Secret Location

It’s pitch black when we arrive at Field Maneuvers. Stumbling through another unlit field, we’re guided by the throbbing bass on the other side of the hedgerow. Having grown up in the backwaters of rural West Wales, this scene felt familiar, driving home the aptness of Field Maneuvers’ ‘dirty little rave’ tagline.

The difference here was that instead of psy-trance and King of the Bongo remixes, Field Maneuvers offered up Jane Fitz and Jade Seatle by way of introduction, with the Night Moves pair laying down hardcore stabs and obscure house gems. The Field Moves tent held most of the allure early that first night, where Aidy West then Truly Madly lead a charge through techno and electro in the blacked out and smoky cavern. The Sputnik’s Dome stage, looking like a deflected satellite smashed into the idyllic hillside, hosted Randomer’s percussive assault.

Despite its growing reputation, Field Maneuvers is a particularly intimate festival, making it easy to catch a lot of music and make plenty of friends in the process. With few frills to the festival’s site, the Saturday downpours drove many towards the steamy music tents. Mark Archer and Jerome Hill plunged the Dome into raptures, and their liberal splashes of acid hiss and breakbeat made for a definite highlight. Over in Potola Palace, Auntie Flo and his mesmeric visual whirlpool entranced the willing body-mass with his afrobeat-influenced acid-futurism.

That night held the biggest programming dilemma with Ben UFO B2B Elgato running alongside Jane Fitz’s 88-92 set. Initially yoyo-ing between the two, I increasingly found myself drawn to the throwback set despite the sure-handed efficiency of the Hessle duo’s selections. Brackles, with a crowd-pleasing garage set, closed the evening with a flourish.

On Sunday afternoon, the Dance Tunnel contingent warmed up a growing crowd strewn among the hay bales, gathering energy for the final night. Everything was condensed down to the Palace on Sunday, but with Mike Servito, Studio Barnhus, Ryan Elliot and The Black Madonna lined up I don’t know where else anyone would go. The Barnhus guys had the tent bouncing and The Black Madonna was as infectiously fun as she always is, closing the party with the kind of enthusiasm that spreads goonish grins across the crowd. Ryan Elliot was the pick of the bunch though, hitting the last-chance-to-party vibe dead on; wall-to-wall hands-up euphoria.

This kind of festival keeps gaining traction as dancers want to feel more connected, rather than being a dot in a sea of people. Mega-parties have their place, but the likes of Gottwood, Freerotation and Field Maneuvers have tapped into a need for a sense of community. Field Maneuvers breeds a relaxed familiarity that makes it easy to have a great time. By Monday morning, while sitting around the dying fire it felt like all of the 600 or so in attendance had partied together. It seemed like almost everyone at Field Maneuvers this year had been previously and, in the warm glow of the aftermath, I was already planning my own return.