For the second part  in our Bangface preview series we sent some questions to Ellie from Leeds Drum & Bass crew Fractal, who take over The Queen Vic Pub at Bangface on the Friday. Ellie was also good enough to record a preview mix so you know what’s in store for the weekender. (Hint: Heavy as fuck!!)

Q: When did Fractal begin? How many people are involved?

I started Fractal nearly 3 years ago now, in October of 2013, as a practically unattended drum & bass night in a now-defunct venue. It’s hard to say how many people are actually involved; whilst it’s just me at the helm I got a relatively big crew of people that I ask stupid questions of… and then I do stupid things based on the answers that they give me.

Q: What is the general ethos behind it?

To basically bring some crazy hard musical variety to the Leeds event scene. There’s some good stuff down south, some good stuff further north, not so much in the area itself. There are a few large events that cater to the hardstyle scene, plenty of drum & bass events, and loads of house… but I couldn’t find any proper nice good fun fast-hard-music-with-breaks-in events. So I made one up. We basically try and get as much musical variety as possible into one room whilst still making sure to keep everything fast, hard, fun, and ridiculous.

Q: You guys have a takeover at Bangface this year. What can people expect from it?

We’ve got all of our residents doing sets as well as a couple of our favourite guests from previous events in Leeds. As mentioned above we like to keep the variety, so the five DJs we’ve got in-store will all be playing totally different selections of music. Hopefully it should get pretty crazy. We’ve got Wit!?, everybody’s favourite trouser-less Scotsman; our resident warmup mashup crazy business specialist LSD-Licious, my partner in crime Skanky Ho playing some hard D&B set, old guest Killabomb playing some hardcore styles and then myself CUN7 playing a selection of crossbreed hardcore d&b, breakcore and kickdrums. All in all a pretty wide variety, I think. Something for all ages.

Q: What is it about Bangface that makes it so special?

It’s just so damn ridiculous, man! Take 3000 people and some of the best music the planet can offer, put them in a kids holiday park for a weekend with go-karts, inflatables and shitloads of booze, and this is basically what you get. Absolute chaotic savagery

Q: Best moment from Bangface?

Hopefully this doesn’t come off as arrogant but my favourite part of Bangface last year was blagging a set on the Bangface TV and turning the TV studio from an empty room to a packed out sweatbox of crossbreed ravers in half an hour. I definitely won’t forget that

Q: What are your top survival tips for the weekend?

You must get at least 6 hours of sleep at night, brush your teeth and enjoy a balanced breakfast every morning

Q: Finish this sentence: The best way to bang your face is….

Against a wall, with force, approximately 240 times a minute in time to some seriously chaotic ‘music’.

Big thanks to Ellie for the words and the heavy as fuck mix. Catch the Fractal takeover on Friday April 15 1-6pm in The Queen Vic pub at Bangface Weekender. 

Tracklist:
The Pope – eRRe
Snare Factory – Sinister Souls
Violent Content – Hallucinator
The Expensive Squat Party Anthem – Limewax & Thrasher
Time to meet the Devil – N-Vitral
Nothing Left – Katharsys
Prepare to Die – The Outside Agency
Hours & Dreams – The Outside Agency
Horns Up – Sinister Souls
We Are – Triamer & Nagato
Swing – Sinister Souls
The Past Is Dead (Sei2ure Remix) – Mikromakine
Massive on the Bass – Sei2ure
Perfect Organism – Sinister Souls ft. TOA
Fuck – Sei2ure & Synapse
Gods Among Us – Stolen Cult