Drum and bass in Bristol needs no bigger homes than Lakota and Blue Mountain. Both on the same street in Stokes Croft - they’ve continued Bristol’s drum n bass lineage from DJ Krust and Roni Size through to Intrigue Music and the more experimental UVB76 crew. Bristol’s place in the history of drum n bass is assured. Figureheads like DJ Die draw the line between the jungle and drum n bass scenes, jungle is key in Bristol - a city with so much Caribbean heritage, roots reggae’s influence on drum n bass comes through the language of jungle. But with both Lakota and Blue Mountain closing their doors soon to developers, is Bristol in a drum n bass crisis?
Drum and bass in Bristol encapsulates the genre in the wider world. Big venues play host to big acts with nights such as Bedlam, One Nation and Shit the Bed offering International stars including Pendulum, Chase and Status, Andy C and Noisia on a regular basis. In addition to this, alternative venues like the Dojo Lounge, Basement 45 and the Black Swan foster the rarefied sounds of dnb's many sub genres offering the city a unique depth to its plethora of drum and bass music. New years eve in Bristol clubs sees the city's venues rammed to the brim with all of the drum and bass's big players djing somewhere in Bristol.
Agro, Dissident and Mongrel offer dnb of a techy, dark variety while the bastion of the deeper sound, Intrigue, continues to push artists such as Marcus Intalex, Calibre and Fabio. Torque, straddling the line between dark and deep is a drum and bass monthly of significant recognition, hosting label nights and affiliated artists from Club Autonomic to Critical and Shogun Audio.
With drum and bass such a popular genre in Bristol, most clubs present dnb of some description at least once per month. Basement 45 has emerged as a consistent venue, with Torque, Abstraction and Nine Tree all on regular rotation at the club. Dojos plays host to the aforementioned Intrigue while Lab is home to Signal which runs as a bi-monthly event.
Of the larger venues Motion has a throng of events that are less frequent but larger in scale. Although many of these nights are multi-genre affairs, Run and Shit The Bed routinely promote dnb artists as their headline acts.
Lakota is another important dnb venue, housing Concrete Beat, Agro and since September 2010, Bedlam. Hospitality's residency at the Thekla ensures dnb is consistent fixture on the ship, while the rave-ready Black Swan is the spearhead for the harder jungle-tek sounds of the dnb genre.
Buy tickets for drum and bass events in Bristol
Our recent drum and bass recommendations
Sell out warning! You’ve been to Rupture, but have you seen Double O, Dead Man’s Chest and Decebela shell it atop a fire engine with the cream of Bristol’s underground jazzers shredding along? Didn’t think so. Welcome to Tokio Station kid, where junglist ruffage comes with smooth sides of guitar fusion and trumpet skronk, and there ain’t nothing else like it right now.
Tokio Station x Save Our Scene w/ Rupture: JUNGLE JAZZ DAY PARTY at The Boxing Gym.
Sell out warning! Club der Visionaere BS1 here we come…it’s the return of Uruguay’s vinyl-only myth-maker and dark prince of trip-tastic techno tessellations, percolating acid, cosmic minimal house and star-gazing electro. Mr Lutz is a total bucket list DJ for the leftfield aficionados and chasers of psychedelic club transcendence.
Afterthought: Nicolas Lutz at Strange Brew.
A crew of mutant club enthusiasts touches down in Bristol for their first venture beyond South Korea, brought to you by Seoul’s own underground bass connoisseur H4rdy. Angular dubstep workouts and speedy techno hybrids mutating into one another at every turn – come primed!
H4rdy presents: STAMINA SEOUL at The Love Inn.
A sublime lineup from the Rezonant Body crew powered by the almighty Dharma HiFi system – transformative sounds from the get-go! Bridging dub-techno hypnotics, ambient drift and transcendental 170 kinetics, Vilhelm Hasselgren enters hybrid mode under his slo-mo Crest guise, joined by Rezonant label pals navigating the deepest reaches of the techno continuum.
REZONANT BODY 4.0 w/ Dharma Hifi at KIT FORM.
More Photos of Bristol's Drum & Bass Events
What our editors say
“Fantazia returns to Bristol on the 30th August, this time for a bank holiday day rave in the brand new Document Open Air space! We're taking it back to the old school roots that built rave culture - uniting generations of ravers, DJs, MCs and music lovers under one roof for a day driven by pure energy, connection and nostalgia. From the raw warehouse atmosphere to the euphoric sounds that defined an era, this is a tribute to the nights that changed everything. Expect uplifting old school piano anthems, hardcore classics, acid house, jungle, and trance colliding with cutting edge production and sound. Let us be your fantasy.”
From: Fantazia | Document Open Air
“Join us for our August bank holiday event back at our spiritual home of Basement 45 in Btistol. We welcome back multi award winning mc HARRY SHOTTA as our headline act plus a huge supporting lineup. In the the main room we have drum n bass and jungle all night and in room 2 we have 140 and dubstep from colour of sound. DNB JUNGLE 140 DUBSTEP @ BASEMENT 45 FROM £6”
From: Bass in the basement HARRY SHOTTA
“No Fixed Tempo is a multi-genre party accessible for everyone. Expect dubstep, garage, grime, jungle, hardcore and DnB all night long, with the energy and BPMs building as the night goes on. Made for the people skipping Boomtown this year, bringing together big energy, heavy sounds and good vibes! Come as you are. No Fixed Tempo, no fixed expectations. [A-Z] CUTMESUM.FLAC IZZLA ORCHID SHADDOWS SPINELLI BRAVO Free entry all night - no ticket needed.”
From: No Fixed Tempo: CUTMESUM.FLAC, IZZLA, ORCHID, SHADDOWS, SPINELLI BRAVO
“4ToThaFloor is an event at the Take Five Café on stokes croft, showcasing a range of underground dance music genres, powered by Sensi Sounds. Get yourselves down there on the 7th of August For 11pm, latest entry at 1am. Whether you like heavy hard trance, phat 4x4, subby jungle or nasty prog, you won't wanna miss out on this one! Behind the decks we have: Camat1k ET-Tronic Thunda Jimbo DJ Soup Loud Biz Don't miss out - get your tickets now before it's too late”
From: 4 To Tha Floor
“We’re back at Clock Factory Bristol for our FREE RAVE Summer Series. All summer long we’re dedicating Friday nights showcasing some of the finest bass music talent around - completely FREE. Stressing over festival and day-party prices? Don’t fear - we’ve got you covered. Friday 7th August, we bring together a mixed drum & bass curation taking you through the raw sounds of jungle, minimal and dancefloor, featuring Bladerunner + MC Felon, VISLA & Siren.”
From: Rave • Bladerunner + MC Felon, VISLA & Siren