Parklife @ Heaton Park, Manchester, 7-8 June

SATURDAY

The Skinny shuffles through Heaton Park's box office scrum just in time to catch Derwin Schlecker, aka Gold Panda, whirring up the cogs on the RBMA stage. Schlecker impresses with a particularly varied set, testing the frenzied drum machine workouts from his recent album on a somewhat bemused gaggle of fans, before rewarding them with the instant repetitive gratification of his more familiar hits such as Marriage and You.

Predictably, a much bigger crowd was drawn in the Now Wave tent by Cyril Hahn, whose anodyne, sexless remixes of 90s R'n'B hits are starting to feel very dated now. Much more exciting are Hoya:Hoya regulars Illum Sphere and Krystal Klear, who both play fine afternoon sets on the RBMA and Desperados stages just as the sun starts to peek its head out. Mixing up a range of feel-good dub, warped disco and grime cuts, both residents deliver the goods to those lucky enough to stumble within hearing distance. Jacques Greene takes the helm soon after for a solid live set that leads the gathering swarm of pie-eyed onlookers into the evening via punchy sequenced claps and big synth-y chords.

Step up Snoop Dogg, and his gold encrusted microphone. The pothead supreme easily draws the biggest crowd of the weekend on the main stage, but like a number of previous hip-hop acts that have tried and failed to produce a fat solid sound, Snoop’s karaoke-style set is somewhat lost in the ether. He reels through various covers, tributes and the occasional cheesy classic, but it’s not the all-out joyous love affair that many expected. Still, it’s Snoop Dogg, and Signs is a highlight that temporarily reverts everybody in the crowd back to their 2004 morphology – remember kids, you ain’t no G.

We catch a few minutes of Chromeo’s 80s pastiche on the Now Wave stage before dipping our heads in for Bonobo’s DJ set. Green seems to be in quite a playful mood, and flips the switch between various vocal loops before going in on a brilliant club-style reworking of Cirrus. Arms fly and eyes widen as the clock ticks closer to home time on day one.

SUNDAY

Faced with the unenviable prospect of having to play to a load of confused Clean Bandit fans cowering under a horrible downpour, Warpaint brave an early battle for attention spans but fail to conquer many. Their particular blend of gorgeous harmonies and effortless LA cool would seem to be a natural fit for festivals, but that sun-kissed charm fails to translate very well to a field that resembles Passchendaele more than Coachella. Despite this, earlier hits such as Undertow and the punningly-titled set closer Disco//Very still entice a few heads to nod. And, at least it breaks up the blandathon of Sam Smith, Bastille and London Grammar.

Meanwhile, in the Sounds of the Near Future tent, Jamie xx is in good form, rattling through an eclectic set that includes Larry Levan’s majestic mix of Stand On The Word. Shortly afterwards, it’s Jon Hopkins’ turn to mesmerise with his melodic and highly atmospheric brand of techno. Hopkins frantically manipulates a concoction of lush found sounds and throbbing beats in time with a slew of intense visual projections. At a festival where so much of the DJ line-up catered for the lowest common denominator, it was very pleasing to see him draw such a large crowd. Looking left and right, everybody seems just as impressed by the Eno-esque ambient tracks as they are with the visceral thrills of singles such as Collider.

The sun comes out again in time for Julio Bashmore on the Wildlife stage, who makes an informed decision to get a crowd-friendly vibe going. Aly-Us’ Follow Me picks up any straggling feet, and paves the way for DJ EZ to tear through his arsenal of tried and tested garage bangers from the likes of DJ Luck, Shola Ama and Wookie. Just up the hill, Joy Orbison simultaneously rocks the Under 500 stage: a great little open-air platform that is quite a sight when bathed in sunlight. Joy O takes no prisoners, and serves up a platter of dubby techno with a caustic twist – Barnt’s remix of C.P.I.’s Proceso is a memorable highlight.

Nestling under the distinctive pillars that formerly belonged to Manchester Town Hall, the leafy surroundings of the David Rodigan’s Collonade stage provides a welcome escape from the Bacchanalia of the main arena. Blessed by a period of uninterrupted sunshine, Soul II Soul’s feel-good blend of classic hip-hop, soul and dub sounds just as vital as ever, and is neatly updated by Jazzie B’s flair for modern production and the ragga stylings of their latest addition MC Chickaboo. Of course, Back to Life brings the house down, conjuring up a nostalgic mood that sets up the wonderful novelty that is Public Enemy.

Seeing Chuck D and Flavor Flav in matching military uniforms this close with a full live band in tow feels too good to be true, and while much of the crowd was far too young to have fully memorized or even understood many of their dense political lyrics, the duo nonetheless hold their attention throughout. Their AC/DC remix Black is Back provokes impromptu head banging and mosh pits, while stone cold classics such as Yo! Bumrush the Show incite a few mass singalongs. Flavor Flav’s dodgy turn on drums aside, this is quite possibly the highlight of the night.

Back in the Sounds from the Near Future tent, SBTRKT successfully switches between experimental tracks from his latest EP along and the more traditional crowd-pleasers from his enduringly popular debut album. His stage show continues to set the benchmark for other DJs hoping to tempt indie bed heads with an impressive display of live instrumentation. This sets the mood perfectly for Disclosure and Foals, both of whom have managed to achieve the indie/dance crossover in very different ways.

Foals bring proceedings to a very professional close, and are clearly well-drilled after a lengthy tour of their latest album Holy Fire. Recent hits such as Inhaler, and the white-man-funk of My Number, helped to loosen up the crowd considerably, but most impressive were the songs that have been slowed down and reworked to fit in with their current stadium-sized sound. Balloons and Spanish Sahara take on a particular relevance for the beleaguered crowd wondering about how they are going to get home.

Unfortunately, there will always a small number of idiots who will find a way to exercise their idiocy by any means necessary. Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of Robert Hart who sadly died as a result of an attack by the main stage at approximately 9pm. Robert was trying to protect his girlfriend from a confrontation involving an inflatable toy when the incident occurred. If you have any information about the attack please contact Greater Manchester Police as soon as possible.