Some moments are written. Londoner Loyle Carner topped a festival bill for the first time in a place not just familiar to him; it is his local park. ‘’This is the best night of my life,’’ he later declared.
Across his headline set, the rapper showed why this accolade was due.
Drawing from songs across his three celebrated albums, the Mercury Prize nominee and BRIT School graduate showed how potent the marriage between retro and contemporary hip hop can be — a mix amplified further when delivered with his distinct British flavour.
“Without him, there’s no me,” Carner remarked about hip hop legend Nas: an artist whom he had supported many years ago and now returned the favour by supporting Carner on this very special occasion.
Guests abounded too. John Agard appeared to reprise his ‘Half-Caste’ poem on Hugo track ‘Georgetown’. Also joining Carner was longstanding collaborator Tom Misch, Jordan Rakei, and young activist Athian Akec.
Echoing words stated earlier in the day by Femi Koleoso from Ezra Collective (“My good friend,” said the rapper), Carner called for unity and an end to division, referencing the anti-fascist protests that occurred in Walthamstow earlier in the month.
As for the music, this too was a triumph. The hazy sax that heralds the urgent observations of ‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’ wowed, so too ‘Nobody Knows’, and the Rakei-guesting ‘Loose Ends’.
Interspersing his set with a handful of poems, the crowd were witness to words of homespun articulate wisdom, heartfelt ruminations and unflinching honesty about anxieties. “‘It’s blown my mind,” he marvelled as the set drew to a close and a raucous ‘Speed of Plight’ filled the air. Emerging for his encore, Carner treated the crowd to fan favourite ‘Ottolenghi’. This was greeted by crowd participation as fireworks rocketed overhead.
Over on the West Stage, André 3000 conjured intimacy in a wide open space. With flute in hand, what unfolded was a spiritual amble into the creative impulses of this esoteric, maverick artist.
“We’re humans, and I see you; I feel you. We have our antennas high up. We’re making everything up you’re hearing right now on the spot…we just come in with the intention to transport ourselves. We compose whatever is happening. It keeps it exciting. Thank y’all for whatever you brought,” he said.
3000 nodded towards OutKast by way of a shout out to Big Boi, but this was a very different beast to the infectious party music of his former band. Picking up from last year’s flute album New Blue Sun, this was meditative, transcendental experience.
In keeping with the improvisational spirit of the set, André 3000 delivered a hypnotic voyage deep into the recesses of his creative mind, ably complimented by his percussionists. Somehow fitting for the mood of his performance, he paused momentarily to acknowledge a flock of geese flying overhead. Atmosphere took precedence for this performance, with hypnotic tones percolating and offering something unique.
Nas arrived on East Stage replete with a batch of era-defining hip hop classics in tow. Before him stood a headliner-sized crowd. Dressed in tan jacket and trousers and black tee, the East Coast icon stalked the stage with intent. A DJ and live drum kit fleshed out the sound to earth-shaking levels, while Nas spat bar after bar of intricate wordplay.
In response, the crowd waved arms en masse and showed all the love. ‘’It’s a blessing to be here with you…ya’ll my cousins. Every time I come here year after year, it’s a blessing,’’ he remarked. Mashing up Eurythmics’s ‘Sweet Dreams’ with his own take, before segueing into ‘The World is Yours’, the star commanded undivided attention.
Playing songs that charted his entire career, from his classic 1994 debut Illmatic through to Magic 3, no stone was left unturned. ‘If Ruled the World’ caused pandemonium, and with a raised fist, Nas brought it all home with ‘One Mic’ from Stillmatic. In the process, he showed why he remains in a field of his own.
Mercury prize-winners, Ezra Collective, are going from strength to strength. Just over a month away from their new album, Dance, No One Is Watching, the jazz quintet delivered a sprawling, joyous set that silenced any doubters about their prodigious talents.
Femi bemoaned the “gospel of division” that shapes our lives, and surveying the crowd, praised All Points East for proving that unity is possible. Encouraging the audience to “choose joy” in their lives, the bandleader led the charge as the group unfurled the dancehall brass and tropicalia. This was taken further when the band jumped from the stage and came into the crowd.
Drawing a huge crowd on the West Stage, Lianne La Havas donned a leather jacket and kilt, and hit the lofty heights that her exquisite catalogue affords. Liquid guitar lines and soul songs were the order of a tight, immersive set.
An extended romp through ‘Midnight’ offered a chance for her voice to travel the gamut from whisper to full-throated roar, before the crowd joined in as harmonising backing singers. Highlights included the dynamic, soft staccato rhythms of Bittersweet, and an interpolated Erykah Badu’s ‘Didn’t Cha Know’ into the neo-soul shimmer of ‘Paper Thin’. La Havas’s mellifluous voice inhabited her laidback tunes. ‘‘New music coming soon’’, she promised as she parted the east London stage.
Playing to packed-out Cupra North Stage, ENNY had her massive crowd in the palm of her hand. She also used her platform to make an ambiguous statement about life in the capital, and the wider country.
“Living in London and the UK is a bit peak…I’m not inciting violence, but when things aren’t right, you’ve got to stand up for something,’’ she shared. What followed was peaceful, exuberant abandon, however, as fans were treated to a mixtape middle section featuring dance hits ‘Flowers’ (Sweet Female Attitude), ‘You Don’t Know Me’ (Armand Van Helden), and ‘Lady’ (Hear Me Tonight) (Modjo). Her south London bars and instinct for melody gave tunes such as ‘Same Old’ and the closing ‘Peng Black Girls’ fierce bite.
Flying Lotus also provided something very special for fans at All Points East by presenting the live debut of his first material in years (‘Garmonbozia’) in the Cupra North Stage too. Elsewhere, Melbourne-based Glass Beams presented their expansive, cross-pollination of East and West instrumental music sourced from their record Mahal, which captivated the East Stage audience.
Time can sometimes vindicate those for whom the spotlight unfairly neglected. Never has it been truer than the case of Cymande. The highly influential British group were overlooked by the mainstream when they emerged in the 1970s. And despite the American hip hop community discovering their unique catalogue in the 90s and sampling the hell out of it, it seems as though it’s only now that they are getting the attention they so richly deserve. This has been helped by the exposure gained through an acclaimed 2022 documentary.
In front of an eager crowd, this legendary group proved why their allure is evergreen. Jazz, Afrobeat, soul, and plenty of funk underpinned their undefinable, heady brew.
Lola Young brought her diaristic anthems to the East Stage. One of the standout singles of 2024, Messy’, stirred the crowd into a mass singalong, while the guitar charge of ‘Flick of the Light’ was an unadulterated adrenaline rush. Her well-crafted tales of growing pains and self-doubt glistened in the early afternoon slot. Closing with the fiery f-you ‘Conceited’, it was another marker in the sand for this returning All Points East favourite.
Additional highlights from APE Day Two included Nubya Garcia, Sainté, Izzy Withers, MRCY, and many more.
Sunday night sees Mitski make her All Points East debut supported by a stellar line-up including TV Girl, Beabadoobee, Arlo Parks, and Men I Trust, and more.
The rest of the headliners include LCD Soundsystem (Friday 23 August), APE presents Field Day (Saturday 24 August) and The Postal Service / Death Cab For Cutie (Sunday 25 August). In The Neighbourhood returns for free activities from Monday 19 August to Thursday 22 August.
