CARL COX + ANDREA OLIVA + CHELINA MANUHUTU + DEEP DISH + EJECA B2B DART + JOHN DIGWEED + KEEQ B2B RUSSELL SMALL – BRIGHTON BEACH 26.7.25
It’s Day Six of Seven of the very popular ‘On The Beach’ series of open air concerts on Brighton Beach. Day One’s event was headlined by Bonobo with a half dozen other artists sharing the bill (Review HERE), Day Two’s event was headlined by Eric Prydz also with a half dozen other artists sharing the bill (Review HERE), Day Three’s event was headlined by Bloc Party with a handful of other artists sharing the bill (Review HERE) and Day Four featured The Human League, Marc Almond, Toyah, plus new act A Thousand Mad Things (Review HERE) and last night witnessed the Drum’n’Bass Allstars featuring the likes of Hedex & Hybrid Minds (Review HERE).
Oh yes, oh yes, tonight it’s the turn of Carl Cox who has returned to the world famous pebbles of Brighton Beach for his amazing fifth year. The weather has been a little bit dicey this week, but today the sun is beaming down on us and the predicted rain no-showed. The line-up today is stacked with the cream of the electronic dance scene, all hand-picked by Carl himself.
KEEQ B2B RUSSELL SMALL 13:00 – 14:30
Russell Small is a UK based DJ and producer known for his work in the dance and house scenes. Many will know him as one half of the iconic due Freemasons or from Phats & Small. He started his DJ’ing in his early teens, but soon became a big name in production during the 90s. Russell quite possibly could hold the trophy for number of appearances with Carl Cox here on Brighton Beach, this being his third time of being charged with easing the crowd into the dance marathon that lies ahead. However that title is also being equaled by KeeQ, a fellow Brighton based electronic music artist known for their hybrid style of house and techno which is often mixed with tribal and emotive elements. This will be KeeQ’s third time playing at Carl Cox ‘On The Beach’.
So the pair of them know the drill, they know what to expect. I opted to start the day up on the higher VIP viewing area for this set, crowds were still entering the arena with many early adopters taking up front barrier positions. The vibe of this set, was just nice and chilled, nothing too heavy or fast, Whilst the big screen flashed up switching graphics of the pairs names, Russell with his trademark sunglasses bounced behind the desks occasionally spinning his hand in the air, certainly the lady standing next to me was dancing away as were those down at the front, but I was not going to peak too early. It was the perfect start to the day. Russell’s work with Carl was not done today, as on Sunday he was heading out to Ibiza to open for Carl again.
linktr.ee/keeqofficial & linktr.ee/russellsmallmusic
The beauty of these DJ and dance days on the beach, means there is no switch over time between bands, quite simply the next DJs kit is already set up and just slid along next to the DJs already on stage, the flow of music just carries on. So, up next we had Ejeca, also known as Garry McCartney, who stands as one of Belfast’s most prominent musical exports in recent years, emerging from the vibrant Northern Irish scene, he is playing back to back with Dart. Dart is a modern day hard house revivalist who has been pulling a lot of attention in the past years. He is an Irish DJ and producer who recently launched his own imprint (record label) called Rapid Trax, with the aim of bringing back the golden years of ’90s hardbag house.
I should probably explain that back to back means the two DJs on stage take it in turns to mix in the next song, not a battle but working in unison to put on the best set they possibly can. The backdrop screen during their set switched between Trance Wax (Ejeca) and old skool VHS flickery style videos of ravers back in the day dancing. True to Darts biography this set very much did bring in plenty of 90s vibes, with tracks such as Stretch & Verns ‘I’m Alive’ and Camisra’s ‘Let Me Show You’ getting mixed in, that last one in particular really lifted the crowd which was really starting to fill up. I really enjoyed this set for its nostalgic tones, me and my companion had two songs back in the 90s we used to love and always like to reference, those were The Bucketheads ‘The Bomb’ and The Nightcrawlers ‘Push The Feeling On’, so it was quite a treat for the pair of us to hear them both in during this set. Both Ejeca & Dart looked very happy and content behind the desk, smiling and chatting, clearly relishing their time at this event.
linktr.ee/ejecamusic & www.instagram.com/darttrax
ANDREA OLIVA 15:30 – 16:30
A slight change in line up now, with Andrea Oliva swapping slots with the scheduled Chelina, I’m not sure of the reason, perhaps Chelina had been delayed enroute. Andrea Oliva is a new DJ for me, his biography reads “His dedication to the underground scene has garnered him widespread support and his music is appreciated by a range of dance music luminaries. His incredible sustained work ethic and his love of the ever evolving scene means there’s no sign of this upward trajectory slowing down any time soon”. I switched down to the middle of the arena for Andrea’s set and the rest of the evening as I wanted to be in the thick of the crowd. Andrea cut a very cool figure on stage dressed simply in black. The visuals now were across all screens, mostly red diamond patterns which suited the music. A set that was mostly pure trance like hard house, one track that really stuck out for me was 2025s ‘Hammeroid’ by Krystal Klear. The sun was now beaming down on us and any clouds in the sky had moved on, this set was the switching of gears as we ventured away from the chilled and nostalgia vibe to good solid journey set.
CHELINA MANUHUTU 16:30 – 17:30
Chelina Manuhutu is a Dutch DJ and producer, born in Amsterdam and based in Ibiza, she is known for her tech-house and techno music. She transitioned from a modeling career to music professionally in 2011. Chelina is recognized for her high-energy sets, groovy tracks, and performances, it’s not her first time here on the pebbles, having played at the Carl Cox ‘Invites On The Beach’ in 2022. She’s a global big name and often features on the lineup at other events with Carl such as his current Ibiza residency. Chelina brings so much energy to her sets, always dancing and bouncing away behind the decks, she literally does not stop, smiling from ear to ear, it’s very infectious and when combined with the music she plays, she is definitely one to get the party started. The arena and VIP balconies were now all full and the crowds were fired up. The visuals switched up again to huge interchanging pictures of Chelina’s face and her logo. Her set was bouncy and fun, up’d the tempo and had a Latino vibe. I enjoyed her set in 2022 and today she really was on fire.
www.instagram.com/chelinamanuhutu
DEEP DISH 17:30 – 19:00
The crowds were now fully immersed into their dancing when Deep Dish took to the decks. Deep Dish are an Iranian-American dance music production duo based out of Washington D.C., USA, consisting of Ali “Dubfire” Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi. This will be my first time seeing them DJ. My memories of them were more based in the mid 90’s and early millennium when they were prolific with their remixes of so many big chart songs. But that was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of their credentials, they’ve put out loads of their own singles, two albums and plenty of DJ mixes, in fact it was only this May they put out their first new release in over a decade. Not only that, but these days whilst running their own record labels, they are back behind the decks as DJs, always in demand playing worldwide at all the biggest and best venues you can imagine.
I was not too sure what the style of their set would be, I was worried it might be going back to those 90s remixes, but I could have not been more wrong, this was a sublime, deep and building set. The duo really are at the top of their game, it started quite slow, but it built and built. Tracks took in Woo York’s ‘The Red Room’ and the set ended with their very own track ‘Dreams’ from 2005. The visuals were mostly a live feed of them on stage; however we did get some flame pyrotechnics at the front of the stage. Towards the end of the set I decided to cross the barrier for a closer look and some stage side dancing and found a good crowd including Russell Small dancing along and showing his appreciation.
JOHN DIGWEED 19:00 – 20:30
It is rare these days for John Digweed, a true legend of the electronic music scene to appear in Brighton. I’ve personally been a fan since the mid 90’s when John with his often DJ set collaborator Sasha brought us the Renaissance Mix collection, a truly pioneering mix set that brought the ethos of a live DJ set experience to the masses via CD and cassette (yes I am showing my age), it still to this day stands out as one of the best mixes put out there officially and it cemented John’s legendary status. John back in the late 90s and early 00s put on the Bedrock club nights in Brighton, a few of these I went to at what was then known as the Beach Club (now Players), those were the most awesome nights and something I really miss, so fast forward to now and I could not have been any more overjoyed when Mr Digweed was added to this line up.
It’s not the first time he has played on the pebbles though, he along with Sasha played in the pouring rain as part of 2023’s Carl Cox ‘Invites Beach’ event, and if we stretch even further back to pebble experiences, John was the DJ playing to warm up the crowd for the world famous Fatboy Slim’s ‘Big Beach Boutique 2’ in 2002. John’s set today was a master class, he is one that does not like to be in the limelight, a private person that lets his music and mixes do the talking. He is known for playing all night long with sets that build and build, ever so gradually, so much so, you don’t quite realise how you got drawn in or when it really took off. Today John’s task is to do the same, but all within one and a half hours, I have no idea how he does it, but he did, it kept me locked in from start to finish. John much like Carl Cox is a pioneer on the scene and this stretches back to their early days playing on the same lineup’s along the south coast. John is often included on Carl Cox’s Ibiza line ups, but for us locals, as I say his Brighton visits are rare these days, however he is playing a special one off set as part of the Concorde 2’s 25th Anniversary events in October, I’ve already bought my ticket.
CARL COX 20:30 – 22:30
Carl Cox has always had his links to Brighton going right back to his earlier DJ sets when he moved to the city in his teens. He is a pioneer that has always stayed fresh and moved with the times. Consistently a headliner since the late 80s he shows no signs of slowing down, if anything he continues to push boundaries and champion upcoming DJs. I’ve been a fan since the happy hardcore days of the early 90s when I’d buy my rave tapes from the much missed Rounder records in Brighton, sadly I was too young then to experience those big raves in the flesh, but following the covid lockdowns I made it a priority to make sure I ticked the box of seeing Carl Cox live and I could not have been happier when he then played to the masses on Brighton Beach that first time in 2021, that really was a special day.
Carl throughout the lockdown had played what became known as the Cabin Fever sessions, trapped in his home in Australia with his insanely huge record collection, a collection that contains more than 150,000 records. Each Sunday evening for 52 weeks in a row he streamed live and direct from his home playing pure vinyl only sets. That first ‘On The Beach’ Carl Cox night was also the first weekend England relaxed the ‘going out’ again after the lockdown and the crowd very much let their hair down and danced the night away. I enjoyed it so much, I’ve bought tickets to all of his ‘On The Beach’ events so far, even the one with gale force winds and torrential rain, but even that didn’t dampen spirits. Today is special as Carl is playing a full vinyl only set to mark the 60th anniversary of Technics Turntables (Oh how I wish I had a set of those, they are the best you can get) and as ever with Carl, you don’t want to guess what he may or may not play, well let’s find out.
I was lucky enough to be backstage the moment Carl made his way to the stage with his case of records and quickly snapped a photo with him, honestly I was so over the moon the day could have ended right there for me, but at 20:28 he stepped onto that stage and took out his first record and put it down on his legendary 3 turntable set up, then with the crowd applauding he called out “What’s up Brighton party people, great to see you, are you all okay”. A huge cheer went up and Carl replied “Oh yes, Oh Yes” the needle went down and we were away into a world of musical bliss. Instantly what I thought was really noticeable, was just how different the record sounded compared to the day’s previous digital output. It had real warmth, it was like an old friend coming back out to play, and it sounded so smooth.
Carl did not disappoint the crowd taking us old skool with classics like Lil Louis’s ‘French Kiss’ from 1989, Marshall Jefferson’s ‘Move Your Body’, Layo & Bushwaker’s ‘Love Story’. We had the hard techno banging Purpose Maker 2’s ‘The Bells’ from 1997, we had some tracks familiar to those who were on the beach for Fatboy Slim in 2002 such as Tim Deluxe’s ‘It Just Won’t Do’ and Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’. More classics and crowd pleasers came such as Joey Beltram’s ‘Mentasm’, Bizarre Inc.’s ‘Playing With Knives’, Liquid’s ‘Sweet Harmony’, The Prodigy’s ‘Everybody In The Place’ and Outlander’s ‘The Vamp’. He took us back those happy hardcore days for a good solid spell early on in the set, before pushing towards solid techno.
It was pure joy to see Carl picking up those records waving them in the air, moving back and forth between his decks, he is a magician, he didn’t drop a single beat the whole two hours, couple this with amazing green and blue lights and lasers, the live visuals, the setting sun, it was just utterly fabulous. The closing song was Faithless’s ‘Insomnia’. The perfect end to what quite frankly has been the perfect day. Carl Cox is a man with no limits it was great to see him back on the hallowed 3 turntables, something he looks to be doing next year when supporting The Prodigy on their tour dates. No limits as I say, did you know that on Sunday night he is back in Ibiza to play an all night long 8 hour set. This is why he is known as the King.
All in all, this fifth Carl Cox ‘On The Beach’ has been the best yet, every DJ played their sets and part in this perfectly, a brilliant balance. The sun was out, no rain, a very happy crowd, the whole set up of the site has been honed and improved each year, there is free water, free sun cream, the VIP area whilst expensive certainly has it’s perks of sofa’s, great views, no pebbles and quick and easy access. A big shout out to the site security team NDST, these folks did a spot on job, were ever so polite and friendly, and were instantly there for any medical issues. The bar staff were all friendly, I really think the promoters Louder & JOY. need a big shout out too, what a day it was, I really hope Carl Cox comes back for a year 6.
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