Djakarta Warehouse Project 2018.. where do we start?
First of all, the event which celebrated its 10th anniversary last weekend, was not held at its usual venue JIEXPO Kemayoran, Jakarta. Instead, festival-goers from around the globe were brought to an enchanting new home at Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, Bali spanning over 3 days from 7th – 9th December 2018. Boy, was it fun.
The enormous GWK statue that that took 28 years to build could be spotted from miles away, which totally pumped us up even before we reached the venue. And as soon as we stepped foot at the iconic 60 hectare park, we were greeted by hype boys and girls who shouted out, “Welcome to DWP,” and “Have Fun tonight!” while blowing air honks and whistles. It was definitely a nice touch.
A festival venue like no other
From the looks of it, a lot of people experienced a life-changing summer at this year’s event – one of the reason being the venue, which was covered with impeccable, naturally stunning marvel of what we assume are limestone walls. For some, it might even be their first time partying in this type of setting.
The visual experience was so entrancing that it almost didn’t matter who performed. We were so excited to be there! But then again, of course it does. The bomb ass lineup is what made DWPX super packed with people from all over the world anyway.
Like its previous installments, there were 3 different stages at DWPX – Cosmic Station, Neon Jungle and Garuda Land — which were each decorated very uniquely distinct that made us felt as if we were at different concert locations.
Troyboi’s set was perfect
Day 1 kicked off with Bali’s famous kecak dance, followed by trance powerhouses such as Armin Van Buuren at Garuda Land, bass heavyhitters like Whetan at Neon Jungle, and hardstyle sounds by the likes of Crisis Era at Cosmic Station.
Of course, highlight of the night would be Troyboi’s eargasmic performance, in which the trap star rocked the stage with his hit songs “ILI”, “MyBoi” as well as “Afterhours”. The performer was definitely on fire and knew how to give more energy to the fans. At one point in his show, Troyboi even stood up on the DJ deck and danced for a moment, before coming down to take selfies with the crowd.
The switch up
On the other hand, the first night was initially scheduled to end with RL Grime’s set. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the “Undo” hitmaker announced that he was not able to attend DWPX at the very last minute. Although a lot of fans were disappointed, thank god, Ismaya Live took fast action to solve the issue and replaced RL Grime with an even bigger name, Diplo.
Before that, the Hollywood superstar was already performing at Garuda Land (second last set before the night ended) as Major Lazer which was super lit. In fact, the stage area was beyond packed during Major Lazer’s performance that many weren’t even able to see the show. As a result, some festival goers had to chill by the staircase or catch Frontliner and Aydra’s performaces at other stages.
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Human Car Wash
On the 2nd Day, guests were brought to a disco experience by Kungs and experimental sounds by Mura Masa. But what caught our eyes was the long line at Gojek’s Human Car Wash booth. Festival-goers were given a chance to relax and rejuvenate themselves after long hours of partying, which was such a cool addition to the event. What’s more, aside from being able to touch up their makeup, guests could even get massages at the 60s-themed vendor!
An amazing weekend which ended with The Weeknd’s performance
As many are aware, The Weeknd a.k.a. Abel, had his very first Asia tour in December and fortunately, Indonesia was on the list. His show, as expected, was very energetic and great. However, many were disappointed that he didn’t engage with his fans at all. No “hello”, and not even a “goodbye” or “thank you for coming, everyone” like how the other performers did.
Basically, it was just like listening to his album on Spotify, but in a festival setting. I mean, isn’t it a basic requirement for superstars to greet the fans at concerts? In spite of that, we still enjoyed the show and was truly grateful to be able to see him live, although some interaction would’ve made it all the more special.
All in all, DWPX was amazing and we can’t wait to see more stellar lineups next year. Will it be held at Bali again, or back to its home in Jakarta? Stay tuned to find out!
