This summer we have been to many large music events and festivals, we have seen the good and the bad and I think it’s fair to say that last weekend was pretty exceptional. We went down to the first festival to come from one of the big names in the Ibiza clubbing scene, Zoo Project.
6,500 people made the journey to sunny Kent for the event. Situated about 45 minutes out of London Port Lympne Safari Park was the perfect location for the event. On arrival entry was easy and stress free, once tents were set up and a beer was in hand it was time to explore what the festival had to offer.
Zoo Project was laid out perfectly, there were three music stages / tents that all had huge pumping sound systems two main camping areas and a safari park complete with wild animals less than 5 minutes walk away (entry was included in the ticket price!).
It was immediately clear that Zoo had paid serious attention to detail, there was places to sit and chill, long bars to keep queuing for drinks to a minimum, huge animal sculptures and all three stages were close enough together that you could hop around to make the most of the great line-up.
One of the hardest things to control at any event is the vibe, this is where we felt Zoo really came into it’s own. The crowd was a nice mix of Ibiza purists and general electronic music fans with hundreds making the extra effort to dress up as animals to fit the Zoo theme. The peripheral entertainment was spot on, a monkey on a unicycle, break dancers dressed as animals, fire breathers and trapeze artists were just a few of the many weird and wonderful acts on display!
The DJ line-up was well thought out; across the three stages the event had music for fans of House, Bass, techno and Trance covered. It was a brave line-up with no traditional huge festival headliners.. Zoo seemed to focus more on forward thinking DJ’s that have really had an impact on the scene this year. Eats Everything, Heidi, Julio Bashmore, Pearson Sound, Visionquest, Dj Sneak, Raresh, Sasha, Scuba and Ben Klock were all on the bill.
It’s hard to believe this was the first Zoo Project festival, there were very few teething problems and the atmosphere was incredibly good. We even saw the bar staff and security dancing around and having a good time! We hope to see Zoo project become a regular fixture on the UK festival calendar and look forward to hearing plans for the next one!
Keep an eye out for the video footage we shot at the event including interviews with Eats Everything and Heidi. We will also be featuring a full photo gallery of the festival very soon.
Words By: Matt Benn ( @Soundplate )