Max HeyraudThis years AVA Boiler Rooms are available stream on Youtube and we’re reliving the magic at Four Four headquarters right now. As always the Irish talent was forefront of the Boiler Rooms and there’s a whole host of gleaming sets from EMA, DART, ELLLL, Matheson and more. Check out all the Irish Boiler Rooms from AVA Festival inside the article.
AVA arrived at its new home of Titanic Slipways this year and presented one if its most impressive lineups to date. From Robert Hood to Gemma Dunleavy the festival had a little slice for everyone. A wide ranging lineup that saw techno, house, jungle, garage, hip-hop, electronica and much more over four stages on two days, this years edition was one of the most talked about yet.
AVA is known for championing forward thinking and ground breaking Irish acts, both established and up and coming, and this year was no different. Festival favourites Bicep took the main stage for a remarkable homecoming show, while festival regulars IMNOTYOURMATE & Nez controlled The Baltic Stage and newcomers Midweek set the tone at The Grasses. The Irish took the Boiler Room stage hostage and inevitably stole the show.
Here’s our round up of the Irish Boiler Rooms at this years AVA Festival.
Brién
Brién kicked off AVA’s annual Boiler Room’s with a host of mellow cuts, ranging from disco, funk, downtempo, afrobeat, jazz and more. Ireland’s most chilled out selector laid down a blissful hour of tranquil beats, moving from bad ass brass sections to conga symphonies. A nonchalant mixing style led to fearless selections taking centre stage, but none the less Brién keeps his undeniably chill approach to warming up the festival.
DART
Next up on the Boiler Room was Finglas native DART as he jacked up the tempo with an assortment of high octane dance-floor cuts. The Irish favourite arrived with an air of confidence to his second appearance on Boiler Room, beginning his set with X-Coast’s remix of his track ‘Only The Strong’, from here it was all guns blazing as he runs through techno, house, trance, hard house and out and out bangers. This is pinnacle rave from DART.
ELLLL
The next Irish act to step up to the plate was Berlin based Boiler Room regular ELLLL who provided a trippy hour of bass heavy sounds. Left-field techno and bass with submarine soundscapes were apparent throughout the hour, but ELLLL makes sure to keep the ravers on their toes as she jolts in some tongue ‘n’ cheek selections, and crowd favourites. ELLLL keeps the crowd in the palm of her hand for this one, as she flirts around ravey cuts, while keeping the atmosphere ultimately trippy.
Matheson
Belfast youngster Matheson kicked off the second day of Boiler Room streams with an hour of bass heavy sounds. Matheson keeps it cool, calm and collected while dishing out a selection of murky half steppers, that requires your finest bass face. Tribal rhythms and pummelling bass were very much on display here as Matheson brings a little slice of Bristol to Belfast. Halfway through the mix Matheson blesses the crowds ears with a sassy Britney edit that serves as a catalyst for a ravey and bouncy last half hour of the stream. An excellent debut from Matheson.
EMA
Speaking of bass… EMA stepped up for her second appearance on Boiler Room, and she came equipped with an array of sub shaking weapons. The Woozy boss delivered an effortless trip through UK bass, weaving around classic and contemporary dubstep, hard drum, grime and UK Funky cuts. The bass heavy hour is entirely restless as EMA applies continuous pressure, enclasping tension with every transition, and loosening the coercion at select moments. After showering the Belfast crowd with a medley of tracks from Walton, Blawan, IRL and more, Dublin bass queen EMA finished with a bang, or rather a wub in this case, as she concluded the set with dubstep classic ’26 Basslines’ by Benga. This is fantastic.
Mark Blair
The final Irish act to grace AVA’s coveted Boiler Room was Belfast favourite Mark Blair. Best known for tracks such as ‘I Miss The Old Kanye’, ‘Biggie Was A Jazz Fan’ and more, the Northern Irish edit champion lived up to his vivacious name. A mix of house and techno thumpers with jarring breakbeats and familiar samples rocked the AVA Boiler Room and had the crowd in a frenzy. Blair was joined by his parents towards the end of the set for a family affair of Belfast classics. High energy from start to finish.
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