The new Earth Division EP is out in September and sounds very interesting. Provided there's no nasty clashes, I'll be seeing them for the 4th time this year at Electric Picnic. You can never get enough.
Some of the artists haven't yet been allocated a day, or at least hadn't been when I started this thing. So here's the best of that lot:
CARIBOU
Eclectic, unpredictable and massively underrated, Daniel Victor Snaith took on the moniker Caribou after previously being known as Manitoba, but the quality of his output hasn't dropped: his latest record Swim is one of the albums of the year so far.
Bristol-based producer has released a string of superb 12"s as well as the acclaimed LP Jarvik Mindstate, blurring the lines between dubstep, techno and dubbed-out soul.
THREAD PULLS
Experimental, no-wave-influenced electronic act who became the first band to be invited to play All Tomorrow's Parties in 2005. They've also recently been picked up on by the influential Altered Zones.
This Carlow-based duo deal in dreamy, hazy electronica. They released a free covers EP earlier this year, Desecrations, which included superb versions of tunes by the Pixies and Rollerskate Skinny.
NOUVEAUNOISE
West-of-Ireland based duo whose debut LP Paraphrase Accolade was released earlier this year to much acclaim. Organic, Four Tet-influenced electronics.
HUNTER-GATHERER
Haunting ambient electronica from this mysterious Dublin artist, who late last year released the higly-rated I Dreamed I Was A Footstep In The Trail Of A Murderer. He's also released a steady stream of free music online.
Dublin-base artist who shares sonic similarities to critics' darling Ariel Pink, his skewed aesthetic approach taking in influences like leftfield electronica, movie themes and lo-fi pop.
The Bristol collective are easily one of the most important and influential British acts of the last 20 years, and their Friday night set at the festival in 2006 was the stuff of legend. Mixing dark, moody trip-hop and dub-influenced electronica with stunning visuals, you can also expect some heavyweight guest vocalists (last time around Liz Frazer and Horace Andy joined them in Stradbally).
FEVER RAY
The solo project of enigmatic Knife frontwoman Karen Dreijr, Fever Ray played Oxegen last year to a shed of bemused dance-heads in an unfortunate example of wrong place, wrong time. Stradbally should be more up her alley. Fever Ray's dark, claustrophobic music draws on unsettling images of motherhood and post-natal depression, while in the live setting the experience becomes even more surreal: at Oxegen Dreijr donned a massive Indian headdress, her band came attired in similarly ritualistic manner, and lasers were added for good measure. Prepare to immerse yourself in a nightmarish netherworld.
FRIENDLY FIRES
A terrific live band, their self-titled debut featured a string of infectious, nu-rave leaning dance-punk tunes.
THE HORRORS
The former goth-garage rockers who threw a curveball with their acclaimed second LP Primary Colours, which drew on influences like My Bloody Valentine, Neu! and Bauhaus. Be warned, though: they're an inconsistent live band.
ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT
An invigorating mixture of spiky garage-punk and skewed psych-rock.
DAM-FUNK
Former G-funk keyboardist who last year released the acclaimed Toeachizown, a collection of smooth, trippy synth-funk.
LIQUID LIQUID
Influential early-80's NYC-based post-punk act who reformed and were taken under the DFA umbrella in recent years. Lay down some spacious, echoing grooves.
NEON INDIAN
Texas-based project of Alan Palomo, also known as the artist VEGA. His brand of laid-back, hazy electronica has been grouped under the chillwave banner along with artists like Memory Tapes and Washed Out.
O EMPEROR
The Waterford-based band have been described as an 'Irish Grizzly Bear', and seriously impress live with their intricate, swelling arrangements.
THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH
True to his name, brings distinctive, larger-than-life vocals to his excellent folk compositions. Reminiscent of Dylan at times.
One of the most influential electronic acts of the 1990's, rumours of Leftfield's imminent reformation and festival appearances seem to have been circulating forever, and if ever there was an act who suited a festival down to the ground, then here they are and here it is. Expect their 1995 masterpiece Leftism to feature prominently - and perhaps a certain J. Lydon will be joining them onstage for 'Open Up'?
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
A certain volcano put paid to their scheduled Tripod show in April, and although the common consensus was that this Picnic appearance would be their last live performance in Ireland, some further U-turning by James Murphy has made things less clear. Whatever, they're sure to turn Stradbally into a giant, blissful dancefloor.
CATHY DAVEY
She's had a fantastic year, with her third album The Nameless reaching number 1 on an independent label and garnering widespread critical acclaim. Her set at the Picnic promises to be the icing on the cake.
The ever-controversial duo throw all subtlety out the window with their live sets: expect pummelling, harsh electro-noise terrorism.
GIL SCOTT-HERON
This one's going to be emotional. Scott-Heron's late 70's/early 80's spoken-word and poetry works are regarded as a formative influence on hip-hop and black activism, but his last decade has been more distinguished by prison sentences and drug addiction. That was until the 2010 release of I'm New Here, a revelatory record featuring wary, weather-beaten, Waits-ish testimonials like 'Me and the Devil Blues' and 'New York is Killing Me'.
HOT CHIP
Picnic regulars at this stage, the Chip have the tunes to get people dancing. In particular, this year's comeback single 'One Night Stand' fits right in alongside previous classics like 'Ready For The Floor' and 'Over and Over'.
ROBYN
Should give Janelle Monae a run for her money in the pop-tastic stakes. Her three-part album Body Talk is currently on the second installment.
AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR
The face-melting post-rockers are going to bring the noise. Be there.
One of the most influential and acclaimed artists on the dubstep/grime scene, Joker's bright, funk-influenced sound is so unique that he's coined his own term for it: 'purple sound'. He's joined by Nomad on MC duties.
MOUNTAIN MAN
The all-female trio from Vermont deal in haunting three-piece folk harmonies.
By all accounts one of the highlight's of May's Primavera Sound festival, it's dark, bleak music (dealing with doomed love affairs on cancer wards) but it's evidently cathartic.
THE REDNECK MANIFESTO
Jape is already one of Stradbally's favourite sons, but as part of the instrumental collective Redneck Manifesto, it's a whole other ball-game. Defiantly independent and now signed to the excellent Richter Collective label, their thrilling, dazzling brand of post-rock has arguably been the biggest influence on the domestic Irish scene in the last few years, certainly if the music of many of their new labelmates is anything to go by. Math-rock, electronic flourishes and heavy guitar assaults will be the order of the day. It's a no-brainer.
The excitement is truly building now. Here's a quick rundown of the artists not to miss, starting with Friday's line-up.
MODEST MOUSE
Moody indie-rockers are known for their frequently raucous live sets, and packed their tent to bursting point last time they played the Picnic. Just don't be that guy who asks them to play 'Freebird'.
PUBLIC IMAGE LTD.
The Sex Pistols' appearance at EP08 was one of the most divisive in the history of the festival, but there'll be a whole lot more goodwill coming the way of John Lydon's newly-reformed Public Image Ltd. The pioneering post-punk outfit's influence has grown and grown down the years, and with an eclectic sound that draws on reggae, dub, punk and krautrock, they should go down a storm at the Picnic.
EELS
Mark 'E' Everett and co are touring on the back of a quick-fire trilogy of albums. A surprisingly fun live band considering the often solemn nature of E's songwriting, this set is more likely to focus on their rockier material than the folky stuff.
FOALS
New material from the subtle, layered Total Life Forever is likely to be mixed with reliable rave-ups such as 'Balloons'
I almost put this in begrudgingly, because so many people are banging on about this one that I've got a funny feeling it's going to turn out a damp squib. That's probably me just being contrary, though - Monae is the pop sensation of the moment.
The Canadians are touring behind new album The Five Ghosts, but expect them to dip into their 2004 masterwork Set Yourself on Fire as well.
HERE WE GO MAGIC
Seeing Luke Temple and co. playing the otherwordly 'Fangela' at Primavera Sound this year to a crowd of enchanted punters was one of the highlights of that weekend. Expect spiky psych-rock, hyperactive David-Byrne-isms and polyrhythmic Afro-pop-influenced tunes.
LAURA MARLING
The precocious young singer-songwriter from London has twice been nominated for a Mercury Prize, and the evocative quality of her compositions as well as her delicate but expressive vocals illustrate why.
Just when you think the line-up is more or less complete, eh? The Body & Soul stage at Electric Picnic have announced a slew of acts who'll be playing in Stradbally. The new additions include Bristol dubstep figurehead Peverelist, Irish electronic duo Nouveaunoise and the off-kilter pop sounds of Patrick Kelleher. List:
John Cooper Clarke Timber Timbre John Smith Peverelist Thread Pulls The Low Sea Jennifer Evans Daithi O Dronai Jimmy Penguin Martin Hayes & Denis Cahill Iarla O Lionaird Spook of the Thirteenth Lock Holy Roman Army Johnny Flynn I Draw Slow Tucan Lisa O’Neill Nouveaunoise Ultan Conlon Ambulance Kill Krinkle Club Twin Kranes Hunter Gatherer Natural History Museum Patrick Kelleher Butterfly Explosion Deaf Joe Maud in Cahoots
Incidentally, the Holy Roman Army's highly recommended covers EP Desecrations is still available to download from Bandcamp.
More great additions to the fantastic Electric Picnic bill, via http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/. Among them: pop sensation Janelle Monae, whose eclectic, Outkast-influenced concept album The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) is getting well-deserved rave reviews across the board; chillwave Texans Neon Indian; and Mountain Man, the all-female folk trio whose debut Made the Harbour is one of the highlights of the year so far:
Janelle Monae Mountain Man Freelance Whales Duke Special Neon Indian Dennis Alcapone & the Dubcats Hurts Delta Maid O Emperor Joe Echo Vengeance & the Panther Queen
Cathy Davey will be hitting the road again in October for a number of Irish dates. She'll be playing the following venues:
Glor, Ennis (2); Town Hall, Galway (4); The Academy, Dublin (6); Royal Theatre, Castlebar (7); INEC, Killarney (8); Set Theatre, Kilkenny (9); Savoy, Cork (13); Riverbank, Wexford (14); Dolan’s, Limerick (15); and Forum, Waterford (16)
Her superb third album The Nameless is out now, as is the latest single to be taken from the album, 'Army of Tears' - available from iTunes, it features b-side 'The Wandering' and a demo version of 'Army of Tears'.
She's also playing the Electric Picnic in September.
New names announced today for the Electric Picnic line-up. A couple of these had already self-confirmed, with grime/dubstep figurehead Joker being the most pleasant surprise.
Wolf Parade Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip Stars Brendan Perry Black Mountain K’Naan Heathers Sebastien Leger Jackbeats Mixhell Japanese Popstars (live) Kormac’s Big Band Joker & Nomad The Subs Sneaky Soundsystem (DJ set).
I think I've fallen back in love with this festival. The line-up for this year grows more and more awesome. So long as there's no more mystery cancellations, they really need to cut that shit out already.
Latest additions: Stars, the Canadians who released the truly excellent Set Yourself on Fire in 2005. They've got a new album, The Five Ghosts, being released next week, and it's already been preceded by the very impressive 'Fixed' - listen below.
Via On The Record, new additions to the Electric Picnic bill:
Eels Friendly Fires Laurent Garnier The Fall Fight Like Apes Bonobo Stornoway Channel One
Friendly Fires are a terrific festival band, as anyone who saw them at Oxegen last year will testify. And who knows what incarnation of eels will show up? A hard-rocking revue or the acoustic/strings package? Judging by the aesthetic of this year's End Times album, it may well be the latter.
The Bristol collective are easily one of the most important and influential British acts of the last 20 years, and their Friday night set at the festival in 2006 was the stuff of legend. Mixing dark, moody trip-hop and dub-influenced electronica with stunning visuals, you can also expect some heavyweight guest vocalists (last time around Liz Frazer and Horace Andy joined them in Stradbally).
2. PiL
The Sex Pistols' appearance at EP08 was one of the most divisive in the history of the festival, but there'll be a whole lot more goodwill coming the way of John Lydon's newly-reformed Public Image Ltd. The pioneering post-punk outfit's influence has grown and grown down the years, and with an eclectic sound that draws on reggae, dub, punk and krautrock, they should go down a storm at the Picnic.
3. GIL SCOTT-HERON
This one's going to be emotional. Scott-Heron's late 70's/early 80's spoken-word and poetry works are regarded as a formative influence on hip-hop and black activism, but his last decade has been more distinguished by prison sentences and drug addiction. That was until the 2010 release of I'm New Here, a revelatory record featuring wary, weather-beaten, Waits-ish testimonials like 'Me and the Devil Blues' and 'New York is Kiling Me'.
4. FEVER RAY
The solo project of enigmatic Knife frontwoman Karen Dreijr, Fever Ray played Oxegen last year to a shed of bemused dance-heads in an unfortunate example of wrong place, wrong time. Stradbally should be more up her alley. Fever Ray's dark, claustrophobic music draws on unsettling images of motherhood and post-natal depression, while in the live setting the experience becomes even more surreal: at Oxegen Dreijr donned a massive Indian headdress, her band came attired in similarly ritualistic manner, and lasers were added for good measure. Prepare to immerse yourself in a nightmarish netherworld.
5. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
According to James Murphy, this year's LCD tour-dates will be their last as he moves on to other projects, so catch them while you still can. Their much-anticipated new album comes out in May, while you can also expect to hear 24-carat classics like 'Someone Great', 'Tribulations' and 'North American Scum'. Sure to turn Stradbally into a giant, blissful dancefloor.
6. HERE WE GO MAGIC
Essentially Massachusetts-born Luke Temple's project, Here We Go Magic's self-titled 2009 debut featured hypnotic, polyrhythmic, Afro-pop influenced tunes that burrowed their way into your subconscious. The follow-up will be released this spring, and it's already been preceded by the hyperactive David Byrne-isms of 'Collector'. By all accounts, Here We Go Magic's music is further enhanced in a live setting.
7. MEMORY TAPES
Aside from being one of the most prolific go-to remixers of 2009 and releasing sterling music under the names Memory Cassettes and Weird Tapes, New Jersey-based Dayve Hawk released the critically-acclaimed debut Memory Tapes LP, Seek Magic, last year. Frequently tied in with the chillwave craze that's also seen acts like Toro Y Moi and Washed Out become the darlings of the blogosphere, Seek Magic featured tracks like the New Order-referencing 'Bicycle', the woozy 'Pink Stones' and the blissed-out 'Run Out'. Should be equal parts floor-filling and mellow.
8. REDNECK MANIFESTO
Jape is already one of Stradbally's favourite sons, but as part of the instrumental collective Redneck Manifesto, it's a whole other ball-game. Defiantly independent and now signed to the excellent Richter Collective label, their thrilling, dazzling brand of post-rock has arguably been the biggest influence on the domestic Irish scene in the last few years, certainly if the music of many of their new labelmates is anything to go by. Math-rock, electronic flourishes and heavy guitar assaults will be the order of the day. It's a no-brainer.
9. LEFTFIELD
One of the most influential electronic acts of the 1990's, rumours of Leftfield's imminent reformation and festival appearances seem to have been circulating forever, and if ever there was an act who suited a festival down to the ground, then here they are and here it is. Expect their 1995 masterpiece Leftism to feature prominently - and perhaps a certain J. Lydon will be joining them onstage for 'Open Up'?
10. CARIBOU
Eclectic, unpredictable and massively underrated, Daniel Victor Snaith took on the moniker Caribou after previously being known as Manitoba, but the quality of his output hasn't dropped: new album Swim will be released in April; the sublime opening track 'Odessa' has already been released and promises great things to come.
Yet more good news on the live front! Hercules and Love Affair, whose self-titled album was one of the most impressive of 2008, will play Dublin's Tripod on December 12th. Signed to DFA, their live show has even clubbier vibe than their recorded output, certainly if their excellent Electric Picnic performance last year was anything to go by. Tickets are 20 euro.
Critically acclaimed folk-rockers Okkervil River are one of the bands on this year’s Electric Picnic bill, but for those unwilling to shell out for a weekend in Stradbally, they’ll also be playing a show in Galway’s Roisin Dubh the following Monday. As if that wasn’t mouth-watering enough, Dawn Landes has been added as support; the Kentucky-born singer-songwriter is one of the finest purveyors of Americana/alt-country around at the moment. She’ll be playing tracks from her fourth album, Sweetheart Rodeo, which will be released that very day. The first single from the album, the delightful ‘Romeo’, can currently be heard on her MySpace.
The Electric Picnic is now three weeks away, and an extra 16 acts have been announced for the three-day festival. Passion Pit, who played one of the sets of the weekend at Oxegen and who’ve released one of the albums of the year (the infectious Manners), are now added to the line-up, as well as David Geraghty (see the post below), hotly-tipped London four-piece the xx, and David Kitt. The full list:
Passion Pit the xx Luciano presents Aether Our Fold David Kitt 8Ball David Geraghty The Hacker Optimo DJs Switch Zombie Nation Duke Dumont Aeroplane DJs Ebony Bones Arveene and Misk Japanese Popstars
We’ll have a little preview of the festival - and our tips on who to see - pretty soon.
Easily one of the best Irish albums of the decade, David Geraghty's 2007 debut album Kill Your Darlings was a delightful surprise. Taking time out from his day-job as multi-instrumentalist member of Bell X1, he crafted a stunningly accomplished record that found room for haunting, sparse atmospherics, alternately wistful and wracked folk tunes, and one rousing hoedown in 'Kaleidoscope'.
Geraghty's second album, titled The Victory Dance, is released on Friday, August 28, preceded by the lead track, 'Tuesday's Feet', which is available online now. He'll also be touring the country, starting with an appearance at the Electric Picnic.
Tour dates:
Saturday 5 September Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co. Laois
.jpg)
