{"id":32610,"date":"2016-06-19T15:47:35","date_gmt":"2016-06-19T13:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/?p=32610"},"modified":"2016-07-12T22:31:32","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T20:31:32","slug":"meadows-in-the-mountains-the-most-magical-festival-on-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/meadows-in-the-mountains-the-most-magical-festival-on-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Festival Report: Meadows In The Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

After seven long hours of travelling, I was met at Sofia airport by a huge group of beautiful colourfully decorated strangers, carrying tents and discussing the unbelievably cheap Bulgarian drinks prices. For many this was considered the re-fuel phase, as within the next hour a party bus would pick us up and take us on a four hour trip up bumpy, narrow and winding mountain roads; it takes a certain person to commit to the travelling, but it also highlights that everyone on that bus REALLY wants to be there!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Meadows in the Mountains<\/strong>\u2019<\/a>\u00a0(MITM) is probably a festival you hadn\u2019t heard of 6 months ago \u2013 I certainly hadn\u2019t, but there I was, sat on the party bus, discussing all things music and listening to tips from those that had been before. MITM has a reputation for unity and this was something that I picked up on when I chose my seat: everyone discussing their backgrounds, where they were from, where they work and showing their general enthusiasm in anticipation for the big arrival. Of course, this was all done whilst handing out plastic cups to share their duty free drink purchases in.<\/p>\n

When we finally reached Polkovnik Serafimovo<\/em>, we collected our wristbands and were handed our accommodation information. For most it was a rustic Bulgarian village house and for the rest it was camping or \u2018glamping\u2019 in some pretty cool bell tents. By this time, those colourfully decorated strangers I spoke about had began sweating off their glitter, as everyone headed to bed to get ready for day one of the festival.<\/p>\n

I woke up for the first day, brushed my teeth in the garden and ate some strawberries from my host\u2019s plants; it was time to head up to the festival site, a calf strengthening exercise. The MITM team pride themselves on being completely eco-friendly, a real hippie vibe and I instantly noticed it when exploring the stages. Everything made from timber, some proper craftsmanship had gone into the designing and creation of the site that stood pitched at the top of the mountain. Standing at the top made everyone realise we were now a long way from the densely populated cities we had left behind.<\/p>\n

Clothes stalls stood hand in hand, the most colourful gypsy garms you could ever dream of, clashes of patterns, a selection of hats, crazy head ware and furry jackets, all to be tried on in the camper van, which acted\u00a0as a dressing room. These stalls were filled to the brim daily with people searching for the wackiest festival attire. A faint sound of a banging tambourine and the shaking of a maraca could be heard. At first it was hard to understand where the sound was coming from, but it soon clicked that a weird shaped box with a tiny door was the place to be for a jamming session, Mummar Mountain<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The main stage on Friday was where a spectacular musician from the USA called home. Quickly,\u00a0word spread of this violinist\u2019s epic stage dive, whilst confidently playing and hitting every note correctly, not only with the violin, but with his voice. It was Marques Toliver<\/a><\/strong> a guy that dropped out of school and travelled to New York whilst busking. His impeccable skills mean that he is now an influential musician after breaking to fame on Late night with Jools Holland.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The sun began to set above the main stage, a creation of different shades of red yellow and orange. Amber Shells<\/a><\/strong> took to the stage as night fell, and these two London lads knew how to really get the full party festival atmosphere going. Usually residing at Shapes<\/strong>, they came with an army of tracks, blending an eclectic mix of house and techno, with elements of groovy groove to take everyone well into the deep of the night.<\/p>\n

As the night descended, many partied on, successfully clearing the Prosecco bar, while others reached for chilled spots to chat with strangers. The pirate ship, manned by a group of guys in rotating propeller hats, was full to the brim, as those that needed five minutes to gather their thoughts used this as their base. The naming of the Sunrise Stage<\/em> hinted the most surreal times to catch some of the best in house and techno and all of a sudden 6am was well upon us.<\/p>\n

Albrecht Wassersleben<\/a><\/strong>, founder of Uncanny Valley<\/strong> greeted the sunrise with the best ambient morning beats, encouraging everyone to keep warm as the sun slowly rose. On this night not many had made it to sunrise, some flagging due to travel or finding a spot down by the fire, but those that were there, turned around to see a misty blissful sunrise.<\/p>\n

Saturday saw the festival reach its fullest capacity; EVERYONE had made it, the sun was shining and a man serving Bulgarian cheese on toast looked up to a queue of people throwing 5lev at him for another slice. The ground was clean, the no plastic policy encouraged everyone to buy a cup and keep it filled to the brim with sangria all weekend.<\/p>\n

Sleeping was the last thought on everyone\u2019s mind, many kipped in hay bails for a few hours, unwilling to tackle the treacherous path back down to the village, refuelling on falafel and salad. Those that made it down to their tents created beds outside as the sun was doing its thing. For the people that had managed to get a few hours in, there was an open invitation to yoga, over looking a valley where others took part in tight-roping courses.<\/p>\n

There was slight doubt in my mind that the music from Friday night could be bettered by Saturday. I had heard everything I could have dreamed of on the Friday. Lion Club<\/strong> providing chilled music, acoustic sounds filled the main stages during the day and in the evening DJ\u2019s had played their hearts out to provide oriental sounds, bass sounds, acid sounds and house and techno.<\/p>\n

At 1am,\u00a0DJ Anna Wall<\/a><\/strong> took to the main stage. Her set was filled with groovy and funky disco classics, as pink lighting shone over her. The crowd moved closer to the stage, as the music made everyone want to jump into her Pioneer set up and be amongst the tracks. Women, dressed as ducks from the USA, began to chant \u2018Anna\u2019 and many joined in, creating a Mexican wave effect. Not one person stopped moving throughout Anna\u2019s two hour set and when Anna dropped Lil Louis’ \u2018French Kiss,\u2019<\/em> the tempo dropped.<\/p>\n

\"Meadows-in-the-mountains-anna-wall\"<\/a>

DJ Anna Wall<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The sun really proved its worth on Saturday and provided an unforgettable sunrise, the best one of the weekend. Saorise<\/a><\/strong> took centre stage on Sunrise duties. Spinning vinyl accompanied by a mist over the mountains; breathtaking views came into play as darkness cleared. At around 7am Saorise dropped Original Nuttah <\/em>and, even though\u00a0these lot had been on their feet all night, but it certainly did not stop everyone jungle raving!<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Again, there was no time for a recovery period as the unfavourable fear of missing out lingered. The HOME healing area provided that warmth some needed as the feeling of the night being over, kicked in. HOME healing acted as a big hug for those that acquired it, yoga sessions, cocoa sessions, and sound baths were available, with all of the donations going to One Love<\/strong> project charity in India.<\/p>\n

Jack Tyson Charles<\/a><\/strong>, son of Craig Charles,<\/strong> provided a \u2018during the day\u2019 sound of soul. The London musician has perfected the soul genre over years spent working on the London circuit. Many caught the rays, whilst drinking from their metal cups and basking in the sound of soul. Everyone was entering a slight recovery mode, ready to prep for the evening antics, praying for an unforgettable sunrise.<\/p>\n

The burning of the effigy began to mark the end of the festival weekend. Crowds gathered to watch Svorag<\/em> get torched, as a carnival atmosphere was created.<\/p>\n

The Sunrise stage was booming for one more night. Henry Wu<\/a><\/strong> brought the beats for the last night on the tree house from Peckham\u2019s established vinyl party Rhythm Sections<\/strong>.<\/a> The last night was one to reflect, as everyone stood there surrounded by people they didn\u2019t know just three days ago, making plans to meet up when they\u2019re back in the UK. There was no rain, but we all danced with unbelievably high energy under umbrellas as the sun came up, the outfits had gotten weirder as the weekend went on, but it was totally acceptable.<\/p>\n

Those that had the remaining cash hopped onto a bus and headed an hour up the mountain to a pool party, for one last night of luxury. Amber Shells kept the party going and people swam in the pool and chilled in the spa in an attempt to exhale festival blues and prepare for normal life back home.<\/p>\n

I could use 101 adjectives to describe my festival experience on the Rhodope Mountains but no matter how hard I try, nothing can ever describe the experience of actually being there. It is true that this festival has grown in popularity from when it started six years ago and there’s no reason why it will not continue to grow.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t help but notice the hippie scene that was so prevalent in the UK back in the 1960s, it was still alive at this festival; all ages, walks of life and backgrounds had come together to feel freedom, peace and love at the same time and I was gutted that it couldn\u2019t last for longer.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that this festival has no profit driven model; instead, it is two brothers who had a crazy dream that involved uniting all their friends on the side of a mountain as they aspired to create a festival like no other, and year after year they sit back and reflect on the passing of another festival, fulfilling that \u2018crazy\u2019 dream.<\/p>\n

Limited super early birds for 2017 are available<\/a> now.<\/p>\n

[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”filmstrip” title=”false” desc=”false” img_in_row=”5″ display=”all” sort_by=”random” animation_effect=”bounce” image_width=”600″ album_title=”false” album_id=”270″]<\/p>\n

Words by Aimee Knowles<\/em>
\nPhotos by Aron Klein<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After seven long hours of travelling, I was met at Sofia airport by a huge group of beautiful colourfully decorated strangers, carrying tents and discussing the unbelievably cheap Bulgarian drinks prices. For many this was considered the re-fuel phase, as within the next hour a party bus would pick us up and take us on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":32649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3972],"tags":[9703,10112,9700,9698,10109,10113,10111,10108,10154,10110,10114,9699],"class_list":["post-32610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-london","tag-albrecht-wassersleben","tag-amber-shells","tag-bulgaria","tag-dj-anna-wall","tag-henry-wu","tag-lion-club","tag-marques-toliver","tag-meadows-in-the-mountain","tag-polkovnik-serafimovo","tag-rhythm-section","tag-saoirse","tag-uncanny-valley","post_format-post-format-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}