Leo Burrell Journalism Portfolio

With Outlook Festival’s new UK branch of the festival on pause after just one year, the timing couldn’t have been better for the launch of Project 6. One of London’s most exciting one day festivals arrived this bank holiday weekend and it’s here to stay. Friday May 26th saw Brockwell Park’s one-size-fits-all arena host a brand new one-day festival which promised to bring together a host of different scenes for a non-stop party of grime, drum ’n’ bass, house and guilty pleasures. A truly eclectic crowd descended on a cloudless Brixton for a 3pm start ahead of a three-day weekend.

After a decade and a half of records and parties, Night Slugs can still be regarded as one of the most important labels around – their role in the fusing of global electronic rhythms and aesthetics with UK club sounds like grime, dubstep and funky house seems more relevant than ever in 2023. OG founder, Bok Bok celebrates their 15th birthday down at White Hotel alongside Ikonika, who returned to the label in February with Supernova, a dancehall album featuring Jamaican chop vocalist 45Diboss.

Helena Hauff had a meteoric rise to fame in 2013 when her ferocious sets of electro, techno and acid struck a chord in the UK. After a debut set at London’s Plastic People and a groundbreaking first release on UK techno pioneer Actress’ label, she has gone on to release three albums including the critically-acclaimed Qualm last year, as well as becoming one of the most in-demand DJs on the planet – all without any social media. While her tastes are often rough, aggressive and raw, Hauff’s style

Until 2016, The Black Madonna was just a Catholic medieval icon: depictions of Mother Mary that had become black through centuries of paint degradation. Now it’s a household name, and Marea Stamper is one of the most famous and influential DJs in the world. Her humble beginnings in Kentucky, USA, have given her the confidence to make her sets and We Still Believe parties some of the most ambitious around. But this s

On paper Soup Kitchen is one of the most impressive sounding clubs in the UK. A city-centre venue with an illustrious history and reputation is rare these days. But on entry it is a much more humble affair, down a murky staircase to an even murkier basement. But it’s this humility which maintains the spot’s credibility. Swapping pyrotechnics, lasers and LED screens for one smoke machine and a single stationary red light – the venue’s decor and lighting has a lovable homeliness that can only be found in venues where the walls are uglier than you.

Making her Manchester debut is Poly-Ritmo, who’ll be running her extensive collection of global and jazz sounds through the gorgeous NAM audiophile sound system. Spinning for 6 hours from 8 ’til 2 on a late license, Poly-Ritmo is sure to bring plenty of percussive sounds too, as the NAM basement can get pretty sweaty. One to kick off the summer.

In this challenging time it’s easy to forget our normal lives, the places we used to go and the things we loved doing. We thought it was time to reminisce over and support the venues that will no doubt be struggling in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, by writing them love letters. With the aim of staying sane in the present, we’ll delve into our past experiences at Manchester’s finest clubs, creating hope for the future by making sure they’re still there when we come out the other side of this c

Warped keep up their winning Wednesday streak with another night of all things UKG down at XLR in Withington. This time they invite the exciting Bristol producer, Fonzo – whose upcoming release on the new wave of garage’s most iconic label, E2CA, is about to light up the circuit. Joining Fonzo is two of Manchester’s own, Cleopatra and DJ Oterix, both making Warped debuts.

Leo Burrell (AKA Leroy) is our Nightlife Editor. He DJ’d and promoted club nights at the Harley from 2014 until its shock closure last month. He tells us why it was always much more than just a music venue. The Harley was its own little world. It felt like a microcosm of Sheffield banged up into one little pub. You could impress any hard-nosed music fan with the huge list of bands, DJs and artists that have performed within its walls. From Mala to Helena Hauff, Arctic Monkeys and the XX. But I

Each month we get one of our writers to tell us about their “that” album. This January sees our Nightlife Editor, Leo Burrell take on Quantic’s astounding 2001 debut album, “The 5th Exotic”. As a youngster raised in Kent by a classical musician turned vicar and a music therapist, I wasn’t exposed to much electronic music. My parent’s record collection consisted of several hundred classical LPs, an Oscar Peterson LP, Sgt. Pepper’s and The

It’s been quite the tumultuous year for Sheffield venues this year. With much-loved spaces such as The Night Kitchen and Theatre Delicatessen both announcing the closure of their premises at similar times, there was a justifiable fear for the future of alternative spaces in the city. But now we have hope. After a momentous opening Freshers Week event on Friday September 22nd courtesy of Pretty Pretty Good, new venue Southbank Warehouse is officially open, ready and raring to go. We headed down

Hope Works’ brand new festival No Bounds launches on June 9th. A whole 18 hours of art, music and technology workshops with the likes of Nina Kraviz and Helena Hauff headlining two simultaneous night raves, the extravaganza is a one of a kind event for Sheffield – and the UK – and a must see for all technophiles. Our Nightlife Editor Leo Burrell caught up with HW owner Liam O’Shea (AKA Lo Shea) ahead of the launch to find out more. It’s a special time for Hope Works, with the No Bounds festival