Electric Dreams: Behind the scenes at new Dumfriesshire festival Electric Fields

Identify yourselves please, who does what at Electric Fields?
Alex Roberts: We roughly break into three different areas but with anything creative like this it's great to be able to bounce ideas off each other. Official titles seem a bit limiting but I'm the festival organiser, Chay [Woodman] is our booker and deals with press, while Nick does the marketing. There's a bunch more people who have been incredibly helpful, dedicating time and effort to getting this thing off the ground.

Tell us about the festival's genesis – what's the ethos behind it and how will it differ from all the rest?
AR: EF's ethos is to get great people together, to listen to great music, in a great setting. We would say in great weather... It won't rain in August, right? What we want to do is pull together the best bits of the other festivals. Firstly – we wanted it to be affordable, which we've achieved. If you want to come and have a good time and listen to amazing music you shouldn't be priced out of it. Secondly – have a bill that keeps you interested. We're so chuffed with the bill, there are so many bands capable of stealing the show on the day and that's a great feeling to have. And thirdly – it's the first EF, there's the chance of teething problems but it's going to be a great day. What we're excited about is how we can tweak it in years to come and consistently make it a relevant festival for audiences.
Nick Roberts: We want people to come and be part of the festival and enjoy each element for what it is. The music will be great, it's such a beautiful location and it's special to us as a place we grew up near. The beer will also be cheap, and there will be plenty of it.

Do you attend a lot of other festivals as part of your research for Electric Fields? Which others would you say have a sensibility most similar to yours, in terms of the bands they book, the experience they provide, and the value they offer to fans?
NR: I've had a magic summer and been lucky enough to go to Primavera, Field Day and Brew at the Bog so far this year. The most obvious one that similarities are going to be drawn between is Brew, and that's no bad thing – it was great. All three of those festivals got it totally right in my opinion in terms of the atmosphere they created. If you turned up with six bottles of vodka to down and bounce about a field you were in the wrong place. Beacons in Yorkshire is another festival which I'd put on a list of doing it right as well – if we're talked about in the same way as any of these guys in the next few years we'll be happy.
AR: In terms of bands, obviously with Chay's experience with the Solus Tent he has a great depth of knowledge to pull upon. He's gone and booked one of the strongest line-ups of the year and at the same time been able to pull these acts away from specialist tents and onto the main forum, which is great for everyone.

Which acts in particular are you personally looking forward to seeing?
AR: After seeing Fatherson and that crowd at T it's hard not to be really excited about seeing them. 
NR: I have a real soft spot for Honeyblood. Totally, totally love them and it'll be great to see them on an open stage. 
AR: Also, having someone of We Were Promised Jetpacks' stature for our first festival is awesome.

In an ideal world, who would you like to have on board for next year?
AR: We want to make sure we're always providing an interesting line-up. Most of our acts, if not all of them, hail from Scotland but by no means is that a rule we've set ourselves. Good, honest bands that can bring the noise.
NR: It's people who have an energy about them that we want. Also, I would love to see Jimmy Somerville here one day. Just smashing out Smalltown Boy.

What one piece of key advice would you give to any aspiring promoters out there giving thought to organising a festival?
AR: Have a good solid team around you. Every one of us is doing EF for the love of it and nothing else. If you're doing it to make some money then stop now.
NR: Don't compromise on the integrity of what you want to do. 

Finally, which food stand should we hit first?
AR: Forget the food – head for The Duke!