Kappa Futur: The tracks that stunned 30,000 ravers

There can be something very special about experiencing a festival for the very first time. Like the first time you go to Glastonbury and walk to the top of the site to the Stone Circle and look out in awe at the holy fields before you. Or when you venture to Mannheim, Germany and enter Time Warp's outrageous main tunnel where the lights, sounds and crowd are overwhelmingly impressive. It's these sorts of experiences that make going to festivals and travelling far and wide to the world's must-see events worthwhile and two weeks ago we added another to our long list.

Kappa Futur Festival in Turin, Italy is one of those eye-popping raves that stay with you for a long time. Held in Parca Dora, a post-industrial site located right in the heart of the city, the festival started in 2012 and since then has become one of the most talked about parties on the planet. Around 30,000 people attend the two-day event and with the Main Stage housing around 25,000 of those dancers, the spectacle is something to behold.

The dwarfing, engulfing stripping hangar where the likes of Ben Klock, Sven Väth, Marco Carola and Solomun all rolled out sets is one of the most spectacular things we've ever seen. The roars after drops are deafening, the soundsystems are crisp and bellowing and the crowd resembles an endless sea of people, all having the times of their lives and throwing caution to the wind. Add to this some nearly 40 degree heat and one of the best line-ups in house and techno and you truly have a setting worthy of an electronic epiphany. If this video of Nina Kraviz in the depths of the night dropping weird techno and trance doesn't get your blood bumping then you may be dead inside.

It's not just the main stage that draws your attention though. There are two more stages, the Dora stage and the House stage. The House stage played host to, yep you guessed it, some of the best names in house music and more specifically, some absolute legends. Kings Of House (David Morales, Tony Humphries, Louie Vega) played nine hours on the Saturday and on Sunday Kerri Chandler and Danny Tenaglia rolled their trademark beats.

The Dora Stage however is what had most people grooving when they weren't searching for their dropped jaws on the Main Stage. Raresh and Ricardo Villalobos truly showcased why they're two of the slickest DJs on road. Raresh expertly and seamlessly threw down two hours of sublime Romanian tech before Ricky V stepped up and filled in for Margaret Dygas. Cue six hours of fire from the don, and although his mixing was as choppy as usual, not even the rocket of a spliff he was smoking could throw any of his blends out. He was so on point. Factor in a groove-laden extravaganza from Apollonia and some dub-techno heat from Nastia and the Dora Stage had proved that it's not all about size, it's about style and stature.

It's a cliché thing to say that a festival has 'something for everyone' although there isn't really a better way of describing Kappa Futur without mentioning its range across the board. We're still glowing after our experience there and it's gone down as one of our favourite festivals this year. The Italians know how to host a fucking party and we were thrilled to be their guests.

Here are a selection of the tracks that stunned the masses in Torino. We'll be back for more and we're sure anyone else who was there will be too. Time Warp, Eat your heart out.

This was literally the first track we heard at the festival and the one that supplied instant shivers down the spine. Chris Liebing didn't care it was daytime, he pumped it out and the crowd cheers were other-worldly.

Big Sol aka Solomun is always a sure-fire bet. He always bangs out the big boys and what better homage to the other artists on the line-up than to drop Ben Klock's remix of Kerri Chandler. This went off, but you can see for yourself below as we recorded the whole set. *smug face*

A walk over to the Dora Stage for Ricky V was always going to unearth some gems and this was his highlight. The sun was setting, the king was dancing and we were mesmerised. We <3 u R.V.

Day 2. Papa Sven opening the main stage and over his three hour set, he didn't go easy, he went big, as usual. This one stood out as we walked through the middle of the crowd from the front to the back. Ripper.

By the end of his set, Väth had worked up a frenzy. It's obviously no shocker that he had the crowd in the palm of his hand after three and a half hours of vinyl blending but his last track was his most momentous. All eight and half minutes of Henrik Schwarz's 'Electrica Salsa' got played and every hit of that synth riff caused a storm. He ain't called a legend for nothing.

The three wise men aka Apollonia won the award for 'Most Groove' this year and three hours felt like three minutes. The mixes were incomparable, the basslines stupidly bouncy and the pace unparalleled. Props to Shonky for the silkiest hips of the festival too, he went in.

A short trip back over to the main stage and Nicole Moudaber and Skin had just stepped up to the plate. One of the most exciting b2b pairings of the weekend and one that absolutely pummelled. We don't really need to describe 'Fuego', it pumps hard. The crowd roar for this one was potentially the biggest of the day.

Nastia on Dora was another one of our favourite sets. It was pretty much dark by this point and stood on stage watching the Ukrainian expertly weave and merge dub techno alongside the rougher stuff was a joy to behold. The only thing that was more lit up than her smile while she played were her customised flurecent Nike trainers complete with name on the back. Style in abundance.

After Nina Kraviz destroyed the main stage, it was Ben Klock who had the honours of closing the festival. It was, as always, a fucking masterpiece. No-one mixes techno like the Klock and he's the genre's main event for a reason. 'Protocol' went down as it always does and DJ Hell's remix of 'You Need The Drugs' by Westbam was a serene, if not fitting closing tune.

Funster is Mixmag's Digital Music Editor, follow him on Twitter here