Field Day at All Points East 2024 with Justice and Charlotte de Witte

This Saturday just gone, once again it was time for the great and the good – and by that one means, the entirety of East London, whether Gen-Z or Millennial or something in between – to descend on Victoria Park for the electronic musical cousin of All Points East.

After a blazing day of sunshine for last year’s instalment, 2024 got off to a dampened start by comparison. But as is with the British weather, the temperamentality eventually went in festivalgoers’ favour as the downpours wore off and the emerging sun warmed the faces of many a raver in time for them to don all manner of statement shades by the mid-afternoon.

As ever, the line-up was eclectic, though leaning more into the electronic than ever, in some respects making the daytime element a highlight in itself to wander from stage to stage, discovering new artists and a newfound love for familiar ones – that is, if one could handle the whiplash from a startling chasm in genres and bpms.

Among the highlights were Montreal-meets-Glasgow producers Tiga & Hudson Mohawke, who had the crowds cutting shapes early on whether fluoro bucket hat-clad or head-to-toe goth, the outlandish Yves Tumor getting experimental, and Australian/Irish meeting of minds, Skin on Skin & Kettama, who had a full-on rave going while a flash heaven opening came down outside the Cupra Arena. The BBC Radio 6 Music stage was as multivarious as expected, their architecturally creative stage set-up creating the perfect outdoor party spot.

All felt, though, like it was gearing up for the headliners of the day: Belgian DJ Charlotte de Witte on the West Stage, with French veterans of electro house Justice closing out the night on East. It was an interesting pairing/contrast: the former representing the cutting-edge, new generation of techno artist, the latter something of a retro choice for the festival, having hit the bigtime back in the 2000s.

De Witte, born of the underground Belgian music scene, more than took her space, delivering bold hypnotic beats and belters of visuals – perhaps a little too heavily focusing on her appearance, but since she’s undeniably cool as sh*t, it more than worked. Stripped back and minimal numbers melded into the more dark and dirty as the sky too blackened, the lines of Overdrive egging the mood on, “Feel the ecstasy / I feel you close to me / Increase the energy / Living wild and free.”

Considering how the electronic music scene has been notorious for its lack of diversity and sexism (de Witte herself used to go under the pseudonym Raving George as a workaround), seeing her absolute kill it in the prime spot, a sweaty thousands-strong horde going wild in the palm of her hand, was testament to her talent and tenacity as much as symptomatic of finally shifting scene.

The hyped crowd, limber and loose from Charlotte’s set then curled their way down, as efficiently as can be expected from those whose partying day likely began a good nine hours prior, to bag a decent spot for Justice.

Having said the billing could be seen as a little passé (they even themselves already graced the Field Day stage back in 2018…), France’s greatest export (after the cheese and the wine and all that carry on of course) more than proved they’ve still got it right from the get-go, opening with a 2007 Genesis/Phantom/Phantom II mash-up, then ripping through a host of their mega tracks, including We Are Your Friends and One Night/All Night. Back catalogue numbers were mixed seamlessly with newer material, such as Generator from latest album Hyperdrama with 2016’s Love S.O.S, giving familiar tunes fresh edges and injecting a more “live” element into proceedings. The closer brought together Tame Impala collab Neverender with Safe and Sound and fan fav D.A.N.C.E. with the apt refrain, “Whatever happens / Do the dance, do the dance.”

Without sounding too reductive, the gig first and foremost hit as the most epic of light shows, with laser beams shooting out beyond their distinctive suit-jacketed silhouettes into the audience and night sky, and rows of lights ascending, descending and coalescing in time with their contagious beats and singalong vocals, meaning few could stand quiet and still. The main stage at All Points East has sometimes come off a little anti-climatic, being low on vibes and volume – but Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay finally did that late-night slot and expectant crowd justice with the ultimate en masse dance party.

Sarah Bradbury
Photos: Alex Crane

For further information and future events visit Field Day’s website here.

Watch the video for the single D.A.N.C.E. here: