Laurel Halo

More artists join the Camden Crawl 2014 lineup

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Reflected in this month's exciting new lineup additions is #CC14's diverse selection of talent; from acclaimed guitar-driven acts Arrows of Love and Paws, to the crew of bass and techno purveyors including Mumdance and Livity Sound.

This summer, the multi-award winning festival is back after an extended break, bringing a brilliantly varied and colourful roster to Camden on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st June.

New lineup announcements:

On an electronic tip, CC14 are proud to announce new headliner, Orbital's Phil Hartnoll. Perennial tastemakers Dummy will also be presenting an array of innovative talent; with a Wire record of the year under her belt, Hyperdub darling, Laurel Halo, Keysound signing E.M.M.A and her unique mix of 8-bit synths, futuristic rhythms and unexpected melody, Greek-born producer and percussive dance experimentalist, Larry Gus (DFA) and West London beatmaker and new Mad Decent signee Cadenza.

Another Mad Decent act, Mumdance has been added to Last FM's bill, and is sure to be a must-see, combining UK club sensibilities with global sounds such as kuduro, funk carioca, tribal gurachero, soca, batucada carnival music and gagaku. Bass trio, Livity Sound will also bring their futuristic forms of techno, grime and jungle rooted in Bristol's rich soundsystem heritage to Crack Magazine's stage.

Meanwhile, on a more experimental tip, we have the euphoric sounds of Manchester's D/R/U/G/S, The Physics House Band set to dazzle audiences with their jazz and post-rock infused psychedelia, along with Bella Union's shimmering Great Yteve who join the Bird on the Wire stage at Camden Town Brewery.

In addition, synth fans will undoubtedly be thrilled with what’s on offer at the festival, with swoonsome, hotly tipped newcomers Rainer joining the likes of already confirmed new wave legends, ABC and Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor, who will be playing material from his much anticipated sophomore record “Await Barbarians”.

Championing lo-fi for the event, new additions include the dark, dangerous and gloriously chaotic, Arrows of Love on the 1-2-3-4 stage, no-prisoners punk heros Paws playing for Drowned in Sound, thunderous krautrockers, Traams and pitted as one of the most bombastic and viscous British live acts around, Bad for Lazarus for Rocklands. Fans of this kind of aural attack can also enjoy previously announced acts such as Atari Teenage Riot and Yuck.

Artists like progressive psychedelic folk four-piece, Wolf People (now added to Artrocker's lineup) and melancholy and timeless We are Catchers (who has his London exclusive on the Rough Trade stage) join the folk camp of performers this year along with the likes of Jeffrey Lewis & The Jrams

Off Festival announce first acts and earlybird tickets

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Just like you did last year and the years before that, mark your calendars for the first weekend of August. We?ll kick things off on Thursday 1st August, with a Before Party (more details to come), with three days of madness at Three Ponds Valley starting the following day, 2nd August.

Tickets go on sale at the OFF Shop on our official website starting on Tuesday 15th January. The first 300 people to order their tickets will get a free designer OFF Notes notepad (the final batch of last year's limited edition of 1,000, designed by Marta Ignerska).

Passes will be available at the OFF Shop at these promotional prices:

Three Day Pass: 140 zloty / 35 Euro (180 zloty / 45 Euro with campsite access)
Four Day Pass: 150 zloty / 37 Euro  (190 zloty / 47 Euro with campsite access)

Prices are valid until 5th March, after which passes will be available at other outlets at slightly higher prices.  

Buy tickets here http://offsklep.pl/public_html/settings/lang/en

Deerhunter
We know how long you've been waiting for this one, so we?re glad to announce that Deerhunter will be performing at this year's OFF Festival! New psychedelic rock, ambient punk, garage pop? it?s hard to find a label that?ll stick to this Atlanta quartet, but there?s one thing everyone can agree on: they're one of this century?s best American guitar bands. It?s been a while since the release of Halcyon Digest (2010), so it's safe to assume that Deerhunter will be bringing some new material along to Katowice. Bradford Cox recently revealed that the songs he?s been writing are very weird? well, why don't we let that be a secret.

Laurel Halo
This American artist is said to have taken up the piano at the age of six, and soon moved on the violin and the guitar, so it?s no wonder she?s grown sick of them after all those years. Lauren Halo translates her classical music education into broken, futuristic electronic sounds and bold, intriguing vocal melodies. It comes as no surprise that her full-length debut, Quarantine, came out on Hyperdub, one of the most respected labels in the industry. Laurel Halo?s music is dense and multi-layered, but at once subtle and elusive. Unlike many of her fellow Hyperdub artists, who like to crush, terrify, and deafen their audiences with heavy basslines, her output is much more positive, yet no less demanding. One Guardian critic likened these sounds to 'Oxygene? for Brooklyn hipsters.'  No offense to hipsters ? it really is that good!

Metz
Polish audiences might expect this to be a stand-up comedy performance by the popular local music journalist Piotr Metz, but we?re going to have to burst their bubbles: the Metz we're talking about here is a Canadian trio whose eponymous 2012 debut album proved that Sub Pop still has a knack for no-nonsense guitar noise, continuing in the American rock vein of the Pixies and Shellac. They say that before Metz went in to lay down the tracks for this record, a few sharp minds got together to figure out how to capture the trio's live energy in the studio. Whatever they did, it was a success: the album ended up on most year-end lists of guitar music. But none of that matters to us now: we?re going to see them live at the OFF Festival. Hold on tight!

Merchandise
Next up in the category of three-man noise machines: Merchandise. This Florida band?s post-punk wall of noise has slammed down on reviewers at Pitchfork and the New Musical Express, both of whom gave them rave reviews for their mid-2012 album Children of Desire. This year the band is planning a new mini-album as well as more live performances, including a first-time appearance in Poland.

Jens Lekman
You know what I Know What Love Isn?t is? It's a heart-rending and unbelievably beautiful work of consolation. Here?s what Jens Lekman had to say about his third album, released last fall: "I just want people to get some kind of comfort from it. Especially the people who have gone through some kind of break-up. When I went through the break-up, I really looked for some kind of music, or art or literature that could say, 'I've been in the same situation.' I couldn?t find anything the moment, and that made me really sad."

Naturally, we hope that none of us will be going through a breakup at the OFF Festival, but don't we all like to shed a tear while reminiscing about past relationships both failed and happy to the sounds of charmingly delicate melodies?

Travel and Accommodation
There are regular cheap flights to from the UK and Europe to Katowice with Wizz Air, Ryan Air, Lufthansa and KLM.

Katowice has a broad range of accommodation, from cheap hostels to luxury hotels, but you can also live the festival life 24 hours a day at the OFF Festival Village, providing you with a place to stay, take care of sanitary needs, and grab a bite to eat.