Arcade Fire “justareflektor”

Artistic marketing hype is not solely the preserve of Daft Punk as Arcade Fire leaked their first single from their soon to be released album at 9pm tonight. That is at 9pm in whatever timezone you happen to be in: so in Oz first and then right across the globe.

“justareflektor” is a great track with a fascinating and intriguing interactive video created by Vicent Morisset. James Murphy has produced the forthcoming album and it hints at greatness, well this is the only hint we have but it’s a compelling one.

Aracade Fire, James Murphy and even a cameo from David Bowie.

Check this out… (On Google Chrome)

https://www.justareflektor.com/

For info:

https://www.justareflektor.com/about

Picks for the 10th Instalment of EP

Electric Picnic makes its tenth appearance this weekend and it’s bigger than ever.

One weekend a year the Stradbally estate is transformed for the Electric Picnic festival and that pays Tomas Cosby’s bills for the rest of the year. The Picnic is a sell out in 2013 with 35,000 people reportedly descending on Stradbally over the weekend for a carnival that is much more than the sum of its big names. There are no controversial Killers in the line-up this year and the bill has the stamp of eclectic excellence that has brought EP from what was humble boutique beginnings in 2004 to its present position as the biggest festival in the country in 2013. Michael Franti put it succinctly saying that Electric Picnic managed to strike “the perfect balance of hedonism and social consciousness.”

Today FM cast a nostalgic glance over the last 9 years with some Electric Picnic history to whet the appetite. Yesterday, word came in that Cosby has signed on for 10 more years of the festival at Stradbally, which is good news for all.

Below I give some of my picks for the weekend; the clashes are difficult to navigate and the musical treats are endless so its in no way exhaustive but here is a selection to get you started or give the uninitiated a push in my direction.

Friday:

Friday morning the camp-site is scheduled to open at the earlier than usual time of 9am. This crazed hour is for the early birds, eager beavers and first settlers to lay claim to all important land for tented circles dictated along massive marquee lines. These will be the smug folk looking on from deck chairs with a can in hand as others haul their supplies by them tired having rushed in rush hour from work. They will laugh at your misfortune and the shrinking real estate for pegs as you seek out some remaining pastures but you’ll be grateful if these are your friends and they’ve reserved some tent space for you to join the circle.

Now that you’ve done your scouts’ duty for the year and quenched that tent-building thirst it’s time to venture into the arena.

Daithi – Body & Soul Stage: (19:00 – 19:30) – 

Giorgio Moroder – Electric Arena: (22:30 – 00:00)

Nile Rodgers is not the only one enjoying an Indian Summer off the back of Daft Punk’s new record. “Random Access Memories” is a homage to original disco sounds and none are more synonymous with the dancefloor than Giorgio Moroder. He was the sound of the future way back in the 70s past as he used the Moog synth to create a distinctive electronic beat that is now omnipresent in modern music. He produced records for Donna Summer and David Bowie and expect them to be dropped in to his set in the Electric Arena Tent. DJ-ing is new to him but it’ll nothing if not unique.

FatBoy Slim – Main Stage: (22:30 – 00:00)

One of the uncompromising greats returns to Electric Picnic having been part of that famous 2005 bill that launched the festival on a wave of critical acclaim. The clash with Giorgio Moroder is a toughie, this is the safe bet.

The question is can you dance like Christopher Walken?

Ben Klock – RBMA Wood Stage: (00:00 – 04:00)

The dancing is far from over on this powerhouse of a Friday. There is some heavy techno from Berlin producer to lose yourself into the wee hours and at some stage you’ll look around and realise the weekend is in full swing.

Some alternatives:

My Bloody Valentine – Main Stage: (21:00 – 22:00)  If you want rock over dance then check out MBV & their much lauded new album.

“Together Disco” – Trailer Park Stage: (00:00 – 04:00) For something a little less intense than Klock  and more of a festival bop head to the Trailer Park stage that is being run by Jerry Fish.

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Some direction

Saturday:

Cyril Hahn – Electric Arena: (17:30 – 18:30)

BBC Radio 6 Music’s Anne Mac has championed this Swiss producer’s remixes and for good reason.

Space Dimension Controller – Little Big Tent: (19:00 – 20:15)

Futuristic funk.

Hercules & Love Affair – Casa Bacardi: (20:00 – 21:30)

Casa Bacardi has evolved from humble tent beginnings into a veritable party Hacienda that has pumped great tunes into the ears of eager mojito drinkers for whole weekends. It will be rammed this year and you’ll find yourself here more often than not, some never leave, but try and make it coincide with this camp disco set.

Matthew E. White – Body & Soul Stage: (00:15 – 01:15)

This soulful giant comes from a music commune of sorts in Richmond, Virginia. I saw him in Whelan’s in January and it was special, his debut album “Big – Inner” (multiple puns there) is one of the best albums of the year and has survived sustained listening. The Body & Soul stage is made for this man and his full band. A must see.

Disclosure – Main Stage: (00:30 – 01:45)

You could say they’ve had a meteoric rise since they released “Settle” this year and that is emphasised by this headline slot on the main stage. This dance-pop album has captured a huge audience because it dips expertly into each genre and mixes that sound into vivacious, pulsating tunes that have resonated across dancefloors. The Lawrence brothers are certainly worth checking out but would they not have worked better in the Electric Arena?

Go deep into the forest.

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Get Motivated come Sunday

Sunday:

Dublin Gospel Choir – Main Stage: (13:00 – 14:00)

Go get your musical mass on and kick those hangovers for the final day – this is EP tradition.

David Byrne & St. Vincent – Electric Arena: (20:30 – 22:00)

One of the sets I’m most looking forward to. The ex-Talking Heads front man is music royalty at this stage but each of his collaborations have offered something new and interesting, this St. Vincent collaboration is funky and they also do Talking Heads’ numbers, what more could you ask for?

The Knife – Electric Arena: (22:30 – 00:00)

New album “Deep Cuts” is excellent. I’m excited to see these retro-electro heads, feast on ‘Heartbeats’.

 

Mano Le Tough – Little Big Tent: (23:00 – 00:00)

A Greystones native, Mano has been adopted by the Berlin scene and runs a monthly night called Passion Beat. His album “Changing Days” is rich and textured and one of the best house releases this year. It points to great things for this purveyor of ambient house.

 

(Very) Special guest/s – Body & Soul Stage: (01:30 – 02:30) – 

Off the back of a headline appearance on Friday night at Body & Soul James Murphy is rumoured for this “special guest” slot. This is further backed up by the fact that he has been announced for the Recession Session in the Sugar Club on Thursday night. This’ll be special in the natural amphitheatre stage; no better man to round off the weekend than ex-frontman of LCD Soundsystem. The band could be the soundtrack to EP and the noughties although his DJ sets tends to only tease the audience with intros of LCD hits before reverting to his newer productions.

EP site map

Electric Picnic 2013: Line-up Announcement

Latest additions to the line-up – 23rd of July

Giorgio Moroder (Chris Cox DJ set), MO, Billy Bragg, Young Wonder,  Jagwar Ma, Indians, Duckworth Lewis Method, Kodaline, Braids,Two Door Cinema Club, The Duckworth Lewis Method, Cyril Hahn, Summer Camp, Sam Smith.

 

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Electric Picnic announced 23 further additions to its line-up for what is being dubbed the “10th Birthday” celebration taking place in Stradbally on the last weekend in August.

The line-up is not yet complete, and we still expect a tranche of solid DJs to be added sometime in August, as was the case last year, but with today’s additions the Picnic is very much playing to its strengths. Some acts added will certainly help to sway those cash strapped regulars and encourage them to cease their waiting game and go for the weekend they know over the vast array of attractive alternatives that have sprung up this year for the spoiled Irish music punter. The highlight of the additions, for me, is the soulful Matthew E. White whose debut album ‘Big Inner’ is one of the finest of 2013 so far. He left a sold out Whelan’s crowd enraptured when he played there in January and he was apparently bed ridden with a flu that day and nearly had to cancel the show so imagine what he’ll be like in full health and with a stage big enough for his huge travelling band – he’ll soar, a perfect fit.

Then there’s also Robert Plant, John Grant, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Noah & The Whale and Little Green Cars and many more added to the eclectic bill.

Last night the 50th edition of This Is Banter was hosted by Irish Times music correspondent Jim Carroll and it brought together some music folks with heavily vested interests in the coming Summer melee: festival promoters. The panel was made up of Declan Forde, from Forbidden Fruit & POD, Avril Stanley, from Body & Soul, and Leagues O’Toole who is running the Harmonic shows in the Iveagh Gardens. Theirs is an unenviable game to be in at present with unprecedented competition sparking talk of metaphorical bloodbaths, disasters and the purging to come but all this is obviously being whispered in hushed tones “Off The Record” because on stage last night the panel belied the stress they are apparently under to give a calm, almost zen-like, performance to the social-media rounded-up crowd in a packed Twisted Pepper. At times they were so horizontal that print journalist Jim Carroll had to work hard to extract some semblance of fear out of them, obviously this calm bodes well for the sales of their respective shows but surely they must still be nervous as they identified that the break-even point for a festival is only ever crossed in the final flurry of ticket buying in the week preceding the actual event so with this in mind their relaxed manner was impressive especially in the face of the 2013 saturation in the market.

One thing became clear from the talk: there will be winners and losers this Summer, and as one guaranteed winner, Bruce Springsteen, quipped in an ‘Atlantic City’ lyric, “Don’t get caught on the wrong side of that line.” It’s going to be incredibly difficult for promoters not to get burned this Summer and with the amount of events competing for thinner slices of diminishing punter income huge sums are bound to be lost. But if the overtures from this lot are anything to go by it won’t be Forbidden Fruit, Body & Soul or the Iveagh Gardens shows that end up getting axed in 2014. This savvy bunch will be around next year and perhaps that’s because they understand and value the trappings that make the weekends special, trappings such as this lively and entertaining 50th edition of This Is Banter.

It has been muted by those in the know that the Picnic is selling well, it is a strong brand with a loyal following so this isn’t surprising. However, for a festival that usually sells its tickets at the last minute this change in consumer behaviour is welcome and could be attributed to the new policy of rewarding loyal fans with a ticket price of €149.50 for a weekend ticket. That is the discount for those that can prove they’ve been three times or more and it seems to have worked in attracting people to buy their tickets earlier than they have in previous years. Ticketmaster must also be applauded for being lenient with the criteria for proof as old festival lanyards and even hazy pictures of indecipherable campsites are sufficing; fair play to them! As the promoters eluded to last night, early ticket sales are vital for a festival to survive as it gets cash-flow going and things can get done. The opportunity to get these discounts ends on May 27th when ticket prices will go up to €189.50 and then on July 28th they’ll go up to their final price of €229.50.

Full list of acts added to the line-up:

Robert Plant, Ellie Goulding, Little Green Cars, The Beat, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Space Dimension Controller, John Grant, Miles Kane, Matthew E. White, Crystal Fighters, Gavin James, Dawes,Valerie June, Factory Floor, Lady Lamb The Beekeeper, Charli XCX, Cayucas, Lulu James, Night Beds, Chrome Sparks, Big Black Delta, Terri Hooley (Living off Good Cinematic Vibrations!)

Prices:

Stradbally, Friday August 30th-Sunday 1st September 2013.

3 or more Picnics discount: €149.50

1 Picnic: €169.50

None: €189.50

After the discounts end a weekend ticket goes up to €229.50.

 

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Original Post Published: 25th April

Today the line-up for Electric Picnic 2013 was finally announced ending months of rumours and conjecture. This is the 10^th installment of the boutique festival which has ensconced itself in the rolling lawns of Thomas Cosby’s Stradbally Estate; this is its home. Home, they say, is where the heart is and for the loyal Picnic contingent the September bank holiday weekend has become a pilgrimage of sorts, an annual musical sojourn, so today’s announcement brought relief as speculation of a hiatus had been rife.

This year loyal fans of the festival will be rewarded by the organisers, that is if you can prove to the infamous gatekeepers of the music industry, Ticketmaster, that you have made the pilgrimage thrice or more. Here is where things get tricky for the eager punter. What will serve as proof? An email, Bank Statement or receipt on a Ticketmaster account? Once you go beyond these standard methods things get tenuous. “I bought it off a mate”, perfectly reasonable – but how do you prove it? What will they accept as evidence? Will knowing to turn left at the Heath to avoid the traffic on the way down – a highly useful bit of local knowledge – will that suffice? Say an ability to navigate the forest blindfolded or find the rave with ear plugs in? Or an 8 second clip of that earthshattering 2005 Arcade Fire set uploaded from your Youtube account? Maybe a doctor’s cert for hypothermia dated from September 2009 when you decided it was a good idea to head straight from a midnight jaquzzi session in Body & Soul to catch the end of Sea Sick Steve’s set on the Salty-dog stage and nearly froze to death? Perhaps a time-lapse video of the tented festival below, shot from the heights of the ferris wheel with Massive Attack’s Hymn of the Big Wheel emanating from off in the distance? Or the ability to produce a sufficient number of mouldy wristbands, that must be grounds for getting the discount? There are definitely some diehards from 2004 out there that have accumulated nine wristbands on their arms and have shielded them from their bosses all these years in anticipation of such a pay-day and this is their year. I guess you did tell us it’d be worth it. But for the ordinary folk who can hardly remember how they got in, let alone where they kept the receipt for the ticket, it will be more difficult. We can all speculate as to what will serve as proof that one has been the festival three times or more but the final call will be left in the hands of Ticketmaster and it is up to them to decide the merits of each case. If they are smart they will see this as a face-saving opportunity. If they give leeway on the “burden of proof” and take a hit on the price they receive for each ticket it will go a long way towards assuaging the anger of punters who’ve had to endure hidden fees on tickets bought over the years. The aptly named Ticketmaster have used their monopolistic position in the Irish music market to charge extra fees for years and the sums collected from each music fan undoubtedly add up to a vast multiple of the discount but a gesture like this would be a welcome one.

In the build-up to today’s announcement we’ve all imagined ourselves as bookers unencumbered by concerns such as budgets, competing festivals and entitled agents and we’ve emerged with that line-up that you and your friends crave, your perfect weekend free from any tough decisions or clashes. However, those fantasies are over and reality has struck as Daft Punk remain committed to only touring their new album at a farming festival in the outback of Australia and we’re left to ponder some concrete news about the line-up. For me, it’s great news. The Picnic is yet to let me down. The headliners are Bjork, Fatboy Slim and The Artic Monkeys. After that comes Electric Picnic’s strong suit, the eclectic mix of mid-level acts on an unabated upward trajectory: Eels, Disclosure, Hurts, Warpaint, Soak, The Walkmen, Baauer, Chvrches. Then you have the old guard solo acts who furnished some of our favourite bands: David Byrne & St Vincent (Talking Heads) and Johnny Marr (Smiths). Some quality bands: Franz Ferdinand, Ocean Colour Scene and Noah & the Whale and some newbies: Styrpes (The Cavan youngsters gaining real touring experience) and the intriguing Parquet Courts. And as with any first announcement there’ll be Many, many more……what needs to be brought in, in my humble, is some quality house and electronic acts. Today saw James Murphy release a press statement saying LCD Soundsystem would not be reuniting anytime soon but a solo appearance from the hipster guru would be welcome, also Joe Goddard’s side project 2 Bears would be perfect fit again in the Bacardi Tent (it’s hardly a tent anymore its a veritable Hacienda). There is great home grown talent on the electro scene to choose from, such as MMoths & Mano le Tough (with full new album Changing Days released recently), that will be added during the summer. You’re also guaranteed those unheard of gems that are unearthed at SxSW that surprise us every year. So we eagerly await the ad-ons, but for the moment we’ll buy our tickets off the strength of what has been released, content in the knowledge that we’ll close out one of Ireland’s best summers of music in a familiar part of the countryside.

Already our call for House & Electro has been answered, and an old stalwart rap group have been added too! Keep them coming!

Wu Tang Clan, My Bloody Valentine, Mano Le Tough, Hudson Mowhawke, Mount Kimbie, The Knife, Blondes, MS MR, Peace, Merchandise, The 1975, Luke Sital-Singh, Palma Violets.

Prices:

Stradbally, Friday August 30th-Sunday 1st September 2013.

3 or more discount: €149.50

1 Picnic: €169.50

None: €189.50

After the discount ends a weekend ticket goes up to €229.50.

The Arctic Monkey’s headline Sunday and a one day ticket is €85. The weekend comes with all the  delightful trappings that make the weekend: Mindfield Spoken Word, Body & Soul, Comedy Tent, Salty Dog, Trenchtown, Trailer Park, Bacardi etc

Moby & Mark Lanegan – ‘The Lonely Night’ – Record Store Day

To mark Record Store Day on April 20th, Moby & Mark Lanegan released this 7″ single called ‘The Lonely Night’. Lanegan’s raw and captivating vocals are put with Moby’s textured and lush sound. The accompanying video is a beautiful time-lapse of the California desert that perfectly complements this mesmerising collaboration. Check it out!

The Robots Return and Send the Music World Spinning to DISCO

The world’s most famous musical robots are back with a new album called Random Access Memories that will put disco back on the map.

“We’ve come too far to give up who we are, so lets raise the bar…” Their mission is to set Electronic music back on the right course. The robots say that electronic music has lost its way; they see it as rudderless and too focused on noise distortion, they want to take it back to the musical roots of funk, groove and soul infused disco that spawned the genre.

In many ways Daft Punk were the original purveyors of this synth-pop house music that has become so popular, so perhaps that puts them in a position to cast aspersions of misdirection on the genre. “Give Life Back to Music” is the opening track on the album and although we’ve yet to hear it there’s a definite sense that the album is being put forward as a future sign post for electro-music.

The web is teeming with hype and anticipation for this record as the robots have orchestrated a masterful pre-release marketing campaign. The French innovators have drip feed a serious of promotional videos onto the internet over the last week causing a scramble by music aficionados to grab the first “official” release of the single. At midnight tonight the first single “Get Lucky” is being officially released but unless you’ve existed in a Luddite vacuum for the last week then you’ve already heard a pirated version.

“Get Lucky” is a pop masterclass: funky, groovy, catchy and addictive with a chorus that you just can’t get out of your head,

“She’s up all night ’til the sun, I’m up all night to get some, She’s up all night for good fun, I’m up all night to get lucky! We’re up all night to get lucky!”

It’s simple and it grows on you with each listen.

Is it just coincidence or did Daft Punk seem to bring to an end what was a perennial winter? Last week came hints of spring and now we have the summer tune. Whatever it is these guys do, they do it with class – they are in total control.

The album is built on collaborations with Niles Rodgers, Pharrell, Giorgio Moroder and a bunch of other great session musicians. Get excited because this could possibly be as good as the hype…..

If you haven’t had a chance to see the video leaks by collaborators over the last two weeks take a look,

Summer Festivals – Longitude 2013

Longitude Line-up

The festival bar has been set, and set high.

Longitude’s Dublin debut is perfectly timed and perfectly primed to strike fear into competing festival bookers. This will surely inspire a flurry of promotional activity around the other marquee names as they compete for the limited numbers of festival goers on this island. Nobody can attend everything so choices will have to be made, there will of course be some over lap. So far the power-brokers of old – Electric Picnic and Oxygen – have remained muted, seemingly caught in a bizarre rumour filled limbo. Oxygen may return this year after having a much needed sabbatical. Electric Picnic has lost some of its momentum of late, there was even talk that it wouldn’t go ahead this year but that has been dismissed. However, promotional activity has been nearly non-existent, the decision not to release early bird tickets this year has meant little to no build-up for the Stradbally event. Still it can count on its die hard contingent who will be in celebratory mood for the 10th edition and they will see dwindling numbers as a positive of sorts, even if promoters disagree.

Boutique off-shoots like Body & Soul are small and should still attract growing numbers. Forbidden Fruit stands in direct competition with Longitude as an urban non-camping festival. Other camping options such as Indiependence and Castlepalooza have benefited from Oxygen’s absence but they’ll have a tougher year in 2013.

The Summer schedule is already filled with big single slots. New promoters Harmonic have been plugging their Iveagh Garden’s triumvirate of shows with acts such as Grizzly Bear, Tallest Man on Earth and Beach House. The National have been named for the Marquee in Cork and tickets went on sale this morning. Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen initially announced three shows in Cork, Belfast and Limerick. These sold out immediately as the “ageing rockers” cohort were eager to see one of the best performers ever take to the stage and continue to defy the limitations of being a sexagenarian, no matter what exorbitant prices are being charged. In lieu of the take-up, his promoters Aiken put on two more dates in Nowlan Park in Kilkenny to round off the Irish leg of his “Wrecking Ball Tour”. So there are the individual shows and now, with the weekenders joining the fray, it promises to be a bumper Summer for music fans.

Back to Longitude. It’s a sibling of the UK festival Latitude, which has been running annually since 2006, this is the first time the event is being held in Ireland and the event is run by promoters MCD. It is being billed as “more than just a music festival” but with this line-up the music will do the selling of tickets.  Whatever the “more” is will be announced shortly. Early Bird tickets are available from Monday March 4th at €130 for a weekend pass and €45 for a day pass. These prices will go up on April 7th to €150 for the weekend and €55 for a day pass. The festival is being held in Marley Park from Friday the 19th of July to Sunday the 21st.

Longitude have brought their headliners bill to the table first, so let the jostling for position begin. Those that are planning on staying at home this Summer have music and even the prospect of sun (predicted by some apparently infallible sage weatherman from New Zealand) to look forward to.   Whatever about the sun, the music gods will shine on 53.2775° N, 6.2697° W in July.