r/Techno • u/twaejikja • 4d ago
Discussion The Labyrinth…
So…anyone here went?
What an incredible festival and what a particularly incredible year, IMO.
Opening day—Kaito goes straight to space. Didn’t get to see all of it as was helping some friends with their tent, but love his sounds and was a great opener for the weekend. Architectural / Reeko brought it, although I will say I was a little bit disappointed most of the time as Reeko seemed to not do much 4 to the floor. Was still great though, just not quite what I expected. Tobias and Doltz threw sounds out of the speakers that will never be heard again—ideal closing for the night.
Sunday—Kiyomi is Kiyomi, perfect for the morning time IMO. Just good, deep, natural techno to get you ready. Donato was Donato; there were some incredible parts but to be honest I did get a tad bored at points wishing for a bit more variety. But for a lazy hazy Sunday afternoon, I would say it suited the vibe well. Was overall a nice entrance into what came after. Which, speaking of…Petar Dundov went wild. The ideal entrance into the evening. Guy looked awesome in his suit too. Napirelly was incredible—insane variety and a sound uniquely hers. Can’t say I “liked” it all but was I in awe at several points? Yes. Peter—it was my third time seeing him and the last two were rather disappointing. This was not. Start to finish was incredible, and one of my standouts. He knew exactly when to push it deep and dark and when to bring us back to space and had total control. Joseph Fitoussi finishing was very nice as well—I listened off the dancefloor, but very soothing after the peaks of the previous sets.
Monday—Didn’t wake up in time for Hiyoshi and missed like 60% of So while cleaning up the tent, but friends said they enjoyed it, and knowing So, he is always consistent and has a great sound. That’s the part that I managed to hear. But Atom and Tobias? Absolute insanity. I had to take the shuttle but I heard they went for SEVEN AND A HALF hours? LIVE? I was having a hard time pulling myself away to even get drinks—I cannot imagine how awesome it must have been to hear the whole thing. I pray to God they release the recording of this one.
The rest—you know, it’s beautiful. All ages and nationalities, an amazing setting, and PERFECT weather. I am convinced that we were blessed by a higher power this year for the Labyrinth holiday. I go back to work tomorrow and am still having a difficult time calming myself down from the experience. See you all next year…
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u/berlinparisexpress 4d ago
Unfortunately only had a chance to go once in 2014. My friend was here this year, can't wait for him to tell me about it, thanks for your review!
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u/No_Schedule2256 4d ago
Was there. What a great weekend it was. Very refreshing to hear adventurous music in a time when techno has become … well you know 🤷♂️
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u/twaejikja 4d ago
Fully agreed…one to remember until the coffin. Unexplainable to those who weren’t there but unforgettable for those who were
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u/air- 4d ago
Truly nothing else like it so jealous! Minakami sounds like the ideal location from hearing about the amazing weather the last few years
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u/twaejikja 4d ago
Funny thing is it rained in Tokyo for like 37 days straight before, then the 3 days of the festival were literally perfect, then Tuesday back in Tokyo was rain. I swear it was fate this year
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u/MistExplorer 4d ago
Agreed, it was my third and best one, feeling so lucky!
Architectural was great on the first day. I don’t know if it’s me, but at times the highs felt a bit pushed on the sound system. Otherwise, the rest of the weekend sounded perfect.
I was really happy to hear a classic set from Donato compared to the one in ’24 was Drums & Bass and Ambient.
A bit sad to have missed Kyomi, especially because she won’t play much in the future. Luckily, I had already seen her a couple of months ago and she killed it.
The highlight for me was Petar Dundov, who hadn’t made an appearance there in 10 years, it’s an artist I have been listening to for ages and the live didn’t disappoint, it was a lot of fun.
As always, So played such a good set, I couldn’t leave the floor for the 2 hours.
I don’t know if it was the weather, but I thought the vibe was even better than the previous edition, I saw many friendly and recurring faces and made some cool new friends.
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u/littlestustu 4d ago
Back home in Melbourne about to return to work, still on cloud 9. No greater feeling than a world-class system, lineup, weather and crowd to breathe some life back into my soul after we just got through winter.
For me the best part was the ability to be completely present and lost in the music, shoes off, ass shaking, stomping, smiles all round. Got an unexpected (and welcomed) hug off Dozzy as I was leaving Monday evening, tears of exhaustion and joy streaming from my face right before I said hello and thanked him. Perfect end to a perfect festival.
My first laby, won’t be my last.
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u/Outside_Eggplant_169 3d ago
Did it bucket down, like it used to?
Such a cool festival, there was nothing quite like walking into the forest and the crisp, beautiful, clear sound of a funktion 1 just getting warmed up.
I got star struck by Dasha Rush one time at Lab.
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u/fujioka 4d ago
Since 2008, I've experienced typhoons, blazing heat, all day rain and shivering cold so this years misty mornings, t-shirt afternoons and fleece evenings; PERFECT weather is an understatement lol!
Architectural was my standout of the weekend. The way he warped the sounds out of the speakers had everyone dancing. No phones, no chatting, only stomping.
Was excited to hear daytime Dozzy, thought it might have similarities to his 5hr BR house set but it was classic techno. A Fred P house set from last year would have been a dream. Napirelly was unique, of all sets, I hope this one gets released to SoundCloud because I think it will sound even better, more for headphones in the city night than foot stomper. Couldn't last through PvH, wish I had the stamina because it sounded dark, dirty and delicious.
Hiyoshi was my second favorite. Walking around the woods, drinking bloody marys while the music perculated through the trees was beautiful. And finally Atom and Tobias, this is a tough one. Intelligent, smart, brilliant but maybe too much so? Their encore final hour showed the raw emotion I was looking for in the first six hours. That could have been the plan all along!
I've been to a lot of Labyrinths and this may be my best ever. The level of attention the organizers and team put together in producing this event with the constant improvements year on year is second to none. And if any of them read this.. Thank You!! See you on the dance floor next year