5 tracks that bossed AMP Lost & Found in Malta

Annie Mac’s AMP Lost & Found Festival has become festival season’s essential pre-amble in the last few years, and its fourth edition brought Four Tet, Jamie xx, Diplo, The Black Madonna, Peggy Gou and loads more to Malta for four rave-packed days in May. Here’s the five tunes that made the festival.

Since dropping at the tail end of last year, Mella Dee’s ‘Techno Disco Tool’ has gathered more pace than Mo Farah on the last lap of an 800 metre race. Championed by everyone from Annie Mac to Adam Beyer to Nick Grimshaw on his Radio 1 breakfast show, the heady blend of an irresistible Sister Sledge sample with a murmuring techno breakdown remains pretty potent despite the track getting hammered for nearly nine months. Which is lucky as you heard it a lot at Lost & Found. From the pool party at Cafe Del Mar to getting spun towards the end of Dennis Sulta, Mall Grab and Mella Dee’s celebratory back-to-back on the festival’s main stage on the final night, it was this track that brought the real hands in the air moments throughout the weekend. And special mention goes to the follow-up ‘Donny’s Groove’ which got dropped several times across the weekend and looks set to do similar things throughout the summer.

Diplo’s headline set brought some star power to Saturday night at the festival. While his frantic mash-up style might not seem as fresh as when he first gained global recognition over 10 years ago, his genre hopping between dancehall, pop, hip hop and his own army of mega hits leaves very little time to get bored. But things took a more reflective mood when he took a few moments out to pay tribute to friend Avicii, calling him an ‘groundbreaker’ and ‘influencer’ before dropping ‘Levels’.

Since getting released on his ‘The Division’ EP back in April, Krystal Klear’s ‘Neutron Dance’ has assumed pole position to be crowned track of the summer. The '80s indebted nu-disco banger has a playfulness reminiscent of ‘Inspector Norse’, kind of sounds like it’s threatening to break into New Order’s ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ every time you hear it and got played constantly at Lost & Found’s daytime pool party.

The Tropicana stage played host to some of the biggest names in British bass, grime and rap music throughout the weekend, with the likes of Novelist, Lotto Boyz, Oneman and Mist keeping it packed all weekend long. But it was J Hus who drew the most frenzied reception. His Saturday night set saw him rifle through tracks from last year’s ‘Common Sense, including an intense, mosh-pit inducing rendition of ‘Clartin’ and a playful and celebratory run through the album’s title track. But it was ‘Bouff Daddy’ that had everyone in attendance joining in and showed Hus developing into a seriously accomplished live performer.

Jackmaster’s played so many festivals these last few years that he’s definitely, er, become a master of them. So much so that one hardy soul felt the urge to get his name and set time from the event tattooed on his torso after his set. Whether or not the idea was cemented in his mind the moment Jack dropped this Cardi B banger we cannot confirm but the track certainly brought a smile to a few faces. Jack’s always had a knack for dropping a massive pop banger at exactly the right moment and despite moving away a little from the more frantic genre-hopping style that characterised his early years he showed he’s still got it.

AMP Lost & Found Festival returns to Malta from May 2 to 5, 2019. Head here to buy earlybird tickets