Junction 2 has been on my bucket list for a long time, known for their outstanding roster of artists that perform underground tech and house music, last weekend I had the privilege to attend and let me tell you lot…it was an unforgettable weekend!
SATURDAY
I arrived at Boston Manor Park on Saturday around 2pm, early.. but I was not going to miss out on seeing MHA IRI’S set! First green flag there was no long queues! It was such a breeze getting into the festival and when I entered I was surprised by the beautiful green space and the layout of the whole festival was such easy access to bars, toilets and food stalls all being so close to the stages and tents! Which was music to my ears (pardon the pun).
Heading to straight to the bar for a pint of beer which is the quintessential go to drink at a festival Argue with yourself if you believe otherwise! I wanted to get myself situated around the grounds as I had 5 stages I wanted to party the weekend away in. I ended up following this crowd that were Walking through the woods. Winding through the trees, the ground started to thump from the sounds of the techno beats that was pulling us into this secret space. It was the perfect little sun trap and a little escape from the main action! I could’ve of stayed their all day two stepping to the eclectic tunes bouncing around the trees! But I needed to head to the Dome stage to see MHA IRI’S set!
Walking into the dome (Junction 2’s newest stage), a fully enclosed rave tent featuring a 360° sound system, four dance platforms and insane visuals by Japanese artist Manami Sakamoto set to host artists including Salute and Madonna over the weekend, my eyes were struck by blue and red flashing lights but all I could focus on were the tough baselines and kick drums that MHA IRI was playing to the crowd and they were eating it up! From someone dressed up as a unicorn to a guy dancing on the floor with techno on his glasses and a crowd full of all different generations head bopping and screaming with excitement at every bass drop.
After witnessing the most energetic and sickest hard techno set I’ve listened to in a while, I needed to head over to the iconic Bridge stage! I had never seen it so I wasn’t sure what to expect but once I turned that corner my jaw dropped under the M4 was a swarm of people
Scattered from the top of the hill to people bouncing around the front of the stage. From afar I knew it was Juliet Fox playing her iconic mesmeric techno beats that was intertwined with unique trippy vocals! Fox got the crowd so hyped with her high-impact tracks that the music felt like it echoed throughout the stage and to the top the entrance of Junction 2.
Not a shock but I can’t stay in one place for a long time so I went back to strolling around the festival! As it got later into the day more and more attendees arrived! This is my favourite part of festivals when the energy gets more powerful and the crowds are dancing with no care in the world. As I walked to the centre of the festival I could see group after group at a fast pace trying to get into the Fabric 25 tent, so with no question about it I needed to see what was up! The Fabric 25 tent was too good! With the stage behind the decks opened up for the crowd to dance behind to Rene Wise’s Hypnotic beats, he created a techno synergy which felt like it was 9pm in Berlin but I was reminded as I left the festival it was only 6pm and I was in London !
Now no judging to why I left the festival early! As I was attending Sunday and you cannot disagree that Sunday line up was untouchable and I needed my beauty sleep!
Sunday
I woke up with a little hangover from yesterday’s drinks and then after I had a cheeky few at the local. But nothing was going to let this hangover bring down my energy for how gassed I was! I got ready as quick as I could and headed over to Eailing to meet up with the guys. As I re-entered the festival I was met with the same easy experience of getting in, we got the gang together and we all headed to the Grid stage to see the icon Eliza Rose, we all know her for the summer of all summer tracks B.O.T.A, but I have never seen her DJ, Playing us some clubby underground tracks we were set for a day full of house and groovy tracks!
Then of course we wondered through the woods, as we danced through the fairy lights I could hear these electrifying club beats that were ingraining my brain. And this once a secret location was now packed out with people dancing to these punchy sounds that Marie Montexier was playing.
Right now let’s be honest we all came to witness legends Joy Anonymous and Barry Cant Swim play. So we headed to the bridge thinking we was arriving at a good time! Oh my I wish I told my future self to head to the bridge an hour before but no, when we walked to the bridge the queue went all the way to grid stage and There was a 15 minute wait! But we needed to witness these artists perform! So we firmed it. Once we got through, the bridge was filled of ravers partying to
Joy Anonymous we only managed to situate ourselves near the bar as going any further we was not getting out! Joy Anonymous impressed the crowd with their multi genre tracks of house, disco and garage. Giving the crowd what we wanted with euphoric beats and truly sharing joy throughout the thousands of people partying down the bridge.
In a quest to get out of the bridge, we stubbled upon Anotr performing at the grid stage and they gave the crowd the slickest beats that we had heard all day with the influences of disco, soul, funk and everything in between. These boys got us lot grooving hard to every beat drop and tune played they took us on a journey into different blends of club tracks. Dropping their iconic tunes like ‘relax your eyes’ and ‘vertigo’ it got the crowd singing to the top of their lungs and created such a buzzing energy.
We hadn’t stopped all day… our breaks consisted of going to the bathroom or getting a pint, we felt like kids running around and dancing like we’ve had too much sugar! We sat down for a little bit to catch up on our day and to catch up on life. What I noticed when I stopped for a minute was the different people who attended the festival, there was such mixed crowd of people being a feen for the music or people just sitting down on blankets and enjoying the tunes. Which was such a nice mix of energy from the attendees over the weekend.
After approximately spending 15 minutes sitting down we needed to get another dose of some electronic beats! Then I remembered that Saoirse was playing in the Fabric 25 tent, the guys needed no convincing to get together and head over. When we walked into the tent the instant surge of adrenaline from the pumping beats of bass, garage, jungle and euphoric house filled up our brains and we couldn’t stop dancing! Saoirse scratches our ears every time with her wacky and moody tech grooves!
Finishing the night we went out to the grid to see The Martinez Brothers perform and they finished with a classic remix of ‘you don’t know me’ which got the whole crowd singing along in sync and was the perfect tune to end such a sick weekend. If your looking to attend a festival next summer in London trust me you don’t want to miss out on Junction 2.
Photography – Poppy Williams & Jake Davis