international news _ 20th March, 2006
Glade 2006: 'A Proper F**king Rave'
Text by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
Nick Ladd from Glastonbury's spin-off music festival the Glade chatted to Skrufff this week about the upcoming 3 day event and confirmed that they'll be increasing capacity from 9,500 to 12,500, whilst sticking squarely with their already established musical formula centred around breaks, psy-trance and experimental electronic music.
"With any musical festival, it's not really about the entertainment or art you offer, it's about the people you attract and the vibe they create, and putting on a festival is like fishing," said Nick.
"What you catch depends on what kind of bait you use and right now our fishing nets are full of wicked, cool, friendly, happy, smiley, top vibe people. That's why we're not looking to change our music policy radically, we're just trying to get the best of what's out there on the electronic scene," he explained.
With ticket demand far outstripping supply in the last two years, Nick said they'll be following Glastonbury's practise of keeping line-up details as secret as possible though stressed they have no plans to experiment with musical styles beyond their current range.
"Yes we know electronic music isn't as big as it used to be, and yes, we know it's not selling as many records as it used to but we still know that it provides a top quality experience if you get it right," he said.
"The cream of the dance music experience is when there's 2,000 people in a tent together, all having it, sweating, smiling and being part of one big energetic vibe that is full of 'Yes'. That's the experience that Glade offers; the experience of a proper f**king rave."
Nick also confirmed they'll be maintaining their formula of no VIP areas ('we don't really believe in VIPs, we prefer everyone to be on the same trip') and no sponsorship, deliberately to enhance Glade's non-profiteering anti-corporate vibe.
"We're turning down hundreds of thousands of pounds potentially to avoid have f**king mobile phone logos plastered all over the place and that translates into the overall experience," he said.
"When you go to a music festival on some level you're looking to escape the modern world and immerse yourself in a lovely kooky environment where people are open, friendly and warm: somewhere that's completely different from that 9 to 5 life. And if you can get away from that world it does you some f**king good whereas if you go to a festival that's covered in branding you're always being anchored back visually," he said.
One aspect of modern reality which upset a number of revellers at last year's event, however, was crime, with around thirty tents being burgled, prompting enhanced security measures this year including a new 60,000 pound sterling, four metre high perimeter fence.
"We're also doubling the amount we're spending on security so we've got really strong patrols around the outside of the fence," he added, "That way we can minimise the amount of security we need inside."
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