Carl Cox has called the closure of legendary Glasgow nightclub The Arches "still a big loss to the city" in a new interview. Notably, the techno veteran reflected on the venue's place in his career ahead of his headline performance at Ewan McVicar's Pavilion Festival in Ayrshire on May 2 and 3.
The Arches shuttered in 2015 after going into administration. Meanwhile, the railway-arch venue had become one of the UK’s defining underground spaces in the years before its closure. Carl Cox played there frequently across his career.
“It was my home,” Cox said of the venue. He described the room as a place free of judgement. “There wouldn’t be anyone judging you, looking at you, you were just listening to the music.” Furthermore, he framed The Arches as the kind of space that prioritised the music itself over scene posturing.
Crucially, the loss of The Arches sits inside a wider pattern of UK club closures across the past decade. Glasgow, Manchester, Brighton and London have all watched institutional spaces fold under licensing pressure, gentrification and rising costs. In turn, Carl Cox’s reflections speak to a broader concern about scene infrastructure.
Still, Glasgow’s electronic music identity remains intact. Equally, Ewan McVicar has become one of Scotland’s most internationally visible artists in recent years. McVicar’s Pavilion Festival returns to Ayrshire for its fourth edition with Carl Cox at the top of the bill.
The festival runs across both days of the May Bank Holiday weekend. Moreover, the lineup pulls together Scottish, UK and international names across the dance music spectrum.
Finally, Carl Cox heads into Pavilion Festival as one of the most globally booked techno artists of 2026. His nostalgic words on The Arches frame both his Scottish ties and the wider conversation about preserving club spaces.
Listen to the full interview on BBC here.
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