The first edition of Pitch was the perfect festival debut

Midland, Béton Brut, Saturday: It’s no secret that Midland rose to become one of the biggest figures in dance music last year, taking out Mixmag’s Track of 2016 for ‘Final Credits,’ which we premiered back in May, as well as BBC’s Essential Mix of the Year. As such, we found ourselves breaking into a jog from the Vanishing Point stage on the way to his three-hour Saturday night set as we heard it already heaving in the distance. Deep blue and purple lighting and a thick layer of smoke bathed a dancefloor of people going wild to an expert selection of disco-laced house cuts. Wbeeza’s ‘Coastspotting,’ Zap’s classic ‘Get Down’ and the Full Intention 12” mix of Duke’s ‘So In Love With You’ were all highlights as the Béton Brut stage’s lighting display got into full swing. But you couldn’t go past the UK producer’s biggest track as the stand out moment. Bright lights eased into a minimalist purple with flashes of blue as the distinct groove was met with cheers and hands in the air for a shiver-inducing festival moment bringing the set to a close.

Gerd Janson, Béton Brut, Saturday/Sunday: Saturday night at the Béton Brut stage was drenched in good vibes with the Running Back boss up straight after Midland for another three hours. We perched ourselves up the back to take in the full light show as designer Dave Dinger grinned from the lighting booth at his stage in full flight. Cosmic and straight-up disco grooves, Outlander’s raucous 1990s classic ‘Vamp’ and Denis Sulta’s ‘It’s Only Real’ were brought together in an eclectic set which also featured dolphin calls on several occasions (this had to be confirmed with those nearby to make sure it wasn’t a late night trick of the imagination.) An unreleased track said to be upcoming on ReGraded was a huge feel-good disco tune as lit up ‘doof stick’ signs bobbed in the air and our jaws dropped at the precision and quality of the lighting and stage. The soothing keys of UK veteran Ashley Beedle’s loved-up rework of The Streets’ ‘Weak Become Heroes’ let the crowd take a breath and appreciate a moment of pure joy at what they were experiencing.