Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Preview: The Great Escape

The Great Escape Festival is like a British version of SXSW. It’s the one festival where you’re guaranteed to stumble across the next big thing, see catch some already big bands in relatively small venues and generally have a good time.

I went to the first ever Great Escape when I was 18 and immediately fell in love with the block party idea of venue hopping with one wristband. The festival has grown since those days, and now you’ll need a plan of attack if you want to make the most of TGE. It’s less easy to venue hop these days, simply because it’s become that much more popular, but with a little planning and pre-thought you can still see the acts you want to.

The great thing about festivals of this nature is that there’s no main stage – you don’t have to sit through a set if you don’t like the band that’s on. You can head to the next venue and see what else is happening. TGE is at its best when you take a chance on a band you’ve not heard before. The first time I saw Friendly Fires was at the 2008 Great Escape.

The line-up this year is probably the best so far. Groove Armada, Chase and Status, Broken Social Scene, Delphic, Wild Beasts, Angus & Julia Stone and These New Puritans are at the top of the bill. There’s also plenty of up-and-coming acts that will be playing too, including Is Tropical, Everything Everything, Frankie & the Heartstrings, Chew Lips and White Rabbits.

Whichever venue you choose to check out, there’s someone pretty exciting playing each day. That leads to plenty of clashes that are sure to divide the festival-going masses.

TGE is an industry event too; a delegate’s pass lets you push to the front of the queue for venues, and you get access to the interesting seminars that run throughout the day. There’s a long list of speakers, ranging from people who work at record labels to music journalists, PRs and other media insiders. At £150 a delegate’s pass is still cheaper than the majority of British festivals, but a massive hike up on the £55 standard venue-only pass.

This year there is a bigger range of TGE tickets available than ever before: you can buy individual day tickets; a ticket for Friday and Saturday; a priority pass which lets you skip the queues or a single gig entry ticket.

I’ll be heading down next week for the launch party on Wednesday and running around Brighton for the full three days making sure I can report back to the Amelia’s site with a strong list of bands who wowed at this year’s TGE, and some tips for the bands to watch over the next few months.

Categories ,Angus & Julia Stone, ,broken social scene, ,Chase and Status, ,Chew Lips, ,delphic, ,everything everything, ,festival, ,Frankie & the Heartstrings, ,Groove Armada, ,Is Tropical, ,sxsw, ,The Great Escape Festival, ,These New Puritans, ,White Rabbits, ,Wild Beasts

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Amelia’s Magazine | Two Gallants @ Koko

It’s the end of the show already and the stage is dripping in red light. From where I’m standing, the perspiration in the room looks like blood. Two Gallants have just been on for over an hour, so the perspiration on the walls feels like blood too.

They have wrecked this place. Their blues, rock, folk, punk, loud, quiet, angry, sad mayhem has blown the place to smithereens. Adam Stephens‘ voice is cracked, rasped and broken. His heart is heavy, his songs are long, his words are laced with the worn down dejection of a hard life. The mouth organ can barely hold up for the rust and rot.

Tyson Vogel bashes his drums like he’s making up for a past deed. He has no crash cymbal, just high hat and ride. He provides the drama, the beard, and the mystery. There’s just the two of them. Named after a James Joyce short story, as you know, they are literate. They tell tales: “I shot my wife today/Hid her body in the ‘frisco bay”. That’s a tough gig. They repent: “If you got a throat/I got a knife”.

But they’re not depressing. They’re painting a picture, writing a novel, making you think. Amidst the almost White Stripe-y rock-outs and the down beat Americana they’re doing rustic graffiti on the side of an old wooden cabin. They’re drinking whisky and opening their heart to a best friend because things haven’t worked out how they planned and they don’t know what to do about it. And they do it every single song.

Long Summer Day is as controversial and opinion-splitting as ever, the Gallants belting out Moses Platt’s lyrics as if they were their own: “And the summer day make a white man lazy/He sits on his porch killing time/But the summer day make a nigger feel crazy/Might make me do something out of line.” It raises an eyebrow, provokes, and stretches boundaries. But as reckless and offensive as some might see it, that, compadres, is what it’s all about.



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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Dry the River

Charlie Coombes and the New Breed by Octavi Navarro

Familiar with a fair few live music venues across price help +UK&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Westminster, approved +London&gl=uk&ei=kdYETam3HY2ShAfs5NntBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CB0Q8gEwAA”>London, I’ve been pretty up close and personal to a number of bands, both great and truly awful, and wondered how Charly Coombes and the New Breed would fair at the Monto Water Rats in Kings Cross, as the stage is particularly petite. Taking to said stage on Saturday December 11th for the last night of their Waves EP promotional UK tour to a familiar crowd, CCATNB stole the show headlining a night of indie and rock music as the band with the edge. Showing only a comical strain to the end of their tour, as with fellow Oxford-ites and Amelia’s Magazine pal Little Fish, the band set out with great energy getting the walls shaking to their distinct key led indie sound that is so easily digested.

Charly Coombes and the New Breed by Roderick Barker-Benfield

Opening with their current single and crowd pleaser Jungles and Tides, momentarily forget about the ear candy, which is delightful, with many members of the crowd of the fairer sex, the eye candy wasn’t bad either. Clearly comfortable and at home playing The Water Rats, which has housed many bands, both up and coming and established, there’s a definite intimate tone to the night, where the crowd are within inches of the band, in all their sweat and glory. Their sound and musical ability isn’t matched within the indie music scene at the moment, taking soulful strides above the rest and echoing late 90s British rock at its best, the fellow bands of the night are good but not in the same sphere as the New Breed.

Charly Coombes by Werner Fismer

That aside, stand out tracks of the night include the head swinging God Knows, the beautiful and eloquent Sub Rosa, off their current EP Waves, which signals the musical prowess of the New Breed led effortlessly by Coombes’ key skills, and closer Dress to Kill, a song that marks the New Breed stepping things up a notch on their quest to bring descent independent music back home. Full of confidence and an instant connection with their fans old and new, CCATNB are for anyone who like a solid punch to their indie pie, and these guys are on the up and up. With their set ending all too quickly, catch them while you can at these intimate venues, as I can only see a brighter and bigger future for Charly Coombes and his New Breed.

Charly Coombes and the New Breed Live by Willemÿn Barker-Benfield

Charlie Coombes and the New Breed by Octavi Navarro

Familiar with a fair few live music venues across check +UK&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Westminster, viagra 40mg +London&gl=uk&ei=kdYETam3HY2ShAfs5NntBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CB0Q8gEwAA”>London, search I’ve been pretty up close and personal to a number of bands, both great and truly awful, and wondered how Charly Coombes and the New Breed would fair at the Monto Water Rats in Kings Cross, as the stage is particularly petite. Taking to said stage on Saturday December 11th for the last night of their Waves EP promotional UK tour to a familiar crowd, CCATNB stole the show headlining a night of indie and rock music as the band with the edge. Showing only a comical strain to the end of their tour, as with fellow Oxford-ites and Amelia’s Magazine pal Little Fish, the band set out with great energy getting the walls shaking to their distinct key led indie sound that is so easily digested.

Charly Coombes and the New Breed by Roderick Barker-Benfield

Opening with their current single and crowd pleaser Jungles and Tides, momentarily forget about the ear candy, which is delightful, with many members of the crowd of the fairer sex, the eye candy wasn’t bad either. Clearly comfortable and at home playing The Water Rats, which has housed many bands, both up and coming and established, there’s a definite intimate tone to the night, where the crowd are within inches of the band, in all their sweat and glory. Their sound and musical ability isn’t matched within the indie music scene at the moment, taking soulful strides above the rest and echoing late 90s British rock at its best, the fellow bands of the night are good but not in the same sphere as the New Breed.

Charly Coombes by Werner Fismer

That aside, stand out tracks of the night include the head swinging God Knows, the beautiful and eloquent Sub Rosa, off their current EP Waves, which signals the musical prowess of the New Breed led effortlessly by Coombes’ key skills, and closer Dress to Kill, a song that marks the New Breed stepping things up a notch on their quest to bring descent independent music back home. Full of confidence and an instant connection with their fans old and new, CCATNB are for anyone who like a solid punch to their indie pie, and these guys are on the up and up. With their set ending all too quickly, catch them while you can at these intimate venues, as I can only see a brighter and bigger future for Charly Coombes and his New Breed.

Charly Coombes and the New Breed Live by Willemÿn Barker-Benfield

Charlie Coombes and the New Breed by Octavi Navarro
Charlie Coombes and the New Breed by Octavi Navarro

Familiar with a fair few live music venues across case +UK&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Westminster, page +London&gl=uk&ei=kdYETam3HY2ShAfs5NntBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CB0Q8gEwAA”>London, prostate I’ve been pretty up close and personal to a number of bands, both great and truly awful, and wondered how Charly Coombes and the New Breed would fair at the Monto Water Rats in Kings Cross, as the stage is particularly petite. Taking to said stage on Saturday December 11th for the last night of their Waves EP promotional UK tour to a familiar crowd, CCATNB stole the show headlining a night of indie and rock music as the band with the edge. Showing only a comical strain to the end of their tour, as with fellow Oxford-ites and Amelia’s Magazine pal Little Fish, the band set out with great energy getting the walls shaking to their distinct key led indie sound that is so easily digested.

Charly Coombes and the New Breed by Roderick Barker-Benfield
Charly Coombes and the New Breed by Roderick Barker-Benfield.

Opening with their current single and crowd pleaser Jungles and Tides, momentarily forget about the ear candy, which is delightful, with many members of the crowd of the fairer sex, the eye candy wasn’t bad either. Clearly comfortable and at home playing The Water Rats, which has housed many bands, both up and coming and established, there’s a definite intimate tone to the night, where the crowd are within inches of the band, in all their sweat and glory. Their sound and musical ability isn’t matched within the indie music scene at the moment, taking soulful strides above the rest and echoing late 90s British rock at its best, the fellow bands of the night are good but not in the same sphere as the New Breed.

Charly Coombes by Werner Fismer
Charly Coombes by Werner Fismer

That aside, stand out tracks of the night include the head swinging God Knows, the beautiful and eloquent Sub Rosa, off their current EP Waves, which signals the musical prowess of the New Breed led effortlessly by Coombes’ key skills, and closer Dress to Kill, a song that marks the New Breed stepping things up a notch on their quest to bring descent independent music back home. Full of confidence and an instant connection with their fans old and new, CCATNB are for anyone who like a solid punch to their indie pie, and these guys are on the up and up. With their set ending all too quickly, catch them while you can at these intimate venues, as I can only see a brighter and bigger future for Charly Coombes and his New Breed.

Charly Coombes and the New Breed Live by Willemÿn Barker-Benfield

Dry the River by Avril Kelly
Dry the River by Avril Kelly.

I first encountered Dry the River when they offered to do a gig for the Climate Camp stage at Glastonbury this summer. On record they are fabulous, symptoms but live I was absolutely blown away by this talented five some. Over the past six weeks they have been on tour up and down the country: I find out how life has been treating them in my intimate interview with Norwegian lead singer and chief songwriter Peter Liddle.

How did the band get together?
I’d like to say it was an epic tale of overcoming obstacles and triumph in the face of adversity but it was actually a pretty run-of-the-mill thing, ampoule haha. I had taken some time out of music to do some other stuff but before I knew it I’d kind of unconsciously started writing a record. One weekend I recruited some musicians I knew from old bands etc. and we spent a weekend recording. The day after we finished recording I went off on an acoustic UK tour and the band was kind of built out of that.

Dry The River by Karina Yarv
Dry The River by Karina Yarv.

How do you describe your music to people who have never heard it?
Actually it’s changed a lot – at the start it was very lo-fi folky stuff because the songs grew out some acoustic bedroom recordings, price but now that we all live together and are all involved in the writing process we’ve opened the door to a lot of different influences. I think the songs still resemble folk music thematically – I write a lot about family, relationships, the things that a lot of us deal with day to day – but in the practice room we all get the chance to pull the arrangements in different directions. I guess the short answer is that it’s folky gospel music played by a post-punk band.

Dry The River by Mags James
Dry The River by Mags James.

You share a home in Stratford – is this ever hard work? Who does the most washing up (and the least)?
I think living in a confined space with other people is always a tricky business. At least in our case we have a mutual understanding of each other’s situation. That said, some days are obviously harder than others. We’ve been on tour for six weeks now, mostly cooped up in a van – I think after our Nest show on Wednesday we’ll all go back to our respective family homes for some time apart. Jon (drums) does the most washing up, he likes to keep things tidy. I think I probably do the least, or Scott (bass)…

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You are known for utterly lush harmonies… is it hard to get these right and how do they come about?
It’s funny, it was never our intention to be a band that feature prominent harmonies. We were in the studio working on a new recording and I asked Scott whether he could sing. He had a go at singing a third or a fifth on top of what Matt and I were singing and it seemed to work. It really was that haphazard – we rarely spend time crafting harmony parts, Matt and Scott just sing where it seems to make sense. Sometimes we get to recording a song and realise what we’ve been singing doesn’t even work, and have to sit at a piano working out what the lines should be!

dry the river by Gaarte
Peter Liddle by Gaarte.

Were you all musical children? Did you learn to play instruments from a young age?
Aside from Will, we’re all first generation musicians. None of us come from particularly musical families. I think we actually all grew up at a time when being in rock bands was just what kids did. Certainly in Newbury where I took up music in earnest, almost everyone tried their hand at it. That said, I’m at the other extreme to Will – I never studied music formally at all and one day I’d like to. The other guys all have at least a pretty solid (if rudimentary) understanding of music theory.

Stephanie Thieullent-dry the river
Dry the River by Stephanie Thieullent.

Does Peter write all the lyrics, and where do you draw inspiration from?
Writing lyrics is a separate endeavour to writing songs, for me. I write chord progressions and vocal melodies and have a pretty formed idea of where a song is going, then I go away and spend a long time writing lyrics. I think experience informs the way everybody behaves – it’s the lens that everybody views the world through and music is no different. In my case the songs are rarely based on a specific event or a candid message that I desperately want to deliver. They’re more a collection of responses to environments I’ve found myself in – periods of time, people, places… So I guess in that respect they include images of my childhood in Norway and the UK, reflections on my time at University, and a whole load of other stuff that influences my worldview on any given day.

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Your songs are very intense emotionally – is this intentional and why do you think they come across like this?
I think there are probably two reasons for that. Firstly, whether it’s an event or a feeling or a situation, something has to motivate an artist enough to write a song or paint or whatever. I think the vast majority of artworks are created as an emotional response, so the subject matter is always going to be emotional in nature. Secondly, though, we are grew up listening to post-punk and metal and so on, which is traditionally played in a very intense way. I think the way we play probably magnifies the emotional content in the lyrics.

We first met at Glastonbury when you played for Climate Camp this year… what was your highlight of this year’s festival?
Snooooooooooop!

You will be playing a lot more festivals next summer, can you tell us which ones they will be, and are there any in particular that you are looking forward to?
I think we’ve confirmed quite a few now but I’m not sure which we’re meant to reveal! The other day we were announced alongside Midlake and Wild Beasts in the first batch of names for End of the Road, which we’re super stoked about!

dry-the-river-gaarte
Dry the River by Gaarte.

You’ve decided to release your debut single on Transgressive Records – what made you decide to go with this label and what will the single be?
Tim and Toby at Transgressive really put their faith in the music at an early stage when everything was uncertain. A lot of people see a band with potential and sit in the wings, waiting to see how they’ll fare. Transgressive were the opposite – they met us straight away, told us they loved the music and believed in it, and set about moving mountains to help us become a full time band. Aside from all that, they’re a great label and we’re really proud to be adding to the discography. As for the song, you’ll have to wait and see!

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Your YouTube video for Bible Belt has gained more than 100,000 hits – why do you think it has proved so popular?
There are a variety of a reasons I suppose – firstly it was on the YouTube front page as part of a YouTube Music Tuesdays promotion, which I think put it in front of a lot of people who wouldn’t normally have seen it. Also Watch Listen Tell, who filmed that session, have a really loyal following, and maybe there was a word of mouth element too – I guess it’s quite memorable with Matt’s broken arm and so on!

You’ve just played the Forum, what was the highlight of the gig? What can the audience expect at your headline gig at the Nest in Dalston?
The Forum was our biggest show ever – there’s no substitute for experience on big stages in front of lots of people! That said, we love the more intimate settings where we can see familiar faces and talk to people. I hope The Nest will be a really special event – for us it’s our homecoming show after six weeks on the road, as well as our 100th show and a celebration of all that’s come about in the past year.

You can find the wonderful Dry the River on Myspace here, and at home on their website here where you can download three songs for free. You can also follow them on twitter here, and of course do not forget their headline show, which is on Wednesday 15th December at The Nest. Full listing info here. Read my review of their gig at Glastonbury here.

Categories ,dalston, ,Dry the River, ,folk, ,Harmonies, ,Indie, ,Midlake, ,Norway, ,Peter Liddle, ,Stéphanie Thieullent, ,Stornaway, ,The Forum, ,The Nest, ,Transgressive, ,Transgressive Records, ,Watch Listen Tell, ,Wild Beasts

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