In Bordeaux, the Initial Festival wants to become “a must-see on the electronic scene in France”

Che festival is still young, but it already has big ambitions. Created in Bordeaux in 2022 by the group Fever, the Initial Festival will take place on September 6 and 7 at the Parc des Expositions, for its third consecutive edition. If the first edition was quite eclectic, mixing techno with more commercial house, the second was clearly techno-oriented, after a survey conducted among festival-goers. This year again, techno will be predominant, widely acclaimed by a large part of the public.

Festival-goers will have the choice to get into the mood between the Kiev duo Artbat, which continues to gain momentum, rewarded this year by Mixmag and the Ibiza DJ Awards, the “DJ Daddy Trance” Marlon Hoffstadt, standard-bearer of the revival of trance music, the very aggressive bass of Oguz, the synthetic melodies of Irène Dresel, César for best original music in 2023, or the inevitable Paula Temple and her very particular sounds. Two big Russian names, Anfisa Letyago and the eternal Nina Kraviz, will also be on the program, without forgetting Mall Grab, Mind Against, Recondite or Patrick Mason.

“Getting anchored locally”

Bordeaux electronic music will also be well represented by the collectives Bruit Rose Music, Marée basse, L’Orangeade, Mates, Les Viatiques and Hill Billy. They will provide the “house” part of the festival. “Beyond a more local program this year, we are also working with Bordeaux companies for the entire organization, the stage and the technical staff, because we really want to anchor ourselves locally in the Bordeaux landscape”, assures Luc Faure, one of the organizers, responsible for public relations within the Fever group.

Because Fever’s long-term goal is to make the Initial Festival “an unmissable event on the electronic scene in France and why not internationally. That’s why we chose the Parc des Expositions. It was the perfect location, close to the city center, accessible, while being far enough from the city for the sound, and above all a place that could be adapted and expanded as desired, depending on the number of participants,” explains Luc Faure.

The first year, 15,000 festival-goers attended and a year later, 25,000 tickets were sold, after a major marketing operation launched on social networks. “This year, we hope to do better or equal. But in the future, why not use the maximum capacity of the Parc des Expositions indoors?” Luc Faure aspires.

Great ambitions

Using the entire Parc des Expositions would mean becoming a festival of international scope, like Sonar in Barcelona. But for the time being, the Initial Festival is not there yet and must not rush things. It will also have to move forward in agreement with local stakeholders, municipalities and the prefecture, while noise pollution problems have disturbed residents of Bassens and Amabrès-et-Lagrave for the second year running during the Parisian Madame Loyal festival, organized in the same place at the Parc des Expositions. The organization of previous editions of the Initial had apparently not created as much of a stir on the other side of the Garonne.

In any case, it was the first major electronic music festival in this location, quickly imitated by Madame Loyal and Sonora (first edition on October 25 and 26) who followed in its footsteps. To grow its Bordeaux festival, the Madrid-based group Fever wants to draw on its experience in events (such as the Candlelight concerts) and its presence in 150 cities around the world. “After a few festivals and electronic events organized in Europe, the group wanted to create a festival in France. Bordeaux was on the shortlist, because we knew how attractive this city was for electronic music. When we identified the Parc des Expos, we made our choice,” says Luc Faure.

What’s new?

This year, in addition to an expanded relaxation area and food trucks, the big new feature will be the immersive stage, considered the third stage after the esplanade and the hangar. Under a large tent, the DJs will be placed in the middle of the crowd, in a “boiler room” style. On this stage, the scenography promises to be dazzling, entrusted to the Scale collective and its hypnotizing digital works, already observed at the Displace Festival in Bordeaux.