Night + Day Festival – Hatfield House, London 22/06/13

It takes a certain calibre of artist to curate a festival. ‘Hand-picking’ music, venues and burger vans requires an unflappable confidence and belief in your taste, as you stick your neck on the line for the general public to dissect your every creative decision. And then to headline it all? That’s a pretty big ask.

Step forward The xx. The London three-piece properly emerged through a cloud of critical excitement in 2009 with the Mercury prize-winning debut, xx. Dark, melancholic but inspiring, it was a record that stood alone, and spoke to people everywhere at a time before programmed beats made sense alongside a black and gold Les Paul. Their gothic appearance and deliberate nonchalance bolstered this sound and ensured popular culture took note.

Four years down the line, a number one album under their belts and with an almost cult-like following behind them, The xx were in as good a place as any to organise, not just one, but three festivals. The band carefully selected venues in Lisbon and Berlin, before bringing Night + Day to North to London’s stately Hatfield House.

And taste-makers they remain; London Grammar, another young London-based three-piece with the talent to go above and beyond, set the tone, opening the bill with their stunning brand of pop, centred around a genuinely haunting vocal. Away from the ‘main stage’, intuitive producer Koreless, impressed; his Foals remix standing-out as the early afternoon crowds poured in.

Jon Hopkins flew through his big, boisterous electro set as if he were the DJ at a restless after-party; immaculate production and a frenetic, bright-orange jumper-clad stage presence, made this an early standard-setting highlight. A tough act to follow it appeared to be, as Mount Kimbie fluttered, but never fully caught attention, despite the intricate layers of ‘Break Well’ cascading as a stand-out track in the set.

Swarms of people washed like waves up and down the field, as the main bill was augmented by the likes of Sampha and Jamie xx, a particularly popular appearance, catching the eye on the bandstand-esque booth. The former’s unveiling of his SBTRKT featuring ‘Hold On’ goes down especially well, as the Young Turks influence on the festival shines bright through the dark clouds above Hatfield.

The funk-fuelled fun of Kindeness gets people moving in the cold, with their ever-impressive musicianship, lush harmonies and host of dance-friendly tracks, before Poliça really impress. Leaneagh’s vocal is relentlessly striking, in front of two pounding drum kits and a bass that carries so effortlessly; ‘Wandering Star’ is a faultless ‘track of the day’ contender.

As the evening wears on, it is hard not to love Solange; a wonderful style, live charisma in abundance and inspired dance-moves make for a transfixing performance and go a long way to compensating for the unavoidable imbalance of her tracks. ‘Losing You’ doesn’t disappoint, and despite this lack of proper hits, much of the front of the field is starstruck, smiles on faces.

Darkness begins to fall just in time for The xx to close their festival. The three make an enormous, shuddering sound that shackles hold and pulls attention, thanks to revved-up live versions of ‘Crystalised’ and the brilliant encore ‘Intro’, in particular. Cold white lighting is juxtaposed by a firey wash of colour, as the diverse set ebbs and flows through emotions in a way that this band have made their own. The electronic hue to their performance gives it a certain satisfying, on-trend edge for the sizeable hoards that still line this corner of the estate. They are a band that feel as front-running and fascinating as they did almost half a decade ago, who can add curation to their already impressive CV.

Photograph by Anthony Keiler. See Full Gallery here.