Music Festival Review: rain fails to dampen Our Sound 2025
Adelaide’s drum and bass community brought their passion to a rain-soaked festival that showcased the variety and longevity of the genre.
For those not in the loop, ‘drum and bass’ (DnB) is a fast, high-energy style of dance music that prominently features heavy drum loops and basslines (no surprises with the name). Within this basic framework comes a huge variety of moods and styles, which is a key part of how an all-day festival can be run with just one genre.
Our Sound 2025 lived under a rain cloud, with an unsightly marquee obscuring performers and the constant threat of water dripping on critical electronics. However, both the DJs and the audience were proudly defiant and grooved their way through the day – the UK-based acts quipped that they felt right at home.
The main stage Bonython Park/Tulya Wardli was a fortress of shipping containers that hosted the headline acts for the day. A huge LED screen provided an interesting backdrop for the daytime performers before the impressive light show kicked in after dark.
Tucked around a corner of shipping containers was the secondary stage, tastefully decorated to look like a cozy record store. The sheltered dancefloor provided an intimate atmosphere where local Adelaide DJs spun tracks from the deeper and darker side of DnB, while MCs bantered on the microphone and kept the audience engaged.
Adelaide local Godlands opened the main stage while the audience was trickling in, playing a brash mix of house and trap – the only non-DnB act of the day. Although it was a quiet start, she was rewarded with a bustling crowd by the end of her set.
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ROVA continued on the main stage with a set of big, buzzy crowd pleasers. One highlight was a clever mashup of Black Eyed Peas with DnB classic ‘Mr Happy’.
The second stage began with the duo DT3 and Watsy, then local record-store-owner Fiction. They played smooth sets from the darker and less-melodic side of the genre, which provided a groovy alternative to the main stage ‘bangers’.
Wilkinson was the first of the UK-based headliners to appear on the main stage, quickly drawing in any people who were still lingering at the food area. He delighted the audience with his signature brand of poppy, melodic tracks, playing a set of newly-released tracks alongside singalong classics. Any negativity from the heavy rain was replaced with euphoria during his breakout hit ‘Afterglow’.
Renegade and Jane Doe kept the second stage moving with a selection of heavier tracks. Unfortunately, the volume in that area was boosted beyond comfortable levels for the rest of the night, making it difficult to comprehend what was happening behind the distortion. The crowd didn’t seem to mind, though.
If Wilkinson is radio-friendly pop music, Ed Rush is what the scary guy on the bus is listening to. The UK-based legend helped pioneer the hard-hitting, evil-sounding ‘neurofunk’ subgenre in the 90s, and showcased that style in his performance. He played a relentless set of heavy tracks that pleased parts of the audience, but took some convincing to bring the rest along, finishing with a gnarly remix of Linkin Park.
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The Kiwi duo of Lee Mvtthews brought instant charisma to the stage with choreographed dance moves, singing and crowd participation. Their set was packed with energetic modern tracks that was suddenly cut short by an announcement that the main stage was closing due to an incoming thunderstorm.
The crowd respectfully dispersed across the grounds, but there was a sense of concern and confusion about whether that was it for the day. Thankfully, it was only about 15 minutes before the voice of New Zealand’s Flowdius announced that the main stage was back in business. There was a renewed energy among the crowd, latching on to each screech and wobble like it was the last thing they’ll hear that night. They were almost right, as a bolt of lightning down the road caused another abrupt end to an enjoyable DJ set.
After another nervous pause, Danny Byrd welcomed the audience back to the main stage with an incredibly dynamic range of drum and bass tracks, weaved together with sounds from the reggae-inspired early days of the scene. He played hits from his long career alongside remixes of 80s pop, old school rap, and rave classics. As well as being a technically impressive performance, his selection of catchy songs were well-received by the audience. Once his time was up, Danny was thrilled to pass the decks to the much anticipated final act of the night.
Pendulum are Australia’s biggest export to DnB, with over 20 years of rock-infused records that smashed their way out of the underground into pop culture. DJ El Hornet represented the band in front of an audience that knew every song and revelled in the barrage of Pendulum originals, remixes and mashups that he delivered.
As one of the select few DJs who can mix with three decks, El Hornet masterfully jumped back and forth between tracks during his set while preparing the third deck for surprise drops and unexpected combinations. He seemed to be having as much fun as the crowd, dancing along and beaming a cheeky grin to the audience every time he lined up another track.
El Hornet finished the festival with a ballad-esque song from Pendulum’s new album, expressing his love for Adelaide and leaving the audience very satisfied. The storms that threatened the Our Sound 2025 were no match for the powerful beats and the enduring passion that Adelaide has for drum and bass.
Accessibility notes from the reviewer
There was a wheelchair-accessible viewing platform with a clear view of the main stage. Patrons were considerate when wheelchair users entered the crowd.
Both stages played loud music (as expected) but the second stage was uncomfortably loud for most of the night. There did not seem to be any quiet spots within the festival grounds and general admission tickets were not eligible for re-entry.
Patrons were vaping and smoking freely amongst the crowd and smoke machines were in use on both stages.
Our Sound Adelaide 2025 took place on Saturday 22 November at Bonython Park