A Timeless Euphoria: Pitch Music and Arts Festival 2023
A Timeless Euphoria: Pitch Music and Arts Festival 2023
Words by Aaron Weinberg
Surrounded by the grand Moyston mountain-scape, ten-thousand people retreated to the euphoric centre of electronic and dance music. This year, Pitch Music and Arts Festival was sonically multi-faceted, riddled with hard-hitting techno and a flux of bounce-ridden bass. Artists from around the world exchanged their typical touring series for innovative sets that intertwined a plethora of genres and histories.
The festival launched with Melbourne-based DJ Juicy Romance who performed at the Pitch-Black stage, informally known as ‘The Cage’. Weaving in her infamously raw tune ‘K on my D+C’, her set offered an enduring buzz that, paired with a sea of rogue doof signs, came to embody the festival’s party anthem.
Nearby, at the Resident Advisor stage (RA), the days were structured with a variety of eccentric electronic genres. People could oscillate between Major League DJZ’s afro-beats, the robust garage of DJ EZ, and graceful rhythms of Pretty Girl. Once the sun set RA took on a new life. Under the stars, festival-punters were guaranteed with more heavy-hitting techno that incorporated high energy breaks and acid synths from the likes of Hector Oaks, Anetha, and more. European DJs such as Moderat were similarly able to experiment with quirky bass lines and emotional peaks.
Pitch One, on the other hand, achieved consistently hard grooves that fit within an industrial sensation. FJAAK produced a full set of heavy twists and turns, including a frantic tease of New Order’s track ‘Blue Monday’, shortly before it was back-spun into sonic oblivion. With the audience left disorientated, it was a sudden ending note from the hardcore German duo, yet one that was both mysterious and full of sensation.
Approaching the end of peoples’ electronic music getaway, all eyes and all roads led to Pitch One. The kiosk-like stage generated eclectic sound from DJ JNETT, frantic beats from DJ Heartstring, and a final all-out uplift of Ewan McVicar. Preparing for the last haul, people parked up on an array couches and chairs, surrounding the dance floor like a dome. McVicar responded passionately, pumping large energetic bass lines out of the concrete walls. This culminative energy, which the Scottish artist himself described as “something from back in the rave era days,” offered the passionate ravers a place to feel at home.
The set finished. The ring of inflatable couches and pull-up chairs slowly dispersed. With a feeling of sweat-infused satisfaction, everyone began their three-hour return. Then, the wistful clean up song, “What Is Love”, by Haddaway started to play: a classic providing the perfect countermelody to a weekend of techno. It’s a full-circle moment, one that instilled a feeling of something timeless—something to remember.
Special thanks to Tom Raviv and TechnoAus
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