Île Soniq festival Review : Bring your bucket hat!
Ile Soniq. Photo Ashley Gaujean.
To say that because of Île Soniq I had one of the best weekends of my life is an understatement.
I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive attending such a big event as I haven’t for a very long time (at least 10 years). After taking in the artists who would be attending I told myself it will probably be worth the crowded metro and suck it up. NO RAGRETS! (please see the tattoo meme).
The main takeaway that I had from the whole weekend is the incredibly nice and happy people having an absolute blast with super exciting fast and slow machine noises.
Day one was sprinkled through with epic EDM acts such as Tchami, FISHER, and James Hype, and dubstep such as Kompany, and Koven and the sun was very, very hot. In true festival style during all the excitement and running around there were still a few artists that I had missed while searching for a meaty treat but it was worth it. My fears of being at a crowded festival very quickly disappeared as I made it in and out of the VIP and general dancing area. Black Tiger Sex Machine who are based in Montreal had super impressive visuals like mechanical looking bear people taking over the huge screens. I was both astonished and alarmed (but in a good way). Legend Eric Prydz closed out the night at the big main Oasis stage with his hypnotic visuals and tunes.
New friends that I had made coming from Toronto were really impressed by the excellent curation and organization of the festival and I definitely had to agree.
Day two kept the amazing party going with acts such as SLM, MARTEN HØRGER, SIDEPIECE, Canada’s DVBBS, Shenseea, Sean Paul, French Montana and Rae Sremurrd. What I really loved to see is how the different genres always kept the energy level and excitement alive. Shenseea was clearly enjoying interacting with the crowd as she brought up two girls from the crowd to dance with her and told them, “Which guy do you want?”. I proceeded to have a lovely moment with my new friend Sahara during the Sean Paul set as well as lighting up my lighter at the exact moment that “Gimme The Light” happened to start. Awesome moments.
Rae Sremmurd closed out the night with their anthems “NO TYPE”, “Swang”, and “Come get Her” to incredibly hyped up and screaming fans. It was crazy!!
Not going to lie, getting to day three was quite the struggle. Especially making it for 2:00pm so that I could catch the set of Mississauga’s DLMT. DLMT’S real name being Dan Balamut and he says DLMT can mean whatever you would like it to. For him it is an abbreviation of his full name. I am currently obsessed with his song “Your Body” and had the honour of interviewing him after his set. DLMT is incredibly nice and has always been involved in music having been in a rock band in the past. He’s even tried engineering but realized that music is his ultimate passion. When asking how he keeps it fresh, DLMT explained how the key is to stay true to your particular style while not trying to mimic others. He acknowledges however that we live in a time where you can’t help but be influenced by others around you, the pioneers. I was also fascinated to hear that some songs can be created in just a few days and others, several years. Thinking about the creation of art is super interesting and after hearing about the process I could understand why these artists are so driven and happy to share it with the world.
Day three started incredibly humid and hot and then it was time to get rained on a couple times. I attempted to use a plastic poncho for protection but realized I felt like a plastic wrapped hot sausage instead. I decided to embrace the rain and my bucket hat was doing wonders anyway. After spending a few hours trying to locate friends and regain my energy, I went down to catch Dombresky, Virtual Riot and Louis the Child. All good stuff. Meeting more wonderful people just kept happening and I had a huge smile on my face the whole time. Incredibly nostalgic act Swedish House Mafia closed out the night with both new and old tracks and I waited anxiously to see if they would play their new song “Time”. They did, and it was a really, really nice moment. The rain returned yet again for their final song “Don’t You Worry Child” as the entire crowd screamed along with the artists. Axwell took several moments to give his gratitude over the microphone as the music blasted and fireworks shot through the rain as everyone jumped, screamed and cried over the powerful happy moment.
I will most certainly attend this festival every year and harass as many friends as possible to join me as the weekend was nothing short of absolute bliss and fun.
Thank you SO MUCH Île Soniq! See you next year!!!
Île Soniq took place from August 4-7, 2022. It will be back from August 11-13 in 2023. Get tickets HERE.
