Photo: Kane Hibberd
There's been much talk about Lily Allen's wardrobe, Outkast's perfect set and Future Islands' off-the-chain dance moves. But as memorable as they were, RBMA's artfully curated 'other stage' was our fist-pump destination of choice. Over the four nights, the stage was filled with leaders of the local scene and champions of the international underground. So in between Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf blowing our minds on day one and our own R&B superstar Banoffee playing our hearstrings with a crushingly soulful set near the end of the festival, it was hard to turn away.
Of course we enjoyed the mania of the entire festival with the rest of them. We consumed our weight twice over in food truck goodness. We gallivanted. We narrowly escaped rampaging lunatics dressed as condiments and cartoon characters, and we indulged in the angsty nostalgia fest that was Interpol before having had our life made for like eva eva during Outkast.But now as the dust of the north Byron parklands has completely settled, we thought we would recap a few unsung heros of the festival along with some sung ones that defined our Splendour Bender at RBMA.Japanese Wallpaper
Japanese Wallpaper was definitely the most talented underage dude at Splendour. The 17 year old was clearly nervous but his 45 minute set was overridingly magical. His music is blissful and inspiring, sort of like an early Youth Lagoon. We're looking forward to witness his progression in the coming years.Cassius Select
Lavern Lee's house and techno performance may have been a little bit earlier in the day than his usual nocturnal club sets, but it was passionate, fierce and absorbing. He served minimalist beats configured in dark and complex rhythms, synths, and raw percussion that ignited our preliminary stages of the festival.Africa Hitech
From soundscapes to minimalist techno layered with soulful singing, and to then the most remote musical regions, Mark Pitchard and Steve Spacek once again took us on a journey that we will never want to forget. Every time I thought I knew where the next beat was going, they would flip it (and my world) upside down and around again. These guys manage to bridge the gap between nostalgia and the future unknown and it brought the dance floor to another level of extreme.Oscar Key Sung
I almost didn't put him on the list as it goes without saying. His vocals, swagger, and dance moves were all on-point and mesmerizing as always. Even for the fact that it was a difficult spot in terms of headline clashes he had the entire tent packed to the brim and transfixed on his every note.Edd Fisher
After this set, Edd Fisher is undoubtedly crowned my favorite up and coming Golden Boy of disco and funk. His set was filled with an eclectic selection of smooth and infectious tracks with turns that kept us on our toes in more ways than one.Darkside x Nicholas Jaar
I lost my shit. From the Mix Up Tent back home to RBMA this was by far the most incredible 4 hours back to back of the festival. First off at Darkside it was almost hard to believe how good it sounded. The crowd was spliced with people just plainly standing in awe and others who understandably couldn't keep their body still. As each song from their prog-rock-disco-fusion debut Psychic rolled in, it was a constant gut-wrenching flurry of excitement. Walking back to RBMA tent the audience was still starry-eyed as we enjoyed the remainder of NGUZUNGZU and the final 2 hours of the festival with Nicolas Jaar. He played a fine selection of house, funk and soul that mended our hearts and left us wishing it never had to end.Big Momma Sez
And finally meet Sarah. It is inevitable if you spend 70% percent of your time over four days in the RBMA Tent that you develop a strong and very special relationship with your bar-tender. She was a totally rad lady who introduced herself by recalling how the night before she pulled a punter out of the bar by his penis whilst he was still pissing. We miss you Big Mumma Sez.Until next year, RBMA and Splendour, and thanks for the memories.
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