Det Gode Selskab x Absolut Midsommarweekender

Photo above: Namo Oman AKA Lilla Namo and Kamohelo Khoaripe

«The Germans are coming!» Fintan, the friendly festival host from Ireland had barely hung up his phone before he announced that the delayed Berlin flight had just landed. He shot up from his chair in the strongly lit, crowded Starbucks and put his pink, white and blue flower crown back on his head. Then he slid the phone into the breast pocket on his off-white linen shirt and led the way out to the Copenhagen Airport arrival hall. Everybody around the table got up and collected their luggage. The Colombian guy next to me quickly dialed a number on his phone and said a few sentences in rapid Spanish before he grabbed his shiny black bag and strode out of the café. Across the table, some girls from Berlin in flower crowns similar to Fintan’s, were giggling of something that one of them was explaining in German with dramatic gestures. «Let´s go out to the bus». The Brazilian woman I had been talking with for the last hour smiled softly and nodded her head towards the exit while picking up the red leather purse that rested in her lap. She had travelled directly from Rio de Janeiro so I guessed she was quite eager to get comfortable in a bus seat sooner than later.

After crossing the border between Denmark and Sweden, we finally reached the deep green fields surrounding Ovesholm Castle. The air outside was wet. It nearly felt like breathing diluted water. As I was stumbling down the bus-stairs, a bit tipsy after drinking Malibu rum for the first time since my last teenage years, a familiar sight awaited at the bottom. «Welcome to Sweden!» Tod Louie’s eyes smiled at me behind his characteristic dark-framed glasses from under the hood of a big yellow raincoat.

Photo above: Tod Louie on the festival site

On behalf of his label Det Gode Selskab, Tod Louie had invited me to a festival called Midsommar Weekender. Growing up with Swedish friends who went to the Swedish countryside for every Midsummer, I had long been curious on the neighbor country’s core traditional celebration of Summer Solstice. I was excited to finally experience all the things that my childhood friends had described to me. All the pretty flowers, the Swedish songs, the delicious food and the legendary dance around the Maypole. Together with his partner Solaris, Tod Louie was going to represent their Oslo based DJ-collective in the festival line-up. After a quick tour around the festival site, we found the white canvas tent that was going to be my home for the weekend. Inside the canvas walls we also found Thomas Refvik, another member of Det Gode Selskab. He was sipping on a Moscow Mule while preparing his camera for the evening. We placed the luggage beside my bed and I put on a thick sweater for the cold summer night ahead of us. After a quick stop in the bar it was time for soundcheck at the main stage in a beautiful old barn. And then we danced all night.

Photo above: Solaris DJing + Karl Fraunhofer and I dancing

When Tod Louie first sent me the festival line-up, I happily recognized some of the artists that were booked. The airy electronic music of Australian alternative dance group Rüfus du Sol is a regular motivation in my Soundcloud playlist for cardio training. I was even more thrilled when I spotted musician and neuroscientist Floating Points in the program. The talent from Manchester, UK has established his own niche in highly advanced music with projects like «Reflections Mojave Desert». With such strong International names in the line-up I did feel a bit proud when I read the names of Norwegian electronic music legend Lindstrøm and Det Gode Selskab in the program. There also turned out to be a pleasant surprise hiding in the line-up. The performance of Zebra Katz really blew me away.

There was complete silence on the bus from the festival back to Copenhagen Airport. After saying goodbye to those with early flights, I went with my new festival friends Andres and Dann to have dinner in the city. All three of us were pleasantly exhausted. We laughed so much that day! Especially after Andres happened to get trapped on the subway train. He reminded of a helpless beetle on its back. It did actually feel quite scary. When we rushed off the crowded carriage, his big backpack got stuck between the sliding doors as they shut for departure. Those seconds went by very slowly. After Dann and I managed to pull him free, our laughter echoed all over the platform. Everybody were eyeballing us.

That kind of pleasant exhaustion makes me think of how I felt the day after summer camp in high school when we had stayed up all night. On the way home from summer camp I fell asleep on the ferry with an ice cream in my hand, and I really like ice cream.

Tonight I am going to dance with Det Gode Selskab again.

17.11.17
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