Bradley Gunn Raver is that guy in the goggles at the front of every rave dancing his ass off, he's Ministry of Sound's Rave Reviewer In Chief. He goes to an insane amount of raves, which he reviews every month for you in his column Bradley Gunn Raver's Rave Review.

The event of the month is without a doubt awarded to IMS Ibiza 2018. For anyone not familiar with the term IMS, it stands for International Music Summit - and as they boldly exclaim is the premiere thought leadership platform for electronic music, a global movement created to unite and connect the industry. The summit would see important matters discussed by experts, and interesting insights into the scene from icons including Loco Dice, Seth Troxler, Honey Dijon and many others too.

I was invited by one of the co-founders of IMS: Ben Turner, to do a KEYNOTE INTERVIEW. As you can imagine despite the initial nervousness, this was an offer that I could not refuse. An opportunity to address the more corporate, behind the scenes side of the industry was a privilege in itself and the invitation to the home of underground music was a very proud moment that made me start to evaluate just how far I have come on this life changing journey.

My excitement was clear to everyone present, when I turned up to the green room four hours before I was meant to, and no, it wasn't because I got the time wrong, it was simply because I just couldn't wait. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours as the clock painfully ticketed away, but at last, the time finally arrived. I made my way up the walkway to be greeted by my interviewer, Nick DeComsemo (editorial director at Mixmag). Once on stage the reality and just how surreal the situation was finally dawned on me. During the opening stages of the interview it was a little overwhelming to be in the limelight on such a professional level, facing a sea of people.

I can see the funny side of it now, but if I'm honest, if I wasn't up there to talk about my raving story, I would have ran off under the pressure. However, I realised that I hadn't travelled all this way and made the movments that I have done over the past few years to just simply give in, so I persevered and the flow of the interview soon became a lot smoother.

Soon after the interview began I forgot about sitting down, and in true BGR fashion, I decided to take a more natural approach and stand up to pace around the stage while answering Nick's questions. This was the right decision, as I instantly felt more comfortable and was certainly a key reason why the interview went as well as I had hoped.

At one point the interview was like a flashback to when I first started raving a few years ago, a feeling of nervousness that I hadn't been familiar with for quite some time. I decided to channel those feelings into positive energy - a method I used with I began raving. The contrast after I started doing this, with the more stilted beginning couldn't have been any greater. Being stood up there with my name in bright lights behind me, answering questions confidently, felt incredible.

Towards the conclusion of the interview, the time came to make an announcement. I have become immersed in a music project over the past 6 months with my good friend Phutek. The project is a track we are collaborating on titled, LOVE LIFE AND RAVE, a motto that I try to bring to everything I do. There wasn't a more fitting time to share the track with the world than in a room full of music industry people, so I teased them with a build up to the drop, before swiftly cutting away to preserve some intrigue about the track!

Here is the full keynote interview video:

The rest of my time at IMS was a real pleasure, and as well as conquering the big stage I turned my attention to less nerve racking events and went on a little adventure with Ministry of Sound to find the "rave temple":

I finished off my first professional visit to Ibiza in my natural habitat - the rave. The 2018 Ibiza season kicked off at the iconic Dalt Vila, which also served as the conclusion to IMS. Anyone who's encountered me will know I'm passionate about daytime raving - so when you combine this love with Ibiza sunshine, a unique heritage site, major artists playing unique B2B sets, I knew it was going to be one to remember. 

Sets came from disco & techno specialists Jackmaster & Peggy Gou, with a closing set from none other than Sven Väth. Here's a short clip of me and the lovely, energetic Peggy Gou dancing back stage at Dalt Vila. Yet another clip to the add to overflowing collection of 'dancing with DJ' videos:

Rewinding to the beginning of the month, I was fortunate enough to be returning to London, this time for the 10th anniversary festival being thrown by Arcadia. This was a two day event at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, a hotspot I was familiar with and looked back on fondly upon arrival, as I briefly reminisced on my time spent there for Elrow Town last year.

Arcadia is a giant construction that resembles something from a Steven Spielberg sci-fi movie, but within the centre of the towering creation are a rotation of the world's biggest artists. It's easy to see why Arcadia have had such consistent, lasting success.

What I was also a huge fan of in regards to the music being showcased over the two days was that each day had its own identity, and really accommodated for those who had a diverse music taste. The spider was being manned by legends ranging from Sven Väth to Groove Armada on Saturday, while Sunday was the opposite end of the spectrum with a takeover from Hospitality and bassline's leading faces TQD also taking control.

Despite the main attraction of course being the spider, we were spoilt for choice with two more stages to choose from - these being the indoor arena known as 'The Reactor' & stage 3 being 'The Bug'. Both stages further strengthened the superior levels of production that Arcadia had invested in to satisfy the growing hunger of fans looking for something a bit beyond the music.

All in all there wouldn't have been many better ways to head into what was looking like a manic month of May!

In the local city of Bristol - Alfresco Disco were hosting another top quality event. After every previous event I have attended the bar was set high. We weren't disappointed in the slightest.

Understandably, if you're not from the Bristol area or someone who is an avid national raver with the smaller scale events, you may not be familiar with the quirky partying brand Alfresco Disco. Essentially they invest a considerable amount of time and effort into acquiring the most interesting venues and spots to throw a pop up party, many of which you wouldn't associate with raving or think would be possible to gain permission to party at.

This time it was hosted in St. Paul's adventure playground, and the picture above encapsulates just how much of a top day it was for this instalment of Alfresco Disco! The combination of the picturesque trees, a carnival feel curated by those in the production team, an archaic church, spectacular British weather & feel good music supplied by numerous local collectors & selectors brought about a day of nothing but positivity from start to finish.

I certainly look forward to returning to another Alfresco Disco in the near future!

Next up on my hectic raving agenda was Bristol again! I tend to move from city to city, or even country to country if I'm lucky enough, but the appeal of Rave On Avon enticed me to return to my local city for the second weekend in a row. Rave On Avon is an annual event that takes over multiple venues in the Stokes Croft area to entertain those who enjoy both a daytime and nighttime party.

I spent a decent majority of the days festivities at Coroner's Court where the Mr Whompy stage was located. You may think the Mr Whompy stage was quite a peculiar choice to name a stage, but that was because the organisers had very cleverly transformed an ice cream van into a makeshift space for DJs to dish out vibes from the window where ice cream would normally be served! It was nice to see something different coming from a party and helped them to stand out, and also brought back fond memories of my days raving at Rainbow in Birmingham as they too also implemented the same idea at festivals they held their including MADE.

As the day went on I decided to explore the other stages and found myself at a familiar site in the form of the Blue Mountain rooftop. I soon realised that my energetic, stomping style of dancing may not be best suited here due to how busy it became. Instead I opted to take to the streets and explore. It didn't take me long, as just around the corner there was a collection of people coming together to form a mini rave, which appealed to me immediately with it being intimate, open air, and with a decent sound system too! Before too long I had only just realised the time and had actually ended up spending most of my day there, which underpinned just how much I was enjoying myself at this quirky little pop up party! I'm not entirely sure if it was actually a part of the event or officially organised, but that didn't concern me in the slightest as it was just an ideal place for me to kick into action and the overall vibe was amazing.

Finally, on the second May bank holiday weekend, it was time once again to head down to We Are Fstvl on the outskirts of London in Romford, Essex, for my fourth year of the festival that's the gift that keeps on giving. My experience there last year was one of my most treasured, with their jaw dropping production that came with their Terminal 1 stage satisfying my raving needs to a whole new level.

Although I was feeling the physical and slight mental strain due to the scale of how big IMS in Ibiza was for me and the responsibility I had during my time there, plus the added fact I was literally flying straight in from it, the excitement of what was coming over the weekend soon outweighed the tiredness and there was no time to rest. It was now time to rave back on home soil!

Most of Saturday's time was consumed by me absorbing the unreal atmosphere that was generated by numerous artists playing in the hangar for the HYTE showcase. HYTE are a brand that I am proud to have become closely associated on a professional and friendship level over the past 6 months, with me attending their unforgettable NYE event at Funkhaus Berlin and also HYTE Miami during Miami Music Week. Although there was a wide selection of stages to choose from on Saturday, I knew where my preferences were - and HYTE are a force to deliver the ultimate experience. They were even kind enough surprise me with a 'MORE HYTE' styled Bradley Gunn Raver t-shirt too.

It was also great to see Carl Cox again after our encounter at Miami Music Week:

Of course, one day at WE ARE FSTVL wasn't enough, so I was back there again under the scorching sun for a second day of musical based carnage on Sunday. There was no other option for me than Jamie Jones's 'Paradise' bringing his legendary brand to We Are Fstvl once again. The line up blew us all away from the first set to Jamie Jones's closing extravaganza, with special guests including Music On head honcho Marco Carola and American maestro Dubfire to name but a few. The level of production for Jamie's set was of the highest order, and the production team really did themselves proud. The combination of the lasers and perfectly timed graphics on the screen in bright lights behind Jamie could have challenged shows put on by Eric Prydz, and once again the Paradise showcase stole the show.

Yet again it was nothing less than a great year at WE ARE FSTVL. Will I be back again next year? Well we shall have to wait and see!