Will Macmaster
A week has passed since Lost & Found I have made a full recovery and now I can recount to you some of the insanity of the festival.
Day 1 at Lost & Found: Fresh and Funky
Waking up bright and early on Friday morning, I bought a fresh pack of B&H cigs and a bottle of vino from the local store, I was ready and on my way to Mellieha to start with some pre-drinks at a friends house.
When we left for Lost and Found, I met two very charming Swedish girls en route.
They were headed to the Beach Party, an event I hadn’t actually acquired a ticket for. However, it was day one of the rave weekend – I queued up with the two girls anyway.
Once I got to the friendly security lady she shrugged, gave a “mela” and handed me the admission token. And thus, I was on the coach to the beach.
The funky vibes of the DJ rung out and it was truly time for the weekend to get started. I linked up with my friends accompanied by new Swedish gals and grabbed some drinks.
Beach party
The speakers were blaring out the perfect funky tunes for a beach party with a clear reggae and afrobeat influence.
It was my first beach party, (and definitely not the last) Dancing on the sand in a venue with a fabulous view in the blazing hot sun, was one of the best moments of the weekend. And we were just starting.
Both DJs and singers were sick. In particular, Stefflon Don, who absolutely smashed her set with fierce beats, vocals, and moves dominating the stage.
Annie Mac played for the first time of the weekend to close the party and before I knew it, 7 pm had rolled around far too quickly and it was time for the next part of the weekend to continue.
After pre-drinks it was time to get going to the UNO and the main events of the first night. I headed over to the Palace Stage, where I caught Four Tet and an awesome two-hour set from Jamie XX.
Day 2 at Lost & Found: Second Wind
Waking up was surprisingly easy. I hopped out of bed, had two black coffees, rung my friends, and got ready. I had a ticket for the Castle Rave but, due to a bad tip, mistook it to be at the Red Castle for the second year running. This year it was in Valletta on the other side of the island.
We weighed things up and the decision was made to bail. Judge me all you want, it wasn’t my call. But the day was taken easier, lounging by the pool, sipping G&T’s, and cracking jokes, so no regrets.
However, the night was a different story. I got there early, lagging slightly from a day full of drinking and last night’s excess.
I had a full agenda this night and started things off by catching DJ Haus and Jackmaster at The Palace stage, who did fantastically well to get me back on a level for the night, before heading over to Tropicana for a night of some good old British bars.
Annie Mac
I caught the end of Novelist, which was ample time for him to get me properly gassed up. Then came a massively anticipated J-Hus. He played a great set made up mainly of his latest album, one of my favorites of 2017, so it was great to see it in action.
Then I retreated back to the main stage just in time to catch Diplo, before seeing Annie Mac for the second time. If her first performance was good, the second one was phenomenal. She pulled out all the stops and dropped banger after banger, including my favorite tune of the weekend, Neutron Dance by Krystal Klear, which came on towards the end.
Her set in whole was a perfect way to end the night, cementing herself at her own festival as definitely one of the standout acts for me.
Day 3 at Lost & Found: Powering Through
Sunday was less easy to conquer. To be honest, I was dying.
With the mountain of the last day to conquer, naturally, there was only one cure, two black coffees, 20 B&H, and a bottle of vino.
Being a hater of both boats and the sea, I didn’t investigate the boat party at all and instead went directly to the main day event at Cafe Del Mar with two old girlfriends from the Netherlands.
Pool party
The pool party was another sick event where I mooched around chilling out by the pool, drinking G&T’s, checking out the view.
It didn’t take long for everyone to recover, with the DJ’s on top form and the crowd nonchalant about the two full days of excess that clearly no one had succumbed to.
With immersive sets from Moxie, Mella, and Annie Mac once again, where she played solo first before carrying on back to back with Mall Grab, the whole day blurred into one sick and sunny day of awesome summer vibes!
Without a doubt for me, the tune of the day at the party was Mike Dunn presents Mr 69- Phreaky MF, which is definitely getting dropped next time I bang.
Pre-drinks
We headed straight back to mine for some more pre-drinks before making that one final journey back to Lost & Found’s main event.
The final night seemed much less crowded for some reason or other, but nonetheless, another phenomenal night.
With no one really on my agenda to catch the full set of, I just balled around jamming to the various beats from different stages, catching dribs and drabs of the likes of Bicep, Shy Fx, and anyone else I happened to stroll past and just enjoying it all, allowing myself to soak up the last of the festival ambiance.
In the end, I was torn between the two final two acts of the week, Hot Since 82 at The Pyramid or Kolsch at The Palace.
However, with them being just a 20-second walk apart, I chose both. Bopping between both incessantly like a madman, I was treated to two sets from a pair of artists who are clearly at the top of their game.
We took the final cab home and passed out one last time to end a phenomenal weekend.
Reflections
I woke up on Monday feeling like I had tried to fight a bus and with a bank balance that made my eyes water, but really, that has got to be one the most impressive festivals I’ve ever attended.
Hats off to Annie Mac and everyone who smashed their performances, hand’s down, a weekend to remember.
