Creamfields is considered to be one of the biggest summer
festivals organised in UK which has an impact all over the world. The
videos of the DJs performing at the festival go viral on YouTube. The last
bank holiday weekend in August is the perfect time for such a huge scale
event to take place at the Daresbury Lane in Warrington. To bring smiles to
the faces of the many visitors from UK and all over the world. 28-29-30
of August the global festival visitors had no excuse not to attend the
most innovative and playful gathering of all colours and styles of modern
electronic music culture contemplated with amazing weather that was mostly
sunny and bit cloudy at sometimes. It's UK weather after all but no rain whatsoever that made it ideal to go camping with your friends at the festival grounds escaping from reality for 3 days and indulging yourself in the mysterious and lucrative pleasures of electronic melodies, headbanging basslines and earth shuttering drums. Creamfields 2015 edition was a huge success and definitely will be marked as a turning point in its long history that started back in 1998 and continues with even greater success and worldwide respect and recognition.
Undeniably if you compare the schedules of all the well-known festivals
at the moment Creamfields has the most complete running order
that combines cleverly the top headliners, soon to become headliners and new
upcoming artists that making waves in the scene and you should be aware of
them. At 2015 top headlines such as Hardwell, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike,
Armin van Buuren, Dj Tiesto, Martin Garrixx, Above & Beyond, Chemical
Brothers, Steve Aoki, Steve Angelo, Axwell vs Ingrosso, MK, were
merged with legends such asSasha, Paul van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, Ferry
Corsten and newcomers that exploded into public consciousness thanks
to their UK top 40 entries such as Oliver Heldens or Kygo.
It's not an exaggeration to say that by attending Creamfields you
keep yourself up-to-date with the best djs, their latest productions and their
beloved tracks that happen to rock crowds all over the world. It is a music
festival in its most classic sense that is focusing on providing great music
and less on creating an environment with special decorations and particular
themes were the music becomes background soundtrack to your whole experience.
Creamfields is a celebration of electronic music provided from organizers who
are music lovers themselves with worldwide reputation in producing massive
scale festivals for an intelligent audience of self-identified as dedicated music
lovers who are knowledgeable of the lyrics and can sing along their favorite
tunes and can judge if the dj can do nice transition or not. The North and South
mainstages was the centre of the festival with state of the art technology,
magnificent crystal clear crispy sound system and superb lighting effects with colorful
lazers and exciting pyrotechnics. The majority of the headlines had prepared
special shows just to perform at Creamfields grounds and that make
it even more groundbreaking and super special. All over the festival grounds
many other tents were hosting their themed stages dedicated to wide variety of
music styles. From artist related stages such Fat Boy Slim or Pete
Tong to record label related stages such as Armada Music, Size
recordings or Revealed recordings and stages dedicated to
festival concepts such as the Dutch Don't Let Your Daddy Know. The
sound system on these tents was incredible as well as you can easily enjoy all
the range of sound frequencies with highs and lows, bass and tremble and
anything in between. Fantastically designed stages with the most impressive
being the Ants stage with its futuristic theme. Of
course required elements like pyrotechnics with small scale explosions, colorful
shower of confetti's along with the classic strobes, lighting effects and
mindblowing lazers were used in their most effective combination to allow the
crowds to lost themselves in music and feel the unique experience that is Creamfields.
At this electronic music festival music still
remains the main key that unlock fun and happiness that can be enjoyed along
with nice food, delicious ice-creams, great drinks and numerous fun fair rides.
What is also very important you can still pay for your drinks and food with
pounds and in that way you can keep track of your budget and how much you are
going to spend. You are not required to pre-purchase festival coins of any kind
that most of the times create problems particularly when at the end you have in
your pocket many unused vouchers that you cannot redeem them and take your
precious money back. The bars were located clearly all over the festival and
there were no long queues of people waiting to be served. The bar tenders were
smiling and were happy to serve your favourite drinks. The toilets were enough
for everyone without avoiding some cues and most importantly fresh running
water was available in special locations to refill your bottles and avoid
dehydration and refresh your body engine. Creamfields grounds
offered numerous activities to keep you playing with your friends and even
socialize to meet new friends and maybe your future love partner as well.
Creamfields for me started
from Friday 28th that was accessible only to those with camping
tickets but as press I had the chance to attend it as well and get myself
warmed-up for the long weekend ahead. As I'm not camping fanatic I decided to
stay in one of the main cheap hostels that you can find in Liverpool and I used
all 3 days the very frequent and truly well organized bus shuttle from
Liverpool city center. On Friday just some selective stages were running
like Armada Music, Revealed recordings, Jamie Jones stage,
the Pepsi Max silent disco stage where you can listen the
music performed by the djs with a set of the headphones provided in the
entrance and the Rebel Sound stage. 
As a self-confessed trance music addicted I headed straight away at the Armada
Music Stage were Cosmic Gate were performing their
explosive sets including massive new anthems from their latest album and
unforgettable classics like Fire Wire and Exploration of Space that have
catapulted the UK Top 40 chart. The explosive Andrew Rayel was
next who did his best to put the crowd on fire with his ecstatic anthemic hits
and mindblowing selections. You could feel the dedicated crowd moving along
under his commands and dominating euphoric melodies. Last on this stage was the
absolute King of Trance Armin van Buuren performed an
exceptional set with his big room trance sound merged with great uplifting
trance anthems. This set was definitely dedicated to die-hard fans while his
mainstage set on Saturday was for the mainstage type of crowd. 
From the Revealed recordings stage I had the chance to
attend the superb W &W appearance that was incredible with
the usual doses of aggressive basslines, vicious drums and crowd friendly feel
good melodies. This duo knows well how to rock the audience and manage easily
to keep them entertained. Headhunterz who manage easily to
abandon the hard dance sounds and move to the big room house scene performed an
equally energetic stage that had only great moments for the attendees to
recall. Jamie Jones warm deep classic house sounds were tempting
and engaging with hypnotic effects to the listener. On the silent stage area I
loved the feeling of listening the music on your headphones and dancing around
with top djs like the German big room destroyers Deniz Koyu and
Tujamo who delivered the goods and even more. Many Creamfields visitors
have commented really positively on Sigma's performance that I
wanted so much to experience but unfortunately I didn't manage to be on time
for it. The first date was truly incredible and was the perfect starter for a
satisfying 3 course dinner for any hungry for festival atmosphere person like
me. On Friday there was no returning shuttle bus so I had to come back in
Liverpool with a taxi that you must be aware that may charge you as much as
they like if you don't negotiate the price beforehand. 70 pounds from Daresbury
to Liverpool is definitely overpriced but that was fortunately the only
downside for a wonderful warm up day. 
The second day of the festival on Saturday started from 14.00 and lasted until 04.00 in the morning so was
plenty of nice action to check out and be amazed. Firstly when I entered the
festival I wanted to check how the big mainstages were look like and I head
towards the North Stage that Anthony Probyn was
warming up in perfect style with his brilliant selections. The crowd was
definitely up for it and ready for action. On the Tidy 20 years stage
the beloved trance legend Signum performed his magnificent classics
which contained relentless energy and hair raising synthy hooks. The decks went
mental with Maddox & Townend classic hard trance beats and
I felt that was the moment to move on and taste the rest of the stages. One of
the top artists in many festivals is Kryder who deliver a very
powerful big room house set with melodies and nice vocals but always with
that Kryder edge to it. 
I headed next to Size records stage that I stayed for
quite a while as I was deeply mesmerized from the sounds of the brilliant
Scottish upcoming star Grum who had releases on several labels
including the beloved Anjunabeats. Every selection in his set was an ear
opener with special warmth and hair raising synthy riffs that hypnotized your
senses. Max Vangelli took the stage from him who moved to a more
mainstage friendly progressive house sound that the audience welcomed with
excitement. Next I went back to the North Stage that they had
a fantastic tropical house party with Thomas Jack bringing superb
holiday sounds and the upcoming superstar Kygo proving why he
is so loved at the moment with all his big hits and great remixes on the
fantastic I See Fire or the Marvin Gay classic Sexual Healing. The unstoppable
BBC Radio 1 dj and producer Danny Howard was in the Cream
stage delivering all the future house and big room current dance anthems with
the mental crowd cheering their Northern UK hero.
The heat was rising as the Dutch trance hero Armin van Buuren took
over for his mainstage trance sound including the fantastic live performance of
his latest hit Another You including vocals from the beloved
Dutch singer Mr Probz. At the same time in the North Stage the
always loved Above and Beyond were playing so I had to run
like mad trying not to fall down and move through the crowd as close to the
stage as I could. As always Above and Beyond are mythical as
they performed all their current emotional anthems supported by special visual
graphics and specific moments of their music videos that were projected in the
hi-definition screens. I was taken by surprise from the excellent combination
of music and visuals along with the usual Above and Beyond messages
displayed on screen and the most famous push the button moment that everybody
is waiting to experience.
At the North Stage Chemical
Brothers deliver an exceptional show that was truly innovative with visual
graphics that were used to explain the songs to the listener and immerse
ourselves in their sounds. Of course they are not dj performers doing fancy
things behind their computers but their live set was more than magical. It was
the first time that I experienced them live and this very moment I understood
why they are considered to be legends in electronica that can be relaxing,
melodic, and aggressive with house, electro and breaks elements. If you expect
the usual big room stage sound from them you will be disappointed so better be
openminded to challenge your perceptions of what a festival performance should
be like. On South Stage at the same moment Avicii was
playing so I had to check him out as well but when I arrived there the whole
stage was packed with party people so I had to experience it from a distance
but I could clearly see him delivering surprising tracks and not only his
personal chart topping hits. Particularly his last choice with his hit Wake me
up was incredible as many listeners wish to hear it and it went down as the big
highlight. During his set we experience the mindblowing fireworks that added to
his triumph and very positive perception of his high quality performance that was
not just chart hits as he loves to educate his crowd with captivating not the
obvious choices.
After the closure of the two main stages the rest of the night was equally
magnificent with Steve Angelo playing his euphoric melodic
progressive house that don't compromise by playing his personal singles and
many of the Swedish House Mafia anthems in brand new remixes and
mashed up versions. On the Cream stage Laidback Luke raved
the house lovers with futuristic epic house choices including great vocal house
tunes and the heart throbbing Alesso who drive the crowd wild
and totally out of control with his distinctively Swedish vocal house
sound.
The All Gone Pete Tong's superb stage included the
awesome German tech house duo Andhim delivering melodic and
groovy beats, the fantastic Joris Voorn underground
essentials, Hot Since 82 sexy grooves and the fantastic
Gorgon City who one of their members had his birthday so definitely
was a very special set for them that I decided to be my outro moment for the
first day of this top festival that included everything from full on epic
house, uplifting hard trance, deep underground techno and relaxing cocktail
beach bar summery sounds. 
The third and final day of the festival on Sunday 30th was
brilliant as well and I had the feeling that was the most crowded from the
whole 3 days. It started from 12.00 and finished at 23.00 including headliners
in mainstages and big tents stages. When I entered the festival grounds I
walked towards the North Stage where R3hab had his own madhouse session packed with
rough beats and dirty Dutch house attitude. Then it was time for the Cream stage
that the upcoming Sam Feldt melodic deep house star, showed
his love to the crowd with his relaxing sunkissed anthems. So I was now ready
for the harder sounds of the Goodgreef Xtra Hard stage and the
cracking JP & Jukesy duo who supplied the bombs and the
sharp like knife metallic sounds. The upcoming and uber talented Alex
Andair was another must check out artist performing at the Fatboy
Slim presents Smile High Club stage. Deep melodic tripping out house
grooves and very danceable rhythm carried away the audience who seemed to be
ready for more uncompromising action. At this stage the fun element was the
acid converter machine that could transform anybody into a smiling person with
its smile, blow, spray and ready moments. The trance alter ego was calling me
so I had to get asap to the Pepsi Max arena with the psy
trance hero Simon Patterson bringing the underground psy tech
beats combined beautifully with euphoric breakdowns. Then I went back to
the North Stage for the rough festival heavy hard house sound
of Carnage who delivered relentlessly his banging basslines.
But I needed to relax for a while so the MK Area 10 was the
perfect point to enjoy the dark tech house grooves from father and son B2B aka
the legend inventor of the Detroit techno sound Kevin Saunderson and
his son Dantiez B2B. One of the favorite melodic progressive house
labels Pryda had his own stage and when I went there Jeremy
Olander was playing his fine melodic electronic house tracks that
created this unmistakable hypnotic soundscape that transfer you instantly to
another place and time. I knew that I needed my energy injection so I run
to those who can deliver it straight away. At the Don't Let Your Daddy
Know stage the Dutch powerbangers BassJackers pushed
the tempo to the limits with their excessive basslines, thumping drums and feel
good melodies. Now was the moment to go back to the basics of house with the
futuristic shapes of house delivered from the very energetic Oliver
Heldens that I saw performing live for the first time. Great set that
kept the audience dancing and smiling with many explosive highs during the
rough ride. The trance addiction was back so I needed to check the Irish trance
legend John O Callaghan who gave me all the melodies,
harmonies, energetic basslines and heartfelt vocals that I needed at this very
moment. Paul Oakenfold was a bit late so John and Bryan
Kearny who performed earlier played for some minutes to replace him
but when the legend and Cream ambassador Paul
Oakenfold was on stage the crowd erupted. It's simply inconceivable to
be dj for many years and so many different generations of trancers to love and
respect you equally as Paul did who manage to remain fresh
and relevant rather than identifying himself with his classics and feeling
obliged always to play them.
The North stage was close so it was great opportunity to
taste some of Steve Aoki music cakes that he throw usually to
his hungry for music audiences. Top moment was when he asked Nervo to
join him on stage and together play their latest collaboration. The Australian
sisters Nervo are simply brilliant as they have skills as song
writers, producers and great mainstage performers as well. Next must check dj
was the French chart topping Michael Calfan who played melodic
anthemic future house including his well-known hits that combined soulful
vocals, African chants and xylophone melodies. The energy was vibrating all
over the place so the Goodgreef Xtra stage was calling my name
and I had to go and check first the masked hard trance live performance
by Lab-4 and then the superstar Kutski. My check
list included another French innovator, the beloved Magician who
started as an underground deep electronic house artist but unexpectedly
crossover to the mainstream and definitely his success gives some credibility
to the UK charts. The same time MK was playing but it was not
possible to get into the stage as it was super packed and outside people were waiting
to get into the stage. Pryda was going dark, melodic and more
techno infused with Claude Vonstroke intimate dj set and great
crowd connection. Back to the Dutch big room house with the massive Ummet
Ozcan smashing it with fierce basslines, divine vocals and heavy
drops. On the Pryda stage the legend of progressive house Sasha was
playing in a packed stage of mixed crowd who respected his contribution to the
development of electronic music with underground minded set that was deeper and
electronic.
From the one legend to the other and this time at the trance stage Paul
van Dyk was providing the full on euphoric uplifting sound with live
elements and imaginable mixing. His current Politics of Dancing vol.3 tracks
were mixed with some of his most beloved classics including I don't
deserve you and Home. Next on the same stage was the
innovator of Dutch trance Ferry Corsten who cannot go wrong as
he delivered a full on trance set. My journey had to continue and this time I
moved to the mainstage North Stage for the mad duo of Dimitri
Vegas & Like Mike who simply are unbeatable behind the decks as they
choose music, play with the crowd and making their performance a live party
experience that you should attend once in your life. Like Mike got
his selfie and asked the crowd to sit down and stand up altogether. The crazy
Greek/Belgian duo were joined by Steve Aoki for another half
hour of unstoppable action for the3 Are Legends performance. 
From the more deeper excursions to the wild sounds of Blasterjaxx who
finished the Don't Let Daddy Know stage perfectly with the big
room house audience jumping and shouting wanting more of the same. I decided
that the perfect epilogue at Creamfields should be written from the
legend and pioneer Tiesto so I devoted the last minutes on his
performance that was explosive to say the least with classics, new tracks and
impressive visuals, lazers, lighting effects and fireworks that added to the
whole Tiesto experience. At 23.00 o clock the music has ended and
it was time to move out and make my way back to Liverpool leaving behind me 3
days of electronic music provided from the best djs to the most up for it crowd
within a safe, secure and most importantly fun filled environment. 
If someone ask me to give my 5 reasons why
someone should visit Creamfields in 2016 I can point them out
the following elements:
1-Creamfields is above all music festival
focusing on the music and the djs rather than being the brand of the festival
at the heart of it.
2-Creamfields includes the most happening
artists from headliners, to upcoming talents and of course the legends and
pioneers.
3-Creamfields is well organized and is
easy to find your way around with enough bars, food choice, free tap water and
toilets.
4-Creamfields has great sound system in
all stages and of course state of the art technology with mind-blowing visuals
and lighting effects that even if you are not at the front of the mainstage you
still enjoy the spectacle.
5-Creamfields has the most up for it crowd
as many djs have admitted that UK festival visitors love to party, be nice to
each other and have good time that initially vibrates to the djs who are
obliged to give their best performance.
If you think that is better to stay at home and enjoy it from your computer
think twice cause Creamfields is the world’s leading summer
festival and you can never judge if you don't hear with your own ears and see
with your own eyes and not the camera eyes the incredible unforgettable inconceivable
moments that you get when you are surrounded by thousands of fellow clubbers
and you dance together, make friends and feel goosebumps when your favorite
tune is playing or when even better you discover tunes and music that you didn’t
event know that exists out there. I admitted that I Loved It!Thanks to Gill Nightingale and Rio Grant for the press accreditation. It was great opportunity to enjoy Creamfields and be able to write about it. Thanks to Creamfields / Live Nation crew for having me. See you next year.
Early bird tickets and deposit scheme to secure your 2016
ticket is on sale now. click here
Review by
Dimitri Kechagias, music journalist and radio host at 1mix radio.
Some of the photos were taken by myself and others provided by Creamfields.
Lorenzo Tnc
Alex Lonsdale
Anthony Mooney
Geoffrey Hubbel
Howie Hill
Warren Simmens
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