Creamfield Argentina: Muddy, Wet But Rocking

Skruffff's man-in-Argentina Diego Laje attended Creamfield's debut Argentina event recently and despite finding himself immersed in a quagmire, thoroughly enjoyed the all night party. Preceded by a week of relentless and typically heavy South American style rain, the venue matched Glastonbury's infamous swamp like conditions, though a line-up headed by Paul Oakenfold and Hernan Cattaneo, eventually saved the day.

Turning up at the event on Saturday afternoon, the first impression that sticks in the mind is water. Drinking water specifically, as legions of vigilant security staff pile through customers apparently prioritising illicit bottles of water (as opposed to illicit narcotics). Of course, all security has breaches, and I can personally guarantee it was possible to bring enough water through, as long as it was well concealed.

Inside, the water impression remains, as the extent of the venue's flooding becomes apparent. Various marquees, notably the Boutique's, are visibly covered in surface water.

On a musical tip though, organisers have gone for a European Festival style selection, mixing genres, nationalities and locally favourite internationals such as Dave Seaman, James Lavelle, and St. Germain into one big festival stew. Most have played Buenos Aires before, but this is still the first time such a festival has put them all together on one place, here in Argentina. Other notables on the bill include Howie B, Danny Rampling, and Adam Freeland.

One of the biggest opportunities for Argentineans to experience UK-style clubbing is brought by The Boutique, but in the event, few take up their offer. The tent's location happens to be the most flooded part of the field, prompting just a hundred or so diehard Jon Carter/ Norman Cook fans to remain in the 3,000 capacity tent. The result is that the sound spills out across the whole site, carrying with the wind.

Creamfield's focal point though is the Oakenfold-Cattaneo combination on the main stage, and it's this pair of individuals who eventually save the show.

Oakenfold begins from a classic low-key start moving into trance games as the 20,000 people in the field, gradually forget the mud. Playing trance and a surprisingly eclectic set of beats, he builds the crowd's energy steadily, setting them up for local hero Hernan Cattaneo to show why he's Argentina's number 1 DJ.

Spinning a relatively conservative set Cattaneo remains loyal to Oakenfold's set before him, continuing rather than redirecting his predecessor's vibe. By the end, the entire crowd are out of the mud, dancing and whooping across the whole field.

Sound systems on the night proved exceptionally good though lighting was a little stingy. Such a high quality selection of dance music has never been seen before in these latitudes, and all fans end up going home satisfied. Leaving just one question remaining: when's the next one-"

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