Nation.Cymru Staff
A Mercury Prize-winning DJ has performed a rave 1,375 feet beneath a Welsh mountain in an attempt to set a new world record.
On 15 October, Roni Size performed a one-off G-SHOCK Sessions set 1,375 feet beneath Eryri, in the Cwmorthin slate mine, in a one-off world record attempt to stage the deepest underground rave.
Ahead of the descent, Size connected Cwmorthin to the Bristol sound-system culture that shaped his career: “Back in Bristol, we’d put on a party wherever we could, and some of the sounds came from what we called happy accidents – playing a track at the wrong speed, hearing something that sounds new but still works.
“Raves could take place in some crazy and unexpected places, on someone’s front lawn, down in tunnels, but what I’ve always done is play to the environment and the crowd.
“The set is a living, breathing thing that reflects the people there with you…
“By the time we’re 1,375 feet underground, everyone there will already have shared an adventure. And how much more could you reflect the environment than by pumping a set into the mountain, hearing the sound travelling through the slate, rock and mud, and bringing it back into the mix?
“It’s the most underground of underground raves ever.”
After a two-hour descent through waterlogged passages and ravines, which included using zip lines and abseils, led by Go Below Underground Adventures, the mine’s leaseholder, a small group reached the dancefloor.
The inward route followed miners’ stairways, flooded passages, and required scrambles on loose slate, with decks, sound, lighting and recording equipment carried in on people’s backs.
Quarrying began at Cwmorthin in 1810, when its community along with others across Wales were centres of culture as well as industry, with bands, singing, poetry and eisteddfodau woven into life around the mines.
Go Below has continued to use sound as a way into that history, including underground carol services and performances of the national anthem on guided trips.
Before the set, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau filled the underground chamber, continuing a Go Below tradition of playing the Welsh national anthem inside the mine.
Go Below said: “This event serves as an opportunity to share the history of the quarrymen with both the attendees and a wider global audience.”
Go Below also oversaw the event’s logistics and safety arrangements, including risk assessments and inspections, while taking steps to protect the mine’s historic features.
Then, supported by G-SHOCK radio’s DJ Nav, Roni Size played a set while specialist equipment like vibration transducers drove the music into the slate.
Geophones and hydrophones then captured what travelled back through the rock, water, and mud, bringing Cwmorthin’s acoustic and geological response back into the performance.
Watch brand G-SHOCK staged the event as it launched its new Mudman, as a reward for “the people with the deepest commitment to toughness and music”.
The event also gave the group the first chance to get hands on with the new £200 GDG-B100 MUDMAN ahead of its wider release.
Evidence from the strictly ticketed event is now being submitted for independent verification as a submission for “The world’s deepest underground rave” world record.
The finished performance was prepared for G-SHOCK Radio, with the full set soon available on Mixcloud.
The post Welsh mining heritage meets rave culture in world record attempt appeared first on Nation.Cymru.