About Bloc Festival 2012
With a new home for 2012 at the London Pleasure Gardens in the Royal Victoria Docks, Blocfest 2012 will be set by the water’s edge, overlooked by the monolithic post-industrial derelict buildings of Britain’s former glory.
Borne from the minds of the crew behind late-night area ‘Shangri-La’ at Glastonbury Festival, their vision was a multi-faceted space in the heart of Olympic London to facilitate the arts and cultural happenings that have made London what it is.
Bloc will offer totally new, purpose-built, hi-spec venues – some on land and some floating on water. The biggest and most diverse lineup Bloc has known yet will be presented across the permanent venues erected on site – a 30m geodesic dome and the majestic Hub stage from Glastonbury. All main stages will be covered and have walls.
Mind-blowing audio-visual experiences will run alongside awe-inspiring projections and installations, capitalising on the brooding sense of the buildings that dominate the area. Unforgettable sunrises over the water and rock-solid sense of community and togetherness will be captured by BlocTV.
The sixth annual Bloc festival will be like nothing the world has seen or heard before.
Line up
Orbital / Snoop Dogg / Richie Hawtin / Amon Tobin: ISAM / Gary Numan /Steve Reich / Flying Lotus / Ricardo Villalobos / Jeff Mills / Squarepusher / Battles / DOOM / A.T.O.L. / Jamie Jones / Carl Craig – 69 / Nicolas Jaar / Apparat Band / James Blake / Joker / Four Tet / Monolake / Scuba / Ellen Allien / Hudson Mohawke DJ / Levon Vincent / Surgeon / Clark / Shackleton / Martyn / Joy Orbison b2b Jackmaster / Art Department / Sandwell District / Actress / Hype Williams / Digital Mystikz / Kode9 / Luke Vibert / Tikiman with Scion / Alva Noto / Cosmin TRG / Steffi / L Vis 1990 b2b Bok Bok / Loefah / Jacques Greene / Billy Nasty / Addison Groove / Mosca / Cooly G / Jon Hopkins / Nathan Fake / Space Dimension Controller / Ben Sims / Appleblim / Oneohtrix Point Never / Will Saul / Ikonika / Ray Keith / Ed DMX / Geddes / Xhin / Midland / Untold / Byetone / T.Williams / RadioNasty / Mark Archer [Altern 8] / Transparent Sound / Dusky / Pariah / Boddika / Arpanet / Pinch / Illum Sphere / SND / Perc / Objekt / Lucy / Daniel Stefanik / Oneman / Deadboy / Redinho / Spencer / Truss / Scratcha DVA / Terror Danjah / Ceephax Acid Waltzers / Andy Blake / Joe Hart / Al Tourettes / Jerome Hill / Alis / Isa GT / ADJ
Updates
Some of the most impressive shows at Bloc 2012 will be held inside the MS Stubnitz, a former fishing vessel. The 2,541 tonne ship has been home for the past 20 years to arts events – operating on a mainly voluntary basis, the Stubnitz crew ranges from weekend helpers to live in residents. At the end of the year up to 100 people could have worked on board the ship, which is a familiar presence in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Hamburg. For July Stubnitz with make its first trip to London to become a venues at Bloc Festival 2012.
Built in 1964 at the Volkswerft Stralsund, a shipbuilding yard belonging to the German Democratic Republic. The 80 metre giant was devised to process and store the yield from smaller vessels fishing the Baltic. With a capacity of 1.4k tonnes of frozen fish, and quarters for up to 60 people living and working on board, when the GDR disbanded following the Cold War, the fleet went on sale.
Urs Blaser (AKA Blo) had been peddling “a mobile tactical media unit” from a converted Mercedes Hanomag around Europe for a years, and the Stubnitz delivered his vision for cultural exchange and “physical networking” through a travelling series of audiovisual events.
A couple of years later she set off on her maiden voyage, a project that involved transforming the cargo holds into two concert halls, each equipped to stage live and electronic music shows, as well as exhibitions, performances and multimedia events. A lounge area and bar was forged out of the ship’s stern, with the deck acting as outdoor space. As well as hosting events, Stubnitz has been documenting its activities since the beginning from its on board A/V lab—a ramshackle assortment of gear and aging computer monitors. Aside from regular radio broadcasts, they edit and archive all events that take place on the ship – recordings that number in the thousands.
For more info and tickets from£55 see the website blocweekend.com
