The 2012 Bloc Festival will be one for the history books. I first saw a poster for this festival while out for a jog with the wife. My jaw nearly hit the ground. Taking place over two days (July 6 and 7) in East London, this festival is jam-packed with talent, leaning more toward Techno than the majority of UK festivals. Huge names grace the poster: Richie Hawtin, Orbital, Jeff Mills, Ricardo Villalobos, Squarepusher, Jamie Jones, Monolake, Carl Craig,Scuba, Art Department, Ben Sims, Appleblim and Perc. Not to mention the one and only Snoop Dogg.
Video Showreel of the Lineup:
Bloc. has only been around a couple years, and this year made the move into London, taking it to a chic urban new level. The new venue is ideal: London Pleasure Gardens is a new urban playground created in the wasteland between London City Airport, The Royal Docks, and the abandoned Millennium Mills. With these kinds of neighbours, the sound will be running across multiple stages from the afternoon through to the early morning. I ride past here every day on my trip to Central London, and can see the beginnings of building stages, one of which will be a sound-dome, with the DJ placed in the middle. Another ace bit of the festival will be the inclusion of the MS Stubnitz as a venue; a de-commissioned deep-sea fishing vessel from the German Democratic Republic which has been re-fit by sonic artist Urs Blaser into an avant-garde venue for art and music.
They have even made movie-style trailers to tell about the history of the venue and its parts…check these out:
Venue Video:
MS Stubnitz Video:
There are many reasons why this is touted by many (including Resident Advisor’s discerning Festival Guide) to be the top festival pick for July worldwide. If you are anywhere near London get tickets now; the weekend passes are nearly (if not already) sold out, so you’ll have to settle for a day-pass. I don’t envy that choice, as the line up both days is outstanding.
