One of the headline acts at this year’s London Remixed Festival combines “old-fashioned swing with stomping hip-hop rhythms” and that just about sums up the eclectic and boundary-pushing nature of this annual event.

The band in question – Rum Buffalo – will play the festival’s Folk Ghetto stage on Saturday February 2, lining up among 25 bands and DJs who will play across four positively buzzing stages inside Rich Mix, on Bethnal Green Road.

“This is one of the first big musical events of the year; it’s dedicated to new and brilliant remixes of diverse culture,” says Chris Tofu MBE, the festival curator.

“We have a fantastic hybrid of music and a really good laugh. The festival uses every part of the Rich Mix – we have a silent disco, a disco lift, a brass band contest, there’s just so much brilliant stuff going on.”

Kicking off on Friday February 1, London Remixed gathers up a talented bunch of artists who play Latin grooves, afrobeats, tropical bass, Balkan beats and acoustic soundclash tunes into the night. It’s a joyous celebration of music, colour and creativity.

“Continental Drifts (the event organisers) produce and programme 27 different festival stages a year, and we really needed somewhere to start the year off and showcase what brilliant acts we’re working with in 2019,” adds Tofu, who was awarded an MBE for his services to the events industry in 2017.

“We’ll have a lot of big industry people coming down from festivals like Glastonbury and Boomtown. If you want to see the best festival acts of the upcoming year, come to this.”

London Remixed slips into its groove on the Friday with The Brass Off, which involves two brass bands playing a full set on opposing sides of the stage. After the crowd reaction determines the champion, Tofu and Count Bassy will play a DJ set of vintage reggae, D&B and Balkan beats in to the early hours.

The main bulk of live acts will take the stage on the Saturday, where performers like Henge, Onipa and Remix Reeling – a Hackney-based outfit pairing ceilidh with ‘banging beats and bass lines’ – are in line to perform.

Festival-lovers are spoilt for choice across London, but Tofu insists this two-day event “is totally different.”

“We specialise in this beautiful diversity. London Remixed takes you around the world in 80 tunes, around the world in 20 bands. We’re the only festival that’s like this – you have all sorts of different styles rolled in to one happy mess.”

London Remixed is on February 1 and 2 at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA. More details and tickets are here.