Words and images by Angus Bell Young //
To find the words that describe Lost Paradise you sort of have to live it. First up you’re plunged deep into a wild cauldron devoid of internet and surrounded by a pilgrimage of wide-eyed revellers and dusty campsites.

This was my first camping festival, and one I wasn’t expecting to be accredited for. So as discussed with the big boffins of LWA HQ I would cover Lost Paradise in my own way, from the crowd, hanging out with my mates (of whom are featured heavily in this gallery)

Day Zero was the warm up. We wandered to Lost Disco stage to see Wax’o Paradiso and DJ Boring, the aim here was to keep it pretty chill because ahead of us were three more days of non-stop music. It’s all about pace.

I could go into great depth about the line up, but I’ll let my flicks tell the story. There were however some massive standouts within a highly stacked program – in no particular order: WILLO, The Vanns, MAY-A, XClub, Yng Martyr,
Folamour, Ben Böhmer, 1300, Cub Sport, Ocean Alley, Genesis Owusu, Latifa Tee, Stumps, Young Franco, Spacey Jane, Jamie XX, and Egoism.

Another highlight was the $22 mountain of Schnitzel that had my eyes pop out like a cartoon awooga. Also, the unexpected bumping in to old friends and flames, colleagues and new pals lifted the mood like a reunion and set the tone of community throughout the event.

The ball dropped at midnight on the 31st with Peggy Gou on the mic- the Jamie XX set was so freaking hot my shoes almost caught fire and there wasn’t an un-dilated pupil to be found.

Hell of a way to start the new year in my humble opinion, and I wouldn’t have spent it with a more inclusive group of festival goers.