Clubs

There’s a simple reason why South West Four sells out in advance every year and it’s not because the sun always shines on Clapham Common over the August bank holiday. Blue skies are a bonus, but the most popular DJs in the world playing in the heart of London explains why 20,000 people book early. ‘For me this festival is like coming home,’ says Carl Cox, who headlines the main stage as he did two years ago when even a torrential downpour failed to dampen the raving enthusiasm. ‘I’m really fortunate to have grown up in south London, so when I play at SW4 I get a lot of my old school-mates coming down, and even my sisters and nieces come to see what I do.’

What he does is get the crowd going, but with Subliminal’s Erick Morillo, John Digweed of Bedrock, Fedde Le Grand and New York turntable legend Danny Tenaglia alongside Layo & Bushwacka and Paulo Mojo on the outdoor stage, it’s likely that they’ll be going pretty well by the time Cox takes to the decks. Feature continues

Originally purely a trance and hard house affair, South West Four (SW4), which parties in association with Time Out this year, now also embraces minimal techno and maximal electro as well as deep and twisted house. On the trance-led tip The Gallery and Heat UK Arena will pack in DJ Magazine’s number one DJ Armin Van Buuren with fellow Dutch master Sander van Doorn, Germany’s Markus Schulz and London’s own Sister Bliss. Amazingly, the Faithless star and original Gallery DJ is an ‘SW4 virgin’, but she’ll be back at The Gallery on August 1 for her first set at The Ministry since she played the finale night at Turnmills.

‘They’re probably the friendliest crowd in London,’ says Bliss, ‘so I can’t wait.’ She and Faithless production partner Rollo took ten weeks out in Los Angeles to focus on writing new music. ‘I want Faithless to return to the dancefloor stronger than ever and I’m sure we’ve got the tunes to do it,’ she says. ‘I’ll be road-testing some of them at The Gallery and maybe at SW4…’

Most of the tunes played at SW4 will already be track-proven in Ibiza, where about half of the SW4 headline DJs have summer residencies. That makes it a great opportunity to experience the best of the White Isle’s deck stars without having to fork out wallet-bashing Balearic prices. Imagine paying €55 (£44) admission, €12 (£9.50) for a beer and €15-€20 (£12-£16) for a vodka limon and you can see why some London promoters were less than impressed by their ‘ridiculously overcrowded’ experience at Cocoon at Amnesia.

Mind you, Sven Väth was joined by Ritchie Hawtin and Ricardo Villalobos that night, and Paul Stix, who hosts The Gallery, reckoned that it was the best crowd reaction he’d ever experienced in a club – until he left at 5am because it was so darned busy. Cocoon is the most consistently successful night on the island, and DJ-host Väth will also play at SW4’s Fire Arena, where he and New York’s Body & Soul mixmaster Francois K, the ace Tiefschwarz duo and Green Velvet will journey deep into techno. One thing is certain; there’s more than enough space to dance on Clapham Common…

Still, lovely beaches, warm seas and so much eye candy that you could get sick of the sight of perfectly toned and tanned flesh (yeah, right) do compensate for those kerrayzee Ibiza prices, and although the clampdown on club times and after-parties like DC10 has contributed to a patchy start to the season, it’s also meant clubbers now go out earlier. ‘Our first night was completely sold out,’ says Sister Bliss of her monthly set at Pure Pacha (she says ‘we’ because Faithless’s Maxi Jazz DJs in Pacha’s Global Room), before making the analogy that just as the Balearic spirit is fired up by so many carefree holiday-makers, so SW4 being on a bank holiday weekend relaxes Londoners who know they’ve got Monday off work, so ‘it’ll be like a giant party in our own back yard’.

‘People love the freeness, the unconfinement of being outdoors and feeling the elements,’ adds Cox. ‘I love playing at Space but there’s often a haze of lights and smoke and lasers so I can’t even see the dancers. At SW4 the crowd can see me smile and I can see them smile; there’s a great connection there.’

South West Four is on August 23. Find out more, win or buy tickets here. Sister Bliss plays Pure Pacha on July 25 and The Gallery at Ministry of Sound on August 1. Her ‘Sister Bliss presents Night Moves’ compilation is out now.