Grammy-winning artist Flowdan is set to headline boutique festival DEMSfest in Dundee this spring.
Flowdan, an English grime MC and producer, won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording along with collaborators Skrillex and Fred Again at the 2024 awards.
Now he’s bringing his beats to Dundee’s Mains Castle, as a huge boost to fledgling festival DEMSfest.
Starting out as a student-led club night hosted by Dundee Electronic Music Society (DEMS) in 2022, the event quickly grew arms and legs and is now a full-day festival with a capacity of 900 people.
And with other major UK acts Jay Carter and Pap Nugs on the bill, as well as support from local outfits such as Dundee’s Jute City Jam and Szentek from St Andrews, organiser and society co-founder Matthew Gibson-Smith is confident that DEMSfest revellers are in for a treat.
“It’ll be class, having friends and family there to spend the day,” says Matthew, a 22-year-old banking and finance masters student at Dundee University.
“I’m so excited.”
DEMSfest finds new home at Mains Castle
The event is also moving from it’s previous home in the Dundee University Student Union DUSA to the atmospheric Mains Castle, on the edge of the city.
“This year we’ve decided to go for a more exciting venue – a Medieval castle from the 16th century!” says Matthew.
“There will be three stages within the castle, with a capacity of 900 people.
“And we’re putting on buses and taxis so that students can get there, but most importantly back, safely.
“Then we’ll be putting on an after-party at DUSA, with more music – and even cheaper drinks.”
‘Two of my friends were diagnosed with brain tumours’
As well as a music festival, DEMSfest is a fundraising event for The Brain Tumour Charity – a cause close to Matthew’s heart.
“Two of my friends growing up were diagnosed with brain tumours,” explains Matthew.
“Rhudi Baume-Kennedy is my best friend from school, we used to play football together. We were about 11 or 12 when he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 ganglioglioma, and he was in hospital for about six months.
“He got the all-clear about three years later, which was really good. But my brother’s best friend, Murray Stewart, unfortunately passed away from a brain tumour when we were teenagers.
“I wanted to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity because they supported my friends.”
Hidden tattoos and ‘flying DJ set’ on the cards
Last year, the festival organisers raised a whopping £10K for the cause using some outlandish tactics.
“We had several committee members on stationary bikes, and there were challenges you could buy with bigger donations,” explains Matthew.
“Like for £3 someone would get hit in the face with a plate of whipped cream. Or for a fiver they’d be made to eat a hot chilli.
“Then we had one challenge where if someone donated £250 in one go, one of the cyclists would have to get a tattoo of the society logo on their bum.
“So now I’ve got it, and so have two of my pals!”
Now, with a target of £10K for the Brain Tumour Charity once again, DEMS are dreaming up some record-breaking stunts that will make backside ink pale in comparison.
“This year we’re planning on doing the highest DJ set in the UK,” explains Matthew.
“One of my pals is in the flight school and he takes his friends up in the plane, so we’re planning on going up with a set of decks with him.
“Right now, the highest DJ set was on Ben Nevis. But we’re planning on clearing that by a couple of thousand metres.”
‘Let’s bring back good nights in Dundee’
And DEMS themselves are reaching heights they never dreamed of, with this festival marking two and a half years of a “wild” ride.
Formed in late 2021, the DJ collective immediately took off. And they’ve have been regularly playing to 1,000+ students in DUSA every week since.
They’ve also headlined at city clubs Kings, Aura, Club T, Fat Sams and collaborated with Arbroath DJ Van Damn.
“It was wild, because we did just start it as a society,” notes Matthew. “But we’re essentially working as a DJ collective.”
He puts this down partly to Dundee’s “bursting taste” for dance and electronic music post-pandemic, demonstrated by the skyrocketing career of city DJ Hannah Laing.
“The scene as a whole really took off,” he says.
“I think post-Covid, there was a demand because we’d been locked in for so long. And I think that’s partly contributed to our success.
“After the (Reading) Rooms shut there wasn’t much scene at all. So one of our primary ambitions was to bring the scene back and to regrow it.
“Let’s bring back good nights in Dundee!”
DEMSfest will take place at Mains Castle, Dundee, on May 18 from noon until 9pm, with an after-party at DUSA from 10pm onwards. Tickets can be purchased from the RA website.
Donations to The Brain Tumour Charity fundraiser can be made via JustGiving.
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