Reviews

Bestival 2013 Review – Part 2

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An overnight wash out and soggy campsites do nothing to calm the excitement of the campsites, particularly not the shock-and-awe naked guy who leapt into our front garden (code for hangout area in between tents) yelling loudly that he wanted everyone to join him in being “Tattooed and handsome”, but the sun is peeking out here and there as the dressed up masses head towards the main arena. Walking around, it’s clear to see the rain hasn’t dampened the British love for dressing up, as mer-men, sailors, jellyfish and sharks roam freely. We asked one enterprising soul if her freezer was now full of fish fingers, as she’d fashioned a costume from Birdseye boxes, she replied “Yeah, we’ll be eating them all winter…”.

2013 debut album smash-hitters Bastille turn out in style dressed as members of Team Zissou and play all the favourites to a packed out arena. ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Icarus’ go down a storm but it’s ‘Flaws’ that really packs a punch and a cover of ‘Rhythm of the Night’ is weird but kind of brilliant at the same time. Ending with ‘Pompeii’ Bastille do themselves justice, with the whole crowd singing along.

Bastille @ Bestival 2013

Following Bastille is A-Yo featuring Mark Ronson Vs. Zane Lowe with a Bestival party-mix, and over on the big hill, the Bandstand is playing host to the Zee Guveya Heritage Band. Getting up for ‘The Pizza Dance’ whilst a cardboard Viking longship (with a Viking hoarde aboard) sails/walks past is extremely bizarre, but sipping our Bestivale’s and sampling the amazing food on offer provides a little Bestival downtime. We munch our way through fresh grilled corn on the cob and the most delicious lobster and chips (which were caught just round the corner in Ventnor apparently) before dragging ourselves to the peak of the hill for a look across the site. The magnificent scale of Bestival is only surpassed by it’s colour, from the tents to the arena areas, the flags and the works of art – Bestival really is a beautiful place.

A-Yo @ Bestival 2013

At the top of the hill is the secret hideaway for lost souls known as The Solace Tent. The interior is all leather chairs and wicker sofas, comfy cushions and tables you can write messages on – enough of a sanctuary in it’s own right, but the lovely bods there will give weary travellers a cup of something hot and a tasty bit of cake (baked by IOW churches)… for free! Re-energised by the Solace saints, a trip to tiny town is a giggle – the kid sized village which you can take amusing photographs in, before heading back down the hill via a rummage in the second hand tents (nanna-knits everywhere) and a few cheeky tasters at the Crabbies bus.

On the main stage, Rudimental are showing off their status with an absolutely packed arena, busting out big hit ‘Right Here’ accented by a weird burst of what tasted like flavoured smoke (?!) before a cover of Fugees’ ‘Ready or Not’ and closing with the huge ‘Feel The Love’, with everyone pogo-ing like mad. Next up are Glaswegian punk-pop rockers Franz Ferdinand with a blast of hits starting with ‘No You Girls’. ‘Do You Want To’ is only slightly marred by the enormous downpour that drops in, but as the skies clear, the boys of FF bring it home with ‘Take Me Out’. They might be accused of being a bit samey sometimes, with jarring chords over marching-band beats, but they do what they say on the tin, and perform well. It’s probably a shame for them that they’re playing right before their practical antithesis – Snoop Dogg.

Franz Ferdinand @ Bestival 2013

With giant red, yellow and green Rasta banners and posters of his own face – it was inevitable that Snoop Dogg would roll out with as much swagger and self-confidence as he displays on screen. Rocking a leather jacket and Adidas sweatpants, The Doggfather churns out hits ‘PIMP’, ‘Gin and Juice’ and Katy Perry cover ‘California Gurls’ featuring the dancing skills of some scantily dressed ladies giving him a lapdance. ‘Next Episode’ and ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ prove Snoop to be a great showman, and he finishes Saturday night on a high (probably quite literally in his case). See the full headline review for more details!

Sunday is a soggy morning too, but everyone seems determined to go full out for the last day of this truly special festival, so it’s on to do a bit of dancing with Bestival mascots The Cuban Brothers. With quite a lot of swearing, manly gyrating and costumes that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination (fringed, metallic lycra jumpsuits to be precise) they’re probably not the act to take your kids to, but damn are they good fun. Guest vocalist Mica Paris belts out ‘So Sweet’ which is from the new Cubans album ‘Yo Bonita’ (which we later got signed by Miguel and Kengo-San over at the Sunday Best tent) and breakdancing skills are busted out by Archerio, Kengo and newbie ‘One-Erection’. Miguel gets suitably excited about all the dancing (after having a broken foot and not being able to participate last year), takes off his white captain’s pants and thrusts the mic-stand like a pro. After telling a story about their times at Bestival… “We were in the woods eating philosopher’s stone mushrooms and we were lost… we were so cold we had to set our socks on fire to keep warm” and stuffing the mic into his spangly undercrackers, it’s time to say goodbye to the crazy Cubanos for another year.

The Cuban Brothers @ Bestival 2013

Next up, Tom Odell croons his way into the ladies hearts with his soulful piano laden music, but it is a bit of a comedown after the hype created by The Cuban Brothers, but everyone warms up again for Chic feat. Nile Rodgers and a bit of boogying on down.

Disasterously scheduled at the same time as the Sunday headliner – Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip’s Swamp Shack appearance has nevertheless garnered a pretty massive crowd around the strange run down house style stage, and as the smoke billows from the beat-up cars that set the scene, the duo drop right into classic ‘Beat That My Heart Skipped’, sending fans wild. Calling out “I’m all adrenaliney, I’m all shaky” Dan busts out the beat for ‘Sick Tonight’ and Pip launches into it with power, swinging on the (actually quite fragile) porch of the shack. After being handed two curly wurlys by some odd gentleman in the front row, Dan and Pip give us a tasty treat back in the form of new tracks ‘Stunner’ and ‘Gold Teeth (feat Flux Pavillion)’, the latter played for the very first time ever. Taking on a darker side the songs have everyone getting rowdy with Pip swishing water off the Shack’s decking to the beat.

Heading over to join the biggest crowd of the weekend at the main stage, Rock Royalty, Sir Elton John is giving us a tour through his vast collection of hits, wearing a trademark sparkly jacket. Elton’s packed set includes ‘Candle In The Wind’, ‘Crocodile Rock’ and ‘Rocket Man’, with the crowd singing along to closing ‘Your Song’ (See the full review for more details!). As the stage goes dark, Bestival’s closing ceremony commences, with an even bigger firework display than last year, a giant circular 10 being set alight and ticker tape explosions from the stage. Way to go out with a bang.

Elton John @ Bestival 2013

As usual, it doesn’t end there – Knife Party are playing at The Port and Easy Rider is on in The Amphitheatre… the night is young at Bestival, and we intend to make the most of it before we have to leave it behind for another year, but it’s safe to say that Rob and co. went all out this year, it truly has been a spectacular celebration and we would like to doff our captain’s caps and say HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY BESTIVAL!

Photos by James Bridle for the Summer Festival Guide

Bestival 2013 Review – Part 1

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As the late summer nights begin to draw in and the end of the festival season is in sight, while many have packed away their daisy dukes, the Bestivalites are suiting up sailor style for the magical mayhem of HMS Bestival 2013 – Robin Hill park is adorned with swaying flags, the ferries are full and the campsites are primed for partying.

Bestival 2013

Thursday’s foray into the mad world of Rob Da Bank’s imagination sees a brand new area – Temple Island (which we managed to explore before it all burnt up – apparently part of the act not an act of pyromania) and a host of new ‘bubbles’ with a stage, chill out areas and sculptures as well as a heap of amazing places to eat (our particular favourite is Anna Mae’s Mac n Cheese).

Heading into the main arena past the giant illuminated Big Wheel, the Big Top is already chocka with people for The Correspondents. Mad frontman Mr. Bruce is spinning wildly in his humbug-harlequin frilly getup during ‘What’s Happened To Soho?’ before launching headlong into heart thumping jungle tunes, to which the crowd goes mental. Yelling “This is about as dirty as a gentleman like me gets on a Thursday” before leaping onto the sea of arms in the audience, Mr. Bruce crowd surfs to the halfway point in seconds as DJ counterpart DJ Chucks lays down the beat. Calling out “I’ve gotta be honest, this is overwhelming…” Mr. Bruce isn’t kidding – for anyone who hasn’t seen The Correspondents before; they usually play to pretty tiny crowds, and tonight The Big Top is overflowing and going top notch wild. Elsewhere, Tankus The Henge bring a punky edge to the adorable Polka Tent and every single person we pass has a giant grin plastered on their chops.

Friday sees drag spectacular Sink The Pink (usually found gyrating at The Grand Palace of Entertainment) joined on the main stage by members of The Royal Marine Reserves for a thoroughly jolly workout session, “On behalf of the armed forces, we thank you” and “On behalf of transvestites we thank you” are not two sentences you expect to hear at a festival on a Friday afternoon but it did make us giggle. French electro band Caravan Palace are a surprise with their interesting mix of what’s being termed ‘gypsy jazz’ alongside some proper swing-dancing, but the crowd really draws in for the hotly anticipated return of American hip-hop crew, Wu-Tang Clan. Despite the fact that pretty much everyone only knows one song, the band manage to produce enough hype to get the crowd jumping, before busting out 2001 mega hit ‘Gravel Pit’. DJ Mathematics pops off his shoe and proceeds to work the mixer with his foot to the chant of “When I say Wu-Tang, you say forever…” as a mass of ‘W’ hand signs are thrust skyward in appreciation. Though their set seemed to a lack a bit of punch overall, the nostalgia factor made up for it.

Wu Tang Clan @ Bestival 2013

A quick jaunt to check out new area The Port reveals it to be a giant boat with Diablo acts, fire poi spinners and a massive mermaid, alongside some banging music from DJ’s atop the structure and a huge crane providing an aerial dancer a place to do crazy tricks above the awestruck crowd. It’s sort of reminiscent of our beloved (missing) Arcadia from the last couple of years, and really comes into it’s own at night, with regular fireworks, flame cannons and an amazing DJ lineup.

Over in The Big Top, Sinead O’Connor pokes her signature shaved bonce out onto the stage to a decent crowd for a stirring rendition (with added crowd participation) of her iconic Prince cover of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, giggling, Sinead says “Thank you, you sang beautifully”. Main stage veterans The Flaming Lips are as bonkers as ever, with frontman Wayne Coyne cradling a baby-doll atop silver spheres, in front of a light-waterfall before spinning a flaming orb around his head like a talisman. Amid the madness and glitter ticker-tape, it’s actually a decent set, but the bafflement on the faces around us suggest they’ve gone a step too odd/dark for the Bestival crowd this time.

The Big Top welcomes Belle & Sebastian with an almighty roar for ‘Cuckoo’, and their soft melodic rock lights up the rammed tent, as the rain begins to pour outside. Joking “I hope you haven’t taken all your drugs at once, remember it’s a marathon not a sprint” frontman Stuart Murdoch launches into ‘Another Sunny Day’ and grabs a host of lucky fans from the crowd to join them on stage for ‘Boy With The Arab Strap’. The Scottish Belles definitely put on one of the best performances of the whole weekend.

Despite the extreme soaking the thousands at the main stage just received, the crowd is going absolutely hyper to the sounds of Fatboy Slim’s Bestival Birthday Bash (See main review for full details), with lasers, fireworks, a great AV show and absolutely banging beats. Norman Cook was absolutely made for Bestival and it’s great to see him filling up the main stage instead of either getting crushed in the Big Top or on the fringe watching the fun happen from the outside. ‘Right Here Right Now’ and ‘Rockafella Skank’ are just absolutely massive, heart pounding, raving beasts of tunes and the whole arena is jumping and waving glowsticks like there’s no tomorrow.

Fatboy Slim @ Bestival 2013

At Bestival, the headliner isn’t ever the end of the action – if you go back to your tent, you’re missing out on the most magical hours at Robin Hill. Staggering about the Ambient Forest, with it’s Chinese lanterns and kids play areas, tiny stages and secret hideouts is honestly like being a kid again. Stick on a forest dwelling animal onesie and you may as well have been dropped into Where The Wild Things Are. It’s totally surreal. As if that wasn’t enough, sneaking past Bollywood and The Port, the top left corner of the forest has a hidden jewel in the form of The Ampitheatre. During the day, this plays host to a huge array of acts (notably, Scroobius Pip’s Satin Lizard Lounge of amazing spoken-word artists) but at night they show bizarre and melon-bending movies for the drunk and delusional. Tonight’s effort is an 80’s hip-hop spectacular ‘Beat Street’. The movie itself is kind of confusing and terribly acted, but the atmosphere of the dark benches hidden in the trees, the bunting and the secret snuggling is what The Amphitheatre is all about, oh and the really exceptionally drink-and-or-drug addled couple falling all over people on their 30 minute attempt to leave – comedy gold.

 
Photos by James Bridle for Summer Festival Guide

Bestival 2013 Review – Elton John

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How do you close an epic teniversary, four day festival extravaganza, in a field full of the happiest souls in the country? LIKE A SIR. That’s how. Sir Elton John to be precise, Great British rock royalty doesn’t get better than this. Elton’s coming is preceded by shoulder-to-shoulder, asscheek-to-asscheek, barely standing room only arena-fullness and an air of excitement you can practically inhale. Despite worries of cancellation due to appendicitis earlier in the summer, Elton practically bounces on stage with aplomb in a bejewelled jacket emblazoned with ‘Madman Across The Water’ for comically entertaining ‘The Bitch Is Back’.

Ballad-tastic ‘Tiny Dancer’ and ‘Candle in the Wind’ were clearly loved by Elton fans, but a yawn here and there betrayed more than a few people hanging out for the rockier hits like the truly epic ‘I’m Still Standing’ and ‘Crocodile Rock’ – complete with crowd participation (especially from the few people dressed in crocodile onesies that night, perfect).  ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’ prompts shadow boxing all over, and a few ill-timed jokes result in mates accidentally punching each other and then falling about laughing, and karaoke style lyrics on screen for new single ‘Home Again’ keep everyone singing along and engaged.

Calling out “You’ve been amazing, I’ll never forget this” Elton says exactly what’s on everyone’s minds, and there’s a kind of mutual community in that – something special to Bestival, a shared emotion between artist and fans experiencing something together, and this certainly is the kind of memory that lasts. Elton finishes up with a huge sing-along ‘Your Song’, with people opening their voices into the sky before the enormous closing firework display. It’s been a belter.

Elton John Bestival

Bestival 2013 Review – Snoop Dogg

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Has there ever been such a hotly anticipated, or completely bonkers act booked for Bestival than the D-o-double-G? With giant Rasta-flag stage projections emblazoned with his noggin, and a nonchalant slither onto the stage to ‘Here Comes The King’, it’s clear that Snoop Dogg has lost none of his cool and is determined to do things his way (otherwise affectionately known as Doggy-Style…). Wearing trademark baggy Adidas trackies, oversized tshirt and a leather jacket, with a confident swagger – Snoop looks like he rolled off a sofa somewhere and decided to do a show… to thousands of people, he just oozes ease. Calling “If you’re smoking weed, now’s the time to light that shit up… Snoop Liiiiooonnn”, Calvin Broadus Jr.’s newest alter-ego is a lot more reggae and a lot less rap, but that doesn’t appear to affect his having some scantily clad ladies join him on stage.

Asking the crowd to wave their hands from side to side, Snoop burns through ‘PIMP’ and ‘Gin and Juice’ before a sneaky Katy Perry ‘California Gurls’ cover, clips of Calvin Harris’ ‘Feel So Close’ and straight into his more controversial section of the show. Dressed in hungry-bum style leather hotpants (you know, the permanent wedgie kind worn by every other Rihanna-wannabe at festivals) the gyrating girls proceed to give Snoop a public lapdance, whilst he’s singing Akon track ‘I Wanna Fuck You’ to the amusement/bewilderment of the crowd.

The famous refrain of Dr. Dre/Snoop collaboration ‘Next Episode’ elicits a roar of excitement from the audience and hilarious dancing ensues for ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ (most funny was the extraordinarily tall skinny kid in front of us, dressed as a member of Team Zissou, trying to twerk). A quick acoustic rendition of ‘Lodi Dodi’ and an ultimate sing along of ‘Who Am I (What’s My Name)’ and the Doggfather closes out the show with the words “I’ll be back in England whenever you want me”. Yelling“I got some last words… SMOKE WEED MOTHERF**KERS!” and Bob Marley’s ‘Jammin’, he slinks casually off stage. It’s safe to say Snoop lived up to the hype, whilst staying effortlessly at ease – it’s all part of the charm and nostalgia, and Bestival definitely got a big Doggy-dose of it tonight.

Snoop Dogg - Bestival

Bestival 2013 Review – Fatboy Slim

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Friday headliner, superstar mixmaster Fatboy Slim ascends the dizzying heights of Bestival’s main stage to the tune of Happy Birthday, for Bestival’s ten year anniversary spectacular. A ram-jam arena and deafening screams confirm that Rob Da Bank has made the right choice booking beat-tastic Norm for the job, as he drops into an aural assault accompanied by an awesome AV, laser and light show.

Remixing summer’s big hit from Daft Punk ‘Get Lucky’ has the crowd grooving along, and a little of Zombie Nation’s ‘Kernkraft 400’ goes down well with the 90’s kids, but it’s Fatboy hit ‘Right Here, Right Now’ that spins the arena into a frenzy of flailing limbs, especially when a host of white beach balls are released onto the dancing masses.

With somewhat disturbing images of Norman’s face in an array of facepaints, the hypnotic ‘Eat Sleep Rave Repeat’ encourages some proper old school rave moves like the sprinkler being busted out, and a quick blast of ‘Simply The Best’, complete with images showing ‘Simply the Bestival’ is met with guttural yells of agreement from the entire arena. Iconic ‘Praise You’ brings out the best of circular congas (if you haven’t seen the video, to be honest, you’ve failed at your generation.) and is accompanied both chorally and by Rob Da Bank himself on piano.

Bursting back on stage wearing a Titanic life vest to fireworks and glitter cannons, Fatboy Slim goes out with a bang, to the tune of anthemic ‘Rockafella Skank’ – and yes, we’re all doing the dance from She’s All That, shame on us.

Bestival Fatboy Slim

Sundown Festival 2013 Review

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Although only a fledgling festival, it certainly wasn't about to skimp on acts, a festival boasting head liners such as Example and Jessie J certainly was going to put up a fight against some of the other smaller festivals of 2013. Although the Layout was a little jarring, (split into 3 sections, the top end featuring the main stage for acts such as JLS and Amelia Lily, the middle section featuring a second stage for more dance based acts,shops and food stalls including the Ska-BQ (which did the best jerk chicken burger I've ever experienced, but lets not get into that now) and the bottom end featuring a fun fair with the epically named ride, Super Bob.
 
Saturday started off as a sunny day with a breeze that lent itself to some rather unfashionable burn lines on bottom revealing shorts by some of the festival goers. Although a late opener everyone was in and ready for the first act, after some riling up by the the two compares, the duo (who were not dissimilar to Alan Partridge) roused the crowd with some chants and classic school disco Oggy,Oggy Oggies.
The first act to ascend the stage was a single beat boxer titled as Intensi T, he began to get the crowd going by playing the harmonica not dissimilarly to a steam train, with a bluesy edge. He wasn’t to far off a more industrial Ed Sheeran often getting the audience to join in with parts of songs that were on loop. The only drawback of this act was that he only had one original song, and although this stood out as his best track amongst the covers he performed he lacked the intensity that other beat box artists such as Shlomo or Rahzel had, however that is not to say this wouldn't come with time.
 
The first commercial act on today was Angel, who mixed up his set with a lot of 90's hip hop influences and covers such as Montel Jordan's 'This is how we do', however he saved his most popular song 'Wonderful' until last, much to the crowds delight.
 
Photo courtesy of Lee Blanchflower
 
Jaguar Skills was the unexpected highlight of the weekend, placed early evening on the main stage he mixed old school hip-hop, drum and bass and contemporary with his classic 8-bit video game feel, it was here the crowd started to limp a bit as there was a distinct lack of lyrics for the audience to join in with. Jag Skills soon picked up on this and started to work in songs such as the Beatles 'Come Together', to help pick the crowd up again for the rest of the evening.
 
Closing the Saturday night on the main stage was Example, his stage presence and exuberance of energy was enough to really excite the crowd as he launched into 'Kickstarts', after continuing with this high energy set including songs like 'Won't go Quietly' and 'Close Enemies', he slows the crowd down by playing 'Watch The Sun Come Up'; a classic festival pleaser. After slowing the crowd down he prepares them by telling them that he “wants circles larger” at which point the beat drops for his final song 'Changed The Way You Kissed Me', and all hell breaks loose.
 
After the excitement and heavy handedness of the crowd the day before, Sunday morning starts with a much more chilled out feel to it, with most of the crowd sitting on the floor on blankets, although there was the odd teenage girl adorned in UV paint denoting their love for Jessie J and JLS.
 
The First act of the day is De:Vide, a band featured on the Voice (given the Head liner, they of course gave shout outs to their mentor from the show Jessie J) They filled their set with a couple of their own songs, a cover of The Fugees 'Ready or Not' and not forgetting their audition track 'My Girl'
 
The Next major band to take note of was another TV Talent; Union J, amongst the screams so high pitched only dogs could hear, they managed to belt out their cover set, featuring Love Story by Taylor Swift, Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis  and last but not least their first single 'Carry You'.
 
However it wasn't until later on in the evening that the Union J boys got a real run for their money. JLS bounded onto the stage like a group of 4 overexcited puppies. Singing, dancing and harmonising so perfectly in time that any aspiring boy band would've had tears in their eyes due to their synchronicity. When they finally slow down for a moment  catch their breaths they managed to have a giggle with the fans by reading out the banners they have made for them, of course there are the usual 'JLS we love you Signs', but it wouldn’t be a festival in Norfolk without a sign saying “J.B ride my tractor” now would it? The boys then dedicate their final song to all the 'hot girls' in the audience as they launch into 'Hottest Girl in The World'. And of course it wouldn't be a JLS gig without a classic back flip from Aston would it?
 
Photo courtesy of Lee Blanchflower
 
After a half an hour wait and one very intricate stage build later, Jessie J storms on stage with a Rocked up version of 'Price Tag' while wearing a toothpaste green crop top and culottes. She then slows down the band and speaks about how there is no definition of perfection and how her fans should no try to be something their not, which leads into 'Nobody's Perfect', and 'Who you are', after giving the crowd a few moments to wipe away the tears (yes, really). She introduces the backing singers and lets them take centre stage as they are leaving due to the fact two have been signed independently, (which is easy to see why, when they then perform a medley of Michael Jackson and Beyonce's work it out). After a breakdown of old and new songs such as Excuse my Rude, Laser light and Do it like a Dude, Jessie splits the crowd down the middle and gets them to sing independent parts as she leads the crowd into her final song, Domino, which has everyone including the stallholders up and dancing, a positively perfect way to end Sundown's third year as a fully fledged festival, its definitely the one to watch for next year.
 
Photo courtesy of Lee Blanchflower

Shapeshifters new single ‘In Colour’ Review

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New Zealand's Drum and Bass masters Shapeshifter are getting ready to release their latest single "In Colour" which comes from their New Zealand #1 album "Delta.” ‘In Colour’ is a fusion of electronic beats, mixed with fearless lyrics. A band traditionally known for its hard hitting drum and bass tunes, this track is a much more light-hearted version, nevertheless it’s sensational. ‘In colour’ is the fifth song on their latest album, ‘Delta.’ This album is bold, Shapeshifter morph time and time again and that’s what makes this album so exciting. From depth charge bass music, elastic electronic textures and barreling breakbeats to bedrocks of soul, jazz and rave that ground their experimentation

‘In Colour’ epitomizes the boldness of this latest album; the lyrics are powerful, encouraging the listener to want to make the world better and to ‘Let all the colours ignite tonight’. This track maybe a more lighthearted version of their traditional hard hitting drum and bass beats that encompass other tracks, but it maintains the unique Shapeshifter edginess’. With P Digsss amazing vocals, mixed with brilliant electronic intense beats this track will certainly have you dancing from the get-go. The track is catchy with intense energy which eludes an irrepressible joy,showcasing various people from across the globe, smiling, dancing and generally having fun. This track will certainly make you smile!

This is a great single with revolutionary electronic tones underpinning the whole album, it is far from cheesy, and the authenticity of its message sounds through. They are certainly breaking new ground with this album as well as setting themselves apart from the competition. This track is creative and the band have explored new territory whilst still maintaining that heavy beat. This track will certainly reach all corners of the globe.

On top of their mainstream success Shapeshifter have released records through legendry south London Drum and Bass label, Hospital Records. With the combination of mainstream and cutting-edge, this  band has certainly covered all bases.  We’re not the only people to love this brilliant new track, MTV Iggy state "Shapeshifter dole out a heavy dose of happiness in the video for “In Colour.” We dare you not to smile as the uplifting chorus pulses behind footage of people around the world dancing and laughing."

The new single ‘In color’ is released 16th September 2013.

Review by Jenny McCall

The Best of ‘Summercamp’

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“Summercamp? Never heard of it.” I was used to this. In the two weeks I knew such a thing existed, I didn’t meet a single soul planning to go along. Boo them – this was a seriously impressive event.

It’s not what you think, baby. There’s no camping at Summercamp, for instance. The name is more likely inspired by host venue Camp and Furnace, a dressed up warehouse space in the Baltic Triangle, Liverpool’s answer to a New York Meatpacking District. That, or the fact a name like Summercamp has broad appeal for a festival trying wholeheartedly to tap that hipster parent market (I’m looking at you, cool mum, with your turned-up jeans and edgy under threes).

There’s a log fire, but we’re not toasting marshmallows here. It doesn’t rain, there are no ghost stories, and the only baked beans in sight are swimming in the Fire and Salt BBQ Co’s treacle sauce. Fancy. Let’s do away with chronology then, as a festival like Summercamp might. Instead, here are the things I loved most about this laidback two-day delight:

Banter
"If you like us, we're called Fair Ohs. If not, we're the Spectrals," cries lead singer of the former mid-set, waving to drummer of the latter stood in the crowd. I catch the retort, that no one is reviewing them anyway. It’s pure coincidence I don't love Spectral's Summercamp showing. Let’s move on.

Talent
Mount Kimbie make the kind of shuddering bass that set those little hairs on your arms shaking. Sure, you can enjoy this music anywhere, but what I like about seeing these two play live is that they don't look at all like their sound.

Delphic give an expectedly slick performance, despite some kind of technical issue early on. All weekend we see artists gesturing side stage to have their levels upped, or in the case of The Staves apologetically downed. One sister wants the other lower, admitting the request sounds cruel. Summercamp is full of these intimate and funny moments.

Frenchies We Were Evergreen show they truly are, playing older tracks like ‘Baby Blue’ with new verve. I sip peach beer (from the real ale stand, of course) and can’t help smiling as I notice all three of the bands’ left feet tapping in unison. It’s a change of pace when they all take to the drums, and I’m shocked to learn their debut album is still forthcoming; it’s hard to look at so much talent.

Reasons to Dance
All weekend, there are beats at the street festival outside. Punters sun themselves, drink up and chow down to afro orchestra, local folk and, come dusk on Sunday, 80s DJ mashups featuring weirdly fun tracks like Paul McCartney’s ‘Temporary Secretary’.

Of course, no one wants to dance after watching Duncan Wallis front Manchester outfit Dutch Uncles. My fashion photographer friend agrees – in a peachy long sleeve denim shirt and single sleeper earring, the singer rocks 90s dad. Nuanced against drum, bass, keys and not one but two electric guitars, his vibrato is arresting. I’m reminded of a book, too, A Visit from the Goon Squad, when the band delivers a moment of pure pause: “You can hold my hand/ I feel it… girl.” A cover of Grace Jones’ ‘Slave to the Rhythm’, and I’m hooked.

Surprises
I picture Ghostpoet’s wardrobe as a wall of textures and stylish as fuck, but invariably black. He’s dressed head to toe in the stuff, sunglasses too, and it’s a relief when he warms up a bit and ditches a few layers. With an album titled Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam, I expected gritty, but I want to block my ears, or cry, or both, so frank and personal are tracks like ‘Survive It’.

Summercamp

The repetition will be too much for some, the ha ha hahs and the lii lii liines. But this is rap after all, and though sinister, the music is also inherently playful. I suspect he’s repeating things because he likes the way they sound or feel.

Another storyteller, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, gives an equalling surprising performance, albeit in a very different way. Not happy with his onstage acoustics, he takes his set list to the floor and invites the crowd to sit on the ground beside him; it’s the first time all weekend my legs get dirty. His voice is raspy, his songs sad, so you have to be in that sort of mood really, but crouched on a would-be forest floor it’s the perfect time for it.

Should this foxy little urban festival return in 2014, I hope it’s in more or less the exact same mode. And keep an eye out – this deserves a crowd.

@MirandaAnimated

 

Beacons Festival 2013 – Review

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Nestled within the picturesque North Yorkshire countryside, Skipton has been home to Beacons festival in mid-August for the past two years (or three if you’re counting it’s disastrous debut year which was cancelled before It’d even got started due to flash floods), the question upon mine and many others lips when arriving on site was: “Is it going to be third time lucky for this independent festival?”.

Early indicators this year were hinting at a successful affair with the capacity of 2012 doubling to 7,500 for 2013, the festival organisers boasting themselves of an increase in the number of toilets, a dedicated family camping area, aptly named ‘Diddy Rascals family field’, a vast increase in entertainment with added tents for visual arts and spoken word performances and if all of this wasn’t quite tickling your fancy the weather forecast looked far more cheerful than previous years.

After arriving at the festival Friday afternoon I was greeted by its small but quaint layout within the dales, there was only a small arena area with three tents dedicated to music bill, although amongst the other tents dotted about I was pleasantly surprised to see sponsors Whitelock’s, Kopparberg and Urban Outfitters with their own respective tents to entice the weekend festival attenders with food, fashion and by the looks of it a lot of fun! Furthermore on the other side of the site was the wide range of arty stuff with the tea rooms, ‘Beacons Boutique’ and ‘Into the Woods’ tent standing out as a popular choice with the latter showing art house films throughout the day.

Beacons Festival

To kick off the proceedings on the Friday afternoon I went to check out Esben & the Witch in the smallest of the three music bill designated tents entitled the “You need to hear this” stage, and was taken aback by the Brighton three piece’s sound of atmospheric rock which more than filled the rather small tent. Sticking around the tents vicinity was a certainty shortly afterwards as one of the hottest tips of the festival Dan Croll was to appear. Opening with catchy hit ‘From Nowhere’ it was a sign of things to come from the 22 year old Staffordshire singer songwriter throughout his whole set consisting of up tempo indie pop tunes, which went down pretty well with more than a satisfied crowd in the Yorkshire sunshine.

Over at the “Loud And Quiet” stage Mercury Prize nominated sub headliner Ghostpoet was about to perform the best set of the Friday with his set of hip hop rhythms which definitely filled the tent with people as well as an atmosphere that would definitely beat that of headliners Bonobo, with a massive reaction from the crowd for sing-along favourite “Cash And Carry Me Home”. To close Friday night was headliner Bonobo hailing from Yorkshire himself, accompanied by a diverse band and a female vocalist, his electronic beats set went down relatively well with the crowd but nearing the latter half of his set I began to feel a very samey vibe which is inevitable but hard to avoid playing songs of that nature for a long duration. To end the night myself and the majority of the crowd made our way to the “Residential Adviser’ tent for celebrated Spanish DJ John Talabot for more house vibes reminiscent of headliner Bonobo.

After John Talabot I was disappointed to find that the arena closed at 2am sharp to mine and the other festival attenders dismay which was also worsened on the Sunday night with all entertainment finishing at midnight leaving many people scratching their heads with what to do immerse themselves in for the remainder of the evening. Although the “Into the woods” and other artsy tents remained open till later I feel this is something organisers should address for next year to keep campers occupied instead of them resorting to creating their own amusements which coincidently occurred on the Sunday evening when a make shift drum and sing-along accompaniment was heard travelling through the camp long into the night.

Saturday started off on a high with rock and roll Manchester girl Findlay taking to the “You need to hear this” stage, with catchy singles ‘Off and On’ and ‘Your Sister’ and the latter reminiscent of 70’s Bowie, the reasonably early bird crowd were definitely woken up from their slightly hung-over state by this loud bluesy outfit. Closely following Findlay with a similar old fashioned vibe were Temples who took to the “Loud and Quiet’ stage on the Saturday afternoon with their set of 60’s psychedelic rock screaming out late Beatles/Pink Floyd.

Saturday night brought a rare treat in non-musical form which would turn out to be the highlight of my festival – this being a showing of the film “The Stone Roses: Made of Stone”, followed by a question and answer session with the director Shane Meadows, of “This is England” and the consequent TV series “This is England ’86” and “This is England ’88” fame. I felt that this late addition to the bill was a very smart move by the Beacons organisers and this is proved when I arrived at the ‘Into the Woods’ tent to find that it was completely full for the film showing. Afterwards I was pleasantly surprised by Shane’s honest, humble and thorough answers to questions fired at him and this left me and the other eager fans in the room with a developed insight into his different film and TV involvements throughout the years.

Shane Meadows @ Beacons Festival

Kicking of a rather gloomy Sunday afternoon on the “You need to hear this” stage were the aptly named The Wytches. The Brighten three pieces' dark psychedelic sound with loud drums and wailing vocals filled me with promising unique vibes which were strangely out of place for that low down on the bill – definitely one to watch. Later on in the afternoon was the time for the much anticipated Sheffield two piece; Drenge. Consisting of brothers Rory and Eoin  Loveless, they enticed the large crowd playing furiously loud riffs twinned with screaming vocals, furthermore with confirmed support slots for fellow Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys and Indie Pop band Peace things are looking pretty promising for the Loveless brothers at the moment.   

Closing the ‘Loud and Quiet’ stage and indeed the festival were Django Django, who have achieved much critical acclaim across the UK after 18 months of touring their mercury prize nominated self-titled debut album. Their psychedelic themed show got off to a slow start but with hit singles ‘Hail Bop’ and ‘Default’ winning the crowd over it was an atmospheric end to the festival.

Uniquely arts orientated as well as hosting a list of flourishing musical artists, this independent minded and family friendly festival is definitely worth a trip. If not for the breath-taking scenery, or its diverse range of food, drink and ales then with ticket prices at less than half the price of a mainstream festival admission I’m struggling at reasons for why you shouldn’t give Beacons the light this time next year.

Dan Holderness

Leeds Festival 2013 Review

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Typically the last 'big' festivals of the summer months in the UK, Reading & Leeds are a special pilgrimage a combined audience of hundreds of thousands of people make every August Bank Holiday weekend. This year I headed to Leeds Fest to check it out, here's what happened!

Arriving on Friday morning, the site was buzzing with campers dampened slightly by a little storm on Thursday evening, but nothing to put off the masses from what was hopefully going to be a great festival.

Don Broco, a Bedford-based alternative rock band took to the Main Stage, and were an unexpected surprise. 'Hold On', probably their most popular tune got everyone going, as did the band's in-time dance moves, steps to the side, hand-claps, a cheeky boyband touch for the popular quartet, who's lead singer had an Elvisy-look going on.

Then it was time for something different, a rapper by the name of Wacka Flocka Flame took to the brand-new Radio 1Xtra Stage, to a huge crowd. His hype man got things bouncing, as the man himself finally arrived 15 minutes late. Wacka wore a Leeds United shirt and some appropriate bling, as his set saw him get a few headbanging fans up onstage,along with a girl plucked from the crowd who 'twerked'. It was an interesting 40 minutes or so.

Just over the way to the NME/Radio 1 stage, where American girl trio HAIM were the main attraction, bringing their guitar-laden hooks to the masses. They played favourites like, 'Forever', 'Falling' and new single, 'The Wire', all from their much-anticipated debut album. One of the best things about HAIM is Este, their bassist. The older sister likes to have coarse, blunt banter with crowds during gigs and is famed for her 'bassface'. You can watch her facial expressions for 45 minutes and be easily entertained. 

Overall, their performance was better than expected and I left happy, as did many others who had squeezed into the tent.

I took a bit of a wander around the Arena site afterwards, taking note of the wide variety of stalls, grabbing a few ponchos for the oncoming storm and taking in some pizza (note: this was at a time when you could actually SIT on the ground and not get covered in mud…)

Then it was time for the sub-headliners, Nine Inch Nails, almost a cult band, such is their feverent support. Being a few rows from the front barrier, I couldn't tell the size of the crowd at the time, but having seen so afterwards, it wasn't very busy, but then that should be expected given Trent Reznor and his merry band have never been notable to a mainstream audience. 

NIN @ Leeds Festival 2013

NIN were good. They missed out a couple of hits, like 'Closer' and 'Hurt', but if a newcomer like me could get into it, I'm sure the hardcore fans were ecstatic with their 80 minute set. Reznor is a tense, serious stage presence and if memory serves me right, he didn't interact with the crowd one bit. At the time I didn't question this, but afterwards it turns out he put out tweets suggesting he was 'lied to' by R&L boss Melvin Benn, which Benn himself has since said is a lie. 

It's all very confusing but what we are led to believe is that Reznor was promised a more extravagent stage show than the one he got, as headliners Biffy Clyro would've had stage priority, it resulted in a bank of lights instead, still impressive but not the full NIN experience. 

There were probably the perfect set-up for what was a definitive headlining performance, from Biffy-motherf***ing-Clyro, as they were known for the evening. 

Some doubted they had it in them to headline a major UK festival, but they delivered in spades, with a strong set packed full of their more recent mainstream hits, with a few golden oldies squeezed in for long-time supporters. Simon Neil, lead singer, was very appreciative of the crowd, telling them, '"It all goes downhill from here…I'm only joking"'. Their 'banter' was limited, but the shirtless trio let their epic music do the talking, which really got the crowd going too. 

Lasers, fireworks, smashed up guitars, sing-a-longs, a massive tree prop, mental mosh pits; the show had it all, and despite the swirling wind and rain it was a fantastic way to close the first night of Leeds 2013.

Saturday came and the site's landscape had changed drastically. Rain had come in a big way, with heavy rain in the night, turning the lush green grass into a mudbath. Wellies were a necessity, as were ponchos, it was 'proper' UK festival weather.

As a result of the poor conditions, I was stationed in the NME Tent for a good few hours and was lucky to see what I saw!

Fatigue seemed to have set in during the first half of Deap Vally's set. At the 20 minute stage, drummer Julie Edwards instructed the crowd to wake up and have fun, reminding them they were at a festival! They promptly did so and the atmosphere was quite good afterwards, shame the music wasn't quite as good. I sort of like Deap Vally, but their music is too samey for my tastes, I liked their energy during the gig though, they played at such a frenetic pace I'm surprised they managed 2 shows in 2 days!

Next up were fellow Americans Fidlar. A little heard of band, but an excellent band, one of my finds of the festival. They played a clutch of quick, simple songs that relied on great riffs and lead singer Zac Carper's hyper vocals. I was reminded of a very low-fi Nirvana, if you want to see for yourself I recommend you check out 'Cheap Beer', the slogan that adorned their merch and the song that really had the crowd going wild. 

I suspect that the crowd was boosted because of the next act. Brummie stars Peace, were as flamboyant as predicted, lead singer Henry Koisser striding out in a leopard print jacket and hat to a loving audience. Tracks 'Follow Baby', and 'Lovesick'', got the best responses and saw the band at their most confident. Sure the live set isn't yet perfect, some of their songs weren't the most interesting in a a live arena, but they are getting there as one of a few bands that could really kickstart the era of the British guitar band.

After a bit of Peace, I ventured into the now spitting rain to find some fresh music. It was the Rock Stage that I found it, with The Computers part way through their set. Instantly I thought I'd been transported back to the 1950s as they were all dressed in slick suits, with even more slicked back hair. Their tunes matched the image, and were a breath of fresh air. Sure the lead singer's attempts at telling a story inbetween songs were a bit manufactured, as were his off-stage antics which saw him join a wet, muddy mosh pit. But it was pure fun, reminding me of The Hives' eccentric set from 2012, in a good way!

Then, then it was Major Lazer time. Now I didn't know what to expect, a pure DJ set? 

Headliner time had come, and the pop-punk of Green Day was blasted from the Main Stage. Now I was a fair distance back, and wasn't massively impressed with the size or energy of the crowd, but to be fair, it was constantly raining, muddy as anything and the band were just okay, nothing more, on reflection. Billie Joe Armstrong annoyed me, with his political speeches and subtle nuances. However, I did enjoy songs off 'American Idiot', which I loved at the time of release, with their comprehensive playing in full of 1994 album Dookie, released the year of my birth, missing the mark for me, but not for the legions of loyal fans down the front.

Come Sunday, the thousands of campers were weary and out on their feet, but ready for a fantastic days's entertainmen The site was still a swampy mudbath, but with forecasts of clear skies and sun, it was looking promising for the final day of the festival.

Similarly to Saturday, I spent a good couple of hours in the same place on Sunday, this time the Festival Republic Tent, a place full of new talent waiting to be discovered. I saw Drenge and Swim Deep, back to back. Both were good in moderation, with outstanding songs, like 'Honey', 'The Sea' and 'She Changes the Weather', from the latter Brummies. Crowds were pretty decent too, with plenty of shoulder-riding and singing going on for the latter. Drenge were slightly more subdued, as the duo rattled through some awesome sounding music, but I'm not entirely sure whether they fit the tone of the stage.

Then it was time to check up on another NME darling, Palma Violets, a group who I was undecided on, their first album deceiving me at times. However, their blistering live set had people jumping around and going crazy. They are energetic, cocky and funny, all great features for a band to have. 'Best of Friends', was the highlight, a song that evokes the spirit of the Libertines when they were in their prime. With a couple of albums under their belt, I can see the southerners living up to the aforementioned hype, they look like they believe it too!

Palma Violets @ Leeds Festival 2013

With that brief foray to the NME tent, it was off to the Main Stage for the remainder of my 2013 festival. White Lies were 4th from the top of the bill, but didn't really live up to expectations. For a start, I wasn't the biggest fan, I think a lot of their material sounds very 'samey', which was true of the performance, a performance hampered by sound problems and a pretty uninterested crowd, most of whom were hanging around for Chase & Status and Eminem later on that evening. Their early hits, 'Fairwell to the Fairground', and 'Death', were nice, but the longer it went on, the longer it felt they were 'going through the motions'.

Up next were Foals, again a band I was wary of. I like a lot of their songs, but had never been impressed by their live performances I'd caught on TV. However, they were great fun, energetic and had some good banter with the crowd, lead singer Yannis ending up in the crowd by the end of their set. Before that though, songs like 'Spanish Sahara' and 'My Number', showed the variation in their song-craft, going from the deep, building tunes to a catchy pop number. The boss of the festival Melvin Benn has since claimed they could headline the festival, which I think was a slight over-exaggeration, although he said the same about the next act, something which may be true…

Chase & Status, an incredible act and a perfect appetizer for what was to come. Their set up saw the duo positioned behind a 'C' and 'S' DJ booth each, with MC Rage effectively the ringmaster of proceedings, dragging out the likes of Liam Bailey as guest vocalists, with Plan B and Delilah projected onto a humongous video screen above their heads. It was impressive to see such a stage show, especially given the problems Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails had.

Chase & Status

When tracks like 'No Problem', 'Let You Go' and 'Hypest Hype', dropped, the crowd went nuts for it, descending into mosh pits and general dancing. It was amazing to see, and one of the loudest, best atmospheres of the festival I had witnesses (more of which later). It was strange, given all I'd heard and read online prior to the festival was that their booking was a poor one, not in-keeping with the tradition of the festival. Sure, that may be correct, but why not move with the times, book popular acts who DO have crossover with the rock, alternative and indie music scene (you'd have been surprised just how many 'metalheads' were enjoying themselves to C&S). I don't see it as an issue, especially as it helps to keep the festival going, something which the next act definitely helped with. 

The rap legend that is Eminem graced the stage for his second headline set, amongst a bunch of questions and fears. I got talking to people around me beforehand and whilst everyone was excited, noone knew what to expect! Old material, new material- a mixture of both? Would he mime? Well whilst that wasn't really clarified (although personally I think he relied on backing track the odd time, but was at his best and actually rapping for the majority of the set), one thing was clear; Eminem was back. 

Whilst a lot of the first half of the set was his newer material, from 'Recovery' and 'Relapse', it was bearable in a live environment. This was partly due to the live band AND DJ he had accompanying him, aswell as the buzzing crowd, still excited from C&S who were devouring his hit-packed set.

My favourite moment of the festival came with the 3 minute medley of older songs, that was, 'My Name Is/The Real Slim Shady/Without Me'. For 3 minutes I was a child again, and it was amazing! As was the special guest for 'Stan', Dido herself. Both of those moments were special and brought much acclaim from the audience. Then a one-song encore came about a great rendition of the intense, 'Lose Yourself', before Em headed off for good. It may have been a fairly brisk, 25 song, 100 minute set, but god was it good. And that was Leeds Fest 2013, done just like that!

So, to round it all off, Leeds 2013 was fantastic, perhaps as an overall experience outing 2012's edition, Foo Fighters and all! We saw the newly anointed Biffy Clyro become the rock gods they were destined to be, a return for the veterans of pop-punk, Green Day and Eminem finish it all off with a blistering display of a hip-hop gig. Other personal highlights were the likes of HAIM and Peace on the NME stage, Chase & Status killing the Main Stage, Major Lazer bringing the party to the tent, aswell as echoes of the Libertines, with Palma Violets giving a confident, humourous performance.

It may have been muddy, it may have been soaking wet; but Leeds Festival 2013 was bloody good!

Photos by Danny Payne