Festivals
Festivals
Creamfields 2023: Underlined
Our pick of the big and small names you won't want to miss at the world's leading dance festival
Creamfields is back with another double-header weekend covering South and North on 26-28 May at Hylands Park, Chelmsford and 24-27 August at Daresbury, Cheshire. With the crème de la crème of EDM, house, techno, drum & bass and trance set to play, here’s our nine unmissable names at Creamfields 2023, perfect for when you’re deciding which stage to head to next…
Carl Cox
Legendary party-starter Carl Cox has “given up DJing”, but before you panic, it’s not what you think. Having showcased his impressive new ‘hybrid live’ setup last year via a Radio 1 Essential Mix, Creamfields have secured the bag for a UK festival debut of the project. Incorporating live production via Ableton alongside his infamously raucous, high-energy DJ sets – topped with Creamfields’ world-renowned mind-bending visuals – this already feels like a highlight of the weekend. You can catch Carl’s hybrid set on Saturday at Creamfields South, and Friday at Creamfields North.
Swedish House Mafia
![Fred again.. x Swedish House Mafia - Turn On The Lights again.. (feat. Future) [Visualiser]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q22MCFC0CP0/0.jpg)
Big-room behemoths and ultimate EDM supergroup, Swedish House Mafia finally returned from their hiatus with new music last year, enjoying more huge success following their collab with man-of-the-moment, Fred Again…, on anthem of the summer, ‘Turn Out The Lights’. Renowned for their jaw-dropping production levels, they’re set to return to Creamfields for the first time since 2019, headlining both Creamfields South and North on the Sunday with a set that is sure to nod at both the nostalgic and the new from the trio.
Sam Divine
Dubbed the “First Lady of Defected”, Sam Divine is a seriously influential figurehead in house music. Combining oodles of personality with a passion for deep, Balearic and vocal house, Divine has become an Ibiza icon renowned for getting the party well and truly started. Expect up-lifting, positively charged, chunky house, perfect for a fiesta. She plays Saturday at Creamfields South and Sunday at Creamfields North.
Trance Wax
House DJ/producer Ejeca’s alias Trance Wax is a ‘love letter’ to early-era trance, anonymously releasing a string of revered techno and breakbeat infused edits of golden-era classics back in 2016. A Boiler Room, an Essential Mix and an album of originals on Anjunabeats were soon to follow, cementing trance as well and truly back and putting himself at the helm of the resurgence. Expect warm and fuzzy nostalgia and a tour through the new school in a genre defying, peak-time, joy-inducing set. He’ll be at Creamfields North on Friday.
VTSS
VTSS is the darling of the new-wave, high speed, industrial techno scene that has recently taken the world by storm, pioneering her own uncompromising take on the sound. Regular at Berlin’s iconic Berghain, VTSS infuses elements of speed-trance, hardcore and EBM in her sets, but her inspirations come from ghetto-tech, electro and new-wave too. If unrelenting, fast-paced, expansive techno is your bag, VTSS is a must-see at Creamfields North on Saturday.
Serum
Serum may be one third of superstar drum and bass trio and Hospital Records signees Kings of the Rollers, but the triple-award winning DJ and producer is prolific in his own right, releasing records since 2004 and being a regular on the scene’s biggest labels and raves. As the co-founder of Souped Up records, Serum champions forward-thinking drum and bass that has pioneered a new wave of jump-up, injecting new life into the genre. He’ll be bringing his unique blend of dark, high-energy, D’n’B and breaks to Creamfields South and North, playing a Saturday stage at both.
Ewan McVicar
Following the success of his breakout track, ‘Tell Me Something Good’ back in 2021, Ewan McVicar has enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom. A diverse selector and prolific producer, with releases on iconic labels such as Ninja Tune, Optimo, Shall Not Fade, Nervous and Patrick Topping’s Trick, McVicar is a purveyor of good vibes who fearlessly and comfortably straddles genres and keeps the energy electric. If you’re up for a relentless, up-tempo journey through top-tier club tracks, be sure to check Ewan out at Creamfields North on Saturday.
Max Dean
Despite only being 21, rising star, Essex native, and self-taught DJ/producer Max Dean is making waves in the new-school groovy tech house scene. Dean runs NEXUP, an extended sets concept that has just finished touring the UK, taking in esteemed club Phonox in London. Now, Paradise’s Jamie Jones has taken Dean under his wing, where he and Jamie will play on the label’s takeover of the award-winning Runway stage on Saturday, which makes its debut at Creamfields South this year. Get your wafting hand at the ready and expect deep, building rollers.
Hannah Laing
Newcomer Hannah Laing has been popping off over the last year, cementing herself as one of the most exciting artists around. Following nods from Radio 1 Dance and a string of massive releases (including an EP on tech-house titan Patrick Topping’s Trick label, a sold-out UK tour and a forthcoming Boiler Room), Hannah will be stepping up to play with Trick’s takeover of the Runway stage – their second year in a row at Runway – alongside Topping himself. Expect pumping, driving house and deep, techno rollers. Catch them both on the Sunday at Creamfields South, and on Saturday at Creamfields North.
Photo credit: Anthony Mooney / Creamfields
