Swing & Bass Takeover Twisted Assembly!

Please welcome your new host to Nozstock The Hidden Valley, as they take over the brand new Twisted Assembly. Fizzy Gillespie, programmer and founder of Swing & Bass is bringing a weekend packed full of funk, frolics, fun and party music. You know the score – ridiculous games and colourful fun by day, late night disco vibes until shutdown. Ahead of 2022s festival, we caught up with Fizzy to ask a few questions…

What is Swing & Bass about?

Swing & Bass is a party and label which takes the sounds of the 1920s to 70s (and beyond!) and remixes them with a modern mashup twist! This is where Bowler Hats meet Bass and Lindy Hop meets Booty Pop!

What can we expect from your Noz take-over?

Expect loads of fun remixes and bootlegs which will have you dancing your socks off! We love taking the sounds of the past and re-imagining them into a modern style that always goes down great with any audience. Lots of smiles and bangin’ beats guaranteed!

What makes a great audience or venue? 

A great audience or venue requires inclusivity and community at the core of it. Not taking yourself too seriously and just having a good time! It’s all about the vibes first and foremost.

What artists are killing it right now?

This is a hard one! So many… in the Swing & Bass scene I’ve got to shout out Mista Trick and his new live band. He’s pushing the boundaries of the scene. Mr. Fitz is another fantastic DJ who has got the skills to pay the bills! Outside of the Swing & Bass scene, I’m totally loving an awesome Disco band called Rayowa, you gotta check ‘em out.

How did lockdowns and restrictions during COVID affect you?

A lot of my work stopped. I work as Head of Music for Hootananny Brixton, a music venue in London, and we had to close our doors.

Gigs disappeared of course, and my full time job being a promoter and programmer suddenly changed quite dramatically. My own DJ gigs dried up immediately. No longer was I working on putting on shows, but rather it had all turned into online shows.

I ended up starting a project called Hoots TV which miraculously got funded by the Arts Council (big up the Arts Council). We ended up hosting over 300 artists, doing 5 online shows a week, sometimes more! It ended up being a real life saver and kept me sane and sociable; and ended up being a great way to meet lots of new people; in a COVID safe way of course.

Thankfully we’re back to normal for now; and things are looking really positive.

What’s next for Swing & Bass? 

We’re working on lots of music, we’re regularly putting on parties and we’re playing at tons of festivals! I’m working nearly every single weekend from now until mid-September, so I’m probably going to be totally knackered and a shell of a man once the Summer is over. With that said, I’m very grateful to be busy, especially after being off of it all during COVID! Got to jump in at the deep end as they say.

Our next party is on 4th June at Lost Horizon in Bristol, which is an adventure for us as we’re usually London based. It was about time we returned to Bristol though.

Other than that, we finally had the vinyl copies of mine and Mista Trick’s collaborative EP Disco Rollers come out! It’s a 4 track EP of Disco remixed into a Drum’n’Bass style. It’s super fun, ultra danceable and is something we’re super proud of as a project. You can download the music and buy the vinyl HERE. We’re down to the last few copes of the vinyl, so if you want one, grab it now!

What are you most looking forward to for Noz 2022? 

I’m super excited to be running and programming The Twisted Assembly stage. It’s going to be my first time at Nozstock and to be looking after my own stage is going to be awesome. I’ve heard so much about the wonderful community behind the festival, so I’m super excited to soak in the vibes and meet all the wonderful people that make up the world of Noz!