Strawberry Fields is an annual celebration of art, sound and creative expression held for three days each November, a few hours outisde of Melbourne, Australia. They are back for their seventh anniversary and wildest edition to date – with stages being dreamed up, new sites and bushland explored, and the gathering of one of the finest and most diverse musical lineups to date. Indulge yourself in a sensory feast, including soul shaking sound, world class decor, dozens of eclectic market stalls, artistic installations, live performance art, workshops, forum discussion and more.
Over 150 local and international musicians perform at Strawberry Fields each year across four stages. A huge range of genres are on display – from live soul and funk bands to hip-hop, house, electronica, techno and disco. The music program commences late on Friday afternoon and runs until Sunday evening. Stage breaks occur during late night hours to provide a quiet period whereby patrons can catch some well-deserved Z’s!
We’ll just let the music do the talking. From Apparat to Armin Payne, Andras and Andy Ukhthomsky. Bicep, Booka Shade, Boogs, Bryce Lawrence, CC Disco, Cocoa Noire, Cobblestone Jazz, Dan Bentley, Desmond Cheese, Eric Cloutier, Glenn Astro x Imyrmind, Handsdown x Leighboy, Human Movement, Jacob Malmo, Oliver James, Justin Martin, Lama, Kllo, Lapalux, Lord Echo, Lucianblomkamp, Manchild, Mathew Jonson, Max Cooper, Monty Mcgaw, Mood Machine, Muska, Oddisee, Oisima, Oliver Huntemann, Palms Trax, Patrice Scott, Peter Van Hoesen, Perfect Stranger, Post Percy, Power Station DJ’s, Rat&Co, Rodriguez Jr, Ryanosaurus, Shigeto, Silentjay, Sleep-D, Soul Clap, SOrceress Band, Soundfood, Sweetland, Swersky, Tensnake, Tetrameth, The Seven Ups, Tora, Tornado Wallace, U-Khan, Wax’o Paradiso, Willow Beats, Yoko0, Duncographic x Zeazy and you!
Five must see slots from over the course of the weekend include:
Apparat (DJ Set)
Closing the Wildlands Stage from 7:30pm Sunday night.
This apparat is one with flexible functions, and its sound is as eclectic as its musical horizon is broad. Its emotional chip features an option on happiness and its sound waves are able to tear your heart apart. While sensitively orchestrating his chamber musical qualities on his records or in his studio, his live performances are known for kicking some ass! The intensity in Apparats tracks seems to grow with his own pleasure in experimenting. The charming breaking-up of the mechanical walkover of his Elektronica compositions first being subtle clicks and accidental “sound mistakes”, this is now being done by veritable musicians and singers, by classical instruments like violin and cello, saxophone and clarinet, which are then masterly orchestrated by Apparat as the Maestro of his computer.
Oliver Huntemann
Wildlands Stage, from 5pm to 8pm Saturday night.
Myths abound in the north when it comes to techno ground zero, and they refuse to go away. Oliver Huntemann is one of a handful of children of the north who, for what seems like an eternity, add an element of credence to the mythology. He does not, of course, live in a snowy forest or at the edge of the polar oceans. The sun does, on occasion, shine down on Hamburg. Nevertheless, there is a tendency towards hypothermic reduction in the rigorous efficiency of the Huntemann oeuvre. Images of cold storage warehouses, desolate heavy plant sites and bluish flesh are not entirely misplaced. Shards of German Engineering glimmer in his music, laced with persuasive logic, gruesome Darwin- ism. What remains: what works.
Max Cooper
Wildlands Stage, from 8pm to 9:30pm Saturday night.
An uncompromising and individual musician, Max Cooper has carved out his own artistic space between the worlds of emotional dancefloor experimentation, fine-art sound design, and endlessly varied attempts to examine the scientific world through visuals.
Bicep
Wildlands Stage, from 2:30pm to 5pm Sunday afternoon.
Irish duo Bicep are children of the internet. Born out of a small online blog posting about music they love (Feel my Bicep), they’ve progressed into a true international brand and one of the scene’s most loved and followed acts. As their 2014 Essential mix showcased, their poison is everything from obscure disco grooves to smokey and undiscovered underground techno. With their profile as international tastemakers set in stone, you can expect a deep crate-digging set traversing the genre universe with one uniting theme: rollicking Arnold Schwarzenegger-sized fun.
Handsdown b2b Leighboy
Saloon Stage, from 4pm to 5pm Saturday afternoon.
Hailing from the deep dark melodic depths of Melbourne, these two boys have been brewing their own unique, tenacious, eclectic sound equipped with an illusionary ambience consisting of intertwined synthesis and rhythmic tension.
Tickets and more information are available from www.strawberry-fields.com.au – catch you on the flipside.