8 DJs who will demolish their sets at Aberdeen’s Cultivate Festival

Aberdeen’s Cultivate Festival finally arrives to us on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th May - a week to go!  

This year, the fest has five stages across two floors, both indoors and outdoors, including the new Tuk Tuk area and The Pano stage makes a return. Bringing a chunky lineup of house, techno, bass, and disco names, we’ve been counting down the days for some time now. 

Now the fest is just around the corner, we’re ready to share with you the sets we’re sure will blow everyone away. It was tricky to narrow it down do eight- all the acts are beyond incredible - but here are our top picks for Cultivate. 

999999999 

If you love truly unhinged, feral techno, 9x9’s set will be right up your street. Blistering, raw energy from start to finish, 9x9 is wild on the decks. The whole place will be vibrating with each hard, boomy thump of the kick drum - it’s definitely a set for the more hardcore fans. 

Schak

North East England’s Schak has got a super busy schedule this year with festivals and ravers all over. The house and dance released his debut Moving All Around (Jumpin’) with Trick (Patrick Topping’s label) and Ministry Of Sound late last year, and he’s been everywhere since. He’s already gone far, but he’ll definitely go further!

Mixtress

Mixtress has been behind hardcore and jungle for years across the UK and Europe. She’s snagged loads of attention with her mixes that bring a variety of sounds to her sets including bass, breakbeat, and throwback bangers. She’s sold out some of the biggest venues all over thanks to her super unique style, and we can’t wait to see what flavours and energy she brings to Cultivate. 

Hannah Laing

Absolutely huge at the minute, there isn’t much here that needs to be said. She keeps selling out shows over and over again, then selling out extra dates. The Scottish DJ typically brings high-energy techno with splashes of trance, and won the award for Best Live Act at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards last year. She’ll smash it.

t e s t p r e s s

Another one on Patrick Topping’s Trick label,  t e s t p r e s s (or TP as we’ll call them because we don’t fancy typing out all those spaces too often) has plenty of euphoric dancey tunes for you to familiarise yourself with before the fest. Hailing from Aberdeen, this will be a homecoming gig for the deep house duo, which, in itself, is sure to get the crowd lively. TP has been popping up over and over, and we reckon 2023 will be their year. 

Franck

Yep, even more Scottish talent to check out at Cultivate! Franck, originally Franck FKA VIGILE, made use of COVID lockdowns to transition into his current form, with a focus on harder and faster techno. Despite shuffling into a slightly new area, his tracks have already received plenty of praise from some of the hardest hitters in the genre. His set will be dark, gritty, and intense. 

TAAHLIAH

Destined for greatness, we (and everybody else) can’t get enough of the award-winning TAAHLIAH. Establishing herself in Berlin's underground scene, you can tell she's in it for real. Changing up the offering at the fest, she offers hard dance with hyper pop elements. Super creative, super electric, get to her set! 

Charlie Sparks

Sparks focuses on energy over everything. Blending all sorts of mad tracks together from techno, industrial, acid, and beyond, he's a force to be reckoned with on the decks. His stage presence matches his sound perfectly, bouncing about to his unusual but perfect blends. Simple. 

There are still tickets left for Cultivate Festival. If you fancy a bit of this and so much more, secure your place at the bottom of this page. 

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.

Header: Cultivate. / Facebook.com 

Tickets for Cultivate Festival | Friday 12th - Saturday 13th May 2023 | Aberdeen

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