Preview: Arc Festival, 27.04.13 Bristol

The success of the ‘Field Day formula’ means that there’s no shortage of non-camping, urban festivals to take your pick from. Bristol alone can boast the multi-venue Simple Things and Love Saves The Day. But, perhaps inevitably, the lines between them have started to blur – and while hipsters are generously catered for, for those whose dancing shoes are more likely to be DMs than pointy-toed patent leather numbers, the pickings are thin. Enter Arc Festival – a one day showcase of forward-thinking/fresh/filthy electronic music and digital art – which debuts at Eastville Park, Bristol, on the 27th April. For fans of muscular electronica, high end techno, and experimental dance music in general, the line up is a dream come true. Warp stalwart Clark tops the bill, but it’s his supporting cast – Will Saul, James Holden, Bass Clef, Nathan Fake and Martyn – that marks out Arc festival as much more than another generic one-dayer.

With live sets from The Black Dog and Skudge, a pretty significant chunk of the day will belong to snarling, crunchy bass – and with the recent renaissance on the stompier side of techno, led by artists like Blawan, these are astute bookings. But there’s also light relief – Bristol’s increasingly influential Behling & Simpson (pictured), for example – and some more sideways sounds too (with another Bristol act, Arkist, fitting the bill perfectly).

Throw in a generous helping of audio visual sets from up and coming acts like Lumen, plus local label showcases and there’s every reason to think that while this may be the first time out for the Arc experience, it isn’t going to be the last. Hit up the website for more details and for tickets.