Angus Colwell Angus Colwell

A 50-quid, hour-and-a-bit troll: Aphex Twin, at Field Day, reviewed

This was an attack, not a gig: stop-start blares, schizophrenic synths, artillery-fire drums with not a hint of structure

A quite staggering number of people had flocked to the East Stage to see Aphex Twin at Field Day. Image: Danny North 
issue 02 September 2023

Forty per cent of London is green space. And what we do with all that grass – all that potential – is pave it with music festivals. This year, Hyde Park hosted Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. Gunnersbury Park had Boygenius. Finsbury Park welcomed Pulp and Travis Scott. Field Day is a staple of the season. Always falling on a Saturday in late August, the day is wholly reserved for electronic music.

Reams of twentysomethings make the pilgrimage: set off from wherever, change at Bank, District Line to Mile End, 15-minute walk, enter, set aside £7.50 for a can of warm Red Stripe. Everything is very clean: the organisers don’t want Woodstock. The first thing you see upon entry is a stand to buy Alpine’s MusicSafe Pro High Fidelity Earplugs. Of all the carefully curated food stalls, the queues outside Vegan Fried Chicken were the longest. Gone are nights in sticky tents in Donington and Thin Lizzy-induced tinnitus.

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