Bugged Out celebrated their fifth weekender with a fourth, three-day festival at Butlins Bognor Regis. We were there to drown our dry January.
He Said/She Said: The Hydra Electric Minds NYD 2016
The Hydra drew a close to their 2015 series at London’s Studio Spaces with a final blow out on New Year’s Day powered by Electric Minds.
He Said/She Said: Ostgut Ton Zehn at Studio Spaces
Berlin label Ostgut Ton label enjoyed its 10th birthday this year and brought the celebrations to London with a Hydra party at Studio Space on Saturday, December 12th
He Said/She Said: Elrow presents El Bronx Rowshow at Studio 338
Barcelona’s Elrow returned to London’s Studio 338 on Saturday, December 12th with its Bronx-themed party.
Christmas remixed: 10 alternative tunes to soundtrack the festive season
We’ve compiled 10 remixes that take in lounge, disco, 8-bit, drum & bass, electro and rap while retaining that festive flavour.
Take Note offers a unique insight into music industry for aspiring youngsters
Young people looking for a career in the music industry were given wise words of encouragement at the first Take Note Music Conference in London on Saturday, November 20th.
Nonclassical and Marathon! bring Minimalism to XOYO
The lines are becoming increasingly blurred between classical and electronic music. Jeff Mills, Floating Points and Pete Tong have all performed live with orchestras this year showing how computerised beats can integrate with real instruments to inspiring effect. This was the mission of contemporary classical label Nonclassical when it teamed up with French promoters Marathon! for Minimalism at London’s XOYO.
He Said/She Said: Halloween 2015
Three parties in 15 hours: Mike Barnard and Ann McManus report back from Drumcode and Found Horror Series events in London at Halloween.
Mint Festival 2015 review
Mint Festival relocated back to Leeds for two days of dance music with Sven Väth, Duke Dumont, Skepta, Hot Since 82, The Martinez Brothers, Seth Troxler, Appollonia and Maya Jane Coles.
He Said/She Said: Ceremony Festival 2015
The Found series hosted their fourth London festival of the summer in Finsbury Park on Saturday, September 13th bringing together acts from across the dance music spectrum for Ceremony. Mike Barnard and Ann McManus go head-to-head with their views.
United Festival 2015 review
25 years of rave music was celebrated in Finsbury Park at the second United Festival on Sunday, September 14th. Mike Barnard got involved in the fifth and final Found series day festival of 2015.
Ceremony Festival 2015 review
Ceremony Festival returned to Finsbury Park for a second year on Saturday, September 13th with its mission statement of celebrating the 360 degrees of dance music. The Martinez Brothers, DJ Sneak, Todd Edwards, Skepta, JME, Armand Van Helden, Sidney Charles and Mike Skinner were among the DJs providing a soundtrack of house, grime, hip hop, soul, garage and techno, Mike Barnard was there to take it all in.
Arcadia Spectacular Bristol 2015 review
The Arcadia Spider landed in Queen’s Square, Bristol for two nights showcasing its new Metamorphosis show seen at Glastonbury.
Dimensions Festival 2015 review
Dimensions Festival returned for its fourth year in Pula, Croatia at the end of August for five days of underground music including a headline set from George Clinton / Parliament / Funkadelic.
He Said/She Said: 51st State Festival 2015
The Found series of five music day festivals in London continued with its celebration of house music at 51st State in Cockfosters on Saturday, August 8th. Mike Barnard and Ann McManus were there.
He Said/She Said: Farr Festival 2015
The sixth Farr Festival tucked away in Bygrave Woods, Hertfordshire, UK limited its capacity to 5,000 and refocused the fun among the trees. From Thursday, July 15th to the early hours of Sunday, July 18th house, techno, reggae, disco and drum and bass were heard across five stages featuring Gerd Janson, DK Koze, Toddla T, Tom Trago, Leon Vynehall, Heidi, Prosumer, Tama Sumo and Erol Alkan. Mike Barnard and Freya van Lessen were there to give their takes on the boutqiue dance music festival.
Farr Festival 2015 review
Boutique dance music festival Farr returned for its sixth year in Hertfordshire’s Bygrave Woods, UK, with a new set up taking the focus of the party back into the much-loved woodland.
He Said/She Said: Sónar Barcelona 2015
Sónar returned to Barcelona for its 22nd year in the Spanish city, the place where the now global festival of music, creativity and technology began. Mike Barnard and Ann McManus reflect on their stage-hopping experiences.
Sónar Barcelona 2015 Report
We return to the Barcelona edition of Sónar 2015 to report on the three days of the festival’s music including sets by The Chemical Brothers, Hot Chip, Duran Duran, Squarepusher, Autechre, Tiga, Siriusmodeselektor, Palms Trax and Adam Beyer.
Secretsundaze 10 Years in Barcelona Party
Secretsundaze celebrated 10 years of parties during Barcelona’s OFF Week on Sunday, June 22nd with their annual takeover of two spots in Poble Espanyol. On the evidence of this 10th anniversary, there will surely be another 10 years in this gorgeous setting.
Southport Weekender 52 review
An incredible 52 weekends since 1987 have been given over to the soulful sounds of the Southport Weekender – a three day festival of music that speaks to the emotions as much as the feet. From Friday, May 8th to Sunday, May 10th the event returned for the final time at Butlins Minehead with headliners Masters at Work, Kings of House, Kerri Chandler and Chez Damier joined by crowd favourites and rising stars from across the disco, house, R&B, garage and bass scenes but the emphasis always on keeping it soulful. The sun-soaked finale made for a fitting finale before the organisers focus on new venture SuncéBeat in Croatia.
He Said/She Said: Found Festival 2015
Found Festival relocated to south London for its third year on Saturday, June 13th with Guy Gerber, Nick Curly, Ron Trent, George FitzGerald and Ellen Allien. Now in Brockwell Park, Brixton, the urban dance music festival featured five stages of house, techno and disco, and is the second event in the Found series which picks up against in August. Mike Barnard and Ann McManus offer their views.
2Sides: Found presents Born & Bred 2015
The London sound of underground UK bass culture was heard in Hackney’s Haggerston Park at Born & Bred, the first of five one-day music festivals in the Found series. Four stages of garage, grime, drum & bass, dubstep and jungle included Wiley, Goldie, Zinc, Digital Mystikz, Joker, Loefah, Youngsta, DJ Luck & MC Neat and Oxide & Neutrino on Saturday, June 6th. Mike Barnard and Kyle Webster checked out the festival’s debut.
He Said/She Said: We Are FSTVL 2015
The UK Festival Award-winning We Are FSTVL returned to Upminster in Essex for the third edition of the two-day dance event on Saturday, May 30th and Sunday, May 31st. Carl Cox, Steve Angello, Loco Dice and Sven Väth were among the headliners at Damyns Hall Aerodrome for what was a weekend of big production undermined by transport issues on Saturday night. Mike Barnard and Ann McManus offer their sides of the story.
Smallville Records at Find Me in the Dark
Hamburg record store Smallville celebrated the 10th birthday of its record label at Corsica Studios in London, England at Find Me in the Dark on Sunday, May 3rd. The label returned for another all night session in room one with headliner Lawrence and label-mate Moomin getting three hour sets while Move D got a three-hour set in room two as the respected clubnight brought good-time vibes over the bank holiday.