Caprices festival has been a staple in the electronic music calendar for many years as 2023 marks its 20th edition. The annual happening occurs in a small, blissful ski resort where many of house and techno’s innovators are invited to soundtrack their stunning glasshouse perched 2,200m up in the Swiss Alps of Crans-Montana.
Ricardo Villalobos is a frequent face at the festival, sharing some of his finest moments with close affiliates in the likes of RPR, Sonja Moonear and Sven Vath. Whether it’s the ineffable impact of the breath-taking scenes surrounding the event or the tasteful curation, every year seems to create magic in the mountains.
Beautiful lakes are dotted around the site and the main scene presented by MDNRITY is only accessible by cable car. As per Swiss’s notoriously high standards, sound systems are of the highest calibre and artists are given free roam to express themselves. You can read our full review of last year’s edition here.
The curation fuses a variety of worlds, inviting the likes of Dixon and Cassy, as well as more niche picks in Charlie and Dan Andrei. It’s one of those unique, larger scale events that provides an opportunity for discovery of new music as well as seeing some of the best in optimal conditions.
To celebrate the huge milestone of 20 festivals, this year will host two weekends featuring diverse line-ups across both dates. Both weekends will present five stages split across day and night, two by day and three by night. Each stage carries its own unique theme with immense production efforts and an added performing arts element presenting dancers, actors and art installations bringing the stunning grounds to life.
Weekend one takes place on April 7th-9th, where UK tastemaker Jamie XX will headline alongside a vast palate of selectors with something for everyone. The early names for the first weekend included: Fatboy Slim, Black Coffee, ARTBAT, Monolink (live), Adriatique, DJ Tennis, Blond:ish, Who Made Who (live), 8Kays, Amine K, Brina Knauss, Fiona Kraft, Layla Benitez, Magda, Modal Tune (Guti b2b Sarkisi live), Themba and Yokoo and many more have been added in the second wave.
Weekend two caters for the more minimalist and stripped back realms of house and techno across April 14th-16th. Detroit legend Jeff Mills headlines alongside fellow techno veterans in Richie Hawtin and Sven Vath, as well as two interesting b2b pairings with Loco Dice b2b Seth Troxler and Luciano b2b Ricardo Villalobos. Arapu b2b Gescu bring the Romanian flavours as well as a special set from Zip, Raresh and many more. Second wave seen Dan Ghenacia, Laidlaw, Tripmastaz, Flabbergast and Nesta among others to join the special gathering in Switzerland
Discover the varied accommodation and ticket options available over at Caprices website.
More info on Caprices Festival
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