature tune 'Propane Nightmares' came around, there was no doubting which act the night belonged to.



Of course, this being Glade, the night did not stop with the headline act, with Slam, Atomic Hooligan, and Hellfish all turning in noteworthy sets in the small hours by all accounts. Your intrepid reviewer, however chose to spend the remainder of the evening amongst the pretty lights and shiny things of the wonderful Inspiral installation, before the lure of a warm tent and a little well needed sleep all became just too much.

As the early part of day two drew on, the absence of revellers was noteworthy. Glade is clearly a nocturnal festival, and the vast majority of people were still clearly sleeping off the excesses of the night before, and those that weren't seemed to just be on their way to bed. It was with some pity that I observed a few acts that had been given the thankless task of playing today's opening sets to threadbare audiences and a few tired looking stewards. It wasn't until Subgiant turned in a thumping mid-afternoon set that the Glade stage started to fill, and from then on in, the crowds steadily grew, taking in sets from Overproof, Billy Nasty, and James Monro, all of which seemed to please the fans.



The first real highlight of day two, however, came in the form of Dreadzone. The London based dub-reggae crossover outfit stormed Glade and came out victorious. Breakthrough single 'Little Britain', and anthemic 'Love The Life' will, for many, be remembered as an integral part of the soundtrack to the weekend.

Following Dreadzone was never going to be an easy task, but rapidly rising techno star James Holden carried it off with aplomb. As he laid down a safe but crowd pleasing set, the crowd inside the tent rapidly swelled, and the flourish with which he performed was clearly appreciated by the masses, and no-one in attendance would have minded if he had played right through the following set by System 7, who sadly failed to live up to the high expectations and high standards set by the preceding two acts.



Away from the Glade stage, the sheer lunancy of the Osaka Invasion mini-residency in Overkill was mesmerising. DJ Scotch Egg and Ove Naxx both confounded in their own way, before Maruosa took to the stage with a metal edged set which owed as much to the art-noise scene as to his japanese electronica contemporaries. Thrilling, terrifying and astounding all at once, Maruosa is one of those few performers pushing the line between music and high art, and is making something truly, deeply unique.

The night's two headliners could not have been more different. Dubfire delivered a largely generic set which, although engaging enough, never seemed to take off. The crowd, however, seemed to get into it, so what do I know? As I ambled off to catch the start of Autechre, I presumed I was in for something quite different, and I was right.

The avant-garde duo known as Autechre have something of a reputation for breaking rules, and this set was no different. The started their low key set in complete darkness, and it took a while for anyone to realise they were actually on stage. For a headline act to begin in such a way was unnerving, but Autechre took it one step further, and played almost their entire set in an ominous half-light. The resultant shift in the mood of the crowd was tangible. Instead of dancing, people simply heard and appreciated the music being created by the Rochdale duo. This was as close as Glade could possibly come to pure theatre, and it showed just what can happen when you focus on the music, and the music alone.



After the hedonistic excesses of the preceding two days, many people used the excuse of the shortened Sunday session as an excuse to begin the long journey home. Day three of the festival featured few real highlights, perhaps testament to the organisers' realisation that the main event had passed by now. However, notable exceptions came in the form of trip-hop outfit Red Snapper on the Glade, Iration Steppas tearing up the Breaksday stage, and The Orb finishing off the whole show with a crowd friendly set to an appreciative although dwinding audience.

Overall, Glade 2008 was a resounding success. The acts, the organisers, the weather and the crowd all came together to create an event which will live long in the memory. Glade is surely the crown on the UK dance music scene, and it can only be hoped that as it grows in stature, it will retain the aspects which make it so wonderful. This was my first time, but it certainly won't be my last.

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