Sleaford Mods, Gold Panda and more added to Field Day 2016 lineup

Field Day Saturday 11th June
 
Field Day are delighted to reveal the new line-up additions that will be joining the likes of Skepta, Four Tet, Deerhunter, Orchestra Baobab, Floating Points, Motor City Drum Ensemble and Youth Lagoon on the Field Day Saturday 11th June bill.
 

Field Day are thrilled to welcome Brooklyn based experimental rock band Yeasayer. With their new album Amen & Goodbye set to drop in April, this will be one of the first opportunities to hear the band's superbly odd and fantastic new material live in the UK. 
 
Contemporary Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods will also be joining the Field Day Saturday bill.  

Jason Williamson from the band commented on their addition to the Field Day line-up: "We've been wanting to play Field Day for ages, it's a festival that always houses a great deal of interesting new music and not the usual bland array of star employees from big labels. Should be a right laugh!"
 
Field Day are also excited to announce the post-hardcore sludge-punk trio Metz, hailed as North America's finest touring rock band, their guitars are titanic, drums ill-tempered, vocals chilling and the volume worrisome. 
 
Girl Band, the noise-rock quartet from Dublin have been praised for delivering visceral, invigorating music with nods to Daft Punk and Nick Cave. Their recent album Holding Hands with Jamie was recently included in Time Magazine's 10 Best Albums of 2015 poll.
 
Also on board for Field Day Saturday will be the impeccable Gold Panda. Hailing from Chelmsford in Essex, Gold Panda started writing beats and producing a few years ago, beginning the journey that ultimately saw him nominated in the BBC's Sound Poll list and the Guardian's prestigious First Album Award for his debut album Lucky Shiner. Since then, he has released a follow-up album, Half Of Where You Live and toured the world to considerable acclaim.
 
Meanwhile, the Berlin based duo Tale Of Us bring their emotive deep house sound to Field Day. Their popularity and talent was evident when they appeared at #3 in Resident Advisor's 'Top 100 DJ's' poll at the end of 2015. Jackmaster, the Glaswegian DJ and co-founder of the highly successful label and club night Numbers plus previous XOYO resident, will play b2b with the highly respected house and disco DJ Gerd Janson
 
Belfast-born duo Bicep will be spinning live, bringing their varied, disco, acid house sounds to a Field Day stage. The forward thinking Plastician and Berlin based disco diva The Black Madonna, renowned for her uplifting sets that balance established anthems with idiosyncratic selections, will also be joining the bill.
 
Elsewhere, Field Day welcomes Little Simz, an artist barely into her 20's who has already become one of the UK's most in-demand acts, changing up the rap game and appearing on the Forbes '30 under 30' list. Hackney based singer songwriter and BBC Music 'Sound Of 2016' pick Nao, whose unique vocal tone draws a fusion of hip hop, soul and R&B to UKG, funk and jazz, plus Kelela, an artist known for her gorgeous off-kilter R&B vocals and chilly metallic production.
 
Rising stars performing at this year's event include the young and extremely talented singer songwriter Gillbanks and Polydor Records signing Mabel, who will bring her refreshing pop sound to Field Day Saturday.
 
In addition Wooden Wisdom & DJ Fitz will be responsible for an unforgettable set. Wooden Wisdom are made up of Zach Cowie along with actor and label owner Elijah Wood (from Lord Of The Rings fame!), who'll be spinning classic funk-soul, spaced-out space age instrumentals and 80's-era dance new wave jams. They will be joined by DJ Fitz for a truly electric collaboration.
 
Field Day Sunday 12th June
 
After confirming the iconic PJ Harvey, Field Day are thrilled to announce more additions to the Field Day Sunday line up, which so far includes Beach House, John Grant, Molly Nilsson, GOAT, Optimo, Thurston Moore Band and many more.
 
Field Day Sunday welcomes The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the American neo-psychedelia torchbearers, formed in San Francisco back in 1990. Led by lead singer and guitarist Anton Newcombe, the band's output spans psychedelic rock, folk rock, shoegaze and noise pop. Now onto their fifteenth globe-trotting album, packed with multiple chiming guitars, the band will touch down at Victoria Park on Sunday 12th June. 
 
Also joining Field Day Sunday, will be the african 7-piece band Mbongwana Star from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their music has been described as a 'clever balance between the sunshine vibes of soukous with the gritty reality of life in a Kinshasa slum'.
 
Also confirmed are Manchester's rising indie stars and BBC Music 'Sound Of 2016' hot picks Blossoms. Plus New York based rockers Parquet Courts, London's Tangerines as well as the enigmatic American alt folk singer-songwriter Cass McCombs.
 
Daphni the club-floor, techno drawn alias of Dan Snaith, more commonly known as Caribou will be returning to Victoria Park. London brothers Formation, who's smart liquid funk sound positioned them as one of NME and Time Out London's 'Ones To Watch' for 2016, and grammy-winning, classically trained, writer and producer Tourist will also appear on this years bill. 
 
Finally, Field Day are excited to announce Moon Duo, who will bring their off-kilter dance rhythms, repetitive, grinding riff and cosmic trucker boogies to Field Day Sunday.
 
Field Day president Tom Baker said on the new additions: "Im really thrilled to be able to announce even more acts for our 10th series of Field Day; Mbongwana Star are coming all the way from Kinshasa and they will blow your mind! We are very happy to welcome back Dan Snaith in his Daphni guise to FD Sunday alongside the seminal and psychedelic brilliance of The Brian Jonestown Massacre… True gents those Sleaford Mods will teach you some manners and Metz will make your ears bleed (in a good way)… There is still more to come we just can't tell you it all now!"
 
Tune in to the Steve Lamacq show on BBC 6 Music from 4pm GMT on Thursday 21st January for the exclusive first play of PJ Harvey's new single. 

Parklife Weekender Review 2014

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!

Photos by Paul Taylor

Croatia’s Soundwave Festival full lineup announced!

Set in one of Europe's most beautiful locations, Soundwave Croatia returns for 2014 with a lineup that includes New Zealand 7-piece outfit Fat Freddy's Drop, LA based DJ / Producer / Rapper Madlib and British music producer Mr Scruff.

FAT FREDDY'S DROP | MADLIB (DJ SET) | MR SCRUFF | GOLD PANDA | THE BUG

GENTLEMAN'S DUB CLUB | HUEY MORGAN | OM UNIT | ELIPHINO | JONWAYNE | RIOT JAZZ | FLAKO | ALEXANDER NUT | ANDREW ASHONG | GILLA | BOBA FATT | JON K |CHEEBA | JONNY DUB | CHUNKY | DELE SOSIMI | MR THING & ESSA | THE MOUSE OUTFIT

Plus: SOULEANCE | ANUSKA | WYLES & SIMPSON | TANYA AUCLAIR | TAWIAH | RICH REASON | WARA | THE BLUNTSKINS | BEDMO DISCO | BLOXED BEATS | TEHBIS | RENEGADE BRASS BRAND | THE PURIST | SOLKO | ALTA | AMIN PAYNE | MIEUX | SEKUOIA | GREENWOOD SHARPS | SCARPER JOSCA CREUZFELDT | PAUSE | DUB SMUGGLERS | ORIGIN ONE | REAL ROOTS | KATJA SULC

Soundwave Croatia Festival add Fat Freddys Drop and more

Fresh off the back of releasing their highly anticipated new album 'Blackbird', 7-piece New Zealand outfit Fat Freddy's Drop have been added to the first line up announcement, alongside Gold Panda who made headlines in 2013 after the release of his critically acclaimed 'Half Of Where You Live'. Gentleman's Dub Club and Huey Morgan also feature, alongside standout performers from last years festival; Om Unit, Eliphino, Riot Jazz and Andrew Ashong; Om Unit's 'Threads LP' looks set to fill many Best Of lists come the end of the year and Ashong's Theo Parrish produced hit 'Flowers' has already started reigning in accolades as 2013's stand-out track, as he approaches his debut album. Rounding up a typically diverse Soundwave line-up are Anushka and Dele Sossimi, the latter set to deliver a tribute to the legendary Fela Kuti.

Fat Freddys Drop @ Soundwave Croatia

Danny Brown, SBTRKT, Gold Panda and more join Beacons Festival lineup

Beacons Festival, the cutting-edge music and arts festival are pleased to reveal the latest acts. Joining Bonobo, Ghostpoet, Django Django, Local Natives, Savages, Dutch Uncles is DANNY BROWN. A natural born rapper, the 32 year-old began his life in rhyme at a young age, thanks to his mum, who raised him on a literary diet of Dr. Seuss books. A little edgier than a rhyming kids' book writer, Detroit-born Brown started turning heads back in 2010 with his debut album The Hybrid. 2013 brings album number three, entitled Old and Danny's had hip-hop fans foaming at the chops with anticipation for its release. 

Danny Brown joins the recent additions of  SBTRKT (DJ), GOLD PANDA, WIRE, JAMES HOLDEN, T. WILLIAMS, THROWING SNOW, FINDLAY, EAGULLS and SKY LARKIN.

Beacons also revealed that the fancy dress theme for the Friday is Frontiers of The Future along with a new outdoor stage The Red Bull Music Academy. T. Williams, Throwing Snow and James Holden will headline that stage with further announcements due soon.

Beacons is a three-day, four-night festival and for a short period, tickets are available at £99.50 with deposit schemes still available. Early Bird tickets are now sold out and Beacons have launched a new ticket. The Beacons Bundle which features 24 cold beers or cider, a Beacons hand printed tote bag with the festival programme and a weekend ticket all for the price of £129.50.

Newly confirmed artists below:

Danny Brown 
Eagulls 
Findlay
Gold Panda 
James Holden 
New York Brass Band 
Sbtrkt
Sky Larkin
T. Williams 
Throwing Snow 
Traams
Wire 

Sónar Barcelona, or The Best Festival Yet

Sónar’s 20th anniversary reads like a who’s who of electronic music new and, well, more new. From Jurassic 5’s old school hip-hop and the eternally synth-pop Pet Shop Boys, to dance anthem pedlars like 2manydjs and the impossible grace of Natasha Khan aka Bat for Lashes, this was always going to be a big weekend.

The three day festival kicks off Thursday, leaving you Sunday to recover – or carry on the party. We catch Oddisee under the SonarDôme, slick rap between brassy jazz, while outside SónarVillage has exploded with the cheesy 70s hit ‘Love is in the air’. Fun is the aim of the game.

Gold Panda is another of those non-DJ DJs. In black denim and t-shirt, I picture him nursing a book alone in a café somewhere. Today, though, he hits us with playful and animalistic beats, eyes fixed on his fingertips as he bops along to perfectly haphazard breaks. The sound is of a runaway music box, and oddly relaxing.

Beer vendors wind through the crowd under a heavy Spanish sun. I worry for all the hipsters getting hot beneath their beards – at least they have their Wayfarers on. One such beardy man holds a kaleidoscope to his mobile phone to film the set (not the Beardyman, though he plays on Saturday). Lindstroøm and Todd Terje get us to nightfall. It’s the first time I’ve heard Terje’s ‘Inspector Norse’ and I understand immediately why it’s so popular. Have a listen.

Sonar

There’s action aplenty with ‘off Sónar’ events across the city, but we save our feet for the first Sónar de Noche, held in a series of warehouses at the edge of town. Of course Bat for Lashes is wonderful, but we knew she would be. Bristolian DJ Eats Everything plays ahead of Two Door Cinema Club, a sentimental favourite who move seamlessly through their repertoire. “Maybe someday, you’ll be somewhere, talking to me, as if you knew me.”

It’s worth the rush to the outdoor SónarLab to see French DJs C2C perform ’Down the Road‘. They do a Run-DMC cover and manage to hold a sound-off in the crowd, a winner-by-applause deal without spoiling the mood. The 3D Kraftwerk set is all hype and Skrillex becomes the night’s surprise win (although I’d like my ears back, badly). I’m distracted by someone so famous wearing a shirt with his name on the back, but he’s forgiven with Benny Benassi’s ‘Cinema’. I don’t like dubstep; I just love that he’s got us all dancing.

Three hours sleep gets us by, and we’re back at Sónar de Dia for some synth-disco courtesy of US act Chromatics. I warm to their 80s edge and a convincing take on the Kate Bush classic ‘Running up that hill’. We watch AlunaGeorge from faux-grass decking, and catch TNGHT open with a cinematic rendition of Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’. The stop-start set isn’t my thing, and I leave early to give my eardrums a break.

Sonar

The closing night of Sónar is marked with a three-hour Ed Banger tribute. Justice scores easy points with his Simian Mobile Disco mashup ‘We are your friends’, and it’s good-time fare ‘til Laurent Garnier heralds the Sunday dawn. Even with a huge turnout, the warehouses have space to sit and take stock when needed. Revellers don’t seem to overdo it as much as back on the British Isles, and the international crowd adds to Sónar’s world-class festival credentials.

In 2014 Sónar hits five cities, so the next question is Barcelona, Tokyo or Mexico? Life’s tough.

@MirandaAnimated

Check out the photos from Sónar 2013 here.

Huge lineup additions to Sónar Barcelona

New additions to Sónar Barcelona

Darkstar (UK)
Liars (US)
Paul Kalkbrenner (DE)
Sherwood + Pinch (UK)
Nicolas Jaar (US)
Delorean (ES)
Foreign Beggars (UK)
Maceo Plex (US)
Mykki Blanco (US)
Karenn (Blawan + Pariah) (UK)
Baauer (US)
Gold Panda (UK)
La Bien Querida (ES)
Christeene (US)
Sound Pellegrino presents Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team + Matthias Zimmermann (FR)

Sónar continues to add new artists to its 20th anniversary event, which will take place in Barcelona on 13, 14 and 15 June. The scheduled shows by Kraftwerk (3D show)Pet Shop BoysTwo Door Cinema ClubLindstrøm & Todd TerjeVatican Shadow,Bradien + Eduard Escoffet, Hot Natured and Fantastic Mr. Foxare joined by various heavyweight additions. 

These new names include outfits whose appeal is tried and tested, like the British trio Darkstar, one of the most interesting projects to emerge from low-rev dubstep, who are about to release their new LP, "News From Nowhere", on the prestigious London label Warp; and the American trio Liars, presenting their excellent new LP "WIXIW," which is much more synth-based and oriented towards electronica than their previous albums.

Among the latest names to be added to Sónar Barcelona is the new artistic duo Karenn, which brings together two masters of today's rawest techno: Blawan – who astonished us at Sónar by Night last year – and the talented Pariah; the New York trap producer Baauer, who has hit the mark this year with his formula of powerful basses and rhythmic forcefulness; the British beatmaker Gold Panda, the main man at the Ghostly International label; and the haute école funk-based tech-house by the popular American dj Maceo Plex.

Sónar 2013 also presents the performance by a unique and very special duo: consisting of Adrian Sherwood, a cult name in dub in the British Isles and the founder of the influential On-U-Sound label, and Pinch, an eminent personality on the Bristol dubstep (and post-dubstep) scene.

Two international electronica benchmarks return, in the shape of Germany's Paul Kalkbrenner, now consolidated as one of today's most popular names, who will be bringing his new album 'Guten Tag' under his arm; and the Chilean-American Nicolas Jaar, who returns to Sónar for the third consecutive year entirely on merit.

Two of the biggest names on the Spanish scene, Delorean and La Bien Querida, will also be present at Sónar Barcelona. The Basque outfit are releasing a new album in 2013, two years after the international success of "Subiza," while the project by Ana Fernández Villaverde and David Rodríguez has given their songs a considerable twist, dressing them up in dazzling techno-pop costumes for their latest album, "Ceremonia." 

Two unique and irreverent artists will be visiting from the United States underground scene: Mykki Blanco, the standard bearer of the movement known as "queer rap" (a mixture of hip-hop rhyming and powerful techno basses); and Christeene, a man-woman who takes the extravagance and perversion of electronic pop one step beyond mischief by means of a highly individual sense of humour. 

This batch of additions is rounded off by the showcase from the French label Sound Pellegrino, in association with the historic rap group TTC and a platform for some of today's most cutting-edge and freshest dance beats, headed by Matthias Zimmermann and the Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team; and the highly respected British hip hop and grime collective Foreign Beggars, presenting their powerful new album, "The Uprising".

Sónar Barcelona tickets on sale

Sónar 2013 Passes and 2 Night Tickets for Sónar 2013 are available now.

Professional accreditation for SonarPro 2013 is available at a special price of 190 €, until 1 April only.

Gold Panda & Willy Moon to headline Festibelly 2012

Headlining Saturday, sharp suited Willy Moon fuses rock'n'roll and hip-hop; or “Bo Diddley as imagined by Timbaland” says Q Magazine. 

Gold Panda headlines Sunday, whose magnificent debut LP ‘Lucky Shiner’ scooped accolade after accolade (“a masterclass” – Dazed & Confused, “stunning” – Q Magazine, “blissful” – NME) and went onto win The Guardian’s First Album Award. 

Gold Panda

Also joining the bill is BBC Radio 1 DJ and Bestival host Rob Da Bank, rave heroes Ragga Twins, perennial ‘Belliers Man Like Me and many hotly tipped bands including Clock Opera,Bluebell and Bastille

Amongst those already announced are three-piece rock ’n’ roll family band sensation Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, folk group Skinny Lister, who won the title of 'Hardest Working Band in Britain' following their record number of festival appearances last year, Mr Nice aka Howard Marks, rising French band We Were Evergreen and London collective Reggae Roast

Festibelly, now in its fifth year, is a hidden gem on the festival calendar. Nestled among the woodland on the edge of the New Forest, there is something for the entire family. For the first time it opens its doors as a two day party, a double dose of the intimate charm it had become known for. 

As well as the usual dazzling selection of musical talent on the main stage, the Festibelly field will play host to a number of venues and attractions including Terrapin Station, Le Disco, brand new Le Roller Disco, Massive In China and Autumn Shift – together creating a kaleidoscope of psychedelic gypsy to dirty disco, wrong cabaret, circus performance, wonky gameshows, cosy cafés, poetry, painting and more. This year Festibelly flings its arms wide open to those with young Festi Critters, bringing new kids entertainment area The Owlery to site. 

As ever, Festibelly stays close to its grassroots ethos and remains brand and sponsorship free and is always guaranteed to have friendliest Festi-goers to be found. Previous artists to play Festibelly include The Big Pink, New Young Pony Club, Ghostpoet, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Rob Da Bank, Drums Of Death, Man Like Me, Hollie Cook, James Yuill, She Keeps Bees, Greco Roman Sound System, Psychemagik, Reggae Roast, Oh Ruin, Johnny Flynn, King Charles, My Tiger My Timing, Tek-One, O Children, Skinny Lister and Toy.

Festibelly also throws several warmup events this summer at London’s The Lock Tavern, Bournemouth’s 60 Million Postcards, Southampton’s The Orange Rooms and Festibelly Local events in its hometown of Lymington, Hampshire. 

15th July – Kitty Daisy & Lewis (DJ), Draper @ The Lock Tavern, Camden
21st July – Festibelly Vs Durty Sound System, Chichester
3rd August – Man Like Me @ Orange Rooms, Southampton
11th August – 60 Million Postcards, Bournemouth
12th August – Festibelly presents Terrapin Station @ The Lock Tavern, Camden

Editors Notes: 
Event: Festibelly 2012
Location: Undershore, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 5QA
Date: Saturday 25th – Sunday 26th August 2012
Times: Gates open 9am 25th August – close 2pm 27th August
Ticket Price: Weekend ticket: £55 // Sunday ticket: £38 – on sale via festibelly.com
Capacity: 3,000

Transgressive Records at Leeds Festival

SBTRKTSBTRKT aka Aaron Jerome is already playing a DJ set at this year’s festival, but will close the Alternative Stage in Leeds with a live set.   Famous for remixing the likes of MIA, Basement Jaxx, Mark Ronson and Underworld, he has just released his eponymous debut album.   This is a rare opportunity to see this exemplary artist, or perhaps not, as he is usually performing from behind the tribal masks that have become his trademark.   Dancing will be obligatory …

Winner of the Guardian First Album Award for his debut‘Lucky Shiner’ GOLD PANDA aka Derwin Panda  has been one of the most acclaimed new artists of the last 12 months.   He started by building up a library of 

Gold Panda

original, dizzyingly eclectic electronic music incorporating a disparate mix of influences and source material. The results were gleaming instrumental hip-hop tracks saturated with bright colors and sublimely chopped-up vocal samples.

THREE TRAPPED TIGERS recently released their debut album ‘Route One or Die’ which NME described as “…the sound of imagination itself”.   The type of electronica put forward by the London trio defies classification but we call it music to enjoy yourself to and this will definitely be happening in the tent.

“Ice cold fucking synth music” is how BECOMING REAL describes his sound, we say it’s like a strand of early grime music he’s stretched, warping it into ever more pretty, frightening, ghostly shapes.  From starting out in a school band playing covers of Sonic Youth, Toby Ridler has evolved into one of the darkest new artists coming out of London.  You’ll be scared, but you’ll enjoy it!

Just some of the artists confirmed for this year’s festival – which takes place on on Friday 26th to Sunday 28th August at Little John’s Farm in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds – include:  MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, THE STROKES, PULP, MUSE, BEADY EYE, JANE’S ADDICTION, 2MANYDJS, THE STREETS, UNKLE Sounds, SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO,  MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES, DESCENDENTS, PETER DOHERTY, THE HORRORS,  and THE MIDNIGHT BEAST.  On the Alternative Stage you can also find MARK THOMAS, RUSSELL KANE, TIM MINCHIN, HENRY ROLLINS, LEE NELSON, MARK WATSON, THE RUBBERBANDITS and ANDREW O’NEILL.

TRANSGRESSIVE & FRIENDS PRESENT ….
SATURDAY
 
Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit (live)
Pete & The Pirates (live)
Dry The River (live)
Goldierocks (DJ)
Transgressive / Rockfeedback (DJ’s)
 
SUNDAY
 
SBTRKT (live)
Gold Panda (live)
Three Trapped TIgers (live)
Becoming Real (live)
Transgressive / Rockfeedback (DJ’s)