HomeReports BnB Event Review: Free Your Mind Festival
BnB Event Review: Free Your Mind Festival
Written by Youri Jozee
Review -
(Arnhem - NL) In the past 8 years, the Dutch Free Your Mind festival has established itself as a nationwide hotspot for a who’s who in house and techno. Saturday June 4rd marked the day of its 2011 edition. Here's what we experienced...
Saturday June 4th: it was a day that bathed in the early summer sun, just perfect for outdoor activities. For the seventh consecutive time, yours truly and his comrades noticed the many simple things that make Free Your Mind (hosted by FCA) such an enjoyable festival. The lineup was good as ever, with plenty of international big shots lined up next to local talents and covering pretty much every facet in modern day house and techno. Now the fact that the event is held at the sandy banks of the Rijn river means that things can get dusty, especially during sunny days and the presence of thousands of ravers, but that’s a known fact and is of minor importance. If you manage to stay clean during a festival, then it is not a real festival.
The music: Anyway, now of course you want to know whether the music was any good or not. Overall speaking, it was. Although the edition has had better lineups in the past, this edition was certainly no disappointment in terms of performing artists. Your BnB reporters enjoyed some banging techno from Ben Sims when the first visitors were barely in, then went to see Black Rose aka Henrik Schwarz and Jesse Rose (which was among the best sets of the day, also judged by the audience reaction), then went for some rough house with Josh Wink, a wonderful dubby techno set by Surgeon and finally ended up at the main stage’s closing performance by Kevin Saunderson. Now you hardly can’t go wrong when you decide to check these artists, but still… what we heard was very impressive, and so were the stories told to us later from other stage hopping friends.
Facilities: Now we all know that one of the most important elements of a festival are its facilities. Free Your Mind has a habit of expanding every year and luckily, the availability of facilities did too. One had the opportunity from a great variety of food, from fries and burgers to oriental cookings and what not, it was there and very much worth the (short) wait. Queues for drinks were also relatively short, which was a blessing on a hot day like this, but standing in line to drain some fluid was more of struggle. It would be a huge improvement if the FYM crew would decide to expand the number of toilets for its 2012 edition.
Stages: Next to the usual hosts present at the festival, such as Planet Rose, Rockit Main Stage and Mono, it was great to see a number of new stages as well, such as Café de Kroeg and Give It Dub. Each stage more or less presented a different side in house and techno, catering perfectly to the demanding FYM visitor. One minor point though: the Mono stage is subject to way too many visitors each year again, so picking an alternative spot at the festival site may be something to think about.
Decoration: Some nice stuff here and there, especially at the river bank.
Atmosphere: Great. They don’t call it ‘the festival of smiling people’ for nothing.
Overall: BnB had an amazing day at what still is one of the most enjoyable festivals in the Netherlands, both musically as in terms of organization. FYM has been a great summer kick-start for the past eight years, and will hopefully continue to be so in the years to come.
LINEUP: Rockit Mainstage Johanna Mercker Steve Rachmad Ben Sims Gaiser Bart Skils Anthony Rother Olene Kadar Remy Kevin Saunderson MC: Stretch Planet Rose ESHU Minilogue DVS1 Stephan Bodzin Sandwell District Josh Wink Surgeon Benny Rodrigues Darko Esser VJ: Slof
Paradise People Greg van Bueren Sound of Love Soundsystem Roog Baggi Begovic Chocolate Puma Benny Rodrigues Jay Lumen Funkerman Erick E MC: Gee
Mono Khalil Steven Pieters Ion Ludwig Aron Friedman Dyed Soundorom Barem Lauhaus Mathew Jonson Steve Bug Kabale und Liebe
Hey @ The Flipside Taras van de Voorde Rauwkost dOP Frankrijk Warren Fellow Black Rose Rodriguez Jr Sneak Michel de Hey
Djax It Up! Invite Du'ArT Marco Remus Ramon Remus Alex Kvitta Bold Daniela Haverbeck Fernanda Martins Lukas Mike Drama Miss Djax VJ: Digital Movement
Stylus Djs Soundsystem Ronny Hammond Tommy El Salvo Jay Baron Kraakpand Claire & Sheila Hill Giel Beelen Jochem Stylus DJ's Tom Wannabe a star Mightyfools Baskerville Nobody Beats The Drum
Give It Dub BeeVee DBS Akkachar Distance Gomes Skream MC: Sgt Pokes Caspa Rod Azlan Nicon Bar9 MC: Brown Sugar
Cafe De Kroeg Audioknights Liquid Daniel Williamsen Soulscum Kamara Funky phaxx Solau Kasper Kwant
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