Bright nights by the Arctic Circle: Solstice Festival 2024

Finland’s Solstice Festival returned for its fourth year this June, bringing a familiarly eclectic cast of DJs, live acts, art and afterparties to Rukatunturi – an arctic fjeld where, at this time of year, the sun never sets

Celebrating Midsummer is seemingly more of a “thing” than Christmas in Finland. Small wonder: what better reason is there to celebrate, after six months of darkness, than the longest days of light? 

The first thing that needs to be spoken of Solstice Festival is indisputably the location: a crest of granite a half-kilometre high that juts out over the uncountable pine trees, it’s a long way from Helsinki and serious urban civilisation. However, all spiritual journeys begin with a pilgrimage of sorts. On the long bus ride there, the forest of conifer and silver birch is thick, pink, purple, and white flowers bloom along the roads, and free-roaming caribou come to greet us. 

It’s impossible to pretend, or forget, that you’re anywhere else. The backdrop of every DJ booth is a miles-long view to the mountains that rim the horizon, this year often strewn with clouds painted rebellious hues of dark orange, purple, black, grey and white, sundering at times to oceanic blues and streaking sunlight. The novelty of dancing in a ski lift or on the side of a mountain doesn’t wear thin, and some of the best experiences are to be had walking in the opposite direction to the stages, taking in the wild views. 

Despite providing a lot of excuses to get distracted, Solstice is still mostly about dancing away the longest days of the year to well-curated music, which ran from 4pm until 2am each day. The programming decision gave ample time for essential recovery from the previous day’s exploits, or for fumbling the last of your energy at an afterparty. 

After two years of exceptionally favourable weather, this year the inconsistent Finnish Midsummer was back. Helsinki’s premium export Sansibar opened the festival with a set that varied between shock-tactics electro, groovy house and spongy basslines, clearing the cloud cover away as dancers warmed up. 

Spekki Webu’s first public live club set on the Peak stage was another early highlight, with lithe, shifting techno/trance patterns striking a balance between energy-building loops and thunderous release that had the crowd in the palm of his hand. 

The line-up as a whole certainly favoured offshoots of techno and house, but the programming revealed a menu of broad flavours, paired harmoniously. Peach held down a fun, housey groove on the Valley stage Thursday evening, while Amor Satyr brought his unique brand of pacey club devastators to the Peak stage. As Emma DJ and Toma Kami raised the energy with racing pulses, rolling kickdrums and chrome stabs, Sound Metaphors’ Nemo and Castro showcased slower, more playful cuts – as well as their expertise in hitting closing set perfection. Whatever your taste or mood, there was always something to enjoy, and often a choice between quite different places on the musical scale. 

Eris Drew, of course, won hearts. Her inimitable blend of genres, the Motherbeat, had all hands up throughout her set. She closed a day of exceptional music opened by a generous four-hour congregation with Objekt, who cross-sectioned playful housey techno with dubstep notes, and ended with Commodo’s still-gold remix of Miracles – jaw-dropping goods on the high-quality soundsystem. 

DJ JVS and Otilia both played great vinyl sets, although energy-wise they ran in very different circles; JVS’ pumping trance approached the peak time, while Otilia warmed the legs with soulful minimal house and electro. Paula Koski will be a name familiar to many, and she delivered on the thoroughbred techno synonymous with her name, while Kaspiann brought an austere yet colourful live set to follow on. 

Expectation was unilaterally high for OKO DJ and Nosedrip’s showdown. They delivered, and over three hours wove a set that’d be utterly matchless in diversity and technique, had DJ Marcelle not done her thing just prior. Ricocheting between no-wave, trap, jungle-licked bass music and more, the two eventually wrung the crowd into a thrashy mosh pit. 

The Kelo stage, scaffolded with tiered benches to sit on and a cover overhead, provided a much-needed third listening (or resting) space. Thursday’s Intonal Festival takeover saw Felisha Ledesma conjure a dense ambient experience through gusting polar winds and fog machines, Digge Shim combine modern and new-age instruments, and Malmö native Rivet nail a three-deck, three-hour mix of dizzying variety and undeniable fun, effortlessly combining everything from heady rhythmic ambient and subtle experimental music to junglist bangers and live-wire grime.

As well as hosting big international names like James K, Kinzua and Space Afrika, The Kelo stage showcased the diversity and experimental aspects of the Finnish music scene, with Exploited Body delivering a powerfully dramatic set to a full, captive audience. Rock-funk hybridists LEONE CEDI gave the festival’s one true “band” performance with a steely cool in flared jeans and zipped-up raincoats, while Cucina Povera brought the inimitable magic of her voice, and Pekko’s showcase of his latest music smeared the line between rock, trap and more.

Leaving Ruka on a perfect summer’s day was a difficult thing – not least thanks to the spinning room and cacophonous tinnitus I earned at Spekki Webu and Mama Snake’s afterparty B2B, a thundering journey through techno and experimental trance evoking the heights of 2021’s last moments. But it was Nemo and Castro’s final track — Close To Perfection by Miquel Brown — that rang in my ears long after we arrived back in Helsinki. It’s hard to think of a more succinct and apt description of the experience of the festival: from the quality music to the smart programming, right down to the finest details, Solstice’s fourth edition flew the closest yet to the sun, a fact visible on beaming faces and moving feet all weekend long, rain or shine.