Ralph Lawson - Summer Festival Guide

In 2015, Northern England’s most cherished festival, Beat-Herder in Lancashire will celebrate their 10th birthday – a landmark anniversary that marks their journey from humble free party origins to an annual three-day 12,000 capacity bonanza with a legion of devout fans. Described by The Guardian as ‘wonderfully barmy and typically northern’, Beat-Herder is a rare find in today’s climate: a staunchly independent festival that stays true to its roots, completely shunning all corporate sponsorship or branding.

Today, Beat-Herder announces the final wave of acts rounding up the bill for the special 10th anniversary edition. Closing the festival on the main stage on Sunday night is celebrated British rock band, The Levellers. The 90s favourites will end the 10th birthday festivities with their own nostalgic blend of folk-punk in a return to the big stage.

A dance festival at heart, with its roots firmly in electronic music old and new, Beat-Herder Festival looks set to continue its history of programming dance music’s finest, with a tour de force final wave of acts including DJ, producer, remixer, club promoter and label founder Erol Alkan and his Phantasy cohort and Fabric residentDaniel Avery. Also confirmed is 2020Vision head honcho Ralph Lawson and distinguished drum and bass stalwart turned in-demand house and techno producerTrevino.

Baltimore native and house / disco legend Maurice Fulton will be joining the 10th anniversary celebrations alongside more locally sourced homegrown talents including Tim Sheridan who has a long history playing at and promoting warehouse beach parties in Ibiza and his own Veryverywrongindeed parties across Europe and the UK. Disco legend Greg Wilson will headline the Trailer Trash stage on Sunday night while live disco funkers Crazy P are confirmed to play the main stage on Sunday.

Over the last decade, Beat-Herder has come to be known for its unrivalled attention to detail when building the site. Built entirely from scratch by hand, the festival houses all manner of surprises at every twist and turn. Each year unexpected new areas magically appear for festival-goers to stumble upon. Last year’s new additions included a swimming pool in the woods, housed in a Scandinavian style wooden cabin, complete with changing rooms and lifeguards and The Ring, a huge earth mound with a Stonehenge-esque entrance.

This year Beat-Herder was crowned winner of the Extra Festival Activity Award at the UK Festival Awards, an award that recognises events that paid that extra bit of attention to detail that creates a magical and unforgettable festival experience.

FULL LINE UP (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

08:58 / 2 BAD MICE / 47 SOUL / A-SKILLZ / AFRIQUOI / ANDREW WEATHERALL / ANDROID SISTERS / ANDY PYETT / ANNIE TT / ARCTIC LAKE / BASEMENT JAXX / BIG JIM / BLAENAVON / BLISS ZION / BODIE / BOE & LEE / BOMBSTRIKES / BORN IN A BARN / BOXED IN / BY THE RIVERS
CAMPO / CAPTAIN HOTKNIVES / CATZ N DOGZ / CAUSA / CHAPTER 4 / CHEZTIKOV BROS / GOAT BOY / CHRIS HOLT / COJO / CRAZY P / DANIEL AVERY / DAVE ANGEL / DEAN MCPHEE / DJ CLUMSY / DJ FFLYFFILYFBYBL / DOHNUT / DOPE TRIK / DREADZONE / DREAM THEMES / DRUM MACHINE / DUB DADDA / DUB PISTOLS / DUB REAKTION / DUB SMUGGLERS / DUTTY MOONSHINE / EARTHDOCTOR / EATSTATIC / ED STONES & THE BD3 / EDDIE EARTHQUAKE / EROL ALKAN / FATHER FUNK / FEATURECAST / FIRE BENEATH THE SEA / FOLKESTRA / FOXES FAUX / FRASER TT / FREAKY BITCHES / FREESTYLERS LIVE / GHOST CULTURE / GOOD FOXY / GRAEME PARK / GREAT SCOTT / GREG WILSON / GRIFFS MAGIC THEATRE / GRINNY GRANDAD / HECTOR BIZERK / HENGE / HORSE PARTY / INDIANIC / INSTRUMENT OF JAH / ITAL GUIDANCE / J BEAR & THE GIANTS / JAM TIDY / JAMBEATER / JAMES ATKIN / JAMES HOLROYD / JERAMIAH FERRARI / JOHN THE BAPTIST / JOHN TREE / JOHNNY CLASH / JON DASILVA / JUSTIN ROBERTSON / K-KLASS / KARL ROSCOE / KASSASSIN STREET / KEN EVIL / KIRAN LEONARD / KRYSKO/ LORD / LANCASHIRE HOTPOTS / LAWLESS / LAZY SUSAN / LINDSAY TT / LOO & PLACIDO / LOWDOWN DJ'S / LUMBERJACKS / LUNALOOP / LYONS & LA ZEL / MAR / CONSTANTINE / MARK TURNER / MARTEN HORGER / MARTHA REEVES / MATT MONTEZ / MATT PLYFORD / MATT TDK / MATTY B / MAURICE FULTON / ME & MY FRIENDS
/MESSENGER / MIAOUX MIAOUX / MIRANDA ARIEH / MISSKITTYFLIP / MISTAJAM / MISTER TOOLEY / MISTI VALENTINE / MOFO & BOZO / MOLLY TILSTON / MOOQEE / MOOSE FUNK SQUAD / MOUSE OUTFIT / MR BENN LIVE / MR SCRUFF / MR SWITCH / NAZIM ZIRYAB / NIGHTMARES ON WAX / PADDY STEER / PALACE / PAPA SHANTI MEETS NEMA KUTA / PAPER CRANES / PAROV STELAR / PAT TRASH TT / PAUL TAYLOR / PAUL THORNTON / PAUL WOOLFORD / PBR STREETGANG / PEACH TT / PETE FOXON'S SOUL TRAIN / PHIL HARTNOLL / PIMPSOUL / PLUMP DJS / PORT ISLA / RALPH LAWSON / RED EYE HIFI / RED J TT / RED TIN DAVE / RICHARD NORRIS / ROSS ALLEN / RUBBER KAZOO / RUM JIG / RUSS CUBAN / SACHA SCHWARTZ / SAM AND THE WOMP / SEAN P / SHIBA SAN / SIMON SCOTT DIMENSIONS / SKUTCH MANOS / SOLANA / SPAT-CHILLA / STEF M / STEVE THORPE / SUGARBEAT RESIDENTS / SUGARHILL GANG / SWING DANCE / TANTRUM DESIRE / TELEGRAM / THE KAYANITES / THE LEVELLERS / THE PIRATONES / TIM SHERIDAN / TIRIKILATOPS / TREVINO / UNDERGROUND ROOTS / UTAH SAINTS / VANILLA ACE / VIEKA / WILL JOSEPH COOK / YOUTH CLUB / ZION TRAIN

Love System takes place in the never-before-used Punta Radman wood. The shaded, intimate site contains a maze of bars, stages and chill-out areas nestled in between the trees. Venture further into the wood and, without a building in sight, punters spill out onto the coast where the main stage lies floating over the Adriatic. Here, festival-goers will have the opportunity to dance the day and night away to the beat of electronic music’s elite, caressed by the afternoon summer sun or the blissful Croatian night-time. Shonky, Ralph Lawson, Mario Basanov and Finnebassen are just some of the names to grace the floating stage.

In true Croatian style, Love System wouldn’t be complete without a boat party, so we have decided to bring you eight. Hosted by some of the most esteemed labels and party brands in the UK, including Jaunt, Underground, Kumasi and Bad Apple, the Love System fleet sets sail twice daily. Catch George Fitzgerald representing his ManMakeMusic label, roll up for the Tom Demac Live show with Micron, indulge yourself with French house groover Shonky on the 2020Vision cruise, or see UK funky don Ossie smash up the Flux boat.

Further additions to the lineup include:

First up, No Artificial Colours make the trip to the Adriatic, bringing their signature hypnotic melodies and growling basslines. Their recent Boiler Room takeover has continued the duo’s sharp rise in the house music canon, having released on Nurvous and Resonance Records of late.

Scottish/American/London trio WildKats will accompany them, also fresh off a Boiler Room takeover, where they exhibited their Midas touch for house and disco edits. Releases on Hot Creations and OFF Recordings capped off an excellent 2012 for the three producers.

Exploited Records, meanwhile, are sending the all-conquering Adana Twins and Claptone, comfortably the biggest selling deep house acts of 2013. Adana Twins have recently been honoured with a guest mix on Pete Tong’s Radio 1 show, off the back of their exemplary “Everyday” EP. Claptone’s gorgeous reworking of an iconic Charmel’s sample meant his absolute bomb “Cream” tore through Europe’s dancefloors in 2012, whilst recent release “Wrong” suggests a producer in the time of his life. Supporting Ben Pearce on his Purp & Soul takeover will be Harry Wolfman and Jouhl.

Boat Parties

Love System will put on no less than eight boat parties. Hosted by some of the most esteemed labels and party brands in the UK, including Troupe, Jaunt, Underground, Kumasi and Bad Apple, the Love System fleet sets sail twice daily. Catch George Fitzgerald representing his ManMakeMusic label, roll up for the Ben Pearce and Tom Demac Live show with Micron, indulge yourself with French house groover Shonky on the 2020Vision cruise, or see 2013 man-of-the-moment Ejeca smash up the Troupe boat.

Afterparties

There will be a series of afterparties running at the weekend in addition to the main stages and also once they have closed. These will take place in the local Shark club, and be hosted by three esteemed UK party brands, including Magna Carta, with No Artificial Colours, Wildkats, Kreature and more all playing.

Woodland

As a shady counterpoint to the larger, sun-kissed main stage, the Woodland Arena promises to be a more intimate experience. The sound will be intense, the environment unique, the vibes absolutely spot on. Over the weekend, the woodland arena is taken over by some of Europe's most trailblazing house brands – Milan's Take It Easy crew, East London tastemakers Costa Del Wallop, Manchester outfit Purp & Soul and Leeds upstarts Flux.

LINE UP

Love System is more than just a festival; it is a holiday as well. There is a range of beautiful apartments and villas just minutes from the site, allowing revellers all the comforts and luxuries they could want. Alternatively, camping is available next to the site for those looking to enjoy the Croatian summer. Travel packages including transfers from Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle to London airports, and coaches to the site, are available to make booking your time at Love System as easy as possible.

Love System is the connoisseur’s festival: forward-thinking music, mindblowing Adriatic coastline setting, bespoke boat parties, branded after parties, luxury accommodation, and the Croatian summer. With tickets limited to just 800, make sure you bag yours now to avoid any disappointment. Early Bird tickets are on sale now priced at only £59. Roll on the Summer of Love!

Lineup completed for this years Beat Herder Festival

Croatia hosts Love System Festival 2013