United Kingdom

Bristol

Hodge

 has had an outsized influence on the UK's music culture. From the birth of trip hop – led by pioneering Bristol artists Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky – in the 1990s, to the city's influence on post 2010s bass music – from artists such as Batu, Hodge and Peverelist – Bristol has always been at the forefront of sonic experimentation. 

Now in its 11th year, 

 Simple Things festival continues to champion the city’s vibrant underground music scene, cementing its place as a cornerstone of Bristol’s cultural calendar. With over 10 stages spread across the city, the festival offers a perfect opportunity to explore what Bristol all that Bristol has to offer. So, we asked Bristol-based producer and DJ Hodge to show us where he recommends you visit during the festival.

With a killer run of releases on Fabric, Livity Sound, Local Action and Houndstooth, Hodge has secured a unique position for himself in the UK's dance music continuum. His focus on blending styles creates an energy and excitement in both his productions and DJ Sets which cannot be missed.

One of Bristol's best clubs, I love the modular vibe to the venue, everytime I go it's laid out a bit differently or the artwork has changed in some unexpected way, sometimes it really feels like an old frankie goes to hollywood b movie set other times you will be in the backroom, it's dark as hell and everyone's totally locked in, amazing spot. 

The Love Inn has been around for a really long time now but somehow it's kept improving year after year, the sound in there is fantastic, it's a really welcoming space that has all sorts of quality Bristol promoters putting on cool stuff - it's also literally always busy and the selection of bookings across the year are great.

My favourite record shop in Bristol, I'm biased of course as Chris Farrell that runs the shop is responsible for alot of my music collection and taste, when I first moved to Bristol he was working in Rooted Records alongside Peverelist and I used to buy my Dubstep stuff via Tom and my more 44 bits off of Chris, he sold me a Pacou record as one of the first more house and techno records I ever bought and I've been obsessed with dub techno ever since.

Best spot for hardware, I've got a lot of the equipment I own via this spot and the crew that work there are really great, I've been trying to avoid getting into modular but they are making that increasingly more difficult.

Some of the best coffee I've had in Bristol alongside incredible toasties and ice cream - if I've had a late one the night before this is a new go to spot.

I live nearby and St George's Park has really amazing wildlife based around a pond especially for an inner city park - I'll often head there in the afternoon spring for a studio break and then go to The Red Church after for amazing pizza. 

They have an incredible sound system in there and I really love being in a spot for a drink or food or whatever and the music being presented in such high quality - they also run really great nights there, they've had all sorts of people play from Mad Miran to Maurice Fulton! Love it.

We've had a lot of DJ Dinners here before running parties at Strange Brew, really incredible food, the olive oil and pistachio ice cream once made David Pearson Sound nearly cry.

My favourite Korean in Bristol, amazing spot, I’ve drank far too many Yakut cocktails there - we once did a day event with Oowee and I played music out the window for 5/6 hours on a sunny day, great vibe. 

Idle Hands

Related Guides