RRally Festival, held for the first time in 2023, has been cancelled in a sense. Torrential rain lashed attendees in South London’s Southwark Park, with headliners Obongjayar and Princess Nokia cancelling at the last minute, leaving the crowds to finally look up at sunny skies and post-punk group Squid to liven things up with a stellar set. The rain and scheduling chaos were unfortunate fate for a festival with such admirable principles. Bucking the trend of corporate behemoths like All Points East and BST, Rally has taken a grassroots approach, giving small local venues like Ormside Project and Avalon Cafe curatorial powers alongside major sponsors Resident Advisor and NTS. Local artists from Goldsmiths University and Camden Arts Centre have also installed across the venue, providing corners for quirky sculptures between musical intervals.
The return of the rally to Southwark Park on a rainy day (which thankfully didn’t last) is a welcome sight. Undeterred by last year’s failure, the 2024 programme is bigger and bolder, with a host of cult-favorite DJs, most notably a rare performance from anonymous production duo Two Shell. There will also be guitar-friendly sets from indie darlings Nilüfer Yanya and bar italia.
On the dance floor, seamless mixes flow from one to the next amid towering plane trees at the secluded Visionaire stage. Hessle Audio boss Pearson Sound plays everything from bass-heavy Detroit electro to bouncy two-step without ever dropping the beat, while Berlin-based Ogazón and UK DJ Christian AB deliver a masterclass in back-to-back selections, powering through an ecstatic blend of house and melodic techno. Meanwhile, in the scaffolded warehouse setting of the Agnes stage, London techno stalwart Actress plays a mixed set that starts with ambient textures before swells into muffled, esoteric beats that seem to bleed through the walls of the club night next door.
The highlight of the frenetic side of the festival comes after Two Shell’s roadblock performance of chin-stroking techno. With a pair of fist-pumping dancers pumping the crowd and a real-life producer duo crouched behind a mixing desk in hoodies, Two Shell is ear-splittingly loud and intoxicatingly fun. Ripping through the R&B vocal edits, dub and hyperpop of their 2022 single Home, the duo play off expectations, delivering a dancefloor experience that embodies rather than engages.
The tonal contrast between the rumbling bass lines and guitar-strumming ballads played on adjacent stages can sometimes feel jarring: Nilüfer Yanya struggles to engage the crowd with intimate versions of tracks like Call It Love and Midnight Sun, while the bass of Two Shells wafts across the field. But earlier, singer-songwriter Fabiana Palladino’s performance was mesmerizing, reminiscent of her debut album Teena Marie, delivering 40 minutes of ’80s soul and funk backed by flawless vocals.
Headliners Mount Kimbie create a perfect blend of electronic influences and songwriting. Now expanded to a four-piece, the group dives into shoegaze distortion on their latest album, The Sunset Violent, with vocalists Dom Maker and Andrea Valency-Béarn trading lines over low-slung guitars on tracks like Fishbrain and Dumb Guitar. Early works from the group’s post-dubstep era, Marilyn and Made to Stray, are also included, unfolding beautifully into electro-acoustic jams where drum machines blend with the drum kit and vocals complementing synth melodies encapsulate the breadth of Larry’s programming. A fitting end to what is fast becoming London’s most exciting small festival.
