Friday's tasty Dance village selection peaks with Erol Alkan

Glastonbury Festival 2009

Wednesday 24th to Sunday 28th June 2009
Worthy Farm, Pilton, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4AZ, England MAP
£175 - SOLD OUT

Daily capacity: 150,000

Last updated: Tue 2nd Jun 2009

When I first saw this year's line-up in the Dance Village I was blown away by both the diversity and depth of the artists on offer. Hundreds of acts played across the weekend, ranging from the reggae overtones of Dreadzone, the mash-up/electro of 2manydjs, to a Goldie Lookin' Chain DJ set, catering for everyone's needs and desires.

Friday saw the West Dance Stage curated by popular club-night Bugged Out!, bringing with them an incredible line-up, culminating in a DJ set from the highly acclaimed producer, Erol Alkan.

Early in the afternoon saw a performance from Filthy Dukes, an act who have been playing clubs up and down the country for several years, but not until this year gained the acclaim that they deserve. Their recent album, 'Nonsense in the Dark', was praised by many, and judging by the sizeable crowd the met the band, the hype that the album generated has certainly rubbed off. 'Light Skips Cross Heart' and 'This Rhythm' both prove to be hugely popular sparking the audience into early afternoon dancing, and despite the rain, the party clearly had started. Following the band's set, Joe Goddard of Hot Chip took to the decks, playing an eclectic set of every from funk and disco to electro.

Over on the East Dance Stage, reggae/dub pioneers Dreadzone played to one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, not failing the expectant crowd. The band performed songs both old and new, and as their uplifting melodies spread out around the tent, it's easy to see why this band are so perfect for playing Glastonbury. They are a good time band, and with a back catalogue as extensive as theirs, they can pick and choose their best in order to get everybody moving.

Back over on the West Dance Stage saw a live performance from Danish electro-rockers WhoMadeWho, delivering a very tight set, and following them on the decks were one of the hottest acts of the festival, and two very talented DJs, Skream & Benga.

Over the past 12 months, 'Dubstep' has seen its popularity soar, and very much at the forefront of its popularity are Skream & Benga. Playing a back to back set the duo delivered a fantastic set, with tunes from without the genre.

Leading the Dance Village into the evening was Radio One DJ Annie Mac, delivering a set similar to her radio shows; the newest and freshest music to come into the world of dance music, with a set including drum and bass, electro and dubstep.

Unfortunately, her set ended on a sour note as the sound engineers and stage crew prepared for the night's live act, The Whip, Annie Mac became increasing infuriated by the requests of 'more snare' and the testing of the microphones.

But all of this had been forgotten by the time it came to Friday's penultimate act, Italian DJ duo, Crookers. Having toured with Soulwax and 2manydjs late last year, and with their remix of Kid Cudi's 'Day N Night' tearing up dance floors up and down the country, the past 12 months have proved a whirlwind for Crookers, and their set on Friday didn't disappoint, offering fans an electro based set.

But it the was the last act of the day that ended which saw the audience leave back to their tents with grin from ear to ear; last up was Erol Alkan.

One of the most respected DJs and producers around at the moment, having produced the recent Late of the Pier and Mystery Jets albums along with his own productions and remixes, including the simply fantastic edit of 'Zero' by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which would later spark the audience in a mass frenzy of dancing.

Starting off with deep techno and drowning beats, Erol then launched into a selection of his productions, including 'Zero', 'Momie' by SebastiAn, and also 'Sweet Dreams' by the Eurhythmics, providing one of the best sets of the weekend, and as he reached the end of his performance with a tribute to Michael Jackson, playing 'Don't Stop Till You Get Enough', chants of "Erol, Erol, Erol" lasted long into the night and as he stood on top of the DJ booth, it was clear that he enjoyed it as much as his audience did.