Festivals
Mark Ronson & Diplo introduce house-centric Silk City project to Friday night of Bestival 2018
The duo’s second ever show with the project - topping the Castle Stage bill - has its ups and downs.
We’re pretty sure that Silk City’s bill-topping set on the Friday night of this year’s Bestival is the first time an act has headlined a major festival with only their second show. That’s the power of Mark Ronson and Diplo, though, and their ability as partystarters is never in doubt.
Tonight’s 75-minute set isn’t flash, and doesn’t rely on special guests. Instead, it focuses on the pair’s crate-digging past, spinning house record after house record from decades past. They’re interspersed with snippets of chart-topping big-hitters, all filtered through their house lens, drawn into the seamless set which sees tracks melted together gorgeously. It comes with mixed results - Dua Lipa’s ‘New Rules’ slots into its new guise excellently, as does Cardi B’s ‘Bodak Yellow’. A house remix of Amy Winehouse’s version of ‘Valerie’? Not so much.
As DJ sets go, tonight is excellent, a showcase of the duo’s significant record-spinning pedigree and ability to fuse tracks together with pinpoint precision. As a festival headliner though? Silk City - reasonably, at only show #2 - doesn’t yet possess the chemistry of any of the pair’s numerous other collaborative projects, and its motives seem somewhat unclear. Remixes of chart-toppers hint at a bombastic, hit-filled hammerblow of a set, while the textured flow of pulsating house that fills the gaps sees it more as an exhibition of their expertise rather than crowd-pleasing intentions. Major Lazer mega-smash ‘Lean On’, for example, is faded in, announced exuberantly by Mark Ronson, and then phased out not 30 seconds later.
“We wanna thank you for taking a chance on us, Bestival,” Mark says before they depart with little ceremony. It’s a chance that pays off in some senses, and falls short in others. Once Silk City develops a personality of its own and becomes more than the sum of its parts, though, they could become world-beaters in their own right.
Records, etc at
Mark Ronson - Uptown Special (Cd)
Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings (Vinyl LP - grey)
Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings (Vinyl LP - black)
Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings (Cd)
Diplo - F10rida (Cd)
Read More
Mark Ronson closes out Montreux Jazz Festival with a bespoke show that echoes the spirit of a truly unique event
Now in its 57th year, the Swiss soiree is still operating in a niche of its own.
18th July 2023, 11:27am
Tame for Heroes: Mark Ronson on the legacy of Tame Impala’s ‘Innerspeaker’
To mark the 10th anniversary reissue, friend and long-term fan Mark Ronson waxes lyrical on the enduring appeal of the record that first introduced us to Kevin Parker and his box of sonic tricks.
23rd March 2021, 12:00am
Troye Sivan, Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson team up for ‘Easy’
The original version of the track featured on Troye's 'In A Dream' EP.
10th December 2020, 12:00am
Troye Sivan teases Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson collab
'Easy' arrives on Wednesday (9th December)!
7th December 2020, 12:00am
Popular right now
Featuring Green Day, English Teacher, Everything Everything, Caity Baser and more!