This weekend brought us to the main stage of Bristol Harbour Festival to face my local crowd who braved the elements. Luckily the rain kept to steady drizzle mode but thanks to all of you who still danced about with umbrellas aloft! It was great to be back in town to play this fantastic event and we loved every minute of the half-an-hour set between the traditional dancers from Georgia.
We whisked through 7 tracks in all…
1. Stay
2. Reveal Your Body
3. Like A Ghost
4. Ignorance Is Bliss
5. Miss Opportunity
6. Leaving You
7. Soho!
Cheers to everyone who came down and helped us start the party. Thanks again to the Amphitheatre Stage crew – some slick operators there. And thanks to Dan Black for helping top up our rider. VV Brown was pretty cool too.
Hopefully we’ll be invited back for a sunnier version next year. Bye for now, it’s back to the studio…
My eyes are switching excitedly between the weather forecast for Lulworth this weekend and the line-up for Camp Bestival. Please let there be sun…I don’t want to see PJ Harvey, Florence & The Machine, Chic, Will Young and Candi Staton in the rain!
I was lucky enough to be there last year for its debut weekend of blazing sun, pear cider, dressing up, chilling out and great music. I even wrote a review for iDJ magazine:
The self-confessed retreat for “yummy mummies and freaky daddies” may be a new addition to the festival calendar, but within minutes of strolling around Camp Bestival you can’t help feeling like the craziness has been going on for decades.
Organiser Rob Da Bank has already established the laidback music festie with Bestival itself so he knows what he’s doing, but this new family-friendly Camp Bestival feels like the ‘baby sister’ who prefers face-painting and dressing up. With an inspired Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme, a large cross-section of every age group walks around the medieval backdrop of Lulworth Castle in some sort of surreal getup as if it’s second-nature. Pigtails, playing crds, top hats and fluffy tails all make up the patchwork quilt of Wonderland madness. Imagine a cross between Glastonbury’s Greenfields and a colourful village fete, and you’re somewhere near the Camp Bestival mark.
As for the music on offer, most of the main stage acts fall in the old rocker and indie-pop camps, with the likes of Chuck Berry, Kate Nash, The Flaming Lips, Billy Bragg and Black Kids. However, for those of us who like some meaty beats and grooves, then Mr Da Bank made sure we were happy too – Hercules & Love Affair and Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip both offered solid live sets and the likes of DJ Yoda, Dub Pistols and of course Rob himself all kept the energy up in the Balearic Bollywood tent.
The sunny weekend might have made a big difference, but this has got to be the nicest, sweetest, loveliest, most laidback festival out there. Throughout the weekend 3,000 kids ran free and 6,000 adults ran on a diet of falafels and Swedish pear cider, but everyone obviously feels safe and can truly relax. If you want to let loose, but can’t shirk your parental responsibilities, then take the family there next year
I can proudly announce that my dad’s old band, Stackridge, have truly sealed their comeback with a top-selling new album!
Well done pop, Andy, James, Crun and the rest of the band for coming up with ‘A Victory For Common Sense’ – it’s a great album which became one of the bestselling albums on Amazon this week.
With song titles like Cheese And Ham and Red Squirrel, they’re back to their eccentric ways but I had a sneak preview of the whole LP a few months ago and it really is a great collection of songs. It’s almost a modern reinvention of their unique 70’s pop-prog sound, but with an 80’s sheen provided by producer Chris Hughes. I like it. Of course my favourite track is one of my dad’s classic songs, North St Grande.
It’s out in all the shops but you can buy it now from Amazon.co.uk
I’m really looking forward to this next gig – my local crowd, big stage and a chance to perform in the warmth of the midday sun. Fingers crossed for great weather and me and the band will be checking out all the other great stuff going on over the weekend.
I’m playing a 45min set at 12:00pm on the Amphitheatre stage in the centre of Bristol. I think it’s in the Millenium Square but not confirmed yet. The festival website kindly describes me as: “A local talent to keep tabs on if you like your pop music a little more sophisticated. Slick R&B influences and infectious melodies are all present here.”
Amphitheatre Stage
The Amphitheatre Stage is the biggest performance stage at the Harbour Festival. It occupies the most visually exciting location, with a backdrop of the harbour and tall ships. The stage plays host to the festival’s opening Friday night concert and is the key viewing point for the Saturday night fireworks, which follow the festival’s headline act on the Amphitheatre Stage.
The Bristol Harbour Festival is one of the best-loved festivals in the South West of England and one of the biggest free events in the country. Taking place around Bristol’s beautiful historic city centre harbour, it’s a showcase of the wealth of the city’s finest talent in the performing arts and a platform for visiting performers from around the globe, attracting more than 200,000 visitors over three days.
As well as seven performance stages and three fringe stages, the festival features historical ships and boats, children’s entertainment, continental markets, a fantastic array of food and drink, and the city’s biggest and most popular annual fireworks show.
It’s all free, so come join me and have a great weekend!
Right, headphones in, laptop fired up and broadband burning. Having a quick rummage through the murky world of myspaces and found some gems out there. Now chaps and chapesses, as well as savouring my own music, I urge you to check out…
MARMADUKE DUKE – ‘Rubber Lover’
Just a clip on their myspace – you’ve gotta fork out the pennies to get this single in full. Their new album is pretty crazy stuff, not sure what to make of it quite yet. Also, what the hell is going on with the heavy-metal-gothic-punk look they’re sporting? Doesnt quite fit the quirky dance pop, but hey rules are there to be broken eh? http://www.myspace.com/themarmadukeduke
THE OPERATORS – ‘B Line’
Cosmic indie disco with a killer hook in this track. Loving the old disco house bassline that drives along in the background. Reminscent of Duran Duran and Mylo me thinks. http://www.myspace.com/theoperatorsrock
MILKE – ‘Love Get Out Of My Way’
I’m still listening to Black Ghosts’ album from last year and this is the closest thing I’ve heard to match the electro-pop power, as far as I’m concerned. Deserves a decent airing this summer. http://www.myspace.com/milketheband
I love lists. Can’t get enough of ‘em. So, as I’ve been dusting off my old CD collection and discovering some forgotten gems, I’ve started to compile my top 100 classic tracks. Of course this could take a while and in my head the list could change every day, but what the hell. Let’s make a start…
100. ‘BATTLEFLAG’ – LO FIDELITY ALLSTARS
This monster track has been a favourite of mine since the heady days of big beat when Skint Records were churning out some big hitters. I remember, back when the Future Funk Squad were modest DJs in Yeovil (now FFS is renowned globe-trotting producer Glen Nichols and his partner on the decks was Neil Briggs, who’s out on his own as a successful breakbeat DJ called High8), I used to drunkenly pester them to play this track and promptly dance like a deranged orangutan from the first beat. Those were the days! As far as I’m concerned, Battleflag was the Lo Fidelity Allstars finest moment – cool vocal, dirty beat and great hammond organ outro. Shoddy video though.
Freaky! I found this on my laptop from a few years ago. When Will Simms and I first started producing tracks, we played live under the name ‘Dog Robbers’, hence this surreal design. Not sure what was I thinking!? Dog Robbers are no more, so this was destined never to see the light of day…until now
You gotta check out Audio Porn Central – comical images, funky mashups, relentless posting and tons of utterly cool stuff make this really really addictive.
My personal favourite is Izel’s ‘Love Shot’ which is a seamless blend of the Beastie Boys and Barry White & the Love Unlimited Orchestra. Genius!
Yep, we all know, use, poke, socially network and get addicted to the phenomenon that is Facebook. I’m no exception and have fallen for its charms hook, line and sinker, so I’ve now got an official new Facebook Musician Page for all and sundry to browse, watch, listen and comment til the cows come home.
The much-publicised rise and fall of the King Of Pop could be taking another twist. As the O2 Arena management prepare for a press conference tomorrow, rumours are that Michael Jackson will be announcing a run of shows at the London venue and maybe even a world tour.
Regardless of the media speculation and Michael’s alleged ‘dodgy’ activities behind closed doors, his music will still go down in pop history and his albums certainly had a massive influence on me. Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad and Dangerous were played til the tape wore out (yes, that’s a ye olde cassette) when I grew up and still get thrown on the stereo to keep the party going.
So, what better reason to highlight my favourite Jacko moment of all time? Look out for that legendary moonwalk! 3m40s in if you can’t wait…
Right, Everything Everything have officially become my new favourite band. Bonkers but brilliant. http://www.everything-everything.co.uk/ Tweet...2010/03/07
Listening to Rubber Soul from the Beatles boxset I got for xmas. Don't think I've ever listened to it all the way thru. Fab man! Cheers Dad! Tweet...2010/01/02
My futile new year's resolution is to keep in touch with everyone so...hello again everyone. Right, that's that done! Tweet...2010/01/01
I can proudly announce that my dad’s old band, Stackridge, have truly sealed their comeback with a top-selling new album!
