{"id":867998,"date":"2025-08-25T23:14:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T04:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/25\/live-report-electric-castle-2025\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T23:14:55","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T04:14:55","slug":"live-report-electric-castle-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/25\/live-report-electric-castle-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Report: Electric Castle 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Just beyond the treeline skirting the main stage, somewhere between the giant yellow rubber duck and the phone booth hotline to \u2018God\u2019, three imposing domes float into view: tangerine orange, poppy red, and chequered white. The hot air balloons rise high over the landscape, speckled in fluorescence from neon lights below.<\/p>\n

Deep in the heart of Transylvania, Romania, lies a dynamic landscape etched in myth and mystery \u2013 gothic tales of Vlad the Impaler, howling wolves, mist-shrouded castles, and Dracula\u2019s legend. Here, under the glint of the moon and propelled by curated eccentricity \u2013 amidst smoke machines, strobe lights and thumping basslines \u2013 sushi is sold beneath a revolving disco ball, and ravers complete half-marathons at dawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere were so many dogs roaming around,\u201d Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme deadpans about their 17-hour journey to the festival. \u201cOne stopped the bus, almost holding up a paw like, \u2018hang on.\u2019 I swear another was running a small local corn business. Ruff job.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its 11th year, with a namesake aptly nodding to its roots, the festival is huddled in the grounds of 15th Century estate, Banffy Castle. During its fifth edition, the castle\u2019s doors opened to the public to help restore one of Romania\u2019s forgotten landmarks. Now it hosts a plethora of boutique markets, art installations and exhibitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the years, the fortress\u2019 lineup has emblazoned a genre-spanning display: including international names such as Massive Attack and Florence + the Machine to Fatboy Slim, Iggy Pop, and Bring Me the Horizon, as well as upcoming talent from its domestic shores and beyond. 2025\u2019s five-day escapade welcomes performances from international and local talent alike. From the infectious saccharine EDM bops of local Inna, to the vibrancy and vigour of Yungblud\u2019s punchy rock anthems, and Justin Timberlake\u2019s slew of Top 40 pop hits, it\u2019s a playlist pulled straight from every corner of a record store \u2013 glossy and gritty, with some underrated gems awaiting discovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shrouded in a parka and sunglasses, Justin Timberlake slides onstage on Thursday night. The day\u2019s incessant drizzle may not have dampened spirits of some 72,000 attendees who turned out in arms to see the ex-NSYNC singer in action, but certainly softened some of the US artist\u2019s signature slick vocals and choreographed flair. Backed by a full band and dancers, the heavens wring themselves out in tandem with 2002 triumph \u2018Cry Me a River\u2019. Kicking a pool of water from the stage with one foot, the pop singer proceeds to storm through a battalion of smash hits, including \u2018SexyBack\u2019, \u2018Rock Your Body\u2019 and \u2018Senorita\u2019. Infectious, sultry and deliciously nostalgic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Experimentalism, quality, nature, and heritage form Electric Castle\u2019s core, creating a world for true escapism and sensory richness. \u201cEscape is a beautiful thing, it\u2019s very undervalued,\u201d Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme considers, ahead of the US rockers\u2019 set on Friday night. \u201cWhat better way to do that than to enjoy the arts for a moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t a festival kind of like a mixtape? Remember, when you cared about someone you would make them one. To say, \u2018this is how I feel about you\u2019. I think festivals are often people\u2019s way of living their mixtape. I don\u2019t think that goes out of style\u201d, he explains.<\/p>\n

While a software outage disrupted travel for many artists and attendees last year, Queens of the Stone Age were also forced to cancel their debut due to Homme\u2019s health. This summer, they returned against the odds, delivering a mighty (selected on the fly) setlist. As gritty openers \u2018Sick Sick Sick\u2019 and \u2018No One Knows\u2019 chug to life, the band dives into a set packed with charm and charisma.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen times get really dark, that\u2019s when we\u2019re at our funniest \u2013 our gallows humour,\u201d Homme tells me. \u201cI think we were raised on a diet of, \u2018there\u2019s a time to be serious and a time to take your pants off.\u2019\u201d As the set ebbs and flows, seductive anthem \u2018Make It Wit Chu\u2019 brings a stage-wide karaoke in true festival flair, before thumping stoner rock finale \u2018A Song For the Dead\u2019 churns mosh pits galore.<\/p>\n

Novelty and experience take precedence. Over 70 non-musical experiences include communal BBQs, a half-marathon, jumbo board games, hot air balloon rides, and a gated walkway homage to Netflix series \u2018Wednesday.\u2019 Spray paint cans are also freely laid beneath a graffiti wall, adorned with Gary the snail and a peculiarly buff Spongebob.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Inside\u00a0Disco Lidl<\/em>, a spinning mirror ball scatters flecks of light across rows of cold cooked meats, rotisserie chickens, and pre-cut fruit salad as strobes pulse overhead to a thumping techno DJ poised above the biscuit aisle. Elsewhere along the festival\u2019s interconnecting pathways, timber walkways guide attendees to a barrage of other stages, ponds, and food courts, interspersed with twinkling lights and mystical lanterns. On Saturday, concealed in the thicket, Ukrainian DJ Gala masterfully blends new wave soundscapes with funk, disco and deep house as glorious sunshine blares down between the leaves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite praise for reigning as one of Europe\u2019s \u2018truly 24 hour\u2019 festivals, the festival blooms with life as the sun begins to dip behind the horizon. The main stage whirrs to life at around 7:30 pm, and as darkness descends the masses disperse to explore the throng of electronic artists dotted across the site. Dubstep, drum & bass, techno and hardcore thrive in sparse amphitheatres, open fields beneath the ferris wheel, or in mysterious woodland nooks.<\/p>\n

From the jubilant Balkan rock of Bosquito to Justice\u2019s pulsing electroclash, sets from Sofi Tukker, Netsky, Jayda G, and Brutalismus 3000 thread everything from house to hardcore through the castle grounds. While UK festivals face growing uncertainty and shrinking lineups, here in Transylvania, the scene feels vibrant and varied, surging with life. All the while, crowds are respectful, messy drunken antics are few and far between, and the grounds feel free for all genders to explore in hassle-free safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As attendees tuck into bowls of linguine and gnocchi in the Italian restaurant nestled beside Banffy Castle, a rave pulses just yards away around a giant glowing orange cube. Above the crowd, a thumping remix of Amelie\u2019s\u00a0Comptine d\u2019un autre \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em>\u00a0weaves through the night air \u2013 an eerie, beautiful soundtrack to a night where refinement and noise blur together. A surreal fusion of creativity and chaos, Electric Castle feels like its own living, breathing mixtape.<\/p>\n

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Words: Maddy Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Just beyond the treeline skirting the main stage, somewhere between the giant yellow rubber duck and the phone booth hotline to \u2018God\u2019, three imposing domes float into view: tangerine orange, poppy red, and chequered white. The hot air balloons rise high over the landscape, speckled in fluorescence from neon lights below. Deep in the heart<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":867999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3589,193],"tags":[7459,6378],"class_list":{"0":"post-867998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-electric","8":"category-report","9":"tag-electric","10":"tag-report"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}