THE BLACK LIGHTS

2K88

2K88 — fka 1988, aka Przemysław Jankowiak — is a music producer, graphic designer, and audio director raised in the Poland of the 1990s and on the pioneering rap records of that time. The rawness, chunkiness, and paranoia he took from this period have always been an integral part of his music. They were there when he made his first homemade beats and stayed with him when, in the following years, he distanced himself from hip-hop, going deeper into the world of sampling experiments and the post-genre avant-garde. Later, he and Robert Piernikowski created the universe of the duo Syny - an irreal spectral/ontological phenomenon built out of memories, dreams, and bass, rap, dub, and smoke. Since the end of Syny, Jankowiak has let loose his beatmaker impulses on a collaborative record with Warsaw’s legendary MC Włodi, created the album Ruleta [Roulette] with over 30 featured guests, and struck up a dialogue with the electronic soundsystem work that’s fascinated him for years on the Ring the Alarm EP. He’s also created chart-topping avant-pop with Brodka and a mimetic soundtrack to “Splinter”, but it is SHAME that is the album we might call his sonic résumé.

Lauren Duffus

Rainy Miller

Bianca Scout

Afrodeutsche

A Guy Called Gerald

Legendary British acid house and drum and bass pioneer, famous for 'Voodoo Ray'.

Anna Gray

Annabel Fraser

‘I left that place with the music still ringing in my ears, feeling like the world was mine for the first time. The ringing continued throughout the week, this roaring miracle of energy in my ears. She had me hooked, this player of records.’ https://www.nts.live/shows/annabel-fraser

Anz

Crystallmess

CRYSTALLMESS is a DJ, producer, artist and writer based in Paris, France.

Blackhaine

The Caretaker

Ceephax Acid Crew

Ceephax’s music between 1998 and 2003 took the sonic styles of vintage Roland drum machines TR-909, TR-606, Roland synthesizers TB-303, SH-101, Korg MS-20, and a Roland MSQ-700 sequencer. This music was recorded onto a 4-track cassette tape deck. The music was released on vinyl records and cassette tape. This primitive Acid House aesthetic and methodology countered the growing popularity of the computer music and compact disc releases of the time. In 2003 Ceephax played songs live on BBC radio from a Commodore 64’s SID sound chip, indicating a change in direction from Acid House to Chiptunes. He also releases drum and bass songs made on early Akai samplers with the clichéd and copyrighted “Amen” breakbeat drum sample, again displaying an interest in 1980s and early 1990s dance music. Andy has collaborated a number of times with his brother Jonny and Phillie T, all members of the Chelmsford Film Society, in comical side projects such as rap outfit The Odd Job Men and improvised blues project The Chelmsford Blues Explosion.

Conor Thomas

Evian Christ

Initially finding recognition for his production contributions to billboard-topping albums by Kanye West and Travis Scott, and subsequently as the founder of the enduringly influential TranceParty event series, Christ’s recent years have seen him lead an idiosyncratic range of projects that enquire into the legacy of Trance in contemporary cultural life Revanchist (2023), Christ’s debut album, explores the genre’s latent potential to evoke, beyond euphoria, the fullest feeling of the sublime

exlruth

Factory Floor

Faux Naif

Languishing in the depths of the seductive underworld of body music, faux naïf champions the more obscure tones of dance music. Rooted in goth, darkwave, synth, EBM post-punk and new beat, whilst leaning into the sounds of techno and electro at the same time. The sound of faux naïf stems from the anarchistic attitude aligned with 80s-born genres. faux naïf has been running her own event series since 2017 M II M (formerly known as BODY).inviting guests such as Sarin, Parrish Smith, Volition Immanent, Velvet May, Zanias, Phase Fatale, DVA Damas,Primitive Knot, Human Performance Lab, Autumns, Twins & The Brvtalist. In the start of 2023 faux naïf birthed a new Manchester event ‘’Elegia’’ co-ran and founded with Boomkat / Death Of Rave boss Conor Thomas, bringing new & old goth, body hymns and new beat sounds to Manchester dancefloors, while hosting live acts such as Marina Zispin & in 2026 special Parade Ground show. In 2024 ‘A Corrective Service’ came out on Boomkat sub label Reel Torque ,selling out a limited edition of 69 cassettes. Today, faux naïf remains fiercely loyal to her punk-by-way-of-goth spirit, co-existing in the largely trend-driven landscape of dance music, building a sultry feel on the dancefloor while keeping a watchful eye on her audience, creating a delicate balance between tension and wild abandon. Words by Niamh O’Connor

feeo

feeo is the solo project of vocalist, songwriter and artist Theodora Laird. At the heart of the project lies song and story, through which she seeks to investigate the feedback and tension between micro and macro narratives. Through deconstructing and recontextualising songform using production, performance, and written word, feeo situates hyperpersonal stories of her lived experience within broader overarching depictions of the cultural and political backdrop, hoping to expose a fundamental meaning and attain a greater sense of understanding. Also one half of the duo Crosspiece with bassist Caius Williams and a member of the GRAIN Residency for improvised and experimental music, Theodora Laird’s songwriting practice finds new forms within improvised music, through which she explores linguistic phonetics and interpersonal dynamics.

DJ Flight

UK drum and bass DJ, a founding figure of the Movement and Metalheadz scenes.

Kode9

Scottish electronic music artist, DJ, and founder of the seminal dubstep and bass label Hyperdub.

Gescom

Iceboy Violet

Jawnino

Jennifer Walton

Jon K

Formerly Manchester, now London based DJ + co founder of MAL Recordings alongside Elle Andrews. Peking Spring x NTS / Reel Torque / TTT / Cav Empt / $hotta Tapes / CNC

Chunky

Chunky is a proud Mancunian with roots in Zimbabwe (having relocated from there as a child) which may explain such a worldly, open-minded,outlook on life. Onstage, this translates into a rare ability to work any crowd into a frenzy, whilst handling everything from the latest, bass-heavy cuts to live jazz with consummate ease. In the musical metropolis that is Manchester, Chunky has long been the hardest working MC/DJ/PRODUCER on the circuit. Performing alongside the many itinerant ‘A-Listers’ passing through the city each week soon brought him to the attention of TRUE TIGER, LOEFAH, PEARSON SOUND and many more. Since then, Chunky’s stomping grounds have been ever-expanding and he is now resident MC for SWAMP 81, TRUE TIGER and HESSLE AUDIO, a side of which has made him one of FABRIC’s most frequent performers. Despite an every busying away-schedule, he remains the resident MC at some of Manchester’s most illustrious nights, including the award-winning HIT&RUN, the internationally renowned HOYA:HOYA and the gloriously eccentric RIOT JAZZ. He also finds the time to tour both country and continent as the frontman of the 10-piece RIOT JAZZ BRASS BAND. Chunky’s recent work alongside the SWAMP 81 head honcho has resulted in gigs across Europe and a monthly RINSE FM radio show. His own segment, “STRAIGHT OUTTA SWAMPTON”, where he would showcase classic records during the last 15 minutes, has proved such a hit that it’s been given a monthly 2-hour slot of its own. On top of this, Chunky is both creator and cajoler; and 2012 will see the release of his own double-pack EP of ‘Chunkadelic’ productions on Swamp 81 Records. Like a fast-spreading epidemic, there is hardly a festival or celebrated venue in the UK where Chunky has not united the dance; and – frighteningly – at the age of 23, he’s barely written the prologue.

Kali Malone

Klein

Kop-Z

Obeka

Bermuda born musician Obeka featured in MixMag’s ‘Artists to Watch 2025’ delivers a native sound and rhythm distinct to his homeland. The multi-percussionist blends native styles from Pan-African, Caribbean and South American origins that became essential for manifesting polyrhythmic electronic beats and tempos with a mix of live and software based drum performances. Obeka has ventured his sound in a multitude of UK cities and beyond the shores in Bologna, Cuba, Lisbon, Berlin and most recently finishing a debut tour in Miami and Colombia. With a plethora of EPs released on YUKU, Future Bounce, Love in The Endz, Basy Tropilkalne and Left, Right & Centre. Jumping into his second year as an Oroko Radio Resident based in Ghana, Obeka has further ventured into the airwaves of BBC Radio, Rinse FM, Rinse France, NTS Radio, Miami Community Radio and most recently Berlin platform Refuge Worldwide. Obeka has expanded his sound beyond the borders supporting musicians such as Lil Silva, Sampha and Major Lazer.

Lee Gamble

UK electronic artist known for abstract, deconstructed club music on Hyperdub and UIQ.

LINTD

LINTD and collaborated with vanguards of the Northern experimental scene such as Space Afrika, 96 Back, Iceboy Violet, Balraj Samrai (Swing Ting), and Porter Brook. Through music, films, live events, installation and research, LINTD speculate worlds where the marginalized feel comfortable to be their full, emancipated selves. Often, these worlds are spectacular, always they are true. DOGTOOTH is the debut album from LINTD, a haunting reclamation of the Black African macabre as an utopian space, where pain, joy, paranoia and pleasure is explored with equal and seamless ferocity. Set to be released on UK label Head II on Friday the 13th of June, the record features contributions from Joshua Inyang (Space Afrika), Porter Brook, Chande & Fyn Dobson (Drummer & collaborator with Loraine James). DOGTOOTH is act II of The Black Impossible, a three part collaborative project with Sheffield producer Porter Brook, where the two explore the extremities of black sound as utopian technology. Act I, SMOOCH SOUNDSYSTEM (LINTD & Porter Brook first EP) laid the foundation of the project with a tense celebration of hope, Act II, DOGTOOTH, descend into something darker, exploring the terrain of black anxiety "This is the world as I experience it. Teeming with violence and threat against my being, but full of possibility. And it could all be in my head, but the darker reality, the grimm possibility that I find so thrilling and pleasurable, is that it could also all be true.” LINTD regularly produces these spaces in some of the UK’s most renowned underground arts venues, such as The White Hotel, Venue MOT, Spanners, Avalon Cafe, Camden Arts Centre and Peckham audio. LINTD has been recently selected as artist-in-residence for projects with Manchester Collective, PRS New Music Biennial, Complicité theatre and Opera North and has created installations for organisations like Factory International (Aviva Studios) and Asaabako festival in Ghana. Last year, he debuted his self-directed multimedia piece Concrete, for the Southbank Centre in London with Factory International, curated by veteran photographer Misan Harriman. Through his practice, LINTD has connected with relentless innovators of black experimental music around the globe and supported the likes of Gavsborg (Equiknoxxx), Le Diouck & Lonnie Holly during their UK tour. With a unique Nigerian-speculative approach, LINTD is shaping new possibilities for the black experimental scene.

Lupini

Once amiably described as an 'administrator of the Liverpool Music Scene.' Station Manager at Melodic Distraction Radio. Co-founder and resident at ATHE. Radio host of Club Dread (Melodic Distraction) and Kaleidosound (Netil Radio).

Mark Fell

Mia Koden

Mica Levi

Microplastics

Moin

Moin is made of Joe Andrews and Tom Halstead (Raime / Blackest Ever Black) as well as long time collaborator and percussionist visionary Valentina Magaletti (Tomaga / Vanishing Twin).

Nazar

Angolan-Belgian producer known for aggressive, politically charged 'rough Afro' electronic music.

Rian Treanor

Russell Haswell

Rob Hall

SDEM

In 2017 the first cassette under SDEM was issued, with subsequent drops on CPU , Seagrave, Opal Tapes, Superpang , SKAM, Quadrant Park . Live actions started in 2019, sharing stages with Scorn, Xylitol, Silver Waves, Harrga, The Fear Ratio, ACLDS, edv3ctor, NZO, Mark Broom & Autechre to name a few. The SDEM approach is marked by a sculptural take on sound design, rhythm and texture – ranging from dystopic ambient passages to pixelated, sub-heavy beats. A member of the Skam circle of atavistic beat freaks since the late 90s, SDEM's sound is that of hyperattentive electronica buried under soil and left to decay (or ferment). What emerges is somehow both ruthlessly futuristic and redolent of decrepit antique engineering.

SILVERWINGKILLER

Space Afrika

With their slow-stepping, spacious urban dubscapes, Space Afrika harness ambient, Detroit techno and shades of early nineties Sheffield with a fresh and open approach to composition — this is dub techno stripped-down, sealed in a time capsule and sent back from the near future. Driving, echo-laden deep beats form the bed for a heavily subaquatic sound palette with undercurrents of cybernetic dread. Friends for almost 2 decades, the two Joshuas formed Space Afrika after years of listening to music together, sequestered by harsh Northern winters. Heavily inspired by the industrial architecture of Northwest England and notions of travel, their sonic framework evokes images of rust and disintegrating concrete, and sensations of movement and redemption — exuding a distorted analogue soul offering escape into their overcast skies. Closely associated with Brighton/London label, Where to Now?, who slink along a vintage axis of post-punk, On-U Sound, minimal and no wave influences, Space Afrika's diverse and creative radio shows (notably their residencies on NTS and Reform Radio) also display a breadth of curiosities in experimental and avant-garde music, old and new.

Valentina Magaletti