Be on cloud nine at the Cloud X Festival

Two mates who used to throw huge raves as teenagers are now all grown up with their very own South London festival, writes Claudia Lee.

Benjamin Cross, 30, grew up near Tulse Hill and now lives between Peckham and Nunhead.

His friend and business partner, David Dabieh, 30, grew up in Elephant and Castle and lives in South Bermondsey.

Together they have built the Cloud X Festival from the ground up.

This year, Cloud X will be hosted in Beckenham Park in Beckenham Hill Road, Beckenham on August 20.

Split across five stages, the festival will offer DJs and live music covering R&B, Alt-R&B, Rap, Alt-Rap, Soul, Pop, Afrobeats, Garage and much more.

Mr Cross said: “I guess our whole lives have been centred around South London.”

“I don’t want to start a war with the rest of London but South London is definitely the waviest part of the UK.

“It’s a cultural hot spot, it’s where all my friends are from, it’s everything we do.”

The two friends have always known how to throw a good party.

From 15-years-old they were lighting up warehouses with raves for people to come and enjoy.

Mr Dabieh said: “We were underage you know, so we were just putting together music we loved and seeing artists and putting on parties that we enjoyed.

“Then we started using venues like Plan B, which became Phonox Brixton, Brixton Jamm, Electric Brixton, we used Medusa – the space in Barrington Road, Brixton that became Airspace.

It was very DIY, we had a question and found the answer.

“We needed artwork for the event, we had a friend doing graphic design, we needed ticketing, we did research to see what platforms were good.

We‘ve made some mistakes but you figure it out as you go along.”

Mr Cross and Mr Dabieh started working with up and coming artists in the area, providing a chance to get up on stage.

Ben said: “We put on RAY BLK’s first live performance and not long after she was named the winner of BBC Sound 2017.
“We did that because she was great but also, she’s from the area.

“We also had Dave on for one of his earliest shows. At the time he was tiny, he didn’t even have a booking agent.

“Now he’s probably the most famous rapper in the UK.”

Mr Dabieh said: “Growing up in Elephant and Castle, you are confronted every single day with differences in a way that is so beautiful.

“In South London you only have to go to Peckham and go to the markets or go to Brixton and you see community and culture in live action.

“I think a lot of that is coming undone due to gentrification and that is something that is very real and it’s sad to see it happening in South London.

“But I hope that companies like ours keep bringing people together in an affordable and accessible way.”

This year’s Cloud X festival has a heavyweight line up which includes selector and producer JULS, Saint Levant, who blew up following his huge viral hit Very Few Friends, some amazing South London songstresses, Meron T and Jaz Karis and so much more.

Mr Dabieh said: “As the festival has grown so has the scene and culture that we work in.

“Beckenham Park is somewhere I’ve walked my dog 100 times and it’s such a beautiful space, there’s a lake in the middle, an amazing magic woodland type setting and rolling hills.

“It’s kind of self-contained so you’re not disturbing residents either.”

Mr Cross and Mr Dabieh have been friends since they were kids and have been working together from the age of 15.

They said: “It’s been a beautiful journey, it’s a lot of fun. Our friendship is underpinned by our shared values.

That makes everything so much easier.”

Tickets: www.cloudxfestival.com

 

Picture: Cloud X festival 2022 Picture: @cosmorush_