Animal Crossing have continued to push boundaries since their inception in 2018. Known for being an arts & music collective, the Manchester based brand create experiences which are more than just the music and immerse the human senses in captivating environments. Having previously collaborated with Glastonbury & Gottwood, transforming spaces like railway arches and dis-used car showrooms, Animal Crossing will now take on their biggest event yet. Their past events have shown the ability to put on incredible parties, thrown together in unique and transformational spaces. Summer of Love looks to be no different.
On the 21st & 22nd of August 2021, Animal Crossing bring Manchester a two day music, arts and wellness festival within the grounds of an abandoned warehouse. They promise to overhaul the space for an original creative experience, “combing sounds, architecture, visuals and lighting“. Before lockdown they had done this on a monthly basis, for the railways arches in Manchester, they had a bespoke mural made to make the space their own, and stamp their brand on the city centre.
The Saturday and Sunday lineup is action-packed, filling out 3 stages of the best underground music. On Saturday we see Animal Crossing’s collaboration with iconic Gottwood Festival again, bringing the heat in The Love Factory. The main stage is filled with talent, headed up by Romanian duo Praslesh (Raresh b2b Praslea), and the second stage is headlined by Turkish selector Onur Ozer.
On Sunday, another Romanian act ARPIAR (Raresh, Petre Insperecsi and Rhadoo) make their first appearance in Manchester for the last decade. Visual artist Dreamrec is set to join them as a fourth member, promising to provide a mind-blowing visual performance working in perfect harmony with the set, creating a full 360 degree experience.
Alongside them will see Apollonia frontman Dyed Soundorom in The Love Factory, whilst on the second stage brings French selector Charlotte as well as a world first b2b for Shonky & Traumer. Check out the full lineup below.
If you are looking for an event is more than just music, with an equal emphasis on your mental and physical well being, this is going to have a lot going for you. Throughout the day Animal Crossing are providing a whole host of ‘connective experiences’. You can expect to find a programme of classes including Yoga, and a wellness area hosted by Blok and Mind Manchester. The charity partner goes hand in hand with the Animal Crossing foundation which has raised money for mental health.
Animal Crossing are expanding their offering to the music scene, in 2020 we saw the inception of Animal Crossing Records. The vinyl only record label has offered them a new way to express the unique creatives that are dreamt up by the group of friends. With every release they design a storyboard of the record, which gets animated to portray the artists vision in an original piece of art. To go alongside this there will be a record fair onsite featuring local outlets Basement Wax, Vinyl Pimp, Wax Material. Summer Of Love will also be one of the first festivals in the world to accept bitcoin as payment.
Find your tickets to this summer festival here: http://skiddle.com/e/35841364
Date – 21st – 22nd August
Times – 11am – 11pm
Words: James Taylor
Images: Rob Jones (www.instagram.com/hirobjones)
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