The Big Chill 2005

Had a great time at the Big Chill this year – took our newly-acquired VW Kamper down there to avoid the usual midnight-attempt-to-pitch-a-tent-in-the-rain-before-the-festival.

The general timetable for me and the family were The Collectors (right) – loungin’ on a sofa on a Friday afternoon in the Sanctuary Tent drinking beer to tripped-out beats, breaks and downtempo grooves, killin me softly; Trojan sound system on a Saturday afternoon – chillin’ in the sunshine drinking rum cocktail to Tippa Irie and co killing me dubly – bliss; Norman Jay on the Sunday afternoon, dancing happily in the sunshine drinking Southern Comfort cocktail to soul, house and hip hop tunes killing me lightly – wicked.

The whole thing was brilliantly organised if I can force myself to forget the state of the toilets for a few minutes, and the line-up, layout, food and level of entertainment and thoughtfulness on behalf of the organisers was world-class.

Other acts worth mentioning were Nick Ruscombe – great downtempo DJ set – Rob Wood, playing wicked funk and house before St. Etienne, and London Elektricity – playing for me the set of the weekend with an incredible display of ultra-tight-latin-flavoured dnb; absolutely spellbinding and inspirational.

Can’t wait til next year. It’ll be 10 years since I last played there – maybe I’ll see if I can get myself back on the bill!

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