Tripping through Hamswell Festival

by Rob Dickins, September 2010

As you come over the lip of the ancient, carved-out Somerset valley, with a coppice at one end and surrounded, on all sides, by fields of sheep, horses and cows, the air shimmers with anticipation. Nestled into the bottom, by a large pond, you see what looks like a lush and unharassed free party, the summer home-from-home; Hamswell Festival. Loaded-up with everything you need for the three day party, you make your way down.

One large, open-sided, marquee, adjacent to a quickly-filling dance space and acoustic stage, forms the focus of the festival. It sucks you succulently in; while aromas from local food tents rise up, and the humming of the bar, with its locally sourced ciders and drinks, tweaks the party spirit. Graf-boards and market stalls, scattered along the floor of the valley, lace the spectacle with trippy colours. And around you, the rising green slopes, peppered with tents and camp fires, spiral out from this oasis, giving the impression of a Bedouin gathering and the mustering of an intensity.

You’re being drawn in like a bee to the finest flower, stumbling happily down into the valley, your-bag-itching-to-leave-your-back as music begins to slide through your ears, and the words “eclectic shit” form in your mind; an announcement from the main stage. Boom-boom, boom-boom; the music begins to crescendo as you reach the bottom of the valley, and you drop your bags on the sun-drenched grass – boom-boom, boom-boom – being drawn into the three-day August rhythm of the Hamswell Festival.

As darkness falls, the free party feel begins to grow and pulsate – boom-boom, boom-boom – as the smiling faces of the party-goers broaden and the foot-stomping music swells the feel of 500 people to 5000. Boom-boom, boom-boom. You rise along with the whole festival; the separations of audience and artist, of organizers and revellers, of times past and times future, conflate into the ecstasy of the present. Boom-boom, boom-boom. Hamswell floats on balloons; it’s a mash-up of music with brief sparks of transient euphoria that fly you blissfully through each moment of every musical movement – boom-boom, boom-boom.

In the marquee, you watch a stream of bands pluck-up the sounds of Hamswell – boom-boom, boom-boom – then the main stage passes out of hearing and the DJ booth-come-tent-come-mini-stage blows up from across the open space near the organic bar – boom-boom, boom-boom – and you, the audience, are swept happily round from one world to another – boom-boom, boom-boom – and, if you so wish, you’re kept on your toes, from your float to your fall by the cradling charms of the festival.

Memories of any rain from the previous year are washed up in the warm embrace of those snuggled together, listening to the beautiful sounds of an acoustic guitar. But the sunshine periodically breaks through the blanket cloud and the cheers of the people resonate round the whole valley, as snuggles-beget-dances-beget-mud-slides-beget-snuggles-beget-dances; the weather only enhances and re-entrances the Hamswell ecstasy down through freshly fashioned winding rivers.

Rosy-fingered dawn, very early on Sunday, as the echoes of Saturday night still rumble round the thread of your thoughts. A chorus of bird calls erupt from the nearby coppice at the end of the valley and suddenly the sky is filled with the whole flock in mesmeric lines of flight. They dance and weave above your head, deep into your mind, stretching their wings for an hour, before disappearing on their daily missions. Truly, the wildlife – from the skies to the Hamswell tribes – come alive in every waking moment of the weekend; when your mission extends only to fun and laughter.

Just as sleep creeps up on you like the face-painted warrior from the previous night’s trip, the voice of reason suddenly winds its way through the air: “Good to see you Hamswell faithful!” And the festival rolls beautifully over once more.

As evening is ushered in, the remaining few, you and the Hamswell faithful, have gathered sticks and logs from the woods close at hand and built small fires, creating the final night of intimacy. The valley becomes a fantasy of fire and stillness and as night falls, you can see the smoke gently rising above the scattered tents of the nylon sea; the whole scene becomes a transformative post-party, apocalyptic vision of the festival come-down, where finally friends new and old reconvene to chant down the ecstasy of the Hamswell trip.

On the mic at a time out of mind: “Go home people, go home. We will release the dogs in five minutes.” Laughter circles round the valley. Then, from the top of the hill leading away to reality, where a few tent communities still relentlessly pitch, you hear another voice: “We want more, we want more!” Then silence, then several pulls of gas, then patterns of buzzing and excited chatter. The rhythmical tick-tock of the night goes on and you finally fall asleep to the cry: “I say Hamswell, you say Wicked” – “Hamswell!” “Wicked!” “Hamswell!” “Wicked!”

Hamswell you are but hours away...

by Simon Mole, August 2010

"Hamswell, hamswell, hamswell, you are but hours away, I feel as though it's christmas eve, I can't wait one more day..." (wiltshire proverb, traditional)

Right then people! Have you checked your torch batteries? Have you straightened your tent pegs and aired your sleeping bags? No? Nor us. You see, we've been too busy dancing around the Hamswell barn to the tunes on the widget we sent you out last week - this delightful little digital gadget allows you to listen to, and download (FOR FREE), some massive tunes from some of our favourite acts at this years festival - which to anyone and everyone's knee trembling excitement now includes early 90s rave legends Shades of Rhythm!

Get your widget fix here if you missed out last time: http://www.hamswellfestival.com/index2.php?page=hamswell_festival_featured And if you'd like a gloriously retro blast from the past, check out this vid for the Shades classic 'sounds of eden' - which looks for all the world like it's been recorded with a handheld camera off MTV Dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_15dBrxOVME

Getting these guys to come along to headline the saturday was definitely quite a coup for us, and one which definitely wouldn't have been possible without the involvement of Urban Torque Recordings - these are the dudes that made the smart move of signing Eat More Cake not so long back, but they've been going strong as an independent dance label since 2002, which is certainly no mean feat in an era of music downloads and economic uncertainty... We're very happy to say that they'll be hosting the Saturday night for us this year, and as well providing the aforementioned Eat More Cake and Shades of Rhythm, they will also be flying in Juan Guevo from Spain and bringing along newcomers Avatars, who just signed a two album deal with Urban Torque and Ultra Music in the USA... You can listen to a BIG tune of theirs on the widget too, so errr... do. And you can find out more about Urban Torque right here: http://urbantorque.com/

They gave hamswell a nice big write up on their site too, so biggups for that - great to be working with you! All that remains are a few important housekeeping things for the weekend, here goes: No glass on site this year please, think of the cows man, think of the cows. Cars need to be parked in the carpark, I know it sounds obvious but... If you got tickets as a group, but won't all be arriving together, then please make sure everyone has the reference number with them when they reach the gate - it'll make your life easier too! There are no cash machines on site and card payments are not accepted so bring all the cash you need with you. If you've still not managed to get your tickets in you may be able to get them on the door if we have any left...They will be £45 up until Saturday 6pm, and £30 after that. Sunday tickets will be available for £10 from 10am on Sunday. No frowning. Even on sunday morning. This is Hamswell people, Hamswell! Any pre-festival qeuries to info@hamswellfestival.com please :-)

We can't wait to see you all soon,

props and respect the hamswell family xx

Hamswell Festival 2006 - Review

by Chris Smith, May 2007

Hamswell Festival 2006 was a storming success! Blessed with hot sunny weather, people from far and wide pitched their tents in the beautiful green valley, and enjoyed 3 days of original music from some of the most gifted bands, artists & DJs in the UK.

The Pink Crowbar

However... for the organisers the festival, things began on a stormy Monday morning. Several attempts were made to erect the bar and other constructions, one of which resulted in the entire marquee taking off and landing about 200 metres down the valley - a somewhat disheartening start to proceedings. Soaked to the skin but still undaunted by the task ahead, the organisers ploughed on, and by the end of the week spirits had lifted - as had the appalling weather.

VJ Kutas Providing Visuals

After a brief visit from ITV West on Friday morning (a slightly cringe-worthy experience), the bands and punters started to arrive. T-Magic got straight on the decks where he was a fixture for most of the weekend, and, despite having his own head in the clouds, he kept everyone else's feet on the ground. After introducing the event the decks were open for anyone to play, with the likes of Joey B pulling out some of his best DnB. However, it was, without a doubt, Mr Frisk who stole the show, playing his debut gig at Hamswell. We also saw the stunning visuals of Simulatra providing the backdrop to the entire event.

The Spell-binding... Ian Horrocks

Debauchery continued throughout the night, leaving many a little hazy on Saturday morning as Mole began his marathon hosting stint by introducing the Little Things. This band were perfect for beginning the Saturday schedule, with their folktastic flower-powered performance. Later in the bill we saw the likes of Iain Horrocks giving a truly spell-binding 45 minutes that captivated so many. As the afternoon unfolded, we saw a one off performance from the Dot Matrix: a project specifically set up by one of the organisers to perform at Hamswell. By dusk Mole, Iris and Witch Doctor were proving they can talk the talk with a thoroughly engaging performance.

The Common Moral Cause

The final live act for the evening was no less than The Common Moral Cause. Despite having a depleted brass section, this did not affect the quality of their set and rumour has it that it was one of the tightest they have played. The night brought with it a change of pace and Kardiak Beats kept all our hearts racing along with Cheeks and Sparks bringing us the freshest sound in breakbeat. The music ploughed on throughout the night into a glorious Sunday morning.

Flawless... Fiona Bevan

T-Magic crawled onto the decks and joined everyone for a day of sunshine and recovery. Lack of sleep and one too many nitrous balloons had taken their toll on us all. However, Fiona Bevan instantly proved the perfect hangover cure. She had a flawless vocal style, that only seemed to complement her guitar playing. Following the departure of most of the remaining punters/munters, we saw a spontaneous and unscheduled live set from Dr Filter, accompanied by visuals from the Simulatra Team. For those of you lucky enough to have been there, this was a truly unique and uplifting performance. The festival finally drew to a close under the gaze of the stars and by the warmth of a fire on Sunday evening as the remaining few watched films on the big screen until the early hours.

The Pink Crowbar Massive - for providing nourishment to fuel us through the weekend
VJ Kutas - for the visuals
All the bands, Djs and artists
All the staff and door crew
The Boys at AVIT - for lending their mechanical skills
The Wharton Family - for everything!
The Legend That is Dave the Sound Man - for being a sound man in more ways than one ;-)
EVERYONE THAT TURNED UP - for keepin' the vibe alive!

Make sure you're there again this year!