Matt Anniss gives his reflections on the second edition of Optimo and the Ransom Note’s Watching Trees micro-festival, accompanied by a mix based on what he played in his DJ set in the ‘Espacio’ tent on Sunday morning. With thanks to Nicola Berridge for the photos.

You’ve descended wooden stairs cut into the hillside and ambled through an arch made of intertwined tree branches. You now find yourself stood in a deep hollow within a small patch of woodland in Wiltshire. It’s lunchtime on the first Sunday of June 2024. All around you, squeezed in within a ring of towering speaker stacks, happy and smiling people dance to Sabrina’s ‘Boys’, throbbing Italo-disco anthems, Janet Kay’s ‘Silly Games’, joyous Hi-NRG records and a suitably fitting mid-80s alternative synth-pop anthem by Eleven Pond.

Shafts of sunlight peep through the canopy of leaves above, while Optimo do their thing on a stage shaped like a massive letter ‘A’. Somewhere in front of you, your mate is in the middle of the muddy woodland dancefloor, living his, her or their best life after 24-hours straight partying.

Welcome to Watching Trees 2024, the second edition of the Ransom Note and Optimo’s idyllic micro-festival. Some of you may remember the first edition, which took place on the fringes of the Forest of Dean in September 2022 and was reviewed in these very (virtual) pages. That was a weekend-long affair and in some ways a little grander than this edition – stretched over a more sizable site (at least in terms of the way it was set up), it had two stages pumping out music and a third ‘stage’ (if you can call a yurt a stage) around which talks and workshops took place. I was so inspired by my experience there, including the talk I was involved in, that I wrote about it in the ’Afterword’ chapter of the updated and expanded edition of Join The Future.

The inaugural edition of Watching Trees was undoubtedly a rip-roaring success, but for a variety of reasons it was not possible for those involved to put on a sequel in 2023. So here we are, back dancing amongst the foliage 22 months later, at a brand-new location – a site that could, with a following wind, become a semi-permanent location for the small but perfectly formed affair.

The site they found, which I visited last October with JD Twitch, Jonnie Wilkes and other members of the festival’s organising committee, sits on the leafy fringes of a sprawling Wiltshire estate. It’s a stone’s throw from Bath, Box, Corsham and Melksham, but hidden enough from view to evade the gaze of passing motorists and curious locals.

Watching Trees 2024 was, by design, held on a smaller and more intimate site – and as a result, it was a much more intimate event too. It felt like a small, self-contained warren of forest paths, sun-soaked clearings, grassy meadows and unploughed fields, with care and attention given to the smallest details (signage, forest lighting, home-made décor, semi-secluded seating areas, unusual but interesting wooden structures and so on).

The public camp site stretched out along a tight strip of tree-free land within the woods (an amazing sight once it had been populated by people and tents). Once you exited the far end of the camping area and followed a snaking woodland path, you re-emerged above what organisers called ‘Isle of Everywhere’ – a natural ampitheatre that contained the main stage and soundsystem, a bar, and a ‘WT shop’ selling limited-edition t-shirts and suitably boozy cocktails.

If you turned right instead of heading down into ‘Isle of Everywhere’, you came to ‘Espacio’, a small round tent surrounded by picnic bench seating, food vendors, and another small bar. The entertainment offered by ‘Espacio’ was of the ‘non dancing’ type. With its ample hay bales, seats and sofas, it was a 24-hour chill-out room in all but name – somewhere to calm down a bit after hours of over-enthusiastic, stimulant-fuelled dancing.

Fill this picturesque rural site and simple set up with 500 friendly people – clans from Glasgow, Switzerland, London, Bristol, Manchester and elsewhere across the UK were present – and a hand-picked group of DJs, live performers and speakers, and you have something undeniably special.

Again.

The way the site had been set up encouraged mingling and socialisation; I lost count of the amount of ‘randoms’, distant friends of friends and possible new friends I met and chatted with over the course of the weekend. And, yes, there was plenty of chat with some of the DJs, performers, volunteers and site workers, too – unusually, it felt like all on site were part of one friendly, like-minded community of people; one – as my housemate remarked on the way home – that was “refreshingly free of dickheads”.

This time round, the party ran for a condensed 24-hours – another decision that encouraged dancing and mingling and gave the event focus and purpose. The hardcore could, if they felt that way inclined, just keep going, but the schedule had been created – and the musical offerings carefully programmed – to allow rest for those who felt like they needed a kip. Given that the mixed crowd contained more people above the age of 30 than those below (not by design specifically, but perhaps representative of the various communities of people drawn towards Optimo and Ransom Note), it was probably a smart move.

Once the doors opened at 1pm on Saturday and music began an hour later (via some rather lovely sounds from Glasgow’s beloved 12^th Isle crew), it was obvious that there was a clear plan here: the Espacio tent and the grassed area outside would provide refuge and relaxation, and Isle of Everywhere would treat us to an ebbing and flowing musical journey targeted at dancing beneath the branches of centuries-old trees and an occasionally cloud-free sky.

The intimacy of the site meant that ambling between the two spaces was not only easy, but quick too. Occasionally you may have had to wait to walk up or down the stairs cut into the slopes leading to and from Isle of Everywhere, but the volunteers controlling the flow – like the others who litter picked, lent a hand with production or were stationed at specific points around the site to answer questions – were efficient and utterly lovely. I made a point of thanking as many as I could as I made my way around the site.

Every one of the 500 attendees will have a different story to tell of their experience, and the 24-hour nature of the event meant it all became a bit of a blur. I can’t honestly recall every DJ or performance, or even more than a handful of specific records I heard, but there were undoubtedly highlights. I’ll do my best to give you a flavour of what went down.

Isle of Everywhere was naturally the focus. The programming was perfect from start to finish, with Optimo rounding things off on Sunday lunchtime with a genuinely triumphant final dancefloor workout In between, punters were treated to a typically deep and sun-splashed disco and tropicala set by Coco Maria; the intoxicating bass-weight and percussive rhythms of African Headcharge Soundsystem; a luscious live set by James Holden; some low-slung, punk-funk influenced heaviness and cosmic chuggers from Manfredas; a three-hour Optimo workout (undeniably heavy and percussive in parts, with plenty of party bangers thrown in); JD Twitch and Jonnie Wilkes in “beatless rave” mode (an interesting idea – basically classic rave and acid house era anthems with the beats and basslines reviewed, plus the beatless mix of Sabres of Paradise’s ‘Smokebelch II’); a sunrise set of ambient gems courtesy of Yu Su; and Parris – so long a Bristol resident, but now back in his native London – igniting the dance late on Sunday morning.  It was, undoubtedly, one of the sets of the weekend.

As for Espacio, it operated at a far slower and more sedate pace by design. On the first afternoon, various workshops and craft activities were held outside the tent (alongside a walking tour of the site by a tree specialist) while Ransom Note DJs provided gentle music, spaced-out ambient and sounds to lie down and listen to. The tent’s interior set up – decorated beautifully with plants by some of the volunteers – came into its own in the early evening, when speakers took over.

The first of two key talks saw yours truly hold an “in conversation” session with Yu Su, who discussed her musical journey so far, her creative process, festival culture, her efforts to promote and highlight the Chinese electronic underground, and her passion for cooking. She was hugely entertaining all told. When we finished, there was a short break to show a collage style film created by attendees during an afternoon workshop, and then author and former music journalist David Keenan took over, delivering a lecture on his belief in the power of magic within the creative process.

After another short pause, Espacio turned into a genuine chill-out room. As night fell, Swiss scene stalwart Princess P took to the decks to promote her forthcoming Infinite Sonores compilation on Mental Groove/Musique Pour La Danse via three hours of ambient, low-tempo ambient techno and IDM. Sat on a sofa with my friends Tone, Nicola (who took the photos shared here) and Owain, the word “tune” was used quite a lot in reference to her selections. Espacio continued overnight with Chloe of C.A.R fame treating increasingly intoxicated and horizontal partygoers to a series of excerpts from films – both on screen and through the soundsystem.

By the time 9am on Sunday rolled around, and those who had been to bed (a majority, no doubt) began reappearing to get coffee, breakfast and the feel of morning sun on their skin, I was sat behind the decks in Espacio playing what I would call my ‘Watching Morning’ set. Nominally ambient, it incorporated a range of laidback and meditative sounds, from fourth world classics and old ambient house remixes (Jam and Spoon revising the Pet Shop Boys and the Orb translations of Wendy & Lisa and Erasure included), to acoustic gems, dubbed-out shufflers, field recordings of nature (plucked from the needlessly large amount of BBC sound effects records I own), and beatless versions of songs provided by producer friends. Oh, and some unusual ‘TR13E adjustments’ I created at various points over the last 11 years.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing that set and sat there with a smile on my face throughout, helped no doubt by rays of sunshine flooding in through the tent entrance and a succession of smiling people wandering past. Sadly, I didn’t record it, but I have laid down a mix at home inspired by the experience and that aspect of the Watching Trees soundtrack. It includes some of the music I played, plus stuff I intended to play but didn’t and bits that I think fit the mood. There may also be the odd tune in there played after I finished by Ransom Note’s Matt Cowell and Aly Tropical; their set was spot on. You can listen to it via the embedded Mixcloud player below.

So in summary, then, Watching Trees 2024 was a spellbinding experience in a beautiful location, populated by brilliant people. No doubt it would not be classed as a representation of the ‘rural idyll’ by many of the affluent, landowning types who live in the vicinity, but such notions have always been problematic given the contested nature of space.

I’ve thought a lot about the idea – initially raised by my PhD director of studies, Chris Anderton – of their being a definable ‘countercultural rural idyll’, or – even more specifically – a ‘rural rave idyll’. I’m no closer to defining it, though Watching Trees – in both its incarnations – shows that such temporary autonomous zones (as the problematic Hakim Bey would have classed them) can be idyllic, welcoming, community focused and genuinely idyllic for those who live through them. For 24 hours, we were at one with nature, music and each other – something that can be said of some free parties and rural raves, but very few officially sanctioned and meticulously organised festivals.

If they choose to continue (and they should) into the future, I’ll be counting down the days to the ‘dickhead-free’ rural rave idyll that will be Watching Trees 2025.

Listen: Watching Morning

Track listing

1. Matt Anniss – Woodland Birds in June
2. If These Trees Could Talk – Breath of Life (Matt Anniss Adjustment)
3. Taku Sugimoto – Between Trees and Trees
4. Warren Hampshire – Eve of The Deluge
5. Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays – It’s For You
6. Toshihiro Matsuana presents HEX – Hello To The Wind (Starry Sky Version)
7. Mac-Talla Nan Craeg – Flight
8. Matt Anniss – Interlude: John Nettles In The Trees on BBC2
9. Broads & Milly Hurst – Thetford (Matt Anniss Adjustment)
10. Flexagon – Fort Suamarez – MP2
11. Bob Marley & The Wailers – Rebel Music (Bill Laswell Ambient Dub)
12. Bal5000 – Dream Dub For Sarah
13. Pet Shop Boys – Young Offender (Jam & Spoon Remix No. 2)
14. Erasure – Ship of Fools (The Orb’s Southsea Isles of Holy Beats Mix)
15. Brother Beyond – The Girl I Used To Know (Red Zone Mix)
16. Jura Soundsystem – Linn Fun (Good Block Remix)
17. Wendy & Lisa – Staring at the Sun (The Orb & Youth Remix)
18. Link – Arcadian (Original Version)
19. Yu Su – Dusty
20. Eleven Pond – Watching Trees (Matt Anniss Ambient Adjustment)