10 tracks that brought heat to Iceland’s Secret Solstice

Mixmag stumbles out the HEL stage at midnight on the first day of Iceland’s Secret Solstice music festival. Seth Troxler is taking over the decks after nearly two hours of The Black Madonna’s irresistible style and Kerri Chandler is set to follow. We’ve been locked in the dance for a few hours and a short break outside is necessary, it’s 12:00 AM after all and the night is young. That said, one step into the sunlight and all notion of time disappears. “What time is it again?” a fellow patron asks. “Noon”, I reply. He chuckles, bums a smoke and continues on his way. This festival’s remarkable atmosphere can flip the mind upside down, but luckily the music carries us through and Circoloco’s showcase is currently in full swing.

There’s a reason why Secret Solstice has been regarded as the world’s most unique music festival by many who have experienced it. The lineup itself is as diverse as any, with The Prodigy, Rick Ross, Rhye, Dubfire and Dusky alongside Iceland’s more ethereal musicians, and the backdrop of the country is like stepping out into a different world. Where else can one journey to see a concert inside a glacier or down a lava tunnel? Only at this intimate gathering to the far north. And again, the distinct lingering presence of light is both baffling and exciting, yielding a mindset that is constantly ready to keep the party switch on.

This year Secret Solstice was met with cloudy weather with sprinkles of rain for most of the festival, so finding a good place to dance and warm up was essential. Luckily the artists involved held nothing back and delivered quality sets across the board. With that, Mixmag has compiled a collection of moments paired with memorable tracks that brought the heat to the dance. This is how we kept the energy flowing from start to finish.

A rare ray of sunlight peaked through the clouds as Ata Kak and his band took the stage in front of an ever growing crowd of youthful patrons at Secret Solstice. The Ghanaian singer has gained somewhat of a cult-like following after the re-release of his debut album titled ‘Obaa Sima’ on Awesome Tapes From Africa. The album’s title track has become a staple of his sound and halfway through the festival set, revellers were chanting its name. Thus, Ata Kak and his crew obliged. The infectious African ballad brought an electric energy to the festival that day, which left Ata Kak with an enormous smile on his face. It was clear he felt the love from his fans in Iceland. The humble artist thanked the crowd for their support and walked off stage with his head held high. This was undoubtedly the set of the weekend.

Take Mixmag’s advice, when Soul Clap is on a festival lineup they are not to be missed! Their DJ sets are truly an experience, as they interact with the crowd, dance as hard as their fans, showcase the funkiest, grooviest dance music in the world and do it all with clean, seamless mixes that showcase their talents as some of the best DJs in the industry. At Secret Solstice they invited worthy fans up on stage to lead the crowd with interactive dance moves and threw out hats and t-shirts with each drop. The duo of Eli Goldstein and Charlie Levine know how to throw a proper party and they showcased numerous standout gems like Armand Van Helden’s ‘NYC Beat’ or ‘Amerika’ by Disko Knights, but their very own 'Shine (This Is It)' lit up the final day of the festival like no other track could.

Dusky’s set inside the HEL stage was a major highlight of the “after hours” dance music showcases that would take place in the building located directly next to the festival grounds. Once the main stage cut out at 11:30 pm, everyone would rush to this location to carry on with the party. On the second day of the festival Anjunadeep took over the stage with Dusky closing it out. The room was packed, the energy was high, the beats were booming and Paul Woolford’s ‘Meditate’ took over the airwaves in a big way. It’s heavy bass and whimsical arrangement paired with the anthemic build up served as the perfect soundtrack to keep the crowd engaged. It’s a new weapon recently released on Eats Everything’s Edible imprint, which just so happened to premiere on Mixmag.

Kerri Chandler’s set inside the HEL stage was a major highlight of the “after hours” dance music programming that would take place in a building located directly next to the festival grounds. Once the main stage cut out at 11:30 pm, everyone would rush to this location to carry on with the party. The first night’s lineup was absolutely stacked with a Circoloco showcase featuring Tania Vulcano, Seth Troxler, The Black Madonna and Kerri Chandler to close it out. As an undeniable legend, Kerri’s hybrid DJ sets span the full scope of house music, and ‘10 Minutes High’ by Kings Of Tomorrow featuring Michelle Weeks was a blast of nostalgia from 1996. Soulful and driving, the track is a sure classic, one that’s been rinsed for more than 20 years, but when Kerri plays it it’s like hearing it for the first time. Pure euphoric bliss on the dancefloor.

As one of the main headliners at Secret Solstice, The Prodigy had a strong presence throughout the festival. Their merch was seen everywhere and it was easy to overhear their name come up in conversation, even if we didn’t know Icelandic. By the third day the crowd was primed for their sound and they didn’t disappoint with a high octane set of their signature sound. Of course their standout moment was ‘Firestarter’, not just because it’s likely their best known material, but because of the way the crowd reacted to it. Plus, there’s really something special about seeing this band in the pouring rain… An incredible moment to say the least.

Mixmag purposefully left out the fact that Soul Clap went b2b with their brothers from NYC Wolf +Lamb, just so we didn’t spoil this next heater that was dropped on the final day of Secret Solstice. To be honest, if we were to pick a single moment to be the tune of the festival, it would be ‘Piano Groove’ (Main Mix) by the trifecta of Kenny Dope, DJ Gomi and Antonio Hart. It seems to be built to be the perfect festival tune. The infectious piano melody, soulful horn solos and driving rhythm makes for an instant classic, but there are certain moments in the track made for building tension, and when that tension is released the crowd begs for more. The four DJs on the stage had their fans locked in, fixated on the groove during this track. Closing it out on such a high could not have been any more ideal.

Another necessary ID from King Kerri Chandler’s set was KiNK’s ‘Chorus’, released at the tail end of 2016 on Midnight Shift. Again though, what was equally brilliant as this track was Secret Solstice’s programming on the first night to kick off the festival. Truly legendary with Seth Troxler and The Black Madonna setting the tone before Kerri. Dance music was in high demand, considering the festival focuses on delivering sets from every genre. With late night showcases curated by Circoloco, The Warehouse Project, Anjunadeep and SCI+TEC, patrons got exactly what they needed. This first night delivered what to expect for the rest of the festival and the HEL stage proved to be a hedonistic haven that was bumping as hard as possible from start to finish.

When Windsmoke appeared on the festival schedule the name might have been unfamiliar to many, but upon closer examination you would find that it’s the collaborative project from UK mainstay Artwork and Justin Sloe of LA house collective Droog. The duo actually first came together at a Secret Solstice afterparty in 2015 and the long-awaited debut did not disappoint. Although the crowd was not as packed as the other stages, which hosted Foreign Beggars and Novelist, their set took us on an excursion through an eclectic array of house, disco, funk and deeper shades of dance music. A critical moment was when Artwork jumped off stage to lead a conga-line that snaked through with everyone attached as he lead us toward the front row in a spiral motion. It was a smart play to ignite the energy and the bright, positive nature of Ajukaja’s ‘Benga Benga’ captures the essence of the experience perfectly.

For those of us who had not yet had the chance to see Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals perform yet, this set was a major highlight on the Secret Solstice lineup. Lucky for all, the fresh talent proved why he’s one of the hottest acts in the music industry right now. Again the shining moment was his last song, the track he’s become known for, ‘Am I Wrong’. Anderson .Paak’s performance is very much unlike any other in the grand scheme of pop music today. The man has it all, a unique voice, the creativity to write music and the unparalleled talent as a musician. Watching him play the drums is an experience in itself, so finishing off his set on a high note like ‘Am I Wrong’ was nothing short of magic.

With the lineup consisting of a majority of Iceland’s top acts, The Warehouse Project’s showcase at the HEL stage featured two of the country’s most noteworthy, Exos and the electronic duo Kiasmos. The latter project consisting of Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen relished the moment to play in front of their home crowd, exciting them with each massive drop. ‘Looped’ is a track that helped put Kiasmos on the map in 2014 and it’s been a highlight in their live performances ever since. It’s moody tone perfectly captures the spirit of their music and their native country. Draped in a cloud of blue, purple and green light they hypnotized the Secret Solstice crowd like no other artist could during the whole weekend.

Harrison is Mixmag's East Coast Editor. Follow him on Twitter here

[Photo credit: Shot by SOLOVOV.be]