Fabio and Grooverider

IT was invented in London, and for 30 years the rolling deep frequencies of drum and bass has filled dance floors.

And now a dedicated festival celebrating drum and bass – and its various spin-off genres – takes place this weekend.

Project Six takes over Brockwell Park, Brixton, during the day – and then moves on to 10 different venues.

In the park during the daytime festivities, Goldie headlines the Metalheadz arena, while on the main stage Fabio and Grooverider are joined by the Outlook Orchestra.

With six stages, Project Six has plenty of platforms to offer plenty of styles. Organisers say the focus is on drum and bass – but have found room for techno, hip-hop and grime. And they add that the festival, with a range of after-parties, will highlight and celebrate dance music culture.

The team behind Project 6 said: “We’re proud to announce a carefully curated line-up that covers a daytime festival and 10 nighttime sessions across some of London’s best dance floors. Clubs are a vital part of this city’s vibrant music scene and we wanted to create a festival where music lovers can enjoy music outdoors in the summer sun, while placing equal focus on the city’s treasured club spaces. Project 6 is about community, supporting venues, artists, labels, collectives and bringing people together celebrating the music we love.”

And the Project Six team add that this hybrid festival was a practical way to back the venues that have provided a platform for so many performers and DJs over the years. They said: “London’s nightlife has been hit by the cost of living crisis and soaring inflation rates. The impact has been felt by many clubs and music venues struggling to stay afloat. By working with these iconic venues Project 6 hopes to highlight the importance of London’s nightlife – and in doing so, extend our daytime party to unite music lovers and support venues.”

At Fabric in Clerkenwell, three rooms will host Project Six DJs Channel Tres, P5NT0 (Skinny Macho) and Lauren Duffus. At the Village Underground in Shoreditch, Junglism is the order of the day with sets from Tully, Tim Reaper and Coco Bryce.

Drum and Bass originators Fabio and Grooverider move form main stage fun in the park to present 30 years of classics at The Steel Yard, while at the Brixton Electric, DJ and producer Shy FX promises one of the most interesting of all 10 after parties – a live set mixing reggae anthems mixed up with drum and bass classics.

It means the Project Six team have some club-crawling to do.

They added: “The key Project 6 genres of Drum & Bass, Rap, Electronica and Dubstep will be explored in some of our favourite rave spots across the capital, including legendary venues such as Fabric, Electric Brixton, XOYO and Steelyard. We’re proud to have created ties with such esteemed brands for the inaugural edition of Project 6, and are definitely going to try and take in a bit of each show that night if we can. To choose one would be far too difficult.”

See: https://www.project6festival.com/