Your Definitive Guide to SW4
Arguably London’s most exciting offering to the festival circuit comes in the form of South West Four held at Clapham Common over the Bank Holiday Weekend on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th August. SW4, aptly named after its Clapham postcode, provides a full frontal assault on the oratory and visual senses through its combination of world renowned electronic artists and spectacular fireworks and staging. Since its inception in 2004 year on year SW4 never fails to deliver a stellar lineup, and once again this year proves to be no exception. The lineup is a truly tantalising prospect, and can only be described as the cream of the crop of electronic talent. For its 13th edition this year revelers can expect to indulge their eyes and ears with stage takeovers from the likes of RAM Records, Welcome to Gorgon City, Silver City, Amnesia, ANTS and Together. The latter three takeovers promise to bring a taste of the hedonism found in Ibiza to the Common, proving that you don’t need to jet off to the White Isle to experience some of the island’s best resident and guest DJs at their finest.
Who’s Performing?
Saturday’s Main Stage is to be hosted by Together, whose night at Amnesia has become something of a seminal institution, with resident DJs over the past few years including Andy C and Rudimental, who are set to headline SW4 with a live set on Saturday. The undisputed king of DnB, Andy C shall be gracing the SW4 main stage off the back of his storming 6 hour set at the Alexandra Palace. Though he has recently been confused for Jamie Jones by some revelers, MK will be adding some house to the Common’s Main Stage, while Disciples and A-Trak will also be in attendance. DJ Zinc VS MJ Cole promises to be an exciting prospect, with a mixture of garage and jungle vibes enticing ravers. Meanwhile DJ EZ’s sets never fail to impress, with an incredible talent for tune selection that spans the past few decades. Expect to hear a fusion of garage, house and beats from one of the most revered selectors in the game (after all he was able to play a 24 hour set in the name of charity recently which only further demonstrates his unrivaled knowledge of the scene). Mistajam, Tchami and Dizzee Rascal complete the main stage lineup. The SW4 Live Stage will be taking place in the main indoor arena, which will be headlined by Knife Party. Nero, Boys Noize, Radio 1‘s Dance Anthem’s Danny Howard, Bondax and New York legend Armand Van Helden will all be gracing the stage. Blonde will also be taking to the SW4 Live Stage on the Saturday after fulfilling the promise of creating a “Will Grigg’s on Fire” edit, so they’ll be sure to get the crowd bouncing.
A takeover from RAM Records on the 10,000 capacity indoor stage really plays into the hands of DnB aficionados. For the second year running Andy C’s powerhouse label will be providing attendees with the chance to witness some of the biggest names in drum and bass take to the desks. The home of Sub Focus and Wilkinson (both of whom are playing the festival), RAM constantly pushes the boundaries of bass-fueled 170 BPM madness, and their takeover at SW4 will surely live up to their ranking as one of the definitive DnB labels of the past 25 years. The announcement of live sets from both Netsky and Noisia will have been met with a nod of appreciation from the UK’s DnB fans, while legend of the scene, Roni Size will be bringing his Full Cycle show to the stage. Ensuring the arena remains well and truly RAMmed (sorry), the label’s own Delta Heavy, Culture Shock and Rene LaVice have been booked. In addition RAM have sought out Hospital Record’s Austrian dons Camo & Krooked and Shogun Audio’s head honcho Friction to top up an already heavy hitting arena. The final stage on the Saturday is to be hosted by Gorgon City who are presenting the Kingdom Stage. They’re bringing along Pete Tong, Anime Edge & Dance, as well as Oliver Dollar and Claptone. In what promises to be an unmissable set, Shadow Child will be performing back-to-back with T.Williams, while Redlight and Kidnap Kid make up the Kingdom Stage.
The Sunday sees a predominance of techno and house flood the Common, and no where is this more evident than on the Main Stage. Here you can find no shortage of big names on offer, with the likes of Maya Jane Coles, Berlin techno hero Paul Kalkbrenner, Black Coffee and Will Saul all performing. One of the undoubtedly biggest bookings comes in the form of Carl Cox, who is set to play before a live set from The Chemical Brothers as the stage’s headliners. Maribou State, Damian Lazarus and The Ancient Moons, as well as an incredibly special guest in Four Tet will ensure that Clapham Common is the only place to be on the Bank Holiday Weekend.
As a UK festival exclusive, on the Sunday Amnesia Ibiza will be hosting a specially curated stage in the 10,000 capacity indoor arena, marking their debut appearance at a British festival. Though the name may suggest otherwise, if you’ve ever attended an Amnesia organised event it truly is unforgettable, especially with the likes of a B2B set from Jamie Jones and Joseph Capriati in the offering. Amnesia will be bringing along their famed dancers, CO2 cannons and a stunning lineup to guarantee a very memorable experience. Amnesia’s revered king, Sven Väth will headline the stage, and will be propped up by Danny Tenaglia and resident DJs Mar-T and Cuartero. No stranger to pleasing the crowds on the Common, Eric Prydz is once again gracing the decks at SW4, but this year under his techno alias, Cirez D, as Amnesia’s special guest performer. Replacing his housey euphoric anthems with darker techno, sets from Cirez D are not to be missed, especially given that this is his first UK performance in 5 years under his alter moniker.
Over on Sunday’s Silver City Stage Above & Beyond have been announced as headliners. This indoor main stage will see Booka Shade performing live, in addition to John Digweed, Bakermat, Faithless’s Sister Bliss and Fritz Kalkbrenner. Yet another Ibizan takeover comes in the form of the ANTS Stage, headlined by none other than Sasha. Nicole Moudaber and Davide Squillace have also been confirmed for the ANTS Stage, with Hunter/Game providing a live set. Two names who aren’t uncommon to featuring on the Radio 1 playlist will be playing together in the form of Route 94 and Secondcity, while catching a live set from Recondite has to be a given.
Essential Information
Unfortunately weekend tickets are now sold out, but fear not prospective SW4 goers as individual day tickets can still be purchased, priced at £59.50 for the Saturday and £62.50 for the Sunday. In terms of getting yourself to Clapham Common, this is relatively straight forward: hop on the tube on the Northern Line to Clapham Common or take the overground to Clapham Junction which is only a 25 minute walk from the festival site. Alternatively use one of many buses including the 35, 37, 137 and 155. For those wishing to continue the party well into the early hours there are set to be a series of after parties to be announced in the lead up to the festival.
See you in August!
Christopher Gill