(Published June 2009) DO you remember the days when there was one music festival a year, maybe two? Generally these festivals were messy campsite affairs headlined by Paul Weller with the likes of The Verve being the highlight for most. Electronic music barely got a look in, but sadly dance music got a big shout with desperate acts and DJ’s churning out rubbish. Then there were the days of the failed festivals. Run down manor estates crawling with insects and one blocked-up bog between 2000 people. Perhaps the best on memory was a music festival that ran for three days and didn’t sell water, only beer and spirits with the mixers selling out on day one. But it seems that festivals across the globe have gotten over these initial organizational teething pains. Across Europe venues of various shapes and size have been transformed into festival space, the amazing Stubnitz being a prime example. With this, music styles have come to the fore. If wanted you can still find expensive festivals dishing up a varied spread of headliner rock and hands in the air dance DJ’s. But, if you’re after something more then scratch under the surface you might just find something very special; this Summer the Magic Waves festival in Corisca Studios London is a perfect example.
For the past three years Magic Waves has been an internet based radio station focusing on the wondrous worlds of disco, italo, electro, house, synth pop and cosmic. The station served up mixes by IntergalacticFM favourites such as David Vunk and Johnny 5 as well as the Magic Waves pioneer himself Casionova. The site also hosts a number of interviews; probing detailed answers from the godfathers of italo, such as Alex Novago and Salvatore Cusato and the “king of the cut” Flemming Dalum. Alongside Magic Waves runs Cyberdance, the label wing which was established by Casionova, Ali Renault and Spruxxx. Sadly on Tuesday April 7th Magic Waves ended transmission, stopping its non-stop stream and migrating to a two hour weekly set on IntergalacticFM. To remember the station, and its three years of musical magic, a festival showcasing the Magic Waves sound is set for July 10 and 11 this Summer. For the first time probably since the Cellophane Club days and the hot Summers of 1980’s Rimini the masters of italo are spinning their favourite tracks and playing live. Alongside spaghetti dance superstars like Casco, Fred Ventura, Fockewulf 190, Paolo Del Prete (B.W.H., Mr Master) and Alex Novago (Cellophane, Camro’s Gang) are modern day synthsizer robots such as Alden Tyrell, Mr Pauli and the minimal wave melodies of Oppenheimer Analysis. Lining up with DJ’s like Mark Du Mosch and Slick Chick are other live acts like the energy packed Heartbreak and the exciting Revolving Eyes. But justice can’t be done to all without the employment of a lengthy thesis, so here is the lineup.
Tickets, an amazingly reasonable £35, include a warm up night on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Corsica Studios, and an all day Sunday blow out. Little more can be said but get yourself to the electro disco festival of the Summer, maybe the decade.
