Oggy Oggy Oggy! Tacular dance music in Hull’s huge entertainment city | Dance music

The scent of fried onions wafts through the pink glow of candy floss, while lights explode, smoke billows, and songs play simultaneously at a deafening volume: walking into a Hull gallery is sensory overload.

Spanning 16 acres and more than 300 attractions, it is one of Europe’s largest traveling fairs and will attract around 600,000 people over a week-long period ending on Sunday. However, despite the countless thrills, including the UK’s longest fairground ride, there is one attraction that remains king: the waltzes. When this year’s event was officially opened by the city’s mayor, it was with the ringing of a ceremonial bell at one of these rides.

Not only does the waltzes send people into a state of nausea and vertigo, it’s also home to a veritable musical subculture, where DJs playing high-speed dance music – hardcore, dunk, bounce and more – collaborate with MCs to throw massive parties on the ride, with absolutely amazing sound and lighting systems. “It feels like you’re at a little rave party or a traveling nightclub,” says Hannah Taylor, who DJed for Hell-Blazer last year, describing the moment as a “bucket list.” “I grew up in Warrington from a working-class background. When the fair was held, the waltz band played the best music. This is the music I grew up listening to, and that I play now.”

There are eight different waltzes at the Hull Show this year, and you can climb onto the Hell-Blazer, where you can hear them before you see them. Thunderous beats kick in as the MC freestyles over the top, with a fluid flow, punctuating his bars with the classic call-and-response shouts of “oggy oggy oggy, oi oi oi.” “What we do is unique,” ​​says the man behind the mic, MC Willy G, in a voice that sounds rough and raspy from a schedule of performing up to 11 hours a day. “There is a real showmanship.”

With entry to the show being free, this is an accessible venue where young people, or those without the means, can listen to live DJs and presenters through a chest-pounding system – Willie G claims their power is 70,000 watts – and experience something closer to a club atmosphere. People flock to the rides and crowd around, and even non-riders jump along to the hit tunes. “Everyone who works here is brought together by music,” Willie J. says. “When the guys spin those cars, and we create the atmosphere that we do, people get goosebumps, goosebumps, and the hairs stand up on the back of their necks. This ride is the fastest and the best.”

So, it’s fair to say there’s fierce competition for the best on-site ride and party? “Oh, there’s competition…” says Willie G, before Joe, who also works on the ride, chimes in: “…but there’s only one winner.”

At Albert Evans’ Atmosphere Creator Shop, I stopped by to check out some of the competition in the waltz sound system wars. “We’re all friends,” Evans says. “But once that generator started, we were done, and we weren’t friends for the next 12 hours.” And the claim that the Hell-Blazer is the fastest? “A load of bullshit,” Evans says. “Try each one of them and decide for yourself – and I say that with confidence. Listen, no one wants to be second best. We all strive to be the best, and we all believe we are the best, but some He knows We and each other He thinks “They are.”

Sure, the vomiting outside of Atmosphere Creator suggests it’s fast, but people are increasingly coming to see the DJ lineup as well as the action now. As part of Hull’s Unthinkable Arts Festival, Anna Jordan – a popular and world-touring techno artist – has been booked to play The Journey. Far from being a new party, it was of great meaning and importance. “I grew up in Doncaster and cabarets were my introduction to hardcore and donk music,” they say. “You’d go to a waltz just to hear these pieces of music.”

For Jordan, this is a vital pillar of dance music culture that resonates with so many communities that is rarely focused on. “Maybe it’s often overlooked because of the classics,” they say. “But it’s really important to raise the bar on these types of things.” They chose “loud, in-your-face sounds” for their waltz DJ set, “but there are only certain gigs I’ll do that kind of set for. I think it’s basically a Nordic thing.”

It ended up being a really impactful group for Jordan. “I saw a lot of kids when I was DJing who would look at my decks and be fascinated and take videos and pictures,” they say. “I was thinking: This was literally me 20 years ago.” I felt really special and was very emotional at times. It’s like you come full circle to reconnect with him because this is where it all started. So I hope I’ve planted some seeds for these kids.

Everyone I talk to has a deep and sincere love for this powerful, niche corner of electronic music and the role it can play in people’s lives. “What we do takes people away from the pain and sorrows of life,” says Willie G enthusiastically. “It’s like a big wonderland. And if we can bring this to people…what more can we do?”