As hot day turns into teeth-chatteringly cold night, Forty thousand thursday Bestivalites attempt to squish themselves sardine-like into the Big Top for Besti favourites Hot Chip, at midnight.
Opening with 'Shake a Fist', Hot Chip begin a musical journey through some of their lesser known tracks before giving the anthem craving crowd a taste of 'Over and Over' with an extended intro just to whet the whistle. Oldie 'The Warning' and 'One Life Stand' also see raucous applause, whilst new single 'How Do You Do' has the karaoke effect amongst the fans. For those that haven't seen the band before, the fact that pretty much all of them can play any instrument on any of their songs is rather amazing, and watching as they glide seamlessly between guitars, keyboards and drums can be quite confusing.
As a Tiger sails overhead towards the front barriers the heat and lack of breathing room becomes stifling, so we venture outside for a burrito only to be disappointed by the lack of decent sound past the pillars. 'On The Floor' seems to go down well with the sardine-can-clan but for those out of the fold it just isn't the same. A closing cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'Everywhere' is pretty special, but for all those who didn't make it into the tent, the magic is well and truly gone.
Our ethos is simple: Try to provide the best line-up, the best venues, the best experience, whilst improving each year at the best possible price. Stereosonic is Australia's largest electronic music festival, now let's get to it…
In an interesting year for Dance Music, the final frontier has been reached with global domination, Our artists and particularly headliners lead this assault! With chart topping hits, to industry & public voted awards, to sold out stadiums / clubs and the World’s biggest Festivals, we’re very fortunate to have THE cream of the crop in electronic/dance music right now, all included in the one line-up. Australia get ready for your biggest festival to explode in 2012!
What a year for our Artists!
Quite simply one of the biggest names in Dance music, Tiësto has had some huge tracks out, headlined countless festivals and has a huge new compilation out ‘Club Life – Vol. Two Miami’ (see below for our special Ticketmaster offer). Avicii simply had the biggest track in 2011/2012 and headlined countless festivals and worked on new collaborations with artists such as Lenny Kravitz and is producing anthems such as ‘Silhouettes.’ He simply doesn’t stop!Calvin Harris synonymous with electro pop music is set to release another killer collab, this time with fellow Stereosonic artist, Example. Both have had huge years in touring and production. Celebrating ten years of residency on the White Isle last year, the prolific Carl Cox continues to impress. His legendary sets in Ibiza are still drawing thousands weekly. Major Lazer are back and ready to expose fans to their eclectic dance hall vibes with a new show. Dutch turbine Laidback Luke combines to make a power trio of Stereosonic artists with one of Australia’s favourite acts and tennis star Martin Solveig and Dirty Dutch superstar Chuckie delivering ‘1234,’ a mad crowd track that will surely be dropped during the tour. Dash Berlin has started 2012 with a bang, his latest album ‘#musicislife’ is already delivering chart success. Dash’s trance comrades: Infected Mushroom, Markus Schulz, Sander van Doorn, Aly & Fila, Simon Patterson & MaRLo continue to experience huge love from the trance family. Infected Mushroom are back with their awesome live show (and table tennis skills). The techno fraternity asked and we listened with a huge Techno offering featuring: ‘Carl Cox Revolution’ (brand new room) with Carl Cox, Loco Dice, Adam Beyer, Joris Voornand more. Rising stars Porter Robinson is one of the most in demand acts at the moment with Bassnectar both having a huge year in 2012. Aussie Tommy Trash has risen to become a huge global producer and DJ this year and is coming back to Australia for Stereosonic. ‘Holy Ship!’ and ‘Hard Fest’ owner Destructo is back after a huge Stereosonic 2011. There will be plenty of Bromance this tour with Brodinski and Gesaffelstein who will be partying with Zedd, Dillon Francis and Foreign Beggars. Bart B More has quickly become one of the brightest stars in the international electronic music scene. He has consistently been crafting dancefloor destroyers that have received massive support from prominent DJ’s around the world. Diplo’s latest record ‘Express Yourself’ has in typical Diplo fashion exploded across the world with its eclectic high-spirited feel. The rise and rise of bass continues, with Flux Pavilion, Caspa and Datsik all riding the wave of bass adoration in the last year. Australian indie kids, Van She, are finally back with a killer new album ‘Idea of Happiness’ which has already spawned two songs: ‘Idea of Happiness’ and ‘Jamaica,’ perfect for Summer. Kaz James is back, one of the artists who appeared at our first ever Stereosonic, withFeenixpawl after huge Beatport success and one of the anthems of the European summer.
Don’t miss out! 2011 saw our biggest crowds to date with Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide selling out up to eight weeks before the festival. With the vibe already huge for Stereosonic 2012, it is predicted that we’ll witness big shows again this year thanks to our stellar line-up. We want to party with you, so make sure you purchase your ticket(s) early to avoid disappointment.
New Stages This year we welcome: Main Stage 2, plus a new techno stage with ‘Carl Cox Revolution,’ ‘Paris Social Club’ (first time in Australia) and the ‘Hard Stage’ (also a first time in Australia – Purveyors of ‘Hard Festival’ and ‘Holy Ship!’)
New Ticketing We are pleased to announce that all ticketing is now through our ticketing agency: Ticketmaster. Patrons can buy tickets online via Ticketmaster.com.au, Ticketmaster Outlets Nationally and by Phone 136-100
Back to Skoda Stadium, Sydney After extensive renovation, Stereosonic Sydney will be moving back to Skoda Stadium, Homebush and surrounds to ensure our patrons experience Stereosonic in the best possible environment. This is a state of the art venue with huge seating, main stage and as side stages have reduced capacity numbers, we are advising patrons to buy tickets to the Sydney show at their earliest convenience to avoid regret. We partied at this venue and surrounds 2 years ago and it was epic!
Thank you We would like to thank all those who attended Stereosonic in 2011 and to all who voted for Stereosonic at theinthemix.com.au Awards in 2011. Your valued support motivates us to bring you the most popular acts with a mix of new and diverse artists, to satisfy and educate whilst treading that fine line in between. This is Stereosonic.
Stereosonic 2012 boasts its biggest line-up ever featuring: Tiësto Avicii Calvin Harris Example Carl Cox Major Lazer Laidback Luke Martin Solveig Dash Berlin Markus Schulz Diplo* Sander van Doorn Infected Mushroom* Chuckie Flux Pavilion Mr Oizo Porter Robinson Loco Dice Bassnectar JFK MSTRKRFT Excision Adam Beyer* Aly & Fila Caspa Datsik Joris Voorn* Bingo Players Tommy Trash* Simon Patterson Gesaffelstein* Ørjan Nilsen Dillon Francis Foreign Beggars Bart B More Zedd Brodinski* Krewella* Nina Kraviz* Van She (not playing Adelaide & Perth) Alvin Risk* Destructo* MaRLo* Club Cheval^ Treasure Fingers* French Fries^ Beni# Duke Dumont^ Mickey# Kaz James* Feenixpawl* Acid Jacks* MC Stretch (will be hosting and MC’ing the Mainstage)* MC Gunner (will be hosting and MC’ing the Carl Cox Revolution Stage)
* = not playing Adelaide # = playing Melbourne & Sydney only ^ = playing Melbourne, Sydney & Adelaide only
Ticket prices in comparison to other festivals In staying true to our core ethos, Stereosonic continues to deliver the best line-up possible, at the best possible ticket price. We have raised the prices slightly this year to help improve our services to you on the day and to enable us to deliver the biggest acts in electronic music!
Ticketing (For all cities): Ticketmaster.com.au First Release tix are sold out Second Release tix are sold out Third Release tix $154.95* (includes booking fee), plus a $3.95 transaction fee per purchase (limit 8 tickets) *Perth patrons pay an additional $2.00 PTA (Public Transport Authority) fee (this includes free public transport with a valid Stereosonic ticket)
Exclusive Tiësto DJ Mix album ‘Club Life – Vol. Two Miami’ – offer for all Ticketmaster buyers Purchase a ticket to Stereosonic and you can also buy a download of the Tiësto DJ mix album ‘Club Life – Vol. Two Miami’ for just $11.00. Featuring: Ivan Gough, Gotye, Coldplay, Tiësto and Wolfgang Gartner, Afrojack and more.
On Sale Now!! – only from Ticketmaster: http://Ticketmaster.com.au/stereosonic or 136 100
Line-up is subject to change without notice. All events are over 18s, photo ID is required. Line-up varies slightly in each state. View state information at the stereosonic.com.au website for more details.
iPhone Application and mobile site We will be launching an iPhone and Android application. For other mobile users we will be launching a mobile friendly site very soon! www.stereosonic.com.au/iphone
Creamfields 2013 will take place on Friday 23rd, Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th August Bank Holiday weekend 2013.
Creamfields regrettably had to cancel the final day of this year’s festival due to adverse weather and flooding on site and are currently assessing how the festival can be improved upon for 2013.
Festibelly. Sounds good, right? I fantasize about a mile long banquet out in the fields, the kind for medieval kings and queens, with all the mod cons and a soundtrack to boot. It’s day one, though, and I’m out of my depth – nobody mentioned a tightrope.
At a safe distance I watch as adults and kids queue, eager to play out their circus dreams. There’s hula too, and each attract a strong grownup contingent, age one of many barriers beautifully blurred over the weekend’s New Forest gathering.
Invention abounds. One young woman steps hurriedly on stilts as friends pass a hula-hoop around her hips, mimicking the feat. Even in this small field, I fancy I could make the weekend without seeing a single band. It’s part of Festibelly’s charm.
I follow a familiar tune to the Terrapin Station, where an impromptu singalong has broken out to Bohemian Rhapsody. A sudden downpour makes an excellent excuse to lie back in our tent and soak up the bourgeoning camp (oh, how we soak!). There are some brilliant exchanges. “Is cider a depressant?” starts one passerby, and I fight the urge to interject and give the game away.
As the carpark starts to fill, we skip out in wellies to explore Lymington town. The high street is lined with market stalls, and ambling vaguely toward the sea we’re among a handful of people not eating ice cream. Or walking our dogs. Or both. For me, though, it’s a decidedly Bakewell occasion, so we beeline to a nearby café.
Back at base the tunes have begun. Folky Rob Cowen & The Dissidents “love the neon” in City Lights, and a slow, stripped cover of 1970s hit Hotel California is fitting fodder on a bright afternoon. There’s welcome irreverence from The Operators, the lead singer shouting in mock admonishment by way of encouraging the crowd. Tongue firmly in cheek, he says Careless is “about going mental and being stupid, hence Careless.” We hear By My Side and Meet Me In The Morning, and there’s a slick nod to Rihanna (or is that Michael Jackson?) somewhere amid clapping and cowbells.
Parisian trio We Were Evergreen have as much fun as their fans, and why not? They sound like summer – in clubs, parks, beaches, and bars – and just when you think you’ve got a handle on their sound, the lead singer swaps ukulele for trumpet and the tent gets rightly jazzy. At one point there is a request for silence; “Let’s all go ‘shhhh!’” they smile, as if sharing a secret. If you’ve never had the pleasure, YouTube any version of Baby Blue (my favourite was filmed at St. Pancras International).
An aptly named Massive in China stage goes bananas for Crowns. The boys ask in earnest if their instruments are loud enough, and I suspect they want someone to up the volume. The Cornish group play some serious folk – there’ll be bruised knees around Festibelly tomorrow. Frontman Bill Jefferson breaks mid-set to sip a revellers drink, cunningly disguised as a protein shake. “I don’t want to tell you what to do,” he shouts, launching into the raucous Little Eyes, “but I think you’ll have more fun if you can-can!”
I cheer with the heaving tent when our MC mocks the masses waiting in line for silent disco, but as the next act starts up (an Indian marching band, of course) I steal away to join the spectacle. Headphones have sold out but we’re free to roam as the tent erupts in chorus to Eye Of The Tiger. The disco keeps on to the small hours, and we fall asleep to sounds of ‘silent’ fun.
It's high summer when I wake. Couples, families, and indeterminable larger groups sprawl sitting or lying, relishing the day. At the main stage people come and go, music secondary to conversation. The bank holiday makes Sunday the perfect time to party, and all-singing, all-dancing Man Like Me do just that. At the height of random are playful tracks Peculiar and Squeeze. London Town feels comparatively tame, but that's not a criticism. Frontman Johnny Langer isn't shy either; early in the piece he loses his shirt, and later hops off-stage to take a walk through the crowd.
Clock Opera aim to please with plenty of grandiose tracks like Once And For All. There's something unnerving about lead singer Guy Connelly's beard, so I focus instead on the Chris Martin lookalike manning keyboard and synth. Soon, they start to sound like Coldplay, but again that’s no critique.
I’m not fussed on Icarus, but when Bastille hit Overjoyed, Flaws, and fresh track Bad Blood, it’s bliss. Dan Smith and company sound even better live, and they use the stage well, switching places and instruments with ease. Popular cover What Would You Do has the whole site singing, their playful percussion impossible to ignore.
I’m sure I love Gold Panda's heavy bass, but it’s ambient noise this hour of night, and I’m fast distracted by talk of burgers. Punters gather by the roaring fire, a ceremonious end to our official Festibelly experience. Would I go back? Without a doubt, and next time I might even brave the hula.
Leeds and Reading festivals are probably two of the biggest music events in the UK, time and time again they bring in the biggest and brightest acts of the year as well as legendary performances from bands that have stood the test of time and this year was no exception.
Friday was by far the best day with Foo Fighters headlining the Main Stage, they gave an outstanding performance that lasted two and a half hours playing songs like Everlong, Best of You and Monkey Wrench. It felt like almost everyone at the festival turned up to watch them and though fireworks mark the end of the show they definitely didn't mark the end of the night.
The complete high that everyone felt after the first nights headlining act meant that Saturdays headliners were a bit of a disappointment. Though the day and was packed with quality bands such as; Bombay Bicycle Club, Hadouken!, Paramore, Proxies and The Hives, The Cure just seemed like a bit of a let down in comparison to the Foo Fighters, their set dragged on longer than it should have, half the crowd had left after the first hour to see what else was going on, and as they finished with that one song that everybody knew (Boys Don’t Cry) it was almost like the band was as glad as the people watching that their set had finished.
Sunday was yet another day with quality bands to enjoy, in particular we loved indie-pop band Los Campesinos!, Billy Talent, The Shins, and NME Stage Headliners, At the Drive In. On top of this there was tonnes of great comedy to chill out and watch, we really enjoyed Jason Byrne and Jimmy McGhie.
Highlights for us this year were, Anti Flag, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, the crowd surfing cereal boxes and Foo Fighters, but we couldn't help feeling like Leeds played second fiddle to Reading all weekend. Green Day played a surprise set at Reading on Friday, which much to our disappointment, was not repeated at Leeds and having the Foo Fighters play on the first night instead of the last like they did at Reading, meant the festival didn’t really end on a high, the way it would if they had been the ones to close the festival.
Nevertheless, the line-up was still great and the venues really work well together, the only thing we felt Leeds lacked was a bit of character, its all about the music at Leeds and we cant fault them for that but a few more quirky smaller venues definitely wouldn't hurt.
SFG: Markus, its great to see ya, how is everything, and more importantly how is your eye?
Markus Schulz: It’s not healing quite as quickly as I was hoping, you know, it hasn’t kept me away from any of this weekend’s festivities.
SFG: It’s a massive month for you with your latest album Scream being released, how has it been received so far?
MS: Fantastic, we just did the album release special on my radio show yesterday and the feedback was fantastic! There are a lot of tracks on the album that people are surprised at, in a positive way. I am really happy with the album, especially the balance. There are 12 vocal tracks and 11 instrumentals. People that are into instrumentals have an entire album of instrumentals, and those that like vocals, there’s a whole album of vocals for them.
SFG: What were your personal highlights of making the album?
MS: I started the album a couple of years ago when I was working with different artists and writing. The cool highlights for me are some of the new artists that I discovered on this album. One of the first singers I worked with on this album was Adina Butar. Adina and I really clicked in the studio so we wound up doing three or four tracks but only two tracks made it on the album. She also has her hand in production as well, she has a good ear for it. She was chiming in and giving her opinion on some of the other tracks on the album and it was a lot of fun.
SFG: That’s quite different to have an artist to assist in production?
MS: It was great because she did have some great ideas. Working with artists like Khomha, Mr Pit, Ferry Corsten, Dennis Shepard, Wellenrausch was a lot of fun on this album.
SFG: We caught you at Global Gathering last year, and heard some of the new tracks. The crowd were loving it, how does that feel seeing the reaction from behind the decks?
MS: To be honest with you, I’m not up there enjoying the moment as much as I should, I am more analyzing what can I change to fix it. If I’m looking at the audience and feel that there is a dead spot, then I am analyzing why and what I can do to pick up this dead spot in the track, maybe I should be enjoying the moment a little bit more but the critical artist in me is up there analyzing.
SFG: Your almost at the end of your residency at Privilege, how has that gone this summer?
MS: Fantastic, I am part of the residency for A State of Trance night on Monday nights. To be honest with you, I think it’s fantastic for both Ibiza and the trance scene. Nobody really expected us to do what we have been doing, selling out the club week after week, 7000 strong. The whole island is kind of like looking at us going ‘what’s going on, how are they able to do this’. It’s really just put the spotlight on trance music again.
SFG: Like bringing it back?
MS: Well it never really went anywhere. It was out of the spotlight for a little bit, and it was really showing people that trance music is big and has a massive following and here we are, were still here.
SFG: Coming from a trance background myself, I noticed the decline in the popularity of trance, however over this past festival season, it seems to have picked itself back up?
MS: We are sitting here backstage and the music from the main stage sounds like trance to me. What was trance is now labeled as progressive house but those melodies are unmistakably trance.
SFG: You’re performing at Creamfield’s later on this evening, what’s been your festival highlight so far?
MS: Obviously in the United States, the Electric Daisy Carnival was fantastic. The ordeal that we had to deal with there, with the weather, there was high winds so they had to shut down the stages because the trusses were moving. So about an hour into my set they had to shut down all the stages. That made it quite memorable. Nature One this year was amazing for me, last year it was one of the best gigs of the year for me and this year it was even better!
SFG: You live in Miami now right, how does that differ where you have lived before in Europe?
MS: First of all Miami is nothing like the rest of the United States, it has much more of a South American feel, it’s a lot more ‘caliente’. As far as Europe vs the United States right now, I think the biggest difference is that in the United States, a lot of the scene is composed of the new generation of clubbers. You start to see that in Europe slowly, there is a youth movement starting up and over the last two years there has been a huge youth movement over in the United States and its made the scene very exciting. New ideas, new passion, new DJ’s and new artists are coming up. There is definitely a change and this new generation has brought his change on.
SFG: This new generation that you talk about, is the same generation that was coming up say around 12-15 years ago when trance really took off?
MS: That’s a great analogy. What I am seeing happening in the United States right now is kind of what happened in Europe in 1999. In 1999 it was definitely a youth movement in the UK and Europe and now that generation has now grown up and it’s time for a new generation to bring their new ideas into the scene and that’s what’s happening right now. A lot of the old school are elitist and snobby about it sometimes, and I think that for the new generation, if we can remind them that the scene was built on blood sweat and tears and passion and hand that down, then I think the scene will be very healthy moving forward.
SFG: In terms of newer DJ’s and producers coming up, where do you see yourself sitting in between the new and the old.
MS: My thing has always been to try and give a platform to the new up and coming artists. On all of my artist albums and mix compilations, I always try to find new artists to expose. To me that is more exciting than working with the established guys and pop stars. For me it’s really nothing new seeing this new change as I am constantly working with new up and coming people.
SFG: What’s next for Markus Schultz
MS: Well having just finished my artist album, I will be promoting that, very happy with the way it turned out, 12 vocal and 11 instrumental tracks, a little bit for everybody!
SFG: You will be touring the new album worldwide?
MS: The album release party is August 31st in Miami, and September 1st in New York City. Then we will start some select album tour dates. In the first quarter of 2013 we will do a massive tour with full production.
SFG: With London being the home of the Olympics, did you manage to catch any of it?
MS: Yeah of course, I watched every single game that the USA Men’s Basketball team played. I love basketball and to see that was a lot of fun. The gold medal game against Spain was really competitive and great to watch.
SFG: We have a SW4 Olympics event we are playing with the artists this year, Rock Paper Scissors, there are only 2 medals, a winners and losers, lets go!
WINNER: Markus Schultz Markus won the SW4 Olympics Rock Paper Sisscors event as it went to a tie breaker and he pulled out the ‘Firecracker’ which totally took me by surprise!
SFG: Thanks for your time Markus, we look forward to your set!
We got to speak to Joe Hoare, guitarist to stoner metallers Orange Goblin, and this is what he had to say:
SFG: Have you been enjoying Bloodstock so far this year?
J: Yeah it’s great, since we’ve came here we’ve literally been doing press for the last few hours, but already it’s a great atmosphere, like always it’s fun, people are here to have a good time, as opposed to the other bigger festivals which are also fun, but this is a bit more intimate and its nice.
SFG: Are you looking forward to any bands playing or caught any you wanted to see yet?
J: Yeah we saw a bit of Crowbar that is the only band I’ve seen any of y’know for like 20 minutes. Of course they were awesome as always! Later on, we’re clashing with Testament which I would have liked to see, everyone I know has been saying ‘ah I don’t know what to do!’, fair enough if people want to see them I wouldn’t blame them at all. Yeah Machine Head of course I would like to see, I always like to see their set, but apart from that I don’t have enough time to absorb everything so I’m just going to grab whatever bands I can when I get a chance.
SFG: Going on about clashes, last year at Sonisphere (2011) you clashed with the mighty Slipknot and still managed to pull a good crowd, was that a good feeling?
J: Yeah it was a great feeling, it was a fantastic crowd and we are still getting over how many people there were last year! Same thing we thought okay yeah we’re on the same time as Slipknot, we kinda have to expect not to play in front of many people but a couple hundred fans turned up and it fantastic, was a really good feeling. I guess at a festival that big, you kind of really appreciate the fans that do come to see you because they’ve come to see you as Slipknot are a great band, and yeah it’s been a good year for us!
SFG: Hopefully you’ll get that with Testament then! Onto other things, you’ve just had Eulogy Of The Damned out earlier this year, how was that like recording?
J: It was brilliant, it was the 7th album we’ve done, and to be honest it’s been the best one we had received, it’s just gone down so well. The way we recorded it we used a guy called Jamie, who’s just a young producer, done some good stuff but nothing big. We used him because we recorded a Sabbath song for a CD mount on a magazine; we liked what he did then so we just said ‘look, do you want to do the album for us?’, and he did, he made a great job of it. The response we had like I’ve said has been phenomenal. We didn’t expect to have such a good response. 17 years down the line you kind of hit a steady flow and all of a sudden to be elevated a little bit is kind of unexpected! It’s been a great year so far.
SFG: I’ve heard you’re going to be re-releasing some of your earlier albums on vinyl again, what was the decision behind that?
J: Yeah we’ve never had the first couple of albums ever released on vinyl. It’s always something the band and Lee, and Will at Rise Above have always had in the pipeline it just never happened for whatever reason. We got speaking to Lee, we’re on very good terms with Rise Above so the time came where he just went ‘okay I wanna do this now’, yeah its looking good, there’s gonna be a few different coloured vinyls coming out. Not sure when they’re being released yet, its great to finally have them out.
SFG: So what else is in the future for you?
J: The future, next year it’s looking pretty busy. We’re hoping, not definite yet but we want to do a world tour, but again that’s in the pipeline, not 100% sure about that yet.
SFG: Bit more on the album, it’s a lot heavy than the previous albums, its quite a lot heavier than the previous album, a more bassier tone to it, is that something you were moving towards or was it just what happened in the studio at the time?
J: It was pretty much what we just did in the studio at the time. If you look back at the album like The Big Black; that was pretty heavy, pretty bass heavy. I think every album subconsciously has got a different kind of sound and theme running through it. This one has is pretty much a bit of everything, it wasn’t intentional we just went in there with a lot of riffs. Whether it sounded like a Southern Rock song or a whether it sounded likea Sleep song, whatever band we decided to rip off at the time! (laughs). The reason we started a band was to do what we love doing, so this album, if anything is more polished than others. As for the heaviness, we wanted it to be heavy but clear. We weren’t bothered about it being extra extra heavy and sludgey or whatever. We wanted people to hear what we were doing, and make it as clear and pristine as possible but at the same time but be as heavy as we could make it! Again, Jamie did a great job producing it; we spent a bit of time on the sounds. Yeah but we never intentionally set out to do anything any different to any other album, it’s just what ever come out at the time, and this is what came out this time!
SJM: well I think that’s all for today, thanks for your time!
It’s another August Bank holiday weekend which means that it’s time for another installment of London’s infamous electronic music festival, South West Four, or as it is more commonly known as SW4.
Saturday boosted a huge lineup including headliners Chase & Status on the main stage as well as Knife Party, Erick Morillo, Paul Van Dyk and more! With a sold out 25,000 in attendance, this was bound to be another great festival for the Lock n Load crew. We were looking forward to a day of good tunes, a great crowd and sore feet.
As we enter the Clapham Common grounds, the sun was shining and the masses were coming in their droves. We headed to the main stage to catch Mark Knight who was providing a driving house set typical of the Toolroom Knights head honcho. Minutes into his set the loud clapping sound of thunder and flashes of lighting drew the crowds attention to the skies which turned dark. Moments later a torrential downpour followed, lasting around 30 minutes or so. Many were equipped with willies, brollies, jackets and ponchos to fight off the rain and those that were not braved the heavy downpour whilst the ground began to resemble something of a Glastonbury like mud-fest.
Be it rain or shine, over in the Evolution tent, no one seemed to care as John O Callaghan, Aly & Fila and Markus Schulz brought their typical melodic and driving trance to a packed out tent before headlining Paul Van Dyk arrived with a spectacular stage setup complete with fire and CO2 cannons. With trance making a massive come back this year it was great to see the Evolution arena packed right up till the end of PVD’s emphatic set.
Erick Morillo’s Subliminal label hosted the DJ Magazine Arena and brought along some of the biggest acts in the house scene including Roger Sanchez, Sympho Nympho (Morillo, Harry ‘Choo Choo’ Romero, & Jose Nunez), A-Trak, AN21 & Max Vangelli and Eva Simmons.
Headliners Chase & Status delivered another beat banging set with MC Rage controlling the crowd with the mic in hand. With all other arena’s closing at 9pm the main arena packed with thousands bopping their heads up and down as Saul (Chase) and Will (Status) brought their full production to London’s Clapham Common. Opening with ‘No Problem’, the lads kept the majority of the crowd around for the length of their set.
Apart from the weather, this year’s SW4 has lived up to expectations and resembled years of past. Sticking to the same tried and tested formula of bringing top notch electronic music artists to the grounds of the common has proved a winner. I may have ended up back at home with my shoes completely ruined by the mud but I didn't really care. The music, the crowd and the atmosphere was as good as any other year I have been to SW4. We look forward to seeing who will grace the stages at next years SW4.
At Bloodstock we at Summer Festival Guide got to talk to Ol Drake from Evile, getting to talk about all manner of music related subjects and this is what he had to say:
SFG: Have you been enjoying Bloodstock so far this weekend?
O: Very much, it’s always one of the best festivals. It’s just pure metal and just fun as hell.
SFG: Are there any stand out bands you’ve seen so far, anyone you’re particularly looking forward to?
O: Testament yesterday were amazing, because it’s Testament, Machine Head were really good as well. Today we’re doing a lot of press so I don’t think we’ll chance to get to see many bands.
SFG: Fair enough. Are you looking forward to your set later today? Being bumped to main stage will make it different to what you originally planned?
O: It’s going to be amazing, we were originally on the Sophie Stage, but we got bumped up, and it’s an honour to play Bloodstock as it is, but being on the slot that we are is amazing. It’s going to be really good!
SFG: Are you feeling any different from the last time you played in 2010 or more confident or anything?
O: I think slightly more confident, because we’ve done a lot more festivals now. We’ve got into the groove of how different a festival is to playing a club show. It’s really different in terms of playing, so it should be a lot better this time.
SFG: Later on this year, you’re touring with the heavy metal fun house of Wolf, are you looking forward to that one?
O: Definitely! They’re a great band and great guys. It’s good to have a band that’s not typically thrash, y’know as a bill of Thrash can get a bit jarring on the ears. It’s really good to have a classic metal band with Thrash as well, so it’ll be really fun.
SFG: I’ve read that you’ve got a unsigned competition going on for your Huddersfield home town show. What ended up being the decision to do that?
O: When we were trying to think who we wanted to support, it just seems unfair to pick one band when so many bands emailing saying ‘please let us open’, so we thought why not let anyone open in a sense, so we opened it up as a competition, simple as that really!
SFG: Good response to it so far?
O: Yeah we’ve had shit loads, some ridiculous death metal bands with like the most ridiculous names and some great Thrash bands so it’s going to be interesting! It’s going to be hard to pick as well.
SFG: So are you picking all yourselves as well then?
O: Say if there’s 100 bands that enter, we all will pick like 25 then we’ll whittle it down to 10, and then keep whittling it down till we get 4 and then vote on 1 probably.
SFG: We’ve heard a sneaky rumour that you’ve got a new album in the works, is there any details on that?
O: I basically started writing as soon as we finished Five Serpents Teeth, and I’d say I’ve got about 12/13 songs like started on the skeleton structure. It’s sounding angry, aggressive, some really heavy stuff. Maybe another nice sounding song with clean guitars instead of noisy ones, but it’s sounding interesting anyway.
SFG: Backtracking to Five Serpents Teeth, it seemed to be quite well received; did you find the response good from it?
O: I was surprised actually, because we put so much into it that, when you put so much into something you feel kind of vulnerable, people might be like ‘oh that’s terrible’ you’ll be like ‘oh shit it really meant a lot’, but because we put so much into it the result was great and we’ve had nothing but really good feedback on it and we couldn’t be happier because people enjoy it, couldn’t be happier really.
SFG: Good couple of years then recently
O: We had a rough 2009 and 2010…
SFG: With Mike Alexander…
O: Yeah, but, yeah it’s been great, we’ve just been keeping busy and keeping going, it’s cool.
SFG: Anything else planned for the future of Evile or is it just open after the tour?
O: It’s basically write, record the album, tour as much as possible, and then just do the same thing again. Do the next album, it’s what we like doing so that’s what we’ll do!
SFG: Sounds like a good plan! I think that’s all the time we have for today, thanks for your time and it’s been lovely to meet you.
Wiley is one of the few current artistes to successfully straddle both the commercial mainstream – with hits like Wearing My Rolex,Never Be Your Woman and the UK Singles Chart #1 hit Heatwave – and the UK’s thriving Underground scene, having risen through the ranks as a top MC and maintained his appeal with Grime clubbers, while his 10-minute freestyle session for Radio 1’s Westwood show is almost legendary, having notched up millions of views on video-sharing website YouTube
Wiley’s first began MC-ing over garage and jungle tracks for pirate radio stations, before becoming one part of several ‘crews’, including Pay As U Go who scored a hit in 2002 with Champagne Dance. He later formed the Roll Deep collective, along with the likes of Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder, when they moved away from the accepted UK Garage sound towards a new sound of ‘dirtier beats’ which would later become termed as Grime
With his own record label, Wiley is said to have played a major role in the early careers of several of today’s stars, including Dizzee, Tinchy and Chipmunk
Sundown Festival spokesman, Dion Clements comments: “Wiley is an outstanding talent of the urban music scene. Highly respected in both the underground and mainstream markets, Wiley has not only carved out his own career, but had a hand in the development of other artists, several of which performed at last year’s festival, so both we (the organisers) and the audience at Sundown should be honoured to have the Godfather of Grime come and perform our Main Stage this year”
The whole festival is now shaped to smash last year’s ticket sales, with few tickets remaining as music lovers of all genres jump at the chance to see the likes of Olly Murs, Katy B, Pixie Lott, Diana Vickers, Loveable Rogues, Stooshe, Zane Lowe, Ms Dynamite, Sub Focus, Delilah, Dot Rotten, Labrinth and headliners Chase & Status Live are all rock the Main Stage over the two-day festival, with Stage 2 playing host to the likes of Feed Me Live, Radio 1/1Xtra’s Mista Jam, Funtcase, Zinc, Wilkinson and 16 Bit, presented by UKF on Saturday 1 September, and dance brand KISS will present headliner David Rodigan MBE, Sway Live, EZ, Shortee Blitz, MJ Cole and Charlie Hedges on Stage 2 for the Sunday night
Also recently announced to perform at the East of England’s most progressive music event are rising stars Ria Ritchie, Josh Osho, Parade and Intensi-T, along with Live & Unsigned winners CoCo and the Butterfields, Hatty Keane and Molly Smitten-Downes
In addition, one of the biggest model agencies in the world, NEXT Models – who represent supermodels Arizona Muse and Karlie Kloss, as well as talent including Professor Green – is set to deploy an army of talent scouts to the event later this summer to look for new faces
‘Weekenders’ (Campers) will also be able to enjoy a pre-event party, on Friday 31 August, with an exclusive, intimate set by renowned DJ, Jaguar Skills, late that night in the Warehouse, as well as being treated to further exclusive after-show parties in the Warehouse, performed by B Traits and Breakage on the Saturday night, and RATPACK on the Sunday night
A popular TV programme has also confirmed they are set to film at Norfolk’s biggest music of the year; Channel 4’s Battlefront will be filming at Sundown for the second year in a row, as they campaign to combat youth unemployment.
