Fireworks Factory takes on our new Storytelling Challenge, picking the theme of “Cute, But Chaotic." Each DJ who participates in this challenge is asked to create a narrative or storytelling mix in their own unique style to match a theme from our list. The DJ is allowed freedom to experiment, explore and be as creative as possible.
Fireworks Factory is a Bristol-based DJ known for dark, heavy and chaotic drum and bass, drawn to neuro, jungle and hardcore. Their mixing style is instinctive and deliberately unpredictable, often embracing spontaneous blends and the raw energy of a single-take approach. Moving fluidly between subgenres, Fireworks Factory leans into high-intensity selections, unexpected combinations and a playful sense of maximalism. Expect heavy tunes, creative chaos and unapologetic filth.
Q: What was your creative vision or inspiration behind the mix?
I grew up really inspired by Sophie and the PC Music sound - I loved how that music could contain overly bright synths and pitched up vocals one minute, and heavy distorted basses the next. Sometimes both at the same time. Lots of the early material could be pretty unpredictable in its structure, but the contrast worked because both the sweet and the hard stuff had the same kind of playful maximalism. That's what I think of when I hear Cute but Chaotic.
It's interesting those sounds haven't had as clear of an impact on scenes like DnB, jungle and hardcore as they have on pop and house. So here I'm trying to borrow that philosophy (and some of the tunes) but present it in a pretty different context.
To add to the chaos, the mix came together pretty spontaneously - normally it would take two or three takes for me to create a mix that was going out online. This one was done in a single take and a lot of the blends hadn't been practiced before. There were moments which could have been smoother but it seemed like the right call to embrace the chaos and energy of that first take instead of doing a second one.
Q: Tell us about some of the tracks or samples that you selected.
A few of these selections are tracks that I've loved for a while but I've held back on spinning in the past because they felt like too much for whatever set I was playing at the time. "Toxic" by Pussy Riot and Dorian Electra and "black is the new black" by Goreshit, for example. M.I.A.'s "Meds and Feds" is the one I've known for longest. It blew me away when I was 14, and it led to the hardest moment of the mix when combined with Current Value's "Heli Aggression", which was pretty satisfying.
Besides that, a good chunk of these were recommended by friends outside the DJ scene, such as the Glitch Cat remix of "anybody can find love (except you.)" by hkmori. The opener "Trip II the Moon Part 2" was actually first showed to me by a mentor at uni. Then finally there's a few of my own tunes which were inkeeping with the style!
Q: What does this mix reveal about you as an artist?
I reckon this is one of my most honest mixes. This theme was a pretty perfect fit for my stylistic intentions, so I felt emboldened to do what I do best but be even more extra with it.
You can listen to the full mix on our Soundcloud here.
