Following a 2 year hiatus due to the global pandemic, Terminal V has returned to its rightful home of Scotland for their biggest edition ever. This year’s event saw over 40,000 attendees, a huge line up of over 70 international acts and 7 newly designed stages to mark their return. Here’s our breakdown of 2022’s Terminal V Resurgence festival.
Venue
The Royal Highland Centre is Scotland’s largest indoor and outdoor event site consisting of various fields, pathways, lobbies and of course their famous large scale hangars. On the far side of the site was a toilet area consisting of around 40 portaloos which never had massive wait times. However, this area was only accessible by a small set of stairs which at times led to some traffic coming in and out.
The main hub for the festival was a grassy knoll in the centre of all the stages, scattered with picnic benches, food vendors, bars and a merchandise stall. There was also a large chill out area near the exit of the festival consisting of benches under a large marquee.
Location & Travel
The 2-day event took place in Ingliston, just outside of Scotland’s historical and culturally packed capital city of Edinburgh. Being situated next to Edinburgh’s busy airport is what gives the festival its name. Travel to and from the site was made extremely easy via a shuttle bus service costing £7.50 for a day return that ran more or less every 10 minutes and stopped at many key locations in and en route from the centre of Edinburgh.
Staff
The staff were friendly in all areas that we encountered with them. Lots of security upon arrival with strict bag checks and pat downs before attendees had to pass through a long line of sniffer dogs. Bars and food vendors rarely had long wait times and were often served with a smile and friendly conversation. There were also local first aiders, cleaners, the occasional police and security roaming the site throughout the weekend.
Food
A small variety of food vendors were available around the central hub of the festival site. Some festival classics were on the menu. Noodles with a beef, chicken or veggie topping, as well as beef and chicken burgers all available for £7 each. A selection of chips with cheese, curry, gravy and piri piri seasoning for £4 – £5. Hot dogs, spring rolls, chicken wings and even bubble tee could be found as well. Vegan/veggie options included chips for £4, a burger for £7 and vegan nuggets for £5. There could have been a few more options for dietary needs but overall the food looked great.
Drinks
Bars were scattered around the festival with a few of them located inside the hangars with the stages, all of which never had a very long wait time. Cans of beer and cider were available for £6, spirits and mixers were £6 for a single, £9.50 for a double or £7.50 and £10.50 with a red bull mixer. Soft drinks were priced at £3.50, red bull for £4 and cans of water were £2.50. The bars also offered free cold drinking water.
Crowd
Being Scotland’s largest underground festival, the crowd was mostly Scottish which brought an upbeat and exciting energy to the party. It was definitely a friendly crowd with a big passion for dance music. We saw very little trouble from the loud and boisterous crowd, but we did see lots of the same sportswear from the lads and uncomfortable looking outfits from the ladies.
Terminal V App
A feature that in our opinion every large scale festival needs; The Terminal V app was an free and easy to use application for smart phones that had FAQ’s, info about the festival and travel and a site map. Best of all, it had an in depth scheduling section that showed the whole timetable of acts and allowed you to create individual notifications for acts you wanted to see throughout the day. Top marks here.
Stages
Area V
The large warehouse that has gained popularity over the years certainly lived up to expectations. Its wide and long structure allowed for plenty of room up to the stage at the far end and even a bar at the entrance. The size of the warehouse also complimented the light shows that Terminal V had on display for this room. Large LED panels at the stage side played lucid displays behind the DJs whilst lasers and strobes flickered down the length of the room.
The Terminal
Located in a separate warehouse across from the Area V stage, The Terminal was another large wide room that featured a more horizontal layout than the Area V room. A divider stood one third into the room separating a bar area from the stage. The Terminal’s design featured a handful of pillars in the crowd and a a giant fenced off stage on one side. A cage style booth gave the room a large scale rendition of popular smaller venues such as Berlin’s ‘Tresor’ and London’s ‘The Cause’.
The Hangar, Blackbox & Cargo
Located in one gigantic hangar were more stages, splitting the space into 3 sections. Occasionally with this layout there can be some bleed of sound from stage to stage, this was not the case at Terminal V. The far end contained the Blackbox stage. Aptly named for its heavy techno lineup, the room featured a large corner stage decorated with a giant cube which spanned the roof of the hangar flashing brightly alongside spotlights to create hypnotic displays.
The central stage located in the large hangar was titled The Cargo. Named for its design made of shipping freights, this smaller stage had an intimate enclosed feel. The containers were stacked high in a square layout with entrances on all but one side. The small stage stood just above eye level and featured an array of lasers, moving spot/beam lights and energetic strobes.
The Hangar was by far our favourite stage design of this year’s festival. Standing tall behind the DJs on the stage was a large circular LED panel acting as a portal style light display. Complimenting the stage design was a row of spotlights and strobes decorated with more LEDs hanging from the roof. The tall stage looked over the crowd as the lineup of techno royalty brought their styles to this special festival.
The Greenhouse & Paradise Palms
The Greenhouse stage was the larger of the two outdoor spaces and as the name suggests, was a glasshouse style marquee. Suited for the spring weather, this large sized tent was decorated with tropical plants and subtle lights that pair with the funk-filled music played throughout the day.
The Paradise Palms stage was a small booth under a large marquee that featured a bar in the corner, hippie styles rugs and of course, some palm trees. This stage shined a light on local talents throughout the weekend, featuring b2b performances for each set.
Stand out sets
Reinier Zonneveld
One of the hottest names coming from the Netherlands took full control of The Hangar stage with his signature full throttle techno. Featuring a combination of his new work and some renowned classics, Reinier’s style paired beautifully with the light displays of this room as melodic symphonies dropped into fist pumping techno.
Frazi.er
A big name for Scotland right now, who packed out both the stages he played across the weekend. Terminal V Resurgence saw the Glaswegian spinster perform in the Blackbox on day one and the Area V stage on day two. Not only did he bring with him a proud and energetic Scottish crowd, Frazi.er was also locked & loaded with heavy techno he’s known for which upped the ante on both occasions.
Octa Octa x Eris Drew
A pairing who are taking the scene by force. The two played a unique b2b set on the cargo stage midway through the first day. Matching the energy of the stage was a set filled with beats which blurred the lines between various genres of dance music. Effortlessly shifting through disco inspired tracks to fast techno, breaks, and garage. An extremely dynamic set from this epic duo.
Amelie Lens
Closing the first day was an artist who simply cannot be stopped. Taking over the decks for the final show of the Saturday saw a classic Amelie styled headline set. Playing her favoured combination of tracks from her own imprint Exhale, pumping techno and few old school anthems in there too, the young Belgian DJ/producer closed day one in style.
Summary
Terminal V has been building quite a reputation over the years and it is clear to see why. Following the break due to the pandemic the team have certainly pulled out all the stops with this year’s edition. With a stellar lineup featuring a staggering number of the most in demand acts, all performing on a variety of uniquely designed stages kitted out with world class sound systems and light displays, it’s safe to say that Terminal V has cemented itself as the go-to rave festival in Scotland.
A limited amount of early access tickets for next years festival can be purchased using the link here.
ratemyrave.com 