Junction 2 review: The 7 best acts from London’s techno and house link-up
At Junction 2, London’s techno and house scenes came together under a motorway bridge for five days of energised electronic music
Five days, three stages, one motorway bridge – the 2026 edition of Junction 2 saw generations and genres collide beneath the M4 flyover in west London. Across two weekends, elite DJs and fired-up ravers came together to experience some of the best techno and house sets of the year.
This year’s Junction 2 was especially packed with talent as the organisers – led by Drumcode label boss and day two headliner Adam Beyer – celebrated the event’s 10th anniversary. Though technically downsized from last year’s five-stage outing, the main Bridge stage, secluded Woods stage, and minimalist Beatport Live ‘The Block’ stage had more than enough on offer for a crowd that tilted a little older, and perhaps a little more discerning, than your usual club night.
Each of the five days had a slightly different tilt to its lineup in an attempt to capture the full spectrum of techno and house, spanning heady minimal beats, American-influenced EDM, and drop-focused hard techno, often called TikTok techno in reference to its relentless pace.
I’m typically a fan of the groove-driven, slightly atonal techno influenced by Detroit and Berlin that dominates sound systems at London parties like Unfold and Midweek Session. With that said, I was surprised at how much I connected with some of the other sets at Junction 2, from atmospheric afrohouse to tripped-out trance.
I attended Junction 2 on three of its five days – 25th July, 26th July, and 2nd August. With that in mind, keep reading for my picks for the seven best acts from Junction 2 2026.
7. Tripolism – The Woods stage – 26th July
It takes a lot to get me dancing to afrohouse. Far from its diverse rhythmic roots, the genre is currently best known for an overprocessed and smoothed out timbre, the soundtrack to airbrushed flyers and package holidays to Dubai.
With that said, Danish trio Tripolism had me putting my pretentiousness aside and actually enjoying myself, spinning warm, melodic afrohouse that shone a new light on a genre I had thought lost to the highlight reels of aspiring influencers. A great fit for the cool and connected vibes of The Woods stage.
6. Miss Monique – The Bridge stage – 26th July
Miss Monique’s set on the main Bridge stage was pure cinema; the Ukrainian DJ’s clear expertise on the decks kept her theatrical flair and striking techno selections in perfect balance.
While her set was built around drops and the moments leading to them, Miss Monique’s performance was galvanised by sheer commitment to the bit – hands in the air, visuals flashing, shimmering echo effects and pure celebration at the moment of release, proving that commercial doesn’t have to mean compromised.
5. Leo Pol – The Woods stage – 2nd August
I know Leo Pol from his deep house records and chilled social media jam sessions, so rocking up to the Woods Stage to find the French DJ and producer rolling through a high-tempo trance and techno set was the best kind of shock.
Pol kept things fun and flowy across his two-hour slot, shelling out bouncy techno beats, rolling psytrance basslines, and the odd UKG breakdown to keep us on our toes. Most importantly, the tasteful silliness of his set cut right through the melodrama of the day’s harder sets, offering a much-needed alternative to the TikTok techno takeover on the festival’s final day.
4. Kikelomo – Beatport Live ‘The Block’ stage – 26th July
Festivals are a great place to find new artists to follow, and at J2 this was UK-born DJ Kikelomo, who brought a stylish approach to modern tech house to Beatport Live’s undeniably cool shipping container-turned-DJ booth (which had the best sound system of any stage at J2, thanks to its Funktion 1 rig).
Like Leo Pol (see above), Kikelomo’s smartest move was to keep the pressure low and energy high – while the day’s headliners chased ever-higher euphoric peaks, Kikelomo dialled in on groove, sleek basslines, and just enough of a percussive edge to keep the crowd locked. I’ll be looking for her name on flyers going forward.
3. Jeff Mills – The Bridge stage – 25th July
What is there left to say about Jeff Mills? The 63-year-old Detroit techno veteran once known as The Wizard for his supernatural abilities on the decks stepped up to fill in for an absent Nina Kraviz on Friday, closing out the first day of Junction 2 2026 with his signature blend of hypnotic loops, slamming kicks, and fragmented percussion.
Armed with four decks, a mixer, and a Roland TR-909 drum machine, Mills unleashed a trademark fast-and-loose techno set across 90 glorious minutes. As a small-time DJ and long-time lover of techno, I was ecstatic to see one of the architects of the genre work in real time, and when he wasn’t arguing with the sound technicians over volume, Mills’ performance was truly powerful.
Unlike the DJs before him on 25th July or those in subsequent days, Mills paid more attention to the tracks themselves than precise beatmatching or laser-accurate phrasing. His rapid-fire mixing spoke to the ethos of the generation of clubbing that he helped to define; the music matters more than the man.
2. Peach b2b Gabriela Kwarteng – The Woods stage – 25th July
I really love discussing and analysing dance music – but every now and then, I need a reminder that this scene is fundamentally about having fun.
At Junction 2, that reminder came courtesy of Canadian selector Peach and New York-born DJ Gabrielle Kwarteng, who came together in my favorite back-to-back set of the festival. The pair played a stylish set of tech-ish, classic-ish, hard-ish house music, deftly walking the line between bouncing beats and breathing room.
Both artists put their intuition and talent on display in blending tunes that felt both playful and a little off-kilter. Peach and Gabrielle Kwarteng have played together before at Fabric and KOKO, and their chemistry really came through – Junction 2 was full of great music and talent, but I don’t think anyone had more fun behind the decks than these two.
1. Ben Klock – The Bridge stage – 25th July
In the pantheon of modern techno, few names carry as much cache as Ben Klock. The long-time DJ, founder of the heavyweight Klockworks label, and Berghain resident is known as a must-see for any fan of techno, or dance music in general.
As the sun fell onto the crowd under the M4 flyover in the afternoon of day one, Ben Klock clocked in. If this year’s Junction 2 was defined by a tension between classic, commercial, and hyper-modern techno, then Ben Klock’s set was the moment that pulled everything together. An underlying pulse of hypnotic low-end movement pushed the stage’s massive sound system to its limits, while spiralling threads of alien sound design and off-beat hi-hats ensnared wandering minds in a double helix of listening and movement.
Each seamlessly blended track felt hand-picked to capitalise on our rising emotion and energy. As such, the crowd for Ben Klock was the most locked-in of any set I attended, and a few minutes into his performance I traded my spot backstage for a chance to get amongst it in the pit. The best dance of the festival, by far.
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