When we first spotted the lineup for We Are FSTVL 2023, it shocked us…why? Because it was very, VERY Broke Magazine. Interplanetary Criminal, DJ Seinfeld, Horse Meat Disco, Dom Dolla, Brualismus 3000, I Hate Models, a Teletech dedicated stage on Friday, the list goes on.
Don’t get us wrong, last year’s lineup included a couple of our drum and bass favourites, Darkzy, Kanine and Skepsis, but that was nothing compared to 2023’s electronic music masterpiece, something that only real ravers could have curated, tempting dancers to Damyns Hall Aerodrome with a fusion of their favourite underground and established DJs.
Before we continue, let’s make something clear…We Are FSTVL, in our opinion, had the best lineup of 2023 by far (and that’s something we don’t say lightly).
Now, onto the nitty gritty stuff. The first thing to shift our perspective of We Are FSTVL was discovering that the event was recently purchased by a new company, ready to take the extravaganza into an entirely new era (think fresh partnerships, creative direction and production).
We won’t lie, like any new (or newly reborn) festival, as they find their feet, the first few will always be a little wobby, like a baby taking its first steps, but not bad, by any measure of the word.
Arriving on Saturday, we watched DJs working to find their rhythm with a mixed crowd, some drawn in by the new lineup (us included), first-time festival goers and die-hard We Are FSTVL fans returning for another year. We spent most of the day bopping between stages, searching for our sound and a place to settle in, beginning at Circoloco with our favourite Amsterdam duo ANOTR, before dipping between Bluey, Skepta, Shy FX and Ben Hemsley’s sets.
Honestly, at points, we weren’t sure what to do with ourselves, but as 8 PM rolled around and Skream (aka our DJ daddy) came to save the day, as we watched his musical wizardry unfold alongside a frankly undersized collection of his fans.
It wasn’t until Saturday evening, stood alongside old-school ravers at the Prodigy, some of which had bought a ticket purely to see the electronic dance legends, watching attendees ascend into the air atop their friends shoulders, that we witnessed a glimpse of what We Are FSTVL could be…a space for the rave community to come together, create friendships, cry, bond, be together to bask in a euphoria that can’t be felt anywhere else. We ended the night on a high, with a few-found appreciation for We Are.
On Sunday, everything fell into place. Entering the arena that afternoon with a new lease of life for the festival and the next-level lineup awaiting us, we were ready to lose ourselves in the rave.
Starting off the day dancing to DJ Seinfeld at the Circaloco stage alongside otherside eager early birds, catching Haai b2b Saoirse (a collab we never knew we needed), who followed closely after before having a dance under the Disco Disco stage dome, stopping into see our sweetheart Sweely at the Fuse stage and dipping into Dom Dolla b2b Eats Everything at the Trick tent.
As 7 PM rolled around, we patiently waited for the mother of house music, Honey Dijon, to grace us with her presence. Hitting the decks with one of the busiest crowds we’d seen all weekend, our musical mother fed us a heavenly hour and a half of house. Taking us through the golden hour and into the night, Honey bid us goodbye with one sweet final track before sending us out of the tent to explore our new-found playground.
Seeing out We Are FSTVL 2023 to Horse Meat Disco, cosied up under the dome, we realised we’d found our people, from the stragglers at Skream to the fellow groovy festival goers we’d found ourselves dancing with in that moment and following what will be looked back on as its rebirth, We Are, is already attracting the friendly, loving crowds of the real rave family and you’ll damn well see us there next year.
Photography by Khali Ackford