Drum & bass legend Roni Size(Image: PR Handout)

Roni Size had a rave in an abandoned Welsh mine where dancers had a two-hour descent to party

by · Wales Online

A rave hosted by one of the world's most famous drum and bass DJs, Roni Size, 1,375 feet beneath the mountains of Eryri kicked off with the Welsh national anthem.

Attended by winners of a ballot held for the launch of Casio's G-SHOCK Mudman watch, the attendees wore helmets and descended on a gruelling two hour climg down into Cwmorthin slate mine, the deepest reachable place in the UK, to get to the set.

The inward route followed miners' stairways, cold and flooded passages, loose slate and vertical drops, abseils, ziplines and scrambles. The rave only appeared after the final descent, with the decks, sound, lighting and recording equipment carried in on people’s backs.

Only 39 people attended the rave, plus Go Below Underground Adventures, who operate activities within Cwmortin were on hand to guide and manage the underground event and safety of the ravers.

From the first recce to the final ascent they made sure the event paid homage to the people that built the passages, and honoured the history of the mine. Go Below said: "This event serves as an opportunity to share the history of the quarrymen with both the attendees and a wider global audience."

Cwmorthin has carried sound for more than two centuries. Quarrying began in 1810, and the mine's original soundtrack came from drilling, tools, wagons, running water and voices travelling through slate. Beyond the workings, Welsh quarry communities were centres of culture as well as industry, with bands, singing, poetry and eisteddfodau woven into life around the mines

At the bottom Roni Size played a one-off set inside a vast underground chamber reached with support from Go Below's qualified mine leaders. G-SHOCK staged the event as a reward for the people with the deepest commitment to toughness and music as it launched its new Mudman. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What’s On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here

Roni Size said ahead of the event: "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.

"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."

Find the full Roni Size set on G-SHOCK Radio Mixcloud. Evidence from the strictly ticketed event is now being submitted for independent verification as a world-record submission for the world's deepest underground rave.

Roni Size has been DJ-ing for more than 30 years(Image: PR Handout)
During Size's set, vibration transducers sent elements of the music directly into the surrounding slate. Geophones and hydrophones then captured what travelled through the rock, water and mud, bringing Cwmorthin's acoustic and geological response back into the performance(Image: PR Handout)
Fairplay - these guys have dedication to dance (and new watches!)(Image: PR Handout)
Roni Size's set shaped by the mountain and the mine itself, rather than simply played inside it - drum and bass moving through a signal chain made from stone, water, engineering and the crowd(Image: PR Handout)
Safety helmets were a must(Image: PR Handout)