After 3 years of waiting, mythical night parties, artwork, underground music, queer culture and a new collaboration with the Block9 logo promise maximum Block9 satisfaction. Block9 organizers are very happy to announce their return to Glastonbury Festival in 2022: fifteen years. after the release of NYC Downlow. This year the artistic duo returns to their non-secular home in Somerset with two impressive releases, Block9 East and Block9 West, with talent adding Todd Edwards, Honey Dijon, Floorplan, Justin Strauss (Just Rite), Steffi, LSDXOXO, a loose parties birthday bash and a Glastonbury first. It’s going to be big!
For the first time two of the UK’s largest and most productive cultural events in the world are coming together this year, Block9 is proud to welcome a collaborative partnership between two of the largest and most productive cultural events in the world: the Notting Hill Carnival and Glastonbury Festival. United through their shared history, values and goals, this year the two come together to bring the cream of West London carnival culture to the heart of rural Somerset for the first time. Featuring the world’s first 100 percent green electric CarnivalArray, the collaboration will co-host carnival processions on the festival site, complete with dancers, Moko Jumbies and masquerades. It will feature a sound formula featuring new Caribbean sounds from Notting Hill’s smartest selectors and DJs, with post-procession recovery sessions at the local Block9 East base featuring an eight-time winner of the International Championship of Bands. Panoramic steel, the Mangrove Steelband. Block9 West sees the highly anticipated return of 2022 with queer nightlife establishment NYC Downlow and its backroom counterpart Meat Rack. And for just one year, Genosys Soundformula will pay homage to the legacy of loose parties, DIY rave counterculture, and music as a form of political protest, 30 years after the notorious Castlemorton.
Next door, Block9 East hosts IICON, the epic milestone of our virtual post-truth era, and this new collaboration with the Notting Hill Carnival logo. After debuting at the last Festival in 2019, IICON returns, Block9 L’Est’s immersive audiovisual arena. Taking the form of a colossal, anonymous head, IICON is a pseudo-religious monument to the terrifying new realities emerging in our virtual post-truth era. These massive sculptural art paintings are brought to life through videomapping, providing a long-running vision of music at the forefront of today’s underground. IICON highlights will include: Fast rising star Shygirl (live) blends hyper-real electronic music with her signature logo top fashion and pershapeance art. Hercules And Love Affair (Redux) features tracks from his new flagship album in a live version created especially for IICON. Philly DJ, maker, and pershapeer LSDXOXO is leading the new wave of techno artists who are blurring the lines between ghetto house, hardcore, electro, and techno. Detroit Underground Resistance founder Robert Hood returns to Block9 with his father and daughter gospel techno duo Floorplan. SHERELLE joins IICON’s circle of relatives for 2022 with her high-velocity sonic vision of Footpaintings, Drum ‘n’ Bass and Juke. OVERMONO (live) featuring perhaps the most popular live set in dance music today. Berghain’s ideal master of techno, Steffi, returns to Block9 with a solo form that promises pure, unadulterated electronic excellence.
IICON AV:3D Every night at IICON, Block9 presents AV:3D, an audiovisual translation of Olivier Messiaen’s masterpiece “Quatuor pour los angeles fin des temps”. The themes and narratives of the original work, created and released in a World War II prisoner of war camp, motivate this immersive examination of life lived in the virtual panopticon. BLOCK9 WEST Genosys SoundformulaThe Genosys outdoor arena was created to explore the birth of electronic dance music and its Los Angeles legacy. New for 2022, and for one year only, GENOSYS SOUNDSYSTEM celebrates the important role of music as a form of political protest and marks Castlemorton’s 30th anniversary. As the largest illegal Los Angeles rave ever held in the UK, Castlemorton resulted in the passage of the original Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, restricting the force of others to protest government policy. Today, that force is further eroded with the new Law on Surveillance and Crime that prohibits music in nonviolent protests. Gideon Berger, co-founder of Block9 with Stephen Gallos angelesgher, said: “This year, Block9 will pay tribute to the Castlemorton ethos and spirit. Thirty years the angelesters, we continue fighting for the utopian dream that Castlemorton represented. A dream of progressive music, network and inclusion, free from state control and corporate profit. Block9 is a direct descendant of the Castlemorton era and has direct ties to the other people, DJs and crew behind the era that defines rave. Today, Block9 offers a plos angelestshape festival for a new generation of artists and DJs who uphold the same political principles at the center of dance music in 1992 and 2022. ” Carrying on from a great sound formula and an old fashioned coach, Genosys Soundformula melds the spirit of old school rave with an array of top-tier electronic talent. Highlights of Genosys Soundformula will include: South London tech hero OK Williams makes her Block9 debut. Genosys – are you ready? Berghain’s Los Angeles resident Sedef Adasi, who is of Turkish origin, brings her unique and revolutionary musical style. Block9 veteran and notorious House Brawther purist performs live with us for the first time. Expect a French clos angelesssic dominance of the genre with a flos angeleswless production. Co-founder of queer nightlife collective MARICAS, Barcelona-based ISAbellos angeles comes together to tear up the dance floor in her inimitable way. After a legendary appearance at IICON in 2019, and with his new logo album just released, James Connolly returns to Bock9 in 2022 as Dance System. Berlin and Los angelesbel based record store owner Cinthie, highly regarded the world over for her crystal clear productions and highly demanding ear of hers, gets behind the decks for a long-awaited debut with Block9.
NYC DownlowBlock9 West welcomes you back to its pièce de résistance, the NYC Downlow. A temporary multi-room club area reads in a life-size movie set reproduction of a seedy New York restroom and steakhouse circa 1982. Resident Advisor calls the NYC Downlow “categorically one of the most productive clubs of the world”. . . but don’t take it away from them. Take it from the motley crew of gender go-go-boy butchers and an army of flirtatious dancers and performers, who will play host to DJs from across the foreign queer underground. And remember: what happens at NYC Downlow, stays at NYC Downlow. . . Musical highlights from NYC Downlow will include: Fifteen years after his music was conducted at the first NYC Downlow in 2007, Todd Edwards, the Godfather of UK Garage, New Jersey’s top export noted is even though it all comes home. The youth of Downlow will be waiting with open arms to welcome you to the NYC Downlow family. Honey Dijon returns to the Somerset steambox to bring the original reality of New York City. Soul Summit Music (NYC), Brooklyn’s loose netpainting PA system, helps keep original New York area music netpaintings alive. Rave royalty, Grace, of the original loose party sound system, DiY, returns to her NYCDL residency to teach and constitute true House music in its purest form. Justin Strauss is one of the most sought after manufacturers in the world. The paintings of him with Tina Turner, Beyonce, Luther Vandross, Depeche Mode, Jimmy Cliff, B-52, Sergio Mendez speak for themselves. Steve Fabus’ DJ career predates the birth of area music itself. His legendary residences in the 1970s and 1980s in New York and San Francisco make Steve one of the most revered visitors Block9 has ever had to touch. The Big Apple will host Pride celebrations throughout the city. Virginia from Berlin remains one of Germany’s most prominent talents. The wisdom of her house is time for none. Prepare for her to kill! Original house legend DJ Paulette had heavyweight residencies during the golden age of dance music in the UK. Initially at the Hacienda in Manchester from 1992 to 1995, then at Heaven and Ministry of Sound in London from 1996 to 2000.
The Meat RackLocated on the back of the NYC Downlow, find The Meat Rack. Hot, dark and sweaty, The Meat Rack features the latest sordid homocentric alignment. Get ready to rub shoulders with talents like: Ukrainian space chef Alinka brings high-class vibes live and straight to the deepest, darkest corners of the Meat Rack. Veteran New York House singer Mandel Turner brings soul vibes from Deep House. Future newcomer heavyweight Tom Jay will run it on the Meat Rack this year. Beware of space leaders, Tom has serious weapons in his bag. Dungeon Meat, serves 4×4 dirt and sordidness like no other duo in space. Other Meat Rack vibes featured through Brother Nebula, Wes Baggaley, Mr Redley and Gina Breeze Highlights of NYC Downlow’s performances will include:
Returning to The NYC Downlow this year is the main force that is MAUDE ADAMS AND ALL THESE KIDS: East London’s functional troupe, featuring Drag Queens and Kings, Gopass Boys and Butchers, directed by JONNY WOO. This year’s themes are: THURSDAY NIGHT: KINK Get ready for a super sexy opening night with naughty looks and sexy couture. Strutting and swaying in leather, rubber, harnesses, corsets, jocks, culottes, skintight streetwear and equestrian couture. FRIDAY NIGHT: THE LOVE BALL Inspired by Suzanne Bartsch’s legendary New York event and the New York Ball created by the Black queer, Latino/Latina/Latinx communities of the city. LOVE IS LOVE ! SATURDAY NIGHT: TROPICANA CLUB It’s time to dress for the pool with swimsuits, bikinis, briefs, flip flops and thongs of nothing. It’s a summer afternoon: dress appropriately. SUNDAY NIGHT: Las Vegas Sunday is the last night after Diana Ross on The Pyramid Stage. Go BIG and then leave home with VEGAS EXTRAVAGANZA! Great looks and big hair worn across the biggest names.
Whatever you do, do it BIG!