Retro-Trax delivers for those into their Old-Skool raving

"Hail, fucking hail", shouts Old Skool Raver number one.
"It's four seasons in one day ain't it", nods back Old Skool raver two, as his chin takes yet another dive to the left.
"Hail, fucking hail", repeats Old Skool raver number one just in case anybody missed his joke.

We're here in the Groove Cafe. It's the only place to get coffee on site, except the proprietor forgot to pack any when setting up so we're left with a frankly dazzling array of teas - green, fruit and traditional. A cheese and ham panini flies past my head as a gust of wind removes one of the makeshift plastic tablecloths and for a creaky moment I fear that this tent is coming down. But it doesn't and within five minutes, sun has returned and the festival hailstones are just another blip in the most ardent ravers brain.

I'm here in a field somewhere off the M1 at Retro-Trax festival. Retro-Trax is the brainchild of Ian Kenyon. It's a two day festival that harks back to those days in the early 1990's when rave was relevant and revolutionary, when buying a tablet didn't involve going to an Apple store and neon smiley faces threatened to take over. Kenyon has been in this scene ever since and after a widely heralded debut at Bath Racecourse last year has moved to Stanford Hall in Lutterworth for his latest effort. I'm told that the line up he has put together is super stellar old Skool and flicking through the glossy 24 page programme it's hard to disagree with this. Fast Eddie (from Chicago, Illnois), Alfredo (the father of the Balearic Beat), Hard Floor (German Techno and Acid trance duo) and Faydz & Twista (Swindon) - all names that mean little to me but names that seem rooted in the heritage of this genre.

It's a sanitised version of those days. This is no all-nighter. The Saturday has a curfew time of 11PM and the Sunday finishes at 6. It's perhaps designed to suit those here that are celebrating their 40th birthdays and those that have to get back to work on the Monday morning.

There are three 'arenas' within the festival site. Call me a pedant but they look like large marquees. They're set in a triangle and you can walk between tents within half a minute if that is your desire. In the middle of the triangle is a patch of grass and in the middle of that are the cubicles and urinals. Each tent is dedicated to a genre of music from back in the day.

In the red corner, we've got the hardcore/jungle tent. I poke my head through the ropes on arrival on the Saturday afternoon to find Vinyl Vera on the decks. I only know it's Vinyl Vera because the informative MC states this to be the case every thirty seconds or so. When not name-checking Vinyl Vera, the helpful MC tells us that he likes smoking marijuana. He seems to have a lot of energy. The hardcore/jungle tent is one of the busiest throughout the weekend. Later on the Saturday afternoon, DJ Scotty and MC Jamie Irie provide us with some reggae tinged jungle and then later still one of the three 2 Bad Mice scratches like there's no tomorrow. Another asks us "who's on it?" whilst urging us to "raise our hands because we are the people of music." 2 Bad Mice have got the crowd on side even if it's only the most energetic who are in time with every beat they're producing. For most of us Old Skool ravers, a gentle side to side swaying motion is all that we can muster.

In the green corner is the techno/trance and prog tent. On paper, this tent looks like it's got the strongest line up. The Sunday afternoon looks particularly strong in here with the promise of a DJ set from Dr Alex 'The Orb' Paterson (I'm pretty sure he didn't show at the time the programme had him listed), Justin Robertson (who, dressed like a naughty French sailor complete with neckerchief, beret and fitted white shirt put in one of the best sets of the weekend) and Phil Hartnoll (who had his set cut short due to a Sunday 6.00PM curfew). It's a tent that's disappointingly empty throughout the weekend though and I can't entirely work out why. Perhaps the subtler beats going on in here are not to everybody's taste but the ambience is right up my street. We catch Ian Ossia (I think – no helpful MC in here) producing something that is hypnotic, compelling and largely ignored.

The sun comes out and we sit on the grass for a while watching the world go by. The festival is only about five hours in but already I feel like I'm an outsider looking in. It doesn't feel very busy in the field but those that are here are clearly having a blast. The bar seems to be doing a decent trade in cans of Carling and Strongbow but for £4 a token (or 10 for £35) I decide against alcohol. There are smileys galore and not just on the gurning faces of those bewildered by the subdued euphoria. The sunshine quickly passes and is replaced by showers, fast moving fluffy clouds, a chilling wind, sunshine again and then comes the aforementioned hail.

In the blue corner is the house tent. It's immediately apparent that this is the piece de resistance of the festival. The laser lights in here are impressive and the sound system seems crystal clear. We take in a live PA from N-Joi and I'm not alone in showing some energy and raising my hands to the heavens as the "I'm in Love With You, Want you to love me too" line from their hit 'Anthem' gets inside my head like an errant space invader. Despite the tendency towards Eurovision, this is a strong set from N-Joi and the presence of dancers and live vocalist brings something different from the DJ's and MC's in the other tents. True love can be hard to find. The following afternoon we see a bedraggled Sunscreem play a sparkling live set in here. There's something unique (definitely this weekend) in watching a band with guitars and real drums at a dance festival and although the PA struggles with clarity there's no doubt that the 'Love U More' crowd are burning and glowing with excitement as their set draws to a close.

We take a look at the stalls around the site. It doesn't take very long. If you're wanting to stock your wardrobes with rave paraphernalia then you're in the right place but I've got no immediate need for neon glowsticks so I walk on by. Food options are limited to a hog roast van selling burgers and a steak house van selling burgers and chips (with cheese). There's not much on offer if you're a vegetarian but the chips and cheese do a good job at warming us up as night begins to descend upon the site. I feel for those camping. It's absolutely freezing and the thought of a warm house and a decent cup of coffee twenty miles up the road in Leicester proves too strong a compulsion.

Given the state of some of the ravers when we left on the Saturday evening, I was expecting to discover zombies when we returned on the Sunday. In truth, people still seemed in good spirits if a little fatigued. Glimpses of Sunday morning sunshine get the optimist in me thinking that this could be T-shirt weather but by the time the afternoon comes we're resigned to dancing in drizzle. If the site was a bit busier then maybe the energy of the crowd would keep this party going but despite the best efforts of Sunscreem, Alfredo, Justin Robertson, and Phil Hartnoll there's a sense that punters can't wait to get back to their home comforts.

Retro-Trax isn't a festival that's aimed at me. I'm not into Old-Skool enough to be kept interested for a weekend but it was entirely evident that the majority of the punters were. Perhaps if the weather was better and I could have sat outside people watching I would have enjoyed it more. I've got few complaints about the organisation and I have the utmost respect for somebody like Ian Kenyon who follows a dream and takes a financial risk to do something that they love. It's already been announced that Retro-Trax is unlikely to be returning in 2014. Perhaps in 2015, Old-Skool will experience another renaissance and then I suspect that this'll be a festival attended by more than the hardcore.

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