No Direction Home Festival 2012 - Preview

One sign of a successful festival is expansion. Reading took its ‘bands and not a lot else’ chaos to Leeds, Bestival took its visual aesthetic and made it more family friendly with Camp Bestival and now End Of The Road with its organic vibe, attention to detail and non-hype band musical ethos is about to do the same. The result is No Direction Home, a smaller (5,000 capacity) version of its bigger brother with a similar musical output (much of it folk / rock based) but a more northerly location on Welbeck Estate near Sheffield.

The festival promises three stages; The Lake Stage, The Electric Dustbowl and The Flying Boat Society and headlining acts are The Low Anthem, Andrew Bird and Richard Hawley.

Besides music there will be comedy, literature, the lost picture show cinema, food workshops (including brewery, baking, butchery and dairy) and possibly our favourite idea - the secret post office. The concept is that in the age of twitter, email, text and facebook there is something extra special about receiving a post card, so attendees are being encouraged to take some time out and write to friends and loved ones. The festivals postmen and women will be doing their rounds all day in the distinctive uniform with bicycle and megaphone. The idea is to provide an address as specific as possible (campsite, tent colour etc) or offer a clear description of the recipient and their likely whereabouts.  If a letter cannot be delivered it will be returned to the post office where the sender can visit and arrange a redelivery. 

There will also be (like End of the Road festival) a range of quality festival food and drink providers including Welbeck Farm Shop,  Pizza Tabun, Wide Awake Cafe, Barnaby Sykes Pie Maker, Moorish, The Tea Stop, Le Grande Bouffe, Anni's Breakfasts, The Sea Cow, Luardos & Bhatti Wraps plus a real ale bar and the famous Somerset Cider Bus, who’s hot spiced cider is a treat and a half.

We’ll be reporting back from No Direction Home Festival shortly after it finishes (and the blog will also be taking a few days off before and during the festival), but in the meantime you can catch up with many of the artists playing an excellent Spotify playlist (linked below) as well as listen to and / or watch 4 bands that we recommend watching.

Spotify Playlist For No Direction Home

Django Django (Lake Stage – Friday 19.15)

The last time we came across quirky indie popsters Django Django and their Beta Band influenced style of oddball pop on the blog was back at the start of 2010 when they were halfway up an alldayer bill in a Camden pub. With critical acclaim behind their new album now the band find themselves as serious main stage contenders.

Other Lives (Lake Stage – Saturday 19.30)

The sweeping panoramic musical vistas of Other Lives found us proclaiming their album Tamer Animals as ‘so immaculately crafted that once your ears have heard it once, they’ll want to be treated to its elegance many, many times more,’ as we put it at number 6 in our top ten albums of the year list for 2011.

Slow Club ( Lake Stage – Sunday 18.00)

Sunday’s Lake Stage line up is pretty special. Besides the likes of Cold Specks, Richard Hawley and our next recommendation The Unthanks, there is also the wonderful  Slow Club. This is a band who we’ve watched gradually develop over the last few years from a shambolic but charming mess, into a rather exhilarating and enamouring act.

The Unthanks (Lake Stage – Sunday 19.45)

Going 5 better than Other Lives, The Unthanks album Last was our favourite album of 2011. Therefore this recommendation should come as absolutely no surprise to Breaking More Waves regulars. The beauty of The Unthanks live, besides their incredible talent is that for every tour they play they do something different. For No Direction Home The Unthanks will be playing with the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band rather than their traditional piano and strings line up. Bring your hankies, so beautifully sad are their songs they’re likely to have you in tears.

Albums of the Year 2011 - #6 Other Lives - Tamer Animals

Back in April after we had first heard Tamer Animals by Other Lives we described it as ‘a flawlessly subtle piece of work that becomes even more giddying and beautiful with every listen.’ Eight months on we resolutely stand by that statement. For Tamer Animals is one of those rich, evocative records that’s so immaculately crafted that once your ears have heard it once, they’ll want to be treated to its elegance many, many times more.

To apply a genre to Tamer Animals seems unfair insofar as it puts the shackles on this cinematic, suspenseful music, but if we had to then it would probably be filed under Americana. However really it should just be stored in the box labelled good music, so intricately is it fleshed out with arousing orchestration, warm harmonies and songs that seem ready to fill skies over deserts.

Capturing elements of Fleet Foxes, The National, Midlake and taking them to the Albert Hall to kiss them with string symphonies Tamer Animals is a record that seems perfect whatever season it is or wherever you hear it. One of our favourite albums of the year, from the word go.

It seems that we’re not the only ones to find favour with the band as well, with love gradually spreading via word of mouth, leading to the band playing a sold out show at London's St. Giles Church in November and being asked to support Radiohead on their US dates next year.

Other Lives - Dust Bowl III

Summer Sundae 2011 - Review

Leicester’s Summer Sundae festival may not be a big hitter in terms of giant artists, riotous audiences, high budget aesthetically pleasing artistic direction or a line-up devised to appeal to one particular demographic, but what it does do it does incredibly well.

Summer Sundae appeals because it is an incredibly convenient festival to attend. If you’ve ever slogged your way around Glastonbury, or fought with Reading’s lack of sleep campsite-culture then Summer Sundae will come as a very pleasant easy-on-the-body surprise. Set in a park in a city centre location it still manages to convey a sense of being out in the countryside, even if the second stage is the permanent De Montford Hall and a ten minute stroll will bring you to a Costa Coffee shop with Wetherspoons pub five minutes further. But this city centre location provides many bonuses, none more so than a compact and well-designed site, a second campsite just across the road from the main festival for those who want a quiet night of sleep and excellent transport links which include a big on site cycle park, a train station nearby and car park and on street car parking within five minutes of the entrance. Top this off with excellent management and organisation where stages run on time, friendly and helpful security staff and you have something that Leicester can be really proud of.

Here’s our run down of all the good, with hardly any bad.

Tickets

Early Bird 3 day tickets were £100 with full price tickets being £115. If you wanted to camp in the more spacious quiet Regents campsite there was an additional charge of £12 a person.

The Site

A tree lined park in Leicester. The main stage was set on a natural slope that gave excellent viewing opportunities whatever your height and included a Punch and Judy stall set to the left of the stage which housed a giant bird and a crocodile who appeared to occasionally mime along to the bands as they played. The second stage was indoors in the permanent De Montford Hall, which again gave excellent viewing opportunities with a seated balcony as well as the standing stalls area. Three other stages were more traditional tented festival venues (one of which was for comedy and spoken word). The smaller Musician stage could have benefitted from being a bit higher – those beyond the front rows had difficulty seeing anything on stage when the audience was standing. New for 2011 was the Victorian Bandstand Stage, whose PA was powered by enthusiastic cycling punters and featured oddities such as a penny farthing and bone-shaker display and talk by local cycling historian Roger Lovell and Harp For Hangovers – cover versions played with harp accompaniment. For those with children or for anyone that wanted to get away from the main areas The Garden provided kids entertainment, information stalls and the festival famous Mashed Tea Tent for all your non-alcoholic and cake needs.

The Punters

A varied mix of old, young and everyone in between, many of whom were local to the Leicester area, giving the event a relaxed and less full-on vibe than many other festivals.

The Toilets

The standard festival portaloos were well provided for, cleaned regularly and well located. However for those whose idea of any sort of non-permanent loo is a malicious nightmare, the De Montford Hall permanent toilets provided a welcome alternative.

The Weather

Generally cloudy with patches of sun. Friday saw a small smattering of rain but nothing of any consequence.

The Food

An excellent selection of festival favourites such as Pieminister, Simply Thai and Iechyd Da, with prices ranging between £ 5-7.50. The bars were run by Orange Tree Bars meaning that there was a huge range of real ales to sample as well as a number of cocktails. There was also the more standard range of lagers, ciders and spirits. Festival goers were also allowed to bring their own food and drink onto all parts of the site with no restrictions as long as it was for their own personal consumption, although we understand that next year these rules may change and there may be limits on what you can bring in.

The Music

Summer Sundae is sometimes too heavily judged on its often very average and inconsistent headliners and to a certain extent this year was no different with The Maccabees, Newton Faulkner and McFly topping the bill. The Maccabees may be a decent mid-level indie band, but with a large stage and PA to fill the bands surprisingly subdued performance found them lacking a little, with Orlando’s voice not being strong enough to give the songs weight and their choice of lots of new tunes testing the patience of anything but the most hardcore of fans. However where Summer Sundae wins hands down is with the other cards in the pack, bringing a whole host of new, diverse and talented musicians to the stage on the lower reaches of the bill.

Friday saw the debut UK performance of Other Lives, whose audience size was helped by a momentary rain shower outside the Rising Stage tent, their subtle yet majestic blend of orchestral folk and rock stirring the soul with its note perfect warm execution. More natural beauty was on display just a short while later when Admiral Fallow’s songs lifted spirits even further – with poetic tenderness that felt like your best friend. Yet it wasn’t all organic singer-songwriter traditionalism. For those of a sturdy constitution the intense pummelling electronics of Factory Floor (streaming below) were a ride to the future ghost (g)rave of Giorgio Moroder. Hard hitting, hypnotic and droning the three-piece managed to scare off a number of the small crowd who watched them play, but those who remained were challenged with repetitive beats and stabs that made some sort of glorious noise. On the main stage early on Saturday evening Bellowhead got bums off the grass and feet dancing with their brassy burlesque folk music that gave easy justification to a claim by the Independent that they were the best live act in the country. And as the festival began to wind down on the final night and McFly entertained the screaming girls who had camped out against the barrier all day to see their heroes, Kitty Daisy & Lewis brought a magically nostalgic take on old fashioned 50’s rock n roll, flavoured with ska, disco and the blues to a jiving and smiling crowd.

The Conclusion

Summer Sundae is one of the most under-rated festivals in the UK. Forget about the headliners and enjoy everything else it has to offer.

Lying by Factory Floor

Summer Sundae 2011 - Preview

At first glance Summer Sundae festival in Leicester doesn’t look particularly appealing. Located in a city centre with a line-up that includes McFly, Newton Faulkner, The Maccabees and Showaddywaddy (yes honestly) sounds like someone has put the name of every band that ever existed into a hat and pulled some out randomly and called it a line-up.

But closer inspection reveals a festival that is bulging with musical goodness and has a couple of unique selling points that means that it’s a cracker of a festival – whatever the weather.

Summer Sundae may not pull huge names; it’s having to be run on a very careful budget after overspending in previous years, but as you look down the bill there’s a whole host of great new artists, many of whom have appeared on this blog. Take for example the band Other Lives, who play their first ever UK show on Friday afternoon on the Rising Stage – their album Tamer Animals is a subtly distinguished gem, one of our favourites of the year. On the same day there’s the jaw-droppingly good folk rockers Admiral Fallow, the irresistible put-a-smile-on-your-face indie of Givers and a certain Mr Graham Coxon of Blur. Add to that list over the next two days Breaking More Waves featured favourites Beth Jeans Houghton, Yaaks, Kyla La Grange, Delta Maid, The Antlers, Warpaint, and Example as well as names such as Blood Red Shoes, Dry The River, Bellowhead, I Am Kloot, The Agitator and Mercury nominated acts King Creosote & Jon Hopkins and Everything Everything and you have a veritable feast for your ears.

But there’s something else pretty clever about Summer Sundae. Unlike many other festivals, the chances of the dreaded line-up clash are minimised by the main stage running whilst the other three stages change over and vice versa. So in theory if you don’t stop for toilet or food breaks you can watch a band on one of the three smaller stages and as soon as they finish walk a few yards across the compact site to watch the next performance on the main stage. Not only that but if the weather is atrocious, you have the benefit of being able to dry off and even sit in comfort on a balcony as the second stage is Leicester’s De Montford Hall which is located on the side of the park where the event is held. Of course being a permanent building on site brings other luxuries – permanent toilets, sinks with hot water and soap and a carpeted bar area. If the idea of 3 days in a muddy field seems like your worst nightmare then Summer Sundae provides a decent halfway house between that and a normal gig.

We’ve mentioned some of the artists playing Summer Sundae. Here are three of our recommendations for your listening pleasure. We’ll be bringing a full review of Summer Sundae with our usual round up of the key points that make a festival work or not after the event.

*Footnote - Due to the recent riots and looting in the UK some events have been cancelled. We understand that there have been some incidents in Leicester, but that Summer Sundae organisers are liaising with police and the festival is still due to continue. Please however check the event website (link at the top of this preview) before travelling.

Other Lives 15.30 – Last FM Rising Stage - Friday

Other Lives - Dark Horse

Kyla La Grange 14.30 – Last FM Rising Stage – Sunday

Kyla La Grange - I Could Be (free download)

Example 19.30 – Main Stage - Sunday

Example - Changed The Way You Kiss Me - [Tom Starr Remix]

Other Lives - Tamer Animals

Sometimes bands are just really good at what they do and we have to doth our hat to them and just accept it.

Other Lives are one such band. They create music that rather than smacking you in the face, sweeps and soars through your brain. If pop music is the brattish child wanting everyone to look at them and rock music is the moody teenager who wants to punch out but ultimately still needs to be loved then Other Lives are the moment when maturity is reached – when the realisation that haughty but ultimately empty statements are worthless. What is really important is great actions that speak subtly by virtue of what is done. These actions are in Other Lives music.

Other Lives are Jesse Tabish, Jonathon Mooney, Jenny Hsu, Colby Owens and Josh Onstott and as detailed previously have recently supported The National and The Decemberists. They have also been confirmed for the US leg of Bon Iver’s September tour and are playing 3 confirmed UK festival shows – Summer Sundae, Green Man and End of the Road as well as London and Manchester dates. Tamer Animals is the title track of their new album, released in August, which may just sneak itself onto a few year end lists. This song is being issued as a single to develop the groundswell of appreciation for the band. Take a listen - it’s an ascendant piece of magnificence.

Other Lives - Tamer Animals

Other Lives - For 12 (Video)

Back in April we wrote of Oklahoma orchestral folk masters Other Lives - we suspected that there would be many more posts about the band. Now let’s keep that promise.

Other Lives first UK single from their forthcoming brilliant end-to-end listen second album Tamer Animals is For 12. The song is a majestic slow motion gallop full of lush strings and ear caressing melodies evoking imagery of vast landscapes. It’s a tune that picks its way gracefully across the desert of musical averageness and forms its own little oasis; absorbing stuff of the highest quality.

This theme was part of the inspiration for the video as director Nick Davidge explains. “The first time I heard For 12 it really took my breath away, it was just such a beautifully haunting melody. It instantly started me thinking about these vast lonely landscapes and led to this idea of trying to visualize the most isolated human experiences, finding a situation that really captured the feeling of being utterly separated from humanity.”

Besides the release of this video, Other Lives have also announced some UK shows. The group will play 3 festivals – Summer Sundae, Green Man and End of the Road as well as dates in August at Manchester Deaf Institute and London Lexington.

Other Lives - New Waves

If you’re a fan of the likes of The National and Fleet Foxes, but also enjoy the widescreen soundscapes of bands like Sigur Ros, then Other Lives are about to make you fall completely under their spell. Welcome to, quite possibly, your new favourite band.

We’ve labelled Other Lives as a ‘New Wave’ but that’s not strictly true, for this five-piece from Stillwater, Oklahoma have been around for a while. Having formed from the ashes of another band – Kunek – they put out their debut long player back in 2009. Later this year they’re due to release their second album Tamer Animals and we can confirm that it’s a flawlessly subtle piece of work that becomes even more giddying and beautiful with every listen. Tamer Animals sounds like a labour of love where the band has ensured that every detail, every moment is perfectly formed. With lush strings, horns, pianos and organic instrumentation combining with calm harmonies there’s a rich and deep seam of masterful drama created through what Other Lives do. It’s a record of superior quality that deserves to be owned in its entirety – no buzz band one song free downloads and multiple remixes by cooler than thou producers are required here. Other Lives are not about blog hype overload based on one or two songs, but of slow-burn breakthrough. Those who give their songs the most important ingredient of all - time - will find themselves caressed and coaxed into some sort of oblivion of wonder with this record.

If you become a fan, you’ll be in good company. Thom Yorke of Radiohead has already singled out the band for attention via Radiohead’s Dead Air Space blog and the band have just set out on a series of dates with The National, The Decemberists and S.Carey (Bon Iver). We also hear that the group should be playing some low key shows and festivals in the UK later this year. We’ll see you down the front for one of those.

This is our first post about Other Lives. We suspect there will be many more. Get ready to own them before they own you.

Other Lives - For 12