Categories
Music News

Slayer, Melvins, Mogwai and more for ATP Weekender 2012

Slayer, Guided by Voices and Mogwai have been announced as the headline acts for next years ATP Weekender in London. Slayer are the obvious surprise headliner who will be once again performing performing classic album ‘Reign In Blood’ in full. They will be joined by Sleep and The Melvins and Mudhoney and and the newly-reformed Codeine will be playing alongside Mogwai. Yuck are the first band to be selected as support to GBV so get tickets now before they sell out at the All Tomorrow’s Parties site from today.

The weekender will be held at Alexandra Palace, London on the weekend of 25th-27th May 2012. Friday-Sunday Weekend Tickets will cost £130 – a limited amount of Early Bird Tickets will be available priced at £120. Friday Day Tickets are priced at £39. Saturday and Sunday Day Tickets are priced at £59.

Many stunning artists, DJs and other activities are to be confirmed for the event in the coming months!

Categories
Music Events Music News

Deathgrips UK live dates & Known For It video

Deathgrips are heading to the UK this month and you should not miss this as this project has been one of the most anticipated for a while. Check the dates and the new video for Known For It. Contender for new artist of the year here in the end of year polls for sure.

Sept 25 London(ATP presents)@XOYO
Sept 27-Manchester@ Islington Mill
Sept 28-Leeds(VICE presents) @Nation of Shopkeepers
Sept 29-Glasgow@ Captain’s Rest

Categories
Music News

ATP confirm more line-ups

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.

Categories
Live Reviews

ATP – I’ll Be Your Mirror – Live

23.07.11
Alexandra Palace

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.

Sleekly Lion & Abjekt

Categories
Live Reviews

ATP – Flaming Lips, Dinosaur Jr & Deerhoof

Alexandra Palace
01.07.11

ATP, or All Tomorrow Parties, have a habit in organising the odd good album show. Iggy & The Stooges’ Raw Power and Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! by Devo stick out in regards to classic albums. Tonight however is the turn of recent gems by the Flaming Lips, Dinosaur Jr. and Deerhoof.

Opening proceedings are Deerhoof with their 2004 concept album Milk Man. Despite the quartet’s theatrics the San Franciscans are not fully embraced by the sparse Alexandra Palace crowd. It isn’t until Dinosaur Jr.’s indie rock anthem Freak Scene that the crowd finally awaken from their early evening daze. The opening track of the seminal 1988 album Bug is at its roaring best and attracts a humble cheer. The group’s unity and impeccable timing is apparent through They Always Come. J Mascis’ industrious whammy bar work certainly puts the reclusive Guitar Hero player to shame. This paired with Lou Barlow’s resonant bass guitar is evidence that their flaky relationship of the past is surely a distant memory. Oh and the drummer Murph’s not too bad either!

For the rest of the set Ally Pally is treated to Mascis’ acidic whirls of feedback. Onomatopoeic words would do no justice to the sheer volume of sounds the alternative rock veterans can still produce. With the stage emblazed in red light, the final track Don’t concludes the album with distorted screeches and Barlow’s screams of “why don’t you like me”? Ringing in your ears couldn’t be more satisfying!

In typical Flaming Lips fashion frontman Wayne Coyne opens The Soft Bulletin in his trademark crowd surfing friendly human hamster ball. Confetti, balloons, colourful naked women animations, a clip from The Teletubbies, you name it we’ve got it. This introduction’s as emphatic as you can get. Race To The Prize and A Spoonful Weighs A Ton are passionately echoed word by word around the iconic Victorian venue and the semicircular screen’s colourful visuals compliment The Spark That Bled the most.

Despite the charm of Waitin’ For A Superman the level of energy from the dramatic opening gradually diminishes. This is of no fault of the band but more of a criticism of the general format of the album show for this beautifully collaged album. The change in atmosphere undoubtedly has an effect on Coyne who becomes apprehensive before performing Feeling Yourself Disintegrate. He delivers this underrated track with immense feeling and passion. Following the calming instrumental track Sleeping On The Roof Oklahoma’s finest songsmiths return from the encore with the euphoric Do You Realize??. Rapturous, full of beauty, it’s a memorable ending for a memorable band.

Alex Penge.

Categories
Live Reviews

ATP curated by Animal Collective

Butlins, Minehead
May 13th – 15th

This year’s annual spring trip to Butlins was prefaced by the sad news that this may be the last ever May ATP. The reasons for this aren’t clear cut, but dwindling ticket sales over the past few years and the rapid growth of ATP as a major events planner has forced the festival to explore its options. For now, emphasis is being shifted to two Butlins weekends in December, as well as a new London based event that shall be curated this year by Portishead. I, for one, shall be sad if this is the last of the May events, but this year’s curators Animal Collective ensured that the weekend will be one to remember.

Despite the usual bitchy message board debates following the announcement, Animal Collective make perfect sense to me as festival curators. Not only have the band been a mainstay of leftfield independent music for over a decade, but they’ve just finished promoting their biggest critical and commercial success, Merriweather Post Pavilion. On top of this the band are key players in a wider community of independent music, with plenty of friends in like minded bands and, most importantly, an eclectic and interesting taste in music. Essentially, these are all factors which are crucial to curating a good ATP and Animal Collective tick all of the boxes.

As if to demonstrate the band’s eclectic music taste, Friday’s programme sees performances from Brooklyn noise mongers Black Dice, reggae / dub legend Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, forward thinking electronic artist Actress, and one half of OutKast, Big Boi. While all of these artists inspire in a variety of different ways, it’s the latter which stole the show. This may not have been Big Boi’s usual crowd, but he is nonetheless electric as he treats the crowd to a range of OutKast’s greatest hits as well as the highlights from last year’s solo effort Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Song of Chico Dusty. His energy is ramped from the beginning, as he races across the stage engaging both sides of the crowd. As a huge OutKast fan it’s a welcome surprise to see so much of the group’s classic material performed, with the likes of ‘B.O.B.’, ‘ATLiens’ and ‘Rosa Parks’ all delivered with style and going down a storm.

After some familiarly messy scenes in the Crazy Horse rounding off Friday’s entertainment, Saturday begins with something a little different. Making use of the on site swimming pool at Butlins, there is a two hour session of ‘Wet Sounds’ which unexpectedly turns out to be one of the weekend’s highlights. This basically involves eerie ambient music being pumped around the swimming pool and underwater, with different sounds appearing underwater to those on the surface. Before the session was up there was even a run through of the recent Panda Bear album, Tomboy, which couldn’t find a more perfect setting to suit its woozy, tropical textures.

Getting back to the dry, yet curiously foul smelling (it’s definitely the hot dogs) Butlins Centre stage, Meat Puppets are on and they’re performing their 1985 cult classic Up On The Sun. The band joke that they don’t even remember the year 1985, let alone this album, yet they seem to get through it without a hitch. Performances form Ariel Pink and Beach House are to follow, and while they prove popular, have never really captured my interest and this was really no exception. Having opted to see Animal Collective perform on the Sunday instead of Saturday, this leaves Detroit techno legend Omar S to round off day two with a tasty 2 hour slot over in Reds. While perhaps drawing from a more varied range of styles than I had expected, the producer shows why he is one of the best in his field with the selection of a lively and crowd pleasing set.

Offering something completely different again, Sunday morning begins with a performance from West Sahara’s Group Doueh. Having very limited knowledge of the band‘s work beforehand, they exceed all expectations with their fusion of western rock structures and Turkish Psychadelia. A mixture of almost gospel like female vocals and a guitarist who shreds the electric guitar on top of his head with the most stoic of facial expressions, make this very engaging stuff, in turn sending dozens of audience members queuing for the merch stand.

Moving on from a group that had seemed so humble on stage and grateful of their place on the billing, it becomes time for Zomby to pull one of his now notorious no shows. While clearly a talented producer, Zomby’s behaviour once again reeks of disrespect and once again leaves punters (and fans!) grumbling at his lack of consideration for everyone concerned. Not only is it a shame not to have seen him perform, but a slap in the face to Animal Collective who invested faith in him, and all the other bands that the group weren’t able to choose to accommodate him. There will come a time when promoters become tired of giving Zomby a chance, and to be fair, that time is probably overdue.

Celebrating their sensational new album, Eye Contact, the weekend’s penultimate act are Gang Gang Dance. The experimental Manhattan quintet have hit a real landmark in their career, producing an album that encompasses and extends on all that they have done so well in the past. The strength of the band’s newest material really shines through in this performance, with standout tracks ‘Glass Jar’ and ‘MindKilla’ closing the set on a real high before the weekend’s curators take to the stage.

In many ways Animal Collective are a frustrating live band, and I think it’s safe to say their performances over the weekend seemed to divide opinion. The band appear to have no interest in ever playing a greatest hits set, in fact, the weekend’s set lists were built almost entirely of completely new material with a sprinkling of crowd favourites including ‘Brothersport’, ‘Summertime Clothes’ and ‘Did You See the Words?’ What’s more, despite having two slots over the weekend, the band apparently performed almost exactly the same set both nights which perhaps seems a little wasteful. Even so, Animal Collective’s live show has never really been about individual songs, and with a little perseverance their immersive performance seems to win over the majority of the crowd. With elusive fourth band member Deakin now welcomed back into the line-up, the band are now playing almost like a traditional rock band. Gone are the synth podiums and tall flashing lights, replaced by an actual drum kit with Panda Bear at the helm. It’s nice to see that the band look ready to move in yet another direction, and their performance hints at something potentially very exciting on the horizon.

While this feels like an odd, perhaps transitional stage for Animal Collective as a band, it’s precisely this kind of will for change and experimentation that is completely characteristic of the weekend’s events and indeed ATP. What the future holds for this wonderful festival remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure, I’ll be following it on whatever path it takes.

Sleekly Lion

Categories
Live Reviews

All Tomorrow’s Parties curated by Animal Collective

Butlins, Minehead
May 13th – 15th

This year’s annual spring trip to Butlins was prefaced by the sad news that this may be the last ever May ATP. The reasons for this aren’t clear cut, but dwindling ticket sales over the past few years and the rapid growth of ATP as a major events planner has forced the festival to explore its options. For now, emphasis is being shifted to two Butlins weekends in December, as well as a new London based event that shall be curated this year by Portishead. I, for one, shall be sad if this is the last of the May events, but this year’s curators Animal Collective ensured that the weekend will be one to remember.

Despite the usual bitchy message board debates following the announcement, Animal Collective make perfect sense to me as festival curators. Not only have the band been a mainstay of leftfield independent music for over a decade, but they’ve just finished promoting their biggest critical and commercial success, Merriweather Post Pavilion. On top of this the band are key players in a wider community of independent music, with plenty of friends in like minded bands and, most importantly, an eclectic and interesting taste in music. Essentially, these are all factors which are crucial to curating a good ATP and Animal Collective tick all of the boxes.

As if to demonstrate the band’s eclectic music taste, Friday’s programme sees performances from Brooklyn noise mongers Black Dice, reggae / dub legend Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, forward thinking electronic artist Actress, and one half of OutKast, Big Boi. While all of these artists inspire in a variety of different ways, it’s the latter which stole the show. This may not have been Big Boi’s usual crowd, but he is nonetheless electric as he treats the crowd to a range of OutKast’s greatest hits as well as the highlights from last year’s solo effort Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Song of Chico Dusty. His energy is ramped from the beginning, as he races across the stage engaging both sides of the crowd. As a huge OutKast fan it’s a welcome surprise to see so much of the group’s classic material performed, with the likes of ‘B.O.B.’, ‘ATLiens’ and ‘Rosa Parks’ all delivered with style and going down a storm.

After some familiarly messy scenes in the Crazy Horse rounding off Friday’s entertainment, Saturday begins with something a little different. Making use of the on site swimming pool at Butlins, there is a two hour session of ‘Wet Sounds’ which unexpectedly turns out to be one of the weekend’s highlights. This basically involves eerie ambient music being pumped around the swimming pool and underwater, with different sounds appearing underwater to those on the surface. Before the session was up there was even a run through of the recent Panda Bear album, Tomboy, which couldn’t find a more perfect setting to suit its woozy, tropical textures.

Getting back to the dry, yet curiously foul smelling (it’s definitely the hot dogs) Butlins Centre stage, Meat Puppets are on and they’re performing their 1985 cult classic Up On The Sun. The band joke that they don’t even remember the year 1985, let alone this album, yet they seem to get through it without a hitch. Performances form Ariel Pink and Beach House are to follow, and while they prove popular, have never really captured my interest and this was really no exception. Having opted to see Animal Collective perform on the Sunday instead of Saturday, this leaves Detroit techno legend Omar S to round off Day two with a tasty 2 hour slot over in Reds. While perhaps drawing from a more varied range of styles than I had expected, the producer shows why he is one of the best in his field with the selection of a lively and crowd pleasing set.

Offering something completely different again, Sunday morning begins with a performance from West Sahara’s Group Doueh. Having very limited knowledge of the band‘s work beforehand, they exceed all expectations with their fusion of western rock structures and Turkish Psychadelia. A mixture of almost gospel like female vocals and a guitarist who shreds the electric guitar on top of his head with the most stoic of facial expressions, make this very engaging stuff, in turn sending dozens of audience members queuing for the merch stand.

Moving on from a group that had seemed so humble on stage and grateful of their place on the billing, it becomes time for Zomby to pull one of his now notorious no shows. While clearly a talented producer, Zomby’s behaviour once again reeks of disrespect and once again leaves punters (and fans!) grumbling at his lack of consideration for everyone concerned. Not only is it a shame not to have seen him perform, but a slap in the face to Animal Collective who invested faith in him, and all the other bands that the group weren’t able to choose to accommodate him. There will come a time when promoters become tired of giving Zomby a chance, and to be fair, that time is probably overdue.

Celebrating their sensational new album, Eye Contact, the weekend’s penultimate act are Gang Gang Dance. The experimental Manhattan quintet have hit a real landmark in their career, producing an album that encompasses and extends on all that they have done so well in the past. The strength of the band’s newest material really shines through in this performance, with standout tracks ‘Glass Jar’ and ‘MindKilla’ closing the set on a real high before the weekend’s curators take to the stage.

In many ways Animal Collective are a frustrating live band, and I think it’s safe to say their performances over the weekend seemed to divide opinion. The band appear to have no interest in ever playing a greatest hits set, in fact, the weekend’s set lists were built almost entirely of completely new material with a sprinkling of crowd favourites including ‘Brothersport’, ‘Summertime Clothes’ and ‘Did You See the Words?’ What’s more, despite having two slots over the weekend, the band apparently performed almost exactly the same set both nights which perhaps seems a little wasteful. Even so, Animal Collective’s live show has never really been about individual songs, and with a little perseverance their immersive performance seems to win over the majority of the crowd. With elusive fourth band member Deakin now welcomed back into the line-up, the band are now playing almost like a traditional rock band. Gone are the synth podiums and tall flashing lights, replaced by an actual drum kit with Panda Bear at the helm. It’s nice to see that the band look ready to move in yet another direction, and their performance hints at something potentially very exciting on the horizon.

While this feels like an odd, perhaps transitional stage for Animal Collective as a band, it’s precisely this kind of will for change and experimentation that is completely characteristic of the weekend’s events and indeed ATP. What the future holds for this wonderful festival remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure, I’ll be following it on whatever path it takes.

Sleekly Lion

Categories
Music News

Watch: Godspeed You! Black Emperor at ATP

Some footage of Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s first live show in nearly a decade has surfaced online.

The video was shot at the GY!BE curated ATP event The Nightmare Before Christmas in Minehead and is a reassuring reminder for all those going to see the experimental Canadian post-rock collective that they are as powerful and stunning to see perform as ever.  Watch Moya below.

Notorious for its mystic, visceral and awakening effect on all parts of the body and mind, the song has always gone down well live, as regular Crossfire writer, Moose said of his own anticipation of the forthcoming shows last night, “if they play Moya I’d shit.”

Categories
Music Events Music News

Portishead to curate ATP’s ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’

It has been announced today that the revered and eclectic trip-hop outfit Portishead will be curating next year’s I’ll Be Your Mirror presented by ATP.

In a double-edged sword of awesome, not only will Portishead will be playing but have managed to re-unite the famed hip-hop collective Company Flow (a rap crew headed by the mighty El-P) as part of the amazing line-up. Also playing are DOOM (formerly MF), Swans, Beach House, The Books, Beak>, Anika, Factory Floor, Liars and many more.

The event will take place on July 23rd-24th 2011 at Alexandra Palace, London. Get hyped as tickets go on sale through Seetickets this Friday (November 26th).