Reeperbahn Festival Announces Final Line-Up and Expects Sell-Out

20Sep09

24th-26th September, Reeperbahn, St Pauli District, Hamburg

After announcing it’s brightest international line-up to date, the eagerly awaited Reeperbahn Festival, now in it’s fourth year, takes place next week between the 24th -26th September. Whatsmore, the festival is expecting to sell-out all of it’s twenty thousand day tickets.

For the first time in it’s history, this year Reeperbahn Festival has been actively promoting it’s offering to UK & US media and music lovers, and now opens it’s doors to international music fans, press and of course, new artists.

Reeperbahn Festival’s strap-line is ‘New International Music’ and is similar in set-up to London’s popular new music festival ‘Camden Crawl’ and also Texas’ dusty showcase extravaganza ‘South By South West’. However, take Hamburg’s bohemian arts and cafe culture mixed-in with it’s vibrant red light district, busy shipping harbour and some funky haircuts for good measure, and you have the ingredients for Europe’s premier and most enjoyable new music festival.

Reeperbahn Campus:

This year will also see the introduction of ‘Reeperbahn Campus’ -a series of expert seminars and master classes featuring music industry heavyweights to educate and discuss current topics affecting the international industry.

Already more than one thousand journalists and panel experts have been accredited this year.

The perfect alternative to the recently cancelled music industry trade fair Popkomm, Reeperbahn Campus offers a new communication platform to an expert audience in an attractive setting beyond conference rooms and fairground halls, where panels will focus attention on the challenges and trends resulting from the constant merging of the “Creative Industries”.

Members of AIM –Association of Independent Music, the UK trade organisation for independent record labels and music companies, are entitled to a twenty per cent discount on accreditation for Reeperbahn Campus. Further information is available at: www.reeperbahncampus.com

The UK line-up at the Reeperbahn Festival 2009 includes the likes of Editors, Reverend and the Makers, this Summer’s festival favourites Dananananakroyd and Fight Like Apes.

Established musical heavyweights, American alt-rock trio Dinosaur Jr are also billed for this year’s festival, alongside an eagerly anticipated DJ set from Brazilian new-wavers CSS and one of Scotland’s biggest and brightest recent exports Biffy Clyro.

Over 150 international acts will be heading down the globally renowned highway and strutting their stuff around the array of fashionable and iconic venues, such as Kaiserkeller, where a young band from Liverpool –The Beatles, cut their teeth before going on to achieve global superstardom. All venues and locations are handpicked by the Reeperbahn team to reflect the dynamic and distinctive feel of the festival.

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Tags: Reeperbahn Festival

Swing Youth: Myself To Blame

15Sep09

Swing Youth, a Watford quartet, are releasing a double a-side single, Myself To Blame/Blade of Grass on October 12th. Half of all proceeds made from the single will be going to the Royal British Legion, which I’m helping the band to promote.

You can check out the video for Myself To Blame below, and then if you like it, have a look at their Myspace: www.myspace.com/weareswingyouth

It’s very rare that I’ll copy and paste wholesale a press release on here, so forgive the switch in service, but It’s for a good cause!

SWING YOUTH

MYSELF TO BLAME / BLADE OF GRASS

Swing Youth release their infectious double a-side debut single ‘Myself To Blame / Blade of Grass’ on October 12th. The band who only formed in the spring of 2009 have been busy writing and crafting their enthralling set above the music venue they run in Twickenham London, where the buzz around this band and music scene is really building.

Word is spreading fast about Swing Youth’s fast and frantic live performances and musically the bands influences from the postpunk era are clear to see, the likes of The Cure, Siouxsie, Joy Division, and X-Ray Spex are all in the mix.

The single will be available as a limited edition CD, downloadable through most digital outlets and streamable through Spotify. The official video for ‘Myself to Blame’ is now available to listen to and watch on the Swing Youth YouTube channel.

Swing Youth are a pair of brothers originally from Watford, Chris and Dave Chanell and Louie and Jimmy Johnson. The band take their name from the 1940s German counter culture which gave German youth the freedom to express themselves in a National-Socialist society through meeting in secret jazz and swing clubs.

Following the death of a former schoolmate serving with the British forces in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, 50% of the single sales will be donated to the Royal British Legion.

“When we heard the news of Captain Tom Sawyers death, it really brought it all home and made the on-going troubles in Afghanistan far more real. The Royal British Legion do some amazing work to support families of servicemen and so we wanted to give something back.

“We have since played some rock n roll covers shows regularly at the Royal British Legion, its always busy for us and we are made to feel really welcome within that community.

In the autumn Swing Youth will be continuing to build on the buzz around their local area with a series of shows in both Twickenham and Watford whilst also coming into central London.

Further Swing Youth tracks are available at www.myspace.com/weareswingyouth

The Swing Youth Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com/swingyouth

October 17th – Royal British Legion, Rickmansworth – Myself To Blame Single launch

October 29th – Beautiful People are Ugly Too @ The Red Lion, Twickenham

(w/ Marner Brown)

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Tags: Blade of Grass, Joy Division, Myself To Blame, Royal British Legion, Siouxsie, Swing Youth, The Cure, Watford, X-Ray Spex

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS AT SOMERSET HOUSE

19Jul09

Super Furry Animals, Somerset House, July 18 2009

Ferverent erruptions of indistinguishable sounds. Cardboard effigies of Nick McCarthy. The most psychadelic of atmospheres. Smiles all round. It must be another Super Furry Animals gig.

Nestled in the lavish courtyard of Somerset House this is certainly a stunning place to play a gig, and there is an apparent sense of anticipation as to whether the Furries will be able to match up to these surroundings. Taking to the stage (sadly sans their trademark Yeti costumes) before night has fallen and launching into Slow Life, a song with such scope that most bands would leave it to the end, it is obvious that SFA have their sights set on greater goals.

From a slightly shaky start, and interestingly getting fan favourites such as (Drawing) Rings Around the World and Juxtapozed With U out of the way early on, they launched into a set that scaled the heights and trawled the depths of their impressively diverse back catalogue. While playing relatively obscure cuts from Radiator a brief glimpse around the crowd revealed a sea of mouths reciting in unison. It was clear that the band was not afraid to pull out their lesser known wonders as everybody in the audience were devoted fans and were hanging on every note.

The omission of numerous hits was refreshing, as was the laid-back nature of both the band and the crowd. There was a sense of rapport and mutual respect between artist and fan, with the usual crowd activities occurring with seemingly military precision, or indeed when dictated by Gruff Rhys and his seemingly endless supply of crowd cue cards, scrawled in giant black marker pen and bearing such messages as “Applause!”, “Woah!” and in one perfectly executed display of comedic genius an instruction written so minutely that it was incomprehensible to everybody who gazed upon it.

The sheer enjoyment and artistry on display here was something that I have not seen many bands achieve, nor am I likely to for quite a while I suspect. Although avoiding commercial success for the past few years, Super Furry Animals continue to prove that with the quality of their recorded output and live shows they are still on top of their own individual castle of manic genius.

Super Furry Animals at Somerset House is part of the Summer Series sponsored by Coca-Cola. CBM were guests courtesy of Magners (cheers chaps! – MC), who you can follow on twitter @magnersUK

RC

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Tags: Coca-Cola, Magners, Nick McCarthy, Somerset House, Summer Series, Super Furry Animals

New Tri – Sound for Soul Music

04Jul09

Tri-Sound’s debut release is The Third Degree’s northern soul re-working of the Duffy hit Mercy. Released on July 27th the track is already picking up significant play at radio and key press attention with this month’s Observer Music Monthly announcing – “it definitely trumps the original”. The label will follow the single with an album from Noel McKoy, ex-vocalist with the James Taylor Quartet and a leading light in the UK’s soul scene. ShellShock will look after physical distribution and IODA will handle digital for Tri-Sound in the UK.

Three leading music industry players have joined forces to launch Tri-Sound, a new label specializing in contemporary soul.

The triumvirate of Marshall Chess (Chess Records), Eddie Piller (Acid Jazz) and Fredrik Ekander (Bonnier Amigo) are pooling their extensive experience and a shared encyclopedic knowledge of the genre in order to showcase the very best in soul music.

“I’ve always like the way the British have taken American soul, twisted it and sold it back to us, “ explains Marshall Chess. “it’s a fresh approach and more classically orientated then contemporary R’n’ B. Our aim is to provide a platform for soul from a European perspective”.

The label will concentrate recording around Stockholm’s premiere studio set up Cosmos. Opened in 1962 – and previously owned by EMI /Abbey Road – this legendary residential studio will play an integral part in all Tri-Sound recording sessions. “”The first time I walked into Cosmos in Stockholm was a de-ja vu experience, I hadn’t felt creative energy like Cosmos was radiating since I left Chess. ” says Marshall Chess.

Whilst the label will place an emphasis on signing new artists they’ll also explore placing heritage acts in a contemporary setting. Marshall Chess will be key to this given his considerable experience working at his family’s label Chess Records and his role at Rolling Stone Records. Fredrik Ekander will look after the mechanics of running the label from his Bonnier Amigo headquarters and Piller – as founder of one of UK’s most acclaimed indies Acid Jazz – will play an active A&R role sourcing new talent.

”Not only have I been good friends with Marshall and Eddie respectively for over ten years” says Ekander – who was responsible for bringing the trio together – “ but in the short time since I introduced them, they too have become equally good friends. They are true characters, great innovators and their impressive careers speak volumes. I’m delighted we’re all working together”.

“Marshall is a bona-fide legend – one of the last great record men. I can’t wait to get stuck into his phone book and see who we can make some music with” adds Piller.

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Tags: Tri-Sound

Bloomin’ Marvellous New Venue for Festival

03Jul09

It’s been a tough few months at Bloom HQ, with various unforeseen issues for the previous site. However, never allowing themselves to be daunted, the Bloom team have beavered away to find an incredible site just 20 miles from the original site at West Littleton Down. They love it so much, they instantly signed a new deal to secure the location for the next three years!

Describing itself as The Ultimate House Party in a Field, Bloom Festival returns this August with another almighty explosion of up-and-coming and established acts – now strutting their stuff on stage at a beautiful new location…

Chepstow Racecourse is a gem of a site, with breathtaking vistas of the surrounding areas and a myriad of resources, creating a totally improved experience for this year’s event. The new site is a stone’s throw away from the Severn Bridge, and Chepstow National Rail, meaning the festival is now much more easily accessible. There is also an abundance of unique, special features waiting for Bloomers to discover – which the organisers are keeping under wraps for now. Be assured, this is a venue which will make Bloom an absolutely unforgettable experience!

“This really has been a blessing in disguise” says festival organiser Olivia Chapman. “We’ve discovered that actually, Chepstow couldn’t be more perfect for Bloom 2009, it’s been a complete silver lining. Bloom is our heart and soul –it’s all about the people and we always strive to make it a superb, quality experience. The new location is faultless and we’re now even more excited about August’s festival!”.

This summer’s Bloom boasts another of their famously diverse line-ups, spanning across a plethora of genres, including; electro, house, folk, hip hop, funk, drum ‘n’ bass and anything else you can raise an ice cold cider to. With artists including; Finlay Quaye, Johnny Flynn, James Yuill, Noah and the Whale, Chase & Status, Nathan Fake and Ralph Lawson this year is shaping into one you just can’t miss!

Bloom has an extremely strong sense of community, and since the inaugural festival they have always heavily involved the local area. This year is no exception, as they’re sourcing contractors and traders from the region, in a bid to boost the local economy. As part of the new Visit Britain campaign, Bloom also work closely in conjunction with the local tourist boards to actively promote the area and boost tourism.

Now in its fourth year, with massive industry support and consecutive award nominations at the 2008 UK Festival Awards, Bloom has grown from an unassuming 1,500 capacity, inhabiting two tents, to a fully fledged boutique extravaganza, with six brimming stages and a star-studded line-up playing for over 6,000 festival-goers… In the spirit of getting more bands for your buck, the organisers have introduced a further four arenas, and are selling tickets for a very reasonable £75 – the best value for money festival tickets available this year!

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Tags: Bloom festival, Chepstow Racecourse