There are events that stick in the memory, and then there are events that feel genuinely once in a lifetime. Astral Plane: Total Eclipse Festival is making a strong case for the latter. With the day splits now locked in and four more artists added to what was already a remarkable bill, the full proposition is coming into sharp focus — and it is one that deserves serious attention.
The backdrop is La Pinilla Mountain Resort in the Sierra Ayllón range of Segovia, around an hour’s drive from Madrid, where this August a total solar eclipse will sweep across the sky. For anyone who has never witnessed totality in person, the effect is genuinely hard to put into words — daytime darkness, stars breaking through, the sun reduced to a blazing ring around the moon’s silhouette. Astral Plane have built their entire concept around this moment, with a main stage engineered specifically to place it front and centre for everyone in attendance.
Joining the lineup are four artists who each bring something distinct to the table. Chez Damier is a Chicago house originator whose records and DJ sets have shaped dancefloors across decades — his presence here feels entirely right. MARRØN has been making serious waves out of the Netherlands with a techno approach that is uncompromising and precise. Matt Sassari arrives from Marseille with a reputation for sets that hit hard and hold nothing back. And Madrid’s own LAIA rounds out the new additions, a rising local voice given a deserved platform on home turf.
The moment the whole weekend pivots around arrives on the evening of August 12th, when Detroit techno founding father Kevin Saunderson steps up for a four-hour performance on the main Eclipse Stage. His set has been designed with the eclipse at its core, the astronomical peak arriving deep into his run. It is difficult to think of many artists better equipped to carry that weight — Saunderson’s connection to the music goes back to its very foundations, and the scale of what is being asked of this performance seems to suit him perfectly. Irish house mainstay Mano Le Tough opens the celestial proceedings with a two-hour set as the eclipse begins its approach.
Elsewhere across the three days, the calibre rarely dips. Ellen Allien and Luke Slater represent the harder, more unrelenting end of Berlin techno. Ben Sims brings his characteristically fierce and focused approach. DJ Stingray 313 arrives as one of Detroit electro’s most singular and enduring voices. Lilly Palmer and Nicole Moudaber add serious weight on the techno side, while Gerd Janson — a selector whose reputation for adventurous, deeply considered programming has few peers — is always an event in himself. Ferreck Dawn, Or:la, Dense & Pika, Jen Cardini, Eris Drew, Eli Escobar and Marie Madeleine ensure the house contingent is equally well represented.
Spain’s own scene gets a thorough airing. Coyu is a fixture of the country’s underground, while Pushmann, Hermética, José, Riviani, Anso and Deceit give Madrid in particular a strong collective showing. The international underground is further represented by Salome, whose Georgian roots and Berlin base have made her one of the more compelling selectors on the circuit; Tokyo-based Riria; the groove-led Italian craft of Black Loops; Munich’s Toy Tonics bringing their characteristically warm and eclectic sensibility; and rising names Ammara, Urumi, DJ Fuckoff, Dr Dak and Santiago completing the bill.
Looking at the day splits, August 10th is anchored by Nicole Moudaber and Chez Damier alongside Eris Drew, MARRØN, Salome and a strong showing from the local Madrid contingent. August 11th features Luke Slater, DJ Stingray 313, Coyu, Dense & Pika and Or:la among a stacked supporting cast. August 12th — the night of the eclipse — brings Kevin Saunderson, Ben Sims, Ellen Allien, Ferreck Dawn, Mano Le Tough and Gerd Janson together for what promises to be the kind of evening people will be talking about for a very long time.
Three stages carry the music across the weekend. The main Eclipse Stage hosts the festival’s headline acts, a second stage sits at elevation above the valley with views across the surrounding mountain range — reachable either by ski lift or on foot — and a third stage is dedicated to the more emerging end of the lineup. Daytime programming will include talks and workshops exploring the eclipse from both scientific and cultural perspectives, with full details to come.
For every ticket sold, the festival commits to planting a tree locally, an acknowledgement that the landscape making all of this possible deserves something back in return. And while this August is the beginning, the concept is built with longevity in mind — subsequent editions are planned around future eclipses moving through different parts of the world, with Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Australasia all on the horizon in the coming years.
Three-day GA tickets are priced at €175. Individual day tickets for August 10th and 11th are €60 each, with August 12th — the eclipse night — available for €70. Tickets and full details at spaineclipsefestival.com.
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