I had a tremendous time at this year's Lost Village Festival. I lapped up everything the Lincolnshire woodland had to throw at me. However, as well as the innumerable highs there were also some incredible lows. By mid-afternoon on the festival's penultimate day I had very little left to give. A number of theatrical gravediggers stalked the festival site and I felt so incredibly grim that I was tempted to hop in one of those graves and stay there for the rest of the weekend. It was going to take a monumental effort to rally myself and I certainly couldn't do it alone.
Fortunately, Heidi was on hand to deliver a masterclass in punchy, percussive house and techno - the perfect remedy to my Friday excess. Whether turning up the temperature on a festival main stage or jacking in a packed out Store Street, there is little Heidi isn't capable of carrying out with panache. And the great news is that the Canadian-born and Detroit-raised Heidi has been invited to select a Warehouse Project line-up entirely of her own creation as she brings The Jackathon to Manchester territory this Friday 21 October. The headlines have rightly been taken by her impending b2b performance alongside The Black Madonna, but the former Smart Bar resident has a stylised sound that's universally adored and has recently sailed through a Dekmantel Festival performance that left revellers with mouths agape. Back to back performances depend much on the chemistry between two artists but you'd be hard pressed to find two better suited to each other's style than these.
Elsewhere on the bill there's the small matter of a Warehouse Project return for the legendary Laurent Garnier. He blew minds way back in 2011 and hair-raising footage of when he dropped ‘The Man With The Red Face' has been doing the rounds ever since. A career spanning 25 years that began in France, danced through Detroit and produced one of the most enigmatic artists in the industry is about set foot on UK soil, and it's an event we really should all be taking note of.
Black Coffee will also be making an appearance, although his route to the top of the music industry summit was altogether different. His grounding as a jazz musician and his roots in Kwazulu Natal shine through his productions and performances. His eclectic, energetic beats will bring the sounds of South Africa to Manchester. This stellar quartet is supported by a roster of Heidi and The Black Madonna's favourite selectors. Mike Servito and Jasper James regularly take the helm at The Jackathon parties and are two of the industry's most versatile and underrated DJs, and they'll be queuing to serve up the bangers. It's a stacked line-up but one that will plough you with more than enough energy to keep you moving till the very end. Long live the official start of the weekend.
WORDS | Jonathan Coll