BLOC have unveiled the initial line-up for next year's weekender, which takes place on March 12-14.
The festival has steadily grown to become one of the biggest underground dance music events in the UK, with all three of its previous incarnations selling out in advance. Originally beginning its life at the Pontin's holiday park in Norfolk, last year saw it move to the much larger Butlins resort in Minehead, which will remain its home for the foreseeable future. Offering chalet accommodation as well as the usual perks of an English holiday camp (including a large swimming complex, go-karting and a nearby beach), BLOC gives festivalgoers the chance to escape the usual trappings of the English weather and rave it up in comfortable indoor surroundings, with the resort's usual PA systems bring replaced by huge Funktion One setups.
Previous BLOC weekenders have seen the line-up cater to a wide range of dance music, and next year's event is no different. Of course, techno fans are well catered for, with
Derrick May,
Adam Beyer and
Surgeon all making DJing appearances. (The latter will bring a new audio/visual show to the event.)
Luke Slater,
Nathan Fake and
Autechre will perform live.
The dubstep line-up currently consists of
Skream,
Benga and
Joker, but there's also a much more urban bent to BLOC's initial programming this time around, with a few distinct coups. US rap trio Salt-N-Pepa will make their first live show in 15 years, while Anti Pop Consortium and Grandmaster Flash will also feature.
Roots Manuva offers his quintessentially English take on hip-hop, and grime pin-up Wiley will also play a rare festival show. There'll also be reggae from
Basic Channel's Mark Ernestus (who'll perform in tandem with Paul St. Hilaire), with
Lindstrom comprising the sole disco-oriented act announced thus far.
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