Creamfields in 2016 has presented one of his best editions so far with the most varied line up that you could ever imagine and as always the best crowd that any DJ wishes to come across. The festival goers that had the opportunity to be at Daresbury near Warrington in UK from 25th to 28th of August to attend Creamfields enjoyed a very well organised event that combined fantastic futuristic stages with incredible forward thinking design with multiple gigantic screens and monitors, confetti and pyrotechnics and of course brilliant fireworks at the end of every day. What is more, the festival offered plenty of free drinking water so nobody had the excuse to be dehydrated something that is very welcomed as on other festivals there is only bottled water available. For the lucky gold and silver ticket owners great meal was on offer during the whole day and every single day at the hospitality area that included amongst others facilities for haircut and body massage plus separate tent with special guest DJs for an eclectic crowd.
The 4th and final day at Creamfields camping village started with a short rainfall but definitely this was not what was predicted by the various gloomy weather forecasts. My tent was very dry and warm in contrast with the first night that was a bit cold and I manage to get some sleep but as I covered the tent for the rain with extra protection sheets I didn't allow any window open for fresh oxygen to come in the tent and as a result of my camping inexperience I felt unwell as I couldn't breath normally for about half hour. After taking a short walk I felt a lot better and my breathing came back to normal. This meant that I could prepare myself to explore the festival and be at the meetings to do the interviews with some very important artists as well. As I walked in the festival arena I passed from the Horizon stage that Don Diablo was performing and as you can see on the video he was absolutely phenomenal. When he has in front of him such a special smiling enthusiastic crowd, it is hard for him not to try to give his very best performance.
The press area was very busy with many artists coming and going for interview requests. I manage to secure interviews with the upcoming progressive house talents Julian Calor, Manse, and Thomas Newson, all performing at the Hardwell's record label Revealed recordings stage. All 3 of them were very enthusiastic talking about their first but very decisive steps into the scene and the places where they have performed and will perform in the future. Most importantly they were very excited and honoured to appear at Creamfields. Next I did an interview with the legends and pioneers of the British house scene K-Klass from Manchester who talked about their special relation with Cream and Creamfields and then they gave more info about the incredible event Cream Classics London at 02 Brixton Academy, that took place September 10th with classic tracks selected by K-Klass mixed with the Cream Philharmonic Orchestra.Then I did an interview with Don Diablo after finishing his incredible set and we talked about his Creamfields experiences so far and his forthcoming tracks and productions that we should have an ear on.
After finishing this first set of interviews it was about the time to return to the festival grounds via Horizons stage. It was the turn for the explosive Swedish duo Galantis to rock the mainstage with a hyperactive performance including all their well known hits that attracted the ears and the feet on the Arena and didn't allow us to Runaway even for a second. Next on the same mouthwatering on size and innovative design stage was Oliver Heldens who played wide variety of house sounds from disco to funky and future house of course. He manage to achieve a great balance by playing a mixture of his own hits and others works. Behind the decks Oliver is a magician and he has the sparkle to connect easily with his crowd. The final day of the festival was in full effect and the audience that consisted by wide variety of ages had great time for the additional reason that the grey dark clouds slowly disappear and wonderful sun appear to give us hope that will not rain for the rest of the day. On the same stage Hardwell and final Tiesto were about to play as well and as I gathered from my discussions with wide variety of festival goers these two DJs were amongst the main reasons to choose to come to this particular festival.
At the Vault Stage the fans of hard trance were enjoying a day of uplifting melodies, thunderous basslines and fat drums courtesy of the well known promoters GOODGREEF XTRA HARD with a star line up including KRM, Karlston Khaos B2B Cut-Up, Dark By Design, MKN, Andy Whitby, Energy Syndicate, Alex Kidd, Cally, Kutski and Shaun T. This particular stage was busy throughout the day with a dedicated following that enjoys this particular music style for years. It must be noted that the audience was slightly older than on the other stages.
Next I passed for some minutes from the Revealed recordings Arena curated by Hardwell and including the biggest names on the label at the moment such Julian Calor, Manse, Kill The Buzz, Thomas Newson, Sick
Individuals, Dannic, Blasterjaxx, Thomas Gold and Joey Dale. I went at this stage when Dannic was behind the decks and he was catapulting the progressive house crowd with his Fonky vibes and uplifting synths. His truly one of the most upcoming names and his performance at Creamfields proved his growing acceptance within the big room house scene, However what is noteworthy that this particular stage was not as packed as I was expected to be and definitely an hour set by Hardwell could have a decisive impact on the attendance figures at this stage.
Close to Revealed was the brilliant Fat Boy Slim presents Smile High Club with as always great decoration of rave smiles and the acid house converter. The line up was slightly altered as Tiga was cancelled because of unforeseen circumstances and the artists who played at the end were as follows Fatboy Slim, Groove Armada DJ Set, Erol Alkan, Melé and KDA. I catch some exceptional minutes of Erol Alkan performance that was fantastic. He delivered an eclectic mixture of classic melodic deep house and tech house mixed smoothly by building a really floating atmosphere and I couldn't stop myself from dancing along with closed eyes. This stage was particularly popular when Groove Armada and Fatboy Slim rocked the decks with audience that loved it dearly. It must be said that Fatboy Slim Arena as extremely packed when he played and you could only observe what is going on from outside the Arena.
Next stop was the Pepsi Max Arena that the trance family was dancing the day away with a star packed line up including Will Atkinson, Bryan Kearney, John O’Callaghan, Gareth Emery, Paul van Dyk and Aly & Fila. I went there when John O' Callaghan was playing and once again I fall in love with his ability to combine harder sounds with uplifting melodies and nice vocals by keeping firmly the proceedings underground. One of the true heroes of trance who didn't abandon the genre even in its less popular days. Due to unforeseen circumstances the legend of electronic music culture Paul Oakenfold was not able to perform. However the whole day this was one of the most jam packed Arenas with many fanatics staying from the start till to finish to enjoy their favourite DJ who all of them are guaranteed to bring waves of euphoria and eternal bliss.
Meanwhile I had to move towards the Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Smash The House stage that was hosted at the Mega Arena as the number 1 DJ's of the world except their Arc main stage performance on Saturday, they performed a very special set on their own label stage as well. During their performance the Arena was overcrowded from mainly young people but also an older audience as well and it was impossible to reach them at the front benches of the stage. They were energetic, dynamic and most importantly #PureFun to be there and get absolutely and utterly mad for 1 hour of flashiness. You could see around only big wide smiles and bodies flying in the air as they were jumping and bumping on the commands of the super successful DJ duo. But when they finish you realise that one hour is never enough of them and you wish to be last longer. On the same Smash The House stage the line up was the cream of the energetic house scene with the following artists Magic Wand, Angemi, Mattn, Wolfpack, W&W, Ummet Ozcan and Very Special Guest the always inventive and highly entertaining Steve Aoki.
Then was about the time to reach the Pepsi Max Arena for the return of the beloved legend Paul van Dyk. After the unfortunate accident that happened to him during his ASOT performance early this year and his decision to stop all his performances in order to recover and get well, his return for one more year at Creamfields was definitely one of the things that you wish to experience. I was nearly crying when he appeared at the stage and everybody was happy to see him coming back to his duties full of adrenaline for a magnificent truly golden DJ set to remember. Later Gareth Emery with an explosive mix of big room trance and uplifting delivered the state of mind that only trance music can give to the listener. Finally Aly and Fila closed the proceedings in true uplifting pure trance style with that Egyptian charm and magic in it!
Next I had to run at the Press office that was on the other side of the festival in order to get an interview from the superb talent Oliver Helden. In his interview we talked about his DJ set and opinion for Creamfields and he told us how much he enjoys to perform here. After doing this interview with Oliver Helden that you can watch soon, I am very certain that he is one of the artists that will play a very important role in the future of house music. This was the last interview that I did at Creamfields and I really enjoyed them and particularly meeting for the first time Rio, Gill, Lily and Sasha who are wonderful team organising so well the press coverage and online presence of this insane festival.
After finishing my interviewing duties I went to the festival arena to experience the last hours of Creamfields 2016. Hardwell was as always a first class entertainer and DJ and his Horizon performance should be considered as highlight in his career as Hardwell loves dearly this festival and UK audiences. Uplifting euphoric big room house vibes were bombarding without mercy our brain and we were obliged to obey and jump around with hands in the air.
As the Vault is quite a unique stage I wanted to experience it at night and I passed for a while and I must say that I admired very much the lights and the whole underground futuristic design that in the night looks even better and more underground, If you add on this that the music policy of the stage was dark underground hard trance then you can easily imagine how many goosebumps you could get at the scenery of this particular stage. The slamming Kutski was on stage when I was there and he did what he knows best and that is to bring the finest positive vibes for people to harness and take them away to last forever.
Not exactly stage but more of a bar was the space for some of the most legendary DJs that passed from Cream to perform beautiful all time Cream Classics sets including all the old anthems that give you unaccountable amounts of goosebumps. Those DJs were Seb Fontaine, K-Klass, Jon Pleased Wimmin. Paul Bleasdale, Andy Carroll , Stuart Hodson B2B Samuel Lamont and George Kafetzis & Mike Catherall. For all of those who have gained some of their best moments of their life at Cream and Creamfields, this bar was perfect opportunity to feel younger with a sense of nostalgia for the past as this has been recorded in our memories along with those Cream Classics.
One of the most talk about stages for the classic deep underground house lovers was Mark Kinchen's MK Area10. The fantastic line up included Riton, Camelphat, Lee Foss, Hannah Wants, MK and Amine Edge & Dance. MK is considered as one of the real legends and ambassador of the current USA house sound with remixes for many well known club and mainstream dance hits. Magnificent arena that was extremely busy with house lovers all day long and when I manage to visit it the top duo Amine Edge & Dance took us aboard for a hypnotic groovy trip into the finest warm and sexy basslines. It's one of those arena's that you should not miss if will return next year at Creamfields.
The impressive Steel Yard on Sunday was curated by Eric Prydz and Pryda with an incredible line up that combined the very best in dark banging techno, deep tech house and of course the melodic uplifting progressive house sound that Eric Prydz is well known. With special guest the DJ and real legend Sasha as special guest plus Alan Fitzpatrick, George Fitzgerald, Kölsch (DJ Set), Adam Beyer and Eric Prydz. As you can witness for yourself from the video's courtesy by Creamfields Steel Yard as space provided an unforgettable sonic and visual experience that is definitely a must visit in the future editions of Creamfields. Hopefully they will tour the world with Steel Yard so music lovers in other continents can experience it as well.
The Arc stage was smashed all day by the awakening sounds of Disciples, Duke Dumont, Annie Mac and Calvin Harris who is one of the DJs that I never had the chance to experience live was Calvin Harris. The awesome music master has simply the midas touch and whatever he produces become monster commercial hits with million views on YouTube and even more streams on Spotify. So between him and Tiesto that I have seen him performing live many times before in various festivals I choose to finish my Creamfields 2016 experience with Calvin Harris at the Arc stage and I was not disappointed at all. His set was predictable with all his major anthems and him on the mic encouraging the audience to take part, singalong, make noise and feel the great positive vibes spreading all over the place. The mixing was imaginative and skillful with many memorable moments. The colourful fireworks came at the right time when he played one of his major anthems and while it was mentioned that his set was until 10.45 he carried on playing until 11.00.
After the music ended we had to go back in the camping village that the party carried on until early morning. Myself because I did't got good sleep at the tent and because camping is not my favourite thing I decided to pack up my stuff as soon as possible and catch one of the shuttle busses to Liverpool and from there with the night coach to Leeds as it happened and I'm glad that I did it.
Dimitri Kechagias Creamfields 2016 quick facts review:
[review top="1"]
[item value="10"]The Arc / Horizons Stage Design and Decoration[/item]
[item value="10"]The Vault Stage Design and Decoration[/item]
[item value="10"]Steel Yard Design and Decoration[/item]
[item value="10"]Arenas Design and Decoration [/item]
[item value="10"]Crisp and Clear Sound Quality at the 2 mainstages[/item]
[item value="10"]Crisp and Clear Sound Quality at the Arenas[/item]
[item value="10"]Light effects incl lasers & pyrotechnics at the festival[/item]
[item value="10"]Final Line up at the festival incl. cancellations[/item]
[item value="10"]Quality of the actual DJ sets[/item]
[item value="10"]Audience response & involvement during DJ sets[/item]
[item value="10"]Goosebumps / Shivers moments during DJ sets[/item]
[item value="10"]Emotional affinity and heartfelt moments during DJ sets[/item]
[item value="10"]Non-Music Related Entertainment incl funfair[/item]
[item value="10"]Quality and variety of the food offered in the festival[/item]
[item value="10"]Free Tap Water[/item]
[item value="10"]Quality of Drinks/Waiting time at the Bars[/item]
[item value="10"]Friendliness of the festival staff[/item]
[item value="10"]Security and Safety at the festival[/item]
[item value="10"]Gold Camping Village Experience[/item]
[item value="10"]You can’t get this festival out of your head[/item]
[item value="10"]It has potential to become one of the festivals that changed your life[/item]
[item value="10"]Overall impression for the festival[/item]
[content title="Summary" label="Overall Score"]I strongly believe that Creamfields is one of the best festivals that I have been and I have reviewed so far. The organisers move forward every year by introducing new stage designs, using the latest technology and high quality sound equipment. The line up included all the major players in the various electronic music scenes with good balance of mainstream and underground acts. The audience was enthusiastic during the DJ sets and in my questions about their opinion for the festival they said that they were very satisfied and certainly they will return next year. Certainly can not satisfy every single visitor 100% but if you think about the price of the ticket and what was offered I believe that Creamfields is value for money and I highly recommended to you for 2017 that they will celebrate their 20th anniversary. #PureGold Love It[/content]
[/review]
Read here Review of Day 1 & 2 and Day 3
Thanks very much Rio & Gill for the press accreditation and the whole Cream team for having me on a such incredible festival
Thanks to Lily & Sasha for organising all the interviews for all the press.
Don't Forget Creamfields next year in UK celebrates its 20th anniversary so there will be many special additions so better start booking your tickets:
Additional info:
www.creamfields.com
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCreamfields
https://twitter.com/Creamfields
 |
| Galantis & Oliver Heldens at the Horizons stage |
 |
| Hard and edgy basslines at The Vault |
 |
| Dannic at Revealed stage |
Individuals, Dannic, Blasterjaxx, Thomas Gold and Joey Dale. I went at this stage when Dannic was behind the decks and he was catapulting the progressive house crowd with his Fonky vibes and uplifting synths. His truly one of the most upcoming names and his performance at Creamfields proved his growing acceptance within the big room house scene, However what is noteworthy that this particular stage was not as packed as I was expected to be and definitely an hour set by Hardwell could have a decisive impact on the attendance figures at this stage.
 |
| Erol Alkan at Fat Boy Slim Stage |
 |
| FatBoy Slim leaved up to his reputation with a DJ set to remember |
 |
| John O'Callaghan at Pepsi Max Arena |
 |
| Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike in their Smash The House stage |
Then was about the time to reach the Pepsi Max Arena for the return of the beloved legend Paul van Dyk. After the unfortunate accident that happened to him during his ASOT performance early this year and his decision to stop all his performances in order to recover and get well, his return for one more year at Creamfields was definitely one of the things that you wish to experience. I was nearly crying when he appeared at the stage and everybody was happy to see him coming back to his duties full of adrenaline for a magnificent truly golden DJ set to remember. Later Gareth Emery with an explosive mix of big room trance and uplifting delivered the state of mind that only trance music can give to the listener. Finally Aly and Fila closed the proceedings in true uplifting pure trance style with that Egyptian charm and magic in it!
Next I had to run at the Press office that was on the other side of the festival in order to get an interview from the superb talent Oliver Helden. In his interview we talked about his DJ set and opinion for Creamfields and he told us how much he enjoys to perform here. After doing this interview with Oliver Helden that you can watch soon, I am very certain that he is one of the artists that will play a very important role in the future of house music. This was the last interview that I did at Creamfields and I really enjoyed them and particularly meeting for the first time Rio, Gill, Lily and Sasha who are wonderful team organising so well the press coverage and online presence of this insane festival.
 |
| Hardwell on fire at Creamfields |
 |
| Night at The Vault |
 |
| Studio - Cream Classics |
 |
| MK and Amind Edge & Dance at the crowded MK Area10 Arena |
The impressive Steel Yard on Sunday was curated by Eric Prydz and Pryda with an incredible line up that combined the very best in dark banging techno, deep tech house and of course the melodic uplifting progressive house sound that Eric Prydz is well known. With special guest the DJ and real legend Sasha as special guest plus Alan Fitzpatrick, George Fitzgerald, Kölsch (DJ Set), Adam Beyer and Eric Prydz. As you can witness for yourself from the video's courtesy by Creamfields Steel Yard as space provided an unforgettable sonic and visual experience that is definitely a must visit in the future editions of Creamfields. Hopefully they will tour the world with Steel Yard so music lovers in other continents can experience it as well.
The Arc stage was smashed all day by the awakening sounds of Disciples, Duke Dumont, Annie Mac and Calvin Harris who is one of the DJs that I never had the chance to experience live was Calvin Harris. The awesome music master has simply the midas touch and whatever he produces become monster commercial hits with million views on YouTube and even more streams on Spotify. So between him and Tiesto that I have seen him performing live many times before in various festivals I choose to finish my Creamfields 2016 experience with Calvin Harris at the Arc stage and I was not disappointed at all. His set was predictable with all his major anthems and him on the mic encouraging the audience to take part, singalong, make noise and feel the great positive vibes spreading all over the place. The mixing was imaginative and skillful with many memorable moments. The colourful fireworks came at the right time when he played one of his major anthems and while it was mentioned that his set was until 10.45 he carried on playing until 11.00.
After the music ended we had to go back in the camping village that the party carried on until early morning. Myself because I did't got good sleep at the tent and because camping is not my favourite thing I decided to pack up my stuff as soon as possible and catch one of the shuttle busses to Liverpool and from there with the night coach to Leeds as it happened and I'm glad that I did it.
Dimitri Kechagias Creamfields 2016 quick facts review:
[review top="1"]
[item value="10"]The Arc / Horizons Stage Design and Decoration[/item]
[item value="10"]The Vault Stage Design and Decoration[/item]
[item value="10"]Steel Yard Design and Decoration[/item]
[item value="10"]Arenas Design and Decoration [/item]
[item value="10"]Crisp and Clear Sound Quality at the 2 mainstages[/item]
[item value="10"]Crisp and Clear Sound Quality at the Arenas[/item]
[item value="10"]Light effects incl lasers & pyrotechnics at the festival[/item]
[item value="10"]Final Line up at the festival incl. cancellations[/item]
[item value="10"]Quality of the actual DJ sets[/item]
[item value="10"]Audience response & involvement during DJ sets[/item]
[item value="10"]Goosebumps / Shivers moments during DJ sets[/item]
[item value="10"]Emotional affinity and heartfelt moments during DJ sets[/item]
[item value="10"]Non-Music Related Entertainment incl funfair[/item]
[item value="10"]Quality and variety of the food offered in the festival[/item]
[item value="10"]Free Tap Water[/item]
[item value="10"]Quality of Drinks/Waiting time at the Bars[/item]
[item value="10"]Friendliness of the festival staff[/item]
[item value="10"]Security and Safety at the festival[/item]
[item value="10"]Gold Camping Village Experience[/item]
[item value="10"]You can’t get this festival out of your head[/item]
[item value="10"]It has potential to become one of the festivals that changed your life[/item]
[item value="10"]Overall impression for the festival[/item]
[content title="Summary" label="Overall Score"]I strongly believe that Creamfields is one of the best festivals that I have been and I have reviewed so far. The organisers move forward every year by introducing new stage designs, using the latest technology and high quality sound equipment. The line up included all the major players in the various electronic music scenes with good balance of mainstream and underground acts. The audience was enthusiastic during the DJ sets and in my questions about their opinion for the festival they said that they were very satisfied and certainly they will return next year. Certainly can not satisfy every single visitor 100% but if you think about the price of the ticket and what was offered I believe that Creamfields is value for money and I highly recommended to you for 2017 that they will celebrate their 20th anniversary. #PureGold Love It[/content]
[/review]
Read here Review of Day 1 & 2 and Day 3
Thanks very much Rio & Gill for the press accreditation and the whole Cream team for having me on a such incredible festival
Thanks to Lily & Sasha for organising all the interviews for all the press.
Don't Forget Creamfields next year in UK celebrates its 20th anniversary so there will be many special additions so better start booking your tickets:
Additional info:
www.creamfields.com
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCreamfields
https://twitter.com/Creamfields