- Last time I went to Strøm I said it provided "an excellent springboard to experience Copenhagen's nightlife in full bloom." Four years on the sentiment rings truer than ever, with the festival no longer geared towards a single outdoor blowout, but broadened into a city-wide, week-long club program.
The open-air at Enghaveparken—a free, two-day programme of international and local acts—used to be the main event at Strøm. Last year it was reduced to a single day, with the likes of Magic Mountain High, Cooly G and Falty DL playing alongside the festival’s own DJs. This year it mostly featured Danish acts. Tartelet affiliate Uffe and local mainstay Mikkel Metal took centre stage, while the international attractions were spread out across various haunts throughout the city over the course of the week.
This dispersion meant that Strøm lacked the focus of previous years, with no central event or headliner to speak of (Flying Lotus, arguably the biggest name on the bill, had cancelled a few weeks before). This didn’t really matter though, so long as you were prepared to double-up on most nights—and had wheels.
I eased into the week with an ambient set from Surgeon at the architecturally impressive Church Of Our Saviour in Christianshavn, a district of Copenhagen famed for its autonomous Christiania neighbourhood (a liberal, self-regulated commune that allows, amongst other things, the buying and smoking of weed).
The week’s clubbing highlight happened the following night with Head High at the relatively new, 4/4-focussed Harvey club. Pursuing a white-tiled minimalism, complete with rough industrial trimmings, the space felt very Berlin, which suited the German artist's set of techno-leaning house to a tee. Unlike Rivet and Robert Hood the following night at Culture Box, this was an all-heads affair, less packed but busy right until the lights came on.
The Danes are renowned drinkers and Copenhagen is always a party—just look at Distortion. But while Strøm was certainly quirky in places—complete with a rave on the metro and a roller disco with François K—it's also one of the city's more serious electronic festivals. You can attend Strøm school and sit in on artist talks or take part in workshops, and there’s always something a little more adventurous on the bill to check out. For me, this was Andy Stott, who closed out this year’s festivities at Cph Volume, the skatepark site of Trailerpark Festival. The warehouse venue was more sound system than anything else, and you could hear the windows screaming hell all the way to the train station.
Stott's was a brilliant performance, switching fluently between contemplative moods and wall-shaking passages. But that was just a fraction of Strøm. There was Kode9 in the park, Florian Kupfer playing in an old lap dancing bar beneath a curry house, a theremin concert, and so much more. Musically Strøm sticks to a loose formula, but it always has a way of surprising you.
Photo credit: Stephanie Stål (Surgeon), Pernille Sandberg (Andy Stott), Helena Lundquist (Kode9)