Festival Review: All Points East // Disclosure - Victoria Park, August 2022
Disclosure headlined on the East Stage for the penultimate day of All Points East (19-28 August 2022), located in Victoria Park, East London. An array of artists joined the electronic duo, including James Blake, Charli XCX, H.E.R, Mura Masa, Fred Again.., and Shy FX for a day fueled by electro love.
Disclosure, the English electronic music duo consisting of brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence did not disappoint on Saturday evening. A 40,000+ crowd flocked to Victoria Park, East London for what was to be strobe light fuelled electro-dream visuals reminiscent of slowthai’s most recent run of gigs at the O2 Academy in Brixton, with visuals designed by Uncanny - the studio practice of George Muncey and Elliott Elder.
It’s a common knowledge, rumoured both through the festival, and seemingly the whole of London, that All Points East has fallen under accusations of being quiet compared to other festivals. This was only slightly noticeable during Disclosure’s set, at various points when the large crowd overwhelmed the sounds from the duo. But, this was all forgotten when the stage fell under darkness towards the end of the set, the 2013 track from Disclosure’s album Settle, “Latch” began to play, and the duo yelled, “Make some noise for Sam Smith!”. After a five-year hiatus of performing the song live, the crowd went wild as the English singer made their way on stage. “Sing with me!” Sam shouted, “How are you doing, London? Give it up for Disclosure right now!”, as fireworks exploded behind the stage and fizzled into the clear night.
Earlier in the day, as the sun beat down over at the North Stage, SHY FX got the crowd ready with a high-energy start as he eased in with “Roll The Dice”. The British DJ and producer from London quite literally turned the heat up in the progressively sweltering tent as the blended DnB/Jungle tracks “Murder Music”, “Soon Come”, and “Gold Rush” amplified the crowd. Releasing his debut record "Jungle Love", in 1992, the DJ managed to keep the crowd in his grips. The dripping arms and legs of the crowd leaving the tent was ignored as they grinned at the feel of the gentle breeze from the partially cloud-covered sky.
Venbee, a twenty-one-year-old from Kent, was the reprieve the sweltering fans needed, playing on the BMW Play Next Stage (for showcasing the biggest breakthrough artists and uncovering pioneering, innovative and ground-breaking music from the next generation of headliners). She has been previously quoted as saying, ‘I am and will always be unapologetically myself. I’m a bit of a nutter. When people listen to my songs, I hope they can relate.’ With her biggest track, “low down” making the whole crowd jump up. She smiled as she shouted, “Ah, you guys are fab, innit!”, this DnB artist is definitely one to look out for in the future.
At this point in the day, the crowd had settled into the park and the space around the East Stage began to fill up as Mura Masa made his entrance. Otherwise known as Alexander Crossan, the Guernsey-born electronic music producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist played a diverse range of tracks - mostly new as he announced a new song “Emotions” and an upcoming album dropping in two weeks. Summer 2022 has seen the electronic artist tour a number of huge festivals, from Primavera in Portugal, to Best Kept Secret in the Netherlands, with his next appearance at the end of October in Hollywood. After that he’ll be at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City in November. This performance was one to remember, as a plethora of artists were brought out to accompany the artist, tracks “bbycakes”, “Firefly”, “What If I Go?”, and “2gether” got the whole crowd moving.
On the Ray-Ban West Stage, H.E.R began her set, overlapping with Mura Masa. The crowd split, half going to H.E.R, and the rest staying for the highly anticipated Charli XCX as she strutted onto the main East Stage, now set-dressed with two greek-inspired pillars adorned by two backing dancers. In an incredible outfit including knee-high black boots and a leather skirt, she belted out the opening track, “Lightning” from her 2022 album, “Crash” as the dancers gave it all they could. Never failing to perform, this was a highlight of the whole day.
There were slight technical difficulties when the screens went down during the 2022 track, “Beg For You” but soon came on after a short time. Throughout the set, the crowd slowly thinned as the North Stage tent filled to capacity, for Fred Again.. The crowd still with Charli XCX had more space to dance, with groups of friends forming circles, hand-in-hand, and unapologetically letting the beats take over them for “Boom Clap”, “1999”, and “Hot In It” most notably, and the remaining crowd raced over for Fred Again..
Arguably one of most anticipated artists, with a steady rise to fame, accelerated by the largely shared Boiler Room set on social media. This huge fanbase truly packed every inch of the tent, in what can only be described as a human jungle. Fred urged the crowd to climb on eachothers shoulders, to make one of the most packed tents ever experienced at a festival. He played tracks such as “Jungle”, “Turn On The Lights Again..”, “Marea (we’ve lost dancing)”, and “Kyle (i found you)” to name a few that turned the multi-level climbing crowd wild. Various fans exited the tent, dripping in sweat, as they panted, “it’s too hot in there”, describing it as “wild”, “intense”, but “incredible”.
The excitement didn’t stop there - towards the end of the set, large inflatable balls were thrown into the mix of boogying bodies, and bounced their way through the crowd as Fred brought Mike Skinner (from The Streets, “Fit But You Know It”) on stage which only intensified the excitement as the cheering reverberated around the tent and to the packed crowds trying to catch a glimpse from the sidelines.
There was no time to rest, as strobe lights diffused, shoulders were dismounted, and sweaty bodies ran back over to the East Stage in anticipation for the headliners as the sun began to set, Disclosure.
Opening with the beginning of “White Noise”, the 2013 classic, leading into a voiceover, “2020, the universe seemed to stop turning, the dance floors were empty, and clubs closed their doors, but the movement never ended, the midnight resistance never gave up, the music never died, and the feeling never went away, and now, in 2022, we, the people, this, the sound, is love! It was always love, and it will always be love. We need to join sides, all legions from the regions, raise your hands with us now… Do you feel it? That’s the love... That’s the love. That’s the love!”, flowing straight into, “White Noise”. The crowd seemed to be as one, all jumping, swaying, and singing in unison to the iconic metronome-sounding electronic opener.
They played with consistently high energy, moving with the crowd from track to track, with accompanying blue and white strobe lights, it all changed as, “When A Fire Starts To Burn” played. The lights and visuals turned a deep red, setting the stage on fire.
Well into the darkness of the night, the beats reverberated, ending on a bang, fireworks, strobes, and booming-beats galore, until Disclosure quite literally shut down, crushing into darkness with only the smoke of the fizzled fireworks floating in the night's breeze.
The crowd breathed a collective sigh, with many stuck in place staring up at the stage processing the events of the day, while others ran for the exit with questions of raves, clubs, and afters floating through the groups. This was definitely not a day to miss, and left a tough job for the next and closing day of the festival to follow.
Words by Jemma Lavine
Photography by Richard Mukuze
