Underworld are a true one-off - at home headlining the world’s biggest festivals and events, playing underground techno clubs and warehouses, sound-tracking theatre productions or taking over art galleries, disused shoe shops and Japanese department stores.
Having cemented their place in the ’90s underground techno scene, the group’s definitive breakthrough came in 1996 when their timeless anthem ‘Born Slippy (Nuxx)’ became the soundtrack of a generation after it was featured in the film Trainspotting. The success of that single catapulted the band from the underground into the heart of the mainstream. The following two decades saw them build on that success while never compromising; selling millions of albums and performing countless sold-out shows
The Libertines arrived in the late nineties like a raging bull in a tired post-Britpop china shop and introduced the world to a new gang of London bohemians, whose ragged tunes, red military tunics, opiated poetry and ‘live now pay never’ lifestyle came to define the millennial angst of the early noughties. At the heart of the band is the blood bond bromance between the ramshackle Music Hall Jagger/Richards, Peter Doherty and Carl Barat, ably assisted by the rock solid rhythm twins John Hassall and Gary Powell.
Creating experiences is an art
Fat Freddy’s Drop is internationally regarded as one of the world’s finest live draws. The seven piece band has navigated its way from the incubator of sunshine reggae through a colour-saturated field of soul psychedelia before swerving onto a desolate Detroit superhighway at night. This euphoric vibe demands to be heard live, a potent mixture of jazz virtuosity and diaphragm-wrecking digital sonics.
“I’m actually proud of every record I’ve made and that’s an amazing thing to be able to say,”
confesses Róisín Murphy. “Couldn’t pick a favourite. If there’s going to be an ultimate success story with my career it would be that the catalogue’s going to mean something solid in the future.”
Róisín Murphy guards over her songwriting career like a lioness protecting its cubs and with good reason. A quick glance, from leftfield downtempo bangers like ‘Party Weirdo’ to Top Of The Pops smashes like ‘The Time Is Now’ and ‘Sing It Back’ with Moloko and a wildly divergent solo career that has flitted joyfully from Italian song to powerhouse tracks like ‘Let Me Know’ means she has hstealthily developed into Britain’s most innovative and restless artist.
Since 1995, David and Stephen Dewaele have consistently pushed the boundaries of music into new and innovative territory by diversfying into many different guises. They are a band (Soulwax), djs (2manydjs),a record label (DEEWEE), a sound system (Despacio) and even created an app and website (Radio Soulwax).
They are also widely renowned as one of the most innovative remix and producer teams around. Recent credits include Bizcochito by Rosalia, Too Late Now by Wetleg, I Go by Peggy Gou, You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) by Sylvester, the Grammy nominated “Work It” by Marie Davidson, Fontaines DC, Diplo,Chet Faker, Roisin Murphy, LA Priest, Robyn, SG Lewis featuring Robyn & Channel Trios, Arcade Fire, The Rolling Stones, Tame Impala, Metronomy, Daft Punk, The Gossip, Hot Chip, MGMT and Warpaint, among many others.
Formed in 1988, Leftfield quickly became one of the most influential and innovative dance music acts of all time. Originally comprised of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley, Leftfield’s legendary live-performances paired with seminal albums, 1995s Leftism and 1999s Rhythm & Stealth (both Mercury Music Prize nominees), solidified their position as true pioneers.
Since Outlook Festival and the Southbank Centre first collaborated in 2017, The Outlook Orchestra has gone from strength to strength, taking iconic tracks from the underground and bringing them to life in a way you’ve never heard them before!
For the next chapter, they’re collaborating with godfather’s of the scene Fabio & Grooverider to present a special score celebrating a history of jungle and drum & bass, featuring some of the scene’s most iconic and well loved tracks.
Arguably one of the most legendary partnerships in music, Fabio & Grooverider remain at the forefront of a scene they helped build, championing the now global sounds of jungle, drum & bass and beyond.
Formed from Long Island, NY roots in 1987, the trio known as De La Soul changed the landscape of hip-hop as we knew it. Now, for an incredible 30 years they have rocked us with inscrutable samplings, whimsically irreverent lyrics, social commentary, light rhythm and laid back rhymes. They have gained respect within and outside the hip hop community with their contributions to rap, as well as jazz, funk, soul and alternative genres. Not only are their musical innovations acclaimed and respected worldwide, but they paved a path for many alternative rap groups to come after them.
An iconic feminist musician, producer, director, and performance artist, Peaches has spent more than two decades pushing boundaries and breaking barriers, dramatically altering the landscape of popular culture as she forged a bold, sexually progressive path that’s opened the doors for countless others to follow.
Through music, art, film, theater, television, and books, she has upended stereotypes and embraced taboos, challenging social norms and patriarchal power structures while championing LGBTQIA+ rights and issues of gender and sexual identity with biting wit and fearless originality.
The career of DJ Grandmaster Flash began in the Bronx with neighbourhood block parties that essentially were the start of what would become a global phenomenon — the dawn of a musical genre. He was the first DJ to physically lay his hands on the vinyl and manipulate it in a backward, forward or counter clockwise motion, when most DJs simply handled the record by the edges, put down the tone arm, and let it play. Those DJs let the tone arm guide their music, but Flash marked up the body of the vinyl with crayon, fluorescent pen, and grease pencil—and those markings became his compass.
He laid the groundwork for everything a DJ can do with a record today, other than just letting it play. What we call a DJ today is a role that Flash invented.
BIIG PIIG
In the past two years, Jess Smyth has come up through West London’s nascent art scene, garnering a loyal following for her smoky, sedative take on hip-hop and neo-soul, which moves fluidly between singing and rapping in English and Spanish.
Everyone You Know
Everyone You Know are Rhys and Harvey, two brothers from satellite towns of London taking their influences from hip hop, punk and 90’s rave to generate their own sound & style.
WARMDUSCHER
Warmduscher solidified on their critically acclaimed 2019 release Tainted Lunch, and inject their new music with a slightly more polished, ‘80s funk sound, kind of like stumbling home to your squatted loft after a drunken night at the local disco.
BABYQUEEN
Baby Queen grew up in Durban, South Africa, and moved to London aged 18. It was at this time, as she joined rock bands, fell in love and headfirst into the city’s party scene, that the experiences that informed her new musical era unfolded.
LAVA LA RUE
Ava Laurel, alias Lava La Rue, is the non-binary (she/they) musician, poet and artist whose multi-cultural London sound is the noise of a generation.
More
DESIRE
Desire is a Canadian electronic music band from Montreal, formed in 2009. The band consists of vocalist Megan Louise and producer Johnny Jewel (a former member of Chromatics and Glass Candy).
