Sammy Virji cemented his status as king of the modern UK garage resurgence with a spectacular, high-energy headline show at Cardiff Castle: an open-air event which transformed the historic Welsh fortress into a sun-drenched, bass-heavy paradise.
The day was curated by Virji himself, in conjunction with local clubbing brand Shangri-La and Castle promoters Depot Live; by the time I’d got through the long bag search queue, London DJs Arthi and Saint Ludo’s back-to-back set is underway. Blending classic UKG rhythms with modern club edits, their seamless chemistry set a vibrant, high-tempo tone for the thousands streaming through the castle gates. Forget trying to Shazam their set, though, with both dropping previously unreleased selections galore.
Silva Bumpa took to the stage as the sun peaked, opening with vocal-led tracks – and getting the first phones-in-the-air moment with his own Hypa – but switching it up for his set’s second half, and starting to roll out the big hitters. Current UKG is a scene I’m unfamiliar with, but my late 80s-into-90s rave memories impress on me the extent to which 90s dance tunes play a part in the modern scene. To that end, remixes of Groove Armada’s Superstylin’ and At Night by Shakedown both tear the place apart.
Salute, up next, has a moody, cooler vibe than the rest, and effortlessly proves it with his own Double Luxury followed by a just-unveiled remix of Madonna’s Love Sensation. Naturally, the crowd are salivating for Peach, Salute’s collab with Virji – and the place explodes when they get what they wanted. Going on to mix an eclectic tapestry of French house, gospel-infused vocal edits, and uplifting electronic hooks, Salute delivers pure dancefloor ecstasy.
As for Sammy Virji himself, his two-hour set proved why he is selling out massive open-air venues. Opening with a remix of The Source and Candi Staton’s You Got The Love, he steered away from any filler. As a producer, Virji has a few signature sounds in his bag – he loves an unexpected key change and often edits in a choppy style which leaves a tight flanging effect in your ears – and isn’t shy of a choice collaboration. Dropping massive anthems like Find My Way Home and multi-million stream Skepta collab Cops & Robbers, he more than holds his own. Again, though, it’s noticeable that remixes and samples of 90s tunes (Groove Is In The Heart, One More Time, The Bomb, RIP Groove, Snap’s The Power – I very much could go on) see the crowd mood lifted to another level.
The sound design across the castle grounds was exceptionally sharp, letting heavy basslines rumble through the stone walls without losing the crispness of vocal. Cardiff Castle’s green provided a stunning visual contrast to the lasers, fire (real, I think – or if not, an amazing effect) and graphics which appeared on enormous LED screens behind and in front of the DJs.
Virji’s infectious stage presence and nonstop momentum ensured the energy never dipped, right up until the strict 11pm curfew. This should easily go down as one of Cardiff’s best open-air events of the summer.
Shangri-La: Sammy Virji, Salute, Silva Bumpa + Arthi b2b Saint Ludo, Cardiff Castle, Sat 18 July
words CHARLOTTE LITTLE
