Live Review: Earthcore

One blissfully hot Sunday afternoon in the country lands of Swan Valley sat the Belvoir Amphitheatre, nestled amongst vineyards and breweries. Approaching the venue, you could hear the distant, repetitive house beats of multiple stages.

There was a slight humidity in the air with pollen blowing through the venue; the first rhythm that pulled attention were LTJ Bukem with MC Tali pumping out melodic drum and bass beats. People bounced, jumped and swayed to the constantly changing tempo of the DJs' mix.

Running off a vinyl turntable mixer, each time LTJ Bukem went to change place in tracks he would give the head turntable's needle a light kiss. The crowd - in a complete trance - interacted with MC Tali, who was handed an ice-cream mid-way through the set with enthusiasm. Anything to cool down in the heat. They amped the crowd all the way through to the end of their set.

Next at the Main stage the compelling house rhythms of Morten Granau pulled a crowd of people. The mellow, late afternoon crowd danced to the DJ's rhythms. Then it was on to the Basscore stage to hear the melodic chorus of Stian Macshane MCing for Yung Sly and Azura. It was a sensory overload of layers, sampling and trap backing tracks.

Dropping by the Techno stage briefly to hear the sounds of Chris Liberator's hard bass mixes, an eager crowd of punters were getting involved. The hard-hitting rhythms kept everyone locked into a trance - a tomb of electronica and a womb of bass. A true, anarchist nature could be heard within the samples and recordings included in his mixes.

It felt like a mixture of Stereosonic and Future Music placed right in the middle of the valleys. Being a commercialised effort to bring the underground scene to the mainstream, there was a dynamic mixture of different demographics present at the festival.

Coming Soon started at the amphitheatre stage, kicking into gear with their psytrance elements echoing throughout the space. With loads of energy, they warmed up the crowd for the next round. At the Basscore stage, JungleBuss and Gamma were playing back to back, JungleBuss puzzling minds with his trap set that fired up the crowd. The small tent was overflowing with people, sweating in the heat. An overwhelmingly positive response from the crowd who were bouncing and bobbing to each break.

At the Main stage, BLiSS started up with electric synth guitar energy - ecliptic soundwaves vibrating off the sandstone of the amphitheatre. People were jumping in excitement to his hard-hitting set. There was no letting go this evening - people expressed so much love for the live element of the synth guitar, bringing everyone closer, hearts pumping in sync with the rhythm. 

Vini Vici followed with tribal beats, a meditative mix with elements of bongo samples and vocal samples. The energy of the day built to these precious last hours, and now it was time to go wild and get lucid amongst the beats of the tracks, backing mixtures of ambient sounds and tribal chants. Such a dynamic mix of people witnessing the magic in front of them - some sitting amongst the levels of the amphitheatre, the rest unleashing their inner child on the dancefloor. 

Back to the Techno stage where Vitalic was pumping out light dance tunes. '90s nostalgia synths and vibrations took us back to a simpler time and we let loose. Moving along around the outer side of the amphitheatre, the Basscore stage was an evident favourite. Truth mixed melodic dubstep rhythms, watching the crowd mould to the beat of the mix.

Finally back at the Main stage, Bryan Kearney delivered structured, meticulously driven trance. The colour of the stage lighting and projections filled the space, with a unicorn featured above the stage glowing in neon blue and orange. 

Everyone let go of any inhibitions they may have held before walking inside the gates of the Belvoir. Everyone was accepted for themselves and others were finding their calling through dance.