FEATURE:
The Great Escape 2019
IN THIS PHOTO: Ferris & Sylvester
Ones to Watch: Part One of Three
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THE names who will play at this year’s The Great Escape in Brighton...
IMAGE CREDIT: @thegreatescape
are being announced and it is another busy and quality-stocked year! There are more names coming and, from all over the world, we will see artists converge to Brighton and entertain the people. From 9th-11th May (my birthday is on the 9th!), we will get to see some fantastic rising artists mingle and perform at this fantastic festival. If you have not been to The Great Escape festival then you owe yourself a trip down there. The weather will be (one hopes) fantastic and there are few better places to discover new music than Brighton – with such a wonderful backdrop and great people. There are so many wonderful artists heading to The Great Escape and, whilst it can be hard deciding which to go and see, there are some that stand away from the pack. I shall put together a few parts but, in this first edition, here are the first batch of acts that you need to go and see when heading to The Great Escape. Have a look, investigate their music and, when it is festival time, make sure you go and...
IN THIS PHOTO: Big Joanie/PHOTO CREDIT: Helen Messenger Photography
SEE them in the flesh.
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Aaliyah Esprit
Bio:
“Aaliyah Esprit has had an incredible 12 months. Originally from Nottingham, she has since planted foundations in Manchester; splitting her time between both cities. In 2017, she put together a full live band with which she has supported both Denai Moore and Ash Walker., Aaliyah was announced last year as a pupil of the highly sought-after Future Bubblers programme, which has given us the likes of Yazmin Lacey and Skinny Pelembe amongst others in recent times”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaliyahesprit
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AaliyahEspritMusic/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/73JRJE3o5cLbEOIoksppmG?si=wGOV_e0FQluAf1UC65dl5w
Key Cut: Energy
Alfie Templeman
Bio:
“15 year-old Bedfordshire songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alfie Templeman releases music written, played, produced & mixed by him entirely in his bedroom out of school hours. Compared to a young Mac Demarco, MGMT, Tame Impala, Harry Nilsson and Boy Pablo and tipped by Radio 1, The Sunday Times, The Observer, Vogue, NME, Clash, Dork and DIY amongst others, Alfie’s future is looking very bright”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/atemplemanmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atemplemanmusic/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6QzMY3tnu0m56eKUnr4uCF?si=cpD_49IIS6-CVTN_6ZJOKw
Key Cut: Yellow Flowers
Anna Calvi
Bio:
“Calvi has been revered in the British music industry since she emerged in 2011, a soulful songwriter, virtuosic guitarist and captivating performer. Both her self-titled debut album and the 2013 follow-up One Breath were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, with her debut also receiving a Brit nomination for ‘Best Breakthrough Artist’. She’s collaborated with Brian Eno, Marianne Faithful and, on the 2014 covers EP Strange Weather, David Byrne. In 2017, she composed the music for The Sandman, an opera directed by Robert Wilson”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annacalvi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annacalvi/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/50sSN9E5i4DJzYDclAXlSo?si=CDtVrfwbSeOqq2amAszShA
Key Cut: Eliza
Another Sky
Bio:
“When you listen to Another Sky, it’s probably Catrin Vincent’s voice that’ll catch your attention first. It is a weapon – peculiar, androgynous, lurching and defiant – that she wields to beautiful, evocative effect.
Channelling the brooding atmospherics of Radiohead and The xx, but with a little more bite and political charge, Another Sky’s music is dark, cinematic and richly textured. Layering ambient guitars with penetrating bass lines and anxious beats, there is a thrillingly haunting quality to it”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anotherskymusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnderneathAnotherSky/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/08p5D6BYuwPqGsFuIDLNFr?si=8BqF2wLUS9iDI69kES8D1g
Key Cut: Chillers
Bang Bang Romeo
Bio:
“Fronted by vocal powerhouse Stars Walker and featuring Ross Cameron (guitars) and Richard Gartland (drums) Bang Bang Romeo are a young propelling force for female fronted bands and a strong and open voice for the LGBTQ+ community. Stars is being hailed by many prominent industry names as having a ‘once in 20 years voice’ and the band’s unrivalled larger-than-life performances are driving audiences wild up and down the country.
2018 saw Bang Bang Romeo play over 150 shows – their main stage-opening set at this year’s Isle Of Wight Festival drew the biggest audience for a first-on act in the festival’s history (according to John Giddings – festival owner). Their other main stage appearances included Tramlines, Victorious, second stage at Kendal Calling, headline slots at Y-Not & Truck and main stage at Doncaster, Cardiff and Leeds Pride”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bangbangromeo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bbromeo/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pYrJEBQD23sHMvxsBM3fO?si=SxiMia71Rp6NoVEy5uVEKg
Key Cut: Bag of Bones
Bess Atwell
Bio:
“Two years on from her debut album, the former solo project has evolved into a full band sound soaked in four-part vocal harmony fulfilling Atwell’s desire to create a more dynamic live show, with traces of traditional folk music. Atwell’s latest single ‘Grace’ is the more restrained, intimate successor of her August offering ‘Swimming Pool’, both of which have been playlisted by BBC Radio 6 Music. For fans of Sharon Van Etten, Fleet Foxes, and The National”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bessatwell
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bessatwellmusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Pim5E5Lm03COsjHj2aEiK?si=uwi8iLHpStSoOyWj-nECGw
Key Cut: Cobbled Streets
Big Joanie
Bio:
“Eva Prinz & Thurston Moore’s art publishing house Ecstatic Peace Library are thrilled to announce the new record label entity THE DAYDREAM LIBRARY SERIES
In this series curated by Eva Prinz, Thurston Moore & Abby Banks a limited edition number of vinyl or cassette albums will be released in a pristine “collector’s edition” package with the highest quality recordings, impeccable design and will include handmade fanzines with the album’s liner notes, interviews with the bans.
The first year of releases will offer genre-crossing musics including opera, classical, punk rock and sound-healing. Each album in THE DAYDREAM LIBRARY SERIES will include a limited edition fanzine edited by Eva and Thurston with the musicians”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Big_Joanie/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigjoanie/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/39cxr26gqrCiUgIkz4lA8j?si=weNOr7ITT_yAkg8eg7MxPg
Key Cut: New Year
Big Wild
Bio:
“As Big Wild, producer & composer Jackson Stell crafts lush soundscapes and sweeping melodies that challenge the status quo of electronic music. A former hip-hop producer, previously going by J Beatz in his native Massachusetts, Stell launched the Big Wild project in 2012 following a life-altering trip to Big Sur, California. His musical muse and spiritual home at the time of its inception, California was the ultimate inspiration that fueled the Big Wild sound: atmospheric electronic music powered by a wide-spanning emotional range. The Big Wild moniker itself is a direct reflection of the state’s natural glory and open spaces. Stell now takes his journey to the next chapter via his debut album, Superdream, released February 1 st , 2019 on Counter Records”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigwildmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigwildmusic/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0PxzGnCYBpSuaI49OR94cA?si=31OOSPHASEekMi1vrz4ocA
Key Cut: When I Get There
Biig Piig
Bio:
“Biig Piig is 19-year-old songwriter Jess Smyth – who found her way to music via Spain, Ireland and a previous life as a London poker dealer”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BiigPiigMusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biiggpiigg/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4GoD5FJCgC0lbzde7ly44M?si=0l84-aCnTjWjttDjJwhltw
Key Cut: Flirt
Bitch Falcon
Bio:
“Four years on from an initial explosive emergence, the Dublin-based three-piece haven’t so much discovered their voice as relentlessly refined it. If anything, they relish in sharp declarations, their signature sound always moving forward even when throwing a nod to the past. The aesthetic is raw, even a touch frenzied, yet the chaos is controlled in a ferocious through line that harnesses the strongest elements of rock, grunge, metal, hardcore and melodic electro-pop. Through it all, Bitch Falcon make this busy mix sing in a distinctive, once-heard-not-forgotten voice”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bitchfalcon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/b.tchfalcon/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6NsNTjFVfNwUfLpKbsmt4x?si=a1ym1_LzQfu9FzYKvltcig
Key Cut: TMJ
Body Type
Bio:
“Do you believe in karma? Do ya? Do ya?”
The first words we heard from Body Type were accusatory, playful, coy. They dared you to look them in the eye. To pay attention.
The song those words came from, ‘Ludlow’, seemed too good to be true. It made a racket while staying astonishingly controlled; the vocals sounded more like a sample from fifties cinema than anything recorded in this century, so deliberate and devastating in their delivery. Follow-up single ‘264’ exists in a completely different realm to ‘Ludlow’, but it’s equally as astonishing, just as clever and wry and beautiful as its predecessor.
Live, Body Type exceed the expectations set by their singles. All four members – Sophie & Annabel on vocals and guitar, Cecil on drums, Georgia on vocals & bass – are vital. They are, on a musical and emotional level, inexorably linked, each member’s importance going beyond musical skill or personality”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bodytypeband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bodytypeband/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2gOqvEhTe5TjetSBfivC4D?si=xciZdCshSzKNAM9V-cxodQ
Key Cut: Palms
Charly Bliss
Bio:
“By 2014 Charly Bliss was a fully formed band, living in New York, working the standard barista/bartender circuit by day, rehearsing by night. They recorded and released their debut EP, Soft Serve, and played lots and lots (and lots) of shows. There was a purity to those years.
After they released Guppy through Barsuk Records in 2017, time spent out on the road increased, as did the Charly Bliss fanbase. But the essence of the band’s sound, two and a half minute torrents of blissfully tight chaos that blew the roof off the place, (not to mention the bandmembers’ lifestyles) didn’t change much.
When it came time to record a follow up, that’s when things shifted. They all quit their jobs to focus full time on music and challenged each other to write as many scongs as possible”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/charlybliss
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharlyBliss/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7axA2bNeZsae6t2mgxoSFh?si=b8pqBnF2SR6bSduErNOW6w
Key Cut: Ruby
Confidence Man
Bio:
“Confidence Man, arguably one of the hottest acts in the world right now, released their debut LP Confident Music for Confident People in April 2018. It followed a whirlwind 18 months which saw two sold out headline Australian East Coast tours and three trips to UK/Europe for headline shows, and a string of festival sets. Theirs was one of the most talked about sets at Splendour in the Grass, they had performances at Glastonbury, set punters abuzz at The Great Escape, completed a run with Falls Festival and took home the prized act of the festival from Golden Plains festival. Things didn’t slow down post release, with another massive sold out Australian headline tour, sold out club shows in Berlin, New York, Moscow, Manchester, Paris and London, plus a string of prime Northern Summer festival spots including Rock en Seine (Paris), and Parklife (Manchester)”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/confidencemantm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/confidenceman1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0RwXnFrEoI8tltFvYpJgP6?si=mjijU_bPRU-jbPbXin4UWQ
Key Cut: Boyfriend
Dead Posey
Bio:
“WHILE FORMING DEAD POSEY, THE TWO TAPPED INTO AN INTENSE CREATIVE CHEMISTRY AND A NEWFOUND VISION FOR A ROUGH, BLUES-Y YET MODERN SOUND. THEY QUIETLY WORKED IN THE STUDIO FOR NEARLY A YEAR AND HONED THEIR SONGWRITING SKILLS, RATHER THAN DIVING INTO LIVE SHOWS AND THE CLUB CIRCUIT. THROUGH 2017 DEAD POSEY (JOINED BY ONE-TIME MEMBER KYLE FOSTER) RELEASED ONE SONG AT A TIME ONLINE, CULMINATING IN THE “FREAK SHOW” EP AND STIRRING UP A PALPABLE BUZZ”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dead_posey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deadposey
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7qTUKYzO77RvL1Kxie0xUO?si=a2yrlhrvT8WOALLdzcYywg
Key Cut: Don’t Stop the Devil
Donna Missal
Bio:
“On her debut album This Time, L.A.-based singer/songwriter Donna Missal shows the elegant collision of elements at play in her music: a poet’s command of tone, a soul singer’s boundless intensity, a bedroom musician’s willful embracing of intimacy and experimentation. Along with channeling the raw passion she first ignited by playing in rock bands in her homeland of New Jersey, This Time expands on the melodic ingenuity displayed in recent singles like “Driving” and “Thrills.” Above all the album is a testament to the sheer force of Missal’s voice”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonnaMissal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donnamissalmusic/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4QFHHdZkeqmneDQqKIjAN8?si=dDCTtT-ZQm2nNw36FgtOYg
Key Cut: Driving
Elder Island
Bio:
“Beware before entering Elder Island’s world because once you’re in you won’t want to leave. Be prepared to be led down paths from which you can’t come back, to be captivated by sensual, soulful, shapeshifting songs, to encounter lyrics littered with clues.
There is magic in Elder Island’s music and perhaps a little witchcraft. Trying to pin the Bristol trio’s sound down is pointless because the usual pop rules don’t apply. Textures matter as much as melodies. Genres bend and blend. Electronics rub shoulders with odd instruments. Katy Sargent sings as though casting a spell”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/elderisland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elderisland/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3EnbnmqrrvApHJs6FMvYik?si=HJ23SnGXRrG4MtQre4sZMg
Key Cut: Bamboo
Ellis
Bio:
“Ellis is the musical project of Linnea Siggelkow. In November 2018 she released her anticipated debut EP, The Fuzz. The EP arrived following several months of excitement building behind Ellis, who, after generating buzz in her local scene on the back of opening stints with the likes of Soccer Mommy, Gabby’s World, Chastity, and Palehound, garnered international acclaim with the release of a series of singles, earning comparisons to Mazzy Star, Alvvays and Slowdive from outlets like Pitchfork, Noisey and Stereogum, who marked her out as one of “a new generation of exciting songwriters.” In early 2019 she announced she signed to Fat Possum Records who are reissuing The Fuzz on vinyl and will be releasing new material”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisthatperson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ellissongsofficial/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7EQmY1hAAeuJLa0GUNpKNN?si=YMYXBcATSn2sBo_BRiOgmg
Key Cut: The Drain
Ferris & Sylvester
Bio:
“Ellis is the musical project of Linnea Siggelkow. In November 2018 she released her anticipated debut EP, The Fuzz. The EP arrived following several months of excitement building behind Ellis, who, after generating buzz in her local scene on the back of opening stints with the likes of Soccer Mommy, Gabby’s World, Chastity, and Palehound, garnered international acclaim with the release of a series of singles, earning comparisons to Mazzy Star, Alvvays and Slowdive from outlets like Pitchfork, Noisey and Stereogum, who marked her out as one of “a new generation of exciting songwriters.” In early 2019 she announced she signed to Fat Possum Records who are reissuing The Fuzz on vinyl and will be releasing new material”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FerrisSylvester
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FerrisandSylvester
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1LnhhjMNydIGawXsnfNhCf?si=CZQKiPuNRD6ItBcOne4z0Q
Key Cut: (I Think That You Look) Better in Yellow
Fuzzy Sun
Bio:
“A journey through melodic, psychedelic pop is what’s to be expected from Stockport five-piece, Fuzzy Sun. The freshly formed line-up, fronted by the lulling vocals of Kyle Ross, sees a distinct and original take on chorus-heavy reveries. Daisy Valentines bold and melancholic synth, coupled with sweet and seductive harmonies is equally complemented by Lewis Jobson & Mitch Bancroft’s strong soothing groove through the rhythm section. Fuzzy Sun bring you contemporary pop, infused with psychedelia, dipped in naughties R’n’B nostalgia, with just a hint of disco flare”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FuzzySunBand
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuzzySun/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/40uK7RAJlyEALdLWZ1qNmb?si=3PRMUMMjQ9qtW6YSEh9DUg
Key Cut: Want Love
Gender Roles
Bio:
“Formed over a combined love of the early UK math rock scene and garage rock in America, Brighton based trio Gender Roles have been making waves in the DIY/Punk scene for the last year.
In 2017, Gender Roles embarked on playing relentless shows in the UK and across the pond in the US in support of the release: dishing out a brutal blend of fuzz laden guitars, racing cymbals from Jordan Lilford and Jared Tomkins’ droning bass, that melds together to form a hazy blend of slacker rock vs. gritty punk”.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/genderrolesuk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/genderrolesuk
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/62Qr6xBUFiFSOyhR4UKCKf?si=91BHSRkARIaqnK2dsPUFlw
Key Cut: About Her
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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:
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