Kappa FuturFestival 2024 celebrated Turin’s cultural past, present and future

From 5-7 July this year, Kappa FuturFestival showcased both Turin’s thriving local scene and the best electronic music from across the globe.

Nestled in a former car manufacturing site, now reclaimed by nature, Kappa FuturFestival showcased world-class artists and highlighted Turin’s transformation from an industrial hub to a cultural hotspot in recent years.

“There’s a reason people call it the Detroit of Italy. We have the same industries, the same love of music, the same hunger to party, and the same pride in our heritage,” says a Turin local attending this year’s Kappa FuturFestival this year.

In the 1960s, Turin was known as the ‘Detroit of Italy’ due to its thriving car industry, paralleling Detroit’s automotive boom with Fiat and Ford respectively dominating the local scenes. When the post-industrial sound of techno emerged from Detroit in the 1980s, Turin was a natural recipient of this cultural export. 

Whilst many festivals offer an escape from reality, creating temporary alternate worlds for their attendees, Kappa fundamentally juxtaposes this approach by wholeheartedly embracing its environment. 

The city has invested heavily in creating an environment conducive to music and culture, and Parco Dora’s industrial remnants juxtaposed against modern art installations epitomised this transition. As festival-goers wandered through the site, they encountered remnants of the city’s industrial past intermingled with vibrant displays of artistic expression.

Gian Luca Brignone, one of the key figures behind Kappa FuturFestival, explains the festival’s evolution: “The festival originated from my partners Luigi “Gigi” Mazzoleni and Maurizio Vitale, who started doing movement events in Italy in 2006. They first launched the FuturFestival in 2009, and when this refurbished park venue opened in 2011, they immediately fell in love with it. I joined them, and here we are 14 years later.” 

Brignone emphasises the festival’s unique charm, stating: “What makes Kappa special is its simplicity and authenticity. You come here to listen to music and dance; the venue speaks for itself without the need for elaborate stage effects. Being in the middle of the city, we’ve built strong relationships with the locals, maintaining the park and celebrating Turin’s culture and surroundings.”

The integration of art installations and interactive experiences further enriched the festival’s immersive atmosphere, inviting attendees to engage with their surroundings on multiple sensory levels. From light projections that transformed industrial structures into canvases of colour to art exhibits that challenged perceptions of space and sound, Kappa FuturFestival blurred the boundaries between music, art, and technology. 

Across five stages, there were over 36 hours of music, with 13 after-parties and 125 different artists present. Each stage felt at its best, with one of the festival’s newest, the Voyager, quickly becoming a fan favourite. Of course, the main stage always draws the biggest crowd, offering shade from the hot sun and the occasional thunderstorm, but the best-kept secret is surely the Kosmo stage. Hidden away in a leafy corner of the festival with design by artist Marinella Senatore.

Throughout  the sprawling grounds, sound bled between each stages, creating an enticing lure for attendees to explore and discover the next act to check out. Here are our favourite finds.

The festival kicked off with techno pioneer Jeff Mills, known as “The Wizard”, who transported the audience into his cosmic universe. During his set, Mills’ mastery of the TR-909 drum machine was on full display, creating a pulsating undercurrent that intertwined harmoniously with the visual spectacle of UFO-like lights and a red waterfall effect. This performance was not merely a trip down memory lane, but a bold reimagining of his musical legacy. 

Blond:ish, celebrated for her eclectic mixes, also captivated the audience – now adorned in festival merch – with a set that resonated deeply. Her performance featured a diverse array of genres, from ravey acid house number Expansion by Deborah Aime La Bagarre to Matt Guy’s Give Me Something. As a philanthropist, the artist has spearheaded the launch of Bye Bye Plastic, a charity dedicated to eliminating plastic waste at festivals and venues, aligning with Kappa’s evolving values and goals towards sustainability.

Over at the Futur stage, Black Coffee and Mochakk delivered a seamless b2b set to a flock of thousands. The crowd felt like a puddle of energy, an ecosystem of people young and old, all bound together in a collective sense of awe at the scale of the production. The two perfectly amalgamated their musical knowledge into a standout performance – Mochakk, with his reputation as one of the world’s most discerning crate diggers, infused youthful energy and vibrant creativity, while Black Coffee brought seasoned expertise.

Four Tet and Floating Points were another addition to the festival’s exceptional line-up of collaborative performances this year. Four Tet played his acclaimed remix of Opus, while Floating Points dropped some of his own productions including Del Oro and the newly released Key103, bridging electronic music with classical and jazz influences. Their performance felt like it lit the match for the evening and ignited the crowd in shared, joyous celebration. 

Blending their distinct styles into a cohesive and electrifying performance, Special Request and Anz’s link-up was another crowd-pleaser. Dropping tracks like the anthemic Missing by Everything but the Girl, their collaboration reflected the evolving UK underground scene with a mixture of garage, hard house, and techno.

At Kappa’s Kosmo stage, Aurora Halal delivered, arguably, the set of the festival. Bringing her distinctive blend of shadowy and psychedelic elements to the stage with a psychedelic flair, Halal crafted moments both playful and emotionally charged, navigating breaks in her set that elicited knowing nods of appreciation among punters. Against a circus-like backdrop adorning the motto “Dance First Think Later”, the audience didn’t need to be told twice.

Polygonia also lit up the Kosmo stage, blending ambient textures with dancefloor-ready grooves. From her self-released track OvO to MirrorLake’s Moa and Pianeti Sintetici’s Steppin Plain, the artist curated a journey through ethereal soundscapes, creating a hypnotic atmosphere that drew listeners into her sonic universe. 

At the Voyager stage, Carista – a renowned musical producer and curator hailing from Utrecht – delivered an electrifying set. Undeterred by the rain, she commanded the crowd with acid stompers and pulsating grooves, creating a dynamic atmosphere where each track seemed to resonate like a musical rallying call.

As the festival drew to a close, the energy remained palpable, with attendees revelling in one last frantic dance amidst the muddy puddles and adrenaline-fueled atmosphere. The Blessed Madonna closed out proceedings at the Futur stage on Sunday, raising spirits despite the rain with a powerful and uplifting set blending disco and techno.

In summary, Kappa FuturFestival 2024 was more than a gathering of music enthusiasts — it was a testament to Turin’s cultural renaissance and a celebration of electronic music’s universal language. As attendees dispersed, the echoes of beats and melodies lingered in the air, a reminder of the festival’s lasting impact on both the city and the hearts of those who experienced its magic.