Festivals

Another young, up and coming name on the scene joins The Big Chill for 2011, sure to hypnotise audiences with her dark and ghostly gothic sounds Zola Jesus takes to the Deer Park Stage on the Friday of the festival.

Siaka and Eugene are set to perform their captivating West African sounds on The People’s Ear Stage on Friday at the festival. Dubbed ‘the next Rodrigo y Gabriela’ the duo’s mesmerising acoustic music is performed simply with voice, guitar and a self-crafted N’Goni (the cousin of the Kora). London dance trio LV recently joined forces with hip-hop and spoken word vocalist Joshua Idehen for an album entitled Routes. The combination of the two results in a prime slice of urban electronica, catchLV & Joshua Idehen on The People’s Ear Stage on Saturday early evening.

Another aspect of The Big Chill veteran, Tom Middleton’s activity at this year’s festival is unveiled today. Tom Middleton presents Sound Of The Cosmos. “I’ve been immersed in bass,” says Tom Middleton, “since I was seven! From sitting between hi-fi speakers mesmerised by Tomita’s expansive sci-fi synths to watching Richard Aphex Twin carry out bedroom subsonic frequency tests on his modified synths in 1990… from vibrating to the subsonic 808 kick as a teenage b-boy through the bass power of jungle right up to today’s developments, I’ve soaked it all in.” What’s more, Tom has brought his experimental edge to The Big Chill every year since its inception from the first one in 1995 when he and Mark Pritchard brought everything from live drum ‘n’ bass to movie soundtracks, through Tom’s Top Tent in 2004 which saw the birth of Guilty Pleasures and debut festival appearances by Hot Chip and Mylo, to the artists appearing in Sound Of The Cosmos 2011, he represents all that is forward looking about the festival.

 “The style fusions occurring right now are so exciting,” he says. “That’s why it’s a real thrill to have this opportunity to bring in new generation artists like Lorca, Cooly G and Ben UFO along with a pioneering legend like Zed Bias who can join the dots. I’ve followed Dave (Zed)’s career from the top and know he’s the man to school the next gen, and get the party rocking too. With a darkened tent and a monster sound system, we’re going to be able to keep the intimacy of a club within a festival, and most importantly groove all weekend to those sick sub bass lines.”

Few people join the dots like Boddika. Alone and in Instra:Mental, he’s found deep connections between British sound system culture and earlier electro-techno-house innovations. His analogue sensibility, strange musical emotions and an impeccable sense of space have helped cement a new classicism in the UK scene with huge tunes like ‘When I Dip’ on SWAMP81. He learned from the DnB/garage master Steve Gurley, then revolutionised garage with his dark bass lines and classic after classic. That’d be enough for anyone, but Zed Bias is still changing music more than a decade on – working with everyone from Skream and Roska to Brit-soul legend Omar, he’s still kicking over genre boundaries with every release.

Never mind “post” this and “future” that, Hessle Audio is a genre all of its own. The label, parties and Rinse FM show run by Ben UFO and Pangea with their friend Pearson Sound (Ramadanman as was) have defined the new climate of dancefloor experimentalism that makes 2011 such an exciting time to be near a speaker stack. Cooly G‘s dad produced reggae and her mum DJed acid house, and that combination runs deep in her own music. Nominally UK funky, her beats and gigantic bass lines are way out on their own, each release on Hyperdub and her own Dub Organizer further marking her out as a true individualist.

The BACARDÍ Get Together mixes things up in more way than one this year. As well as offering an array of thirst quenching cocktails Bacardi also bring names more than qualified to kick off the weekend’s partying. At BACARDÍ we’ve hosted legendary parties since 1862. We’ve taken the best party elements from over the years and created ‘The BACARDÍ Get Together’ – the ultimate party for you and your friends at The Big Chill. Visit The BACARDÍ Get Together for a classic BACARDÍ mojito or try a new sharing cocktail such as the ‘BACARDÍ Campers Punch’ served in a wellie boot.

This summer BACARDÍ is bringing DJ greats together for a series of very special one-off performances. In The BACARDÍ Get Together, at key times each day there will be a unique collaborative set by three or more artists. We present to you… The BACARDÍ Together Sets

Thursday sees the coming together of Matt Walsh, Casper C and Riotous Rockers. All original performers at Casper C’s ‘Blogger’s Delight’ night, which started at tiny Camden boozer The Lock Tavern and growing to international acclaim, as well as residencies at Fabric and Field Day Festival. A re-union of sorts, each artist has come a long way from playing to 100 people in a sweaty pub to playing some of the biggest and best dance events in the world!

Friday’s Together Set will be Alex Metric, Grum, and Russ Chimes. Three artists are from the new breed, each of whom has built a big reputation very quickly, through high profile original productions and remixes. Three disco/ electro heavyweights who are friends as well as musical collaborators, often mixing each other’s tracks. Don’t miss this set!

Saturday’s Together Set will be Hervé, Reset! and Tom Staar. In addition to being one of the most prolific producers in dance music today (using the monikers Machines Don’t Care, The Count Of Monte Crystal and Speaker Junk, as well as Hervé), Joshua Harvey is the founder and boss of influential dance label Cheap Thrills. Two of Hervé’s most prominent signings Reset! and Tom Staar will play with the man himself for Saturday’s key performance.

Sunday will see old and new collide, with Disco Bloodbath, Justin Robertson and Mighty Mouse. Disco Bloodbath’s underground parties (celebrating remixed disco classics) were key to the disco revival, and a strong influence on Mighty Mouse’s nu-disco sound. Justin Robertson, an original resident at Manchester’s legendary Hacienda club is part of this revival, with his Deadstock 33s moniker one of the rising stars in the nu-disco scene. Expect classics and cutting edge in one unique set.”

Come along and experience BACARDÍ Together…

Global Local returns and brings with it a typically eclectic line up, open from Thursday the stage will be in full swing for early birds keen to start the festivities early. The experimental folk-pop sounds of Katy Carr play out from Global Local as will New York’s blues-rock duo She Keeps Bees plus many, many more great acts. It pulls together the best remix of music from across the planet via the coolest promoters in the land.

Friday to Sunday –Folky Goodness with Two for Joy. All day and every day we have acoustic acts from Two For Joy, part of the BBC award winning team of the best folk club of the year, with the most cutting edge New Folk – No Folk and Old Folk.

Thursday evening is the Vaudeville Rave - Starting on a different note , sharp on the heels of 2010 with a smash Electro Swing night from our collaborators Vaudeville Rave, Electro Swing is all about the 1920`s to the 1940`s remixed and is “ the music of 2011” according to Mixmag. Expect Break-dance Charleston, lots of hot performers and the best new producers twisting those ancient sounds into Dubstep, hip hop and beyond.

Friday night will be the Gypsy Soundclash with Continental Drifts - The music of the East and the Balkans, cut up, smashed up and liquidised into a new sound, from Gypsy Punk, to break beat Balkan, from the best bands in Europe. Chancery Blame and the Gadjo Club, Deathray Trebuchay, Gypsy Hill… Pretty much like a gypsy wedding on acid.

Saturday evening– Latin night with Movimientos, Movimientos is broadening perceptions of Latin music beyond mainstream genres through their groundbreaking events, festival programming and agency work, representing artists who are bringing brand new fusions of music and pioneering the newest and finest Latin sounds. Alongside Movimientos’ DJ Cal Jader, Bossaphonik Dan, and Brazilian DJ crew Udigrudi, the live line up for Saturday night features Rumba-Gypsy Swing from Mano De Dios, Afro-Andean fusion from Lokandes and new wave Rumba-Flamenco sounds with Jardares Por Fuera.

On Sunday night Global Local will pay homage to African music with African Rootmaster with Wormfood - African music has taken a vast journey away from its “World” music ghetto in the last few years with acts Clubs like Secousse and Wormfood leading the charge. African sounds dancing merrily alongside breaks, shakes and even crunk . Presented by Continental Drifts with the generous support of Arts Council England

Greenpeace, Heathensk8 and Third Foot have teamed up to bring the biggest and best skate ramp in town to The Big Chill this year. Constructed using only forest certified timber (FSC approved), wood from a sustainable source, the ramp is both challenging and entertaining.  Mornings see workshop sessions for beginners and improvers and throughout the day the pro’s will be doing their thing with plenty of time for festival goers to take to the ramp themselves. So be sure pack you skate board alongside your wellies for 2011’s festival.

Now a fully fledged member of the Festival Republic family The Big Chill is poised to build further on the successes of 2010. Last year saw an international line-up of some of the biggest selling names in electronic, indie and pop music and 2011 sees another all-star cast taking to The Big Chill stages including an exclusive UK festival appearance by Kanye West plus The Chemical Brothers and Rodrigo y Gabriela. The Big Chill takes place from 4th to 7th of August 2011 at Eastnor Castle Deer Park in Ledbury, Herefordshire.