ibibio sound machine

Lunar Festival line up announced

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This summer Lunar Festival returns for its third year to the enchanting rural setting of Tanworth in Arden, resting place of Nick Drake, and now home to an established magical odyssey which likes to do things just a little bit differently. 

Following on from 2015’s breakthrough year, this June’s Lunar is maturing into a wondrous experience across one weekend of magic, set in a rural idyll close to the beating heart of the Midlands yet a world away from the hustle and bustle of reality; inspiring, edifying and a little bit different, Lunar is a refreshing vision of what a festival should be like.  

Featuring daytime bands, rousing evening shows and late night beats entwined with guitar driven sounds, there’s a mythical ethos to Lunar blooming from spiritual exploration and adventure. Lunar encapsulates a unique energy which pulsates from the stunning countryside location in which it is set, a sublime weekend which joins the dots across a soundscape of live artists and DJs, and the festival is incredibly proud to announce its first round of acts.  

Lunar is bringing a wildly diverse range of artists to perform, from true legends and icons to the new wave of names set to shine. Since their Fuzzy Logic debut album 1996, the Welsh psychedelic rock and electronic experimentalists Super Furry Animals have carved a warped niche in the UK’s left-of-centre scene. And speaking of venerable, Mercury Rev have over a quarter of century of music behind them, their 90s rock finding its place in the present from the New York outfit. The band Television have a devout following worldwide and had a major effect on British post-punk rock as well as American indie rock. And Badly Drawn Boy, with his Mercury-prize winning debut ‘The Hour Of Bewilderbeast’, brings his raw lyrical power to Lunar, suffused with his Mancunian humour and charm.

The Zombies are a the Psych-oriented group that formed in St. Albans in 1961, and released their latest album Still Got That Hunger last year; with almost 50 years behind them, their cult following continues to this day and shows no sign of abating. Os Mutantes bring their own special cult Brazilian Tropicália and psych-pop to Lunar, whilst Matt Berry and The Maypoles weave their culturally eccentric prog-rock and folk together. Bentley Rhythm Ace are the iconic Birmingham electronic outfit crafting big beat to electro rock from the 90s era of dance floor magic.

Ibibio Sound Machine blend African and electronic elements inspired by the golden era of West-African funk & disco and modern post-punk & electro, whist Stealing Sheep’s eccentric electronica – with shades of Morris Dancing – are a quintessentially psychedelic Scouse pop band. Fellow Liverpudlian Bill Ryder Jones has been inspired by genius of Italo Calvino and is an ex member of The Coral; the Arctic Monkeys collaborator is a melancholic wordsmith and musician of great repute. And with her debut album set to drop this spring, Amber Arcade’s floating pop melodies will entrance Lunar.

Further guests revealed include Bangkok Paradise Molam International Band, Martin Carthy, Alessi’s Ark, The Mariachi’s, Josefin Orhn + The Liberation, Victories At Sea, Stick In The Wheel, Ashley Hutchings, Seeland, Table Scraps, Flamingods and The Good Water, Tales of HP Lovecraft and more to be revealed. 

Lunar is musically diverse with something for all the family featuring a vibrant range of arts, crafts, activities and games complemented by delicious artisan food and drink from across the region. There is wide range of camping and accommodation options including Bell Tent and Tipi hire, gypsy bow top caravans and local hotels.

 

Lunar Festival 
Fri 3rd – Sun 5th June 2016
Umberslade Farm Park, Butts Ln, Tanworth in Arden, Warwickshire B94 5AE
Super Furry Animals, Mercury Rev, Television, Badly Drawn Boy, The Zombies, Os Mutantes, Matt Berry and The Maypoles, Bentley Rhythm Ace, Ibibio Sound Machine, Bill Ryder Jones, Amber Arcades, Bangkok Paradise Molam International Band, Martin Carthy, Alessi’s Ark, The Mariachi’s, Josefin Orhn + The Liberation, Victories At Sea, Stick In The Wheel, Ashley Hutchings, Seeland, Table Scraps, Flamingods and The Good Water, Tales of HP Lovecraft with more to be revealed. 
Adults from £115 for the weekend/£45 per day. Children (12-15) tickets £42 for the weekend/£19 per day. Children under 12 £5
www.lunarfestival.co.uk / Twitter: @lunar_festival

The Horrors, John Grant and many more set for Blissfields 2015

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Blissfields are proud to unveil the first wave of musical guests for 2015. The bill includes The Horrors, John Grant, Simian Mobile Disco (Live), Glass Animals, Public Service Broadcasting, Grandmaster Flash, Ibibio Sound Machine, The Correspondents, Songhoy Blues, Novelist, and Melé. Many more acts also confirmed, with a second wave still to be announced.

From a singularity in 2001, Blissfields has reached out into the cosmos inviting sold-outs crowds to its small but perfectly formed, 5,000 capacity, tree-lined mini wilderness in the Hampshire countryside. Music at Blissfields runs until around 4am each day, crafted to take its audience from clear afternoons of discovery and frivolity, through lofty main stage sets, into the heady wee small hours of the Blisscotheque and Hidden Hedge.

Eight years after The Horrors first appeared on the cover of NME, their fourth studio album Luminous marked them as one of the country’s leading, most consistent guitar acts. From their defiant early days of gothic garage-punk, they join Blissfields now as an internationally acclaimed headline act, with a truly unique sound and stage show, bringing a sense of the unreal to proceedings.

Following a string of sold out shows, including The Royal Festival Hall in London,John Grant will also bring his raw, emotional and frank take on music to Blissfields for the first time. Grant’s music has been met with universal critical acclaim, with his latest solo album, Pale Green Ghosts, garnering five star reviews and the accolade of ‘Album Of The Year’ by Rough Trade. His honest portrayal of life’s struggles have connected with listeners and even lead to Grant partaking in side projects, such as 2014 Blissfields alumni Hercules and Love Affair’s latest record.

Simian Mobile Disco will see in a late night LIVE slot on the main stage this year, their formidable set possibly including some of the remixes which bear their name – from the likes of Muse and Nine Inch Nails, to Bjork. Outside of the band, SMD’s James Ford has produced such records as Klaxon’s Mercury Prize-winning Myths Of The Near Future, Florence And The Machine’s Ceremonials, Arctic Monkeys last four ground-breaking records, and 2014’s gargantuan Jessie Ware album Tough Love.

In such a short space of time, Oxford’s Glass Animals have accosted the ear of St Vincent and Radiohead, landed a top-20 album release in Australia for their debut offering Zeba, and decorated some of the biggest stages in London including James Lavelle (UNKLE)’s curated Meltdown. Their hyper-intelligent take on guitar music has undoubtedly positioned them as one of the most sought after live acts of 2015.

Blissfields are pleased to welcome back Public Service Broadcasting. The duo’s original mix of electronica and indie with vocals hijacked from public information films has pioneered a new breed of dance-punk. Their stage show, complete with blinking TV sets, live strings and vintage suits, will beautifully join eras and attitudes together, fittingly into the festival’s 2015 “Somewhere In Time” theme suspiciously well.

Elsewhere and Bona fide DJ pioneer Grandmaster Flash will be serving his lessons in the lost art of hip-hop and turntable technique, bringing some legacy to the beats in 2015, while Eton Messy return in the slot previously occupied by the likes of Snakehips, Bondax, Alunageorge.

After seeing Eclair Fifi and Monki tear the festival apart in 2014, the Blisscotheque is once again looking at the brightest young stars, this year securing Novelist andMelé to headline the stage. Novelist has been riding high on a wave of success since being nominated for the BBC Sound of 2015 and will take the Friday slot with his own inimitable grimy sound whilst the Annie Mac endorsed Melé will close the stage on Saturday.

With a long history of welcoming emerging talent, from Bastille in 2012, Sam Smith in 2013, and Years & Years in 2014, attention will once again be on the festival to highlight the best in new music. Palace, Flo Morrissey, Gengahr, Loyle Carner, Kiko Bun, Alex Adair, Ekkah and Songhoy Blues are just some of the names already twitching the curtain of the internet in that respect.

Of course it wouldn’t be Blissfields without festival favourites Dub Pistols, returning this year to the main stage. Along with The Correspondents, who headline the Thursday night of the event, Ibibio Sound Machine and Hidden Hedge headliners Missill, they form a hazy heart of the festival – a mix of world influences and cross-genre infusions for the times when it’s okay to be lost in a field in England.

THE HORRORS / JOHN GRANT
SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO
GLASS ANIMALS / PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING 
GRANDMASTER FLASH / IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE
SONGHOY BLUES / MELÉ / THE CORRESPONDENTS 
NOVELIST / MISSILL / COSMO SHELDRAKE / GENGAHR
LOYLE CARNER / KIKO BUN / WE HAVE BAND / DUB PISTOLS
ALEX ADAIR / ETON MESSY / SUBGIANT / THE MISPERS
FLO MORRISSEY / PALACE / SPRING KING / EKKAH / MATTHEW AND ME
ANDY COMLEY / BIG CHILD MAN CHILD / BITR8 / BLACK FEATHER / CHOLOMBIAN
DAN MUNRO / DEADPROUD / ECHOTAPE / ESPAI / FABLE / FLOELLA GRACE
GYPSY DISCO / HEADSESSIONS SOUNDSYSTEM / JOHNNY BOXCARS / JOLTA
JOSH SAVAGE / K1R3Y / LIONFACE / MARY MISS FAIRY / MILLY UPTON / MINI DA MINX
MORGAN HISLOP / NOVATONES / ONE STEP TOO LATE / ØNLY / PACHANGO
POPOBAWA / RATZI / SCIENCE OF 8 LIMBS
SHUDDERVISION PRESENTS DIGITS MCPHEE & GUESTS
SOUL & FIRE / THE KINGS PARADE / THE SUBGIANT SOUNDSYSTEM
THIS CITY LIMITS / TRANSEND / WINTERHOURS 

+ MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

King Charles, Ibibio Sound Machine and more added to Standon Calling lineup

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Standon Calling today reveals additions not just to the live line-up but also the DJ offering for 2014’s festival, 1st – 3rd August in Hertfordshire. Regular and fan-favourite King Charles will be present yet again on stage, whilst the eclectically-eared Giles Peterson takes to the decks.

Newcomers Ibibio Sound Machine will bring a heady cocktail to Standon Calling’s live stage, infusing West-African funk and disco with modern post-punk and electro, a no doubt intoxicating affair. In contrast Fat White Family promise a raucous and often provocative rock n’ roll as one might expect from six young squatters of South London.
 
Across Standon Calling’s Big Top and Cowshead stages DJs including electro pioneer Felix Da Housecat lead the charge into the twilight hours. Disco / re-edit scene favourite Greg Wilson, alumni of The Hacienda will also be heading to Hertfordshire as will hip hop turntablist and scratch master, DJ Yoda. From 80s warehouse parties to modern-day DJ royalty the next name cued up for the festival will be none other than Norman Jay MBE. Jay is a renowned house music DJ whose crate confidently veers into many sounds including jazz-funk and soul.

Back on the live stages and also returning to the festival is post-rock outfit Revere, boasting their own string section. East London might be lacking in coalmines but thanks to Hackney Colliery Band it does have a vibrant funk, hip-hop and high-octane rock inspired brass band. The group performed at the London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony so should have little trouble rousing the boutique-sized party that is Standon Calling. Long-standing poetic rock trio The Wave Pictures are next up alongside alternative quartet Flyte. Ska-punk will be on offer in the form of Imperial Leisure and N-A-I-V-E-S are set to serve up anglo/french electro-pop sounds. Last but by no means least for the live side of Standon Calling are locals Maddox.
 
For night owls the festival’s dance music line-up expands further with the Lana-Del-Ray-remixing Asadinho, alternative urban heavyweight DJ Format and duo Heavy Hz, formed of playlister.fm’s Dan Lywood and Ben Bridgewater.