Hey kids, did you go to Jungle Love? Did ya, did ya, did ya? If you didn’t, read on and live vicariously, and if you did, read on and live again.
This year was the second year of Jungle Love, and it was love. And jungle. Winding its way all around the once sleepy Borumba National Deer Park in Imbil, Jungle Love for 2015 made a couple of quiet disturbances in the thick trees over the weekend. Having said that, we certainly didn’t feel unwelcome.
The landscape that rolled around us was some of the most inviting and non-confrontational hills I have ever seen, they stretched up and out and were green and beautiful, and I could understand why there were people who had chosen to live forever in the camping grounds there.
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This place was incredible. Deers and cows wandered around the fences, there were a couple of dogs moseying around too, and all through the day and night the birds and cicadas were chattin’ away, mostly to themselves but sometimes to us.
Down the bottom of the gulley, where the main stages were, there was a beautiful waterhole (maybe it was a river, I don’t know man, I never saw the end of it), which featured heavily, as waterholes do in the animal kingdom, as a kind of meeting place.
Image © Mandi GearyIt was so bloody hot that a few swims a day was needed to keep your head above water metaphorically, and if you didn’t feel like getting out of the water at all you could just float on up to the part of the river that flowed behind the stages. I can’t say I ever did that, but we talked about it and I bet other people did it.
Try as you might to see as many bands as you can at these sorts of things, you can bet your bottom and top dollar you will miss a bunch of sets you wanted to see. Thankfully, the Jungle Love set-up is small enough that you can kind of get a sense of who is playing at any given moment.
Image © Mandi GearyHowever, in keeping with the ethos of the festival we never had any idea what the time was. Now, philosophically, that’s all well and good to lose one’s sense of time, but it’s a bit of a drag when you are trying to work within a framework that operates on a linear timescale - ie. if you wanna see a band, you have to know the time.
Fortunately, it mostly worked out in our favour, and had a boogie to all the sounds we wanted to boogie to, and even some we didn’t know we wanted to. Some names to throw out into the ether as creators/ performers of very, very cool sets include: In Void, Astral Travellers, Baskervillain, The Durries, The Royal Artillery, Greshka (holy moly), Moses Gunn Collective, and The Belligerents. These kids all did great, particularly in the communal sense of involving the crowd within the sound.
The Belligerents - Image © Mandi GearyWhether or not you dug the music, their open invitation to share in their music was so nicely given you could not help but accept it. The nice thing about Jungle Love is that even if the particular musician you are viewing at that moment is not precisely what rocks and rolls your boat, the environment is so conducive to you having a good time that you do, anyway.
And hell, if you ain’t having a good time, jump in the creek, get a bit burnt, get cool (temperature-wise, stick with it), and wait 'til the next set rolls around. Because you might like that one.
The Royal Artillery had some great rock & roll sounds for the entirety of their set on the Friday - sure, they didn’t try to expand on anything that didn’t already exist musically, but they played like Hendrix and knew how to hold themselves.
Bedlam Records was represented by the clannish The Durries, who kept up the rock & roll later in the afternoon, aggressively jumping into both their own songs and some very groovy covers, winning my little heart over with ‘Peace Frog’ and, later, a cover of AC/DC’s ‘Jailbreak’, which I hope will go down as one of the top 400 rock songs.
Friday afternoon and evening stayed groovy and got a little outta sight with bands like Sacred Shrines and Greshka taking to the stage to keep the mood liquid and full of colour.
Moses Gunn Collective - Image © Mandi GearyMoses Gunn Collective took and shook the stage later that night; if ever there were jungle druids for the night it was these kids, and then for the next night they would pass this hat to In Void.
In Void were the second last band to play for the festival, kicking off just before midnight on the Saturday night, and far out, man – these guys are great. Psychedelic rock & roll with a saxophone and some expansive sounds and ideas; they’ve got it all going on.
For me, I like to see them as the real end of the festival, as my mind kinda skates over the real concluding set of Bombay Royale. Not that my mind was wacked out, it’s just it wasn’t quite my thing, so I think my brain shoved it in a box of things I might not have to remember. But, if you like the Village People, I bet you would’ve dug Bombay Royale. They were pretty groovy, but they sure weren’t jungle druids.
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One of the best shows of the weekend has to go to Astro Travellers, who were so open in their invitation that you could not help but fall in love with their jazz-ingrained rap.
They had real passion for not only the music, but the people listening and the crowd responded in such a wonderful way – everybody was with them. These guys have got soul, and they want to share it, and it was pretty great.
Astro Travellers - Image © Mandi GearyThank you, Jungle Love! The organisers and everyone who helped out did an amazing job, and everything ran smooth as silk. Thank you also to the beautiful bushland we were in, the landscape and the way it looked after all us kids was great, and we are all so grateful. Here’s to the jungle, here’s to love, here’s to this year, and next year.
Written by Eva Phillips
The second year of Jungle Love had everyone in high spirits for the weekend. Set in a new location this year, the BYO, local line-up, two-day festival was a perfect celebration to welcome summertime.
Firstly, the gorgeous drive through the Sunny Coast Hinterland into Borumba Deer Park was a gift in itself. Upon arrival people set up their camps as quickly possible so they could walk, bike, or unicycle while hula-hooping (yes!) down to the river, which definitely made the festival.
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The set-up was sustainable with painted signs, balloons with bulbs to light the path at night and giant plywood boxes scattered across the site open for revellers to create their own art.
MKO SUN - Image © Mandi GearyBrisbane outfit MKO SUN came out for a Friday arvo set on the Zazu stage with their sweet soulfulness. As usual, vocalist Hannah Macklin entertained with her natural joy and killer voice.
With the sun finally set, half the Friday crowd then left the water and campsite conversations to partake in the opening ceremony on the Rafiki Stage; the respectful and welcoming gratitude soon moved into a parade-type celebration on the dancefloor.
Meanwhile in the Chai Tent – by far the chillest spot of the whole festival, with three-man bean bags, rugs, couches and sofa beds overlooking the river – electronic-improvisation group Hhaarrpp set up their sound bath.
The performance had everyone wide-eyed as visuals projected on the tent ceiling during mix of voice and throats sounds, strings, beats and loops. The contortionist trio of dancers added to the seduction of the whole performance.
Yarwah - Image © Mandi GearyThe Friday night celebrations continued as Yarwah raised energy levels with their mix of instrumental, bass and traditional instruments that had everyone celebrating their message. Then Bullhorn sustained the dynamics with MC Roman who easily matched the power of the seven-piece brass band.
Bullhorn - Image © Mandi GearyBack at the Chai Tent, Dub Temple Records’ Voodoo Dread had bodies moving on the floor and in the river under moonlight for the closing DJ set. With Friday being such a killer night, Saturday AM was spent trying sleep in despite the blaring sun. But the music was calling.
Soulful, electro trio Brains Trust drifted into their second set (after their Thursday night pre-party performance). The heavens drizzled as Jess Lean’s perfectly pitched vocals flowed from the Zazu stage.
Cool kids Astro Travellers packed the floor with their jazz energy. The tight-knit crew had the right combination of jazz libs and melodious and MC Steaze to keep the afternoon crowd happy and dancing ready for final night.
Monster Zuku's high energy weirdness was on display in the smaller Fronds Forever bar. While many were expecting they should have played on a bigger stage, their heavy bass-blended genres, theatrics and costumes still had the wooden dancefloor stomping.
