ARCADIA MAKES ITS WAY TO BRISTOL

Made up of recycled military hardware and founded in 2007, if you haven't experienced the mind-blowing spectacle of Arcadia's spider stage you simply haven't lived! After dominating festivals such as Glastonbury, Boomtown and Electric Picnic with its flame-throwing antics, there was a one-off show in Bangkok last year, and now this ginormous arson-committing arachnid is on the move once again, this time crawling all the way to Bristol for Bristfest on 4^th and 5^th September.

“We wanted the event to celebrate Bristol’s music scene and we are hugely excited about seeing the Spider come to life in such a new and different setting,” says a spokesperson for Arcadia. “As an inner city event, we are hoping to make it as inclusive as possible and hopefully encourage people who might not want to sign up to a three-day festival to experience Arcadia.”

And an experience it certainly will be. An explosion of giant gasoline torches, acrobatic performers getting electrocuted in cages and booming sound, Arcadia and its little sister Afterburner have also featured at T In The Park and Rockness in Scotland, as well as abroad, and now the West Country is getting a big slice of the flaming pie.

“We took the Spider to Bangkok in November last year and the Afterburner to New Zealand’s Rhythm and Vines and Miami’s Ultra Festival,” they tell us. The event, which will take place in the historic grounds of Queen Square, will, of course, come with some challenges. “There will be spatial challenges to deal with, as well as the logistics of an inner city Georgian square to negotiate.”

 The sounds of Bristol feature heavily at this event, with Roni Size and Eats Everything both confirmed. Friday night will focus on bass with Congo Natty also climbing into the booth. Leftfield will also bring the techno following the release of 'Alternative Light Source', while Saturday night will see Annie Mac on the decks, as well as Eats, Monki and Gotsome, when things go house-y.

With Arcadia events planned for Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Miami, this isn't the last we'll see of this fiery beast!

MEHRNAZ KARIMI