Picture the scene: you’ve driven 40-minutes from the laid-back mid-sized Romanian of Cluj-Napocca, a city endowed with spectacular rolling green hills and pockets of dense forest nearby. You’ve arrived somewhere even more serene than the tumbleweed-twee airport you landed in: around you are corn fields, small villages – one of which you’re stood in just meters from the entrance to EC and it’s selling you cheap cold beer and street food and has a hustle and bustle of a rugged, hot dusty town that you’d only get this far East in the continent. The hills on the horizon inspire a mood to wonder through nature, but there’s a thumping great bassline and you’re skipping towards the fastest rising festival in Romania. Joining 60,000 other your life’s worries replaced with such critical decision making as what band to see or if the shot of tatartae you’re about to eat is strong enough to make you blind. It’s wonderful here, far from home, far from the overtrodden West of Europe.
Luckily we’re with photographer Richard Gray who’s documented all the amazing bands and smiling faces so you don’t just have to take our word for it. Scroll down through the gallery below....
1/17: As you've probably heard by now, Bristol's Idles make gritty rabble-rousing punk with lyrics indicative of how stirred they are by the Tory agenda. And of all the up-and-coming guitar bands they could have booked, EC did everyone a favour getting this lot in for a sweaty mosh.
2/17: Great on-stage chemistry is key to the success of any live performance - and Idles are well-endowed in that department.
3/17: Another one of the finest UK bands to make an appearance over the weekend, The Horrors' set drew largely from their latest album with a smattering of hits from across their illustrious back catalogue.
4/17: Walking between stages at Electric Castle is a scenic experience, with plenty of places to sit and chill and woods to explore.
5/17: Múm were the highlight of Saturday's largely techno flavoured bill, their experimental leftfield pop drawing on influences as disparate as folk, post-rock and ambient electronica.
6/17: Two Gigwise journalists pictured with Hungarian post punk outfit Middlemist Red, whose dynamic set on Friday evening channeled the spirit of Interpol and The Chameleons.
7/17: The main stage at Electric Castle was always packed with Excision delivering one of the most-indemand sets.
8/17: The pure bliss of being part of the front row.
9/17: Electric Castle's been acquainted with some hefty rain in its six year existence but similarly to last year, the weather held out, allowing clear views of the nearby village.
10/17: Gigwise catches up with Idles back stage for an in depth, no holds barred chat about the events leading up to the making of their forthcoming second album, Joy As An Act Of Resistance. Full interview on Gigwise shortly...
11/17: Idles (minus drummer Jon Beavis) loving life on the road and grateful for every minute of their growing popularity.
12/17: We also met Italy's electro house party animals The Bloody Beetroots for an interview that you'll soon be able to read on Gigwise. Here is Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo talking about the influence of UK punk bands like Crass on his music and why electronic music connects with so many people.
13/17: Jessie J drew a huge crowd with a performance that championed self-worth, adding largely to the conversation in music surrounding mental health. Hats off to her using this major platform to say something meaningful.
14/17: Cancer Bats’ visceral punk also results in a circle pit that’s not for the faint hearted, singer Liam Cormier cutting an imposing figure throughout their impressive set.
15/17: Little Big play a mixture of techno, hip hop and rock that’s part Die Antwoord, part Confidence Man and part Aqua. They also whip Electric Castle’s late night revellers into a frenzy, particularly on the rabble rousing ‘Big Dick’, which is as ridiculous as its title, suggests yet also infectiously bouncy.
16/17: A wander through the woods with a can. Brits abroad.
17/17: The crowd gave everything they had, giving all the artists who've travelled over land and sea with their huge rigs a rampant welcome. No beard strokers here, just a pure lust for life.
