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Parklife 2023: Underlined
Don't miss these acts joining the Manchester festival's big name headliners
For over a decade Parklife festival has been Manchester’s ultimate gathering of rave-heads, with some of the biggest names in electronic, hip hop and pop gracing its growing list of stages.
This year sees The 1975, Aitch, The Prodigy, Little Simz, Wu-Tang Clan and Freg Again.. top the bill on 10–11 June. If the mammoth list of names beneath them seems overwhelming, fear not. Here are a few hand-picked selections worth making time for.
Chaos In The CBD
Sunday, The Valley
New Zealand brothers Ben and Louis Helliker-Hales moved to Peckham in the early 2010s and soon began etching themselves firmly into London’s underground dance scene. Their own tracks have a breezy jazz edge that pays homage to their new home, but their DJ sets cover a dynamic range of beats threaded together with busy and impulsive rhythms.
Nia Archives
Sunday, Eat Your Own Ears
This Bradford-born producer and DJ probably doesn’t need much introduction after the year she’s had, having picked up MOBO, NME, DJ Mag and BBC awards all declaring her the next big thing. But she’ll be bringing vibes, not accolades, to Heaton Park with her hook-laden D&B/jungle fusion. Don’t miss her massive take on the Brazilian classic ‘Baianá’.
DJ Paulette
Saturday, Glitterbox
Manchester’s own is a titan of English house music and underground radio; last year she won DJ Mag‘s Top 100 Lifetime Achievement Award. If you get close try and see how easy she makes it look, and expect some huge and genre-spanning drops.
Joesef
Saturday, The Parklife Stage
For fans of Arlo Parks, LEISURE and Gus Dapperton, Scotland’s Joesef makes cool and spirited alternative pop with gorgeous orchestration to match. Tracks such as ‘It’s Been A Little Heavy Lately’ and ‘Joe’ will be a perfect hit of festival euphoria on Saturday afternoon.
DJ Seinfeld
Sunday, Eat Your Own Ears
Armand Jakobsson’s DJ Seinfeld project initially started anonymously as a way to vent more of an emotionally-charged stream of electronic music than his then-main hustle, Rimbaudian. But the world wanted more of the former, and tracks such as ‘U’ and ‘These Things Will Come To Be’ show how effectively this heartfelt style fits within the ebb and flow of dance structures.
Salute
Sunday, Eat Your Own Ears
It’s fitting that Felix Nyajo, AKA Salute, shares a stage with NxWorries, given the groove-laden influence the latter has had on the Austria-born artist’s production style. Heavy on the deep house and UK garage, his DJ sets are a lot of fun.
Jyoty
Saturday, The Valley
An ultimate vibe magnet, Jyoty Singh’s greatest quality is reading the room and feeding into that energy. The Amsterdam-born DJ and broadcaster has an especially eclectic taste too, so no doubt has some surprise bangers at her disposal.
Melé
Saturday, Magic Sky
As a producer, Krissy Peers AKA Melé makes thumping four-on-the-floor beats with a clear interest in world music, and that seeps into his DJ sets too. But this isn’t a moustache-twirling, crate-digging reissuing take on the world genre, but a hard-hitting floor-filling approach harnessing the rhythmic power of Brazilian and African grooves.
JPEGMAFIA
Sunday, The Parklife Stage
For those seeking to broaden their horizons, look no further than New York rapper JPEGMAFIA, who’s been distorting and blurring the boundaries of hip hop since the mid-2010s. His 2018 LP Veteran is probably the most accessible entry point, but expect a chaotic and raucous live show.
Parklife returns to Heaton Park 10–11 June 2023 – find tickets here
