We’ve often heard about the dance music ‘underground’ during its long history in the UK. Well, one of its leading figures is taking that phrase literally and plans to play the world’s deepest rave in an abandoned mine in a couple of weeks.
The DJ in question is drum n’ bass don Roni Size, who is set to perform at – or rather, in – a disused Welsh slate mine some 1,375 feet beneath the surface on Thursday-week (15 October).
And before you ask, yes, there will be some partygoers in attendance. Ravers will have to traverse dark stairways and descend on zip lines down sheer rock faces to reach the deep underground chamber where Size will perform. The lucky few to make it down there are to be picked out in a ballot.
Being a veteran of Bristol’s old skool rave scene, Size is well-versed in setting up his equipment in unusual places: "Back in Bristol, we’d put on a party wherever we could, and some of the sounds came from what we called happy accidents, playing a track at the wrong speed, hearing something that sounds new but still works," he said.
"Raves could take place in some crazy and unexpected places, on someone's front lawn, down in tunnels, but what I've always done is play to the environment and the crowd.
"The set is a living, breathing thing that reflects the people there with you."
The Reprazent man’s set will be broadcast on G-Shock Radio. How, you might well ask? Well, apparently specialist field recording equipment will be used and geophones and hydrophones will capture "frequencies travelling through rock, mud and water" as a way to record the mine’s acoustic response, with the reverberated sounds then used in the live mix.
"How much more could you reflect the environment than by pumping a set into the mountain, hearing the sound travelling through the slate, rock and mud, and bringing it back into the mix? It's the most underground of underground raves ever," Size added.
Assuming he doesn’t get buried under a pile of slate on 15 October, the breakbeat icon will play his biggest gig in some time next year. He’s announced an outdoor show at Bristol’s Lloyds Amphitheatre on 25 June 2027, which will double up as a celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of Reprazent’s New Forms album, which won the Mercury Prize that year. Fellow drum n’ bass legends Fabio and Grooverider will be supporting.
And if you fancy witnessing the deepest underground rave ever, get yourself in the ballot for tickets at the G-Shock website here.
