They gel perfectly with Melt’s combination of Mad Max dystopia and positive party vibes, and from the moment the eerie, eely coils of Mica Levi’s ‘Under The Skin’ soundtrack are interrupted by ‘Carmina Burana’ tethered to monumental beats, you know Ninja, Yolandi and God have no intention of paddling in the shallows. I have never seen Die Antwoord before, and may never do again given that they’re supposed to be releasing only one more album (still, we’ve heard that before), so if it’s to be just the once I’m glad it’s here. Well, maybe not quite ready, because what follows is one of the highlights of the weekend. And watching Phoenix on Sunday it’s clear how the dynamic works – after taking on Monoloc’s grit at Sleepless Floor, a communal bath in the French four-piece’s rousing power pop is just what’s needed, leaving you refreshed and ready to wander the outer reaches again. Watch: Johnny Depp and Ninja join Marilyn Manson onstageĢ017 is the 20th year of Melt so the combination is obviously working. Melt isn’t exactly two events in one but its geographical centre – where Oasis, Pet Shop Boys and Kylie have all played previously, and Phoenix, The Kills, M.I.A, Die Antwoord and Warpaint appear this year – is a kind of indie/alternative/pop festival, and the further you spiral out from there, the closer you get to the festival’s essence. In between lie the main stages and the colossal industrial relics of Ferropolis that belch fire into the night.
In one sense Sleepless Floor is the constantly palpitating heart of Germany’s Melt Festival, the non-stop, dance till you drop – or at least need a sit down – sector that features back-to-back DJs from the opening party on Thursday night (which, somewhat jarringly, featured Fatboy Slim) until well after daybreak on Monday when Kuriose Naturale takes over after Ellen Allien’s 6-hour stint.īut Sleepless Floor is also set over to one side of the site - a peninsula that reaches out into Lake Gremmin - while the more picturesque Sisyphos (in the middle of a forest) and Gremmin Beach nestle over at the opposite end. By the second or third day at Melt you start noticing the T-shirts proclaiming “I survived the sleepless floor”.