Back in the Future

Back in the Future

If there’s one thing that perfectly captures summertime, it’s festivals – and 2020 will be no exception with Back In The Future, a new two day festival weekend bringing summer vibes and carnival culture to Malta on August 29th and 30th. Malta is being described as the new Ibiza and with 300 days of sun per … Read more

Parklife 87

The line-up at Parklife is diverse; it crosses genres and over four decades of music history. Older artists aren’t in the mix solely for nostalgia, they represent the music that is part of our music culture here today in 2017. We mentioned in the preview that we’re coming up to a decade of Parklife/Mad Ferret (one year shy) and how festival culture here in the UK has evolved from raves, warehouse parties and soundsystems and merged to form the current festival culture, particularly in the UK. We also looked at that maiden line-up from 2008. This year the musical mezze of acts spans electronic music, hip hop, R&B, drum and bass, UK garage, dub and reggae and the artists that represent those evergreen steelos (yea I’m hip) have histories of recording or performing music stretching back as far as 1978. So this is where it gets a bit Rick and Morty, or more accurately, Doc Brown and Marty McFly: imagine if you could jump in a 1983 DeLorean and go back in time to start your own festival, using only acts from this year’s Parklife line-up, Parklife prequels if you like? Well guess what? You don’t have to because we’re gonna do it for you, each week, until Parklife, starting with Parklife ’87. (Tell me any one of these would not be #LitAF!)

 

Parklife 87

Chaka Khan – Congo Natty – David Rodigan – Norman Jay – Pete Tong 

The headline on the main stage would undoubtedly be Chaka Khan. Already a Grammy Award winning artist with ‘70s groups Rufus, over a decade after ‘You Got the Love’, Chaka was an established solo artist and cameo in a major Hollywood motion picture by 1987. That’s not to mention having a list of collaborations from Stevie Wonder to Quincy Jones and being the first R&B singer to make a crossover hit featuring a rapper under her belt. A 1987 version of me (there was actually a one year old version of me in 1987 but we’ll ‘llow that) would be gassed at the prospect of catching the by then five-time Grammy Award winner at Heaton Park.

Away from the main stage, up the hill and down the other side, what would start as a low rumble would open out to another, altogether different stage. A stage with speakers stacked almost as high as the summer sky, spilling sub-low frequencies and the echoing toasts from the deejays. Before the digital age, in the golden era of soundclash culture, the man dem got their kicks, and their bass, by way of dub. From Brixton to Bristol, Chapletown to Moss Side, kids from the inner city to the suburbs were bunning absolute dog shit weed and drinking cheap lager at parties, clashes and radio shows brought to them by man like Congo Natty, Norman Jay MBE and David Rodigan MBE. And yep, we still are. By 1987 Rodigan had grown from selling roots records in Putney to shows on the likes of Capital FM, keeping the nation warm n easy. Born in Notting Hill, Norman Jay had built up a credible international reputation starting in the late ‘70s at block parties in New York at a time when the city was beginning to churn out the music we live by today. When disco was red hot, when hip hop and house were being born and the Big Apple’s large West Indian communities were getting down to new, exciting waves of sounds of the islands. Associated with the emerging careers of Trevor Nelson, Giles Peterson, Jazzie B from Soul II Soul, Judge Jules and Danny Rampling, by the time of the (hypothetical but jeez you should have got this by now) Parklife 87 came around he was Mr rare groove himself and synonymous with the London incarnation of the then-pirate KISS FM.

But this was the ‘80s. Technology had provided musicians with new tools to their armoury, new, electronic tools, and so we go, over to the house tent. This was just slightly before acid really took off, a year (or two) before the second summer(s) of love, and four years before the Essential Selection first aired on Radio 1, but nevertheless, Pete Tong was a well-established ‘dance’ DJ and radio presenter, particularly in the capital.

I’d go to that festival today, never mind back then. Also, there’s another name worth a mention. They hadn’t released their debut album yet, or even had someone listen to their demo, but A Tribe Called Quest might have had a cheeky feature on an up-and-coming slot, having been formed in 1985, but their time will come when we visit Parklife 97 next week.

 

Anyway, back to reality… 

Parklife 17 updates: New act announced!!

I was surprised when they weren’t included in the initial line-up but the announcement coming just as tickets were pretty much sold out seems more like a thank you than a stub-shifter, okay I’m stalling, I’ll get on with it… The latest announcement is… a bashy, energetic, anthemic collaboration between Brooklyn rapper El-P and ATL’s Killer Mike. Yep it’s Run the Jewels. Hyped.

 

lloyd w

Born and Bred 2016 day splits announced

Rinse FM | Born & Bred Festival announce the full lineup and arena split for their two-day event celebrating the sounds of London's dancefloors and airwaves, taking place at Haggerston  Park  in Shoreditch on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June 2016.
 
 
Amongst the new additions are two vital headline sets with outspoken vocalist Azealia Banks topping the bill for Sunday, plus Wiley alongside Slimzee joining Saturday's Main Stage programme following a storming comeback session for Rinse FM last month. 
 
With full details now revealed Saturday's highlights include Main Stage performances from Atlanta rap star ILOVEMAKONNENNewham Generals & J CushThe Square and Benga.
 
Renowned grime platform Lord of The Mics is at the foundation of London's grime culture. Led up by Boy Better Know's Jammer, they have supported some of the scene's biggest talents since the early days. For their stage at Rinse | Born & Bred they continue in this vein, pairing underground grime pioneers alongside some of the most exciting new acts including Ghetts, Lady Leshurr, P Money, Bugzy Malone, AJ Tracey, Logan Sama, Jammz and Sir Spyro and many more…
 
Regarded as the capital's premier Hip Hop collective, Livin' Proof will bring explosive party vibes to their arena at Rinse | Born & Bred with a headline set from Yungen plus new additions  Mikill Pane  and SK Vibemaker amongst a hot-bed of London's hip hop talents.
 
Heritage vs. London Some'ting will celebrate the city's soundsystem culture with a showdown of garage and Jungle's finest. Heritage, led up by seminal garage producers Scott Garcia & Sticky, collectively as Foundation have secured So Solid Crew's Lisa Maffia and Romeo to top their bill, with supporting sets from the likes of DJ SpoonyWookie and Matt Jam Lamont.
 
London Some'ting, led up by original junglist DJ Ron, has assembled some of the scenes most incluential figures with Congo NattyRandall, Jumpin Jack Frost, Kenny Ken and Brockie joining ranks. 
 
Bringing a second helping of music to Haggerston Park on Sunday, Rinse | Born & Bred's Main Stage will be headlined by Azealia Banks, who recently self-released new track 'The Big Big Beat' produced by An Expresso.
 
A cornerstone of London's underground music scene, FWD>>  is an essential platform pushing some of the most experimental electronic music. Their time at Plastic People is still cited by many as the birthplace for some of the UK's most groundbreaking acts in recent times. Still championing the most interesting fresh sounds, FWD>> bring the likes of PC Music's A. G. Cook and the dark rough techno ofHodge to their arena at Rinse | Born & Bred. Offering an abundance of cutting-edge sounds, further sets will come form the likes of Koreless, Mssingno, Laurel Halo, Lotic, Mr. Mitch, Nídia Minaj, Kamixlo, Lexxi plus more.
 
Loefah's Swamp 81 label returns to Haggerston Park for the second year. With a powerful headline offering from Loefah and Fabio going back-to-back for the first time everfurther sets will come from label stalwarts Youngsta, Paleman, Mickey Pearce, Lamont and Cousin.
 
Exit vs. Dispatch will unite two of drum & bass' most highly commended institutions led up by dBridgeand Ant TC1 respectively. They will be presenting a showcase of the two labels featuring some of the most consistent and interesting acts in drum & bass including sets from Zed Bias, Marcus Intalex, Calibre, Survival, Skeptical, DLR, Loxy, Kid Drama and Zero T.
 
Having assembled key players from across the spectrum of bass-lead sounds, Rinse | Born & Bred Festival offers the UK's biggest celebration of it's kind, with tickets available now for the full weekend or individual days.

Hijacked Festival announce massive lineup additions

Presenting an eclectic music lineup that showcases the UK’s most diverse underground sounds, Hijacked Festival 2015 | Exeter takes an adventure into electronic music’s rich history, delving into techno, adventuring through the many faces of house, and reliving the evolution of bass.
 
Unique techno-tinged talent Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs plays a DJ set, pioneering producer Artwork appears, jungle forefather Congo Natty appears, plus critically acclaimed bass explorationists Dark Sky and nu-deep house party people Disciples join the party, and Bass-house duo Mak & Pasteman bring it, as Exeter one-day music and culture event heads to the picturesque grounds of Powderham Castle on Saturday May 30th.
 
Multi-talented MC, DJ and producer Chunky heads, Jabru promises to smash the ‘floor, and electronic selectors Eli & Fur take a dark turn. House creative Last Magpie offers a genre-bashing set, MermaidS, and jungle invigorators Nanci and Phoebe keep it jumping. Plus look out for Benedict Jackson, Thick As Thieves faces Budos and Xhosah, Hold It Down resident Harry Parsons, Duplex Sound and Surplus, Harry Parsons, Item, Marek Skibinski and more…
 
Club partners for Hijacked Festival 2015 | Exeter include founding promoters and Exeter party people Thick As Thieves, The Cavern’s Our House collective, South West stalwarts Hold It Down, and Exeter University’s very own dance promoter Beats and Bass Society.
 
Hijacked Festival is the result of four friends' desire to do something better. Frustrated by the lacklustre nightlife in Exeter, where electronic music was barely even catered for, Harry Horsfall, Will Millner, Laurence Mulchrone and Freddie Sparrow realised they could do better. Over the last three years, their Thick As Thieves events have helped transform the Exeter nightlife, bringing a taste of the underground to the most atmospheric venues in the city.
 
Last year, buoyed by their success, the Thieves embarked on an even more ambitious feat, presenting an intimate daytime party in a picturesque inner-city location where electronic music takes the focus – a hijack. The first Hijacked Festival event was a triumph, selling out, and 2015 is set to be even bigger. 
 
The picturesque grounds of Powderham Castle, the 600-year old home of the Earl and Countess of Devon, which stands in a beautiful deer park on the banks of the Exe estuary, plays host to the city’s second visit from Hijacked Festival – the nomadic electronic music and creativity-embracing experience that ‘hijacks’ idyllic city locations.
 
With over 3000 tickets sold, more acts to be added, and the visual artists lineup still to be announced, Hijacked Festival 2015 | Exeter will light up the city.
It’s time to get Hijacked…
 
Hijacked Festival 2015 || Exeter
Saturday May 30th
13:00
Powderham Castle
Kenton, Exeter, Devon EX6 8JQ
 
Lineup:
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (DJ Set)
 
(alphabetical order)
Artwork | Congo Natty | Dark Sky | Disciples | Mak & Pasteman
 
Chunky | Jabru | Eli & Fur | Last Magpie | MermaidS | Nanci and Phoebe
 
Aerial | Benedict Jackson | Budos | Doodles | Duplex Sound | Harry Gordon | Harry Parsons | Item | Justin Mulli
Lassa | OJF | North/South | The Magnet | Marek Skibinski | Matt Lloyd | Mylan | Surplus | Tom Deuchars | Vandeleur | Xhosah