ATP have confirmed more acts for their December festivals.
For the ATP curated by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel from 2nd-4th of December, Joanna Newsom, Thurston Moore and Sebadoh in Minehead with tickets priced at £170 for room only and £180 for self catered apartments.
The second ATP in December, their Nightmare Before Christmas event curated by Battles, Caribou and Les Savy Fav which runs from December 9th to 11th, will see the reformation of Hot Snakes as well as sets from Cults and Pharoah Sanders.
Tickets are priced the same as the former, get yours at www.atpfestival.com.
Never one to rest on his laurels, The Game has dropped a new free mixtape.
Hoodmorning (No Typo) follows in the footsteps of his awesome Purp & Patron and Brake Lights mixtapes over the past year and features appearances from Wiz Khalifa, Yelawolf, Redman, Dr Dre, Snoop and Lil Wayne amongst others.
You can grab it for free here – Crossfire approved, so get clicking. Check out Uncle Otis below where Game switches up his style a million times as well as giving a nice dig to Kreayshawn. Banger.
Scintilli will be released on September 26th and contains 13 tracks. It will initially be available in a Muda na Mono pack, which is taken from the Japanese for “pointless object”. The album will contain two die-cut rings and a CD which can be put together and if done properly, the track titles can be read. The tracklisting, UK dates and video are below:
Track listing:
01. missing
02. eye robot
03. thank
04. unbank
05. tender hooks
06. craft nine
07. sömnl
08. founded
09. talk to us
10. 35 summers
11. african woods
12. upgrade
13. at last
October dates:
3rd – Winchester, The Railway
4th – Manchester, Soundcontrol
7th – London, Village Underground
15th – Glasgow, The Arches
16th – Norwich, Norwich Arts Centre
Chuck Dukowski, the original bassist for Black Flag, has a new band.
The group, which also includes Eugene Robinson from Oxbow, is called Black Face and have recorded four tracks that were written around the My Way era of Black Flag. The other members of the band are ex-Oxbow drummer Tom Dobrov and Milo Gonzalez from Insects vs. Robots.
Check out this interview with Chuck on Vice, it’s definitely an interesting read.
Hevy Festival is back and with a line-up that boasts a plethora of great bands, it’s definitely the place to be this weekend. With so many amazing bands playing over the three days, it can be hard to decide which should be the ones to check out and that’s where our preview steps in to help.
Our intrepid writers Ryan and Winey G have picked the acts they are most excited to see and, as the videos alongside each pick shows, you’re not going to be disappointed by any of them. If the success of last year’s festival is anything to go by, the 2011 version is going to be a ton of fun. So get reading and get ready for some carnage!
Winegums’ picks:
Touché Amoré (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Sunday)
Having recently released what is undeniably one of the finest albums of the year, Touché Amoré will be bringing their frenetic live stylings to Hevy so get ready to get involved and scream your heart out. The intensity is definitely going to reach fever pitch for TA, just one of many so-called buzz bands included on the line-up this weekend. Something tells us that most of these acts are going to deliver in a big way.
The Bronx (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Sunday)
The Bronx are just a standardly brilliant live prospect. Broken limbs and a crowd-bound frontman are not unheard of. But let’s not forget the tunes! Oh what a delectable treat of riffs, barked out melodies and general raucous punk fun we’re in for as vocalist Matt Caughtran will no doubt bound around like a giant baby with a huge grin on his face.
Ceremony (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Sunday)
Hardcore punk with a sense of swagger that you just couldn’t fake, Ceremony are one of the most exciting prospects of the weekend (there are a lot of those this weekend, huh?). Inciting mile-long queues outside teensy venues last time they were in the UK, these guys are going to grab a very eager crowd by the neck and shake them to their very core.
Dillinger Escape Plan (Jägermeister Main Stage, Saturday)
Why does it feel like all of the bands at Hevy this year are going to be attempting to outdo each other in the “we’re crazy-ass motherfucking musicians” stakes? Well, many will no doubt try and some will succeed. But Dillinger really have nothing to prove on this side of things having already performed such legendary feats as shitting in plastic bags on stage and throwing it into the audience. Perhaps this time it’ll be purely about the music. Which is of course awesome. But we kind of hope the theatrics feature too.
OFF! (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Saturday)
Vocalist Keith Morris was in Black Flag. You probably don’t need to know much more than that in order to be persuaded to catch these guys live. West coast hardcore that packs a punch. Hard, fast and loud.
La Dispute (Etnies + Front stage, Sunday)
With the most deliciously unsettling vocals and the ability to create atmospheres of eeriness and full on ripping emotional heartache from one moment to the next, La Dispute are already contenders to At The Drive-In’s post-hardcore throne at this point. It’s safe to say that if they’re going to live up to the, albeit underground, hype then they’re going to have to deliver something special at Hevy. We have faith they’ll do just that.
Basement (Etnies + Front Magazine Stage, Friday)
Part of Hevy fest’s Friday taster if you will, which will see a pared down line-up get the party started on the smaller stages as the masses begin to arrive for the weekend. Basement’s brand of emotionally driven melodic punk rock is just the ticket to get your weekend started so make sure you get to the field early to soak it all up.
Ryan de Freitas’ picks:
The Ghost of a Thousand (Jägermeister Main Stage, Saturday)
The fact that this is The Ghost of a Thousand playing a festival should be reason enough to see them on the main stage at Hevy this year. Adding that this is the band’s last ever gig before splitting up and it makes this a completely unmissable set. There will be walls and pits throughout the set as the band have promised to go out with an almighty bang.
Make Do and Mend (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Saturday)
Off the back of their debut LP ‘End Measured Mile’ and acclaimed split with fellow Hevy stagemates ‘Touché Amoré’, this melodic hardcore outfit are not to be missed on the second stage. With a proven track record of laying waste to almost every venue they play, this is not a band that you want to regret not seeing the next day.
Funeral for a Friend (Jägermeister Main Stage, Sunday)
True pioneers in the UK Post-Hardcore scene, Funeral for a Friend have made an overdue return to form with new album Welcome Home Armageddon and their slot at Hevy will be one of their biggest UK sets since the release, with hopes of timeless classics mixed in with the intrigue of seeing the new material live for the first time. FFAF have created a real buzz about their appearance at Hevy and no doubt will live up to the hype.
While She Sleeps (Rocksound + Macbeth Stage, Sunday)
These Sheffield lads are one of the most talked-about bands in the UK at the moment. They will bring a perfect balance of passion and rage when they play their set on the second stage on Sunday. Having recently won over thousands as main supports to Silverstein earlier in the year and with 2010 album ‘The North Stands for Nothing’ rightfully earning them the respect of their peers and critics, this is a band that you’ll want to see (especially since it means you’ll have seen them before they were one of the biggest bands in the UK, which they certainly look on course to become).
Four Year Strong (Jägermeister Main Stage, Sunday)
There is no other way to say it other than: THIS BAND MUST BE SEEN LIVE. This years festival closers are sure to provide one of (if not the) highlights of the weekend with their trademark anthemic sing-along choruses and relentless, brutal breakdowns that will translate perfectly into the atmosphere of the festival. With the set sure to include hits from debut ‘Rise or Die Trying’ as well as current release ‘Enemy of the World’ these bearded warriors are set to tear the metaphorical roof off the place.
The DIY indie rock scene of the 1990s has experienced a slight revival over the past year in the UK. Both Male Bonding and Yuck’s opening album efforts have generally been well received in the British music press as well as across the pond in the U.S. London-via-Manchester four-piece Mazes are hoping for the same as they mimic their British compadres with debut album A Thousand Heys. The Shacklewell Arms in Dalston is the band’s final UK show before they embark on a full U.S. tour with White Denim.
Despite early hiccups with the venue’s experimental red lighting (yes, I’m as puzzled as you are) during the band’s opening couple of songs, Mazes’ set finally ignites with the infectious ‘Most Days’. Evident homages to Stephen Malkmus are clear with Jack Cooper’s fun and playful yells of “I never wanna get out of my bed, no way” in ‘No Way’.
This combined with alternative rock riffs from Jarin Tabata in the mould of Dinosaur Jr., The Lemonheads and Fountains of Wayne add substance to their sound and ensure that the quartet’s songs are not just exhausted Pavement pastiches.The small crowd remain in high spirits after ‘Bowie Knives’ which challenges DIY indie rock stereotypes with its organised structure, as a result the song boasts emphatic Weezer-like melody.
Inevitably, the group move towards power pop territory in ‘Surf Tag / Maths Tag’ with Cooper providing flashbacks of The Beatles entrance to JFK airport in 1964. The final song of the evening ‘Summer Hits or J+J Don’t Like’ is a rousing ending to a set from a band that was only making cassette recordings of their material two years ago. The DIY revivalists’ nostalgic farewell is proof that they are certainly well suited for bigger and better things, especially in college rock circles across the States.
Remember us buzzing the Vacationer ‘Trip’ track back in May? Well, the most secretive band in the world are hard at it in a studio in the Eastern Seaboard right now working on their debut album but have also found time to drop this summer mixtape.
If you are looking for some tropical delights, a range of dub reggae, Nu-Hula and much more then don;t hesitate, click that play button, or download the entire file and take it away.
This mixtape is suitable for sunwashed picnics with your best friends, lazy Sunday afternoon nookie and also bubble baths. Get stuck in…
The job of curating ATP’s inaugural I’ll Be Your Mirror event has been allocated to Portishead, whose passionate interest in a diverse range of music has made them a tried and tested choice for curators. This year sees a predictably strong line-up, with the likes of Grinderman, Swans, Caribou and Liars playing on the Sunday, while Crossfire makes it down on the Saturday to see DOOM, PJ Harvey and a reformed Company Flow. Oh, and Portishead themselves, obviously.
After having told all those concerned that DOOM is a disappointing live act for the weeks leading up to ATP, it came as a huge surprise that the pot-bellied Masked Villain produced a sterling set to the crowd inside Alexandra Palace. Though his set offers no real back and forth with the audience nor does DOOM rely on any showing off, it was showcase of material across the spectrum of his releases, proving how diverse and thoroughly awesome a lot of his back catalogue is. From early MF Doom material such as Rhymes Like Dimes through Madvillain material [All Caps stood out] and onto his guest spot for Gorillaz and Benzi Box from the Dangerdoom record, his delivery was top notch and even though he failed to dive into the crowd as intimated, a lot of fun was had.
Following DOOM is PJ Harvey, whose exceptional new album Let England Shake is up there with the very best records released this year. With this in mind, our anticipation is high to see these songs performed live, and her set is drawn very heavily from the new material. Dressed all in black, she looks almost appropriately in mourning, singing songs about the horrors and devastating impacts of war to terrific effect. Eight albums into her career, by now PJ Harvey is a consummate professional and her voice is pitch perfect throughout. Highlights include Last Living Rose and The Words That Maketh Murder, while old favorites C’mon Billy and Pocket Knife are welcome additions to fantastic performance.
Company Flow were the sole reason I (Abjekt) bought the ticket for ATP. Having grown up listening to them only to continually curse my luck for never having seen them live due to their split in the early part of the last decade, it was such an event not to be missed. Having left Sleekly to enjoy the rest of PJ Harvey’s set and ensure a spot front-and-centre for Co Flow, I was left stood waiting for a good 20 minutes thanks to a faulty mixer, but once that first bassline dropped, there was no looking back. El-P and Bigg Jus’ chemistry hadn’t been lost, smiles shining from them both as Mr Len cut the tracks behind them and with the crowd made up almost entirely of fanboys and girls, they powered through tracks like Bad Touch Example, Vital Nerve, 8 Steps To Perfection, End to End Burners and Lune TNS.
When a member of the Ally Pally staff informed them they were to finish their set immediately because Portishead had started in the next room, El turned to the crowd and asked who had come just for Company Flow. A deafening shout of affirmation was hurled back, prompting the New Yorker to tell his would-be set killer that “Fuck that, even though I want to see Portishead, I wanna kill it for these guys” and launched into Patriotism after lambasting the Murdochs [James financed Rawkus in the 90s] from behind a lecturn. There is to be no comeback, no reformation, this was it. And boy, what a set it was. As they say themselves “I must be entirely too fucking nice” – Too right!
Finally, after a long day, Portishead take the stage and the tiredness in the crowd is collectively relieved by the band’s presence. As well as being brilliant performers themselves, impressive visual displays adorn the stage making this an all consuming experiences for the eyes and ears. Singer Beth Gibbons does little else on stage other than sing, but that’s all that is required, and as she begins those famous songs from the Dummy era that are now so ingrained in our heads, it’s easy to become lost in her words. Newer songs from the band’s 2008 comeback record Third are similarly impressive but for different reasons, showcasing a colder, more fragile side to the band. The likes of The Rip and Machine Gun are particularly impressive; the latter with its thumping drum pattern fills the palace with an air of imminent dread.
What’s especially great about Portishead’s performance, and subsequently this year’s festival, is that their set incorporates all the other music throughout the day. The band’s great heritage within hip hop, noise, and kraut rock have all co-existed harmoniously on this line-up, and these genres now come together in Portishead’s music and somehow make perfect sense. It’s spellbinding stuff, and quite simply, the reason that we continue to return to ATP year on year.
DOOM and Ghostface will be joining forces for a live show in London.
The two MCs will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Lex Records at the Roundhouse in London on November 5th and tickets are unsurprisingly flying fast, so make sure you pick yours up quickly or end up disappointed.
There was quite the kerfuffle when a fan jumped from the stage into the crowd at letlive.’s show in Kentucky recently as the Security Guards took exception to him and got heavy-handed. The band then got involved and things spiralled from there.
ATP have confirmed more acts for their December festivals.
