- Even if you've never been to Bangface, there's a good chance you'll already know the drill. Since its inception in 2003, the rave promoter has hosted eight editions of its flagship weekender as well as parties across Europe. Its instantly recognisable aesthetic—raving puns, acid smileys and an insane number of inflatables—coupled with a musical backbone of breakcore, gabber and jungle is a heady and unique combination.
If this all sounds a bit silly, that's because it is. At the latest weekender, during the first hour or so of each day, the main room's visuals consisted exclusively of flashing memes. Every chalet at the venue—Pontins Southport—broadcast Bangface TV, hosted by DJ Detweiler's Chin Stroke Records. Welcome packs included branded candy floss, cigarette papers and personal mirrors. This all contributes to a fun, immature atmosphere, though for such a seemingly frivolous event, the attention to detail is impressive. Firstly there are the soundsystems, which are easily among the most powerful I've heard in the UK, if not Europe. Then there's the lineup, which each year features a mix of returning favourites and acts that push the boundaries of the crowd's expectations.
This year, I skipped the rapid kick drums of the opening ceremony and opted instead for Nightwave's set in the second space, Face Room. She started with Prince, lulling the weekend into a false sense of security, before touching on jacking house, techno and ballroom, including Rod Lee & Ms. Peaches' "Boy Don't Waste My Time" and Blawan's "Shader." Jerome Hill followed with an insane set of unclassifiable rave rarities. Ceephax Acid Crew was his usual good-humoured self in the main Bang Room, letting out a false sigh as he ended with his own "Castilian," a Bangface classic. ("Well I guess I've got to play this one," he announced.) Then, just before Dave Clarke stepped up for his headline performance, the fire alarm went off and the building was evacuated. In the end this only delayed things by 30 minutes, and Clarke was in fine form when he returned to the stage. AnD were as destructive as ever in Face, while in Queen Vic (the pub and third room), a Japanese takeover had lurched into action. Over the course of five hours, a number of the nation's best-loved breakcore artists played wild sets full of hyperactive kicks, screeching breaks and high-pitched anime samples. The atmosphere was electric and the whole night a triumph, with DJ Sharpnel's set a personal highlight.
I roused on Saturday and turned on the telly to find a man eating an entire raw chicken. "Should we stop him?" pondered Ned and Bert, the show's hosts. "Nah, we've got ten minutes to fill." Later, when it was time to settle back into the music, I began my night listening to Sam Binga's footwork and jungle mutations in Bang. Over in Face, Brainfeeder associate Iglooghost played mostly hip-hop, a sound I hadn't heard at the festival since Flying Lotus played in 2009. The mood was lively, with the audience responding well to the chilled beats as they geared up for the evening ahead. Bassline supergroup TQD, AKA Royal-T, DJ Q and Flava D, were more boisterous in their selections, while The Squire Of Gothos, who blasted through a set made up almost entirely of their own tracks, showed why they sound like no other act around. The duo are regulars at Bangface, but something about this performance felt extra special—a homecoming of sorts.
Rephlex veteran Wisp, who played Bang on Sunday, was one of the most hotly anticipated acts of the weekend, and he didn't disappoint. I love seeing anyone associated with the UK label because you never know what to expect going in. Sunday's live set was a classic case in point: Wisp started with 30 minutes of energetic acid house and subtle breakbeats, followed by an explosive gear-shift into his trademark melodic breakcore. Over in Face, legendary jungle label Moving Shadow's all-night takeover was underway, featuring 2 Bad Mice, Aquasky, Cloud 9 and more. Their perfectly paced rollers were exactly what was needed at that stage in the festival. Pinch and Sherwood's rib-shaking dub rhythms had a similarly healing effect on me, although they suffered from a poor turnout, as had The Black Dog before them. Machinedrum's live show brought out the powerful contrasts and intricacies of his recent Human Energy album, while Shobaleader One's live interpretations of Squarepusher classics worked in a way that live bands rarely do in electronic music.
The music at Bangface was fantastic but punishing, and the post-rave exhaustion was like nothing I've ever experienced. That said, it was totally worth it. You can see why it's spawned such a loyal and committed following. People fly in from all over the world, returning year-on-year once they've caught the bug. As myself and some friends pulled out of Pontins early on Monday afternoon, gabber blasted from a van with a massive soundsystem. Various stragglers, probably still up from the night before, were dotted around it, refusing to let the weekend come to an end.
This year, I skipped the rapid kick drums of the opening ceremony and opted instead for Nightwave's set in the second space, Face Room. She started with Prince, lulling the weekend into a false sense of security, before touching on jacking house, techno and ballroom, including Rod Lee & Ms. Peaches' "Boy Don't Waste My Time" and Blawan's "Shader." Jerome Hill followed with an insane set of unclassifiable rave rarities. Ceephax Acid Crew was his usual good-humoured self in the main Bang Room, letting out a false sigh as he ended with his own "Castilian," a Bangface classic. ("Well I guess I've got to play this one," he announced.) Then, just before Dave Clarke stepped up for his headline performance, the fire alarm went off and the building was evacuated. In the end this only delayed things by 30 minutes, and Clarke was in fine form when he returned to the stage. AnD were as destructive as ever in Face, while in Queen Vic (the pub and third room), a Japanese takeover had lurched into action. Over the course of five hours, a number of the nation's best-loved breakcore artists played wild sets full of hyperactive kicks, screeching breaks and high-pitched anime samples. The atmosphere was electric and the whole night a triumph, with DJ Sharpnel's set a personal highlight. I roused on Saturday and turned on the telly to find a man eating an entire raw chicken. "Should we stop him?" pondered Ned and Bert, the show's hosts. "Nah, we've got ten minutes to fill." Later, when it was time to settle back into the music, I began my night listening to Sam Binga's footwork and jungle mutations in Bang. Over in Face, Brainfeeder associate Iglooghost played mostly hip-hop, a sound I hadn't heard at the festival since Flying Lotus played in 2009. The mood was lively, with the audience responding well to the chilled beats as they geared up for the evening ahead. Bassline supergroup TQD, AKA Royal-T, DJ Q and Flava D, were more boisterous in their selections, while The Squire Of Gothos, who blasted through a set made up almost entirely of their own tracks, showed why they sound like no other act around. The duo are regulars at Bangface, but something about this performance felt extra special—a homecoming of sorts.
Rephlex veteran Wisp, who played Bang on Sunday, was one of the most hotly anticipated acts of the weekend, and he didn't disappoint. I love seeing anyone associated with the UK label because you never know what to expect going in. Sunday's live set was a classic case in point: Wisp started with 30 minutes of energetic acid house and subtle breakbeats, followed by an explosive gear-shift into his trademark melodic breakcore. Over in Face, legendary jungle label Moving Shadow's all-night takeover was underway, featuring 2 Bad Mice, Aquasky, Cloud 9 and more. Their perfectly paced rollers were exactly what was needed at that stage in the festival. Pinch and Sherwood's rib-shaking dub rhythms had a similarly healing effect on me, although they suffered from a poor turnout, as had The Black Dog before them. Machinedrum's live show brought out the powerful contrasts and intricacies of his recent Human Energy album, while Shobaleader One's live interpretations of Squarepusher classics worked in a way that live bands rarely do in electronic music. The music at Bangface was fantastic but punishing, and the post-rave exhaustion was like nothing I've ever experienced. That said, it was totally worth it. You can see why it's spawned such a loyal and committed following. People fly in from all over the world, returning year-on-year once they've caught the bug. As myself and some friends pulled out of Pontins early on Monday afternoon, gabber blasted from a van with a massive soundsystem. Various stragglers, probably still up from the night before, were dotted around it, refusing to let the weekend come to an end.