phex Twin returned to London’s Field Day with a piercing set to close out a day which platformed some of electronic music’s most revered artists.
The music producer, whose real name is Richard D James, put thousands through their paces on Saturday evening with an hour and a half show of intense and twisted techno beats on the main stage in London’s Victoria Park as part of All Points East festival.
Accompanied with technicoloured visuals and a hypnotising light show, he sampled tracks from his back catalogue including notable moments from his Mercury-nominated album Syro and his recently released EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760.
He also created a memorable visual segment where he morphed his face onto the bodies of prominent British figures including the England football team, the King and Stormzy, who headlined the festival on Friday.
The 52-year-old musician, hailed as one of the most influential in electronic music, previously headlined the festival in 2017 and performed at London’s Printworks in 2019.
The sun-soaked electronic-focused day festival also saw Bonobo top the bill on the West Stage with a more ambient and soulful set which had the crowd bouncing along.
The British musician, whose real name is Simon Green, was accompanied by a live band as he moved through tracks like Bambro Koyo Ganda and Cirrus as the sun set across the park in east London.
He also featured a number of guest singers including New Zealand-Australian musician Jordan Rakei for their track Shadows from Bonobo’s seventh studio album Fragments, released in 2022.
Nicole Miglis of the US band Hundred Waters also lent vocals to a rendition of Break Apart and Surface.
Bonobo kicked the energy and tempo up a notch with projections of laser beams which danced between various shades, such as luminous green and vibrant purple, and as the set drew to a close, dazzling disco balls refracted flecks of light across the crowd.
Jon Hopkins warmed up the stage before him with a base-heavy set which was paired with multicoloured displays, piercing strobes and animated scenescapes.
Taking to the East Stage ahead of Aphex Twin were Arca, Fever Ray and Jayda G with high-energy performances.
The electronic day festival also saw vibrant sets across its five stages by a host of artists from around the world including German-based Moderat, US singer Kelela and British music producer Sbtrkt.
On Friday night, Stormzy performed a “beautifully poetic” set as the rain poured during his only UK show of this year.
The 30-year-old grime star described his set at All Points East as “one of the greatest nights of my entire life”.
Next Friday will see US rock band The Strokes headline the festival while electronic outfit Jungle, Irish singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy and Haim, the US band consisting of three sisters, will top the bill across Saturday, Sunday and Monday respectively.