After 20 long years since its inception, Germanyโs hallowed music festival, Time Warp finally crossed the Atlantic and made its way to Brooklyn, NY last year. A spectacular North American debut ensured the festivalโs return as Time Warp announced its dates and new location (Bedford Armory) for this yearโs edition of the festival. Residents in Crown Heights ย began to protest against having an event the magnitude of Time Warp in theirย neighbourhood. Worried fans speculated the cancellation of the two-day festival. Fortunately, the organizersย managed to secure the spot where they held the festival last year which was five miles away from Crown Heights. Although it was the same venue, Time Warp outdid itself and truly raised the bar.
1. The Production
After Time Warp presented its glowing mesh like stage a.k.a the Cave 2.0 in Argentina and Germany earlier this year, Brooklyn was lucky to have the same stage design installed in one of the two massive rooms at the venue. The Caveโs womb like vibe was the perfect environment to dance the night away without any inhibitions. It was easy to lose yourself in the Cave with its morphing lights and hypnotic musical programming. Last year, there were rants about the production and sound being underwhelming at the second stage. With powerful lasers beaming across the entire length of the warehouse and visceral sound, the organizers ensured no one would complain about the level of production not being compelling enough. The team controlling the lights at Time Warp gets an A+ for their amazing work.
2. Fourย hours of Jamie and Seth
If underground music were wrestling, then the new tag team champions after Time Warp NY would be Jamie Jones and Seth Troxler. It was four hours of groovy fun and we hope that we see these two talented artists join forces more frequently.
3.ย The return of Mr. Villalobos
Undoubtedly, the most anticipated set at Time Warp NY was the Chilean DJโs. After choosing not to play in the US for nearly half a decade, Ricardo Villalobos ย returned to NYC for a night. His return can be attributed to his close relationship with Stephen Charles, who founded Time Warp. Ricardo swayed across the stage as he unveiled his unique record collection. While his set was too obscure for some, others loved the strange unpredictable flavour he brought to Time Warp.
4.ย Black Coffee
Arguably the best set on Day 1. Black Coffee is gaining traction at an alarming rate. Those who had watched him live before knew what they were in for and those who weren’t were instantly transformed into fans of this amazing South- African DJ.
5.ย The little things
This year at Time Warp people had access to a personal locker to safely deposit their possessions. This was an intelligent solution to last yearโs disastrous coat check that dampened the experience for a good number of people. While this may seem unimportant, itโs these small insightful additions like these that enable a fun and satisfying festival experience.
6.ย Len Faki โ Chris Liebing โ Joseph Capriati
The six hour period from midnight to dawn on day 2 was a non-stop aural ย assault that comprised of some of the heaviest hitters in the industry. Len Faki was up first and he went in hard without any foreplay. Followed by Chris Liebing who played a balls to the wall set. It was overkill after Liebing but to make sure there were no survivors Time Warp sent Captain Capriati in to bring the house down.
7. Papa Sven
When papa says itโs time to dance, you dance your butt off. Time Warp, after all, is Svenโs house since heโs performed at the festival every single year since 1997. With well over ย 30 years of DJing under the belt, Svenโs ability to read a dance floor are only rivaled by a few. To the delight of his fans, Sven ended up playing an hour longer than his scheduled set time.
8.ย Free shuttles and the afterparty
Not only did Good guy Time Warp organize free shuttles to the venue from Atlantic Avenue Station,but also everyone with a Time Warp wristband could attend the free after-party. The eleven hour post festival event was held at Space Ibiza NYC and featured Joseph Capriati and Len Faki who played amazing sets.
9. Exiting the festival
Only the brave, ย with their feet battered from dancing all night know the joy of walking out of that magical warehouse to be embraced by a beautiful Brooklyn sunrise. They embrace their comrades and discuss moments that will forever be etched in their memory. Then they look to the sky and pray to be blessed to experience another life changing musical adventure in the days to come.
Photo Credits: Time Warp (photo team Stephen Bondio and Chris ‘Pearcey’ Proper)