World’s deepest underground rave to take place 1,400 feet beneath Welsh mountain

Nation.Cymru Staff

A world record attempt to stage the deepest underground rave ever held is set to take place nearly 1,400 feet beneath a mountain in north Wales later this month.

On 15 October, a limited group of ballot winners will leave the surface in Eryri and enter the abandoned Cwmorthin slate mine through miners’ stairways, waterlogged passages and underground ravines, with scrambles, zip lines and abseils before they reach a chamber 1,375 feet below ground.

The chamber will then become a dancefloor in an attempt to stage the world’s deepest underground rave at the furthest point under the earth in the UK that the public can reach.

At the bottom of the route, DJ Roni Size will perform a one-off set, with specialist equipment capturing how the music’s vibrations travel through the slate, mud and water.

For Size, the setting marks a return to his underground roots in Bristol’s sound-system and rave scenes, where he helped shape the early sound of jungle and drum and bass.

He later brought the genre to wider audiences with Reprazent, whose debut album New Forms won the 1997 Mercury Prize, and will bring that experimental spirit back underground for the Cwmorthin performance.

Roni Size explained: “Back in Bristol, we’d put on a party wherever we could, and some of the sounds came from what we called happy accidents, playing a track at the wrong speed, hearing something that sounds new but still works.

“Raves could take place in some crazy and unexpected places, on someone’s front lawn, down in tunnels, but what I’ve always done is play to the environment, and the crowd.

“The set is a living, breathing thing that reflects the people there with you. That’s the spirit I want to take into Cwmorthin.

“By the time we’re 1,375 feet underground, everyone there will already have shared an adventure. And how much more could you reflect the environment, than by pumping a set into the mountain, hearing the sound travelling through the slate, rock and mud, and bringing it back into the mix.

“It’s the most underground of underground raves ever.”

During the set, vibration transducers will send sound into the slate, while geophones and hydrophones will capture what travels through the rock, water and mud.

The sound engineering team has also measured how sound behaves inside the mine and will feed elements of the music into the rock, capturing the resulting vibrations to incorporate back into the set.

The event, organised by watch brand G-SHOCK, will also serve as the launch of its new £200 MUDMAN watch, and those making the journey into the mine will be able to buy it ahead of its wider release.

Places will be allocated through a public ballot via the Casio site here, with entries closing on 9 October. Attendance will be limited to those who meet the necessary age, fitness, and equipment requirements.

G-SHOCK Radio will broadcast the set via Starlink from Cwmorthin Quarry on 15 October, with the full performance available afterwards on Mixcloud.

The descent and performance will be documented, with evidence submitted afterwards for independent recognition of the world record attempt.

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