Festival

Hideout Festival 2014 Croatia Review

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Hideout Festival; a sun-drizzled Croatian exploit that welcomes an influx of avid music lovers to its beaches annually, the promise of sun, boat parties and beats enticing a plethora of clubbers and DJs alike. Croatia is now home to an abundance of festivals, including both Dimensions and Outlook, yet Hideout is one of the first to see the strobe lights, decks and welcome ravers to the country. Held over Zcre beach, the four day festival promises an unforgettable time – and this year? It couldn’t have got any better.

Now in its 4th year, 2014 played host to over 60 world class DJs, providing a fantastic line-up for any raver; from Maceo Plex to MK to David Rodigan, there was a different vibe at every set. The huge stages of Papaya, Calypso and Aquarius provided immense pool parties in the day, to deep and exotic raves during the night, playing right up until sunrise – and even then, the crowd would keep chanting for one more song, never once wanting the night to end; this is Hideout Festival, after all.

Monday:

From wherever you leave from in the UK, it’s a long distance to travel – be it by coach or plane, it’s a bit of a tricky location, and everyone we spoke to seemed to have had a similar problem. However, arriving on the Thursday in Zagreb gave us a little time to really explore the beauty of Croatia, and with pre-parties in abundance, we were never short on things to do. We headed to the Doorly boat party Sunday evening, who blasted track after track on a four hour boat ride; if this was anything to go by, then the rest of the week was bound to be spectacular.

Opening day saw a realm of acts ready to build up the festival; the likes of Cassy and Apollonia provided a chasm of deep house interludes, alongside an atmospherically rich display of beats that certainly got fists pumping throughout the day. A surprising highlight came from Berlin based duo Tale of Us; the pair eased the crowd into their day-closing set, playing a mix of slow, deep tech that paved the way for a more up-tempo sound. We stood at the front of the pool, the sun beaming down in an incredible atmosphere that validated the duo as a superb and intense pair that evoked the crowd into a truly euphoric wave. As they entailed Josh Winks ‘Are you there’ within their set, their versatile range and combination of tech house and pure techno worked wonderfully, and the crowd was certainly warmed up and ready for the evening ahead.

As night fell, it was London based quartet Rudimental that were first to take the headline spot. You couldn’t help but feel they were the odd ones out at this festival; their mainstream, chart-topping genre ranges from soft drum and bass to garage – much different in contrast to many of the other tech/house acts present. There were whispers of disappointment amidst the crowd that this was a DJ set rather than a live performance, but as soon as they stormed onto the heaving stage of Aquarius at a peak time of 3am, this was all forgotten. From a previously solemn crowd, it was incredible to see the transformation the arena had undergone; an atmospheric buzz of hysteria and excitement drove the crowd into a frenzy as classics such as ‘Not Giving In’ and ‘Waiting all night’ were performed, with a sudden blend of jungle breakbeats and even a hint of motown validating them as one of the UK’s greatest breakthrough acts of recent years. Their stage presence and energy was automatically intense from the word go, and they showed a real passion for their music throughout the set. The climax of the event was when ‘Feel the love’ began to play, and a saxophone player hit the stage to play to the revel of waiting and enthusiastic fans simply lapping up every minute; Rudimental had certainly put on a hard act to follow, and I highly recommend anyone to see them if they get the chance.

Tuesday:

After a stuffy and rowdy shuttle bus, we arrived at Zcre beach early to take in most acts of the day. Hot Creation’s wAFF was one of the first to open Papaya; only in his early 20’s, he certainly proved to have talent beyond his years as he played track after track of up-tempo beats that kept a clearly hung-over crowd alive and excited. I stood alone at the front of the stage, and was amazed to see within minutes that crowds began to surplus forward and join me in excitement, ultimately awakening as Infinity Ink hit the stage. The duo put on a fantastic performance, the sunlight and visuals surrounding the stage being perfectly in sync with the beats, adding yet another dimension to an experience you can’t get anywhere else but a festival like Hideout.  Guti and tINI similarly put on a flawless performance over at the Aquarius pool, which is nothing unexpected from the Desolat artists. They thoroughly dominated the stage, providing a non-stop combination of Guti’s Latin tech side with tINI’s deep indulging sounds, both making use of vinyls in a dynamic, exciting and fluid set that most DJs strive to achieve.

As day became night, and another sterling appearance from Tale of Us, It was Maceo Plex who closed the Papaya stage at an ideal 4am slot. Maceo immediately launched into lavishly layered beats as his main synth developed slowly, experimenting into a more tribal style that echoed intensely throughout the coliseum-like stage. Known for his dark material, the audience certainly lapped up the set with ease. There was a slight air of disappointment that like many DJs present, Maceo chose not to play any of his own productions within his set, to which I overheard a few mumbles of frustration. However, with a stellar and liberating set such as this, it wasn’t too much of an issue for the Ellum Audio boss, and the focus on the quality of the set was certainly not lost.

Wednesday:

As day 3 of the festival arrived, we chose to go on a boat party; as many party-goers said to us, this is certainly the best way to see your favourite artists in such a close proximity. We opted to go on the Digital Soundboy boat. Shy FX, Stamina MC / B-Traits and Dismantle all played back to back, playing an absolutely brilliant and colourful drum and bass set with favourites such as Golddust, Somebody New and My Bassline, and finishing off with Celebration by Kool and the Gang – not something you’d expect from Digital Soundboy, but the masses absolutely lapped it up and it was ultimately one of the highlights of the week.  

Back on the beach, and the pioneer of ska, reggae and dancehall sounds took to the Aquarius Pool to show the crowd that even after four decades, he still knows how it’s done; this was David Rodigan MBE, an icon in his own right. He unleashed his long-anticipated reggae magic to an awaiting crowd, with songs such as Toots & They Maytals ’54-56 was my number’ echoing in the arena, Rodigan stopping swiftly to say: “GIMME SOME SIGNAL!’ to a crowd that most definitely responded. It was a bizzare change of pace to the festival, but the crowd were simply amalgamated by Rodigan’s pure passion, extenuating why he is such a figurehead within the reggae scene today.

After a swift and exciting ride on a jet ski – just one of the great activities available on Zcre beach – we saw a plethora of artists that certainly secured their place on the lineup. Justin Martin and Waifs and Strays delivered a delicious house set at Kalypso, with Dense and Pika nicely closing the Papaya pool for the day. But as night came, it certainly belonged to one man. As Loco Dice took to the Papaya stage at 3am, the Desolat guru proved to be the highlight of the evening. With a warm progression of deep beats bellowing through the crowd, the German maesto blended an abundance of deep and dark sounds, including Radio Slave ‘The Clone Wars’ and Jimmy Edgars ‘Strike’ to perfection. The set staggered primarily between tech house and pure techno, with impressive and ambitious build-ups that are unparalleled by any DJ that I’ve witnessed throughout the week.

Thursday:

The final day of the festival saw a sea of hangovers attempting one last final push as the sunny week drew to a close; house giant MK took to the Papaya stage at 5pm, Hideout being one of many on his list of festivals through the year. Ever the crowd pleaser, MK made sure to mix his own songs such as Burning and Look Right Through to a screaming, wild and absolutely heaving crowd. It was a certainly a different scene at the pool today; underwear was thrown. A home made banner was held up. Screams could be heard for miles. MK was certainly making his mark on the festival, in a much different way than anyone else had this week. But oddly enough, the set made for an incredible time, and everyone I spoke to said it was one of the best they’d seen all week.

After a plethora of fantastic acts, it was time for Surrey dance duo Disclosure to take the main stage at Papaya. The queue reached far beyond the arena, with hundreds of moaning and disgruntled fans having to turn away and opt for another venue. But inside, the towering projections of the glorious Disclosure signature were morphing into animation, as the pairs set effortlessly took off, much to the pleasure of the fans that had queued for so long to see them. Across the previous year, Disclosure have cemented their name firmly within the charts, and it’s easy to appreciate why; effortless songs such as ‘Latch’ and ‘You and Me’ are pure lyrical gems, and when played cause an eclipse of singing voices hitting a hollow of incomparable intensity. The crowd were full of smiles as hit after hit was played, blended with upbeat dancefloor hits that proved the pinnacle of Disclosure’s success; the boys certainly put on a fantastic show, and one that was certainly worth the wait.

Berlin based DJ Scuba played the final set of the weekend at Kalypso, a much darker contrast to previous acts across the day. With deep emphatic songs such as Dense and Pika’s ‘Black Deep’ and Pele & Shawnecy  ‘You And Me’ mixed with ease, Scuba certainly bid the crowd a good morning as the sun began to rise in the distance in an irresistible environment of a rave. Scuba’s distinctive vibes combined with drum sounds was almost euphoric, and the sunrise revealing the realities of everyone’s weird faces around us was almost brushed aside. He was certainly leading the pack, and closing down what had been one of the most unforgettable, intense and impressive festivals we had the pleasure of attending.

All in all, it’s certainly been a prosperous journey for Hideout; celebrating its 4th anniversary, this year’s line-up was essentially a who’s who of the most relevant house and bass acts all over the world. With a bungee jump, a clear sea, a revel of party goers and DJ’s to match, it certainly delivered an experience above and beyond my expectations, and one that has proved to be absolutely unforgettable. 

Parklife Weekender Review 2014

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Temperamental wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits of 70,000 festival goers at last weekend’s sold-out Parklife Festival, which now in its fourth year, saw Snoop Dogg, A$AP Rocky, Disclosure and Sam Smith prove to be essential highlights.

Arriving at around 1pm, SFG headed straight to the Hospitality tent for some early afternoon drum & bass with flashing strobes, courtesy of Logistics and later, Camo & Krooked.

Heading to the main stage for Kiesza, who is accompanied by two male dancers, her 90’s influenced choreography and funk tracks prove an early treat. Giant In My Heart fuses disco and funk perfectly, before the Canadian ex-navy recruit takes to the piano for a stripped down cover of Haddaway’s, What Is Love, showcasing her powerful vocal range. Ending with number one track, Hideaway, she lifts everyone’s spirits despite the grey clouds looming up above. Catchy “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” and house-y beats provide the first sing-a-long of the weekend (with many more to come), before the track is mixed into Gorgon City’s deep-house edit. Now recording her debut album, expect another catchy chart-bothering track to go viral in the coming months.

Spending around 20 minutes struggling to find the Colonnade presents: Drop the Mustard stage, where the majority of the main house draws performed, SFG caught some of Hot Natured’s, Lee Foss’ Ibiza-cum-Manchester house set at the hilltop Kaluki stage. Eventually, finding the Greek coliseum-like Colonnade stage, SFG caught house duo Waze & Odyssey’s set, including their now infamous house remix of R Kelly’s timeless classic, Bump & Grind as well as a remix of Robin S’, Show Me Love. Later at the Colonnade, it was Route 94’s turn on the decks. Performing a mostly obscure but impressive house set, with the exception of Defected Records releases, Fly 4 Life and Tell You Why, the young London-based producer drew a large crowd, with one fan feeling the need to scale a tree, receiving a smile from the producer and applause from the audience below. But it was number one house crossover hit, My Love, which saw everyone take out their iPhone’s to record the sing-a-long moment before 94 imminently takes his sound to Ibiza for the summer.

Pacing back to the opposite end of the site, to the Red Bull Academy Presents stage, Gold Panda’s hotly-anticipated set proved essential for the eyes and ears. Synth-led electronics impressed the large crowd during cutting-edge debut album offerings, Vanilla Sky, Snow & Taxis and early track Marriage before a chopped up reinvention of fan favorite, You, with its pitch-shifted vocals circling around the tent.

Back at the main stage, Grammy –winner, Foxes, attracted a large crowd with tracks from her debut album Glorious, including Youth and recent single, Let Go For Tonight, while another Hot Natured label-mate, Richy Ahmed, continued the Amnesia Ibiza-ready house vibe with 808 hi-hats and drum machines aplenty during his mid-afternoon Kaluki stage set.

Later, the sun shined while Radio One DJ Annie Mac drew the biggest crowd so far with a house orientated set including Ten Walls’ new track, Walking With Elephants and Gorgon City’s collaboration with Laura Welsh, Here For You as well as Second Citys’ I Wanna Feel which rocketed to number one two weeks ago. Later, before Sigma’s, Nobody To Love, she tells the crowd to, “grab your friend, boyfriend, or a total stranger”. Its sets like these, demonstrating which tunes to play to get thousands of people dancing, which stand testament to why she is such a hot DJ commodity.

Rudimental, who, trumpets included, perform album tracks, Spoons and Baby, show a softer side to the Black Butter Records collective. Dedicating Not Givin’ In, to his son, DJ Locksmith pulls on the crowds heartstrings before the drum & bass beats kick in, but are soon cut off due to a technical problem. It’s all back to normal though after the crowd chant “Rudimental, Rudimental, Rudimental” to give them the support to carry on, which they do oh so professionally, continuing with album tracks, Free, and later, Feel The Love.

It’s A$AP Rocky however, who delivers the best and most charismatic performance of the weekend, as a more than deserving replacement to Kendrick Lamar, who cancelled his slot. Weed promotion, referring to women as “hoes” and a whole lot of swearing, but what else would you expect from song’s titled, Hella Hoes and Fuckin’ Problems which are performed with a fifteen-man-strong A$AP Mob watching him from the side of the stage. Bassier and rowdier than on record, Palace and Wassup take the Now Wave tent to Rocky’s hometown, Harlem, New York City. “Put your hands up if you smoke fucking weed ‘cos that’s what I stand for”, demands Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, before Purple Swag where he toys with the crowd saying, “are you people ready to get turnt up or what?” New A$AP Mob track, Hella Hoes, results in a mosh pit before taking it to a “whole new mother fucking level” during Skrillex-produced Wild For The Night and Lana Del Rey-featuring Hands On The Wheel. Thanking the audience for getting him so far, he exclaims, “I can’t wait to get on them rides tonight” before a quick run through of his part in final track, Fuckin’ Problems. If you ever get the chance to see A$AP Rocky live, TAKE IT. You won’t be disappointed.

Weaving back into the middle of the main stage crowd for Saturday headliner, SFG didn’t know what to expect from the legendary Snoop Dogg’s headline set. “Who’s getting blazed in the house tonight?” asks Snoop’s DJ during a ten minute prelude to the iconic rapper coming onstage. Dressed in a USA stars and stripes jumper and yellow shades, Snoop stalks the stage with everyone taking his picture. He dedicates Supa Dupa Fly to “all the girls in the house” before rapping his part on Justin Timberlake collaboration, Signs, and his brief part on Katy Perry’s, California Girls. The only thing he could be blamed for, is looking relatively bored and indifferent, but it is Snoop Dogg after all, why should he be bothered?

Ending the night back at Kaluki in Marc Kinchen provided early evening house, in his number one remix of Storm Queens, Look Right Through, which is quickly followed by his Medicine remix of Shadow Child's, Friday and his edit of Hot Natured’s, Reverse Skydiving.

Sunday would prove to be better weather on the whole, aside from one insane downpour during Warpaint’s set which saw everyone flock to the nearest tent.

Opening the Disclosure Presents: Wildlife stage, Kanye West-collaborator Pusha T, performed tracks from his acclaimed debut album, My Name Is My Name as well as his part on the aforementioned Kanye hit, Mercy. Stalking the stage, which looks like brown lego bricks stacked high, Pusha runs through the trap beats of King Push and Nostalgia. Promising a new album in the not-so-distant-future, he continues with Numbers on the Board, seeing arms in the air pulling back and forward – an impressive debut at Parklife for the hotly-tipped ex-Clipse rapper.

Next up, are classical-cum-electronic Cambridge graduates Clean Bandit, who remained at the top of the charts for a month earlier this year with their single Rather Be. An early afternoon set time doesn’t seem to affect the eager crowd, growing by the minute. Arriving onstage to classical music alongside two guest vocalists, the quartet open with older track, A&E, before Dust Clears, with Jack Patterson leading the vocals over a synth-y beat. Tracks from their debut album New Eyes soon follow. Up Again, begins as a hand-swaying, blissed-out production before drum beats and classical chords intrude, culminating in a full on drum and bass climax while Come Over hears cellist Grace Chatto’s sweet vocals soar over a Caribbean, almost reggae beat. Mid-set, it’s clear that new single Extraordinary could become their second number one judging from the crowd’s reaction. Heart on Fire, featuring vocals from Elizabeth Troy is dedicated to “all the garage heads” before the lyrics of Mozart’s House ask, “so you think electronic music is boring?” Following this genre-crossing set, they’ve proved that that their sound is far from boring. Nightingale is then mixed into Gorgon City’s deep-house edit before feel-good festival anthem, Rather Be, which stayed at number one for a month, ends their set with the crowd on each other’s shoulders singing along word perfect.

Unexpected pop star Sam Smith, arrives for his 5pm slot to screams of excitement. Opening with Nirvana, he shows his powerful voice off straight away before Disclosure collaboration Together, complete with Chic-esque funky bass guitar lines. Leave Your Lover slows the set to a mellower, emotional halt, with some female fans starting to tear up, before further winning them over by telling the crowd that Manchester is his favorite place. Before new track, Restart, Smith informs the audience that he’s filming the music video right now, and of course everyone is more than happy to clap and sing-a-long for it. An unexpected cover of Arctic Monkey’s track, Do I Wanna Know breaks up the set with a unique take on the indie hit. Money On My Mind and Lay Me Down follow with emotional lyrics, while the heavens fittingly starting to open, before ending with recent number one single, Stay With Me. It’s obvious that Smith is providing the definitive sound of 2014, after his vocal talent was first discovered by the mainstream on another Disclosure collaboration, Latch, which is given a flawless acoustic rendition.

Later, over in the Heidi Presents: The Jackathon tent, Hot Since 82 brings deep house and techno beats to a sweaty strobe light flashing tent, delivering arguably the best bass orientated set of the weekend.

Over in the Sounds of the Near Future tent, SBTRKT gives an astonishing live
set. Opener, Pharaos, gets the packed tent going before the masked man says, "It's so good to be back. It's been like two years since we've been here.” New lasers and synths track Temporary View, which went up on Soundcloud just two days ago, receives a great reaction as a taster of what to expect from the impending second album. Debut album tracks, Never Ever, Trials of the Past and Wildfire follow with tribal drum beats and feature Drake-collaborating, Sampha’s recorded vocals and Little Dragon’s in the latter, which echo around the at-capacity tent.

Pacing back to the Wildlife stage to catch headliners Disclosure, it was shockingly easy for SFG to get near the front – probably because Oxford indie-types, Foals, were headlining over on the main stage. The wunderkind production duo of house revivalists, Guy and Howard, open with synth led F For You featuring on record vocals courtesy of Mary J Blige. Preacher lyrics and simplistic house beats follow in When a Fire Starts to Burn and newer Friend Within collaboration, The Mechanism, with the background screens showing the duo playing in real time while Guy picks up the bass guitar to play the funky chords in the former, while pyrotechnics shoot from the top of the stage. Checking with the crowd that they are okay to play some older material, they bounce into older E.P tracks, Boiling, Tenderly and Flow before inviting guest vocalist, Sasha Keable, onstage during album track Voices and later Sam Smith to join them for the song which started it all off, Latch.

It’s only in its fourth year, but soon enough Blur’s iconic single won’t be the only thing which comes to mind when thinking of Parklife. Providing a great line up, the organisers delivered great variety at an affordable price, SFG cannot wait until next year!

Photos by Paul Taylor

Slam Dunk Festival 2014 Review

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All American Rejects set the fans in to a world wind of cheers, screams as they hit the main stage in the civic hall yesterday. They came out playing all the classics like, Dirty Little Secret, Move Along and Gives you hell. Tyson Ritter had such a stage presence, throughout the whole set keeping banter with the fans and even taking a trip into the crowd when he got down off the stage and walked around the barrier into the screaming fans while still singing away.

Gracing the Main stage as well was pop rockers We Are The In Crowd, I was really psyched to see this band after hearing good reviews before hand and the build up various publications were producing, but I couldn’t help notice that Tay Jardine voice sounded a bit “Horse” and after speaking to a few fans they thought the same. That aside they had a good set that got fans singing along.

Here’s what some fans had to say.

Steve Brand Said: I enjoyed seeing We Are In The Crowd, Downside for me was that the stage lighting was crap, It was mainly shining it into the crowd which really ruined the view because you could barley see.

Viktoria Kohajdova: The festival has been fun and I loved seeing We The Kings and The All American Rejects overall I really enjoyed them the most. I got to go to a few signings too, but it was a shame that we the kings didn't do one but I did get to meet Tyson Ritter from TAAR and that really made my day.

The Monster stage had a lot happening and it was definitely the place to be with some killer bands they had performing on it.

Headlining band Bury Tomorrow came out to the stage with a huge amount of fans waiting for them.  They played there newest track Man On Fire off the new album RUNES which dropped that day, they played plenty of older tracks including scepters which set the fans surfing and even had a couple of fans climbing up a tree and hanging off it screaming lyrics back at the band.

Also on the Monster stage were I Killed The Prom Queen they came out with big choruses and even bigger breakdowns, playing a mixture of old school tracks as well as new material from beloved. The Devil Wears Prada blew me away with the sheer number of people that had turned up to see them play. The band’s set was tight with elegant clean vocals and guitar parts blending together with the aggressive vocals.

Over at the UPRAWR DJ stage MC Lars was ready and waiting for Chunk! No Captain Chunk to finish their set on the Monster stage. While waiting a good size crowd started to grow turning up in merchandise, you could tell these were big fans of his work. As soon as Chunk! No Captain Chunk finished seamlessly MC Lars started his set playing tracks, Download This Song, Space Game.  The crowd grew and everyone starting to dance and really vibe off the set, he was definitely one of my favorites of the night.

Before finishing up I spoke to one last visitor to the festival who had this say.

Amanda Fry: This was my first time at Slam Dunk and it was great, I'm already contemplating for next years line up". I enjoyed seeing We The kings, We Are The In Crowd and All American rejects. I didn’t like that Roaring S#!T.


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Kendal Calling Festival sells out in record time

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Kendal Calling festival has sold out a remarkable 11 weeks in advance of this year’s festival. Kendal Calling has sold out in each of its previous 8 years but this year’s sell out is the quickest yet, leaving the From The Fields team to thank those festival goers who have snapped up tickets to the winner of the UK Festival Awards Best Medium Sized Festival in 2013.
 
This year’s festival features act such as Suede, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Example, De La Soul, 2manydjs, Frightened Rabbit, Clean Bandit, Happy Mondays, Miles Kane, Jimi Goodwin, Gorgon City, Ella Eyre and hundreds of others over 3 days in the stunning Lake District, indisputably one of the most beautiful festival sites in the world.
 
Kendal Calling is one of the highlights of the festival calendar featuring the Kendal Calling Goes Beyond The Stars fancy dress theme, Tim Peaks Diner, a real ale festival, gourmet food, a dedicated children’s Ladybird Arena, a diverse array or markets, the Garden Of Eden healing area,Q and A’s, talks and much more.
 
Having broken the world record for the most people dressed as Superman in one place in 2014, this year Kendal Calling revelers will attempt to break the world record for the most people moonwalking at the same time.
 
Kendal Calling promoter Andy Smith comments – "We've sold out in record time…I'm in a transport of delight!"
 
LINE UP
 
Suede / Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls / Example
 
Happy Mondays /  De La Soul /  Miles Kane / 2ManyDjs (dj set) /  Tom Odell / Razorlight / Augustines / Jimi Goodwin / Frightened Rabbit / Simon and Oscar from Ocean Colour Scene (acoustic) Clean Bandit  / Newton Faulkner /  Athlete / Ella Eyre / Mr Scruff / Lewis Watson / Admiral Fallow / Reel Big Fish / The Heavy / Catfish & the Bottlemen / Rae Morris / Saint Raymond / Dub Pistols / Jess Glynne / Women's Hour /  Findlay / Breton / Josh Record / Black Rivers / Team Me / Norma Jean Martine / Mirror Signal / The Tea Street Band / Champs / Dario G (DJ set) / Lauren Aquilina / Lyger/ Big Sixes /  Etches /  Molly Warburton / Gypsy Hill / Smerins Anti-Social Club / Kimberly Anne / Amber Run / Gallery Circus / Lanterns on the Lake /  The Lucid Dream / Johnny Borrell & Zazou / The Lancashire Hotpots / Aquilo  / DJ Food, DJ Cheeba, DJ Moneyshot – Caught In the Middle of a 3 way mix /  Zion Train – Perch & Dubdadda / Reeps One / The Melodic / By The Rivers / Typesun / Will Varley / We Were Evergreen / Tantz / John Langon Band / Talisman / Will Tramp!  / Drop the Mustard DJs / Zutekh DJs /  English Disco Lovers / Herbal Sessions / Dub Central / Showhawk Duo / Urban Sabotage presents: Davos LIVE / Lisbon / The Membranes / Skutch Manos / Metisa / Colt 45 / MDNGHT / Berlin / Berlin / You / $ista $ista / WALK / Honeyfeet / Harlequin Marching Band / Skittles & Live Band / Cut Capers / Lauren Housley / René / Gypsies of Bohemia / Scatters the Funky Disco Pig / The Grand Old Ukes of Yorkshire / Treedrum / Riot Jazz Brass Band / The Dakota Jim Band / Taylor Jackson / Charlie Cooper / Thingumbob & The Thingumajogs / From A Window / Buffalo Brothers / The Big Easy & Swing Dance / Flamingus / Flavia / The Bear around Your Neck / Whiskey Moon Face / Felix Hagan & The Family / Too Much Love / Saluation Dub Collective / The EME / Dave Rybka / Xander Smith / Urban Folk Quartet / Mint Royale / Baggy Mondays / Dave Haslam / Black Cat DJs / Father Funk /  Gareth Brooks (XFM)  / King Eider / The Hummingbirds / Phoneys & the Freaks / Howling Rhythm DJs / Aaron Wright & Jacqui Abbott  / Kommix Kut / The Raged / Our Fold / Dub Sex / Mark Abbott / Fallback Productions / Sam P / Karl Yates / Northern Soul Dance Classes
 
Glow Dance Tent:
2manydj’s (dj set) / Andy C / Zane Lowe / James Zabiela / Gorgon City / Goldie / Dub Phizix & MC Strategy / Shadow Child / Friend Within / GQ / Lapsley / Ash Howell / My Neu Leng
 
BONDAX & FRIENDS presents
Bondax b2b MJ Cole, Karma Kid b2b Monki, Star Slinger b2b TCTS, Kartel b2b French Kiwi Juice
 
Woodlands
BIRD / Seattle Yacht Club / Love For Zero / Jakarta Club /  Evil Blizzard / The Templebys / The Pinstripe Pigeon Band / Fiona Clayton / The Lottery Winners / Jake & The Jellyfish / Ivan Campo / The Orchid Hunters / Nancy Kent / The Lumberjack Cowboy Heartbreak Trucking Co. / Arran George / Joe McCorriston / Alex Hulme / Mylittlebrother /Baksheesh / Ben Dyson / Gritty Britain
 
Thursday
Craig Charles Funk and Soul takeover

Camden Rocks Festival Update

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JOHNNY BORRELL & ZAZOU, FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS, DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL AND A HOST OF OTHERS SET TO JOIN LONDON’S ROCK N’ROLL STREET PARTY ‘CAMDEN ROCKS FESTIVAL’ 31ST MAY.

On the 31st of May the Camden Rocks Festival will see over two-hundred high-energy bands perform across Camden Town. It’s a one-mile run of thrilling music, exploding across twenty different venues on London’s most hallowed rock n’ roll streets.

The festival is proud to be able to mix established acts from the world of rock and indie alongside a wealth of new talent from the UK, aiming to give much needed exposure to the incredible new music pouring out of the UK right now. Britain’s got talent, but it isn’t being televised alongside the karaoke singers and performing animals for Simon Cowell. In light of this, Camden Rocks Festival is announcing a competition that gives more bands a chance to perform on the day. Check http://camdenrocksfestival.com/ for details on how to enter.

The more times a bands name is submitted, the bigger chance it has of going into the votes that kick off THIS SUNDAY! So bands & fans, GET SHARING & SUBMITTING!

Further acts are confirmed this week as Johnny Borrell & Zazou, Fearless Vampire Killers, Devil Sold His Soul and Mixhell (featuring legendary Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera) join Toseland, A Plastic Rose, Zoax, Little Barrie, Rubylux, Empress, Longy, Money For Rope, Vuvuvultures, Under The Influence, Flagship, The Carnabys, Tax The Heat, The Ratells, The RPM’s, Audio Whores, Adam French, Shooting Stars and Remote View who are also added to the bill this week.

"We're super excited about coming back to Camden Rocks this year,” exclaims Fearless Vampire Killers frontman Keir Kemp. “It's a real family vibe. Best acts from across all genres coming together with the mutual intension of melting faces… amen!"

These artists join already announced acts such as The Subways, Reverend & The Makers, Gnarwolves, Blitz Kids, Nine Black Alps, Turbowolf, The Blackout, Orange Goblin, Ginger Wildheart, Hacktivist and The Virginmarys plus a host of others, see flyer for full details.

Organiser Chris McCormack says “I’m really excited to showcase some of these great new bands I’ve been working with this year. We’re going to set Camden alight (not literally) with the best new music in the UK.”

Camden Rocks Festival is going to be the rock n’ roll street party of the year. Over two hundred of the best new and established guitar bands performing across twenty venues in Camden Town, celebrating everything that is vital, exciting and life-affirming about rock music right now in 2014.

Last year’s event was a sell-out success with over 150 bands taking over Camden. Bands such as Therapy? The Rifles, Hawk Eyes, Rise To Remain, Turbowolf, Fearless Vampire Killers, The Computers, Lost Alone and many more joined forces with legends such as the Sex Pistols guitarist Glenn Matlock, Carl Barat from The Libertines for a day of essential rock n’roll fun and action.

£25 tickets are now available from the link below subject to booking / transaction fees

www.camdenrocksfestival.com

Over 200 bands for £25 playing in twenty different venues, that’s roughly 10p per band!

Venues include:

ELECTRIC BALLROOM *UNDERWORLD * PROUD * BARFLY * JAZZ CAFE * DINGWALLS * PURPLE TURTLE * BLACK HEART * HAWLEY ARMS * MONARCH * THE GOOD MIXER * THE ENTERPRISE * CAMDEN HEAD * THE CUBAN * BREW-DOG * THE RECORD CLUB * DINGWALLS CANALSIDE BAR * THE BEATRICE * THE FORGE * THE BLACK CAP

Hotly tipped breakthrough acts join the T in the Park line-up

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T in the Park festival organisers DF Concerts and founding partner Tennent’s Lager are excited to reveal that some of the most hotly tipped breakthrough acts around have joined the bill for this summer’s festival, which will take place in Balado over 11th – 13th July.
 
Kiesza, Billy Lockett, MNEK, Fatherson, Dan Croll, James Bay, Catfish and the Bottlemen, John Wizards, Raleigh Ritchie, Jaguar Skills and All About She are Balado-bound this July, joining the ever-growing T in the Park bill.
 
Canadian-born, London-based singer-songwriter Kiesza hit the top of the charts with the sophisticated house-tinged pop gem Hideaway. A talented and hugely in-demand songwriter, she’s also written for Rihanna, Kylie and Icona Pop and will make her T in the Park debut this summer.
 
Having played his way from the basement to the studio, whilst captivating fans at shows up and down the country, Billy Lockett’s distinctive style brings together piano and guitar aided by a soulful voice, charming lyrics.
 
The hugely in-demand producer and vocalist MNEK was being tipped by the likes of The Guardian, NME, Dazed and Confused and Popjustice when he was aged just 15. He featured on and co-wrote four songs on Rudimental’s platinum selling Home, co-wrote Need U (100%) with Duke Dumont and A*M*E – which earned him a Grammy nomination for ‘Best Dance Recording’, has remixed for Bastille and Tinie Tempah, wrote and featured on Gorgon City’s massive top 5 hit Ready For Your Love, and produced Feel So Good from Kylie Minogue’s new album. 2014 looks to be his busiest year to date, with his hotly anticipated debut album set to firmly establish him as a solo artist in his own right.
 
Glasgow-based four-piece Fatherson hail from Kilmarnock and made their T in the Park debut on the T Break Stage in 2011. They’ve been making waves in the Scottish music scene with their anthemic indie tunes, following a string of supports with bands such as Frightened Rabbit, Feeder, Twin Atlantic and Idlewild. Their latest single I Like Not Knowing is currently receiving major airplay by Radio 1 DJs Huw Stephens, Zane Lowe and Greg James, with the track being voted Most Loved Track on BBC Radio 1’s Review Show this week.
 
British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Dan Croll combines folk elements and classic Paul Simon-like melodies with electronic beats, African polyrhythms and guitar hooks. He released his debut LP, Sweet Disarray, in March.
 
Singer-songwriter James Bay has been captivating audiences with his raw pop melodies and gravelled voice at appearances at Communion's monthly night at Notting Hill Arts Club in London. A hugely successful run of support slots with fellow T in the Park acts John Newman and Kodaline have won him yet more fans.
 
Catfish and the Bottlemen’s energetic guitar-driven rock and roll is winning them legions of fans across the country. The band signed to Island Records earlier this year, and their latest single Kathleen has been receiving heavy rotation on BBC Radio 1, XFM and on MTV, with the Llandudno-based four-piece widely tipped for great things in 2014.
 
Cape Town-based John Wizards released their eponymous debut album to major critical acclaim last year, with The Guardian featuring the record at no.8 in their top 10 albums of 2013. They played a series of UK dates supporting Jagwar Ma and will bring their infectious mix of South African house, R&B, shangaan electro, reggae, afropop, soukous, rumba and afrobeat to the fields of Balado this summer.
 
Bristol-born Raleigh Ritchie – aka Jacob Anderson – is also known for his role as Grey Worm in Game Of Thrones. He’s supported the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Angel Haze, and his recently-released second EP, Black and Blue, is a stunning mix of urban pop and raw storytelling.
 
The original ninja-DJ Jaguar Skills burst onto the scene with his extraordinary DJ talent and ability to produce awe-inspiring mixtapes, leading to a coveted BBC Radio 1 ‘In New DJs we Trust’ slot. With numerous sold-out UK tours under his belt, he was further propelled into the global spotlight with roof-raising sets at festivals and super-clubs around the world.
 
UK production trio All About She have between them worked with the likes of Dizzee Rascal, VV Brown, Wookie, Roses Gabor and Wretch 32. They wrote Intro for Tinie Tempah’s debut album Discovery, with singer Vanya Taylor writing and lending vocals to his 2011 hit Simply Unstoppable. Having recently released a brand new EP Go Slow, they’re being widely tipped as ones to watch, with Radio 1 & 1Xtra DJs MistaJam, Zane Lowe and Toddla T all giving airplay to their single Higher (Free).
 
T in the Park 2014 – artists announced so far
 
FRIDAY 11TH JULY: Biffy Clyro, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Imagine Dragons, Pixies, Steve Angello, Alesso, Haim, You Me At Six, Manic Street Preachers, Chvrches, DJ Fresh & Messy MC, Maximo Park, Pretty Lights, Foxes, The Magic Numbers, Royal Blood, The Rifles, Len Faki, Pan-Pot, Drenge, Charli XCX, Josh Record, Jackmaster, Wolf Alice, Factory Floor, Neon Jungle, MNEK, Dan Croll, Lonely the Brave, Hudson Taylor, James Bay, John Wizards, Little Matador, Raleigh Ritchie, Dolomite Minor, Clouds, Alex Smoke.
 
SATURDAY 12TH JULY: Calvin Harris, Paolo Nutini, Pharrell Williams, Elbow, Rudimental, Ben Howard, James, Bombay Bicycle Club, Twin Atlantic, The 1975, The Charlatans, John Newman, Embrace, Katy B, The Human League, Nina Nesbitt, Soul II Soul, The Stranglers, Joris Voorn, Dave Clarke, Duke Dumont, Robert Hood, Carl Craig, Clean Bandit, We Are Scientists, Ella Eyre, George Ezra, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Kiesza, The LaFontaines, Billy Lockett, Twenty One Pilots, Fatherson, The Amazing Snakeheads, Circa Waves, Skream, Chlöe Howl, Guy Gerber, Magda, Jaguar Skills, All About She.
 
SUNDAY 13TH JULY: Arctic Monkeys, Jake Bugg, Paul Weller, Disclosure, Bastille, Example, Tinie Tempah, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, London Grammar, Tame Impala, Kodaline, Above & Beyond, Sam Smith, Passenger, Sven Vath, Metronomy, Newton Faulkner, Chance the Rapper, Slam, Wilkinson, Reverend & The Makers, The Twilight Sad, Earl Sweatshirt, Inspiral Carpets, Julio Bashmore, Jess Glynne, Kerri Chandler, Tale of Us, Levon Vincent, Catfish and the Bottlemen, King Charles, Darlia, George Fitzgerald, Becky Hill, The Minutes, Mark Henning, Red Hot Chilli Pipers and more acts to be announced (line-up subject to change).

Slam Dunk Festival More Announcements

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Just when we thought all the artists and guests had been annouced Slam Dunk knock out other surprise with Sean Smith from The Blackout who will be making an appearance as a guest DJ and the main stage compere!

Slam Dunk have also announced their annual T-shirt design competition. Basically, you could be in the running of designing the official shirt that will be sold across this year’s festivals! Not only will you get your design idea produced, but the winner will also bag 4 tickets to the festival of their choice! So why not give it a try get your creative juices flowing and get designing! More details can be found on the poster below:

Tickets still available here 
http://www.slamdunkmusic.com

Bestival Unveils Boundary Breaking Acts And The Best New Bands

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This years Bestival unveils breaking new acts and some of the hottest bands around including:

Tune-Yards / Factory Floor / Mnek / Wolf Alice / The Amazing Snakeheads / Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats / The Wytches / MØ / Fat White Family / Say Lou Lou / Glass Animals / John Wizards / Ezra Furman / Joel Compass / Woman’S Hour / Pional / Rosie Lowe / Childhood / Kate Tempest / Jessy Lanza / Melt Yourself Down / The Front Bottoms / Hockeysmith / Wild Smiles / Black Orange Juice / Rag N Bone Man / Vaults / Ftse / Tourist / Sivu / God Damn / Happyness / The Correspondents / Bo Saris / Congopunq / Indiana / The Bulletproof Bomb / FÉ / Cousin Marnie

With a cavalcade of big hitters, including OutKast, Foals, Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, Beck, Busta Rhymes, Candi Staton, Sven Vath, Chase & Status and many more already lined up to take Bestival’s Desert Island Disco to stratospheric new heights, Rob da Bank and the Bestival crew have been beavering away behind the scenes, rooting out gleaming talents to ensure we bring you the freshest acts around. With a long history of championing the next big thing, unearthing the incredible and showcasing the best new sounds, both on his Radio 1 show and at Bestival, these are the cream of the acts getting the man like da Bank all hot under the collar. From boundary pushing mavericks to hip young chaps in this year’s slacks, we’re set to announce a ton of the most exciting bands in the world, who will be dropping in to Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight this September 4-7 to blow you away!

Rob da Bank says: “So in our humble opinion these are the breaking acts of 2014 from the worlds of rock, indie, electronics and pretty much any genre – a delve inside the musical brain of Rob da Bank to find the ones to watch, the ones who'll make records you'll love this summer and the ones who'll make you dance ya socks off in September”. 

With her third album Nikki Nack out this week, we’re pretty darn chuffed to announce Merrill Garbus AKA tUnE-yArDs will be heading across the Solent to bring her uniquely kaleidoscopic collision of aural extremes for your collective listening pleasure. Smashing buckled cheerleader chants into punk riffs with razor-sharp melodies and colossal beats, Merrill, alongside long-time cohort Nate Brenner, is a force of nature when it comes to performing live, so don’t miss out.

Riding a wave of critical acclaim for their eponymous debut album, released late last year, we’re very pleased to say that Factory Floor will return to Robin Hill with an all out assault of mind-melting sequences, crashing rhythms and twisted vocals, plus there will be sets from Grammy nominated singer-songwriter and sometime Rudimental collaborator MNEK, deliriously unabashed indie-noise merchants Wolf Alice, exhilarating Glasgow trio The Amazing Snakeheads, critically acclaimed psychedelic doom purveyors Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, apocalyptic surf rockers The Wytches, Danish electropop chanteuse Mø, and scuzzy rock n roll six-piece and all-round incendiary live behemoth Fat White Family.

We’re not stopping there though, we’ll have live music from BBC Sound 0f 2014 nominees Say Lou Lou, Paul Epworth protégés Glass Animals, genre-swerving pan-global types John Wizards, gritty rocker Ezra Furman, atmospheric soulster Joel Compass, archetypal indie quartet Woman’s Hour, Spanish vocalist and sometime John Talabot collaborator Pional, twisted R&B nightingale Rosie Lowe and hazy pysch dudes Childhood.

And the new music keeps on coming with appearances from Kate Tempest, Jessy Lanza, Melt Yourself Down, The Front Bottoms, Hockeysmith, Wild Smiles, Black Orange Juice, Rag N Bone Man, Vaults, FTSE, Tourist, Sivu, God Damn, Happyness, The Correspondents, Bo Saris, Congopunq, Indiana, The Bulletproof Bomb, Fé and Cousin Marnie.

There’s still plenty more incredible music, mayhem and madness to announce, so make sure you join us at the Desert Island Disco this September for an escapist weekend of off the chain behaviour!

Secret Garden Party 2014 early bird tickets go on sale TODAY

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Following an absolute classic SECRET GARDEN PARTY last weekend organisers have decided to put EARLY BIRD TICKETS on sale today.

Organiser Fred Fellowes summed up :

‘I think this year had the best atmosphere yet. A lot of love came to the Party this year and I like to think we returned it with some great content, so a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to all our Gardeners for making it an outstanding event. Definitely a classic.’

Dates for next year are 24-27 July 2014. Tickets will be same price as Tier 1 tickets this year. (£137.50 plus booking fee). They can be purchased from Ticket link:  http://sgp.seetickets.com