After selling out two years in a row, the team behind dollop are bringing Everywhere Festival back to Nottingham with an impressive line-up boasting the biggest names in dance and electronic music.
The festival which takes place on Bank Holiday weekend May 3rd from 8pm – am will see an array of the best electronic music acts from around the world descend on the city for one of the strongest multi-venue festivals in the country.
Spanning the full spectrum from House through to Grime to Techno and beyond, the line-up for Everywhere 2015 finds dollop catering to music lovers of all tastes.
International talent flying in for the occasion includes vinyl maestro Motor City Drum Ensembble; hooky house peddler extraordinaire Cyril Hahn; hardware bashing Bulgarian KiNK, and Parisian booty bass specialist Shiba San.
The best of British is also represented strongly on the night, with transcendent producer Joy Orbison joined by the likes of chart topping sensation Route 94; Ibiza slaying Leeds resident Hot Since 82; dancefloor queen Hannah Wants; Hot Creations man wAFF; and critic’s darling Leon Vynehall.
Hard hitting bass sounds will also be on offer, with Bristol’s Redlight; Swamp 81 affiliate Paleman; Annie Mac approved Friend Within; and garage jokers Kurupt FM all guaranteed to supply hefty amounts of low end to a hoard of baying revelers. Last but most certainly least, there’s an unmissable live set from East London Grime legends Newham Generals.
With even more acts set to be announced, Everywhere 2015 is certain to be one of the highlights of the UK’ electronic music calendar.
Full line-up below:
BIG NARSTIE CYRIL HAHN FLAVA D FRIEND WITHIN HANNAH WANTS HOT SINCE 82 JOY ORBISON KiNK KURUPT FM LEON VYNEHALL MAKAM MELE MOTOR CITY DRUM ENSEMBLE NEWHAM GENERALS PALEMAN REDLIGHT ROUTE 94 SHIBA SAN WAFF WOOKIE
Tickets available here: http://tinyurl.com/ncvpjcg
Parklife Festival have announced the line-up for their hotly-anticipated 2015 edition on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th June at Manchester’s Heaton Park. Showcasing an incredible selection of the best chart-topping live acts and world leading DJs, confirmed acts include Disclosure, Ben Howard, Rudimental, Nas, George Ezra, Fatboy Slim, Grace Jones, Wu-Tang Clan, Caribou, Metronomy, Mark Ronson and Jessie Ware – all of whom will cater to over 140,000 music fans across the two days.
Two of the UK's hottest dance acts, Disclosure and Rudimental, will head up the festival line-up, which will also feature one of the UK’s biggest dance music exports in Fatboy Slim. A rare performance from iconic singer and model Grace Jones is also confirmed –famed for her pioneering artistry that constantly blurs the line between performance and art.
Hip-hop royalty Nas will be performing tracks from his seminal album Illmatic at this year’s festival – as well as Wu-Tang Clan & The Roots, plus young claimant to the throne Earl Sweatshirt also featuring. James Bay – named Critics Choice 2015 by the Brit Awards panel – is also amongst the first live artists announced and will be joined by Ben Howard and George Ezra, alongside leftfield popstars Metronomy and Jungle.
Legendary electronic music pioneer Richie Hawtin will also be heading to Manchester alongside Hot Creations label head Jamie Jones, Radio 1 tastemaker Annie Mac and chart topper Duke Dumont (playing live) to spearhead a stellar DJ line-up across the two days. With appearances from the likes of Nicolas Jaar, Seth Troxler, Maya Jane Coles, Eats Everything and Hannah Wants – plus rising stars Lapsley, Novelist and Blonde – already confirmed, Parklife’s 2015 DJ program is shaping up to be it’s most varied and expansive to date.
The eclectic nature of this year’s line up is only bolstered by the number of artist-curated arenas across the weekend. Soulection affiliated superstar Kaytranada has added his own personal touch to Parklife this year by curating his own Kaytranada and Friends stage. The same honour has also been bestowed to drum & bass veteran Andy C as he presents his label RAM, as well as MK bringing his Area 10 brand to Heaton Park. Reggae, Dub and Dancehall royalty David Rodigan will also be further cementing his legendary status in the UK by bringing his world-renowned Ram Jam party to The Temple arena – the largest of the festival’s stages. This very special Super Ram Jam comes complete with an all-star line up, including Nas performing his seminal ‘Illmatic’ album in full.
Having launched back in 2010, Parklife is curated by the same set of promoters behind Manchester’s game-changing series The Warehouse Project, who have adapted the festival year on year to make it one of the UK’s most significant music events – all set in the iconic surroundings of Heaton Park.
Now five years since the festival’s launch, Parklife also remains one of the best value festivals in the UK – with weekend tickets at just £89.50 and day tickets at £54.50. Festival goers also have the opportunity to purchase VIP packages priced at £145 for a weekend ticket and £85 per day – which unlocks a range of luxury offerings such as fast access to the festival, a private viewing platform over the temple stage and exclusive areas from a host of national club brands.
With 10,000 pre-registration tickets selling out in minutes and the next wave of tickets set for release on Friday 13th February 2015, Parklife’s fifth anniversary is on course to deliver their best year yet.
The full line up is below: LIVE DISCLOSURE * RUDIMENTAL BEN HOWARD * GEORGE EZRA * NAS performs ILLMATIC MARK RONSON * FATBOY SLIM* GRACE JONES * WU TANG CLAN CARIBOU * METRONOMY * JESSIE WARE * JAMES BLAKE THE ROOTS * JAMES BAY * FKA TWIGS * JUNGLE * LABRINTH DUKE DUMONT * JAMIE XX * NICOLAS JAAR * MODESELEKTOR EVERYTHING EVERYTHING * HUDSON MOHAWKE * KAYTRANADA TODD TERJE & THE OLSENS * MAC DEMARCO * CHET FAKER TEN WALLS * TIGA* ACTION BRONSON * EARL SWEATSHIRT * BAAUER* HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR * JESS GLYNNE * FUSE ODG * VIC MENSA * LAPSLEY * TALABOMAN * GHOSTPOET * TENSNAKE * ELLA EYRE * HENRIK SCHWARZ * MADLIB * RONI SIZE REPRAZENT * CRAZY P * BURAKA SOM SISTEMA* *TOURIST* JIMMY NAPES * BOB MOSES * J.E.T.S* * SEVEN DAVIS JR * BLONDE * NOVELIST* BADBADNOTGOOD * DUB PHIZIX & STRATEGY * OUTFIT * TOM MISCH * KIKO BUN * BECKY HILL * KAREN HARDING * SANGO * TEI SHI * BERNARD & EDITH
DJ RICHIE HAWTIN * ANNIE MAC * JAMIE JONES * MK * ANDY C SETH TROXLER b2b EATS EVERYTHING * MAYA JANE COLES * TALE OF US * THE MARTINEZ BROTHERS * DIXON * SASHA b2b JORIS VOORN HANNAH WANTS * DUSKY * ADAM BEYER * JULIO BASHMORE JACKMASTER * HOT SINCE 82 * DAVID RODIGAN * OLIVER HELDENS HEIDI * SKREAM * GEORGE FITZGERALD * JOY ORBISON * WILKINSON BEN UFO & PEARSON SOUND * OLIVER DOLLAR & JESSE ROSE * BENJI B DANIEL AVERY * RICHY AHMED * CATZ 'N’ DOGZ * PAUL WOOLFORD * DJ EZ * SHADOW CHILD * PATRICK TOPPING * WAZE & ODYSSEY * JOHN TALABOT & AXEL BOMAN * BICEP * BTRAITS * MADLIB dj * DJ EZ * JUSTIN MARTIN * JIMMY EDGAR & MACHINEDRUM * MIDLAND * CRAIG CHARLES ROUTE 94 * BRODINSKI * BEN PEARCE * BONDAX * RANDALL vs DILLINJA FRIEND WITHIN * CHRIS LORENZO * JONAS RATHSMAN * SPECIAL REQUEST * HORSE MEAT DISCO * JAGUAR SKILLS * JOSH BUTLER * WOOKIE & DJ Q * FCL * CALYX & TEEBEE * RENE LAVICE * SG LEWIS* VENUM SOUND *LOADSTAR * KRYSKO * GREG LORD * WORK IT * NOW WAVE DJs * RICH REASON * JUICY * WORK IT * ZUTEKH DJS * PIRATE COPY * NORTH BASE * JONNY DUB * SIAN BENNETT * NIC BAIRD * LEMMY ASHTON * NICOLA BEAR * HACKETT * PETE ZORBA * DANCE LADY DANCE * WILL ORCHARD * ED NORRIS & many more still to be announced…
Now in its fourth year, Sundown festival has played host to many of the biggest names in music, and this year was no exception. Returning as headliners for the second time, Chase & Status closed the Saturday night, while Ellie Goulding closed the festival on Sunday.
FRIDAY
But all the fun actually begun on Friday night. After waiting nearly 2 hours in the queue for my friends to get their wristbands, we eventually made it to the campsite, with aching bodies from carrying everything for so long.
We weren’t going to let that stop us though, as the Big Top opening party proved to be one of the highlights of Sundown. New to 2014, the action kicked off at 5pm, but after a few drinking games, we joined the growing crowd of energetic teenage ravers a few hours later. Commercial house tracks and big room EDM bass drops were the soundtrack to the party, consisting of ‘Backstreet’s Back’ being mixed into Martin Garrix ‘Tremor’ – certainly not something you hear every day, a dubious Nirvana remix and some old classics in ‘You’ve Got The Love’. It all made for a great night, with an impressive laser light show shining up the packed tent.
We also checked out some of the stools selling funky sunglasses, hipster shirts, bum-bags galore and the festivals best-seller, judging from all the lads wearing them, – black printed bandanna’s.
SATURDAY
The morning after, the campsite looked like a bomb had hit it – especially the far from sanitary toilets located at the bottom of the campsite. But that’s all to be expected, in fairness there was the option to pay an extra £25 to get some brilliantly titled and much cleaner VIPee toilets for the weekend if you wished.
Entering Sundown’s main site just in time to see Disclosure and Tinie Tempah collaborator Sasha Keable perform on the main stage, it was a nice ease back into the party spirit to cure our near-hangovers. Sasha Keable’s sound is mainly synth led electronica with an impressive vocal laid over the top of each track. Performing tracks from her debut ‘Lemongrass and Limeleaves’ E.P, ‘Living Without You’ showcases her powerful vocal range and ‘Sweetest Talk’ takes influence from Jessie Ware’s soulful R&B sound. ‘Careless Over You’ creates the first sing-a-long moment with Sasha’s voice climbing over the rolling drum and synth beats. It’s the collaborations with Zinc and Disclosure which get the biggest cheers and sing-alongs. ‘Only For Tonight’ pumps up the party atmosphere with air-horn sounds just in time for set closer ‘Voices’, with the crowd jumping and singing back every word. Already signed to Tinie Tempah’s Disturbing London label, a few more releases and Sasha Keable will soon be a household name.
Also on Tinie’s label are All About She, who perform next. The London based UK garage three-piece are made up of record producers James Tadgell and Jon Clare and singer Vanya Taylor. It’s Vanya who grabs everyone’s attention though, with a similar stylish appearance and voice to Estelle, she wastes no time in showing off her vocals. ‘I Can’t Wait’ is a highlight, while new feel good track ‘Beyond Heaven’ hears Vanya work the crowd singing “Sundown you take me there” before asking “where are all the lovers at, put your hands in the air.” ‘Like That’ sees Vanya dedicate the track to a birthday girl on the front row before the trio end their set with the song everyone’s been waiting for. ‘Higher (Free)’ still sounds as fresh as when it was released last November and reached the top 20 in the UK. Sung a capella for the first chorus, it’s given an emotive re-work before the garage beats kick in which return ‘Higher’ to its original club-ready state.
Before Foxes takes to the stage, there is an unwilling yet entertaining twerk off to Nicki Minaj’s new single ‘Anaconda’ between Kiss FM DJ’s Michael and Tania, who introduce each act and deserve praise for building the hype effortlessly. Foxes bounces onstage, looking ever the pop star, in a dress and massive sunglasses. Aside from the music, Louisa is loved by, females who want to be her, and males who want to be with her. The whole set is a highlight. Performing the main singles from her debut album ‘Glorious’, including ‘Youth’, ‘Let Go For Tonight’ and ‘Holding On To Heaven’, each song receives mass sing-a-longs with fans arms waving in the air. She’s not bothered by the worsening weather either, which she has experienced the worst of after a storm engulfed her set at Nottingham’s Splendour festival in July. Instead she shouts to the crowd, “fuck the rain”, and they oblige, continuing to jump with her. ‘Clarity’, her massive Grammy award winning collaboration with Zedd goes down a treat and proves one of the weekend’s biggest sing-a-longs.
Meanwhile, over at the Big Top tent, house music lovers are being treated to the best in the business, with the whole day hosted by Defected Records! Earlier in the day Copyright and Cristoph have bass heavy sets before Food music label boss Shadow Child. But it was Second City and Mark Kinchen who provided the best sets of the day. Second City aka 27-year-old producer Rowan Harrington took the crowd on a journey of commercial to more underground house hits including a remix of Breach’s ‘Jack’ (who would play the same stage later), his collaboration with Route 94 ‘Freak’ and his own track ‘I Enter’, but sadly his brilliant new collaboration with Ali Love ‘What Can I Do’ doesn’t get played. Ending with his recent number one piano-house smash ‘I Wanna Feel’, everyone’s hands wave while their lungs are given a full workout much to Harrington’s happiness.
Later, Marc Kinchen, whose set is swapped with Sam Devine’s, draws a massive crowd to the tent. Opening with a dub of ‘My Head Is a Jungle’ before recent single ‘Always’, MK is joined by four less than covered dancers waving fans in front of their face, creating the Ibiza atmosphere, when in reality we’re inside a sweaty tent.
Chase and Status, who headlined Sundown festival back in 2011 returned to close proceedings on Saturday night. And what a show it was. An intense laser light show, a number of unexpected special guests and some insanely heavy drum & bass, dubstep and everything in between made it the show-stealer of the weekend. Performing tracks from all three of their albums and some older material, it was a career spanning set with each track sending the crowd absolutely crazy. I’ve actually never seen more mosh pits throughout a set. And it just gets even more out of control when Tempa T pounces onstage to rap his part in ‘Hypest Hype.’ Later, British singer Jacob Banks is welcomed onstage to provide his soulful sing-a-long vocals to ‘Alive’. Moko appears large as life in the background video appearing to jump out of the screen during ‘Count On Me’, similarly with Plan B seeming to smash the screen during ‘End Credits’ and ‘Pieces’. Set closer ‘Smash TV’ from the duo’s 2008 debut album ‘More Than Alot’ made for the perfect end to their genre defying set!
SUNDAY
Sunday hosted a far more pop orientated line up on the main stage while well respected drum & bass label Ram Records took over the Big Top. On the main stage, three-piece M.O, who are receiving regular plays on Radio One from the likes of Mistajam, are bringing the 90’s girl band back! They’ve toured with Little Mix and recently signed with Universal in the US – and it’s not hard to understand why. Arriving just in time to catch the last two songs of their set, the first is an impressive cover of Beyonce’s ‘Drunk in Love’, made completely their own. The second is new single ‘Dance On My Own’ with a garage beat which samples Sweet Female Attitudes ‘Flowers’ – one of the biggest UK garage hits from the 90’s.
Ex-The Voice contestant, Becky Hill, bounces onstage in a white crop top and sparkling Aztec skirt, making the most of the British sunshine. She described her sound recently as “leftfield, alternative, cool pop” and that seems fitting. Two Inch Punch-produced opener ‘Caution to the Wind’ is the perfect solo introduction to the world for Becky who I have been a fan of ever since she appeared on The Voice. Since then, she has achieved two number one singles in the form of drum & bass Wilkinson collaboration ‘Afterglow’ and recent house hit with Oliver Heldens ‘Gecko (Overdrive)’ – both of which receive mass sing-a-longs during her set. You can’t help but love how down to earth she is, there are no airs and graces as she admits “my onstage chat is rubbish” after she cracks a joke about the sun being up for Sundown. She later tells the crowd “I’ve got a bottle of vodka in my room so I’m going to the RAM tent to rave it up” – she comes across as a typical partying teenager. Becky’s rise to the top has been stratospheric but she’s still the same loveable singer, as she tells the crowd, “I was recently working in LA and I got a call from my manager and he said, ‘Becky you’re number one”. She proves that she’s a real pop-star in the making during her next disco infused single, the MNEK-produced ‘Losing’ which she says is out in a few weeks. It’s safe to say that she gave the best live vocal performance of the weekend and I’ve already bought tickets to see her again!
Looking like Annie Mac and sounding similar to Katy B, Jess Glynne is the next rising female vocalist to perform. With two backing singers, a drummer, guitarist and keyboardist, Jess performs a set full of catchy pop hits in waiting. She asks the crowd, “did you enjoy my fellow husky, Becky?” much to the crowd’s applause. Jess gets straight into her recent number one with Route 94 in ‘My Love’ before it’s mixed into her second worldwide number one with Clean Bandit ‘Rather Be’, with both attracting mass sing-a-longs and smiling faces. “This is the last festival for us, so let’s go out with a bang”, exclaims Jess. Gorgon City-produced Set closer ‘Right Here’ which reached the top-ten saw the crowd swaying their arms and dancing along to the house beat.
John Newman appears like a young Elvis with slicked back hair and perfected dance routines from the start of his penultimate set of the weekend. Backed by a seven piece band made up including three female singers. The longtime Rudimental collaborator performs the majority of his debut number one album ‘Tribute’, taking the ever-growing crowd on a journey of soulful pop. Each track comes complete with John showcasing his beyond impressive footwork throughout set opener ‘All For You’, ‘Try’, and ‘Cheating’. It’s obvious that he’s a real showman with plenty of onstage confidence, treating the gig like a real show, saying “welcome to this evening’s entertainment”. During ‘Losing Sleep’ he throws himself and the mic around the stage before he pauses the song to shame a member of the crowd. “This guy’s trying to start a fight during my set. We’re not here to start a fight, we’re here to enjoy the music. Let’s put our middle finger up to him” – and everybody does. Back to proceedings and John gushes about his girlfriend, asking, “Did anyone see Ella Eyre earlier? That’s my other half” – of course everybody cheers. Later, John thanks the crowd for getting him where he is now, “We’ve done 38 festivals this season. It all started for me with Rudimental and it’s taught us that we’re ‘Not Givin In’”. The Rudimental collaboration sees John and the backing vocalists sing their heart out with John running along the front row of the audience to the lucky fans delight. Set closer, and number one single, ‘Love Me Again’, sees him fall to his knees at the end. John’s energy and showmanship far exceeded my expectations and I’d definitely recommend anyone to go and see him.
Ending the weekend was Ellie Goulding, who barraged through tracks from both albums ‘Lights’ and ‘Halycon’. Songs like ‘Figure 8’ and recent single ‘Goodness Gracious’ showcase Ellie’s unique breathy vocals. ‘Starry Eyed’ is dedicated to all of Ellie’s fans who have been with her from the beginning. Madeon-produced track ‘Stay Awake’ pushes Ellie’s vocal range to its highest and most impressive point. After a quick costume change, Ellie performs a chilled electronic cover of Alt J’s ‘Tesselate’ before switching to James Blake’s ‘Life Round Here’ – two breathtaking, somewhat haunting renditions. Picking up the guitar for an acoustic version of ‘Guns and Horses’, Ellie shows off her unmistakable vocal capabilities. Laughing she says, “It’s about the time where I like to do some voluntary movements which some people may call dancing” before pop hit ‘Anything Can Happen’. Teasing the crowd she jumps down to run across the front like John Newman did during ‘I Need Your Love’. Then comes the sad news, “This is my last show for quite a while and I’m not sure when I’m going to be back on tour”, Ellie genuinely seems upset but powers on through ‘Lights’ which sees everyone light up their camera phones, creating a special memory for everyone there. Finishing with ‘Burn’, Ellie signs off hinting at a return for the following year.
Ellie certainly won’t be the only one coming back to Sundown festival if this year’s brilliant event is anything to go by!
Originating from the USA, Electric Daisy Carnival, or EDC as it is more widely known, made its second trip across the pond to the UK this weekend, transforming Milton Keynes outdoor National Bowl into an entertainment spectacle.
Riding on the success of last years London based event, EDC 2014 offered a who's who of chart-topping EDM, (electronic dance music) producers, best known for their knob-twiddling skills and dance music know how.
Aside from the music, one of EDC's unique selling points (persistently featured in the promo videos) was the scale of special effects on offer. Promising the UK's largest ever 360 degree LED light display, pyrotechnics and hundreds of weird and wonderful performers, the organisers clearly aimed to make their event just as visually appealing as the music itself.
Musically, this years EDC boasted a diverse line up of British and European producers, with EDM duo Bassjackers opening the main stage at midday before Avicii's headline set in the late evening, with chart hits 'You Make Me' and 'Wake Me Up' lighting up the bowl.
Earlier in the day, Calvin Harris played a mid-afternoon set, including recent number ones 'Summer' and 'Under Control', with the majority of the crowd on each other's shoulders early on. It was a busy day for Harris, who hurried off to play a main stage set at T in the Park where he was joined and introduced by Will Smith! Not a bad day for Calvin, who achieved eight top-ten hits from his 2012 album, '18 Months'.
Meanwhile, over on the Cosmic Meadow stage, house music was the order of the day if EDM drops became too much for some. Route 94, who scored a number one earlier this year with his piano house track 'My Love' featuring vocals from Jess Glynne, opened the stage at 1pm with a well received set. Later on, Leeds success story Hot Since 82, real name Daley Padley, performed an evening set of deep house drawing on tracks from his album 'Little Black Book'.
Back at the Kinetic Field main stage, 19-year-old Dutch producer Martin Garrix, who topped the chart with the inescapably catchy 'Animals', which is given an outing today, as well as follow-up top-ten track 'Wizard and a remix of Empire of the Sun's 'Alive' drew a large crowd. Mixing Naughty Boy and Sam Smith's number one 'La La La' with his own new single 'Tremor', the chorus bass drops team with confetti and smoke machines going off in unison.
Next up was Steve Aoki, who is currently hosting his Aoki Play House residency in Ibiza, here making a rare UK appearance, dropping bass heavy tracks, 'Boneless' and a new collaboration with Afrojack, before scaling the grand DJ podium set up. While stood high, he threw numerous cakes at the crowd, something which has become synonymous with the 'Beat Down' producers energetic sets.
For only it's second visit to the UK, it's safe to say that Electric Daisy Carnival is here to stay, fulfilling a gap in the British festival market and offering a world class line-up! Next year's event can't come quicker!
A few years ago, Duke Dumont was nearly forced to give up his career as a DJ and producer in favour of one that was actually going to pay the bills. Fortunately, his luck turned around and he subsequently went on to top the chart twice in the past two years. It was 2013′s club banger ‘Need U (100%)’ that kickstarted his meteoric success, then along came the summer anthem ‘I Got U,’ released earlier this year, to prove he’s no one-trick-pony.
A producer first and foremost, he also runs his own record label Blasé Boys Club and is now armed with a new track ‘Won’t Look Back’ showing plenty of commercial promise. It is safe to say Adam Dyment (aka Duke Dumont) is one of the most in-demand figures in electronic music, so we were lucky to catch five minutes of his time for a little chat. Here he talks to SFG about Ibiza, festivals and upcoming plans with Blasé Boys Club before his set at Hideout Festival 2014.
So you’ve just flown in from Ibiza, how was the journey?
The flight was a nightmare, but Ibiza was amazing – it was my first live residency at Sankeys. It couldn’t have gone any better, so hopefully it stays as good as throughout the season. Speaking about travelling, as a DJ I think the best way to look at it is: you get paid to travel; not to DJ. DJ’ing is the fun bit. Travelling can be a nightmare. You get paid to do that, but what I’m about to do in thirty minutes that’s the fun part.
Have you been to Croatia before?
I have about six years ago. It’s been ages since I’ve been here but unfortunately I don’t have much time here. I have to shoot off back to London tomorrow but it would have been nice to stay here a bit longer. Last time I was here it was a bit more chilled out, Hideout seems a bit more full-on. I’ve counted about four stages so far, so I’m going to be quite self-contained and not look around too much and just go straight on to the stage and just concentrate on that.
Could Croatia be the new Ibiza?
I think it’s getting a lot more popular. A lot more of the British contingent are over here. I haven’t really experienced Croatia enough to pass an accurate comment but I know Hideout is maybe more underground than what Ibiza is, but then again, Ibiza does have quite an underground element now than what it had five years ago. We’ll wait and see how it goes but it’s definitely growing out here compared to when I first came. Hideout is definitely one to watch out for!
So how is your label Blasé Boys Club going?
It’s going alright! I’m a record producer first and foremost, I’m a DJ and have started my own label and I’m hopefully going to be starting my own radio show very soon and I want to try my hand at many things. The label is going really well. I’ve signed two acts: Jax Jones – who sings on I Got U – and another artist called Kiwi. I’m hopefully going to sign my third next week, but I can’t say who that is yet although I really want to, but anyone who is into the UK house music scene will know the guy. And then maybe one more act this year, and work on my own music, the album’s on the label and next year… we’ll see how it goes!
Were you expecting Need U (100%) and I Got U to go to number one?
Need U, no. It’s kind of like a happy mistake in the way it was produced and came about. Originally it was going to be one of our club E.P’s before we called in a vocal and it gave it more of a pop feel. There was no grand plan behind it – the radio picked it up early and started playing it and suddenly people were going out and buying it. It was as innocent a number one as you’re going to get. Then with I Got U, that was a little bit more, ‘we had success with Need U, so let’s try and replicate that.’
What’s your favourite festival to play at?
Bestival is probably one of only a few festivals I’d actually pay to go to myself. And the other one is Coachella, I had a really good time there.
What about your new single, Won’t Look Back?
Again, since Need U, things got bigger and a bit more serious. I Got U came after Need U and hopefully Won’t Look Back will come after I Got U. It’s all come together well. There’s an album coming out and all the songs will be on that. There will probably be two more singles after Won’t Look Back towards the end of the year, they’re already recorded it’s just a case of holding them back for a while.
What do you think of the current house music scene?
The popularity's here, because chart music has been staggering for the last five years or so, so house music is providing a different option. And I hope in five years’ time there’s another option to house music. So as long as popular culture is constantly changing and isn’t staggering, then it’s all good!
As seen originally online for Platform magazine: http://platform-online.net/2014/07/exclusive-interview-duke-dumont-at-hideout-festival-2014/#sthash.FVAfCnnx.dpuf
Last year, Ben Pearce dominated the charts with the catchy ‘What I Might Do’ becoming one of 2013’s most prominent anthems. The track saw the Manchester-based DJ and producer shoot to fame and is still in heavy circulation in club playlists today. In between a hectic touring schedule, he is also creative director at his own record label and DJ agency Purp & Soul.
Despite having just arrived in Croatia straight from Ibiza, Pearce managed to grant us a quick moment to chat about his smash hit, his hectic summer schedule and his favorite festivals. Here he talks to Sayuri Standing and Ben Jolley before his set at Hideout Festival 2014.
So have you just got into Croatia then?
Yeah, about three hours ago. We came straight from Ibiza after I played at Amnesia last night.
Who else are you hoping to see around here?
F**k knows! John Talabot’s on tonight so I really wanna see him but I think we are playing at pretty much the same time which is annoying. And then, I don’t know, Route 94’s on after me, I’ll watch him. Skream’s on at the same time as me. I haven’t really looked at the set times yet, I’m going to look at them more tomorrow properly, hopefully. I try not to plan festivals because there are so many people that you meet, friends that you’ve not seen for like a year so you never actually get round to watching anyone.
Are you planning on sticking around for a bit?
Yeah, for a couple of days. We’re doing a boat party tomorrow and then I’m going to go to Garden Festival after that for a bit of a holiday.
Have you been to Hideout before?
Yeah, I played last year for the first time. It was great fun, just insane. It’s on a different level!
Is there a variation between club sets and festival sets?
Kind of, maybe a bit more just high energy stuff because you can’t really play big breakdowns in festivals because everyone will just go to sleep and get bored. There’s no plan in my head, but I guess there is a quite a big variation.
Did you expect ‘What I Might Do’ to be as big as it was?
No! I never expected it to get signed, let alone anything else so it was a bit of shock.
Your new Lego E.P was released recently, what other music have you got lined up?
I’m working on quite a bit of stuff at the moment, just different projects with different people and some of my own stuff. A couple of singers, one – Anna Holder – she’s really talented, and a Dutch artist, whose name I can’t give away right now. Because I’ve been touring so much, I’ve not been in the studio for about six weeks, so hopefully after summer I’ll get to the stage where I’m making more music and I can bash out a few more tunes!
Where else are you playing over the summer?
Everywhere really! I’m back in the US at the end of August. Loads of festivals in the UK, I’ve still got Reading and Leeds and also Lovebox, which will be really good. I really don’t know what else but quite a lot – I’m very busy. June has been crazy but it’s kind of calming down a little bit, but it’s still mental.
What’s your favourite thing about festivals?
Just the range of music you can get really, ‘coz usually when you go into a club, it’s very much ‘this is what’s happening’ – unless you go to a Fabric night where there are loads of people on – but festivals there can be anyone. I’m really liking European festivals a bit more because you can get a hip-hop stage, a death metal stage, a main stage, a house then techno stage – there’s so many genres. That’s what I like about it because you can wander around the different stages and discover things which you might not have seen before.
What is your favourite festival to play at?
Oh, that’s impossible to answer. Secret Garden Party’s really good, I did it for the first time last year and it’s so f**king good. It’s kind of like a mini Bestival, it’s got that kind of Glastonbury, Bestival feel to it – a bit boutique and a bit odd, but really good. I always really enjoy that one so I’m looking forward to playing there again.
Do you think Croatia could potentially become the new Ibiza?
Yeah, it’s looking like it! I think the money is a big factor because Ibiza is what it is, it’s just really expensive. It’s 14 euros a beer in some clubs and 50 euros to get in so it’s become that kind of status thing and fair enough if you can do it. But I think Croatia’s something new and it’s got a big appeal to it because Ibiza has been around for years since I was growing up. Now, Croatia’s new, it’s something different and it’s a beautiful country. Absolutely amazing driving around it, the views are insane. So definitely, if more people get into it, it’ll easily be on the rise.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a DJ or producer?
I was working in a bank before at a call centre as a complaints manager so I was doing that and then still DJ’ing on the weekends and kind of gave that up just as this started really kicking off, so I just kind of left it till the last minute.
How would you sum up your set in three words?
Music wise, it’d probably be: diverse, random and interesting, hopefully. I’m hoping it’s interesting!
As published on Platform magazine: http://platform-online.net/2014/07/exclusive-interview-ben-pearce-at-hideout-festival-2014/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Temperamental wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits of 70,000 festival goers at last weekend’s sold-out Parklife Festival, which now in its fourth year, saw Snoop Dogg, A$AP Rocky, Disclosure and Sam Smith prove to be essential highlights.
Arriving at around 1pm, SFG headed straight to the Hospitality tent for some early afternoon drum & bass with flashing strobes, courtesy of Logistics and later, Camo & Krooked.
Heading to the main stage for Kiesza, who is accompanied by two male dancers, her 90’s influenced choreography and funk tracks prove an early treat. Giant In My Heart fuses disco and funk perfectly, before the Canadian ex-navy recruit takes to the piano for a stripped down cover of Haddaway’s, What Is Love, showcasing her powerful vocal range. Ending with number one track, Hideaway, she lifts everyone’s spirits despite the grey clouds looming up above. Catchy “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” and house-y beats provide the first sing-a-long of the weekend (with many more to come), before the track is mixed into Gorgon City’s deep-house edit. Now recording her debut album, expect another catchy chart-bothering track to go viral in the coming months.
Spending around 20 minutes struggling to find the Colonnade presents: Drop the Mustard stage, where the majority of the main house draws performed, SFG caught some of Hot Natured’s, Lee Foss’ Ibiza-cum-Manchester house set at the hilltop Kaluki stage. Eventually, finding the Greek coliseum-like Colonnade stage, SFG caught house duo Waze & Odyssey’s set, including their now infamous house remix of R Kelly’s timeless classic, Bump & Grind as well as a remix of Robin S’, Show Me Love. Later at the Colonnade, it was Route 94’s turn on the decks. Performing a mostly obscure but impressive house set, with the exception of Defected Records releases, Fly 4 Life and Tell You Why, the young London-based producer drew a large crowd, with one fan feeling the need to scale a tree, receiving a smile from the producer and applause from the audience below. But it was number one house crossover hit, My Love, which saw everyone take out their iPhone’s to record the sing-a-long moment before 94 imminently takes his sound to Ibiza for the summer.
Pacing back to the opposite end of the site, to the Red Bull Academy Presents stage, Gold Panda’s hotly-anticipated set proved essential for the eyes and ears. Synth-led electronics impressed the large crowd during cutting-edge debut album offerings, Vanilla Sky, Snow & Taxis and early track Marriage before a chopped up reinvention of fan favorite, You, with its pitch-shifted vocals circling around the tent.
Back at the main stage, Grammy –winner, Foxes, attracted a large crowd with tracks from her debut album Glorious, including Youth and recent single, Let Go For Tonight, while another Hot Natured label-mate, Richy Ahmed, continued the Amnesia Ibiza-ready house vibe with 808 hi-hats and drum machines aplenty during his mid-afternoon Kaluki stage set.
Later, the sun shined while Radio One DJ Annie Mac drew the biggest crowd so far with a house orientated set including Ten Walls’ new track, Walking With Elephants and Gorgon City’s collaboration with Laura Welsh, Here For You as well as Second Citys’ I Wanna Feel which rocketed to number one two weeks ago. Later, before Sigma’s, Nobody To Love, she tells the crowd to, “grab your friend, boyfriend, or a total stranger”. Its sets like these, demonstrating which tunes to play to get thousands of people dancing, which stand testament to why she is such a hot DJ commodity.
Rudimental, who, trumpets included, perform album tracks, Spoons and Baby, show a softer side to the Black Butter Records collective. Dedicating Not Givin’ In, to his son, DJ Locksmith pulls on the crowds heartstrings before the drum & bass beats kick in, but are soon cut off due to a technical problem. It’s all back to normal though after the crowd chant “Rudimental, Rudimental, Rudimental” to give them the support to carry on, which they do oh so professionally, continuing with album tracks, Free, and later, Feel The Love.
It’s A$AP Rocky however, who delivers the best and most charismatic performance of the weekend, as a more than deserving replacement to Kendrick Lamar, who cancelled his slot. Weed promotion, referring to women as “hoes” and a whole lot of swearing, but what else would you expect from song’s titled, Hella Hoes and Fuckin’ Problems which are performed with a fifteen-man-strong A$AP Mob watching him from the side of the stage. Bassier and rowdier than on record, Palace and Wassup take the Now Wave tent to Rocky’s hometown, Harlem, New York City. “Put your hands up if you smoke fucking weed ‘cos that’s what I stand for”, demands Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, before Purple Swag where he toys with the crowd saying, “are you people ready to get turnt up or what?” New A$AP Mob track, Hella Hoes, results in a mosh pit before taking it to a “whole new mother fucking level” during Skrillex-produced Wild For The Night and Lana Del Rey-featuring Hands On The Wheel. Thanking the audience for getting him so far, he exclaims, “I can’t wait to get on them rides tonight” before a quick run through of his part in final track, Fuckin’ Problems. If you ever get the chance to see A$AP Rocky live, TAKE IT. You won’t be disappointed.
Weaving back into the middle of the main stage crowd for Saturday headliner, SFG didn’t know what to expect from the legendary Snoop Dogg’s headline set. “Who’s getting blazed in the house tonight?” asks Snoop’s DJ during a ten minute prelude to the iconic rapper coming onstage. Dressed in a USA stars and stripes jumper and yellow shades, Snoop stalks the stage with everyone taking his picture. He dedicates Supa Dupa Fly to “all the girls in the house” before rapping his part on Justin Timberlake collaboration, Signs, and his brief part on Katy Perry’s, California Girls. The only thing he could be blamed for, is looking relatively bored and indifferent, but it is Snoop Dogg after all, why should he be bothered?
Ending the night back at Kaluki in Marc Kinchen provided early evening house, in his number one remix of Storm Queens, Look Right Through, which is quickly followed by his Medicine remix of Shadow Child's, Friday and his edit of Hot Natured’s, Reverse Skydiving.
Sunday would prove to be better weather on the whole, aside from one insane downpour during Warpaint’s set which saw everyone flock to the nearest tent.
Opening the Disclosure Presents: Wildlife stage, Kanye West-collaborator Pusha T, performed tracks from his acclaimed debut album, My Name Is My Name as well as his part on the aforementioned Kanye hit, Mercy. Stalking the stage, which looks like brown lego bricks stacked high, Pusha runs through the trap beats of King Push and Nostalgia. Promising a new album in the not-so-distant-future, he continues with Numbers on the Board, seeing arms in the air pulling back and forward – an impressive debut at Parklife for the hotly-tipped ex-Clipse rapper.
Next up, are classical-cum-electronic Cambridge graduates Clean Bandit, who remained at the top of the charts for a month earlier this year with their single Rather Be. An early afternoon set time doesn’t seem to affect the eager crowd, growing by the minute. Arriving onstage to classical music alongside two guest vocalists, the quartet open with older track, A&E, before Dust Clears, with Jack Patterson leading the vocals over a synth-y beat. Tracks from their debut album New Eyes soon follow. Up Again, begins as a hand-swaying, blissed-out production before drum beats and classical chords intrude, culminating in a full on drum and bass climax while Come Over hears cellist Grace Chatto’s sweet vocals soar over a Caribbean, almost reggae beat. Mid-set, it’s clear that new single Extraordinary could become their second number one judging from the crowd’s reaction. Heart on Fire, featuring vocals from Elizabeth Troy is dedicated to “all the garage heads” before the lyrics of Mozart’s House ask, “so you think electronic music is boring?” Following this genre-crossing set, they’ve proved that that their sound is far from boring. Nightingale is then mixed into Gorgon City’s deep-house edit before feel-good festival anthem, Rather Be, which stayed at number one for a month, ends their set with the crowd on each other’s shoulders singing along word perfect.
Unexpected pop star Sam Smith, arrives for his 5pm slot to screams of excitement. Opening with Nirvana, he shows his powerful voice off straight away before Disclosure collaboration Together, complete with Chic-esque funky bass guitar lines. Leave Your Lover slows the set to a mellower, emotional halt, with some female fans starting to tear up, before further winning them over by telling the crowd that Manchester is his favorite place. Before new track, Restart, Smith informs the audience that he’s filming the music video right now, and of course everyone is more than happy to clap and sing-a-long for it. An unexpected cover of Arctic Monkey’s track, Do I Wanna Know breaks up the set with a unique take on the indie hit. Money On My Mind and Lay Me Down follow with emotional lyrics, while the heavens fittingly starting to open, before ending with recent number one single, Stay With Me. It’s obvious that Smith is providing the definitive sound of 2014, after his vocal talent was first discovered by the mainstream on another Disclosure collaboration, Latch, which is given a flawless acoustic rendition.
Later, over in the Heidi Presents: The Jackathon tent, Hot Since 82 brings deep house and techno beats to a sweaty strobe light flashing tent, delivering arguably the best bass orientated set of the weekend.
Over in the Sounds of the Near Future tent, SBTRKT gives an astonishing live set. Opener, Pharaos, gets the packed tent going before the masked man says, "It's so good to be back. It's been like two years since we've been here.” New lasers and synths track Temporary View, which went up on Soundcloud just two days ago, receives a great reaction as a taster of what to expect from the impending second album. Debut album tracks, Never Ever, Trials of the Past and Wildfire follow with tribal drum beats and feature Drake-collaborating, Sampha’s recorded vocals and Little Dragon’s in the latter, which echo around the at-capacity tent.
Pacing back to the Wildlife stage to catch headliners Disclosure, it was shockingly easy for SFG to get near the front – probably because Oxford indie-types, Foals, were headlining over on the main stage. The wunderkind production duo of house revivalists, Guy and Howard, open with synth led F For You featuring on record vocals courtesy of Mary J Blige. Preacher lyrics and simplistic house beats follow in When a Fire Starts to Burn and newer Friend Within collaboration, The Mechanism, with the background screens showing the duo playing in real time while Guy picks up the bass guitar to play the funky chords in the former, while pyrotechnics shoot from the top of the stage. Checking with the crowd that they are okay to play some older material, they bounce into older E.P tracks, Boiling, Tenderly and Flow before inviting guest vocalist, Sasha Keable, onstage during album track Voices and later Sam Smith to join them for the song which started it all off, Latch.
It’s only in its fourth year, but soon enough Blur’s iconic single won’t be the only thing which comes to mind when thinking of Parklife. Providing a great line up, the organisers delivered great variety at an affordable price, SFG cannot wait until next year!
A year since Birmingham band, Peace, released their debut album, In Love, they have played shows across the globe and are set to headline this year’s Dot To Dot Festival. Drummer Dominic Boyce spoke to Ben Jolley about making the second album and nights out in Nottingham.
“WE played Dot To Dot in 2011 and it was so much fun. Nottingham has always been amazing to us. We've had some great shows and we've got lots of friends there so we're really excited,” says Peace drummer Dominic Boyce.
“It'll also be one of the first shows since before Christmas so we can't wait. We're ready to explode. We're ready for a great weekend and I think Dot To Dot will provide.”
It's a significant gig for the Worcester indie quartet, as headliners. They'll be on the main stage at Rock City on Sunday, one of 15 stages hosting dozens of bands and musicians during the all day event.
The last time they played the Talbot Street venue was also a significant occasion.
“That was the first night on that tour and I was pretty nervous but very excited because it was the biggest tour we had ever done. I loved that Rock City show.
“That whole area around there with the venues and clubs is great. We've had many a good night in Rescue Rooms.”
Dominic says that the follow up to last year's debut album, In Love, is near enough finished.
“Sonically there are some similarities to the debut but it certainly drifts around different sounds. I think we're moving on, in a more focused and controlled direction.
“No one could predict exactly how In Love was going to sound, because it was our first album. Whereas, with the second one we're much more educated in the process of recording an album.”
With so much hype surrounding what Peace will do next, it's surprising that they aren't feeling the pressure.
“It was very much us saying we want to do it now,” he says of the quick return to the studio to record the follow-up.
“We're not putting it off, maybe we should be, but it just felt like the right time. It feels like this is what we should be doing.”
A lot of the new songs were recorded in hotel rooms or on the back of tour buses.
“There wasn't really a lot of pre-production to the new album.
“A lot of it was written on the road. Harry would make really rough vocal and acoustic guitar demos then we'd all listen to them and come up with our own ideas of what the songs could potentially sound like.
“The album's probably been written over the last 18 months of touring, although I think we've still got a lot to give from the first album.”
The band's new single, Money, is his favourite from the new record.
He says: “It was the first song we did in the studio and we had a lot of fun recording it. We'd been waiting to get back in the studio for so long.”
Another new track, World Pleasure, hears lead singer Harrison Koisser show off his rap skills.
“I think rap's too strong a word, but it is slightly more rhythmic,” says Dominic, adding “I think it sounds cool.”
In August, Peace will be playing the main stage at the Reading and Leeds Festival.
“I think it's my favourite festival,” he says.”When we played there last year, they were probably our favourites of the whole summer. You couldn't ask for a better crowd really. We're very flattered and honoured to be asked to play the main stage this time. If people think we can do it then we'll certainly give it a good go.”
So what about the rest of 2014?
“After festival season, we hope to release the new album, probably at the end of summer. I don't know what will happen in autumn; probably much of the same really. We'll play a few shows, go abroad… we've got a lot of years left in us.”
Peace headline the Dot to Dot Festival on Sunday at Rock City from 10pm.
As seen originally in Friday 23 edition of the Notitngham Post and online at: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Dot-Dot-interview-Peace/story-21127798-detail/story.html?hga
Rock three-piece Darlia, play Dot to Dot Festival this Sunday. Frontman Nathan Day, spoke to Ben Jolley about festivals and flower parts.
So how did Darlia get together?
"Even as a kid I just wanted to be older so I could start a band and voice my opinion”, says Darlia frontman Nathan Day.
“If I wasn’t in a band, I’d just be starting one," he adds.
“When I first met Jack, we’d play on and off, and I was trying to convince him that we should start this band. We played some of the songs we play today, but it wasn’t a serious band. I didn’t want to be a 15-year-old kid in a novelty band"
"Jack went to uni and moved away, then I got Dave involved with the songs. We had this drummer at the time that was really bad and had a massive attitude, so it wasn’t really working with him. It got to a point where we were getting record deals so we got rid of him and got Jack back.”
“At the time we were all coming up with words and nothing stuck. Aside from the band, I was really interested with flowers and flower parts and Darlia kept coming up”, Nathan says.
“When we played our first gig we didn’t have a name at all. A girl in the audience handed me a plastic flower, which I kept in my back pocket for months. After we’d finalised on the name, I found it in my pocket and it was a Darlia.”
Their biggest challenge came last weekend at the Radio One Live Lounge, covering Lorde’s song, Team.
“When you’re expected to go onstage and just blurt out one of your sets, that can be incredibly easy because people are coming to see what you do best. When you have to learn a completely new song, as well as making it your own, it's like homework. It was massively challenging but extremely fun. It let us prove that we’re not just going to do an inaudible cover and sound pretentious about it. We wanted it to be a good cover and I think it went alright.”
The Blackpool trio have been announced for British Summertime at Hyde Park in July, on the same bill as The Libertines.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Pete Doherty. I’m glad that we’re even going to be near him,” says Nathan.
They’ve also been added to this year’s Glastonbury line up.
"I’ve never been to a festival before so I guess I’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” he admits.
Nathan says that a crowd can make or break a show.
“Whatever they want to see, they’ve got to make it happen. You can play the most outrageously great show, but if the people there are just stood still… or you could play a flop show, full of mistakes and everyone’s drunk, but as long as the crowd are absolutely having it, it’s great."
And what about an album?
“Now we’ve found the right producer to make the record, we’re about to start recording it. It’ll be released at the end of the year or early next year. We’ve got another E.P, (Dear Diary) coming before that though.”
Darlia play Dot to Dot on Sunday at the Rescue Rooms from 6.15pm-6.45pm.
As seen originally online at: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Dot-Dot-interview-Darlia/story-21114577-detail/story.html
