It's Friday, and it's day one of the smallest and most intimate of the festivals on this year's calendar, The Enchanted Garden 2000. Set in the remote, picturesque Larmer Tree Gardens, it must be one of the few festivals where punters bump into peacocks amid the maze of hedges. But despite it's chintzy moniker the bill is far from twee, peppered with underground acts and thoroughly chilled out, tailored for maximum relaxation.
Saturday has the most obscure bill, with Gilles Petersen faves Spacek massaging the eardrums with their finely-tuned funk-hop. Avant garde soundscape sculptor Biosphere gives a typically dark and sinister take on the ambient template. Ninja Tune star Amon Tobin arrives to finish proceedings in a suitably eclectic manner, serving up a warped selection of slo-mo drum'n'bass and lysergic trip-hop to a rapturous reception.
The acid-fried funk double-header of Muki and Homelife kick off Saturday, and the proliferation of hash truffles on sale hint strongly that today's proceedings are going to be even more lovingly angled towards to the sofa-bound. Take Nottingham rising stars Bent, for example. While their DJ-only set is something of a disappointment for those expecting their live debut, the blue-rinsed Simon and the grinning Nail are on good form. "What do you want to buy?" claims a stuffy shop-keeper in a Jerky Boys-style sample. "A pack of Jammie Dodgers and a game of ping-pong!!" comes the raggamuffin reply. 'Nuff said. By complete contrast, Blue States provide the perfect early evening accompaniment, their shimmering, acoustic textures and soft-focus synthesisers, delightfully understated, yet deeply engaging.
Highlight of the night, though, and indeed, of the weekend, has to be Hexstatic. The music itself twists up everything from crackling breakbeat through to classics from A Guy Called Gerald and Future Sound Of London. The real pleasure, however, is in the way that every track is linked to the visuals, the whole set spliced exactly so that every riff, every hi-hat is represented on the screens, ranging from dodgy '70's karate films to luscious and expansive space cruises. With the stars glimmering in a perfectly clear sky, it's one of those special festival moments.
Away from the Main Stage, the Mediamix tent plays host to discussion panels in the daytime and VJing by night, while the Sanctuary is basically a hut in a clearing playing host to DJ sets from the likes of A Man Called Adam, Chris Coco and Mixmaster Morris. Then, of course, for those who like to groove, the Club Tent has a predictably classy bill featuring rockin' sets from Mr Scruff, Jazzanova, London Elektricity and Jedi Knight Tom Middleton.
Sunday draws to a close with a classy finale from Faze Action, DJ Food and Nitin Sawnhey. Everyone's well-chilled in Wiltshire.
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