New comic book released documenting rave culture in North West of Ireland
Common Ground, which is part of a new project from Jeremy Deller, is celebrating 25 years of Derry’s now-defunct Celtronic Festival
A new comic book documenting the history of rave culture in the North West of Ireland has been released to celebrate 25 years of Derry’s Celtronic Festival.
The comic, brought to life by Derry-born illustrator David Campbell as part of a new project from contemporary artist Jeremy Deller celebrating festivals across the UK, highlights the past three decades of dance music culture in the Irish north.
Titled Common Ground: An Incomplete History of Rave Culture in The North West of Ireland, the comic begins in 1991 as The Troubles “raged into a third decade”, and runs through until the current day.
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Celtronic Festival organiser Gareth Stewart, who also helped to pen the comic, explains: “We were just a few boys from Shantallow and Galliagh who fell in love with the rave. All we wanted to do, when we started to throw parties, was to hear the music that we loved out loud.”
“We're just so glad that there were other like-minded heads out there who were into the same thing, and came on this crazy journey with us.”
Common Ground also celebrates a milestone anniversary for Celtronic – Ireland’s longest-running dance music festival – after its final edition took place in April, some 25 years on from its first.
The Derry-based festival revealed it would no longer continue running in March, explaining: “While there is no doubt that the festival could continue to thrive for many more years, the 25th anniversary milestone feels like the perfect time to bring this chapter of Celtronic to a close”.
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Festival owners said they wanted to bring Celtronic to an end “on our own terms”, with no other specific reason cited for its closure.
Speaking on the comic, Jeremy Deller explains: “Sometimes I don't think it's possible to look at historical moments without considering the role of culture and especially music in people's lives. This graphic novel tells a big story about how dance music has affected and helped change society for the better.”
Check out Common Ground: An Incomplete History of Rave Culture in The North West of Ireland here.
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter