A group of electronic music enthusiasts gathered on Thursday for what promoters claim was the world’s deepest rave, held 419 meters (1,375 feet) underground in the disused Cwmorthin slate mine in north Wales. The event featured a performance by drum and bass pioneer Roni Size, who took to the DJ booth in the mine’s cavernous depths to entertain a small crowd amid rugged subterranean surroundings.
The Cwmorthin mine, which began slate extraction in the early 19th century, operated intermittently until its closure in the 1990s. Today, the site is known for adventure tourism, with companies conducting guided tours through its complex network of tunnels. Organizers aimed to combine this industrial heritage with contemporary music culture to create a unique experience, assisted by a sponsorship from G-Shock, a division of Casio that also used the event to promote its GDG-B100 Mudman watch.
Attendees descended through narrow, waterlogged passages using ropes and ladders, equipped with wellington boots, hard hats, and harnesses for safety. Participants came from across the United Kingdom, with many traveling considerable distances in challenging weather conditions to reach the mine’s remote location near Llandudno Junction. The venue’s notoriously unfavorable climate was noted by a local taxi driver who transported some ravers through persistent rain to the site.
Nick Meakins, of Go Below Underground Adventures, which conducts tours at the mine, addressed concerns about safety related to the loud music, explaining that the event’s volume was capped at 85 decibels—significantly lower than past blasting operations within the mine chambers. “When we first started, there was a rock the size of a minibus in that chamber. We blew it up,” he said, emphasizing that the shock from that demolition was greater than the impact of the party sound levels.
Inside the cavern, a makeshift dance floor was set against a backdrop of sheer rock walls and a wooden fence bordering an abyss. The atmosphere was described as otherworldly, drawing comparisons to fictional underground realms. Some attendees initially kept helmet lights on but soon realized it was preferable to switch them off and enjoy the dimly lit environment punctuated by occasional dripping water inside the 19th-century mine.
Roni Size, performing in his first DJ set while wearing a hard hat, described the venue as “a lovely room” and remarked on the novelty of the setting. Participants expressed enthusiasm about the event’s atmosphere, with one attendee calling the experience “phenomenal.” When asked if the event signaled a broader resurgence of rave culture, Size was noncommittal but smiled, suggesting he might increase his fees for future underground performances.
The rave at Cwmorthin represents an intersection of heritage, adventure tourism, and contemporary music culture, creating a distinctive event that pushed the boundaries of conventional venue choices for electronic music gatherings.