An Italian festival to be really proud of. Year after year, Kappa FuturFestival is conquering more and more popularity around Europe and has absolutely nothing to envy to any other events of this type. This edition counted over 60 thousand attendees, a remarkable number for the Italian clubbing scene. China, Brazil, Norway, the list is long… clubbers this year arrived from all over the world, more precisely from more than 60 different countries. A super result, just as super as the performances we saw in the four stages of the festival. Turin, since years the home of a certain type of events, is becoming more and more electronic, more and more underground.
The attendees, as already reported, arrived from all over the world, they are of different nationalities and this is something particular and unusual for Italy, used to “home parties”. To capture the clubbers of Kappa FuturFestival there’s a team of photographers, chosen by nonetheless Oliviero Toscani, one of the masters of Italian photography. The result of the project is a report of unique clubbers, with a very well curated and eccentric style, and of simple and more natural clubbers. What is certain here, is that everyone has a common passion: the music.
Saturday
Once arrived in Parco Dora we are immediately amazed, it is really impressive. After having passed the security check (including the drug check, which we have noticed being very rigid) we found ourselves in the beautiful park of Torino, which for two days is literally transformed into a micro-universe of electronic music. After a quick tour, we start dancing with Apollonia, the trio composed by Shonky, Dyed Soundorom and Dan Ghenacia. Their music is the perfect choice to start the weekend in the best way, and we get lost in their happy and groove rhythm. Us, together with the whole Burn Stage. The heat is almost unbearable and we decide to move under the fresh trees which surround the Dora Stage, where the Australian HAAi has just taken over the mix.
The sun is boiling, we already said it, although the crowd is stuck to the dance floor enjoying her set. It’s quite hard to move from here, the rhythm and the bpms are rising a bit at a time, until an explosion of happiness hugs everyone. HAAi smiles, we smile, everybody smiles. And it’s smiling that we move to the main stage, the Jäger Stage, to dance to the tech-house of Nic Fanciulli. The situation is fun but, unfortunately, it doesn’t give us that “wow” effect, maybe because it’s not one of our favourite genres in the electronic music world. But what leaves us speechless is the stateliness of the scenario: the super tall red metal structure, the stage installation and, more than anything else, the massive crowd dancing in the long dance floor. It’s an amazing feeling.
In general, for its scenario, the festival could almost remind Berlin or Detroit, at least to the ones who have been and know them. The writings on the walls and the disrupted areas give that “underground” touch which makes the setting of the festival unique in its kind. We explore the last stage, the Seat Stage. The line up here is pure techno; is going to become the, as said, the techno stage? At the decks, there is Amelie Lens. The general idea on her are various, people like her but also dislike her (as everyone, in reality). Something though is undeniable: the enthusiasm she puts into her sets and her explosive energy make of this young Belgian DJ and producer a proper phenomenon. The crowd is full of energy and every drop is a real explosion.
We enjoy the handover of Carl Cox, a massive legend in the world of electronic music. The stage, if possible, fills up even more. Microphone in the hand, a big thank you to the colleague and the party with the King begins. “Oh Yes Oh Yes” his warm voice sings on the bass. In the Main Stage, at the same moment, there is another legend. Directly from Detroit: Derrick May, one of the founders of techno music. The rhythm rises track after track, the drops are one heavier than the other, and his by now well-known “fader game” makes the crowd go crazy. A crowd which seems to never get tired.
We decide to end the first day of the festival at the Dora Stage. Prins Thomas and Gerd Janson in B2B. They have managed to create the perfect atmosphere, a following up of House tracks that leave everyone smiling. Everyone is having fun, dancing, hugging. The day is ending in the best of ways. Music once again as confirmed itself as the main subject of the night. We run and have something to eat the food area, organized quite well, despite the queues aren’t or the quickest. We follow the flow of the clubbers who weren’t able to resist up to the end and we start leaving. Tired, but really very satisfied.
Sunday
The sun is high in the sky and the second day of Kappa FuturFestival is awaiting. Sadly, as soon as we arrive, we receive bad news: the super attended Peggy Gou won’t make it to the festival because of food poisoning. Despite the disappointment, the surprise is immediate as the one who proposes to cover the empty slot is Amelie Lens herself. Two gigs in two days then, to the joy of her fans. The BPMs go crazy and it’s only 15, the day can’t be anything but awesome. Something certain about this girl is that she really doesn’t lack in the will; maybe her success hasn’t been only marketing, but also her very strong and powerful charisma.
We slow down the beats but we increase the fun at the Dora Stage with the exceptional San Proper. At the end of everything, this has been our absolutely favourite performance. The microphone on, no shirt and tattoos out – as usual. San Proper starts entertaining his crowd under the boiling sun, raising even more the temperatures and delivering a proper show. An almost incomprehensible speech, but an ability in following the flow of words that make it seem the vocal of the track. Yet no, it’s all improvisation. A beautiful moment to remember is his tribute to Phipille Zdar from Cassius, who sadly recently disappeared.
Following, we let Charlotte de Witte’s techno hypnotize us on the Seat Stage. Another Belgian promise, really loved by her crowd. It must also be because she’s really good; the track selection creates the perfect atmosphere for the first rays of sunset. The ravers on the grass dance, every track writes a paragraph of the story of her set. It’s on the notes of Perc’s “Look What Your Love Has Done To Me” that the whole stage seems to literally go crazy. Yes, this is a track that works really well on the dance floor. And yes, the day is still long. After a good dose of techno, to make us carry on dancing it’s Denis Sulta, at the Dora Stage. The first word that comes to our mind looking at him is: fun. The arm up in the air, wild dance track after track, cheers with his friends and with the crowd and, above all, a lot of big smiles. An incredibly addictive charisma and an amazing stage presence. What makes us go wild though is his music; pure House music in UK style, mixed with the ability to extrapolate emotions from every single track, make of his a set made of fun and at the same time warm melodies.
We jump a bit also with Luciano, at the Main Stage. Here the cheerful melodies change country and fly up to Latin America. The father of Cadenza is well known for his party style, typical of the Latin countries, and it’s exactly what he delivers to the public of Kappa FuturFestival. There’s no doubt, Luciano has always been one of the strongest personalities in this industry, especially for the passion that transpires when he plays. Despite his personal matters (moreover explained publicly) made him play less often in recent years, we’re happy we saw him in really good shape. The sun has set and the lights brighten up the crowd of Dora Stage who’s dancing to the tracks of Jeremy Underground and Motor City Drum Ensemble. A couple who has already performed together on other occasions, as in the last edition of the Sónar Festival, for the 25th anniversary. We get lost in the House music and in the mixing skills of the two deck masters.
The Black Madonna, the friend of House music and humans’ rights, closes Burn Stage with such a strong energy that it’s really hard not wishing to go on all night long. The enormous led wall behind her illuminates the whole stage alternating very well-curated lights and visual arts. With this music tornado, the party is guaranteed. A bit of Funk, some Soul voices which warmly hug all the clubbers who are dancing with their hands in the air. We do the last tour of the night, and also of the year to say the truth, at the Dora Stage. The Red Axes are literally enchanting the crowd with their sound and their oriental melodies. This is almost the end of our adventure here.
We close this edition of the festival with Modeselektor, the Berlin duo known for their amazing live shows. And it’s a live show we were expecting, but unfortunately, they had to change last minute to DJ set. Not too bad, with them, the fun is almost a guaranty. They chose “New Error”, the track produced as Moderat, their project with Apparat. Could you imagine a best way to end the festival?
We have to admit it, our expectations towards Kappa FuturFestival were not very high, but we pleasantly changed opinion, as we were much more than satisfied. Maybe because we are proud of such a success in Italy? Yes, this probably influences a lot our sympathy towards this festival.
(Official After Movie © Elephant Studio)
The artists we saw are many, just like the ones that, unfortunately, we didn’t see. Such a line up makes it almost impossible to leave each stage to go and hear other artists. What struck us the most was the organization and the end result, really positive, of such an event. It’s sad to say, but the Italian clubbing scene is not going through it’s easiest times just now. Although, Turin with this festival has confirmed itself as one of the most underground cities of Italy, and one of the most avant-garde cities when it comes to electronic music. Lived the success of this edition, we are expecting even more from the next one and we really can’t wait to see what it will be like!
(Cover image & images © Phlame)
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