Madrid got well-dressed and spread the red carpet on the 30 kilometres that connect the Spanish capital with Arganda del Rey. There, three astonishing stages were built over the Ciudad del Rock in order to, during two long nights, bring together several of the greatest names in the national and international electronic scene. At eight o’clock in the evening, the doors of A Summer Story were opened. And yes, until eight in the morning. 12 daily hours of bomb after bomb that, from the beginning of the festival on Friday, presaged a weekend of the very first level both on stage and on the dancefloor. We enjoyed as children with each of the performances we saw, but we believe that these seven are the shows that we remember with greater euphoria.
Andrés Campo @ Inside City
Our first appointment was with our beloved Andrés Campo. The DJ from Huesca had an important weekend ahead, which started very early on Friday at the Mainstage of A Summer Story. Andrés gave us a one hour set in which his traditional aggressive techno, with acid touches and even some rave components, set the pace. The dance floor wasn’t full yet, but several tens of thousands of people were already concentrated in front of the Spaniard to inaugurate the party in style.
Loco Dice @ Inside City
All the Xceed team voted for him as the best performance, not only on Friday but on the whole festival. It’s difficult to describe Loco Dice‘s style. Above tech-house in terms of intensity, but clearly below techno. The bass was powerful, hard, serious. The groove kept people on high, given to his long rises and his unexpected drops loaded with effects and components attached with a live format. The vocals brought freshness. As a whole, German producer’s DJ set picked us up in the first minute and it didn’t let us escape until Loco took the fader down and left the decks. Memorable.
Vini Vici @ Burn Village
We are talking about two of the greatest psy-trance exponents worldwide. The duo from Israel has established itself at the top of the trance scene in recent years, showing a great mastery in remixing commercial hits. At A Summer Story, they showed it off by converting to psy-trance classic tracks such as Eric Prydz‘s ‘Pjanoo’ or Avicii’s ‘Fade Into Darkness’, paying homage to the recently deceased Swedish producer. Without a doubt, that was one of the most emotional moments of the weekend.
Joris Voorn b2b Kölsch @ Inside City
We had to wait until 6:30 in the morning to see them. It was the most exciting option of the day. The kindest; the most inspiring. Probably, also the most beautiful. Not many artists have produced such a good deep house and melodic electronica like the Dutch Joris Voorn and the Danish Kölsch. Together, they gave Madrid an unforgettable dawn. A radiant sun danced to the ton of epic pieces like ‘Café Del Mar’ by Energy 52, ‘Go’ by Moby, ‘Loreley’ and ‘HAL’ by Kölsch himself and ‘Goodbye Fly’ and ‘Ringo’ by the great Joris Voorn. These are moments that got recorded in our memories forever.
Recondite (live) @ Budweiser Town
If on Friday we had to enter the festival before midnight, on Saturday we had to do it even earlier. The friendly closing on the first day relegated us to a much darker choice, plenty of solitary but absolutely inspiring melodies. Recondite‘s music is easy to recognize: deep techno at about 124 bpm and, always, with a lot of unreleased content and tracks that haven’t been published yet. A Summer Story wasn’t an exception.
Stephan Bodzin (live) @ Budweiser Town
Another easily recognizable live act is that by another German: Stephan Bodzin. His knowledge of the synthesizer and the keyboard has led him to become one of the most prestigious producers on the scene. Unlike Recondite, Bodzin played many of the most acclaimed tracks by the audience: ‘Sleepless’, ‘Powers Of Ten’, ‘Catamaran’, ‘Strand’, ‘Monument’ and, of course, ‘Singularity’, the masterpiece that placed him in the centre of all eyes two years ago.
Surgeon & Lady Starlight (hardware live) @ Budweiser Town
It was planned that the most loved couple by the loyal industrial techno lovers would appear on the scene at 4 am. However, they did it at 5:30 am, exchanging their turn with Madrid DJ Óscar Mulero. Surgeon‘s and Lady Starlight‘s live show turned the Budweiser Town into an absolute morning rave, something that went even further when Rebekah closed the madness at 140bpm. Meanwhile, DJ Nano played myths that we will never forget like Pont Aeri’s ‘Flying Free’ or Kate Ryan‘s ‘Désenchantée’. A Summer Story is a festival for all tastes and minds, a proposal that allows EDM, trance, ‘remember’ music and techno lovers to walk together in an adventure that, in 2019, will celebrate its 5th anniversary. And, of course, we will be there.
(Cover Image: © A Summer Story)
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