- A music festival in a ski resort isn't exactly the most groundbreaking concept nowadays. Andorra has Snowboxx and (as of recently) Horizon Festival. Chamonix in France is home to Chamonix Unlimited. Snowbombing, perhaps the best-known of them all, has been careering into Austria's quaint town of Mayrhofen since 2005. Attendees have long been attracted by the combination of sunny days on the slopes followed by big lineups in the evenings. For me, the combination of the two doesn't hold massive appeal; hitting the slopes after wrapping up at 6 AM seems somewhat perilous and not a huge amount of fun.
This is where Caprices comes into play. Situated on the beautiful plateau of Crans-Montana in southern Switzerland, the festival is spread across three venues, all of which have great sound and are scheduled in a way that means you'll never miss much of the action. The programming doesn't really allow much time to ski (although, due to a remarkably bad season of snow across the alps, that wasn't so enticing anyway this year), and this is where Caprices stands out from its rivals; here, the stars of the show are the remarkable venues, which host some of the biggest names in house and techno. The snow is just a bonus.
The crew behind Caprices, Modernity Events, have always had a thing for gimmicks, whether it's a DJ set in a hot air balloon or Ryan Crosson playing to eight people in a gondola 3000 feet up a mountain. You could see this in their choice of venues for Caprices. Even the most straightforward of the three, The Moon, was entirely decked out with innovative lighting structures and slick visuals. From the outside, it resembled nothing more than a monolithic grey tent, making its interior all the more accomplished. Running through to 5 AM three nights in a row, this was home to the weekend's biggest moments, courtesy of artists like Marcel Dettmann, Kerri Chandler and Cassy. The latter played early on the Friday night before handing over to Apollonia, who never really got settled in the cavernous space. Bouncy house cuts such as Jeff Samuel's "Chloe's Brain" seemed to fall a little flat. The following night, though, Talaboman and Mano Le Tough both provided the theatricality needed for such a large room.
This year, Caprices touched down for an evening party at Crans-Montana's new crown jewel, Cry d'Er. Open since December of last year, it's a large, permanent venue located 2,200 metres above sea level. Located slightly further down the valley from the other two stages, it felt like a bit of a mission to get to, and I wasn't entirely convinced it was worth it. And while arriving in the final glow of sunset with the Matterhorn on the horizon was spectacular, once darkness fell inside you could've been in any nondescript club, albeit one with a tedious journey home.
Perhaps the most iconic venue of the three, the MDRNTY stage resembles a large greenhouse, perched high on the edge of the mountain with striking panoramic views across the Valais canton below. This is where the best parties go down at Caprices. Running from midday until around 7 PM across the weekend, the combination of a strong bill (Sven Väth, Craig Richards, Seth Troxler, Ricardo Villalobos), a jovial daytime crowd and unbelievable views meant that this is where attendees were likely to leave with the fondest memories.
It was here that one of the highlights of the festival took place: the tag team of Troxler, Richards and Villalobos. They were all on top form, with Villalobos particularly in his element as he swanned around the booth exchanging kisses and hugs with admirers. One enjoyable moment came as he seemed to grow impatient during the breakdown of Objekt's "Needle & Thread," flawlessly slamming in a punchy house track much to the enjoyment of the crowd.
Sunday saw Cocoon take over the stage for the day, with two of the Frankfurt label's most admired artists, tINI and Dana Ruh, locked in before Sven Väth's now traditional closing slot. Being the final day, people took their time getting up to the venue, but those who made the effort shook their hangovers off to Dana Ruh's style of classy, rolling minimal house. tINI, who happened to be celebrating her birthday, took over at around 2 PM. She bounced around the booth and played with an energy that was infectious, with Inland Knights’ "12 'till 8" and Sakro's "No Time To Explain" getting some of the best responses of her set. When Väth stepped up to big cheers from the crowd for the final three hours of the festival, the atmosphere in the room was palpable. His set ranged from blistering techno courtesy of ROD's "Hor," to the uplifting chords of Pig & Dan's "The Saint (Job San)." Sadly the requests for one more tune weren't granted due to a strict local noise agreement, though Väth's conduction of a mass singalong of Happy Birthday to tINI provided a touching moment, one I'm sure no one involved will forget in a hurry.
Photo credit /
Aldo Parades (Taloboman, Mano Le Tough, Sven Väth)
Valeriu Catalineanu - Romanian Club Culture (Craig Richards, Ricardo Villalobos)
Perhaps the most iconic venue of the three, the MDRNTY stage resembles a large greenhouse, perched high on the edge of the mountain with striking panoramic views across the Valais canton below. This is where the best parties go down at Caprices. Running from midday until around 7 PM across the weekend, the combination of a strong bill (Sven Väth, Craig Richards, Seth Troxler, Ricardo Villalobos), a jovial daytime crowd and unbelievable views meant that this is where attendees were likely to leave with the fondest memories. It was here that one of the highlights of the festival took place: the tag team of Troxler, Richards and Villalobos. They were all on top form, with Villalobos particularly in his element as he swanned around the booth exchanging kisses and hugs with admirers. One enjoyable moment came as he seemed to grow impatient during the breakdown of Objekt's "Needle & Thread," flawlessly slamming in a punchy house track much to the enjoyment of the crowd.
Sunday saw Cocoon take over the stage for the day, with two of the Frankfurt label's most admired artists, tINI and Dana Ruh, locked in before Sven Väth's now traditional closing slot. Being the final day, people took their time getting up to the venue, but those who made the effort shook their hangovers off to Dana Ruh's style of classy, rolling minimal house. tINI, who happened to be celebrating her birthday, took over at around 2 PM. She bounced around the booth and played with an energy that was infectious, with Inland Knights’ "12 'till 8" and Sakro's "No Time To Explain" getting some of the best responses of her set. When Väth stepped up to big cheers from the crowd for the final three hours of the festival, the atmosphere in the room was palpable. His set ranged from blistering techno courtesy of ROD's "Hor," to the uplifting chords of Pig & Dan's "The Saint (Job San)." Sadly the requests for one more tune weren't granted due to a strict local noise agreement, though Väth's conduction of a mass singalong of Happy Birthday to tINI provided a touching moment, one I'm sure no one involved will forget in a hurry.
Photo credit / Aldo Parades (Taloboman, Mano Le Tough, Sven Väth) Valeriu Catalineanu - Romanian Club Culture (Craig Richards, Ricardo Villalobos)