Music Festival Calendar UK 2008

Due to various work commitments in London this summer, I've decided not to go abroad at all and put all my hard-earned dosh into a packed out festival season in the UK. I've come across a bit ofa problem however - I've found it quite difficult to find a clear calendar line-up of all the festivals I want to go to so I can avoid clashes and plan my summer.

One or two websites have done this but not really in a clear way, so here's a list of music festivals going on in the UK. They're either dance festivals or have a dance element to them - enjoy!!

April (2 Festivals)

April 25th Bang Face Weekender
April 26th Bang Face Weekender
April 27th Bang Face Weekender/Love Music Hate Racism Carnival

May (3 Festivals)

May 10th Radio One Big Weekend
May 11th Radio One Big Weekend

May 23rd Run To The Sun
May 24th Gatecrasher Summer Soundsystem/Run To The Sun
May 25th Gatecrasher Summer Soundsystem/Run To The Sun
May 26th Run To The Sun

June (3 Festivals)

June 7th Rockness
June 8th Rockness

June 9th Beachbreak Live
June 10th Beachbreak Live
June 11th Beachbreak Live
June 11th Beachbreak Live

June 27th Glastonbury
June 28th Glastonbury
June 29th Glastonbury

July (5 Festivals)

July 3rd O2 Wireless Festival
July 4th O2 Wireless Festival
July 5th O2 Wireless Festival

July 18th Glade
July 19th Glade/Lovebox Weekender (London)
July 20th Glade/Lovebox Weekender (London)

July 24th Secret Garden Party
July 25th Global Gathering/Secret Garden Party
July 26th Global Gathering/Secret Garden Party
July 27th Secret Garden Party

August (4 Festivals)

August 1 Big Chill
August 2 Big Chill
August 3 Big Chill

August 8th Bloom
August 9th Bloom
August 10th Bloom

August 16th V Festival
August 17th V Festival

August 23rd Creamfields
August 24th Creamfields

September (1 Festival)

September 5 Bestival
September 6 Bestival
September 7 Bestival

So there you go - I've added a couple of smaller ones in there as alternatives to the big ones (e.g. Secret Garden Party) Below are the big three music festivals in Europe. Benicassim clashes with Glade unfortunately, but both the others are good to go.

The Big Three in Europe

June 19th Sonar
June 20th Sonar
June 21st Sonar

July 10th Exit
July 11th Exit
July 12th Exit
July 13th Exit

July 17th Benicassim
July 18th Benicassim
July 19th Benicassim
July 20th Benicassim

Hope that's helpful, if it is spread the word!!

Breakbeat extravaganza from DJ Gena (sweden), High Eight (NSB Radio) and The Freestylers (and news about GLADE!)

First up we have Swedish DJ Gena who now plays mainly dubstep as part of All Out Dubstep, a Swedish dubstep crew. But it is was this moody breakbeat and breakstep mix, called Bumrush which caught my attention on http://www.dj-gena.com/

DJ Gena Mixtape - Bumrush.mp3
Tracklisting JUST IN!

1. Ed 209- the man
2. CNM- wind it up (remix)
3. D- Ranged- bass deprovation
4. Bassrock meets Anti Science- locked on!
5. Screwface- army of darkness
6. Anti Science/ Double Negative- warning
7. Baobinga & ID- extravaganza man
8. Mark One- stargate '92 remix
9. Dubchild- new era
10. Dubchild- bumbaclart
11. Dubchild- warnin' dem
12. Warlock- ghost dog
13. Elemental- tribute
14. Search & Destroy- detox
15. Ekaj- ethanol
16. Toasty- splash

Great stuff there, and will work my way through the dubstep mixes once I've got my laptop reconnected to some proper bass!
Secondly it's High Eight (real name Neil Briggs), who started out as one half of Future Funk Squad with Glen Nicholls. As a DJ, High Eight has played across the UK with the likes of Rennie Pilgrem, Chris Carter, Freestylers, and Stanton Warriors, and internationally at events such as the Love Parade in San Francisco, and Earthdance in LA. In 2006 Neil made his Breakspoll debut playing a set at the legendary Fabric club in London.

The mix is called "Back To Mine ish" and showcases some of the more chilled breaks sounds out there.

High Eight - Back To Mine(ish).mp3

Tracklisting:

1. Method Man - Release Yo’Delf (Prodigy Remix)
2. Tipper - Ton Of Brix
3. Global Communication - The Way (Secret Ingredients Mix)
4. Motor - Bleep #1
5. Shiloh - Melt
6. Future Funk Squad - Deep Inside (High Eight Remix)
7. Jariten - Flooded
8. Christian J - Nightfigher 2007
9. Beep! - The Flow
10. Spaz - Brilliant Blast

You can catch Neil playing fortnightly on NSB Radio on The Re:Connect Show, as well as at Glade 2008.
Glade looks to be another storming line-up on the breaks front, with the Breaksday tent alone presenting (amongst others) Aquasky, Beat Assassins, Ben & Lex, Bodysnatchers, Ctrl Z, Drummatic Twins, Elite Force, High Eight, Atomic Hooligan, Madox, Noisia, Plump DJs and Stanton Warriors. It's the only dedicated breaks tent at any festival in the world which runs for a full three days, and it's a must on the to-do list for this summer! You can buy tickets here for £125.

Meanwhile closer to home, the man behind R.I.P. (a predominantly student night which has seen Tom Neville, FC Kahuna, Hostage, Vicarious Bliss and Hannah Holland grace the decks at Studio 24, The Caves, and Liquid Rooms over the past year or so) is going out with a huge BANG after booking megastars The Freestylers for his final bash on May 17th at The Caves. Check all the Facebook info here

Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey, aka The Freestylers, have been involved into the dance scene since the late 80’s both as DJs and producers. Cantor has also recorded as Cut n’ Paste, 2 Fat Buddhas and Fresca All Stars, while Harvey has worked with Rebel MC and Definition of Sound.

They're also solely responsible for getting me into breaks with their fantastic album Raw as Fuck (which you can buy here) I saw them first at the now defunct Hi:Fi festival near Winchester (used to be Homelands) alongside Scratch Perverts and Plumps. Breaktism of fire!