Orbital’s Phil Hartnoll Headlines Psychic Dancehall Festival as Derby’s Experimental Electronic Weekender Returns

Next weekend, Derby’s underground electronic scene will once again take centre stage as Psychic Dancehall Festival returns for its second year, transforming the city into a playground for experimental sound. Running from 12pm through to 1am on Saturday 21st March 2026, the festival spreads across three venues-The Wardwick, Dubrek Studios and Electric Daisy-bringing together an adventurous line-up of electronic, ambient, experimental and genre-defying artists.

Brainchild of Derby-based DJ, promoter and music journalist James Thornhill, Psychic Dancehall has quickly established itself as one of the Midlands’ most exciting underground music events. Built around a love of boundary-pushing electronic music, the festival captures everything from analogue hauntology and kosmiche exploration to hyperpop, techno and experimental folk. It’s a celebration of artists who sit outside the mainstream but continue to shape the future of electronic music.

And with second tier tickets still available for £30 (full price £40), there is still time to secure your place on the dancefloor.

Three Venues, One Citywide Electronic Adventure

One of the most exciting aspects of Psychic Dancehall is its multi-venue format, which encourages festivalgoers to move through Derby and explore the city’s creative spaces.

This year’s edition expands to three venues, with the addition of Electric Daisy alongside returning spaces The Wardwick and Dubrek Studios. The venues sit roughly ten minutes’ walk from each other, creating a mini electronic pilgrimage across the city centre. With schedules already released, it’s easy to plan your route through the day’s programme.

The festival begins at midday and runs right through until 1am, offering over 12 hours of live sets, DJ performances and immersive audio-visual experiences.

It’s a format that reflects Thornhill’s vision perfectly: a day where fans of forward-thinking electronic music can move freely between rooms, discover new artists and experience completely different sonic worlds within a few streets.

Headline Sets and Electronic Legends

The latest wave of announcements has added a true icon of UK electronic music to the bill.

Closing the Wardwick stage will be Phil Hartnoll, one half of legendary rave pioneers Orbital. For many electronic fans, Orbital helped define the sound of the 1990s, producing era-defining tracks like Chime, Halcyon and Belfast while bringing underground dance music into the mainstream through iconic appearances on Top of the Pops and Glastonbury.

Hartnoll’s DJ set promises a journey through rave history, blending Orbital classics, unreleased material and unexpected selections.

It’s a fitting headliner for a festival dedicated to electronic exploration.

Hauntology, Nostalgia and Analog Futures

Also appearing on the bill is Pye Corner Audio, the project of “Head Technician” Martin Jenkins. Known for crafting eerie, cinematic electronic music steeped in the aesthetics of Radiophonic Workshop recordings and vintage library music, Pye Corner Audio sits firmly within the UK’s hauntological electronic tradition.

Released on labels including Ghost Box and Sonic Cathedral, Jenkins’ work evokes lost broadcasts and analogue futures that never quite arrived. His music feels like a forgotten cassette from another timeline-crackling with nostalgia yet strangely timeless.

Expect a set that blurs past and present, analogue warmth and modern electronic experimentation.

Derbyshire Icons Return: Haiku Salut

One of the most special performances of the day comes from Derbyshire’s own Haiku Salut, returning from a hiatus with new material.

Known for their wonderfully difficult-to-categorise sound-often described as instrumental dream-pop-post-folk-neo-everything-the trio have long been champions of genre-blending creativity. Their music moves effortlessly between cinematic atmospheres, electronic textures and folk instrumentation.

As long-time supporters of Psychic Dancehall, their return to Derby for the festival feels particularly meaningful. Their show at The Wardwick is already shaping up to be one of the highlights of the entire event.

A Line-Up Built on Exploration

Beyond the headline acts, Psychic Dancehall’s line-up reads like a map of the UK’s most adventurous electronic artists.

Ivan The Tolerable, the prolific project of Oli Heffernan, brings a full band performance that drifts between kosmiche music, jazz, post-rock and ambient electronica. Known for releasing multiple albums each year without ever sacrificing quality, Heffernan’s hypnotic soundscapes have built a cult following among fans of psychedelic electronics.

Elsewhere on the bill, Madrigirl brings something completely unique to the festival. The genre-defying multi-instrumentalist blends medieval instruments with analogue electronics, creating sound worlds where crumhorns, loops, beats and English border bagpipes collide. It’s precisely the sort of unexpected musical experiment Psychic Dancehall thrives on.

Meanwhile Hexial, fresh from his album Through Static, opens the Wardwick stage with an immersive audio-visual IDM performance, promising mind-bending textures and atmospheric visuals.

Kikimora Take Over Dubrek Studios

At Dubrek Studios, Birmingham record label and promoters Kikimora return as curation partners, bringing a carefully assembled programme of experimental and boundary-pushing artists.

Among them is Afromerm, whose music blends contemporary jazz elements with electronics, field recordings and vocal experimentation. Also appearing is Amoeba Forecast, presenting industrial sound sculptures that push electronic music into more abstract territory.

Leeds hyperpop artist BUFFEE delivers blown-out club energy with distorted vocals, heavy bass and layered harmonies, while House Cloud, the new project from Matters’ Stuart Lee Tovey, explores hypnotic deep techno.

Another standout is Electroni Kongo, the collaboration between Mulele Matondo and Ben Eyes, fusing Afrobeat rhythms with acid techno in a futuristic cross-continental collision.

Also appearing under the Kikimora banner is sm^sher, the solo project of Imogen Mason from Voka Gentle, whose performances blend industrial textures with unexpected folk elements.

Dubrek’s Bunker Stage

Dubrek Studios also hosts its Bunker Stage, showcasing artists from across the underground electronic spectrum.

Expect euphoric melodic electronics from James Glew, kosmiche-inspired soundscapes from Aysup, and genre-blending electronic mash-ups from Clum.

Together they form a line-up that perfectly captures the spirit of Psychic Dancehall: adventurous, collaborative and completely unconcerned with genre boundaries.

A Festival Built from Derby’s Creative Community

What makes Psychic Dancehall particularly exciting is its roots in Derby’s creative scene.

Festival founder James Thornhill has spent years immersed in the world of electronic music as a journalist, DJ and promoter. Psychic Dancehall feels like a natural extension of that passion – a festival designed not simply to book artists, but to build a space where experimental music can thrive.

Supported by funding from the Arts Council’s Grassroots Music Fund, the event highlights the importance of independent festivals that champion emerging and underground artists.

And in a city already rich with grassroots venues and creative communities, Psychic Dancehall feels like the perfect addition to Derby’s cultural calendar.

An Unmissable Day of Music

With three venues, over a dozen artists, and 13 hours of music from midday until 1am, Psychic Dancehall Festival promises a day packed with discovery.

Whether you’re diving into hypnotic kosmiche soundscapes, losing yourself in analogue hauntology, or dancing to cutting-edge electronic experimentation, there is something on the programme that will surprise you.

The venues are close enough that you can easily move between them, creating your own journey through the day’s schedule and catching as many performances as possible.

And with second tier tickets still available for £30, there is still time to be part of it.

Psychic Dancehall Festival is shaping up to be one of the most exciting snapshots of the UK’s experimental electronic scene, right here in Derby.

If you love electronic music that pushes boundaries, challenges expectations and creates completely new sonic worlds, this is a festival you simply do not want to miss.

See you on the dancefloor.

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