Photos: Getting ‘Lost and Found’ with Annie Mac in Malta

Let me take you around the world and back. We are now on a journey, a 19 hour trip from the urban jungle known as Los Angeles to the beautiful and historic Mediterranean Island known as Malta. All for what? For the sake of house music. Yes, I'm an extreme festival junkie that is itching to stray from the American rave culture. I was ready and willing to dive into the European dance scene and get a taste of something new. It was love at first sight when BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac dropped the line up for her very first curated festival, Lost & Found. The thought of open air, beach and boat parties, breath taking views, and dance legends on these foreign sacred grounds got my heart pumping. We all know that life can be quite stressful in a major metropolitan city in America — 40+ work weeks, failed Tinder relationships, dry, deep house music, and Justin Bieber. Life can be tough. I needed to get up and get lost.

Pre Party
Fresh off the plane, I head straight to Cafe Del Mar - our home base for everything involving AMP Lost & Found. I'm greeted with a customized lanyard attached to a colorful and shiny booklet filled with all the information to keep my not so innocent Easter on check.

First encounter at the pre party was with Orlando of Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs sporting a backwards cap with the word, "MALTA" written all around it, straight from a Maltese souvenir shop - then and there I knew this this weekend was going to be epic. I got down to the sounds of Patrick Topping, Eats Everything and Annie Mac herself. By the looks and energy of the crowd, I was eager to see what the next three days would bring me.

Friday - Day 1
Disco naps and festival bound. I head to the shuttle that leaves Cafe Del Mar to take me to a private mountain top villa where the fest is being held. I board the bus and swear to you that I must be the only American here (aside from some of the DJs). I'm representing, whether they hate me or not. I'm in a crowd full of audiophiles, industry peeps, and adolescent spring breaker bros. Yes, they exists everywhere. I walk into a tropical paradise and see that the set up is broken down by four stages: The Factory — indoor, sweaty, bass driven. The Tropicana — florescent lights and cocktail glasses. The Pyramid — the innovative up and comers, the best crowd. The Palace — the main stage, the all star rooster. I checked out dirtybird player, Chris Lorenzo and "Jack" hit maker, Breach. I met my Friday night dance partner DJ Le Stephane in the Pyramid crowd, a cool Frenchman from Berlin that wanted to explore the sights and sounds of Lost. We shared a love for Dusky and Jamie Jones. I hopped over the The Palace and worked my dance skills super hard to the sexy sounds of Mr. Jamie Jones. I've seen this Hot Creation founder multiple times and his sets always manage to possess my body to move in ways that I thought would not be possible.

Saturday - Day 2
All aboard the MK cruise! I set sail with my captain hat on the Maltese coast alongside a house music MVP. The boat party was four hours of great vibes, beautiful sea sights and drunken debauchery. The event was one of the highlights of my trip, I felt at home with my fellow LA resident and favorite producer. An English boy that resembled a storybook like prince charming character, grabbed my captain hat and pulled me into his friends and back into the crowd. I got acquainted with people that were as obsessed with music just much as me, all passionate and knowledgeable individuals with good taste. It's funny to see what is considered underground in the U.S., can be labeled as mainstream in the U.K.. From sea to land, I headed back to the stomping grounds. With no rest in between, I noticed that this concert goer veteran could not go as hard as her younger peers. I sat alone in the corner during Jackmaster, hoping to catch my second wind. Prince charming found me, pulled me on to the floor once again, grabbed me a drink and grooved the night away. One of the best performers at AMP Lost & Found goes to a live set from Ten Walls. The crowd went absolutely insane when he dropped his breakthrough 2014 mega hit "Walking With Elephants." I ended my evening with Cajmere, Redlight, Duke Dumont and back to MK.

Sunday - Day 3
The final night saw the much anticipated Catz N' Dogz. The funky and 808 driven sounds of this Berlin & Poland based duo got me thinking, "This is the last night, let's kill it." The dynamic between the two was obvious as they were best friends and music craftsmen.. I couldn't wipe a smile off my face watching them as they swayed to their beats and got down with the fans. I ran over to my favorite, my love, Tiga, and watched the Palace audience go nuts during, "Bugatti". I greeted Tiga screaming in his DJ booth, " I MADE IT!", as I told him a few weeks prior backstage at the Boys Noize anniversary party that I would be making this long and crazy journey. He instantly had the biggest smile on his face. Green Velvet followed and played a banger play list of all time favorites like, "Bigger Than Prince", and "Shake n Pop". I was enamored with every second of his set.

Back to life, back to reality — I find myself still recovering a week later. I find it challenging to adjust from such a massive week of madness on the other side of the world back to the same old, same ole at home. I have an itch and a thirst now to conquer new cultures, experiences, and uncharted land. I got lost but I don't think I want to be found.

Written by: Desiree Ann