Tag Archives: Olivia Outram

Oh Secret Garden Party, how you spoil us…

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Looking good, SGP

Looking good, SGP

Words by Olivia Outram

With April having fooled us pale-and-sun-hungry Brits into thinking summer was already here (ha!), it has brought on quite the festival hunger pangs. Sold out again this year is my personal favourite, Secret Garden Party. But why write a preview if it’s already sold out? I hear you ask. Why tantalise us with forbidden fruits available only to a privileged (and they are very privileged) few? Why would you be such an insensitive, FOMO-inducing, festival-tease, Liv, why? Well calm down you silly things, for there is a resale coming up on Thursday 14th May. So as long as you can drag yourself out of bed in time for 9am you should be able to nab yourself a couple of tickets to a not-at-all Secret Garden Party.

 

This year the Secret Garden Party theme (there’s always a theme. Last year’s was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road) is Childish Things. Fred Fellowes, the impresario behind SGP, or ‘Head Gardener’, promises this year’s festival will constitute a ’100-acre toy box’. From the meandering forests, which feel like they were landscaped by a visionary seven-year-old, to the annual paint fight where each secret gardener must make the pivotal decision of whether to get involved (fun, but dirty) or just take snaps for their phone screensaver, it’s always a cornucopia of childish delight. And the crème-de-la-crème of childish whims comes on the Saturday night. Last year’s was the wittiest, most spectacular firework display I have ever seen, so hopefully it’s set to make pint size pyromaniacs of us all this year too.

 

On the music front, Secret Garden Party is set to be the ultimate people pleaser. This year we have headliners ‘Jungle’ and ‘The Cat Empire’ on the Great Stage. Jungle, a British soul and funk collective that’s burst onto the scene over the past 2 years will be transporting secret gardeners to the tropics with their steel drums, “tropical percussion, wildlife noises, falsetto yelps, psychedelic washes and badoinking bass” (‘Everything You Need To Know About Britain’s Hottest Band’. Esquire. 2014-07-01).

 

Aussie band The Cat Empire are set to be another highlight, with their fusing of jazz, ska, funk, rock and Latin influences. Like Jungle they will be intermixing decks and vocals with a rich array of instruments from trumpets, percussion, keyboard and double bass.

 

But if a trip to the tropics isn’t your cup of tea, then put down your piña colada and join the hardcore ravers down at The Drop with the likes of Ben UFO and Joy Orbison. Most of the dance line-up is yet to be announced, but these two Djs who are already on the bill are a good sign of things to come. Individually they could headline any night very respectably, but at SGP this year they will be on stage together, pumping out the choicest of beats back to back. It’ll be well worth a look. Techno lovers please keep your pants on.

 

Oh Secret Garden Party, how you spoil us…

 

 

What was the best festival of 2014? Olivia Outram spills the Secret

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SGP

The Secret Garden Party

So with the initial line up for 2015 released this week, I think it’s about time to gush a bit about my festival of last summer.

The Music
As the sun went down over the main stage on a balmy Saturday evening Sub Motion Orchestra revealed themselves as the standout performers of the festival for me. Theirs was the kind of bass that makes the earth, not shake, that wouldn’t be the right word, but sway in a luxurious, sensual manner. Ruby Wood’s ethereally jazzy vocals were the cherry on a quite delectably sexy cake. Clean Bandit have really upped their game since doing the festival rounds in 2013, commanding the main stage with tens of thousands of festival goers singing back their lyrics. And for the late night lovers, Sigma “absolutely smashed it” (as Cheryl Cole might say) in Temple of Boom post 3am. My only personal disappointment was standing pride of place on the top platform of the Collisillium, having elbowed hundreds of people out of the way, waiting for this year’s secret act to perform (Chase and Status again…) at the stroke of midnight – Only to be left waiting… and waiting… and waiting… Rumour has it they finally rocked up over two and a half hours late. Not. Cool.

The Locale
This really was the ultimate adult’s playground, whether you like it colourful, eerie, hard-core or filled with sunflowers, there was a playground for every personality. There was also the option of swimming in the lake, which might sound spontaneous but after you’d donned your sexiest swimsuit you were left standing in line for the best part of an hour waiting to be refreshed (or, let’s be honest, have a replacement bath). To be fair the excessive queue was no doubt due to the scorchingly hot weather we enjoyed at SGP this year (Sorry (not sorry) to all of you who pinned your festival hopes and dreams on Glastonbury but forewent your summer glow for trench foot). From secret tunnels, floating dance floors, winding forests and colossal stages to fields filled to the brim with 6 foot tall giant sunflowers hidden behind a secret portaloo door – the one thing we can all admit is the hills of Abbots Ripton are transformed into something truly magical, that even Alice in Wonderland would gawk at.

Local Wildlife
The clientele cannot go unmentioned. It seemed like this year’s festival had an unparalleled supply of beautiful people – everywhere you looked you saw another “genetic lottery winner”, as one companion commented. As ever, body paint, glitter and “quirky” headwear were all the rage. Meaning the usually bold and unique individual fizzled into the crowd. Those who really wanted to stand out, and there were quite a few, dispensed with the outfits altogether, some choosing to don only carefully applied body paint and a few of the most adventurous opting for just the glow of the summer sun and a dab of moisturiser. For the sake of their nipples, I sincerely hope one with SPF.

Inevitable Celebrity Sighting
This bit all depends on your definition of “celebrity”… you could feast your eyes on pretty much the entire cast of Made in Chelsea. Alex Mytton even made the sought-after headlines of Daily Mail Online with his episode of “exhaustion”. For the more refined celebrity oglers, his royal highness (absolutely no pun intended) Prince Harry graced us with his presence in full Secret Garden Party glittery glory with his face painted a smirf-tastic shade of ‘royal’ blue.

Transcendent-moment-where-everything-makes-sense
As the sun dipped behind the horizon on the Saturday evening, it was replaced by a spectacle of fiery colourful delight with the annual SGP fireworks extravaganza. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a Secret Gardener who didn’t suddenly think their drink had been spiked with the best type of acid, when a plane flying low rained giant bubbles over the entire festival’s heads. This, combined with the darting lasers piercing the wobbly, translucent globules made for a truly incredible vision. The whole of the main stage appeared to be covered in glittering fairy dust. Either that … or the drive to the festival from the station with the utterly charming former Police Constable Simon, now of ‘Steve’s Cars’. Simon you are an utter legend.

words by Olivia Outram