Music

Festival Preview: SW4 is back!

If you know anything about me, you may know that I enjoy a bit of dance music. You may also know that I live South of the River. My postcode even includes those three magic symbols: SW4. Now, if that isn’t a strong enough sign then I don’t know what is.

This year is the year that I will be attending SW4 for the first ever time and I could not be more excited. Clapham Common in the summer is usually the scene of many of my more lazy Sundays spent happily lying on a blanket with dark sunglasses on, lapping up gelatos from the shop on the corner. However, this weekend the whole Common will be taken over by hundreds of artists from across the globe from superstar acts including the great Deadmau5, Above & Beyond, Alesso and Eric Prydz to homegrown talent such as Gorgon City, Eats Everything and Jamie Jones.

Like any self-respecting festival-goer, I have been studying the line-up intently and here are the top five (in no particular order) that I will be in the front row for:

Tiga & Audion B2B

For anyone who has been hitting the dancefloors of festivals and clubs this summer, you will probably have been singing about a Bugatti at one point or another. That’s right, Tiga is responsible for why you had Girl comes up to me and says ‘What you driving?’ I said ‘Bugatti’ stuck in your head for three days later. Now he brings his DJing skills to Clapham Common back-to-back with the American music producer and DJ, Audion (aka Matthew Dear). Expect a big sound and a pumped up crowd.

Skream

This summer has been all about disco and funk. The Nile Rodgers effect has spread far and wide and it’s been great to hear that sound coming out in all sorts of unexpected ways. Skream is one such artist who has really embraced the disco vibe with great remixes of tunes including Rudimental’s Hell Could Freeze ft Angel Haze as well as his own hits.

Seth Troxler

Has there ever been a cooler DJ? Any time you mention those two magic words, ‘Seth Troxler’, men look as though they just want to chest bump someone and women go weak at the knees. This is a man who has been DJing for 12 years, BBQs like a God (his pop up Smokey Tails has unfortunately just finished but look out for it in future) and he knows how to work the social media scene – he is known for posting hilarious videos. His live show is world-renowned and it’s always an honour to see the man in person.

Netsky

I love a bit of drum ‘n bass. Always have done, always will do. Netsky is a legend in this field, quite a feat at only 25 years old. He has a new album coming out this year so head down to hopefully hear some new exclusives.

My Nu Leng

There is a lot of hype around Black Butter Records and the artists that they are putting out on the scene. My Nu Leng is one such act. The Bristol based duo is always bang on when it comes to playing to the crowd, dropping their more famous remixes at all the right points. Radio 1 is giving the guys a lot of attention so you know they’re going to be big.