It's a feeling, feel it!
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Anjunadeep disembarked in the far continent for the first time ever — and we were a part of it all.
The Anjuna family of labels is a group that has been a pioneer of the genres they harvest for years on end. While Anjunabeats, the main division, rocked the charts during the 2000s, its little brother Anjunadeep became an absolute sensation towards the end of the 2010s, bringing talents such as Lane 8, Ben Böhmer, Tinlicker and Yotto to the public eye. You could argue they’re pretty good at discovering the legends of the succeeding 10 years.
And with their own Anjunadeep Open Air series debuting in a handful of destinations across the seven seas, we were all in when they announced they’d be bringing the experience to South America — Lima and Santiago. I just so happen to be based in the latter capital, so it was a no-brainer to attend. And here’s what I have to say. Beware, it’s a lot. A good lot, though!
Arriving
Let me begin this by saying, this was my first-ever official Anjuna-branded party. Ever. So the stakes were high, and I have to spoil it, it didn’t disappoint at all. I Ubered to the place and arrived bang on time thankfully, a few minutes before the first act walked into the booth — my buddy Paul Arcane. The venue took me by surprise. I knew the park pretty well up to that point, but I’d never been in that corner of it, and its beauty caught me off guard.
I was so lost in the high of the Anjuna atmosphere paired with the scenery that I even missed a lagoon in its perimeter. It was all great, they had stands for everything from spirits to electrolytes. I even clocked a stand for my favourite vermouth, though I’d never go on to buy me a cup, instead doing beer all afternoon.
Daytime Bliss
First up on the decks was Paul Arcane, and I must say, Anjuna’s choice as the warm-up act was spot on. Not because I’m a mate of his, I’m being 100%, full-on objective critique here. His set was a RIDE, going between Organic and Progressive, but in a nonlinear fashion, blending both at different times of the 2-hour set he played. The way he’d climb to a more chilled Progressive only to drop back down to a more punchy Organic, all the while keeping a proper coherence, he crushed it.
I shared the whole day with a bunch of Argentinians I’d met through Facebook. Seeing their flag waving amidst the crowd made me feel right at home. They had come early to see Ezequiel Arias, and I convinced them to arrive a tad earlier to root for Paul too, and so we all did. It was lovely, it was all Anjuna in the early hours of the party: youngsters, adults, even kids with their parents having a picnic. The atmosphere was lovely. Paul closed with a remix of that ‘Now We Are Free’ track, proper goosebumps, singalong moment.
The transition to Ezequiel Arias kept the energy ticking along nicely, while his dense and distinctive Progressive sound transported me to my favourite country, Argentina. His sound is so Argentinian Prog. You can hear it. Once you recognise their current, you can’t avoid spotting the sound, that four-on-the-floor Argentines do that just makes you want to move. Fittingly, as life would have it, I bumped into more Argentinians during this time. A good portion of them flew over to attend the Anjuna festival, which this time didn’t stop down in the Land of Tango.
As Arias’ set drew to a close, I wondered if Qrion was at the venue already, and like reading my mind, she popped from behind the booth while Eze was closing his set. I went for a quick water checkpoint to down the beer I’d had, and winged it back into the crowd, eager for my first Qrion set. She did phenomenally.
Momi kicked things off with a touch of Progressive, not as purist as proper Argentine Progressive, instead it was more of a hybrid with House influences. And then she went full-on House. Not your standard cheesy House from fashion runways though, Anjuna-tinted House with its own identity. She dropped a remix of ‘Bailando‘ that I STILL can’t get out of my head. I’ve attached it to your right so you too can help yourself. Q also dropped a remix of ‘Silence’, proper goosebump moment, alongside tracks from her latest album, We Are Always Under The Same Sky. I never imagined those laidback tracks would translate SO WELL into the dancefloor. They’re proper sleepers.
As the minutes went by, Momi had the pleasure of pairing that day’s sunset, and the timing was spot on, pure magic. The crowd at that point was lovely, a proper mix of families, respect, and plenty of Anjuna energy.
Nighttime
As night fell, more and more ravers started to arrive, a more mixed bunch and, I must say, less focused on the music. The dancefloor got packed to the point where moving became a proper mission. My mates and I were in the geographical middle of the dancefloor, and I couldn’t dance properly anymore. So I decided to retreat to the VIP area, enjoying the music from a slightly more distant vantage point. And I was lucky to do so, because I ran into Marsh back there.
I was chatting with Paul and his family who’d come to see him play, and then somehow Tom spawned. A distant nod turned into a friendly chat, apparently he recognised me from the times I saw him in Buenos Aires. Such a cool lad. We all enjoyed a longish chat backstage plus nonalcoholic beer and water, while Dosem was tearing up the dancefloor with his iconic Housy beats. It was a very interesting experience, it was very Anjuna to be surrounded by so much Anjuna at one time, surreal even, given the low frequency of label-related parties we often have in South America.
Finally, it was time for Tom to rock. Marsh’s set was, for me, the second-best of the night, only dethroned by Paul Arcane’s brilliance. Marsh never, ever disappoints, but Paul was such a great act that I have to hand him the medal this time. Tom… Tom played perfectly in his 90-minute bracket.
All the tracks I was hoping for were there, it truly felt like listening to my Spotify picks with perfect transitions in between. His selection was spot on, from his chilled House to ‘Rabbit Hole’, his remix of Bedrock’s ‘Heaven Scent’, his flip on ‘Sirens Of The Sea’, which he immediately followed with the impeccable Antrim remix of Yotto’s ‘Silhouette’. Do you ever get to a point at a show in which you shed tears? This was the point for me. Sirens to Silhouette was just too much. I was already feeling pretty jelly-hearted before because he’d played ‘Sun In Your Eyes’ a bit back. Anjuna, if you’re reading, please release that Antrim remix. I’m begging you. On my knees.
Final Words
The night could’ve gone on for hours, and no one would’ve complained. It was an incredible day, with incredible artists of the highest calibre, a beautiful place and lovely weather. My only but is the crowd, though you can’t do much about it, my purist self LOVED the daytime crowd, so the bar was high for the nighttime fellas. In my case, I was lucky enough to have an area to chill out and basically zone out listening to the music that has been marking my life for an entire decade, so I can’t complain.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible, and thank you so much to all the artists and their teams for showing up just after playing Lima, on little to no sleep, yet still putting on a smile and sharing the love only they know how to deliver. Thanks, Paul, Eze, Momi, Marc, and Tom. You all rock. Oh, and needless to say: we’re already counting down the days for your return.
*Cover image credit: Victor Norambuena
