It’s that time of year again when the world’s greatest rave descends upon Pontins in Southport to assault your mind. Yes, it can only be Bangface!
With over 150 acts across 4 days and all the regular Pontins fun thrown in, it is literally the most fun you can have in 4 days.
15 takeovers, including different promoters, labels and collectives from around the country feature in the lineup and we’ve got previews with some of them.
First up, we caught up with the Amenstrual crew who are flying the flag for Amen loving women all over the UK. They takeover The Queen Vic pub from 6pm on Friday night so expect an onslaught of snares and laughs galore.
We sent Laura and Sara some questions ahead of the takeover to find out what’s in store. Make sure and listen to their mix below also.
Q: When did Amenstrual begin? How many people are involved?
Laura– I used to go to a lot of clubs at weekends Brighton, London and Bristol. I would always notice that there wasn’t many females on the line up and thought would be a great idea for a night . Sara pushed me to go for it with her help, it was such a great feeling when it all came together.
Sara – It began when Laura wanted to organise a night for International women’s day and it just went from there really. We both wanted to create an impact on a very male dominated scene.There is currently just the two of us holding the Amenstrual flag.
Q: What is the general ethos behind it?
Sara– Allowing women to come forward and be given an opportunity to perform, we also want to show that there are some really talented ladies out there. We just want to make them more known. We have been able to spread our name/ ethos a lot more since taking bookings outside of the UK.( Although people always assume we are feminists or don’t want men at our events etc which is not true! We love the mandem)
Q: What can people expect from your takeover this year?
Laura– it’s our Second festival booking, so we’re pretty hyped for our takeover! We have a few surprises in store but expect an assault of tampons and amens!
Sara– We are really excited to be kicking off festival season with the 3-hour takeover! There will be a journey in genres mostly consisting of filthy drum and bass, tear out jungle and heavy amens and breakcore.There will definitely be some very rowdy sounds pumping out from the Queen Vic and blood lots of blood! We selected a fierce bunch of ladies to represent our sound and also who we can party with all weekend.
We have Snyde as our headliner, she has been producing drum and bass for over 10 years. We then have Squif, who I first saw playing at Boomtown a few years ago and her set blew me away! We also have the 2 residents Mufflove and Cervical snare.
I am very pleased to be returning to play at Bangface weekender for the second year now!
Q: What is it about Bangface that makes it so special?
Laura – Everyone is so on it and hyped! All about the bantz, chalet sessions and sweaty mashpits. My Most memorable experience was building a sandcastle with Bong-Ra , very surreal haha
Sara– The people, they are absolutely bonkers! Breakcore and relentless horns, glow sticks and I am in love with the oldschool rave vibe! In the 8 years I have been attending the events I have never experienced any bad vibes or hostile behaviour, everyone is well friendly and up for a laugh!
Q: What’s been the most debauchery you’ve seen at the weekender?
Laura – The whole weekend is a debauched experience. A mate of mine pissed himself in front of security. He got chucked out 3 hours before the end of Bangface! One man fight against all authority.
Sara– I have seen a chalet that had been destroyed and turned into a time machine! Or my mate was that twisted he thought the dance floor was the backstage area and was trying to clear the room (I am sure the person playing would have really enjoyed that!)
Q: What are your top survival tips for the weekend?
Laura– GO IN HARD OR GO HOME! Bring as much Buckfast as is humanly possible and get into the Bangface spirit with the fancy dress theme! In 2011 was horror themed my friend went round wearing a door doing his best ‘here’s johnny’ the shining impression!! He was so hardcore that he won a chalet for his mental efforts!!!
Sara– Don’t piss off the security or they will ruin your entire weekend. My mate survived 4.9 days without sleeping and looked better than us on the Monday. Keep yourself fueled on amens, pizza and surround yourself with off key nutters!
Q: Finish this sentence: On 2pm on Sunday at Bangface you can most likely find me….
Laura– Dressed up as Cher attempting to sing ‘If I could turn back time’ with the Vengaboys on the Vengabus.
Sara– Shitting in the neighbour’s oven or trying to find kick drums!
Thanks to Laura and Sara for the words. You can catch them from 6-9 in The Queen Vic pub next Friday at Bangface Weekender.
The last few chalets remain for the festival. Grab your tickets here.