- You might go to Strom for the music, which this year consisted of a succinct, slightly UK-biased selection of eclectic electronica. You may even go for the series of lectures in the lead up to the festival's main open-air affair. But just as important, Strom provides an excellent springboard to experience Copenhagen's nightlife in full bloom—and the city itself.
Photo credit: Claus Randrup
Arriving on the Thursday, Strom was already into its fourth day, and as such I had missed the bulk of the workshops that included classes in composition and production from a collection of its billed artists—Mike Slott, Ras G and the Mad Professor from the UK were amongst them, as well as a few homegrown Danish stars. There were also a number of seminars, tutorials and Q&A sessions, concluding with the The Orb's Thomas Fehlmann, who played later that evening at Culture Box. That's where I ended up eventually after a frantic whirl around the city trying to catch some of the myriad events taking place that night.The steamy crush of Rust, Copenhagen's renowned student haunt, was the most memorable as I arrived in perfect time for Gazelle, an electro-synth pop outfit from Cape Town who conjured up a dancefloor frenzy with their playful infusion of funk, disco and traditional African music.
Strom's music program kicked off in full flair on the Friday with the start of its two-day free concert at Enghaveparken—a cosy, relaxed set-up in one of the city's smaller parks. Both afternoons began in a fairly chilled fashion with acts like The Orb, Ben Westbeech and Ghostpoet gearing revellers up for the closing evening DJs. The only Danish headliner on the bill, the Kompakt-signed Jatoma, were one of the standout acts from the weekend, veering from sparkly melancholic-tinged melodies to bassier upbeat dance tracks.
Girl Unit delivered a highly polished set of footwork-spiked Brit bass, with Bristolian trio Gemmy, Guido and MC Shadz lurching through old skool garage and UK funky before settling into a more familiar synth-laden dubstep rhythm. But it was Andy C who received the greatest response from Strom, stirring the crowd into a unanimous drum & bass jig complete with mosh pit—apparently a common occurrence here in Denmark—with MC QU vocally maintaining energy levels right until the 12 curfew, and in return was thanked with a shower of underwear.
Photo credit: Marcus McNair
I managed to make a further two club nights at venues straddling either ends of the spectrum: Actress and 2562 at the glitzy Vega "super club" and a typically house-filled afterhour at the small and aptly named Dunkel bar. But all of the above, for me, were mere—albeit delicious—appetisers for the main course. Packing out the 6,000-capacity TAP.1 concert hall on the old Calsberg brewery complex, Aphex Twin rounded off the festival with a spectacular audio-laser light show, completing the Copenhagen club platter.