Bilbao BBK Live 2013 Review

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Bilbao festival, in its eighth year takes place on top of the Kobetamendi mountains just north of Bilbao. For those that aren't camping be prepared to wait up to 40mins to jump on the free shuttle bus that takes you up most part of the mountain. Unfortunately the buses don't drive to the top so be prepared to walk for another 20 minutes. Once on site the festival is conveniently laid out. In total you have a choice of 4 stages- Bilbao stage, Heineken, Live and the Vodafone stage. All within easy walking distance and no clashes, which is rare at any festival. 
 
If you're looking to feed your stomach then I would suggest eating out in the city centre to avoid disappointment. Unfortunately the food options and quality lacked in choice and flavours. The bar however had a great choice of drinks, most of which are served in litres! One of the drinks on offer was a local drink called kalimotxo, also known as cocavino. Half a litre of red wine, half coke and some ice, which surprisingly tasted good!
 
On Thursdays line up saw the likes of Alt-J, Toy, Billy Talent, Editors, Biffy Clyro, Depeche Mode and closing were Two Door Cinema Club. Like most of the crowd I thought that the main stage closing act should have been the Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro. And when the Irish pop rockers concluded their set, there was very little to chose from unless you headed to the Vodafone stage, which hosted an array of European DJ's spinning their acclaimed tracks that had the spaniards jumping up and down with joy.
 
On Friday the audience were looking forward to seeing Spector, The Vaccines, Klaxons, Kings of Leon and Public Image Ltd, but half way into The Vaccines set the heavens opened and thunder and lightening struck which led to the band walking off stage. There was an uproar from the crowd but before long everyone hurried into what little shelter they could find, myself included. At one point the rain was so bad that a majority fled the site to find shelter whilst others resumed to finding solice in a portaloo. The crowd were uneasy and unsure of the festival continuing, but through sheer determination the majority stuck around with the hope that the festival would go on. And after 2hrs of heavy down poor the Klaxons made an entrance onto the Heineken stage and the festival goers disended to watch a money well spent set. They played all the classics including Echoes, Golden Skans and Gravity's Rainbow. And whilst the hardcore Klaxons fans watched a faultless performance the Kings of Leon were re-opening the Bilbao stage, pulling in the biggest crowd they had a soaked audience singing along to all their hits ending on Sex on Fire. And shortly after their set the anticipated Public Image Ltd took to the same stage. Working the crowd was legendary and ex Sex Pistol John Lydon. It was a shame that they didn't have a big audience but they were an outfit worth seeing.
 
By day three the site was looking a lot more crowded The Hives entered the stage looking equally as eccentric as each other. The great thing about these guys was their striking outfits. The swedes hyped up the crowd with their impressive Spanish, and had the crowd cheering for more as they finished their set. A difficult act to follow but next on the bill were Green Day, they played a two hour set including some favourites from Dookie, along with American Idiot. Half way threw the set saw Billie Joe Armstrong pull an audience member from the crowd onto the stage, to which he had to dive bomb into the crowd, one of the most spectacular dives off a stage that I have ever seen!
 
And finishing up the festival was Fatboy Slim. The got the crowd pumped and played a faultless set to a very satisfied audience.
 
All in all I found Bilbao Festival a lot of hard work, the long waits for the bus plus the climbing up the mountain were challenging, especially in the heat. But once on site the chilled out vibe made the festival worth going to.

 

NASS Festival 2013 Review

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Unlike a lot of music festivals; such as Reading or Download, NASS festival doesn’t entirely revolve around the bands or artists that are performing. A large base of its popularity comes from its Extreme Sports involvement, with competitions for skateboarders and BMXer’s taking place throughout both Friday and Saturday. Additionally, freestyle motocross demonstrations along with rollerblading were being eagerly watched by many at different venues scattered around the site.

Friday

As the first full day of the festival started, the intense heat brought out everyone from their tents and caravans onto the walk paths of the festival, the streets were packed with teenagers dressed in vests and shorts trying to resist the extreme heat of the day.

The first highly popular act for Friday’s line-up where the English four piece rock band from Essex: We Are The Ocean. The band put forward a confident performance involving such popular songs as ‘Bleed’ and ‘Follow What You Need’. Lead singer, Liam Cromby, engaged well with the audience; which despite not being huge in numbers seemed impressed and entertained throughout the set.

Next up, the Youtube originated sensation George Watsky, best known through his video ‘Pale kid raps fast’ took the stage. He displayed confidence and talent through his remarkably fast paced rapping which wowed the audience, arriving in numbers slightly larger than those who attended We Are The Ocean. As Watsky’s performance went on, he later decided to interact with one particular member of the audience by singing Happy Birthday to them, this gesture was received well as the crowd cheered and encouraged him on. George then went on to perform a deeply emotional song of his known as ‘Tiny Growing Screens Part 2’ which seemed to connect with the audience immensely, the use of Watsky’s rapping mixed with the powerful singing of his female partner fused well together to create a highly entertaining performance.

After a short break, the well-received DJ’s MONSTA took the stage, exciting the audience with their blend of dubstep and electronic dance-like music. Their performance was heard throughout NASS with their overwhelming bassy music which succeeded in attracting a relatively large crowd. As their performance went on, hundreds of supporters turned up, highlighting on the popularity of their performance.

After a lengthy performance by MONSTA, perhaps the second most anticipated act of the night were about to perform. Hadouken! With no great surprise, attracted a huge crowd, the largest so far, performing with extreme confidence and class. The lead singer, James Smith alongside his girlfriend and the other three members of the band created an intensely exciting atmosphere through their music, which everyone seemed to enjoy! As the act went on, James ordered the main crowd to form the ‘wall of death’ which the crowd obliged into doing, only adding to the craze of the moment.

As the crowd gathered in anticipation of the Headliner of Fridays events, Katy B took the stage; she undoubtedly brought in the largest crowd out of all of Fridays acts and definitely gave a performance worthy of applause, which the audience did, many times. With the involvement of the backup dancers being introduced by Katy, the crowd felt more connected with her, as well as her shout out to ‘all the ladies in here’ generating a huge bombardment of screams from the crowd. Her performance seemed to not only keep the audience on their toes, but also up in the air as multiple giant inflatable balls where launched across the crowd. She closed her set with her most recognised song, also her first single: ‘Katy On A Mission’ which got the whole crowd singing along. Needless to say, the atmosphere was amazing and every member of the audience involved seemed to have a brilliant time.

Katy B @ Nass

Saturday

Saturday started much the same as Friday did…with an intense amount of Heat. In fact the weather for the entire festival was superb as there wasn’t a drop in the sky, although I’m sure by the end of a rave with Skepta or Zane Lowe some people would have been begging for a cold shower to come down from the sky.

The hugely popular English rapper Skepta kicked off the evening with an intense and powerful performance, dressed in his all white clothing he stood out from the background, creating an illuminating appearance. Skepta’s voice was clear and powerful as he shook the ground of NASS getting everyone up on their feet and involved.

Next up, the British rock band from Cardiff Kids In Glass Houses rocked the stage with such popular tunes as ‘Sunshine’ ‘Undercover Lover’ and ‘Matters At All’. Their supporters came together to create a great atmosphere as Aled and his band rocked on through the evening.

The extremely popular Radio one presenter from New Zealand Zane Lowe came on and immediately summoned everyone to their feet as he shouted ‘If you’re sitting in a tent then what the F#*k are you doing?!’. As his set began, a huge crowd gathered, one of a similar size to Hadouken! His performance included his own DJ set as well as remix’s of club classics, for example he did a cover of one of Pendulums songs, which brought a huge cheer of recognition from the crowd. It seemed that all those involved in this experience had an exciting and unforgettable time.

Finally, as the darkness started to loom around the site, the concluding headlining act was about to hit the stage, who, by extreme measures, attracted the largest crowd as the main stage was packed with people. Before he made is appearance, the DJ paid tribute to such other rappers as 2 Pac and biggie smalls; demanding that everyone put ‘one finger in the air’ and then ‘turn them ones into two’s’ in tribute of 2 Pac. As the night went on and Nas made it to the stage there was a huge eruption from the crowd as he entered. The atmosphere was intense and full of supporters eagerly cheering him on. Once again, as during Katy B, huge inflatable balls bounced across the top of the crowd, just to add to the already intensely exciting atmosphere. The performance could be heard throughout the entire site, it was safe to say that Nas gave the people of NASS what they wanted, an incredible performance.

Nas

To sum up, the performances at NASS, whether they be from a skateboarder, BMXer or whether they’re headlining on the main stage; the quality and enjoyment you get from each and every performer creates an environment which you don’t ever want to leave, the effort of these performers this year made NASS 2013 a festival to remember, so don’t miss it next year!

Photos by Ed Adams

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Spiritualized, The Horrors and more for Truck Festival 2013

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We are welcoming a truck-load of great music to Hill Farm this year; on the main stage we have the likes of Spiritualized, The Horrors, The Subways, Ash, Gaz Coombes, The Joy Formidable, And So I Watch You From Afar, and Frankie and the Heartstrings; the Market Stage hosts Dry The River, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Patrick Wolf and Public Sevice Broadcasting, while the famous (and ever so slightly fragrant) Barn stage features performances from We Are The Ocean, Rolo Tomassi and Tall Ships and the mysterious Copaca-Barna takeover. See the whole line-up and choose which bands you’re going to see using the amazing Line-up Planner app on our website, and share your choices with envious friends.
 
Truck has always liked to host a bit of a dance party of an evening, so we are glad to welcome back the Kingdom of Jamalot, bringing everything from Reggae to House to Electro-Swing to Jazz-Funk to Dub to Beatboxing to “Home Counties Hip-Hop”… you get the picture!  Jamalot are pleased to announce Live and DJ sets from: Spaceface, The Gees, Firelodica featuring King Bracket, Positive Vibes, Simple, SRS, Boogie Bros, Nairobi, Heavy Dexters, Sensible Dancehall, King Lloyd aka Sir Sambo, The Dublings, The Fridge and Bungle, Pieman, Rip/Rhymeskeemz, Mr Shaodow, and the Knights of Jamalot. Yes,Mr Shaodow is back, and we are glad!
 
Like last year, Progressively Less Elephant and Nellie B Page will be getting the night-time party started in the Market Stage, and keep an eye out for a UFO…!
As mentioned previously, we have a number of new stages, including the Veterans and Virgins tent (the best of Truck past and future) and the Saloon – live Americana and Blues in a custom-built structure which has to be seen to be believed!
 
Also new this year, we will be hosting our own (slightly silly) Village Fete on our own Village Green, including the World's Largest Tombola and the Bureau of Silly Sports, as well as rustic farm tours and tractor rides. There will be a Birthday Party on each day for anyone whose birthday it happens to be, Cake Decoration, and prizes for the Best Dressed Trucker, complete with rosettes for the winners!
Family activities will include a fully-stocked Children’s Tent, including music from Nick Cope, and theatrical performances from Oxford Playhouse. Remember, children 12 and under go free, and there is a separate Family camping area, making Truck a great family event.  
 
Our food repertoire has been greatly expanded, with a new Food Hall hosting guest stalls from acclaimed local suppliers such as the Old Farmhouse Bakery and Q Gardens Farm Shop, and serving everything from sushi to steaks to salads. Yum. Our bar will host a Beer Festival with a variety of tasty local ales, while it’s rumoured that The Horrors will be mixing cocktails, Tom Cruise-style, in the Beach Bar after their set!
 
Indeed, whatever your taste, age and persuasion, there is something great going at Truck just for you. Weekend tickets are available now priced £74. These are likely to sell out. No day tickets are or will be available.
 
Tickets are on sale from our website or in person from Truck Store, Oxford. Ticket link here (you can choose Standard or Family camping areas).

2000 Trees Festival 2013

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A lot of festivals try to be everything to everyone, which is no bad thing. But 2000 Trees is unashamedly about the music, new, diverse, intelligent, challenging music, which crosses genres from relaxed foot tapping Folk through to ear bleeding Hardcore. The common factor?…….These six festival organisers have put on a line up of bands that are, or will be, top of their game, even if you don’t know it yet.

The festival site sits in idyllic surroundings in The Cotswolds, is very considerate of the green surroundings and caters for families as well as the predominately young attendees. Ample food and beer on sale, all of a quality you would expect from a West Country, Farm Heavy Shire, where the animals and burgers to be, are treated as royalty, The camping is well layed out, with views of the main stage in the thick of things or further up the site in quieter locations.

The festivals aims to have people leave with a new favourite band. This is exactly what is achieved and a whole lot more. The site consists of four stages, The Main stage, The Cave, The Leaf Lounge, The Green house, each of a different size with its own unique atmosphere.

However, some of the best moments are those unexpected and impromptu performances, be it the three giggling girls and a ukulele playing on the 2000 trees sign up the hill, or the already Legendary Frank Turner in a campsite, playing to 50 or so lucky bystanders. This was one of many appearances by Mr Turner, Playing the The Cave on Thursday night, the BBC Introducing stage and appearing ad hoc during the sets of some of his fellow artists around site. Easily earning himself the title of hardest working artist of the weekend.

2000 Trees

FRIDAY Was mainly spent in The Cave, rather hot and sticky due to the Festival landing on the hottest weekend of the year, much to the delight of fans who attended the Welly worthy event previously. A mid afternoon set saw Hold Your Horse is, step up,to play their Prog Rock to the assembled crowd. As they move further into the set you realise this band has depth, tempo changes, mood swings, that leave you wondering what is coming next.

Black Moth follow with a take on what has previously been considered a Midlands based Rock, An old Skool sound, but reinvented and played with an addictive youthful enthusiasm that pleases all.

INME are the pre headline, they play to a packed tent with people having to stand outside to even grab a peek. The band feel, sound and look massive, Rock with depth, changing direction, worthy of selling out the biggest of venues, but thankfully seen on a more personal set.

Adebesi Skank close day one in The Cave with a memorable performance of insanity. A manic, energetic performance, masked weirdness, a huge wall of sound, that sends fans into frenzied movement in front of the stage, mirroring that of the band.

Whilst on the main stage, Mr Frank Turner holds court, probably the most eagerly awaited performance of the weekend. The crowd are ecstatic from the opening chords of ‘Four simple words’ through some of his most popular and not so often heard body of work, ‘Plain Sailing Weather’ goes down a storm, no pun intended!  As Mr T takes to the stage for an encore of ‘Recovery’ and ‘I still believe’ every foot in the field is tapping and a crowd of voices sing a long with the man himself. It is still a sight to behold as Frank manages to get a majority of the crowd to sit down, then jump up during ‘Photosynthesis’ with the fans singing every word in delight.

Saturday. Today’s opener in The Cave is the metal might that is Grappler. A mention is worthy due to them igniting a Mosh Pit at Midday, on a summers afternoon. The intensity of the Lead singer and wild eyed front man is sure to blow the cobwebs away from the night before. At one point jumping into the crowd, kneeling, screaming to the congregation during a song most personal to himself. The next moment back on his feet and locking heads, with a fan willing to scream back his lyrics.

I have to drag myself away from The Cave and check The Main Stage, a slower pace but with an array of emerging or unspoilt talent. Local Boy Andy Oliveri opens after playing a handful of songs up at The Green House, recorded for a BBC Introducing session. Including a collaboration with Frank Turners new favourites, The Cadbury Sisters, after performing there own set the night before, a family festival indeed, amongst the artists as much!!

The Bluesy John J Presley took command later and with blues hitting a younger generation once more, there is a good chance that Mr Presley could earn his place amongst the great bluesman of the past, the stateside heavies of the 50’s or the Brum based God like Rockers of the 70’s, with his own take on the genre.

Indie heavyweights Mystery Jets close the final night. Some may consider the Indie scene a thing of the past, a floppy fringed predictable style. The Jets have other ideas though with a set of crowd favourites that excite, with a diversity of songs, a band that belie their near decade playing and thrilling audiences.

Performance of the festival for me? Math Rock Mammoths, Future of the left playing an epic set, loud, manic, intelligent, mind blowing.  ‘You need Satan more than he needs you’ being possibly the best song live I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing.

2000 Trees live up to all the promises. It was the most pleasurable of festivals, fuelled by copious amounts of caffeine, courtesy of the Coffee Crew at The Paper Cup Café. If you are a Muso, forward thinking, or just want to expose yourself to new sounds, creative genius, a new family, a fantastic festival and atmosphere, 2000 Trees 2014 awaits, will have you wishing you had more ears……

Photos by Dale Wozencroft

Wireless Festival 2013 Review – Saturday

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This year’s Wireless Festival had announced a lineup so spectacular that expectations were riding high when Jay Z and Justin Timberlake were set to close out all 3 days of Wireless, Justin on Friday, Jay Z on Saturday and the both of them performing their “The Legends of Summer” tour on Sunday.
Brooklyn born hip hop megastar Jay Z attracted a sold out 60,000 people to the main stage arena to close out Saturday night and he did not disappoint.  Looking slick in a plain white shirt and customary gold chain, he kicks off with ‘Public Service Announcement‘.  With the crowd in unison chanting HOV, this is just the beginning of his 70 minute set.  Announcing that his new album Magna Carta has gone number one in the UK, he dives straight into ‘Tom Ford’, one of the latest singles from his new album.  With one million giveaways of his album to Samsung customers, you can tell enough of the crowd have had a good listen to Magna Carta as they all sing along with him.
We immerse ourselves in the crowd to listen to ‘Empire State of Mind’, another new track ‘Picasso Baby’, and ‘Run this town’.  Jay Z‘s smooth lyrical delivery and ability to control the crowd reminds us why he is still one of the hottest rappers in the world.  Jay Z’s set is flawless and as the night comes to a close we are treated with an appearance by Jay’s Wireless headliner partner Justin Timberlake to perform the opening track on Magna Carta ‘Holy Grail‘.  The crowd goes absolutely mental as Justin’s silky voice hits the right notes on the first chorus to ‘Holy Grail‘.
Wireless Festival
Photo courtesy of Wireless Festival
Earlier in the day, there was a special guest set to perform in the Pepsi Max Arena and we got there just in time to see that it was UK rapper Tinie Tempah.  By this stage the tent was so packed that we made use of the outside screens to get a glimpse of the man that was a huge drawcard for the festival two years ago.  ‘Drinking from the Bottle‘ and ‘Pass Out‘ blast through the sound system as the crowd bounce up and down inside and around the tent.
Scottish songstress Emile Sande impressed with notable songs “Heaven” and “When I sleep” being my highlights of the set.  With the crowd singing alongside her as the sun begins to set over London, Emile is the perfect act to warm the crowd up before hiphop superstar and headliner Jay Z.
I have been a huge fan of Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar and was pleasantly surprised to see just how popular he was as a massive crowd packed into the main arena to see the West Coast lad bust out his hits from his album including album titled ‘M.A.D.D City‘, ‘Fu*kin Problems‘, ‘Money Trees’, ‘B*tch dont kill my vibe‘ and ‘Swimming Pools‘.  His chilled style and his seamless delivery of his tunes make him quite a different rapper to watch live than many others I have seen before.  If you haven’t yet heard his album or seen him live then I highly recommend it!
Rita Ora was on hand to make sure the crowd was ‘Hot Right Now‘ as the sun basked down in London on what would be one of the hottest days of the year.  Her rendition of The Neptunes ‘She wants to move‘ and Notorious Big’s ‘Big Poppa‘ & ‘Juicy‘ was a surprise but the crowd lapped it up and mashed to her music.
Wu Tang influenced Macklemore & Ryan Lewis performed earlier in the day bringing their fast paced rapping and high energy performance to the Wireless crowd.  Number one hit’s ‘Thrift Shop‘ & ‘Can’t Hold Us‘ had the entire arena singing as the crowd thoroughly enjoyed the newcomers set.
Even though Wireless Festival had moved from the more central location of Hyde Park to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, there was no denying that this years festival was up there with one of the best Wireless Festival’s yet.  With no rain in sight and the sun beaming down over the entire weekend, the iconic Olympic Park site proved to be the perfect setting for a weekend of amazing music and festival entertainment.

Wireless Festival 2013 – Saturday Live Update!

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We are on-site at the Yahoo Wireless Festival today in London reporting live for the Summer Festival Guide.  Keep an eye out here on who we are seeing backstage, the latest performances from today's lineup including headliner Jay-Z and much more!

13:00: We are en-route to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, its slightly overcast but the overall forecast is for a burning 30 deg so make sure you bring your sunscreen and your best summer atire!  Remember to keep hydrated!

14:20: Just arrived on-site at Wireless, the main stage area is already packed to the sounds of DJ Fresh who has the crowd jumping with "The Power" and a remix of White Stripes "Seven Nation Army". 

15:45: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis come out to the Wireless sunshine and run through their hits "Thrift Shop" and their current massive hit "Can't Hold Us".  Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is basking in this sunshine and the crowd are completely up for everything coming at them today.

So far we have sat down and talked to Taboo from Black Eyed Peas who performed in the Pepsi Max arena early and saw olympic gold medalist James Degale enjoying the music!

16:30: Up on stage is Miguel who is back for his second Wireless performance after a smashing performance last night.  Playing a similar style set as last night, the crowd was treated to his reindition of "Stir it Up" and more!

17:00: The crowd is building up for the enterance of compton rapper Kendrick Lamar.

17:30: Sat in the blazing sun we catch the begining of Kendrick Lamer's set.  With his DJ commanding the crowd to through their "W's" in the air, Kendrick comes out swinging with the title track of his Album "M.A.D.D city", and going through hits A$AP collaboration "Fu*kin Problems" and into "Money Trees" and "B*tch dont kill my vibe".  Kendrick's coolness and chilled out style on stage flows into the crowd.  Standing in the middle of the audience I see heads bopping up and down and W's being thrown up in the air.

Wireless Festival 2013

18:30: Rita Ora is blowing up the main arena with her massive hit "Radioactive" and has now just got the crowd literally jumping out of their clothes for "Hot Right Now" with a special apperance by DJ Fresh who was on the stage earlier on.  

18:40: We just got word that the special guest on stage in the Pepsi Max arena is no other than Tinie Tempah!!!!

19:00: Rita Ora is belting out covers of The Neptunes "She wants to move" and surprises the crowd with some Biggie Smalls "Big Poppa" & "Juicy".

19:10: With word that Tinie Tempah is at the Pepsi Max arena spreading through the crowd, I make my way through the main stage over the bridge to the tent.  As I proceed closer, I can hear the sounds of "Drinking from the bottle" blasting from the speaker stacks.  The arena is so crowded that people spill out about 10 meters deep from the tent!  I manage to get a glimpse of Tinie on the video screen in an outside tent.

19:45: Scotish songstress Emile Sande immediately commands the stage with her massive hit "Heaven" and then into "When I sleep".  With the crowd singing alongside her as the sun begins to set over London, Emile is the perfect act to warm the crowd up before hiphop superstar and tonights headliner Jay-Z takes to the stage.

21:00: The crowd has flocked to the Main Arena to watch headliner Jay-Z take to the stage.

21:20: 60,000 are on hand to see Jay-Z hit the main stage.  Looking slick in a white shirt with a huge gold chain, he kicks off with the crowd singing anthem "Public Service Announcement".  With the crowd chanting H.O.V. this is just the begining of what is set to be a memorable performance.  Announcing that his new album Magna Carta has gone number one in the UK, he kicks off with "Tom Ford", one of the latest singles from his new album.  We emerse ourself in the crowd to listen to "Empire State of Mind", another new track "Picaso Baby", and "Run this town".  Jay-Z's smooth lyrical delivery and ability to control the crowd reminds us why he is still one of the hottest rappers in the world.  

22:30: The majority of the crowd still remain to see out Jay-Z's performance when he introduces suprise guest Justin Timberlake to perform the first track of his new album Holy Grail.  The surprise is one that gets the crowd going crazy and singing along to the track.  The night is signed off with Jay and Justin both walking off the stage and the crowd making a swift exit to get home.  

 

Electric Daisy Carnival London Preview

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Electric Daisy Carnival London looks set to make this Summer of Love an extra special one, with a line-up that boasts some of the biggest names and freshest acts in electronic music. Partnered by Insomniac and Cream, Electric Daisy Carnival London combines the world’s leading electronic artists with the epic production and visual experience that Electric Daisy Carnival has become famed for.

You can see Alesso, AVICII, Burns, Caspa, Chris Lake, Chuckie, Crookers, Deniz Koyu & Danny Avila,
Destructo, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Dirty South, Fake Blood, Feed Me, Flux Pavilion, Goldie, Hardwell, Jack Beats, Jaguar Skills, Madeon, Mat Zo, Mistajam, Nero, NERVO, Porter Robinson, Rusko, SHY FX, Steve Angello, Sub Focus, Tiësto and Tom Staar. For a taster of what to expect check out the Electric Daisy Carnival London trailer here.

Alesso has been far from shy to the Beatport Number 1 spot, and comes to Electric Daisy Carnival London ready to prove just what the fuss is about. AVICII is currently ranked Number 3 in the ‘DJ Magazine’ Top 100 DJs list, and was nominated for a Grammy this year for Best Dance Recording. Watch London electro producer Burns too.

Household name Caspa is on board. UK house producer Chris Lake comes to Electric Daisy Carnival fresh from a US tour. Dirty Dutch house supremo DJ and producer Chuckie arrives, bringing his own world-renowned sound.

Crookers gets behind the decks, fresh from his remix of deadmau5 and Imogen Heap’s ‘Telemiscommunications’.  Turkish DJ sensation Deniz Koyu and Spain’s prodigy Danny Avila have joined forces for their Generation Wild tour. Big time producer, DJ and promoter of HARD, Destructo is in full effect. Dynamic duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike don’t look like slowing down any time soon. Acclaimed producer, DJ and remixer Dirty South has worked with a host of artists including Snoop Dogg, David Guetta, Sebastian Ingrosso, Deniz Kuyo and Alesso.

Fake Blood brings his collection of tunes so anthemic, so huge, his set will rattle the arena to the rafters. His recent release on mau5trap Records has won acclaim from all corners, and he’s an Electric Daisy Carnival veteran – and now Londoner Feed Me plays on his home turf. Fresh from the release of his brand new EP ‘Blow the Roof’, UK dubstep big gun Flux Pavilion brings a distinctive bass sound to the event.

Drum’n’bass innovator Goldie joins the ranks. Hardwell is known for his mind-blowing sets, and looks to deliver something unbelievable. He’s boss at Revealed Recordings, and his Hardwell On Air podcast is a regular in the iTunes Top Ten. DJ duo Jack Beats have remixed for the likes of Skream, Big Boi and La Roux and promise a big set. Jaguar Skills brings his electric-quick mixing and his own eclectic tune selection. Madeon is a teenage producer whose star is in the ascension, whose most recent collaboration was with Ellie Goulding on ‘Stay Awake’.

Catch British wunderkind producer Mat Zo – whose May collaboration with Porter Robinson ‘Easy’ has already reached the Number 1 spot on Beatport and Hype Machine.

Mistajam has had a fantastic year with his own Speakerbox concept, pulling together some of the best scenes and skills in urban and bass music. Nero come to EDC London. With a follow-up to their debut ‘Welcome to Reality’, which reached Number 1 in the UK albums chart, under construction, this is a chance to see this big-name act.

Australian twins NERVO, who co-wrote David Guetta’s Grammy-winning 2011 track ‘When Love Takes Over’, and have also worked with Afrojack and Steve Aoki, bring an undeniable stage presence.
Porter Robinson joins in the midst of his Circle Assembly Tour. His MInistry of Sound collaboration with Mat Zo, ‘Easy’, was proclaimed one of the tunes of 2013, such is its floor-filler potential. Very special guest Rusko hits heavy. One of the original pioneers of jungle, SHY FX teams up with Stamina MC. And Steve Angello is a star attraction; having just launched his label imprint X, he aims to give music “freedom, fuel and new life”.

Londoner Sub Focus enjoyed success with May’s single ‘Endorphins’, featuring Alex Clare. Dutch megastar Tiësto brings a touch of world class; a one-man music machine, he is a global powerhouse. And don’t miss Moda Music founding member Tom Staar.

Sub Focus

 

Electric Daisy Carnival, the world-famous electronic music event, heads to London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday 20th July 2013 for its first international event outside the USA. Promising to be one of the biggest UK shows of the summer, Electric Daisy Carnival London features some of electronic music’s biggest and most globally recognised talent.

FULL LINE-UP (A-Z)
Alesso
AVICII
Burns
Caspa (MC Ken Mac)
Chris Lake
Chuckie
Crookers
Deniz Koyu & Danny Avila
Destructo
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
Dirty South
Fake Blood
Feed Me
Flux Pavilion
Goldie (MC GQ)
Hardwell
Jack Beats
Jaguar Skills
Ken Mac
Madeon
Mat Zo
MC GQ
Mistajam
Nero
NERVO
Porter Robinson
Rusko
SHY FX (Stamina MC)
Stamina MC
Steve Angello
Sub Focus
Tiësto
Tom Staar

Jagermeister Stage announced for Bloodstock

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BLOODSTOCK is only four weeks away, and the event have announced another handful of bands for the Jagermeister Stage at Catton Park.

MOTORHEAD guitarist, PHIL CAMPBELL is set to bring new project., the PHIL CAMPBELL ALL STAR BAND to top out the party on Sunday night.  Phil comments: “I am very excited to announce that I will be playing Bloodstock on August 11th with my new band, featuring members of Straight Lines, The People The Poet, Dopamine, and Attack Attack.  It’s gonna be a lot of fun so come along and rock out with us!”

Also stepping onto the Jager stage on Friday are re-formed Nottingham rockers, WRAITH.  WRAITH’s success back in the 90’s had them renowned for their signature ‘dual guitar’ attack and saw them touring globally with the likes of UFO, Saxon and Motorhead.  Lemmy even sang backing vocals on their debut album, ‘Danger Calling’.  They’re now back celebrating 25 years since their inception and brand new material recorded in 2012.

AWAKE BY DESIGN get added to Saturday’s bill.  The melodic, modern metal band blend a combination of classic and prog rock, which has seen them garnering attention from the rock press and snapping up support slots with the kindred-spirit likes of Anathema, My Dying Bride, Apocalyptica and Sonata Arctica.

Also jumping in to a Saturday slot are INCASSUM.  Having released their debut, ‘Rites of Passage’ late last year, this melodic death metal outfit feature one of the best female vocalists in the genre.  Having met at Manchester’s Salford University in 2004, the band have built their reputation on the North West’s live circuit and are excited to make the cut for Bloodstock, enthusing; “We're thrilled to be chosen to play Bloodstock this year.  This is a milestone achievement realised & we can't wait to get started". 

Rounding out Sunday’s bill are THE BASTARD SONS.  Formed in late 2011, the York-based outfit are still fairly new, but have already courted a number of indie labels and have released a debut EP of ‘dirty rock n’ roll’, titled ‘Bones’.  Come over to the Jager stage on Sunday to check ‘em out for yourself.

There’s other fun and games going on in the arena all weekend.  To celebrate the legendary KING DIAMOND’s headline slot, there’s THE KING DIAMOND CHALLENGE face-painting competition on Friday.  Paint yourself up with your favourite KING DIAMOND make-up (any era you choose), visit the Sophie stage and speak to the DJ team there to register your entry.  The overall winner, judged later that day, will receive some Bloodstock goodies.  Also to add to the weekend’s fun, there’s an overall BLOODSTOCK weekend ‘fancy dress’ competition.  Take a photo of yourself on site, dressed in whatever crazy outfit you reckon will win, upload it to the Bloodstock Facebook page to enter and you could win yourself some special Bloodstock prizes.

Limited one-day tickets are on sale now.  The last batch of VIP packages are also moving fast.   Click on over to www.bloodstock.uk.com for your ticket needs, plus all the latest news and practical info for planning your visit to the UK’s best metal weekender.

Beat Herder 2013 – The Jewel of the North

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In readiness Beat Herder festival this year we went out and stocked up on new supplies of wellies and waterproofs after being towed off site in calf deep mud by a JCB last year. We couldn’t have got it more wrong as this year the festival fell on the most glorious weekend of the year so far, with scorching temperatures in the late 20’s.  In stark contrast, it was hard going due to heat exhaustion, rather than trudging in mud-laden boots.

Sprawling over the lovely valleys of Lancashire, this three-day festival attracts a wonderful community of people who all crave a fun-packed weekend. There’s an array of different stages here offering plenty of choice for musical tastes from house, techno, reggae, drum & bass, funk, disco and soul. New additions for 2013 was a 60 feet long, corrugated steel, fire breathing dance arena named The Fortress.  Over the weekend the DJ booth in the loft played host to Cut la Roc, John Carter, Justin Roberston, Bentley Rhythm Ace and Sicknote. The other notable new space was Maison D’etre that hosted eclectic music and comedy acts throughout the weekend.

Now in its eighth year, the BH organsiers seem to have hit on a winning formula for the perfect festival experience; reasonably priced bars, the ability to attract reputable artists and international dj’s and a not for profit ethic.  It’s clear that loads of love and attention that go into the site from the hand painted flower boxes with artists’ names on, to the beautiful hand-sewn timetables.

The site itself has everything in the right proportion, small enough to bump the same friendly faces around the site other and stages within easy distance of each other.  My favourite space has to be the beautifully lit up Toil Trees stage in the woodland area, where the trees seem to reach up to into the heavens. Apart from a awesome line up of dj’s from Kissy Sellout, Mr Scruff and Norman Jay, It even has its own mini town, complete with a chapel of rest (open purely for your dancing pleasure), a vintage sweet shop, a hotel, garage, a barbers shop (yes they really cut hair on site) and a tattooist (…and yes you can get yourself a real beat herder logo tat to boot).

Friday night’s standout performance was from Chic and Nile Rogers.  They kicked the festival off in pure style covering their hits ‘I’m Coming Out, Everybody Dance, He’s the Greatest Dancer, We are Family’ and stage invasion finale ‘Le Freak’. I felt like I was witnessing a very special moment. Groove Armada followed Booka Shade’s thumping live set. Tom and Andy brought the stage to a close with a dj set of clubland classics and mixes of their own superstylin’ tunes.

Chic ft Nile Rodgers

This year’s fancy dress theme is T, and dressing up here is huge. People really go to town on hand made costumes rather than cheesy bought in attire.  We witnessed twisters, terracotta armies, technic stereos, togas, tornados, taco’s, tin men, tweedle dee and dums, a twix, Thatcher, trailer trash, take away, teen wolves, tampons and one punter whom aptly came as a tent.

The Other Tribe helped us ease back into the party vibe early Saturday evening with their infectious summer anthem ‘Skirts’. Another main stage highlight was Slamboree. A 10 piece band made up of circus performers who manage to create what can only be described as an visual and audio riot, with music spanning dub, Balkan, rave and hip hop. We danced the rest of Saturday night away in the pews of the chapel, arms raised to the air and sipping on cocktails with the sassy waitresses in the Hotel California.  You have to shake everything that your mama gave you in in here, no standing still, it’s the law!

Sunday was super el scorchio down on beat-herdershire farm, hitting the low 30’s. Hiding in shaded areas and iced smoothies was the only way to keep cool.  Perfect Sunday afternoon tunes were underway from Good Times DJ, Norman Jay.  We melted in the Maison watching comedienne Barbara Nices’ hilarious set.  She encouraged overheated, lethargic punters to get involved in a game of dead celebrity statues. Raising temperatures nicely in the Toil Trees was a 4 hour set from Mr Scruff and MC Kwasi, perfect in the hazy wooded sunshine.

Bondax delivered a blistering Sunday night ‘dance ya socks off’ set that bought the festival to a beautiful close. Ahhh…well that’s Beat Herder over for another year, we’ll definitely see you in the shire next year for more beats and barminess. Herd em up!

Photos by Jane Anderson are here

Secret Garden Party’s Temple of Boom details

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The legendary independent label curates Secret Garden Party’s Temple of Boom on Thursday 25th. Billed as the ‘Rock ‘n’ Rave v Folk Off!,’ it will present a pick of hot new acts to perform exciting mash-up sets featuring folk music/ guitars/ dance/electronica….. They are:

WILL JOSPEH COOK/ SYKUR/ MAYAENI/ JEREMY LOOPS / DEATH BY CHOCOLATE / KILLAFLAW –  DJS, MARK JONES AND JAGZ KOONER

WILL JOSEPH COOK

Will turned 16 at the end of May and has been attracting the attention of the public and industry in equal measure. Lyrically beyond his years with a voice full of soul he supported Tom Odell in Manchester earlier this year and Tom subsequently tweeted his admiration. That message got back to the promoters behind The Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, where he performed as special guest this weekend. New song Fresh Air is up on You Tube Monday 8th July. Not a bad start at 16!

Will is looking forward to Secret Garden Party:

"Secret Garden has been on my mental wish list of parties to go to for a long time .. Totally stoked, thank you!" Will Joseph Cook

SYKUR

Iceland is now recognised as a world-beating exporter of fine talent – Björk, Sigur Rós, Of Monsters and Men, Gus Gus – you can now add electro-monsters SYKUR (meaning sugar in Icelandic) to this list.  The band, consisting of Agnes Björt Andradóttir, Halldór Eldjárn, Stefán Finnbogason and Kristján Eldjárn started as a trio back in 2008 while Halldór, Stefán and Kristján were still at school. Singer Agnes joined in 2011 thus completing the band and bringing with her a unique combination of sneering Courtney Love attitude and Donna Summer disco-fabulousness. Their second single ‘Curling’ from debut EP ‘Mesópótamía’ is out on Wall of Sound 26th August.

“It’s no secret that SYKUR are becoming super-excited for playing at secret garden party. We look forward to bringing some sugar-sweet sounds to Cambridgeshire” Halldór Sykur 

MAYAENI

Detroit born Mayaeni, is suddenly an ‘overnight’ sensation. Her song Nothing Inside with DJ Sander Van Doorn (which she co-wrote with Justin Parker of Lana del Rey Video Games fame) hit #1 on Cool Cuts, the DMC Buzz Chart and the Beatport Overall Chart. After a debut performance for over 20,000 people at Ultra in Miami in March, Nothing Inside became a breakout summer 2012 hit and a favourite in clubs around the world. Mayaeni has Jay Z as one of her fans; in fact he has just signed her.

JEREMY LOOPS

Hailing from South Africa, where he has a major following Jeremy Loops redefines the moniker ‘one-man band.’ Equipped with multiple instruments, a loop station, pedals and beatbox sounds, he creates a wonderful textured landscape of music that brings a new dimension to the new school of alternative folk music.

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE

Coming from a land renowned for its confectionary, it’s hardly surprising that five traveling Swiss musicians found themselves unusually attracted to a dessert item they encountered at an English eatery: Death by Chocolate. In fact, they liked the name so much they decided to appropriate it as their own, and so the band Death by Chocolate was born. Death by Chocolate have already

performed over 200 gigs, ranging from little clubs like the White Trash in Berlin to the massive EXIT Festival in Serbia and even to a Bon Jovi concert in Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium, where the quintet supported Jon Bon Jovi in front of 40.000 spectators. Their album From Birthdays to Funerals is out now.

KILLAFLAW

Named after a track by legendary bluesman Howlin’ Wolf, Killaflaw inhabit the electronic/rock interzone. They’re from Liverpool, and consist of Benn Helm (vocals, guitar) and Andy Paton (electronics, trumpet). Killaflaw have been likened to a number of other acts – “like Led Zep meet the Chemical Brothers”, “the missing Link between Soundgarden and The Prodigy” – but really they have a sound that is uniquely their own.

Gigging and recording all the time, Killaflaw produce everything from affecting electronic bangers (‘Broken Idol’, ‘Holy Funk’) to bluesy singalongs (‘Message’) to journeying rocky electronic MTV-friendly anthems (‘Set Me On Fire’, ‘Higher Ground’) to sync-friendly powerhouses (‘Revolution’). As the UK’s DJ magazine said: “Killaflaw have the passion, the soul, the raw power and the tunes. They’re gonna be massive.”Killaflaw’s Broken Idol Ep will be released in September.

For the Temple of Boom’s further line up curated by Eddy Temple Morris visit here: 

http://www.secretgardenparty.com/#!/the-secret-garden-party/stages-venues/the-temple-of-boom/