South London’s Rally Festival Returns with a Diverse, Boundary-Pushing Line-Up [Festival Review]

Just when you thought the August bank holiday couldn’t get any better, Rally Festival returns for round two. Debuting last year, Rally challenges everything you previously thought a festival was.

Taking place in the homely Southwark Park, this festival feels more intimate than its competitors. Leading up to the day, I had made a list of acts that I wanted to see when it dawned on me that the vast majority of these artists share no relation, whether that be genre or origin. I couldn’t put my finger on the theme.

Amusingly enough, it took my friend Remi asking me, “What genre would you say this is?” during Nourished By Time for me to put two and two together. My interpretation, at least, is that all of these artists question genre and disregard it almost. The term ‘boundary-pushing’ is often thrown around, but I think now is the perfect time to use it.

Speaking of Nourished By Time, this was the first act we saw. Commencing on “Agnes,” the second largest stage, designed by CAKE architecture and inspired by abstract expressionism painter Agnes Martin. A scaffolding structure with two viewing platforms and a stage at the centre challenges the norms of live music performance. Side note: this stage provides much-welcomed shelter from the very much unwelcomed rain.

Nourished By Time (AKA Marcus Brown) is a vocalist and producer whose critically acclaimed breakout album Erotic Probiotic 2 landed him a deal with XL recordings earlier this year. Brown experiments with R&B, Alternative and 80s synthwave all from his parents’ basement in Baltimore. If anybody is familiar with the Baltimore accent you’ll be pleased to know this artist does not hide it in their music. It’s pretty phenomenal.

A short walk over to the Visionaire stage to see DJ fart In The Club. I promise you that is her name. This Seoul-born, Berlin-based DJ specialises in ultra-melodic techno breaks and retro house, which unfortunately doesn’t inspire me, but if that’s your vibe, then check her out for the name alone.

With some time to kill before ML Buch we got our bearings and checked out some of the art installations dotted around the site, some of which maybe weren’t prepared for the rain. Jasmine and Dercarla of the Tate Collective’s exhibition ‘Intertwined’ made of paper and fabric didn’t hold up too well, unfortunately.

The poor weather caused some scheduling issues, which meant my time with ML Buch was short but sweet. It would’ve been sinful to miss a second of Armand Hammer’s set warming up on the main stage. Woods and Elucid paint a vivid and inspiring picture of independence by taking to the stage with nothing but a laptop. The duo have been consistently producing music for over a decade through Woods’ label Backwoodz Studioz.

The first portion of the set was taken from their latest project We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, potentially the most experimental yet thanks to production from JPEGMAFIA, DJ Haram and Child Actor. Followed by some solo tracks from Aethiopes, Maps, and I told Bessie. And finally a taste of the fan favourite Alchemist collab Haram.

I will not be amazed at how these two create such complex, meaningful and powerful music without compromising any of the factors necessary for making a hit.

Moving onto an act slightly less lyrically provocative but by no means less important to their sound, HiTech. This Detroit-based Ghetto tech trio, King Milo, Milf Mellyand 47Chops were added onto the bill at the very last minute. Due to unfortunate circumstances, their discography wasn’t widely available on DSPs so you’d be forgiven if you hadn’t heard of them. My first run-in with the group was back in October on the track “WYWD..!?” from the album It’s Too Quiet..’!! by Pink Siifu and Turich Benjy, I was instantly hooked. Since then I’ve been extremely lucky to see these guys perform at least 5 times and their energy is unreal every single time.

I believe a brief history of Ghetto Tech is necessary. Contrary to popular belief, techno was born in Detroit, influenced by Kraftwerk and evolved further when taken to Germany. The surviving techno community left in Detroit evolved the sound alongside the popularisation of hip-hop and somewhat merging the two. 145-160 bpm beats with explicit and repetitive lyrics, what more could you want?

Taking place in the Mill House stage, a teepee-like tent and, more importantly, an escape from the now torrential rain. Out of the rain into the sweat. Opening with some flipped tracks including “The Roof Is On Fire” and a ghetto tech version of “Rich Baby Daddy” by Drake and Sexyy Red. HiTech never seem to run out of tracks, and when they play their music, it remains fresh thanks to witty and absurd adlibs yelled over the mix.

You can catch them later this year supporting Nia Archives. In fact, I strongly advise you to do so unless you have a heart condition or are pregnant.

In true Rally fashion, one extreme to another, we hit the main stage for the headliner, Mount Kimbie. I was blessed to catch MK only the week prior at We Out Here Festival, so I did not doubt they would close the night off with a bang.

Performing tracks from their most recent record, The Sunset Violent, and some fan favourites, including “Marilyn” and “Blue Train Lines,” no King Krule this time, though. These guys are masters at creating the perfect atmosphere and are undoubtedly some of the most talented musicians to come out of the United Kingdom in recent years.

All in all, Rally Festival is the most confusing festival I’ve ever been to, and I mean that in the best way possible. The diverse acts kept me on my toes, unprepared for what would come next. I thoroughly look forward to what’s in store next year. I politely request that everyone pray for sun next time round.

Rally Festival returns in 2025. To find out more, head over to the official Rally Festival Website.

Rally Festival 2024