Preview: Takeoff Festival

Photograph: Take Off 2012

2012 heralded the biggest ever dance music festival that Southend had seen in the shape of Take Off. Riding on the back of that success, the Essex festival has returned for 2013, carrying an ever building sense of momentum with its biggest lie up yet bolstering the anticipation of the thirteen hour non stop dance fuelled fest.

Billed as bigger, bolder and better, the 19th October has certainly pulled out all the stops for its return to Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre in Garon Park. Heading up its all conquering cast of DJing royalty will be one of the figureheads of trance, and now a fully fledged icon in the world of Electronic dance music as a whole - Paul van Dyk. Perhaps one of the first superstar DJs, Paul Van Dyk is one of the few DJs to have won DJ Mags No.1 DJ in the world accolade more than once.

Paul Van Dyk's Politics of Dancing 3

His 23 year career has seen him win Grammy Awards, embark on numerous worldwide tours, and set up his Politics of Dancing roadshow, which this year alone has graced London’s South West Four, Gatecrasher, Digital Society and Goodgreef to name a few. Add now to that list Take Off, where Paul invites trance wunderkind Jordan Suckley (check out his exclusive Skiddle mix), Craig Connelly, Rob Harnetty and Ian O’Shea amongst others. Hosted by much loved clubbing brand Cream, arena one is already hitting all the right notes for Take Off’s return.

MK @ Mixmag

MK, No Artificial Colours and Diason are just some of the names headlining the Too Damn Glam arena. MK in particular has enjoyed a long standing career that has continued to build. Recent times have seen him become involved with the Hot Creations imprint, without doubt one of the go to labels at the moment. His recent MK in the house mix for Defected has been one fo the best recieved DJ compilations this year, and highlights the importance of the Detroit born house DJ in the scene today. Truly as master of his art, Mark Kinchen’s (MK's) headlining set will be an unmissable voyage through the deeper end of the house music spectrum, amped up for full on festival devastation.

Rat Pack - Searching For My Rizla

There is yet more quality as we move into the Kiss Presents arena. Nobody does Old Skool as well as Kiss do, and they’ve outdone themselves once more for their Essex showcase. Leading from the front will be DJ Lipmaster and MC Evenson Allen, AKA Rat Pack. Starting life in 1985 around the time of the birth of the warehouse rave scene, Rat Pack were the first team to combine DJ with MC in the dance music scene. Still going strong 28 years later, Rat Pack can be found at festivals and events from Glastonbury right through to long standing rave party Fantazia, superclub Ministry of Sound to Manchester’s scene stealing The Warehouse Project. They will be joined by Matt Jam Lamont, Justin Wilkes, and Charlie Hedges amongst others.

The final arena, One Nation, welcomes a host of drum ‘n’ bass luminaries to get the tempo up to fever bitch and amplify the bass to breaking point. Nicky Blackmarket, DJ Hype, Jayline Phazer and Katch 22 are some of the major players rounding off a scorching line up.

Take Off will combine all of these artists with Funktion One sound systems, Co2 cannons, confetti showers, podium dancers and various entertainers for a truly unforgettable 13 hour festival extravaganza.

Head here for your Take Off Festival tickets.

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