Ultrafunkula has today announced BBC Radio 1 stalwart Danny Howard as the headliner for its Secret Island Festival, taking place on Mersea Island in Essex on 24th July.
Held in a secret location only be revealed to ticket holders, Secret Island Festival will deliver a day filled with quality beats from some of the most exciting and eclectic tastemakers on the planet – from Manchester and London to Australia, Puerto Rico and beyond – alongside a raft of popular local DJs. There will be two stages as well as art installations, fairground fun and more.
Known as the tastemaker of his generation, Danny Howard is best known for hosting his highly influential Friday night show on BBC Radio 1 since 2017. He also heads his own record label, Nothing Else Matters, and has played sell-out shows across Europe, Australia and the USA, maintaining an unwavering respect for his craft that characterises all that he does.
Ultrafunkula is made up of local Mersea Island boys Matt Prevett, James Dunn and Ben Wass, who after organising many parties in their youth, returned to their old stomping ground in 2018 to turn up the volume – since organising multiple local events. These include two sell-out New Year’s Eve parties and a Latin-themed soiree at the 2019 Mersea Regatta.
Commenting on today’s announcement Ben Wass, who still lives on Mersea, said:
“After the toughest 18 months any of us can remember, it’s time to dust off your glad rags and come out for a boogie. We can’t wait to get Danny behind the decks and hear him set the place off.
“Secret Island Festival won’t just be offering some of the hottest names in UK electronic music, but also incredible art and delicious food as well as picture-postcard views across Mersea Island.”
ABOUT DANNY HOWARD :
Danny Howard has selected his way to become the tastemaker of his generation. Between hosting his influential Friday night show on BBC Radio 1 and heading his own record label Nothing Else Matters, he maintains an unwavering respect for his craft at the forefront of all that he does.
In 2011, he secured the winning spot on a BBC Radio 1 talent search. It was a feat that ignited his career, and his implicit connection with club culture has since catapulted him to sell-out shows across Europe, Australia and the USA. Danny presented Radio 1’s Dance Anthems on Saturday afternoons from 2012 before joining Annie Mac and Pete Tong on the legendary Friday night line-up in 2017. Used as a platform to break new talent, his show is reflective of contemporary dance sounds, selected to keep his global audience tuned in to his search for the next big thing.
A product of the UK dance scene himself, Danny puts a spotlight on what he champions as the original home of rave. At the heart of his sound is a voracious appetite for house music, but rather than resigning himself to one genre, his ever-expanding parameters allow him to spin his listeners from left to right, taking them through the best of what he’s been listening to and discovered that week.
With productions released on some of the most respected labels in the world, Danny has carved out a unique role for himself within the industry. In 2019, he relaunched his own imprint Nothing Else Matters as an independent label, with club-ready productions from influential DJs from Gerd Janson to Shadow Child, Jansons to Waze & Odyssey as well as rising stars such as Alisha, Lauren Lo Sung, Shermanology and PAX.
Always one step ahead, few cater to that dancefloor and airwaves as adroitly as Danny, who believes that building a relationship with his audience is the key to fulfilling his role as a trusted voice in electronic music.