“The most turnt, most exclusive DQ.1 report to exist”

Pt 1 – An exclusive behind the scenes peek at Defqon.1 – FRIDAY.

I’m not fucking around – words can’t even begin to describe the absolute madness that occurred throughout the 24^th, 25^th and 26^th of June, but hey, I’m a writer so I’m going to give it a good shot. Leading up to this fateful weekend, hours seemed to pass slower than usual and the days felt like an eternity as over 70,000 weekend warriors prepared their bodies and souls for a multi-climactic weekend of loud music, alcohol (amongst other substances) and ditching their everyday troubles for some well-needed ‘skitz times.’

For me, Defqon.1 wasn’t just a party; as some of you already know, in 2015 I had the honour to host the interview and stage report segments for the official Q-dance livestream, which was an incredible experience and highlight for my career. This year, my job was to host the daily video reports, meaning that I had ample responsibility on my hands to show the viewers at home the finest and craziest moments of Defqon.1.

My experience at Defqon.1 wasn’t about dancing in the crowd or deliberating about what sets I wanted to watch, so unlike other mundane party reports that speak aimlessly about the production, how many tokens they brought or which artists played what, this report is going to take you on a behind the scenes (and very turnt) journey of this incredible festival… Split into three separate parts, I hereby present you the review of Day 1 – Friday.

FRIDAY

“Is it time to wake up yet…” my brain asked as I rolled out of bed with a wave of excitement rolling into my soul. I checked my phone and to my dismay it was fucking 4:00AM and a part of me just knew that I was not falling back asleep anytime soon – thanks jetlag, you really fucked me over this time. I laid in bed, fantasising about what this weekend would bring until it was time to get my shit together and get ready to embark on a journey like no other. After showering and packing my bag I jet out of my house at around 7:45AM and made my way to the train station.

After 8:00AM I met up with my Alive At Night partner-in-crime Sara, who would be accompanying me throughout the weekend. Seeing as I had spent the last six months back in Australia, this would  be the first party that Sara and I would enjoy together in 2016, so both of us were more than ready to get absolutely wrecked. After a triple shot coffee and jumping on the train to Dronten, we were more than ready to take on the weekend and after sitting on the train for an hour we arrived at our destination where a member from the Q-dance team picked us up. Leading up to the event, I had countless Skype meetings and planning sessions with one of the creative directors from Q-dance, so it was great to finally meet her and see our plans come together for real. She drove us to the bungalow park where I had approximately 30 minutes to pick out my first outfit before I got my hair and make-up done and began filming the first segment.

Just so you all know, if you think that me arriving at Defqon.1 at 9:00AM was a big commitment, the Q-dance team had been on site for many days leading up to the festival and not to mention, they were running off no sleep and pure adrenaline. The Q-dance team and other crew including film makers, stage builders and designers, photographers and technical staff managed to pull off something so special, so big ups to all who were involved in the behind the scenes work!

We jumped in the car which took us to the festival grounds; there were excited crew setting up the camping and getting things ready for the weekend ahead. Sara and I had to find my makeup artist and after a very long walk (and bike ride) we finally arrived to the lady who was going to make me beautiful for the next three days. After getting my hair and makeup done, we had a short meeting in the media area with the film makers from Nomobo and creative directors from Q-dance; we ran through the schedule for Friday and discussed what footage was required. I hadn’t even had the chance to eat anything, so before filming commenced we all had lunch and headed straight for the campsite entry where I would film an introduction and begin interviewing excited party-goers.

2:00PM: I was handed the huge red microphone and began shaking with terror. I was so nervous; it had been a whole year since I had presented anything on camera so I was pretty damn nervous to say the least. Standing within the flooding sea of party-goers entering the gates to the campsite, I introduced the weekend and after my first entry a wave of confidence and hyperactivity washed over me as I was hyped up and ready to keep filming!

For the next hour, we took the golf cart around the campsite to get some top footage of the weekend warriors setting up their camps and let me tell you, the vibe in the campsite was incredible! It was the epitome of true happiness as excited partygoers marked their territory, gathered their troops and cracked open their first drinks!

Whilst visitors were setting up their camp, it was my task to go and spontaneously interview them. Walking up to complete strangers with no permission was a little awkward at first, but believe it or not, it was the best way to get the best shot. So basically I didn’t even ask visitors for an interview, I just jumped straight in! I ended up interviewing a bunch of German guys with a tiny little pink tent, a guy who was basically passed out after walking over the infamous bridge and a few other ‘already drunk’ people. For me and the film crew, it was non-stop filming for two hours as we went from camp to camp in aim of finding the most dedicated visitors to interview.

After filming for over two hours, Sara and I had half an hour of free time, so we met up with our favourite M9 Noiseshock so we could ‘hit him up.’ There wasn’t much to do, so we basically wandered around the campsite until we had to meet back at the media area for dinner.

Once we ate dinner, it was time to head back to the campsite and get some footage of the Dragon Wagon, which circled the campsite prior to The Gathering kicking off. It was a little awkward for me to be filmed whilst dancing in front of the Wagon; I mean, I felt like one of those poser chicks who strive to be featured in the aftermovie, but unlike these groupies this was my job, so I had no choice. Halfway through filming this segment, I had planned to get my makeup topped up, so I literally had to run through the campsite to get back to the makeup artist on time for The Gathering to open.

7:30PM: Standing outside the gates to The Gathering, I met plenty of devoted fanatics, who had been waiting at the gates for over an hour! And as soon as the gates flung open, the cameras were on and I had to bolt towards the Blue stage. I think we filmed me walking into the Blue tent about 10 times; this was a little awkward, but again, the perfect shot awaited and me and the film crew just had to be patient. We then filmed the beginning of the pre-party and again, I had to lose my shit on camera – aftermovie sluts, you got nothing on me!

8:30PM: We got the perfect shot at the Blue, so it was now time to get one at the Black. I immediately spotted a group of hot Spanish chicks, so we got some footage of me dancing with them before heading back to the Blue to interview Da Tweekaz. I had about one hour of free time, so I spent it wisely by socialising with artists and clients that I hadn’t seen in over half a year who welcomed me ‘home’ with open arms.

9:30PM: At the conclusion of Da Tweekaz’ set, we waited at the side of the stage to gather the duo for a quick interview and boy, these guys provided all of the right answers! Before I even had the chance to thank them, we had to bolt towards the Yellow stage to film the Frenchcore silent disco. I was really looking forward to this part of the night because we had planned for me to go on stage with Dr. Peacock. But before I could jump on stage, we had to film an introduction and interviews with visitors, who were already partying hard!

10:15PM: As soon as I knew it, the time for me to make my Yellow stage debut had arrived and I prayed that Dr. Peacock wouldn’t freak the fuck out when some random chick joined him on stage. We informed the stage manager about what we were filming and when Peacock dropped “Vive La Frenchcore” I figured that it would be the perfect time to just bite the bullet and run up the stairs to the stage.

Whilst I was on stage all I could get out of my mouth was “Hollllyyyyy shiiiiiit! I’M ON STAGE WITH DR. FUCKING PEACOCK!” What a dream come true! This was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend and even today I’m still absolutely buzzing from it. Despite being awake since 4:00AM and being incredibly jetlagged and tired, it was this very adrenaline that pushed me through and inspired me to work hard to provide some quality content. On a side note, that silent Frenchcore disco was absolute madness! There’s just something so special about watching people lose their shit to high tempo music, let alone watching them do it in silence, so kudos to Q-dance for including this special concept at the preparty!

By 11:00PM I’d just finished filming at the Frenchcore stage and as it was my last segment, I was now free to go back to the bungalow park or continue the party. Seeing as it was a little seedy to stay awake for a whole 24 hours, I decided that I’d go back to the bungalow and get some well-needed zzz’s, but to my dismay I was so damn excited for the Saturday that my sleep was a little compromised!

As I slid into bed and rested my weary body, I whispered “bring on day two!”

To be continued…