Love Saves the Day Review 2015

The Bristolian two day event kicked off to a sunny start, bringing in flocks of hipsters from far and wide to Eastville Park. Saturday was a sell-out with queues of up to two hours to get into the festival site and huge lines for both the bar and toilets too. Despite the lack of amenities the curation of the festival was really well done, with all tents hosting an array of sounds for all tastes. With lots of Bristol performers, caterers and exhibitors, Love Saves the day 2015 definitely seemed a joyous celebration of the cool and diverse city.

Established as one of the best and biggest selling electronic acts, Groove Armada was one of the most legendary names to perform at Love Saves the Day this year. The relaxed and chilled vibes of daytime main stage instantly filled into a crowd of avid fans eagerly awaiting the electronic music duo. At the first kick drum the crowd went wild, kicking off the party atmosphere at main stage. Playing samples of 'I see you baby' the duo quickly move on delivering to a sea of raised arms and shoulder riders. Towards the end, the crowds attention began to slant just before teasing us with the legendary party anthem 'Superstylin' then kicking into it in full at the end just in time for sunset.

Cloud 9 presented by Apex proved to be tent for the party atmosphere hosting the likes of Tourist and Gorgon City. Tourist- a Grammy winning artist is certainly grabbing the musics lovers attention and 2015 has been a good year for him. As well as an excellent musician, he proved himself as a phenomenal DJ for Saturday Love Saves the Day. At no point did the crowds attention seem to stray. Gorgon City also provided a high finish to a night for the house/ garage fans.

The London singer/songwriter Jessie Ware, turned out to be a wonderful wind down a predominantly DJ and dance night. With some technical difficulties at the beginning Jessie Ware smoothly brushes it over by greeting the crowd. Her soulful and flawless voice eased us into sways of utter blissful happiness. Right before the end of the set Ware announces to 'slow dance with person you are standing next to' to which we complied singing the heart stopping 'Wildest Moments'. With the stage lights now turned off and heading back through the cold, the atmosphere of sheer satisfaction was upon the crowds face as you could hear passers-by singing Jessie Ware lyrics.

Saturday’s sunshine and atmosphere was the perfect way to really kick off the festival season and although the prior weather reports suggested otherwise, Sunday’s proceedings started in much the same way. Again, queues for the bars and toilets were a slight annoyance, even though tickets were still available on the door but it was nowhere near as bad as the first day. Perhaps the fewer people seeing the entire festival through were really making the most of the penultimate bank holiday before Christmas!

Giant illuminated signs outside the festival gates informed Sunday’s crowd that it was ‘party time’, and if any of the stages at Love Saves the Day lived up to this promise, it was the ‘Shambarber’ stage. Tucked away in the corner of the site, sheltered from the wind by the Paradiso tent and a slightly quieter bar ;) – this place was alive with festival spirit. It was a suntrap, with Dirtytalk and Jethro Binns providing the perfect accompaniment of feel-good house tunes making it really difficult to leave.

After a day outside, it was time to get some shade inside the paradise stage – one of the festival’s two larger tents. Floating Points’ stepped out, accompanied by a familiar face in Kieran Hebden (Four Tet), who must have been getting into the zone for his set later in the night. Floating Points’ impressed with yet another feel-good festival set – something he can be relied on. Whilst scatterings of electro-funk and disco took the premise, it was his own record ‘Nuits Sonores’ which really stood out as being something special.

After this a set by Daniel Avery which was again a lot of fun (although a little tamer than the last time I saw him at Manchester’s Soup Kitchen) it was the turn of Four Tet to take to the stage once again. Four Tet is an artist in the true sense of the word and once again he sculpted the perfect set to close the festival for the Paridiso tent’s crowd. He threw out tunes from every corner of the world, with samplings of African music seamlessly transitioned into deep electronic soundscapes. He treated our ears to some of his own tracks, with the reaction of the crowd to the haunting ‘Angel Echoes’ standing out as a highlight to the whole festival.

The time had come to get ready to round off a really memorable weekend and it was down to Harlem’s own Azealia Banks to close it out in style. Whilst Miss Bank$ has been known for a number of high profile arguments with other certain celebrities in the past, at love saves the day she let her music (and dancing) do the talking. Donning her sparkly purple jacket and white high tops and joined by her backing dancers, she covered and owned every inch of the stage. Singing and rapping along to songs which ducked and dived between hip-hop and popular dance in style, she brought her A-game from in the opening song of ‘Idle Delilah’, continuing to impress through to her arguably most famous track in ‘212’. There was no grand exit from Azealia – a simple ‘Thank you Bristol’ and she was gone.  

Lineup completed for this years Beat Herder Festival

In 2015, Northern England’s most cherished festival, Beat-Herder in Lancashire will celebrate their 10th birthday – a landmark anniversary that marks their journey from humble free party origins to an annual three-day 12,000 capacity bonanza with a legion of devout fans. Described by The Guardian as ‘wonderfully barmy and typically northern’, Beat-Herder is a rare find in today’s climate: a staunchly independent festival that stays true to its roots, completely shunning all corporate sponsorship or branding.
 
Today, Beat-Herder announces the final wave of acts rounding up the bill for the special 10th anniversary edition. Closing the festival on the main stage on Sunday night is celebrated British rock band, The Levellers. The 90s favourites will end the 10th birthday festivities with their own nostalgic blend of folk-punk in a return to the big stage.
 
A dance festival at heart, with its roots firmly in electronic music old and new, Beat-Herder Festival looks set to continue its history of programming dance music’s finest, with a tour de force final wave of acts including DJ, producer, remixer, club promoter and label founder Erol Alkan and his Phantasy cohort and Fabric residentDaniel Avery. Also confirmed is 2020Vision head honcho Ralph Lawson and distinguished drum and bass stalwart turned in-demand house and techno producerTrevino.
 
Baltimore native and house / disco legend Maurice Fulton will be joining the 10th anniversary celebrations alongside more locally sourced homegrown talents including Tim Sheridan who has a long history playing at and promoting warehouse beach parties in Ibiza and his own Veryverywrongindeed parties across Europe and the UK. Disco legend Greg Wilson will headline the Trailer Trash stage on Sunday night while live disco funkers Crazy P are confirmed to play the main stage on Sunday.
Over the last decade, Beat-Herder has come to be known for its unrivalled attention to detail when building the site. Built entirely from scratch by hand, the festival houses all manner of surprises at every twist and turn. Each year unexpected new areas magically appear for festival-goers to stumble upon. Last year’s new additions included a swimming pool in the woods, housed in a Scandinavian style wooden cabin, complete with changing rooms and lifeguards and The Ring, a huge earth mound with a Stonehenge-esque entrance.
 
This year Beat-Herder was crowned winner of the Extra Festival Activity Award at the UK Festival Awards, an award that recognises events that paid that extra bit of attention to detail that creates a magical and unforgettable festival experience.

FULL LINE UP (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
 
08:58 / 2 BAD MICE / 47 SOUL / A-SKILLZ / AFRIQUOI / ANDREW WEATHERALL / ANDROID SISTERS / ANDY PYETT / ANNIE TT / ARCTIC LAKE / BASEMENT JAXX / BIG JIM / BLAENAVON / BLISS ZION / BODIE / BOE & LEE / BOMBSTRIKES / BORN IN A BARN / BOXED IN / BY THE RIVERS
CAMPO / CAPTAIN HOTKNIVES / CATZ N DOGZ / CAUSA / CHAPTER 4 / CHEZTIKOV BROS  / GOAT BOY / CHRIS HOLT / COJO / CRAZY P / DANIEL AVERY / DAVE ANGEL / DEAN MCPHEE / DJ CLUMSY / DJ FFLYFFILYFBYBL / DOHNUT / DOPE TRIK / DREADZONE / DREAM THEMES / DRUM MACHINE / DUB DADDA / DUB PISTOLS / DUB REAKTION / DUB SMUGGLERS / DUTTY MOONSHINE / EARTHDOCTOR / EATSTATIC / ED STONES & THE BD3 / EDDIE EARTHQUAKE / EROL ALKAN / FATHER FUNK / FEATURECAST / FIRE BENEATH THE SEA / FOLKESTRA / FOXES FAUX / FRASER TT / FREAKY BITCHES / FREESTYLERS LIVE / GHOST CULTURE / GOOD FOXY / GRAEME PARK / GREAT SCOTT / GREG WILSON / GRIFFS MAGIC THEATRE / GRINNY GRANDAD / HECTOR BIZERK / HENGE / HORSE PARTY / INDIANIC / INSTRUMENT OF JAH / ITAL GUIDANCE / J BEAR & THE GIANTS / JAM TIDY / JAMBEATER / JAMES ATKIN / JAMES HOLROYD / JERAMIAH FERRARI / JOHN THE BAPTIST / JOHN TREE / JOHNNY CLASH / JON DASILVA / JUSTIN ROBERTSON / K-KLASS / KARL ROSCOE / KASSASSIN STREET / KEN EVIL / KIRAN LEONARD / KRYSKO/ LORD / LANCASHIRE HOTPOTS / LAWLESS / LAZY SUSAN / LINDSAY TT / LOO & PLACIDO / LOWDOWN DJ'S / LUMBERJACKS / LUNALOOP / LYONS & LA ZEL / MAR / CONSTANTINE / MARK TURNER / MARTEN HORGER / MARTHA REEVES / MATT MONTEZ / MATT PLYFORD / MATT TDK / MATTY B / MAURICE FULTON / ME & MY FRIENDS
/MESSENGER / MIAOUX MIAOUX / MIRANDA ARIEH / MISSKITTYFLIP / MISTAJAM / MISTER TOOLEY / MISTI VALENTINE / MOFO & BOZO / MOLLY TILSTON / MOOQEE / MOOSE FUNK SQUAD / MOUSE OUTFIT / MR BENN LIVE / MR SCRUFF / MR SWITCH / NAZIM ZIRYAB / NIGHTMARES ON WAX / PADDY STEER / PALACE / PAPA SHANTI MEETS NEMA KUTA / PAPER CRANES / PAROV STELAR / PAT TRASH TT / PAUL TAYLOR / PAUL THORNTON / PAUL WOOLFORD / PBR STREETGANG / PEACH TT / PETE FOXON'S SOUL TRAIN / PHIL HARTNOLL / PIMPSOUL / PLUMP DJS / PORT ISLA / RALPH LAWSON  / RED EYE HIFI / RED J TT / RED TIN DAVE / RICHARD NORRIS / ROSS ALLEN / RUBBER KAZOO / RUM JIG / RUSS CUBAN / SACHA SCHWARTZ / SAM AND THE WOMP / SEAN P / SHIBA SAN / SIMON SCOTT DIMENSIONS / SKUTCH MANOS / SOLANA / SPAT-CHILLA / STEF M  / STEVE THORPE / SUGARBEAT RESIDENTS / SUGARHILL GANG / SWING DANCE / TANTRUM DESIRE / TELEGRAM / THE KAYANITES / THE LEVELLERS / THE PIRATONES / TIM SHERIDAN / TIRIKILATOPS / TREVINO / UNDERGROUND ROOTS / UTAH SAINTS / VANILLA ACE / VIEKA / WILL JOSEPH COOK / YOUTH CLUB / ZION TRAIN

 

Jessie Ware & Azealia Banks headline Love Saves the Day 2015

Saturday 23rd May

Love Saves The Day are delighted to announce their line-up for 2015. Taking center stage as Saturday's headliner will be the soulful South Londoner and 'Wildest Moments' singer-songwriter Jessie Ware. Tale Of Us, the Berlin-based musical duo who are currently re-writing the rule-book for deeply moving, emotional electronic music will also be present, whilst Fabric resident Craig Richards takes over the Futureboogie stage, alongside Brighton deep house producer Leon Vynehall, the exceptional German duo Âme, and Maxxi Soundsytem, known for his classic house vocals and catchy grooves. 

Other names on the bill for Saturday include London duo Gorgon City, fresh off the back of recent hits 'Ready For Your Love' and 'Here For You', plus Hannah Wants, a lady who has taken to the forefront of the hard-hitting bass house scene, with recent hit 'Rhymes' alongside Chris Lorenzo. Also joining the Wide Eyes stage will be Tourist, the producer who made waves with his remake of HAIM's 'The Wire' and Bristol based house and bass production duo GotSome

Love Saves The Day also welcomes ManMakeMusic label owner George Fitzgerald to the  Second Stage, alongside the hugely popular Newcastle-based Patrick Topping. Elsewhere festival goers will be able to catch Bristol's very own Julio Bashmore, 'Heart On Fire' singer Indiana and Crazy P, an electronic group renowned for using slinky underground disco, deep electronic throbs, shimmering pop moments. Bristol based club night-turned-label Just Jack will also be hosting their very own stage on Saturday, showcasing Dyed Soundroom, Soundstream, K15 and recent signings Will Martin and John Barera

Other names on Saturday's bill include: Artwork, Bodhi, Christophe, Disciples, Felix Dickinson, Kidnap Kid, Lapsley, Matt 'Jam' Lamont, Rae Morris, Session Victim, Shanti Celeste, Sly One, Tayo, TCTS, Vaults, Waifs & Strays, Work It and Woz.

Sunday 24th May…

Day two of the Festival welcomes New York rapper, singer and songwriter Azealia Banks, who catapulted to fame following her universally popular 2012 hit '212'. Also gracing Sunday's main stage will be American recording artist and one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing Grandmaster Flash, as well as the gorgeous R&B vocals and chilly, metallic production of Kelela

The CRACK Stage will host an impressive array of dance music heavyweights including the diversely eclectic Four Tet, Phantasy label owner and BBC's Radio 6 Mix Resident Erol Alkanand renowned vinyl specialist Floating PointsDaniel Avery will also bring his mind-bending, psychedelic sounds to the stage, alongside the extremely talented Ghost Culture

Rapper and grime artist Skepta will be present on day two of the festival, alongside drum & bass and jungle legend Shy FX. Bristolian Redlight will bring his mixture of house, breakbeats and dubstep to the Trap stage, also joined by the multi-award winning garage DJ EZ and the Black Butter crew's My Nu Leng

Other names on Sunday's bill include: Babyhead, Barely Legal, Champion, Dark Sky, Dazee, Dismantle, Dr. Meaker, Hodge, Joker, Jus Now, Kiko Bun, Klose One, Loyle Carner, New York Transit Authority, Newham Generals, Pinch, Rat King, Stormzy, Typesun and Wiley.

 

Chemical Brothers to headline Sonar 2015 shows

Sónar 2015 announces its first names for Sónar Barcelona. The first artist announcement includes classic and revered names of electronic music and benchmarks for a new generation, together with new producers and bands outlining the future direction of electronica.
 
The Chemical Brothers (UK)
Autechre (UK)
Kindness (UK)
Evian Christ (UK)
Fat Freddy's Drop (NZ)
Daniel Avery (UK)
Ten Walls (LT)
Lee Gamble (UK)
Sophie (UK)
Holly Herndon (US)
PXXR GVNG (ES)
Kiasmos (IS)
Kate Tempest (UK)
Tourist (UK)
Vessel (UK)
Niño (ES)
Mans O (ES)
Helena Hauff (DE)
and many more to be confirmed…
 
Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers, speaks for the first time exclusively for Sónar
 
Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers, speaks for the first time exclusively for Sónar to provide the first details about the new show and new studio album in 2015:
 
We're very excited to return to Sónar, one of the best crowds, in one of the greatest cities. We are still imagining the gig, both music and visual. We are working on the staging of the live gig at the moment. Adam (Smith) has some amazing ideas. The show will be an intense ride, hold tight. (About the new album) I guess the most important feature of the album is that it connects with us emotionally in some way. We hope for finding a new way to make you feel. We dream of new sounds and different frames. We have worked with some guest singers but mostly the album is pure Chemical Brothers.”
 
Keystones of electronica
 
For the past twenty years, The Chemical Brothers have redefined the idea of live electronic music. In that time, their live show has evolved from humble beginnings in dank London nightclubs into one of the most in demand festival headline sets in the world. All the while, it has adhered to the same basic idea: that the gig should create its own transcendent audio/visual space where the audience can lose themselves for the duration of the set. The Chemical Brothers on going relationship with director and visual artist Adam Smith continues to produce hallucinogenic results across the globe (as seen in 2012’s collaborative concert film Don’t Think). The band are due to release their eighth studio album in 2015. 
 
 
Autechre are one of the most admired and respected duos in abstract and experimental electronica. The importance of the music and sound imagined by Rob Brown and Sean Booth cannot be underestimated. They have played an integral role in the development of abstract techno and IDM (intelligent dance music) over the past 25 years. One of their tracks "Flutter", is considered by critics as a historical zenith of IDM, and albums like "Incunabula", "Amber", "TriRepetae" or the more recent "Oversteps" and "EXAI" are all masterpieces of sonic deconstruction. Their live performances are rare and very exclusive, and in 2015 they will perform at Sónar by Day, nearly two decades after their first and only appearance at the festival in 1996.
 
New benchmarks
 
As always, the Sónar line-up is dominated by the huge presence of new producers and bands noted for their powerful artistic profile and sound that in many cases outline the future direction of electronica and cutting edge music.
 
This is certainly the case for Vessel and Evian Christ, two very young British producers with a distinct and identifiable sound based on techno, who are exploring more complex sonic territories in immersive shows with a potent sensorial impact; Lee Gamble, the respected and experienced aural adventurer will present his new live audiovisual concept in collaboration with the London designer Dave Gaskarth.
 
Sónar also recognises new dynamic female talent such as American songwriter Holly Herndon, creator of dystopian sound worlds with futuristic auditory aesthetics; and KateTempest, poet, performer and British playwright -winner of the Ted Hughes Award in 2013- who will present her first album "Everybody Down" on hip-hop label Big Dada; or German dj Helena Hauff, faithful disciple to the continuation of the most resonant techno and electro from her home base in Hamburg.
 
The festival will also host exciting dance music projects from:Kiasmos, whose emotive and dance friendly techno is produced by prodigious Icelandic pianist Ólafur Arnalds, together with Janus Rasmussen; electropop quartet Bloodgroup; and the luminescent and penetrating melodies of Lithuanians Ten Walls, whose career has just taken off. You will also be able to enjoy prestigious young DJs likeDaniel Avery, mentored by Erol Alkan and hailed by critics as the British Isles new master of tech-house; and producers like Sophie, creator of colourful melodies and contemporary rhythms, in keeping with the new PC Music trend, who recently collaborated with Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Diplo.
 
There will of course be room reserved for pop and other styles including celebrated New Zealand band Fat Freddy's Drop, who return to Sónar with their fantastic live show where they will intelligently mix dub, reggae and soul, with techno and house. Also appearing from the UK will be Tourist and Kindness, two key names in today’s synth pop sound, both of whom have newly released material. Tourist will present a tantalizing live audiovisual show where the piano takes centre stage, while Kindness will present a liberating and highly emotive concert experience.