Celtronic introduces dancefloor phone ban as festival turns 18

The organisers of the internationally acclaimed celebration of all things electronica have said the decision has been taken to enhance the experience of festival goers and artists.

Celtronica 2018, incredibly the festival’s 18th edition, will provide a major boost to Derry’s night time economy over four nights from Wednesday.

Headliners include some of the biggest and most relevant artists in modern electronic music including Roman Flügel, Gerd Janson, DVS1, Avalon Emerson, DJ Seinfeld, Steve Bug and Rival Consoles.

Derry’s healthy stable of homegrown artists, including The Cyclist, Or:la, Ryan Vail, Darren Allen and Mister Saturday Night, will ably complement what is an ecletic and exciting undercard across a series of venues in the city.

Ironically, those behind this celebration of an art form characterised by the early adoption and ingenius utilisation of new technologies, have taken the radical step of banning electronic communication devices.

“Since we started Celtronic in 2001, there have been countless memorable moments, sets and performances that will stay with us forever,” a spokesperson explained.

“In this time, there have also been many positive developments in music and technology. However, a development in the scene has been the increased use of camera and phone technology on the dancefloor which can have a negative impact on the atmosphere and can be an invasion of privacy for dancers and performers alike.

"Following several months of consultation with dancers, artists, musicians and venue owners, we have decided that, in order to protect the privacy of both those that come to dance and those that come to play at Celtronic 2018, we would appreciate if those attending this year’s festival would put their phones away when on the dancefloor,” they added.

Thus, as Celtronic comes of age its ethos of tolerance is extant in all respects but one: no phones please!

“The dancefloor should be a place for dancing where you can be yourself, where dancers of all backgrounds, genders and sexual orientation are free to connect fully to the music and each other without fear of being captured on camera.

"While not a relatively new or unique idea (clubs in mainland Europe have been leading the way on this in recent years), we feel the time is right for a phone free dancefloor policy to be introduced at our festival/events."

Turn to Pages 78 and 79 for a full festival preview of visit www.celtronicfestival.com