Highlights From All Points East Festival 2022

APE returns with their best lineups yet.

It’s been a long hot summer. The grass in our favourite London parks has browned in the record breaking heatwave, our rents increased and the sound of that famous cost of living crisis is filling up the room. But it’s not all doom and gloom right? Here to save the last of the summer wine, FOMO and delay the reality of bleak UK winter, is All Points East. Here are some of our highlights from this year’s edition.

Gorillaz

Having been (incredibly) fortunate enough to see Gorillaz a handful of times this year alone, it’s easy to compare their 2022 festival features. Their set tonight was one of their best. Popcaan, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Moonchild Sanelly, Mos Def, Shaun Ryder, Rowetta, Paul Simonon, Pos and Sweetie Irie all made an appearance tonight. Guest after guest took their turn of performing with Damon and the band on the East stage. The collaborative spirit that Gorillaz are famously known for filled Victoria park and the adoring audience lapped up every second. Maybe it's performing on home soil that’s got Gorillaz in a happy mood tonight. We hear anthems like “Empire Ants” and “Dare” that we missed from previous festival shows (that Still Listening went to this year). It was a healthy, full setlist. That’s not all though. About halfway through their set, Damon announces that a new song is going to be debuted tonight, which isn’t out of the blue, considering the river of new Gorillaz music is always flowing. What was surprising (and equally fucking great) was that the featured artists for this track were Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Gorillaz regular, Bootie Brown. It’s called "New Gold” and it's a party. Considering that both Gorillaz and Tame Impala have played the same festivals as each other this year and that “New Gold” is a great summer track, it's surprising that the song wasn’t released sooner. Maybe Damon wanted to save the first performance for his favourite London neighbours? Or maybe it just wasn’t ready in June? Whatever reason you choose to make up, it was a piece of history and it was really, really fun.

Kraftwerk

Co-headlining APE: Field Day, is Kraftwerk. It’s exciting to be in the same park you go to for tinnies after work with pals, now becoming a host to the electronic music legends. It feels like a bit of an under-dressed venue when you consider how instrumental Kraftwerk are in founding the scene and innovating the sound that so many of the artists playing today reference. 3-D glasses are handed out to an eager audience, which is made up of fans from multiple generations. We hear iconic tracks "Computer World," "Tour De France” and "The Model” to name a few. As the set progressed, the 3-D vibe / effectiveness fluctuated as the sun hadn’t fully set yet, this was a shame as the functionality of the 3-D glasses became distracting. The visuals were cool though, Kraftwerk-cool: hopeful-dystopian digital scenery (sometimes reminiscent of a driving theory test) made a great backdrop, regardless if it was viewed in its full effect or not. We were all just happy to be there, in the presence of greatness. There is more to Kraftwerk than hopeful robot pop, their legacy is respected and their audience will always be willing to embrace the concept, tonight was no different.

Chemical Brothers

Two words only seem sufficient in describing this set and they are: holy shit.

The Blaze

All Points East’s North Stage (the big blue tent) makes the perfect setting for this year's dance music artists. Making the most of their time in London was French film-maker / DJ duo, The Blaze. Delicate vocals accompanied with masculine beats, plus stunning self directed visuals created an immersive, ethereal experience.

Caribou

There’s something warm and fuzzy about Caribou, they feel like home. Maybe it’s because they always seem to be at every festival you go to, this year’s All Points East included. They feel like a big hug.

Tame Impala

In recent years, it’s noticeable that a Tame Impala crowd is divided in to two: fans of the new stuff and the new stuff alone, and fans of the old stuff, who will respectfully bob along to the new stuff. Their set tonight was no different, whatever fan side you fell into, you got to experience a handful of songs from your preferred Tame Impala era. However, it does feel like the fuzz from the earlier Tame Impala years has fizzled out and Kevin Parker is moving towards a more commercial light. After all, the chants from “Let It Happen” are much louder than closing your eyes and nodding to “Apocalypse Dreams.” The promise of Tame Impala playing “Lonerism" in full at this year’s Desert Daze Festival, is intriguing, one can only hope its a sign for future setlist to come.

Charli XCX

The two pillars on the East stage are our indicators of the goddess herself Charli XCX. It’s a condensed show in terms of duration, but the track selects are great ones, hits from "Crash" such as “Lightning,” as well as earlier releases such as “1999” and “I love it” are all stomped through by Charli and the audience. We are also treated to the new release “Hot In It.” It was obvious at times that the crowd were securing their spot to see disclosure (which is confusing - I know I’m biased but have you seen Charli XCX show - that shit is headline material) Charli doesn’t care though and neither should you.

Aldous Harding

“Captivating" feels like such a beige word to use when describing an Aldous Harding’s show, her musical presence is so much more than that. Despite the festival set up and its less intimate setting, it did feel like there was an AH shaped dome over the West stage in Victoria park on this Sunday evening. We see and hear the perfect blend of older and new material. Sleafod Mods’ Jason Williamson joined for "Leathery Whip,'' the final track from the 2022 release "Warm Chris,” it's also the last song from the show today. The audience did hang on for hit “The Barrel,” but we weren’t disappointed with this afternoon's show, Aldous Harding can do what she wants.

Previous attendees of the east London festival, might remember those frightful times when your own slurry voice was louder than Julian Casablancas’, or audience neighbours bitterly shushed you over Björk. The sound for All Points East in the past wasn’t the best, it provoked catty instagram comments and articles alike, prompting the festival to hand out multiple refunds to fans. It was something to think about when going to this year's edition. However, this year you didn’t notice it at all and by not noticing how bad the sound was, meant that festival had seemingly uplifted whatever volume restrictions they had in the past. The only other shame for this year’s All Point’s East, was that Still Listening faves, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard had to drop out because of health reasons and The Japanese Breakfast cancelled her performance, her presence was sorely missed.

We’ve seen a lot this year. It feels like our feet have barely touched the ground since the world gave the green light to music festival go aheads. Each 2022 festival line-up and delivery has been competitive at best and the first world problem of choosing your favourite, could be considered a difficult one. We know one thing for sure though, this year’s All Point East made the perfect book-end to London Summer ’22.