BOB 2015: THE SOCIAL FESTIVAL (BEST BOUTIQUE FESTIVAL)
Best of British 2015, educated by Point Blank
OTHER NOMINEES
Gottwood
Lost Village
Field Maneuvers
Born & Bred
With Nic Fanciulli at the helm, you would expect The Social to be expertly curated. And it is. A DJs’ DJ with a career spanning decades, his no-nonsense approach to mixing tunes translates into a party well and truly aimed at underground house and techno purists, who couldn’t ask for much more.
The focus of The Social is on keeping the capacity small, the vibe intimate, and the music loud — ensuring this outdoor bash in Maidstone’s Mote Park never has difficulty shifting tickets.
2015 saw the likes of Four Tet, Jamie Jones, DJ Koze, Cassy, Dubfire, Marco Carola, Monika Kruse, Richie Hawtin, Rodhad, Solomun and Tom Trago join the residents, although the overall highlight for many was a back-to-back involving Joris Voorn, Mr Fanciulli himself, and The Man Like Sasha — exactly the kind of set that makes an event stand out amongst endless competitors.
Logically, then, The Social didn’t take long to establish itself as the leader of the pack in our poll, with February’s The Winter Social indoor session also worth making a note of.
“Myself and Nic basically had a chat, and from the start set out to give the UK something that it didn’t have,” organiser Luke Bendall explains. “So we wanted to be a fully specialised house and techno festival that didn’t sell out to other genres simply to maximise occupancy.
The Social is house and techno, along with derivatives, and focuses on the underground of those sounds. We don’t want to take the commercial route. That’s our drive — the music, and the quality.”
“Over the years we have invested heavily in the location to make sure we can give people the best event possible,” adds Nic Fanciulli. “As this is a public vote, we’re overwhelmed with the response and support.
To come away with a Best Of British award in our third year is fantastic and is the latest great news in what has been an amazing 12 months. It’s great to know that we’re obviously doing something right. We already have the line-up sorted for 2016, which is exciting.”
MARTIN GUTTRIDGE-HEWITT
