This statement is partly true, to be honest I only really like “like” techno i.e. a small crush… No it is in fact the name adopted by one of Europe’s biggest techno events, which takes place every year in Gent, Belgium, and is probably the only reason you’d ever want to go to this anomaly of a country.
Happening this November in a sort of Earls Court type exhibition centre I heart Techno is never going to give Exit or Benicassim any competition on the weather/location front, but one look at the line up (mostly below) should be enough to get even the most battered rave veteran gurning. Couple this with a fairly cheap Eurostar ticket and you’ve got one hell of a mini break.
UNDERWORLD live | DAVE CLARKE | JUSTICE | BOYS NOIZE | RICHIE HAWTIN | DIGITALISM | DJ RUSH | BOOKA SHADE live | HOT CHIP live | FELIX KRÖCHER | TOCADISCO | PET DUO live | DR.LEKTROLUV | MAGDA | SEBASTIAN | UMEK | CROOKERS | MARCO CAROLA | ROBERT HOOD | SURKIN | FRANK KVITTA | FEADZ | AUDION live | BRODINSKI | HEARTTHROB live | DUSTY KID live | UFFIE | DJ MURPHY | TROY PIERCE | BIRDY NAM NAM live | BLOODY BEETROOTS | GAISER live | MARCEL DETTMANN | DJ MEHDI | MARC HOULE live | BUSY P | KABALE UND LIEBE | ED REC ALLSTARS | MATTHEW HOAG | LA RIOTS | PIERRE
Every year we city folk get lazier and lazier, this is a fact and I am a leading example. It seems that we are so lazy these days we can’t even be bothered to put any effort into doing things we enjoy. A recent pole* showing this to be the major factor for slow ticket sales at this years Glastonbury.
To counter this trend some intelligent but equally lazy promoters came up with the idea of “the inner-city festival”. Now I’m not talking about your O2 Wireless, or your Field Day style events, too much heavy lifting, locals, and mess to worry about at those.
I mean the festivals that get you into many small local venues, under one banner, with one ticket. Where, in return for a bit of planning and queuing you are rewarded with some top class established performers and a chance to see “the next big thing” all for a relatively small fee. Think The Camden Crawl or The Great Escape.
The latest of these is Concrete and Glass Contemporary Art festival, taking place in Shoreditch on the 2nd & 3rd October. Contemporary Art because it features Art exhibitions as well as music, like a lazy Londoners Latitude.
The first Headliners have just been announced, so far the pick of the music being: TV on the Radio, Telepathe and James Holden. With some good art coming from Riflemaker, Saatchi Online and… err Yoko Ono. You can check the full list below.
Tickets are £25 for a day and £35 for the weekend. And can be brought at:
HEADLINERS SO FAR MUSIC: TV ON THE RADIO / KIMMO POHJONEN / JAMES HOLDEN / TELEPATHE / BEYOND THE WIZARDS SLEEVE / EUROS CHILDS / EAT YOUR OWN EARS TELEPATHE / ERRORS / STEVE LAMACQ / PETE AND THE PIRATES/ APES & ANDROIDS
PLUS ART EXHIBITIONS FROM: A FOUNDATION /FLORA FAIRBAIRN PROJECTS / GERRY FOX / MARK NEVILLE/ SAATCHI ONLINE / RIFLEMAKER / ARTPROJX'S DAVID BLANDY AND MANASSEH SOUND SYSTEM
He's back! The man who was dubbed "The new prince of electro-soul", has just released another killer single, "21st Century Life". On the 21st of July the single will be digitally released and the following week we will see the physical release. Thankfully though, the video is already available! (Please see below).
Ben Lovedale delivers to us his clear-eyed and lucid evaluation of Dizzee's recent post-Glasto hoe-down with aplomb and a glance askance...
The widely feted Brit 'Prince' Leon Jean Marie largely found himself swamped in a muddy mix. His vocals rarely slid above an unremarkable funklite delivered by his four man band. On stage the band were pushed to the periphery of the stage focusing action on the singer songwriter.
The act began to excite when the delivery emphasised the band, not the artist. A cover of 'In between days' provided the liberation, a coherent band rousing the crowd. Subsequently current single 'Bring it On' saw multi instumentalist Marie ditch all but vocals, the focus at the end allowed him to shine and the band to release the addictive pophook.
Dizzee Rascal required no warm up. Following Glastonbury he returned at full pace to Koko, switching sky for theatrical surround at home in London. Songs and chat oscillated between flattery and jibes, sing alongs and narrative, cajoling a response from an initially docile crowd.
Tracks were taken from each of his 3 albums. From 2007's Maths and English; 'Where's Da G's' was delivered with cutting clarity deriding mock gangsters in the crowd. However 'Sirens' ramped up the city's soundtrack; the glorified chase lapped up by a delighted crowd.
'Jus a Rascal' met with a unfified wall of rascal belted back at the stage. 'Fix up look sharp' provided a welcome sing along. DJ Semtex provided a energetic base throughout. He only burst through on 'oldskool,' Dizzee briefly relegated to dancer. 'Jezebel' detailed a composit girl 'with a different boy everyday.' This was closely followed by 'Flex,' a dynamically received invitation for the crowd to vibrate.
Calvin' Harriss's appearance alongside Chrome brought an edge of pantomime to the finale. Having stumbled on he was inaudible, amiably grinning, dancing and hanging off Dizzee's shoulder. Chrome provided extra delivery to the number 1 single 'Dance Wiv Me,' justifying it's status. As Dizzee puts it in the song "I can't see no room for improvement." Though perhaps Calvin should take some notes next time around...
