Diplo turns the grey London skies blue with his Lovebox set

American DJ Diplo manages to transport a grey sky London to the beaches of Ibiza with his summery set at LoveBox festival.

 

Diplo, aka Thomas Wesley Pentz, is no stranger to the Lovebox crowd, having played at the festival previously in 2009 and again in 2016.

 

The DJ might be sporting a plain black hoodie, but there is nothing basic about his stage presence. Leaping on top of his decks to address the crowd, the 39-year-old performs with as much bounce and energy as his tropical electro-pop bangers.

 

The accompanying graphics on the screens look like they have been made on a desktop computer in the 1990s. However the black and white aesthetic does match the grey skies that London has decided to produce for this summer festival.  

 

Diplo plays a bevy of classics, including tracks from his collaborative projects Major Lazer (EDM trio featuring Diplo and DJs Jillionaire and Walshy Fire), and Jack U (duo with producer Skrillex). The American woos his animated crowd with renditions of well known tracks Be Right There, Where Are U Now and Freak, as well as an array of unreleased mixes that keeps the merry crowd boogying.

 

The crowd are treated to a special appearance by Nigerian artist Mr Eazi, who helps Diplo perform their new summer collaboration Let Me Live, a track by Major Lazer and Rudimental, which also features vocals by Essex born Anne-Marie.

 

Entertaining a less mature crowd than his main stage predecessors, the Wu-Tang Clan, Diplo is able to keep his audience engaged and entertained for the entirety of his set, even when the heavens open at the conclusion of his performance.

 

Before finishing, the American has one final message for his fans.

 

“Can I just say one thing? F--- Donald Trump! He really stuffed up my trip here, but in general he just sucks," addressing the cheering crowd.

 

Diplo is an outlier in the list of headline acts, which features mainly R&B and grime artists, but he is definitely demonstrating his place as a festival favourite.