Live Review: Wonderland Festival

Wonderland celebrated five years yesterday! Since beginning in 2011, the event has truly evolved from its humble beginnings as a boutique festival at the Fremantle Arts Centre.

Drawing away from the jilted fairy tale attractions of Alice In Wonderland the festival has become known for over the years, Wonderland still managed to maintain its whimsical attraction with carnival rides, confetti balloons and face painting. Despite such a large layout spanning the Langley Park area, the festival’s iconic single stage attracted a mass of punters who revelled in the great tunes that swept across the park, beginning with Pilerats Records’ very own Koi Child.

When Nu-jazz quartet Kashikoi collaborated with electronic hip hop trio Childs Play for an experimental jam session in Fremantle just last year, there was the genesis of Koi Child. A refreshing and innovative fusion of two different worlds of music, which manage to harmonise each other seamlessly. After a brief warm-up from the comprehensive brass section, the collective began a particularly enlivening performance for an opening festival act. Frontman Cruz Patterson had an undeniable charisma and playfulness about him, which put the crowd under his thumb. “Quality, it’s not that quantity shit. Fucking quality”, was a sentiment that rang true for the rest of the crowd and somehow escaped coming across as arrogant. Newly signed, these guys are rapidly garnering the recognition that they duly deserve, and are certainly ones to keep an eye on in the near future in the world of Aussie hip hop.

A timely and hopefully intentionally humorous trap remix of Jingle Bells made up the intermission session before Brooklyn-based R&B and electronic producer Sweater Beats took us in a completely different direction. The Filipino-American music maker has only been on the scene for a little while, but already he is making some big waves with BBC Radio 1 and Boiler Room sets under his belt. Beginning with some unadulterated sensual and slow numbers including the likes of Hudson Mohawke’s OOOPS!!!, the set steadily increased in equal measures energy and pace. Peppering in snippets of his own production between a fairly eclectic set built around a calculated momentum, Sweater Beats enforced enthusiasm for festival dwellers early in the day.  With a modest but already varied discography to his name, it’s difficult to predict the trajectory of this sound, but it definitely doesn’t hurt to speculate.

When someone realises that they have fallen into the trap of taking themselves and life far too seriously, an always dependable remedy is a liberal dose of Dune Rats. With song titles that include Dalai Lama, Big Banana, Marijuana and another simply titled WOOO, it becomes quickly apparent that the Queensland rock trio’s primary intention is to have a bit (or a whole lot) of fun. Commencing their set with a possibly impromptu scream cover of Adele’s Hello, the crowd immediately knew what they had got themselves into. This hyperactive kind of environment was perfectly conducive for at least one recorded genuine punch up, which only added to the manic energy of the performance.  Abundantly interspersed with spirited profanity and electric dance moves from the innocuous three-piece, the crowd were more than happy to reciprocate.

Following on from Dune Rats came the enigmatic Canberra trio, SAFIA. Having steadily built up their exposure since their spot on the Groovin The Moo bill circa 2012, the electronic outfit have used their unique blend of soul, synth-pop and lament filled falsettos to form a smattering of compositions that are equal parts invigoration and contemplation. Saturday afternoon saw them provide the plateau for the Wonderland crowd to lose themselves in the summer evocation of hit track Embracing Me.

Appearing on stage to take us through the decades, DJ Tom Loud took to his vinyl turntables to bring Wonderland Hot Dub Time Machine. Spinning the crowd’s old favourites, Loud appeared as the ghost of music past and present, complementing the festival’s other acts on the bill. With the '90s playing host to the most anticipated tracks festival goers were yearning for, the Hot Dub set was reminiscent of a typical Saturday night at Amplifier with 1998 hit, Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine amping up festival-goers before The Kite String Tangle waltzed in to smooth over the creases with his dreamy progressive electronica.

Brisbane-based Danny Harley, performing under the moniker The Kite String Tangle, has been ascending the ladder of success since his debut in 2013 with Given The Chance. Plastering his sleek production with progressive hits and clicks, Harley tiptoes the line of success using his almost trance-like luminary prose seen in tracks Stone Cold and Arcadia. Illuminate, Harley’s latest release, is a collaboration with folk singer Dustin Tebbutt, from New England, New South Wales. Gentle in its composition, Illuminate proved itself at Wonderland as the work of two very unique artists thanks to its uplifting tone transcending the interlaced melancholic character. The whole crowd was swept up in its nostalgic quality.

Second-last to take to the Wonderland stage, New Zealand brother-sister electronic-pop duo Broods oscillated between a delicately balanced atmosphere of beauty and terror. A swirling blue smoky mist only added to a strikingly captivating mood, which simply demanded the crowd’s undivided attention. A fairly shallow but endearing comment from barefoot lead vocalist Georgia Nott, exclaiming how “hot and tanned” everyone was,was favourably received with a wailing applause early into the performance. Brother Caleb Nott provided sparse and warm backing vocals and the entirety of the production; a certain heartthrob for any young and sane female. In only a very short time, Broods have mastered their own richly layered interpretation of a popular subgenre that manages to sound both inventive and pleasing to the ear.

Alison Wonderland, aka Alex Sholler, looked at home behind her customised DJ booth as the last act for the day. Wielding powerful beats from her illustrious album Run, it was clear Sholler knew how to pick a show closer. Selling out live events before she was picked up by the radio, the DJ has become a seasoned professional in such a male dominated field. Using the tried and tested elements of traditional EDM, Sholler showcased her creations, perfect dance hits with furious peaks and drops against waves of distorted bass lines. Joined halfway through her set by Slumberjack, it was evidently clear everyone on stage had one intention, and that one intention was to party.

As confetti rained down on Langley Park and giant balloons were thrown from the stage into the crowd, Wonderland gave off the aura that it can only go up from here. With the festival progressing in scale, numbers and noteworthy acts every year, we’re excited to see what 2016 brings.