GLASTONBURY’S BLOCK9 POP-UP PROJECT TO LAUNCH IN LONDON

Block9 co-founder Stephen Gallagher has revealed plans for an art installation meets music venue that they plan to open in London in 2018, before touring around Europe.

Block9 are behind Glastonbury Festival’s mecca for underground house and techno, which includes the Genosys, NYC Downlow and London Underground venues, and saw the likes of Roger Sanchez, Bicep, The Black Madonna, Prosumer, Felix Dickinson and Honey Soundsystem perform across the weekend.

But their latest project plans to take them outside the festival circuit and into city centres across the continent. Speaking about the project, Gallagher told DJ Mag, “We’re planning a brand new, stand-alone structure that can arrive in a city centre location, and is a piece of artwork in its own right from the outside, as well as a whole other world inside.

“Creatively it’s early doors, but it takes the size and scale of the NYC Downlow, Genosys and London Underground, and mashes all of those together to make the mother****r of all experiences.”

On his ideal choice of location to launch the venue, Gallagher added the “dream” is for it to be in London. “We’d love it to be on the Southbank, or the Royal Docks [in the London Borough of Newham],” he said. “That’s an area that is going through a massive change at the moment, which fits the stuff that we do.”

Gallagher says Block9 are also in numerous conversations for other possible UK dates, various European locations including Berlin, as well as citing that a long-term relationship with Burning Man could result in the venue appearing at their worldwide events too.

Block9’s NYC Downlow saw a surprise appearance from Roisin Murphy at this year’s Glastonbury. You can see a series of gifs by digital artist Kate Bones from that performance below.

Rob McCallum is DJ Mag’s digital news writer. Follow him on Twitter here.

(Gifs: Kate Bones)

(Photo: Peter Podworski)