Review: Abode In The Park 2018

The past weekend saw Abode round off a groundbreaking summer season with the stylish completion of Abode In the Park. The one day festival, hosted in the grounds of Finsbury Park, provided a spectacular diversity in sound across its several stages and I think everyone in attendance can agree on one thing; we all felt like one big family on the day, a trait Abode events are renowned for since their early beginnings back in 2014.
Of course, despite the huge celebrations that were had at Abode In the Park was not just down to the day itself but a culmination of successes. These huge feats include their best every Ibiza residency season, hosted on the prestigious Amnesia terrace every week and another year in Malta hosting their Abode On The Rock festival concept. Despite achieving all of this over the past few months, it’s refreshing to see Kai (the mastermind behind Abode) and his team are truly down to earth and humble about their journey up until now.

The time of year it is, Abode In the Park has now become a hugely anticipated affair, signaling the end of the summer and offering up a final blowout for all in attendance. Here in the UK we had a very rare, but scorching summer, having our hopes up for a warm weekend at Abode In the Park; however, it was not to be, but the shoddy weather was far from dampening our spirits – luckily we’re used to such instances of bad weather and if anything, mud and rain always adds to the fun. After much speculation about tickets being sold on and people doubting their abilities to make it through the day, we’re glad to reveal that thankfully, the crowds pulled through en mass. Much to the credit of the organisers (Abode and LWE), they accommodated the crowds and supported us by laying down wood chippings meaning we wouldn’t totally be swamped by the treacherous weather conditions.
Moving on from the weather and onto the beats, we found ourselves darting around the festival grounds early on, sampling the different grooves, tempos, and stages that presented themselves to us. Before long we had settled on the deep-cut grooves of East End Dubs who was setting the tone for a raucous few hours at the Warehouse stage. The Terrace presented Steve Lawler’s Warriors that included an illustrious list of talent; we caught Will Taylor shelling he crowd with some grooving classic mixed in with some of his own productions, including ‘Verano’, a track he produced alongside Cera Alba. Also on display was George Smeddles, an artist who has risen to underground stardom of late with his hypnotic ‘Shake Your Body’, a track that saw the crowd moving in unison.

High up on our list to see was Waze & Odyssey, artists we have been obsessed with for the past few years. The complete highlight of their set was the crowd letting loose to a stomping remix of ‘Renegade Master’. As you would expect with festivals, many had made the effort, donning glitz and glamour through fashionable face paints and sequin dresses; much of this effort was washed away by the rain, unfortunately. Repopulate Mars head honcho was, as you’d expect, dressed to impress and still dressed like he hadn’t left Burning Man! He was a special guest on Danny Howard’s Nothing Else Matters stage and gave the crowd a mix of vicarious belters and modern classics. 
A surprise moment, and perhaps the moment of the whole weekend was Danny Howard going B2B2B alongside MK and Dance from Amine Edge & Dance. MK dropping a beastly remix of ‘Cola’ to a packed-to-the-rafters tent was as euphoric as it gets. It’s moments like these that keep reminding you why Abode are the kings when it comes to hosting events and booking top quality artists. We’re very much looking forward to next year already!