review by Robin & Lynsey

This year's Homelands saw many changes to the regular set-up of the festival at Matterley Bowl, but the changes really didn't disappoint.

Fewer tents than previous years had some regular Homelands-goers dubious about the effects of downsizing. Their doubts were proved unfounded as soon as the festival rolled into view, looking just as big and exciting as ever. Speculation about the weather also dogged the build-up, with erratic forecasts during the week before the event predicting everything from bright sunshine to torrential downpours for the big day. However the rain mostly held off, with only a token shower during the afternoon to dampen the spirits of the beat-hungry crowd.

Manchester's soulful drum n bass collective, Un-Cut, were first up on the Live Stage this year. Their short 7 song set showed much promise, with Jenna G's awesome voice and stage presence never failing to impress, but we felt their set lacked the sparkle we'd been hoping for.



After a short re-fuelling break and a bit of a wander round the site, we caught Junior Senior, also on the Live Stage. Having only heard the single "Move Your Feet" prior to this, we had no idea what to expect from the Danish popsters. It was, however, a very pleasant surprise: Junior Senior stormed onto the stage with such energy and enthusiasm that they had the audience singing from the second track, while their cover versions of "Twist n Shout" and Salt n Pepper's "Push It" got the crowd going mental.



We then caught the Audio Bullys' set, which was far more impressive than expecting, mostly due to the talents of front man, Simon Franks, whose sheer energy kept the crowd rocking from start to finish. The B-Bar called after that and we were powerless to resist, particularly as Tiefschwarz's tunes began to beckon us onto the packed dancefloor. Admittedly, this was not a DJ we were familiar with before Homelands 03, but as his funky tribal house sounds moved seamlessly into kitsch electro-pop, it was a name we vowed to remember.

Next up was the first of many trips of the night to the new, eclectic Arena 5, for Madonna collaborator and ex-Les Rhythmes Digitales man, Jacques Lu Cont's back-to-back set with Pedro Winter. Between them they played a crowd-pleasing set of electro-tinged party tunes such as The Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right", Steve Miller Band's "Abracadabra", Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" and a quality remix of forthcoming Madonna single "Hollywood", all of which whipped the crowd into a bopping frenzy.

Back at the Live Arena, we caught 2002's Mercury Music Prize nominees The Streets. Although this was a set we had been particularly looking forward to, their live act was disappointing. While Mike Skinner was on good form in terms of crowd interaction, musically The Streets failed to excite and we didn't stay for the full set, preferring to return to Arena 5 for a spot of eclectic mixing madness courtesy of The Avalanches' DJ Dexter, on great form as usual. 2 Many DJs were up next in the same venue, kicking off their set with clubbers' favourite "La La Land", before launching into a set full of the kind of electro-pop favourites that have made their As Heard on Radio Soulwax (part 2) album a dance classic.



By the end of the 2 Many DJs set, we'd come to a strange realisation: there was almost more festival atmosphere as you left the tents to go outside than there was inside the arenas! This year saw a definite increase in that intangible festival vibe, which can only be a positive thing.

The rest of the night gets a little hazy, as we're sure you can appreciate. Slam in Arena 4 whose set can only really be described as quality banging techno. Dillinja & Lemon D in Arena 3 were also on good form: Dillinja bringing the darkness to balance Lemon D's jazzy funk. Following on in the same arena, the usually reliable Fabio failed to deliver the quality you can normally expect from him, delivering a set of such "stoppy-starty-ness" (thanks Cycloid!) that many people just left. We followed the crowd out into the buzzing site to wander round and just take it all in once again.



It was on our travels that we discovered the Strongbow Rooms, a place overlooked at previous festivals. And what have we been missing!!? This brightly-lit dancing palace was packed with people getting down to Strongbow residents, Matt Dix, Jim Byers and Ben Arnold's deep and funky grooves, while the Rooms' stunning visuals and colour-change dance-floor kept the crowd entertained.

The rest of the night seemed to pass very quickly indeed, seeing us in Arena 5 for James Lavelle' Unklesounds showcase, which was quite as funky as expected, before DJ Food took us into the small hours with a set of chilled beats. After that it was time to finish our night in style with Alex Hardee of the Plump DJs, who played an impressive breakbeat set to the hardcore still dancing until 6am.

This year's Homelands may not have been bigger, but it was most certainly better than in previous years. The addition of the musically eclectic Arena 5 was a bonus to my festival, as were the improved decorations inside the different tents. The people seemed friendlier than ever this year, with a buzzing festival vibe to rival any of its competitors. We'll certainly be at Homelands 2004 – BRING IT ON!!!

Latest Updates