Bringing something ultra modern to the Irish festival scene, incorporating a number of mediums to produce a fresh and leading experience of not just music, but discussion, social activism, art and installation, Metropolis Festival will, for the second time, transform the lifeless cement and formal function rooms of the RDS for three days of ethereal party from November 3rd to 5th. As Ireland’s first indoor festival, Metropolis caught the eye of those with a hunger for something more than standing in a field surrounded by a sea of flower crowns. This year, POD and Hidden Agenda promise to present something that has been imagined and then realised to an even sharper, magnificent and engaging extent.
“Metropolis has tried something that has never been done before [in Ireland]. It has taken over a space which has never held multi-room events and has tried to take live and electronic music to a new level. There is a lot more to it than just a music festival. Music is so cross-influenced and influences so many areas in people’s lives that a music festival should also express a lot of different things,” explains Metropolis’ main production team’s Will Rolfe. The richness of the festival’s line-up both current and past has lead to its viral rise in public notoriety, but Metropolis holds values that are yet to be fully understood by an Irish audience.
Metropolis has thus been welcomed with open arms offering not just a gig but exposure to something deeper. People are willing and excited to experience something new, and Metropolis is an insightful response to an arguably nescient gap in the Irish festival scene.
It’s trying to integrate that story and giving a message to what you want to do that is most important for us, but I think it’s getting there and it has been really well received
“Getting the message across to people about what the festival really is is important to us, focusing on areas that people didn’t really know so much about and trying to increase the profile of that”, says Rolfe. “With festivals [here], people tend to just regurgitate music and music and music, with this there is a lot more we want to push out. I think the audience have started to get that, but it’s still a challenge. I don’t think the Irish music audience is used to something like this, I think it’s still developing.” For Rolfe: “Festivals like this are common practice in Europe, but here there still seems to be people whose interest is not necessarily in the story, they just want a gig. It’s trying to integrate that story and giving a message to what you want to do that is most important for us, but I think it’s getting there and it has been really well received.”
Giving some insight into what people can expect from Metropolis this year, Rolfe reveals: “Last year, because it was our first year, there was a lot we had to learn from it. This year will be a lot better prepared, site layout will be more thought out. Extra and added production and art elements is something we didn’t get enough time to add to last year, definitely our spoken word which we are collaborating on with Red Bull Music Academy this year will have finer attention to detail.” Some of the acts this year include both major international names and great local talents across a variety of genres, from electronic DJs Solomun, Fatima Yamaha to UK grime and garage rapper Novelist, to the psychedelic sounds of Crystal Castles through to headliner Grace Jones.
Rolfe informs me that Metropolis will this year join arms with the Repeal Project to bring an element of social activism to the festival. “We are working on a really interesting project with Repeal at the moment. There’s going to be a whole social interaction element to the festival which is something I’m really excited about. [The Repeal Project] have a petition for the eighth amendment to be repealed.” Signatures from the petition will be projected and displayed on screens, an installation designed by art collective Labyrinth, through the festival’s rooms for all to see in between acts. Festival act and Irish DJ New Jackson comments on the Metropolis and Repeal Project collaboration, an issue close to home. “I think it’s really encouraging to see the increase in social activism in recent years. The emphatic ‘yes’ vote in the marriage referendum felt like the beginning of the end of an era, a real marker in the decline of the influence of the Catholic church and the general “ah sure it’s grand” apathy. To see younger generations marching and protesting in such numbers is such a positive.” It is interesting to see a festival adopt a solid and clear stance on a local political issue such as the repealing of the eighth amendment, and as Rolfe and I discuss, this can allow people to see things is a different light, through presenting something far removed from music through that very medium.
Another unique aspect and strong selling point of the festival is that it incorporates acts who understand and believe in what the festival aims to do. Speaking to The University Times over email, New Jackson mentioned that “it is a well-produced festival with a diverse line-up that always includes some local talent, one that I think will go from strength to strength. I wasn’t around last year but saw the pictures and the visuals by Algorithm and the whole set up in general looked great. I was very keen to be involved this year.”
Evidently so, as after a sold out gig in District 8 where the artist was “blown away by [people’s] reaction”, adding that “there’s genuinely something special about Irish audiences”. New Jackson will debut some of his latest material from his upcoming album, From Night to Night, at Metropolis in the Shelbourne Hall from 4pm to 5pm on Saturday, November 5th.
Despite an evident buzz on and off social media in the lead up to the festival, one argument or passing comment I hear from many deciding not to attend is the festival’s early curfew. Irish policy does not allow a late licence for events of this type. However, Rolfe argues that this should not affect how people view nor enjoy the festival. “It is quite ridiculous that people are told what time they have to go to bed at, I think there’s a trust issue with the government and Irish crowds regarding whether they can cope with the later hours or not.”
He continues: “I’m not, however, overly affected by it. People get caught up on it, but it shouldn’t really affect how you enjoy an event. Obviously people would enjoy to stay at an event for longer and, for us, we could add so many more elements if we had three or four more hours of the day.” Staying positive, Rolfe noted that “when it comes to doing something in November, it’s pitch black by nearly 6pm so the mentality of that works in our favour. It can be 7pm but feel much closer to 12am. It is always going to be a point that is talked about by people, but [a festival] should be about what you are taking away from it, not what time you leave”.
As mentioned by Rolfe, installations will be taken to another level at the festival this year as the team have dedicated more time and effort to it’s execution. What the festival will look like shall, for now, remain something of a surprise, but one can clearly imagine it. Metropolis will present Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds exhibition along with an installation piece suspended from the ceiling of the Industries Hall by The Do LaB, based in Los Angeles. Bulmers has commissioned Irish artists James Earley, Charlotte Francis, Sums One and Rob McCann to develop bar installations that have been described as “monolithic, expansive and individually designed”. The festival has adopted the mild theme of all things big, collaborating with Absolut to bring the world’s largest mirror ball. There will also be an enormous “M” on the way into the festival, which attendees shall be encouraged to sign. Algorithm have once again been commissioned by Metropolis Festival to create another original stage and, judging by last year’s large outdoor installation DJ stage and the psychotropic decorations of the Shelbourne and Serpentine halls, my hopes are high.
While the line-up is vast, there are some acts that are not to be missed. Dublin electronic duo White Collar Boy will play in the Main Hall from 4.15pm to 5.15pm on Friday the 4th. While supporting local talent, you will also be blown away by what these guys can do. I can think of no better way to kickstart the main festival and get you on your feet.
Just after, Irish band Girl Band will play in the Shelbourne Hall from 5.50pm to 6.40pm. The four play an intriguing rock cover of Blawan’s heavy techno track “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage” and, although in no way easy to dance to nor relaxing, the band may truly bring something you have never heard before.
When it comes to doing something in November, it’s pitch black by nearly 6pm so the mentality of that works in our favour. It can be 7pm but feel much closer to 12am
A favourite of mine and having never disappointed me at festivals, I am sure that SBTRKT will play a groovy and impressive set from 7.15pm to 8.15pm in the Main Hall. The performance may seem familiar to you from your nights out, even if you do not think you’re too aware with the artist’s work.
My number one not-to-be-missed of the evening is German DJ Solomun, who will play from 8.05pm to 9.35pm in the Shelbourne Hall. If you have yet hear him work his magic on the decks, what better way to do so for the first time than at Metropolis. If you are not yet convinced, check out his Boiler Room set on Youtube and I guarantee you won’t want to skip his performance.
Our own Trinity Orchestra will perform their outstanding Bowie set from 3.30pm to 4.30pm to open the Main Hall on Saturday the 5th. Now veterans of performing at Irish festivals, Trinity Orchestra never fails to impress so consider getting to the RDS early on the last day.
Following them, UK female vocalist Shura will play the Main Hall from 5pm to 5.45pm. Her stunning voice is backed by feel-good music and drum beats. She will offer one of the festival’s few opportunities to sing along and will surely warm you up for the night ahead.
My advice would be to then run over to the Shelbourne Hall to catch the end of Dutch DJ Fatima Yamaha’s set. This guy has released some unbelievably good original tracks in recent years and hearing them live will lift them to an incredible dimension.
Again in the Main Hall, old-school hip-hop band The Sugarhill Gang will perform from 6.15pm to 7.15pm. The audience are set to be truly spoiled, hearing some of the world’s best loved hip-hop and rap favourites live from their creators. Be sure not to miss out on this highlight.
Finally, and maybe rather obviously, it would be a crime to skip internationally acclaimed Grace Jones close the festival at 10pm to 11.30pm in the Main Hall. If you want a break from the music during the festival, take some time out and head to the Concert Hall and hear some of the artists speak instead, along with representatives from a number of event organising bodies. On Friday the 4th, from 4pm to 4.45pm, Shaun Roberts of Fabric, Luc & Ernst of De School and Dave Parle of Hidden Agenda will speak, with Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip speaking from 6pm to 6.45pm. On Saturday, I’d recommended catching Karl Hyde of Underworld from 8.15pm to 9pm.
Although the nights finish somewhat early, there are countless after parties both official and unofficial, where you can take yourself afterwards and keep the festival going, from Hidden Agenda, Sense, Bedlam and many more. And to make things even easier this year, the festival is going contactless with Visa, meaning you won’t have to carry cash with you all evening. With just a few days to go, it seems that Metropolis Festival is shaping up as something that will continue to grow and improve exponentially both in interest, wonder and management in coming years. It may very well be worth parting with some of your cash to be a part of the story this year.
Tickets for Metropolis Festival are on sale at metropolisfestival.ie and at an exclusive student rate in the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) shop.
