Brighton festival The Great Escape has announced the first wave of bands to play this year’s event on May 13-15. Among the headline acts will be Manchester electro-pop trio Delphic, dubstep masters Chase & Status and Canadian indie behemoths Broken Social Scene. The three day event is seen as the opening weekend of the UK festival season and has consistently showcased some of the best rising talent within the industry. The Great Escape is comparable to SXSW in Texas as bands can be found playing a number of venues across the city and ticket holders are given a free reign to choose between them. Since its inception in 2006 the festival has played host to the likes of Kasabian, Gang Of Four, Mystery Jets and The Cribs to name a few. The lineup announced so far is:
Delphic
Chase And Status
Broken Social Scene
Marina And The Diamonds
Ellie Goulding
Crystal Fighters
Slow Club
Cold Cave
Esben And The Witch
Japandroids
Real Estate
Timber Timbre
Darwin Deez
Best Coast
The Cheek
Wild Palms
Ruby Suns
For full ticket information and line up updates, head to The Great Escape site.
After being crowned second in BBC’s ‘Sound Of 2010’, it looks almost certain that the next few months promise big things for Marina And The Diamonds. Having wowed us with her ‘Crown Jewels EP’ last year, Marina has announced her debut album ‘The Family Jewels’ will be released through 679 later this month. The album is preceded by the single ‘Hollywood’ – an ode to the weird and wonderful influence America has had on the Welsh/Greek chanteuse. We caught up with the singer to chat about the single, her thoughts on the hype surrounding her and what she has planned for the rest of the year.
Marina and the Diamonds debut single for new label 679 is the fantastic ‘Mowgli’s Road’. The bird like call that opens the track was clearly an influence on director Chris Sweeny when he developed the accompanying video. The impressive short see’s the singer’s legs and arms replaced with puppet limbs – think Emu trying to emulate the Thriller video and you’re not far off.
The track is the strongest thing we’ve heard from Marina so far and hints at an assured debut album from the singer. After recently playing Huw Stephens Swn Festival, Marina and the Diamonds will play a handful of UK shows next month. For more information head to their MySpace.
As is the custom around this time of year, the UK’s music scene’s focus shifts to a farm in Pilton, Somerset. Glastonbury needs no introduction, from a small folk festival that hosted Tyrannosaurus Rex (soon to become T-Rex) Michael Eavis has developed what has become the festival that all other festivals measure themselves against. Whether its Radiohead’s rain soaked headline slot in 1997 or Jay-Z’s “controversial” inclusion last year, everyone has a stand out Glastonbury moment; ensuring the festival has permanently become etched in all music lovers yearly calendar. While no guarantee can be made on the weather, anyone who has been will tell you that rain soaked wellies are a small price to pay for an unforgettable weekend of live music.
After criticisms over the line up last year, Eavis has delivered some huge headline acts. Revered country rocker Neil Young headlines the Friday and the newly reunited Blur will close the festival. The one act that has dominated preview coverage of this year’s festival has to be Saturday night’s headliner, The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen’s set will be the first headline festival set he has performed in the UK. Having never heard of the festival before, Evis coaxed the ‘Born in The USA’ singer into playing by sending his agent a document filled with glowing quotes from musicians who had previously played.
While the sets from the Glastonbury headliners will always be memorable, part of its continued success is that it continues to offer such a varied line up of established and up and coming acts. These are a few of the, slightly less hyped, acts that promise to deliver some festivals highlights:
The Big Pink
When Robbie Furse and Milo Cordell formed The Big pink, much was written about the musical past of the two. Furse was previously Alec Empire’s guitar protégé while Cordell’s label, Merok, was the breeding ground for various bands such as Klaxons, Crystal Castles and Pre (singer, Akiko, also plays drums in The Big Pink). With a string of jaw dropping singles and after recently signing to 4AD, the band has clearly proved that there is more to them than an impressive rolodex. The band recalls the feedback and subtle beauty of My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus & Mary Chain. Be sure to catch their intense performance as they play the Queens Head and John Peel stages.
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble takes every preconception you’ve ever had about jazz groups and throws them out the window. The eight brass players are all sons of the lauded Chicago trumpeter Phil Conran (the line up is bolstered with drummer Chris Anderson). The band first came to our attention after a mind blowing performance on Jools Holland, however word has been slowly spreading about this band; helped by Damon Albarn who released their first UK album on his label. The bands traditional instruments are merged with their modern hip-hop style. Their set in Club Dada on Saturday would be a good place to head if you’re looking for something off the beaten track.
Marina And The Diamonds
While much has been said about the rise of synth pop obsessed ladies such as Little Boots and La Roux, 2009 has also seen the rise of plenty of other female singer songwriters who don’t have an obsession with the Human League. Marina has more in common with Regina Spektor and looks likely to be our next eccentric female star. After gaining hype through several blogs and gaining the support of tastemakers such as Huw Stephens, 2009 looks like a promising year for Marina. If you’re looking to impress your friends by seeing the next big thing then head to the Queens Head Stage on Saturday.
The Virgins
While The Strokes lock themselves away recording their new album, a new gang of guys with guitars have appeared from New York. Mixing three minute punk songs with Hall & Oates basslines may sound like a car crash on paper, but somehow The Virgins manage to pull it off. Known for their raucous live shows, The Virgins will be aiming to bring a bit of New York sleaze to the John Peel Stage on Friday.
Another of Glastonbury’s charms is you have the opportunity to get lost in a world of dance tents. One we’re particularly looking forward to is the ever impressive New York Downlow; featuring performances from the always fabulous Horse Meat Disco DJ’s. Check the video above for a glimpse of what they have in store!
