East African industrial metal, head-popping techno, walloping bassline, filthy jungle, improvised minimalism and experimental pop. With DJ sets, gigs, art installations and exhibitions stretched across Sheffield and Rotherham, this year’s No Bounds festival feels, and sounds, weightier than ever.
It begins in Sheffield Cathedral, where 10-piece Emergence Collective stir things to life with a beautifully subtle yet hypnotic performance of stripped back instrumental minimalism. Tara Clerkin Trio offer up an incredibly sparse, slightly woozy, yet quietly groove-locked set, with both acts thoughtfully leaning into the vast space, allowing silences and pauses to ring out.
