Gottwood Festival announce the final additions to a lineup that brings together a whole host of underground talent for an unforgettable experience. Among the latest additions are Manchester club brand Drop the Mustard, who host hot property Ejeca and Urulu, plus find Pedestrian, Zero 7 vocalist Sophie Barker and Bournemouth’s Zoo Look, among others. And outside the music, Gottwood has announced some of the installations that will help transform the picturesque Welsh woods in June into a fairytale land for the weekend.
Returning for its fourth year, Gottwood Festival kicks off the summer solstice on June 20-23. If you’re looking for something a little off centre, something to make you move, and something that you wont forget in a rush, this is it.
Drop The Mustard – well known for pulling together some of the most cutting-edge acts for their Manchester parties – are the final hosts to be added to the impressive Gottwood roll call. They bring Ejeca, who has seen his profile rise at an enormous pace with releases 2020 Vision, Lokee and Last Night on Earth this year alone. He is joined by ’90s revival comrade Urulu plus Alex Blaxx and more.
A.Z & T.O.R.’s soulful, bass-driven house and two-step beats complete the Bristol brigade and the Eton Messy stage, alongside Pedestrian and Luvian. Gottwood also welcomes Sophie Barker one of the vocalists on Zero 7’s ‘Simple Things’ who plays live, and expect a blissed-out, hypnotic live set from Brighton-based producer Little Thoughts, and dub goodness from eight-piece reggae collective Kalichakra.
Futureboogie announce an unmissable B2B session with the whole boogie crew. While, Apogee get excited with the addition of house heads Zoo Look, Louche gear up with Bruno Schmidt, and The Sound Of C go electronic with Werkha. Four-piece electronic outfit Let The Machines Do The Work whisk you away from the digital age with their strictly analogue live set-up, and BEHR step up with the minimal techno touch.
Techno powerhouse Traum and Nottingham label and Stealth regular Wigflex host headliners Extrawelt, Newcastle promoter and podcast supremos Jaunt bring Ben UFO, and celebrated Bristol house and techno connoisseurs Hypercolour return with Luke Vibert and Tom Demac. Leeds club brand Louche return to Gottwood with Move D playing a HUGE four-hour set, while London’s underground house heads Tief go deep, with Bicep, Wolf Music and KRL. Internationally renowned London club brand Futureboogie bring Crazy P, Eton Messy take Gottwood along a bass trip with Maribou State, and Manchester’s Hit&Run flex with Marcus Intalex and 2 Bad Mice, the early ’90s jungle pioneers.
With parties in London, Leeds and Nottingham, Apogee bring up the underground with Amsterdam’s Detroit Swindle (live) and Cera Alba. ETA & Real Nice present Waze & Odyssey, and strictly vinyl UK house and bass label Nixwax host Joonipah. Plus catch hip hop-tinted band The Scribes, and deep-rooted reggae crew General Roots and many more. Expect a bumpy, vibrant and genre-bending ride as Gottwood Festival provides its take on an electronic music education!
Gottwood received an unprecedented number of entries to its DJ Competition this year, and the final 10 fought a fierce battle for the top spot in the Facebook poll. Congratulations to Zade & Kayne Cross for winning the contest, to second-place Nick Assheton, and third-place VII. Y. P. Here is the winning mix by Zade & Kanye Cross: soundcloud.com/gottwood/gottwood-dj-competition-zade – and you can see all three acts play at Gottwood.
Gottwood Festival comes to you from a location like no other place you will have been. It’s like something out of a fairytale, or your most lucid dream – the area has even been described by Lonely Planet as the ’Greatest Region On The Earth 2012’. That’s how special it is.
The theme for Gottwood Festival 2013 has been chosen – and it’s ‘The Wild Things’. So, what does that mean? “You are ‘The Wild Things’,” say the Gottwood organisers. “This theme is a reinvigoration, a celebration and most importantly an exploration of your imagination. We want everyone to pause, take a step back from their everyday life, leap off the edge, and wander into an unrestrained, untamed, wild and wonderful parallel mindset celebrating everything in your life that is not actually there, but is locked up top, and in most cases is rarely given a chance to flourish! We will be building an a magical backdrop of colour and vibrance, and we can’t wait for you to show us ‘The Wild Things‘.”
There have been some changes at Gottwood Festival this year, but one of the most exciting announcements is that there will be two open-air stages running until 4am – in a similar fashion to the first ever Gottwood. This time around the Boxford Caravan, as well as a new woodland stage will run until the twilight hours, with surround sound four-point Funktion One systems helping to bring the noise! Dancing in the trees all night long is back!
RFID, the pioneers in fully immersive projection, are returning for their third year and will be providing the unique 360 degree visual experience for everyone who ventures into the dome. Last year saw Dinky play an amazing set to hundreds of confused but amazed people who appeared to be struggling to grasp where they were or what time it was when the visuals really sprang into life.
Gottwood strives to help and provide a promotional platform for artists. This year look out for The Bestiary building bringing larger-than-life interactive animal installations made from salvaged wood; Mr Kobo returns to paint a modern-day mural. Venture out to see the oversized live oil painting and graffiti from the uber-talented and Gottwood Caravan creator Technicolour Moon, as well as interactive tree painting, which is set to be an amazing sight to see.
This small, boutique and wholly independent electronic music festival – set within the deepest darkest depths of the Welsh woodland, and next to the sandy beaches of the Irish Sea – provides the ultimate alternative festival experience. Working with some of the most innovative and interesting names in electronic music, Gottwood Festival strives to ensure its lineup ticks all the boxes for even the most discerning club heads
Gottwood is going to be a very colourful place this year with more treats and surprises than ever before!