Leo Burrell Journalism Portfolio

In a season where inner-city festivals have been under increased scrutiny for their effect on London’s parks and problematic corporate ownership, the fiercely independent GALA Festival celebrated 10 years in the game at their spiritual home of Peckham Rye Park this May. We headed down to South-East London to remind ourselves why GALA remains one of the UK’s finest festivals. On our arrival to Peckham Rye Park stories of the previous day were hanging in the air – the Friday had seen rare appearan...

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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