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Amelia’s Magazine | Green Man Festival: The Festival Preview Series

This Saturday, information pills pill The Land Is Ours collective will occupy some disused land near Hammersmith. An eco-village will take root, viagra sale peacefully reclaiming land for a sustainable settlement, and getting in touch with the local community about its aims. In a year when nearly 13,000 Britons lost their homes to repossessions in the first three months, eco-villages point the way to a more down-to-earth lifestyle.

Back in May 1996, the same collective took over a spot on the banks of the Thames in Wandsworth, in a land rights action that grew up over five and a half months into the Pure Genius community, based on sustainable living and protesting the misuse of urban land. Here are some photos from that project.

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The Land Is Ours channel the spirit of the Diggers , a group of 17-century radicals who picked out and dug over a patch of common land in St George’s Hill in Walton-upon-Thames back in the day. They were led by Gerard Winstanley, who thought any freedom must come from free access to the land.

Here’s a little more from ‘Gerard Winstanley’ about this weekend:

What’s the first thing you’ll do when you get there?
Have a meeting. One of the first priorities is to leaflet the local area in order to inform the local people of what we are doing. Another priority is the construction of compost toilets.

Do you have lots of plans for sheds, vegetable patches and compost toilets?
Yes. Due to the nature of the site (ex-industrial) we will likely be using raised beds to grow vegetables and buckets for potatoes. It being London, there should be a good supply of thrown away materials from building sites and in skips. Compost toilets are pretty essential.

?What kinds of people are you expecting to turn up?
All sorts. Hopefully a mixture of those keen to learn and those willing to teach. ??

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?I read the Chapter 7 manifesto. Have you notified the council or planning authority of your plans, or are you keeping to the idea that once you’re there, with homes under construction, it’s difficult to evict?
We haven’t notified the council yet- but we have a liaison strategy in place for when we’re in.

On that note, how long do you hope to be there?
The longevity of the Eco-village depends on how committed its residences and just as crucially how the local urban populus respond to our presence. If we receive the support we need, the council will likely think twice before embarking on an unpopular eviction (at least that’s the theory!).

Could this realistically become a permanent residence, or is it more likely to be valuable simply as campaigning?
Hopefully it can be both. There is no reason why this site cannot sustain a core group of committed individuals and serve as a brilliant awareness raiser to the issue of disused urban land, lack of affordable housing and the a sustainable way of living that is friendly to people and planet and liberating.

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?Can I come along?
Of course, we are meeting at Waterloo Station at 10AM this Saturday (underneath the clock).

What might I need to do?
Bring a tent, sleeping bag and some food and water. You may be interested to read an article written by a journalist from the Guardian concerning the eco-village.

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So dig yourself out of bed this Saturday, and go discover the beginnings of London’s newest eco-village.
If the dark shades of under-duvet hideouts dominate the colour of your Sundays then you need to wake up and get greened. Arcola Theatre in East London hopes to be the first carbon neutral theatre in the world and has been appointed as the secretariat for the Mayor of London’s Green Theatre plan, this which aims to deliver 60 percent cuts in theatre carbon emissions by 2025.

Illustration by Faye Katirai

As part of this environmental drive, the first Sunday of every month is a Green Sunday at Arcola Theatre. June’s event is part of Love London, the biggest green festival in Europe and looks at ethical consumption, promising ‘entertainment and inspiration for the ecologically curious’. From 3pm there’s a swap shop market plus cakes and tea to take you through the evening of Senegalese percussion, cool short and feature-length films, starting from 4.30pm. As the afternoon turns to evening, there will be a discussion with Neil Boorman, author of Bonfire Of The Brands, an account of his journey from shopping and brand addiction to a life free from labels. As part of the project, Neil destroyed every branded product in his possession, incinerating over £20,000 worth of designer gear in protest of consumer culture. This will be chaired by Morgan Phillips.

Neil and Morgan will later be joined by Richard King from Oxfam to talk about their 4-a-week campaign- encouraging shoppers to do their bit for sustainability each week.

Then at 7pm – Feature length film presented by Transition Town Hackney–
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash

I spoke to the sustainability projects manager at Arcola Theatre, Anna Beech, to find out more about Arcola’s arts world-changing philosophies:

All at Arcola must be extremely proud that a theatre founded only 9 years ago – and on credit cards! – is well on the way to becoming the first carbon neutral theatre in the world. Can you tell us a bit about how and why you made the decision to lead the green theatre movement?

Since 2007, Arcola has launched many high-profile green initiatives (including the pioneering use of LEDs and the on-site installation of a fuel cell to power bar and stage lighting). There are a number of reasons for this – because it contributes to reducing Arcola’s carbon emissions and resource use, because it makes financial sense – reducing energy bills; because it supports funding applications; because it integrates Arcola into the local community; allows Arcola to reach a wider audience and stakeholder base; and provides an effective platform upon which to publicise the name ‘Arcola’ – as a hub of creativity and sustainability.

Sustainability is part of Arcola’s core unique business model, alongside professional theatre and our youth and community programme.

Have you found that arts and science professionals are eager to integrate and come up with exciting ideas and actions or has it been difficult to bring the two fields together?

Arcola’s ArcolaEnergy has had considerable interest from technology companies and brokers, including the Carbon Trust. As a reocgnised innovator in sustainability in the arts, Arcola has been able to broker extremely advantageous relationships with private sector companies – who have provided the theatre with free green products, including LED lights – as well as other theatres and arts organisations (National Theatre, Arts Council, Live Nation, The Theatres Trust), and Government bodies like the DCMS and Mayor of London’s Office. Arcola’s reputation as a sustainable charity has created these partnerships and allowed them to grow and develop into mutually advantageous relationships. So this demonstrates that the arts and sustainability worlds can come together to form mutually advanteous relationships. However, there is plenty of work to be done.

So far, what has been the most successful pioneering energy practice you’ve introduced?

The installation of Arcola’s fuel cell in February 2008 made the venue the first theatre in the world to power its main house shows and bar/café on hydrogen. The Living Unknown Soldier gained reverence as London’s most ecologically sustainable show, with the lighting at a peak power consumption of 4.5kW, a reduction of 60 per cent on comparable theatre lighting installations.

Previous Green Sunday events at the Arcola Theatre

Arcola’s ‘greening’ goes from the stage to the box office. Among other things, we produce ‘green’ newsletters for staff, we recycle, we provide free tap water to audiences (to lessen use of bottled water), we serve fairtrade, organic and local produce wherever possible (including organic vodka and whiskey!), we host Transition Town meetings, we installed a cycle enclosure for staff in 2009 and try to incentivise both staff and audiences to use public transport more and their cars less.

How do you think the technical creativity of sustainability has significantly shaped any of the plays Arcola has produced?

One example of the ‘greening’ of Arcola’s shows and working closely with production companies took place during the pre-production and staging of ‘Living Unknown Soldier‘ in 2008. The production explored the use of more energy efficient lanterns, including LED moving heads and batons (see Fig. 1) florescent tubes and some other filament lanterns such as low wattage source 4′s and par 16s. The crew tried to travel by public transport wherever possible, use laptops rather than PCs, limit phone use, source sustainable materials and managed to keep energy requirements low in order to use Arcola’s fuel cell to power the show.

‘‘The idea is that once you expose people to this stuff and they know you for doing it, they’ll gravitate towards you. Ultimately we should end up with some really good art about sustainability and some really good ideas about how to do art sustainably.” – Ben Todd, Executive Director and Founder of Arcola Energy.

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Illustration by David Elsley

Why do you think its particularly important for the arts to become more involved in green issues?

Because the arts have the power to influence behaviour change. Whilst the theatre industry itself has a relatively small carbon footprint (2% of total carbon emissions in London), and thus its capacity to deliver direct carbon emission reductions is relatively small; the power of theatre and the wider arts/cultural sectors to rapidly and effectively influence public behaviour and policy makers to drive significant indirect carbon emission reductions is very large (entertainment related activity accounts for up to 40% of travel emissions).

However, theatres and other arts venues must first address the ‘greening’ of their venues and practices in order to communicate climate change and environmental messages to audiences effectively and with impact.

Green Sundays is a great idea, how do you hope to see it develop in the future months?

We have a variety of themes in mind for future events, including a focus on the climate talks in Copenhagen in December, a water theme, ethical business, natural history and a Green Sunday programme tailored to children and young people.

So get over your hangover, get on your bike and cycle down to Dalston on Sunday to help spread the word about arts and sustainability coming together to communicate environmental messages to your local community.

To find out more about Green Sundays and the Arcola Theatre go to:

www.arcolatheatre.com
Continuing our odyssey of festival previews, page I bring you the amazing Green Man!

I don’t keep it secret that I’ve had a crush on Jarvis Cocker since I was 10 and first heard Common People, I suppose announcing it on a blog was just the next logical step in my snowballing lust for the bespectacled one. Imagine my delight when I saw he was headlining as a solo outfit at this year’s Green Man Festival.

Green Man 2006

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Jarvis Cocker

All the other festivals will be green with envy over Green Man’s line-up, one of the most exciting and diverse of the summer. Alongside Jarv, Animal Collective will also be headlining and having seen them a couple of times over the past few years they are really not to be missed live, their shows can only be described as being in an underwater topsy-turvy world where you can feel the rhythm wash over you in waves.

Animal Collective

Green Man is in no short supply of indie darlings and big names, with Wilco, Bon Iver, Gang Gang Dance, the delicious Beach House and Grizzly Bear; who I’m gagging to see live after finally getting a copy of their amazing second album Veckatimest. Not to be transatlantically out down; Green Man boasts an impressive array of home-grown talent- including Four-Tet, national treasures British Sea Power, and to woo the romantic in you; Camera Obscura.
Ex- member of my favourites Gorky’s Zygotic Mynki Euros Childs, Andrew Bird, 6 Day Riot and James Yuill also stand out as bands (as well as the above mentioned) not to be missed.

Beach House

Whilst Green Man has managed to pull in such an awesome line-up, it has a reputation for a boutique-y intimacy and a friendly atmosphere. Green Man is most definitely a festival for music lovers, and one that I won’t be missing!

Green Man Festival 2007

Green Man Festival takes place amidst the Breacon Beacons from 21st to 23rd August. Click here for ticket information.

Thumbnail by Roisin Conway

Written by Roisin Conway on Thursday June 4th, 2009 4:33 pm

Categories ,Electro, ,Festival Preview, ,Folk, ,Indie, ,Pop, ,Summer

Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Preview: Kendal Calling

For a festival that is just five years old, illness Kendal Calling has already amassed a kudos rating that belies its youth; (Annie Nightingale remarked simply, “It’s how festivals should be”). Savvy enough to realise that it is all about keeping the punter happy; the organisers of Kendal have gone above and beyond the call of duty to provide an enjoyable and hassle free weekend for all attending 2010′s festivities. In a few aspects, they got lucky. Take the setting for example; situated in Lowther Deer Park inside the Lake District in Cumbria, Kendal gets to take advantage of the stunningly breathtaking and unspoilt location; nestled between the dramatic landscape of craggy mountains, Lowther Deer Park makes up 1,000 acres of lush greenery. But with everything else, Kendal has worked hard on its own volition to provide a sound weekend.

The eclectic and diverse line-up will mix up bigger acts such as Doves, The Coral, Calvin Harris and The Futureheads with indie darlings Wild Beasts (whom several of our contributors have professed undying love to recently), OKGo and Erland & the Carnival, while the Calling Out Stage – dedicated to cherry picking the most exciting new music – and the Kaylied Stage (featuring a blend of local and folk music) has the kind of line-up that makes our mouths water. Like some kind of Tom Robinson/BBC Radio 6 airplay fantasy, the buzz around First Aid Kit, The Parlotones, Goldheart Assembly, Good Shoes, These New Puritans and Kirsty Almeida will mean that anyone catching their sets will be a good six months ahead of the curve (which you all are anyway; but extra brownie points can never go amiss)

There are now only a few hundred tickets left for Kendal Calling. Tickets can be found on their website, along with details on additional Thursday night entertainment and camping.

Written by Cari Steel on Monday July 5th, 2010 11:14 am

Categories ,BBC Radio 6, ,Calvin Harris, ,Countryside, ,doves, ,Erland & The Carnival, ,festival preview, ,festivals, ,folk, ,Goldheart Assembly, ,Good Shoes, ,Indie Pop, ,Kirsty Almeida, ,OK Go, ,The Coral, ,the futureheads, ,The Parlotones, ,These New Puritans, ,Wild Beasts

Amelia’s Magazine | Lounge on the Farm: The Festival Preview Series

With many universities leaning heavily towards womenswear – in some cases wholly – Epsom pleased many with several of its strongest collections coming from menswear designers. One of the running themes throughout the Epsom show seemed to be an obsession with blood, advice buy the body and corporal violence (you’ve got to wonder what’s going on down there) with one dress revealing a Westwood-esque red, cialis 40mg jewelled wound-like gape on its back.

Not pandering to this was Antigone Pavlou, viagra buy who opened the show with loud, bold and funky collection for the streetsmart city boy, with bomber jackets, tracksuits and distressed denim (the latter a phrase that struck fear into my heart when I first read it in the notes, only to be pleasantly surprised). With coloured headphones carelessly slung around the models’ necks, the designer plainly had a clear lifestyle in mind and played to its strengths in all the right ways, combining strong block primary colours with clashing graphic prints.

If some previous designers during GFW have shown a tendency to elevate and romanticise the pastoral, I think Pavlou successfully did the same for the city, offering an attractively laid-back vision of urban life where you pull on some comfortable but sharp threads, plug into your walkman and swagger down the street, content to shut the outside world away for a moment, a sentiment I’ve evidently been drawn to in featuring CTRL and Daniel Palillo in recent weeks. Another menswear designer of note was James E Tutton, whose reversible designs (addressing the issue of functionality in contemporary fashion) we’ll be featuring later in the week.

Soozi Welland’s ‘Geeks Know Style’ penultimate menswear collection was best received by the audience, with an endearing ode to all things geeky: spectacles, anoraks, bobbled hats, bow ties, and socks tucked into trousers. The geek has oft been described as the personification of a roll of duct tape, with functional apparel that will always get you out of a sticky situation, and Welland’s designs seem to celebrate this idea, with an abundance of oversized pockets, accessorising her looks with binoculars and cameras.

By the last look, though, this geek had got himself a makeover, and was now spec-free, with the bow tie sexily hanging loose and sporting a satin and velvet playboy jacket. An endearing and humorous collection that I thought was commercially viable too, and that’s no mean feat.

Amongst the womenswear Stephanie Moran gave us a hard-hitting collection about desire, fabulously quoting Mae West ‘s ‘Ten men waiting for me at the door?…send one of them home I’m tired’, and a vision of the glamorous dominatrix. One of the standout pieces was a cream PVC dress with a cinched feather corset around the waist, and for better or worse, one of the most popular trends during GFW was feathers. This was certainly one of the better examples:

Considering Epsom had given us notes on each designer and their collection, I think it was admirable that Moran’s designs needed no explaining whatsoever, with her models bombing down the runway dressed in all manner of things naughty.

A particularly well-crafted collection was April Schmitz’s, who gave us a series of garments with some serious work put into unusual fabrics including hardware, folded leather and metal rings and eyelets. Entitled ‘Visions of the Future’ it gave a throwback to 1930s aviation with leather flight caps, a retro colour palette and the repetition of some swinging circles, with panels ejecting out of the garments providing strange contraption-esque silhouettes that you expected to take off at any moment.

Feathers popped up again, this time from Lucie Vincini with a stunning jacket from an eclectic menswear collection. Mixing embroidered jumpers with carrier bag trousers, basket weave coats with a jacket constructed out of Royal Mail bags, it showed that it is possible to draw from resources across the board and still construct a cohesive collection. A thrifty delight, and with its recycling sensibilities, obviously an Amelia’s Magazine favourite!

Photos: Catwalking.com

Radical Nature: Art and Architecture for a Changing Planet 1969–2009

Barbican Art Gallery
Barbican Centre
Silk Street
London EC2Y 8DS
19 June – 18 October

Daily 11am-8pm except Tue & Wed 11am-6pm
Open until 10pm every Thursday

Tickets: £8/£6 concs, ailment £6 online

A new season of ecologically focused exhibits, talks, events and screenings is taking place over the Summer at the Barbican. Kicking off the proceedings is this fascinating exhibition which deals with land art, environmental activism, experimental architecture, and inspiring ideas about utopian solutions to the urgent matter of climate change.
See the Barbican website for full details of all events over the next few months.

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Sarah Bridgland: In Place- New Collage Works

Man and Eve Gallery
131 Kennington Park Road
London SE11 4JJ
19th June – 1st August

Thursday – Saturday, 12 – 6pm

Bridging the gap between sculpture and collage, Sarah Bridgland’s intricate paper creations combine her own made printed media with junk shop treasure to form nostalgic pieces of meticulous craftsmenship. Simultaneously dreamlike and miniature while remaining technically genius, Bridgland’s collection of new work will transport you to other colourful, playful worlds.

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Various Artists: Two Degrees 2009

Toynbee Studios
28 Commercial Street
London E1 6AB
16-21 June

The opening night of Two Degrees, Artadmin’s week long programme of politically, socially and environmentally charged events, is this Tuesday. Getting it’s name from last month’s report that a hugely damaging global temperature rise of 2C could be a mere 40 years away, the 20 or so artists involved are putting the issue of climate change at the forefront of our concerns.
The opening night features among other things Daniel Gosling’s video installation ‘I Can Feel the Ice Melting’ and the forward thinking London based group Magnificent Revolution generating music for the evening with a live bicycle-powered DJ set.

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R-art assist BASH@The Sustainable Art Awards 2009

BASH STudios
65-71 Scrutton Street
London EC2A 4PJ
June 16th

Open Sailing by Cesar Harada

“The Sustainable Art Awards are open to any UK artist working within on the themes of sustainability, environmental issues, climate change and ecology. R-art will provide the awards for the SAA, these mini eco sculptures are the oscars of eco art! Sustainable Art Awards are a 2 week showcase of eco talent @ BASH Studios.
The Sustainable Art Awards is part of Respond! who aim to engage arts audiences in discussing and questioning environmental change. Respond! highlights how the arts industries are in a unique position to communicate environmental issues. Featuring exhibitions, talks, programmes, workshops and other activities. Respond! is an initiative co-founded by the Arts and Ecology center at The Royal Society of The Arts and BASH Creations.”

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Swapshop

Camden Arts Centre
Arkwright Road
London NW3 6DG
20th June
12:00 – 5:30pm

Current artist in residence Alexandre da Cunha is putting together a Swapshop, which is becoming an ever increasingly popular means for people to get together and shed some of their unwanted belongings in exchange for new. Anything goes at this particular exchange; buttons, furniture- even art. To book your own stall please contact Ben Roberts on 0207 472 5500.

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Out of Range

The Rag Factory
16-18 Heneage Street
London E1 5LJ

12th June 22nd June
12-6pm daily, Saturdays 10-6pm
Free

Tigran Asatrjan

If the extensive material on show at Brick Lane’s Free Range isn’t enough to satisfy your graduate show cravings, hop along to The Rag Factory to catch Out of Range where work from 29 emerging UK and European photographic artists recently set free from the University for the Creative Arts at Rochester is on display. The work promises to be fresh, innovative, exciting and diverse.

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Dominic Allan: The Irresistible Lure of Fatty Gingo

Transition Gallery
Unit 25a Regent Studios
8 Andrews Road
London E8 4QN

13th June – 5th July
Fri – Sun, 12-6 pm
Free

With what might just be the best title of an exhibition I’ve ever heard, Allan’s work is self described as ‘a world of rotten teeth, bubble and squeak and uncommon sense.’ With an unhealthy interest in British seaside culture and the bizarre link-ins local holiday getaways have with sugar coated junk we feast on, Allan’s work is repelling, alluring, mysterious and addictive all at once.

Monday 15th June
The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo at the Southbank Centre, sales London.

Tonight’s gig is one not to be missed- The Jonas Brothers at Wembley, health only joking of course. If you like your music a little more deflowered and lots more awesome, then I excitedly announce that Yo La Tengo will be playing the Southbank Centre tonight as part of Ornette Coleman’s Meltdown Festival. Yo La Tengo have shaped what is almost the last 20 years with their beautiful music which moves between eerie girl boy woozy vocals and minimal keyboards, to rocking genre bashing highs. Also ‘I’m Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass’ is the best album title ever!

Tuesday 16th June
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs at Pure Groove, London.

I really love dinosaurs, so imagine my delight when I saw that a band called Totally Enormous Extinct Dinousaurs are playing Pure Groove on Tuesday evening. Being a music editor and planing gig going around loving extinct creatures is never the best idea so I checked their myspace and I can conclude my top 3 favourite things about this band, in descending order are:
3. They dress as dinosaurs a lot!
2. They have the longest list of alphabetised dinosaurs listed as their band members (Alphabetisation being my second favourite thing after fore-mentioned dinsosaurs)
1. Their keyboard tinged synthy-fun electro sounds so fun it makes me want to make up all kinds of dances called things like the ‘Triceratops Jive’ and the ‘Stegosaurus Shake’.
What’s your favourite dinosaur?

Wednesday 17th June
Jolie Holland at Dingwalls, London.

When Tom Waits says he likes something you can pretty much tell it’s going to be good and Jolie Holland doesn’t disappoint. This Texan singer has had Waits’ outspoken support since the very beginning of her career, and her fresh take on traditional folk, country, blues and jazz place her as a definite protegée of Waits, as well as a talented musician in her own right.

Thursday 18th June
A Hawk and a Hacksaw at Cecil Sharp House, London.

A Hawk and Hacksaw have skittered and clattered their way into my heart with their Klezmer- Indie hybrid loveable mess music. It sound like if Neutral Milk Hotel (indeed they share a drummer) got lost in the Baltic States for several decades in the early 20th century, armed only with a full brass band and a trusty band of wolves who were also in their own Mariachi band- and quite frankly how could that not sound amazing?

Friday 19th June
Clinic at The Lexington, London.

I was lucky enough to see Clinic play last year and they are terrifying (they wear surgical masks) and brilliant in equal measure- like a melodic nightmare, lots of keyboards, creepy samples, garage-y clatters and wails are a-given, yet they manage to be as enjoyable as they are creepy.

Saturday 20th June
Kitsuné Maison Party at La Scala, London.

We reviewed the Kitsune Maison 7 compilation a while back and liked it, they’re having a party at La Scala featuring Delphic (pictured below underwater), Chew Lips, We Have Band and Autokratz to name but a few. I can’t help but compare it to the Strictly Come Dancing tour that happens after the show ends; with everyone’s favourites appearing live, so maybe it’ll be like that but a very hip, French version.

Continuing our festival preview adventure…

I don’t like camping. Going to bed shivering and waking up sweating doesn’t appeal to me much, mind and claustrophobia in a two-man tent isn’t fun either. Don’t even mention the word ‘porta-loo’…But all this I will get over for Lounge on the Farm.

The%20Further%20Tent%20%40%20Lounge%2008%20LR.jpg

For the past four years, sickness thousands of people have invaded Merton Farm in Canterbury, with a view to enjoying laid-back choons and getting down to some serious lounging. Despite it’s status as a ’boutique’ festival (one of The Time’s top twelve Boutique festivals, dontchaknow), there’s plenty to muck in with, down on the Farm.
Each of the six stages caters to a different taste, The Cow Shed hosting The Horrors, Edwyn Collins and The King Blues (as well as whoever you want, thanks to the You Say, They Play initiative – just mind the dung), Farm Folk, leaning towards a more acoustic experience and The Bandstand, rockin’ out the opera and punk rock karaoke.

I’ll be spending most of the weekend with Gong, Canterbrerians of the ’60s who sing of teapot taxies, and the Wolf People, hairiest band I’ve ever seen who weren’t actually animals, down at the psychedelic Furthur Tent, and doubtlessly joining Mr. Scruff for an epic six hour afternoon tea mash-up at the Hoedown – blanket and thermos a!
requisite.
Lounge is foremost a local festival (for local people…) and it wouldn’t be, well, right, without Psychotic Reaction, Amber Room, Cocos Lovers, Syd Arthur, Electric River and Zoo For You, to name but a meagre few of the Kentish best performing this year.

It’s not all about the music though, in fact, in the Meadows area it’s not even about the music. New for 2009, the Meadows contains an outdoor theatre, petting zoo (pigs or partay?!) and The Red Tent if you feel in need of some spiritual healing after all the exhausting lounging about. Natural Pathways will be providing bushcraft courses, fulfilling all your wild wo/man fantasies and the Make do and Mend lane focuses on local craftsmen and their skills, with workshops running all weekend.

Whatever tickles your pickle, solar powered cinema or life-drawing class – and music too – Lounge on the Farm is the perfect place to do exactly that.

Lounge on the Farm runs from the 10th to the 12th of July, at Merton Farm, Canterbury. Weekend tickets £85, day tickets, £35

Written by Amelia Wells on Tuesday June 16th, 2009 11:06 am

Categories ,Festival Preview, ,Folk, ,Indie, ,Kent, ,Pop, ,Summer

Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Preview: The Trip Festival

There is something delightful about being present for the birth of something new. It makes Amelia’s Magazine go all misty eyed. And this is why we are especially excited to be welcoming The Trip Festival into our 2010 Festival Previews section; freshly prepared for your enjoyment, salve about it this will be the first Trip ever! Casting our eye over what there is planned for us, more about it’s clear to see that while this little one might still be in its infancy, it is already running alongside the bigger kids with all the confidence and flair of a long-established festival.

The stunning setting of The Trip Festival

Nestled in the lush Welsh hills, (it is situated in the Carregewlyd Estate on the island of Anglesey) and conveniently close to the rugged, unspoilt coastline of the North Wales sea, The Trip Festival has collated the finest folk, psych folk and psychedelica from the four corners of the groovy planet for one long weekend of listening pleasure. Headlining will be musical mavericks Django Django (I love a bit of alliteration), bringing their style of psychedelic art pop to The Trip center stage. Django Django share billing with Welsh folk legend Meic Stevens, teenage pop-folk eccentric Beth Jeans Houghton, Kiwi dream poppers The Ruby Suns, Orkney folk-rockers Erland & The Carnival, and Welsh singer songwriter Cat Le Bon. It’s a United Nations of folk-pop!

Carregewlyd, home of The Trip Festival

Headlining at The Trip, Django Django

Recognising that the spoken word is as relevant as the sung word, The Trip has brought in a host of poets such as Mab Jones, Flossie Paperdoll and Jonny Fluffy Punk who will be sharing thoughts, musings and taking part in poetry workshops, so that we can all get a chance to break out the iambic pentameter and write something transcendental, no doubt inspired by the beautiful surroundings. Then for those who prefer break beats to beatniks, we are promised cosmic vibes and Balearic beats to keep us going into the wee hours…. and then keep us going some more. We counted 32 DJ’s on the set list that will be spinning tunes. 32!!!!! Wales has never had it so large.

The Ruby Suns

Maybe I am showing my age, but a festival makes my ears prick up when I hear words like ‘family friendly’ and ‘laid-back’. Thankfully, The Trip has organised non – musical activities in this vein, so expect workshops on knitting and woodcarving, craft and performance and quite bizarrely; metal casting! And just so you know, I would never send an Amelia’s Magazine reader to a festival where the grub was going to be mass produced fast food. (I’m such a greedy guts, and would honestly give a festival a miss if I thought it was going to be 72 hours of greasy Chinese noodles and burgers) So it’s relieving to hear that all food will be ‘locally-sourced, mainly organic produce’. Not knowing much about Welsh food, perhaps our Welsh readers can enlighten us as to what we might expect?

Erland & The Carnival

Weekend tickets to The Trip cost just £70, which includes a camping pass. Tickets for Friday or Saturday are £30, or £20 for Sunday. Children under 10 go free. The festival will open at 4pm on May 28th and close 4pm Sunday 30th (you will be able to stay on Sunday night to camp, as long as the premises are vacated by 12pm Monday) For all further information, and instructions on how to get to The Trip Festival, check out their website. Now all I have to do is wish all Trip Travellers a Siwrne dda! (I had to get some Welsh in here somewhere!)

Written by Cari Steel on Tuesday May 25th, 2010 4:12 pm

Categories ,beth jeans houghton, ,Cat Le Bon, ,Django Django, ,Erland & The Carnival, ,festival, ,festival preview, ,folk, ,Folk – Pop, ,live music, ,Meic Stevens, ,Spoken Word, ,The Ruby Suns

Amelia’s Magazine | Secret Garden Party: The Festival Preview Series

sea of bees julie
Happy Bank Holiday Amelia’s Magazine readers! If, drugs like me, you’re nursing some pretty horrific sunburn, whack on some aloe vera and retreat to the shady and cool gig venues of London for this week’s pick of the best!

Monday 25th May

First on today’s menu are Canada’s tastiest export since poutine; Women, they play their jingly-jangly post-rock tunes (imagine maypole dancing in the sunshine with Sonic Youth) at the Lexington with support from Dag För Dag and Forest.

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Tuesday 26th May

We featured them in our magazine aaggggeeess ago-Amelia’s Magazine’s whimsical favourites Slow Club bring their dulcet tones to Scala, perfect music for long warm spring nights.

Wednesday 27th May

I might just wet my pants with excitement- Wavves are playing Old Blue Last! San Diego’s finest will be playing their anarchic melodies and distorted surf punk. Keep your eyes peeled for our interview (probably a page of me gushing “why are you so awesome?”) with Wavves coming this week.

Thursday 28th May

Owen Pallett is one cool dude, not only was he in the epic Arcade Fire, he broke off and created Final Fanatsy, a deliciously structured cacophony of strings and loop pedals; like being lost in a wonderland of beautiful sound at Union Chapel.

Friday 29th May

Upset the Rhythm never fail to disappoint, this Friday they’re putting on something fun; Syrian legend Omar Souleyman with support from Saharan Group Doueh

Saturday 30th May

20 bands are playing 2009 Brainlove Festival at Brixton Windmill, including performances from Kid Carpet, the excellent Internet Forever (keep eyes peeled for an interview), Napoleon IIIrd, The Duloks, gwEm, Pagan Wanderer Lu and a bundle load of exciting new bands from across the musical spectrum.

Then we’ll be heading to the Luminaire to catch our French crushes Nelson and asking them to be our pen-pals…

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I’m off to play croquet, have a good music-filled week dear readers! Be sure to comment and let me know how you enjoyed this week’s gigs

Just because you are a brave suffragette doesn’t mean that you don’t want to scrub up nicely.

As our readers know, site Amelia’s Magazine is passionate about the role of the arts in inspiring discussions and action over Climate Change, viagra buy and always wishes to share these discoveries with you. While the message of Climate Change is a serious one, the way in which the message is conveyed need not be, and sometimes, a large dose of playfulness is needed to spread the word. This is why we are so excited about the newest venture between Lush and Climate Rush entitled Trains Not Planes. I’m sure that you all know about the loveliness of Lush, but you may not know about the actions of Climate Rush.

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This is a group of people (which includes our Publisher and Editor, the eponymous Amelia, one of Climate Rush’s key members) who are deeply concerned about the issue of Climate Change, and even more concerned about the Governments “efforts” (or lack of) to tackle this emergency. Understanding that occasionally, direct and public action is needed in order to make the law makers sit up and take notice, they draw inspiration from the Suffragettes of almost one hundred years ago and show that peaceful civil disobedience can lead to positive change. Like suffragettes too, they make their protests in style; picnic blankets are laid out and tea and cake is served. Lush have evidently been inspired, because this week they too will be wearing their sashes with pride and putting on the kettle and best of all, you are invited!

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The occasion is all to celebrate the aforementioned collaboration and the happy result of this union is Lush’s Chox Away soap. (£2.89 for 100g) As you may have guessed from the title, Chox Away is made up of a blend of chocolate (and smells like chocolate too), vanilla absolute, peppermint oil and sweet orange oil. I was fortunate enough to get to try some last week and I have been whipping myself up into a lather over it ever since. Anyone who has shopped at Lush will know that every one of their products are creamy delights that leaves your skin soft and smooth and this soap is no exception. I might be biased, because I get ravenous over chocolatey flavoured soaps, but this one is seriously good enough to gobble up. From this week, you can also buy it when you pop into Lush, (but try not to drive there). If you want to be treated to the spectacle of Lush Cosmetics staff dressed as Climate Suffragettes and holding picnics then go to your nearest Lush on Thursday 28th May at 12pm sharp where a tea party will be under way. As they are such a friendly bunch, feel free to sit down on the blankets that Lush will have across the floors (which will be emblazoned with the message CLIMATE CHANGE IS NO PICNIC), and while you munch on your free vegan cake, wearing a “Trains Not Planes” sash, you can find out more about the cause behind this collaboration. If you live in the London area, then Liverpool Street branch are putting an extra twist on the festivities – they will be giving out free Chox Away’s! As they have been informed that they can’t hand them out on the station concourse (because of the association with Climate Rush, which is apparently considered ‘too controversial’!) they will be on Bishopsgate concourse instead. So if you want a freebie (and who doesn’t?) then make sure that you are down there at 12pm sharp!

As you can see, the events will be lighthearted, but the underlying message is a serious one, and needs to be shared. ‘Trains Not Planes‘ is the ethos which Climate Rush and Lush are in firm agreement with. As you all know, flying is doing untold damage towards the earth. Flying releases a lot of CO2 – which is even more destructive to our environment when released at high altitudes than on the ground and this is contributing to more droughts, flooding and other catastrophic changes to our climate all over the globe, including right here in the UK.

So Lush and Climate Rush are aiming to remind the public of the benefits of train travel, especially for business, or when travelling up and down the country. As Lush says, ” The world looks better from the window of a train than it does at 30,000 feet, and if we are going to take control of run-away climate change, we need fewer runways and more use of train tracks. ” Lush subscribe to the brilliantly titled phrase “My Karma is Your Dogma“, which basically translates as take the train, cycle or walk to work! They understand Climate Rush’s grave concerns over the amount of flying that occurs around the world (and specifically in Britain; were you aware that per person, Britons emit more CO2 emissions from flying than any other people on the planet -603 kg per person per year, compared to 434 kg for Irish and 275 kg for Americans? ). So if you buy a bar of Chox Away between May 25th and May 31st, Lush will be donating all of the proceeds from the sale towards the efforts of Climate Rush in tackling this environmental emergency. Lush themselves have a policy against flying domestically and all Lush staff take the train when travelling in Britain. This is something that they would like to see other businesses implimenting.

Speaking to the Climate Rushers as they donned their sashes, I asked what they made of Chox Away, and all agreed that it gets a vote of confidence. As they explained; “Not every luxury need be a vice. Here at Climate Rush HQ we’re inordinately proud of LUSH and their commitment to Trains Not Planes. Like spending time on travel, the Chox Away experience is a fabulously indulgent way to take Climate Change seriously.” One of Climate Rush’s newest recruits, Hana Cogings declared; “Chocolate soap? Who’d have thought…..but then again, who’d have thought not so long ago that trains were the future, not planes! I’m gonna lie back and indulge!” So if you want to feel refreshed and ready to Rush, then lather up!

Meanwhile, Climate Rush will be spreading the word in the way that they know best; pedal power! If you want to come along – and all are welcome, they will be tucking their knickerbockers into their trousers and getting on their bikes in St James Square, London at 5pm on June 1st. The event is to draw attention to what will be the first night of a two day coal conference and Climate Rush will be assembling outside Chatham House where the conference will be held. It will also mark the first night of the pre-Copenhagen climate talks in Bonn, and what better way to mark this occasion than a gentle bike ride around town (where Climate Rush will be your tour guides, pointing out climate crime scenes and buildings that may be housing climate criminals). Afterwards, they too will be ending the excursion with a picnic. So see you there? We will be the ones smelling yummy, hope you will be too!
Lucy Barlow: Delicate Boundaries
First Floor Projects Gallery
5 Redcliffe Gardens, prescription London SW10 9BG

Thursday to Saturday 12pm – 6 pm
All other times by appointment
To 30th May

This week is the last chance to catch the wonderfully playful exhibition at the new First Floor Projects gallery. Containing both Lucy Barlow’s previous drawings and sketches and her transition into paint on canvas, viagra the space is the living room of James Tregaskes; a unique, relaxed, cosy environment which compliments Barlow’s artwork perfectly. Stop by, have a cup of tea, and say Hi from me. Watch out for a review of this exhibition this week.

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On The Line
Shane Bradford, Oliver Clegg, Cédric Lefebvre, Ian Monroe
Ben Newton, Ayman Ramadan, Gavin Turk
Crimes Town Gallery
1 Yoakley Road
London N16 0JX

Friday-Sunday 12-6pm
Opens 29th May until 28th June

Shane Bradford

Crimes Town Gallery, an artist’s run space presents six artists (working in various media) who are each freely interpreting the title in relation to our contemporary environment. The exhibition aims to discuss and open the debate on the possible effects of the current economical downturn on the art world, and whether we are heading for a reinvention of creativity or a starvation of possibility.

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Sherrie Levine
Simon Lee Gallery
12 Berkeley Street
London W1J 8DT
Monday to Friday: 9.30am to 6.00pm
Saturday: 11.00am to 4.00pm
29th May – 31st July

“I consider myself a still-life artist, with the bookplate as my subject. I want to make pictures that maintain their reference to the bookplates. And I want my pictures to have a material presence that is as interesting as, but quite different from, the originals.” Sherrie Levine.
American artist Levine showcasing new work including poetry and postcards.

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Tal R- Armes de Chine
Victoria Miro Gallery
16 Wharf Road
London N1 7RW

Tuesday – Saturday 10.00am-6.00pm
Monday by appointment.
until 25th July

Danish artist Tal R explains “armes de chine refers to a classic manual about weapons from ancient China. These objects, which once had a very specific and practical purpose, now several hundred years later seem completely abstract. Like a long lost slang…” With not a single piece attached to a wall and instead all pieces suspended or installed across the floor of the gallery’s main space, this will prove to be a very unique exhibition indeed. Expect everything from lost scouts, wrong fruits, embarrassed old uncles and melted minimal ice cream., taking forms of sculptures, paintings and work on paper.

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Parades and Processions
Parasol Unit Gallery
14 Wharf Road
London N1 7RW

Tues – Sat, 10am – 6pm Sun, 12 – 5pm
Until 24 July

Photo by: Jeremy Deller, Veterans Day Parade, 2002 Video installtion, Courtesy Art: Concept, Paris

Featuring: Francis Alÿs, Fiona Banner, Jeremy Deller, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rachel Hovnanian, Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler, William Kentridge, Michèle Magema, Annette Messager, Amy O’Neill and Hiraki Sawa.
A ‘parade’ is usually a festive occasion for which people dress up in extravagant costumes and create elaborate and highly structured artefacts, while a ‘procession’ is more often an organised group of people proceeding in a formal or ceremonial manner, often with a religious or political connotation. The exhibition will feature works by twelve UK-based and international artists who take their inspiration from the traditional meanings of ‘parades’ and ‘processions’, creating works that epitomise the social and political context of our time. The resulting works, ranging from sculpture to installation, films and videos, are powerful forms of expression that address issues of history, culture, identity and politics.

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Michael Raedecker
Camden Arts Centre
Arkwright Road
London NW3 6DG

Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm
Wednesday 10am-9pm
Closed Mondays & Bank Holidays
Until 28th June

A solo exhibition by London-based Danish artist Michael Raedecker includes new paintings and a selection from the last 5 years. He uses a unique combination of thread and paint to create his atmospheric paintings. They derive from and also reinvent different genres from the history of art including still lifes, landscapes, ruins and flower paintings.
In the new work, Raedecker references flowers, washing, cakes, table-cloths, sheets, lace, food and houses. These domestic topics and the decorative associations of needlework create a friction with the fetishistic nature of these paintings.

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Stitch and Sock It Up
Stitch n Bitch London

The Royal Festival Hall
South Bank Centre
Belvedere Road
London SE1 8XX

Wednesday 27th May
From 6pm

Photo from faithdarling

Struggling with your latest sock project? Not sure about how to turn that darned heel? Or are you simply mystified by all those little needles and simply wouldn’t know where to start? If so, this week’s sock surgery may be just what you need. The experienced sock knitters will be happy to share their sock expertise with anyone who needs it.
The act of shopping can be a divisive experience, check normally somewhere along gender lines, but I would be prepared to bet that most people have at least once been betrayed by the deceitful mythologisation of shopping as ‘retail therapy’. Shopping can be hardcore, hideous megabitch – when it makes that imperceptible shift it can morph into the seventh circle of hell of escalators, crowds, queues, bags and blisters.

Is it wrong to want a little romance and daydream in shopping? I don’t want to shunted in and spat out, I want to be nurtured and seduced until I buy lots of nice things I don’t really need. Hurwundeki on Commercial Street in Shoreditch seems to understand this. Quirky, stocked full of antiques and things like vintage clogs and bow ties, it totally eschews style over utility, has softly lit stone archways filled with clothes and changing rooms with tall heavy curtains and stone busts inside.

Stocking vintage, new designers and their own label, it has become something of an empire for its Korean owner Ki, and Thursday sees the launch of a new venture at the bottom of Cambridge Heath Road. It’s a shop-cum-café-cum-playground, but this is no family Little Chef: featuring a beautifully crafted playground that manages to fuse function and fairytale, it’s a sanctuary for local families wishing to visit and enjoy it for its varying facets. It seems a hugely positive venture for the Hackney community, as well as building on the idea that shopping doesn’t have to be a stressy, hellish mess. I spoke to Ki ahead of its launch this Thursday.

At the beginning when you set up Hurwundeki what was your aim in terms of the shopping experience?

Actually I have always been a hairdresser, when I moved to England, I was working for Vidal Sassoon before opening my Hair Salon in Spitalfields. I began to cultivate my taste for vintage via the interior of the Salon. I started to sell vintage items within the space, and subsequently opened a vintage boutique; and later launched the Hurwundeki line of clothes. The aim was to provide a shopping experience that customers remember, providing clothes that are classic, yet have a twist, in beautiful settings made up of artefacts that may have once been frowned upon. This has generated our own unique clientele.

I always remembered it after the first time I visited as it was simply such a nice space to be in.

Why thank you.

In terms of designers you stock, what are you criterias? Who is your
customer?

In terms of the Huruwndeki label, the clothes have to be classic, which means that they’re versatile. They have to have a twist, like in the pattern of the construction has been slightly toyed to give an edgy look. The price has to be affordable. We have our own niche, and for fashion, we are actually fashionable.

In terms of the service, we offer our customers award winning coffee, at very reasonable prices. The settings are out of this world, somewhere quirky, yet mellow enough to relax in.

Generally our customers are not just one type, we appeal to a variety of clientele because different facets of our company attract more to different kinds of people.

With regard to your new venture in Hackney, what was it that inspired you to
set it up? Anything in particular? Were there any other similar places that you could use as a blueprint?

Well it was originally our headquarters. And before that it was used by the car lot next door. We relocated, offices, but I had a feeling about the space, and developed a vision for it.

I like the idea that you emphasised the functional aspect of it all too – where did you manage to pull all your playground pieces from? They’re definitely striking walking down Hackney Road.

Some of the pieces where from our Commercial St boutique and some from our warehouse, that had been sourced by myself.

What has the response been from the local community? Have you had particular
support or endorsement from anyone?

Everyone loves it. The local community think it’s about time something like this happened. We’re getting great feedback.

What are your plans beyond this?

To keep expanding, never being satisfied to standstill, if you’re not going forward, then you’re moving backwards.

Ki seems to have maximised the shopping experience by tapping into people’s lifestyles; not just the lone shopper with only themselves to carry, but the family unit too. I think it’s a creative vision that really riffs off people’s needs, and that’s definitely on the money.

Hurwundeki Cafe launches this Thursday, May 28th.

Returning this year after a triumphant 2008 which saw it scoop ‘best small festival’ at the festival awards, link The Secret Garden Party once more stands out like a painted lady amongst the cabbage whites of this summer’s festival line-ups. For those not in the know, no rx the non-profit festival takes a distinct lest field approach to it’s competitors. This year’s main additions for example are the science and explorer camps, which are hosting science and human rights related talks and debates. Full marks have to be given for their decision to retain the capacity at a relatively small six and a half thousand, refusing to bow to commercial sponsorship. Rather then working to promote beer branding or mobile phones, the organisers instead look to promote ideas, creativity and having a good time that’s not to nature’s expense.

Set amongst ten acres of landscaped garden, meandering around a river and surrounding a lake, there’s much more going on here then just music. Aside from the talks and discussions, I feel I can safely state without too much research that this is the only British festival that lists skinny dipping, bubble-wrap popping and twilight maypole dancing as activities. Also instead of the usual £4 burgers, festival goers have the likes of hog roast and home made falafel to choose from, amongst the other organic foods on offer. Then once the bands are finished, rather then attempting to drink as many cheap lagers as possible or sleep while all around you are doing so, you can instead go see a dj in a tree or go relax in a hot tub.

As far as the music goes, one side of the lake consists of ‘the great stage’ and smaller stages for louder/dancier music, while the other side of the lake hosts stages devoted to more acoustic and chillax music. The line-up itself includes the likes of Jarvis Cocker, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, VV Brown, DJ Food, Those Dancing Days, Golden Silvers, Evil Nine, Emmy The Great, Le Castle Vania, Fight Like Apes, Phoenix, Caribou, Bombay Bicycle Club and Dan Black.

The Secret Garden Party. Cambridge. 23rd-26th July. £144 for weekend ticket (additional £75 for campervans/caravans).

Written by Michael Baggs on Tuesday May 26th, 2009 12:47 pm

Categories ,electro, ,emmy the great, ,festival preview, ,folk, ,indie, ,summer

Amelia’s Magazine | Latitude: The Festival Preview Series

Amongst a sea of nodding heads I can barely tread water enough to get a glimpse of tonight’s support man Ulrich Schnauss. All the way from the banks of the Spree; Schnauss is quite a regular on this side of the channel and particularly Manchester. Being sometime keyboardist for local favourite troubadours Long;View (or however they prefer to be punctuated). His coming over always creates a buzz and hence this sea of bodies amongst which I need to gasp for air.

Ulrich Schnauss in action

Alongside the sometime melancholic, cheapest adiposity sometime ebullient sound-scaping he produces is a projection that seems to depict the exact thoughts and visions created by the music. It’s as if the projector was directly plugged into my imagination and transmitting them live as they appear. Images range from sunsets on beaches, information pills flora, fauna and fairgrounds. All a little clichéd you may think but perfectly apt for the far from clichéd ethereal sound Ulrich emits. This link between the image and sound makes it very difficult to extricate yourself from either and irksomely difficult to invent any images of your own.

With M83 however my mind becomes satiated with strange and vivid imagery all coming from a magical blue box set in the middle of the stage emitting light, watts and ohms throughout the entirety of the Deaf Institute. Taking a certain quality of softly spoken vocal over loud reverbed guitar from shoegaze giants My Bloody Valentine and Ride, they create an all new form of dance music that sets it apart and creates an Ibiza club night atmosphere but with an air of Krautrock cool; let’s call it Neu! Disco. The crowd are euphoric, swaying, dancing and gyrating to an infectious beat, from the drum kit placed behind a perspex cabin, as I bob up and down, straggling to grab hold of a lifebuoy. Boy, it’s enough to blow your socks off, something front man Anthony Gonzalez would attest to (he plays barefooted, just to clarify).

M83

M83 are currently preparing to embark on a huge tour of Europe with Depeche Mode, if you’re on dry land and have the opportunity to jump aboard then get to it captain, batten down the hatches and hold on to your socks.

All photos and lovely illustrations courtesy of Simon Edgar Lord.
Continuing our Festival Preview Series, drugs today it’s Latitude‘s chance to shine and watch out Summer, there this year’s Latitude is going to blow your mind!
Musically, medicine 2009 is hotting up to live up to 2008′s highly-set standards. With their ‘living legend’ headliners, Grace Jones, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Pet Shop Boys, all the way down to bright young things like Marina and the Diamonds, Casiokids, Marnie Stern and Wild Beasts.
Regina Spektor, who has been relatively quiet on the live circuit of late, will be playing her piano and singing stories to you and then Bat for Lashes will be captivating the audience with her twilight-magic pop, after all this whimsy you can dance your socks off to Pitchfork-darlings; !!! (chk-chk-chk, it’s fun to say!) and a Belle and Sebastian DJ set (can you hear me squeaking with excitement? Probably)
Without sounding like Captain Cliché there is something for everyone!
Latitude boldly touts itself as more than a music festival and indeed it is! There’s a comedy stage; laughs provided by Sean Lock amongst others, a Cabaret and a theatre arena. For the bookish among us there is a literary arena; touting Vivienne Westwood talking about Active Resistance and the legendary Sir Peter Blake, why not mooch on over to the poetry arena afterwards an catch ex-laureate Andrew Motion, or the world’s most loveable and talented wet blanket Jeffrey Lewis weave a web of comic books and poetry.
At the lake at sunset, the House of Blue Eyes will be putting on a fashion show called ‘Rock n’ Roll Faerie, fashion and music merge as well as a live performance piece by Johnny BlueEyes himself, I can’t wait! It seems Latitude pretty much have all the bases covered.

It takes place Thursday 16th- Sunday 19th July at Henham Park Southwold, Sunrise Coast, Suffolk. Tickets at £150.
Continuing our Festival Preview Series, stomach today it’s Latitude‘s chance to shine and watch out Summer, advice this year’s Latitude is going to blow your mind!

Musically, 2009 is hotting up to live up to 2008′s highly-set standards. With their ‘living legend’ headliners, Grace Jones, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Pet Shop Boys, all the way down to bright young things like Marina and the Diamonds, Casiokids (pictured below), Marnie Stern and Wild Beasts.

Regina Spektor, who has been relatively quiet on the live circuit of late, will be playing her piano and singing stories to you and then Bat for Lashes, pictured below, will be captivating the audience with her twilight-magic pop. After all that whimsy you can dance your socks off to Pitchfork-darlings; !!! (chk-chk-chk, it’s fun to say!) and a Belle and Sebastian DJ set (can you hear me squeaking with excitement? Probably)
Without sounding like Captain Cliché there is something for everyone!

Latitude boldly touts itself as more than a music festival and indeed it is! There’s a comedy stage; laughs provided by Sean Lock amongst others, a Cabaret and a theatre arena. For the bookish among us there is a literary arena; touting Vivienne Westwood talking about Active Resistance and the legendary Sir Peter Blake, why not mooch on over to the poetry arena afterwards an catch ex-laureate Andrew Motion, or the world’s most loveable and talented wet blanket Jeffrey Lewis weave a web of comic books and poetry.
At the lake at sunset, the House of Blue Eyes will be putting on a fashion show called ‘Rock n’ Roll Faerie, fashion and music merge as well as a live performance piece by Johnny BlueEyes himself, I can’t wait! It seems Latitude pretty much have all the bases covered.

It takes place Thursday 16th- Sunday 19th July at Henham Park Southwold, Sunrise Coast, Suffolk. Tickets at £150.

Written by Roisin Conway on Wednesday May 27th, 2009 2:55 pm

Categories ,Electro, ,Festival Preview, ,Folk, ,Indie, ,Literature, ,Poetry, ,Pop, ,Summer, ,Theatre

Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Preview: Vieilles Charrues

Fanfarlo pic

Today we are going to be popping over the channel in our search for the finest music festivals of the summer. In our bid to find an eclectic, look inspired and enticing line-up we find ourselves at the doorstep of what is regarded as Glastonbury’s Gallic cousin. A worthy title for sure, mind but deservedly so; having gone from being a tiny local get-together – when it was first held in 1992, les Vieilles Charrues was more village fete then international music hub- it has become France’s most frequented music festival, with over 200,000 expected to attend this year.

Held every year in the town of Carhaix in western Brittany, the festival also serves as a convenient base to explore the spectacular coastline (think harbours, fishing ports and islands dotted around the peninsula) although if you are just here for the music, we won’t hold that against you. Vieilles Charrues has been steadily achieving the kind of dream line-up that leaves many other festivals in the shade; in the past it has played host to a savvy and diversified combination of big name acts (Massive Attack, Beck, Death In Vegas, Kings Of Leon), and upcoming talent. This years festival has headlining performances by Phoenix, Julian Casablancas, Muse, Fanfarlo, The Raveonettes, Dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip and Midlake, as well as plenty of French bands to discover, such as Chapelier Fou, Revolver and Fefe.

Visiting happy campers have a myriad of ways to arrive at Vieilles Charrues; TGV Rail has a service into Carhaix, and for ticket holders arriving by road, car sharing is encouraged (the organisation of Vieilles Charrues aims to make the festival as sustainable as possible, and this includes the transport) but the ideal way to travel has been worked into the 3 day ticket offer; crossing the channel by ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff, with coach transfers to Carhaix. (Check the website for prices). Without transport, a 3 day pass works out at a very reasonable 84 Euros, this gives you full access to the camping site, and day tickets are available for 35 Euros.

Written by Cari Steel on Monday June 28th, 2010 10:47 am

Categories ,Chapelier Fou, ,Dan le Sac, ,fanfarlo, ,festival preview, ,france, ,julian casablancas, ,Midlake, ,phoenix, ,The Raveonettes

Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Preview: Standon Calling

Illustration by Donna McKenzie

Regular readers of Amelia’s Magazine will know that we covered the Maison Martin Margiela 20 exhibition last March, visit when it showed in fashion capital Antwerp.

But, price since it’s moved to our very own fashion capital, we thought we’d have another look, and get some of our wonderful illustrators involved!

Somerset House is quickly becoming a fashion hot spot, with the rehoming of London Fashion Week and the recent SHOWstudio sessions. It’s clear why, too – it’s bloody beautiful.

This is the third outing for the Maison Martin Margiela exhibition, after seasons in Antwerp and Munich, so actually it’s the label’s 22nd anniversary this year, but who cares? I’ll use any excuse to have a poke around a fashion archive.

Illustration by Louise McLennan

The exhibition, set in Somerset House’s lower galleries and you’d be forgiven for believing, if this building wasn’t centuries old, that the space had been purpose-built for this nostalgic trip down Margiela memory lane.

All but a couple of the rooms are white-washed in typical Margiela fashion, and while the exhibition allows us to explore the history of this conceptual and inspirational label, it still give nothing away about the elusive man himself.

Illustration by Amy Martino

Instead of being a chronological or nostalgic display, the aim of this exhbition is to explore the key themes of Maison Martin Margiela, including the inspiration behind each collection and the techniques used.

So it is the quirks that have made this brand truly unique that are given most attention. We begin with a look at the anniversary catwalk show, amongst a lot of polystyrene models, whilst mooching along a row of rather battered Tabi shoes.

Illustration by Donna McKenzie

The bulk of the exhibition explores varying collections and what made them stand out alongside so many other fashion designers of the time. Flat-pack clothing, XXXL oversized pieces, painted garments, narrow tailoring, the trench coat, and the re-visioning of old garments. We also see the evolution of Margiela’s elusivity – first it was a slash of paint across a model’s face, then a blindfold, and then the infamous sunglasses (which I was so tempted to lift I had to walk around with my hands in my pockets. Damn I wish I’d bought them – what a collector’s item).

Illustration by Farzeen Jabbar

One room is devoted to archive footage, film and photographs from across the collections – the room is dark and has white lounge chairs for you to kick back and revel in some of the most iconic fashion images of the last two decades.

Illustration by Zarina Liew

Whether you like fashion or not, I’m entirely convinced that you will love this exhibition – it breaks the boundaries of typical gallery design and it is incredibly inspirational – Go See It!

You can read a full review of the Antwerp exhibition (which was exactly the same exhibition, I promise) here.

For the all important details, visit our listings section.

Most bands have a limited shelf life, medicine especially the ones who are hyped. Although a review like: “The first band in a decade to lay serious claim to The Stone Roses throne” (The Guardian) can put you in good stead while you’re starting out, it can also set you en route Destination Doomsville, burdening you with a reputation you simply can’t live up to.

British indie rock band Delays have so far managed to defy the odds. They have gone from strength to strength, following the release of their debut album ‘Faded Seaside Glamour’ in 2004. Six years on, the four-piece are set to release their forth record, ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel’ produced by Duncan Lewis.

In a tiny room in the basement of music venue Water Rats in King’s Cross – decorated with blue and white fairy lights, a few old shelves and an enormous brightly coloured abstract painting – I join spiritual front man Greg Gilbert (GG) and down-to-earth drummer Rowly (R) before they take to the stage at their sold out London gig, to talk about their latest album, town criers and livin’ it up at Glastonbury over lime-flavoured Doritos…

How would you describe your new album in three words?
GG: Rustic, organic and psychedelic
R: I don’t like organic, it sounds a bit vegetably
GG: OK then; rustic, psychedelic and melancholic
R: Yeah, that sounds better – I second that emotion
GG: Or we could say “Our. Best. Album” – three words – succinct and to the point

What has inspired your latest album?
GG: Our last album had a lot of orchestral arrangements and there was a real urge between the four of us to strip the sound back and become a four-piece band again. With that in mind we started to go for long drives at night along the New Forest, making music to soundtrack the journey. We built the record from the ground up and it was just a case of being inspired by the environment opposed to any concerns about writing a single. We banned the words ‘single’ and ‘commercial’ from the studio.
R: We used to do it all the time; we would say: “I think this one’s a single”, which makes you approach making music differently. We spent a lot of time in Southampton, reacquainting ourselves with the city and each other again, which does come through on the record. The result is a much more personal and honest sound.

How have you found the audience’s response to your new material so far?
GG: We’ve found that people who wouldn’t have liked our previous stuff have been positive about the new album. They’re responding to the fact that it’s a more personal record – they’re getting from it more from us as individuals then a commodity. So far, the people who have heard our record think it’s the best one.
R: The new tracks are going down just as well as our old stuff. It’s a great feeling when the roar for a new song is as enthusiastic as for an old song, like ‘Long Time Coming’.

How do you think your sound has evolved over the years?
GG: The first album sounds like a beach, the second album sounds like a club, the third album sounds like a festival and this album sounds like the forest, with the roots growing underneath the city at night making the buildings shake whilst you’re asleep. The first album is quite delicate because we recorded that before we toured so there was a certain amount of discovery. For the second album we worked with Graham Sutton who is genius producer; he brought a real club edge to the record which had a raw but beautiful precision about it.
R: We wrote the third album with the approach that it would be amazing at a festival; it’s big and bombastic and sounds like you’re playing it to 100,000 people rather then making a record for headphones.
GG: This album’s much more abstract; you can hear this on a beach in Scandinavia at two in the morning with mist flowing in the morning. We were trying to create a record which maintained a mood and an atmosphere which carries you into different surroundings. I think the best records take you to different worlds and that’s what we tried to emulate.
R: It’s not necessarily one genre of music. There’s a certain atmosphere which you can’t quite put your finger on, but it works for late night drives with aerial views over the city.

What’s your proudest achievement to date?
GG: To me it’s the fact that we’re about to release our fourth album and our songs are still playing on the radio. Very few bands get to make four albums so that makes me feel very proud. We’ve been around since 2004 and we’ve managed to sustain and grow our fan base in a way that has been pure because there is no hype now around what we do.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever played?
R: I’ve been going to Glastonbury for years so to play there was amazing. I was really ill on the day and I came so close to calling the others to say I couldn’t do it, but by the time it came to going on stage I’d never felt so healthy in all my life – Glastonbury has that effect, it wakes you up. There was another time when we played in Mexico City; we were headlining on one of the nights at a festival called ‘Manifest’ and we had no idea how big it was going to be. There were 6,000 people crammed into a wrestling/bullfighting arena all chanting ‘Delays, Delays!”. We were slightly in shock for the first couple of numbers.

Did you have any ridiculous demands on your rider in the early days that you don’t feel embarrassed about fessing up to now?
R: I don’t think our rider has changed much since the start; just the same stuff: vodka, beer, water bottles. In the beginning we did have one thing that we thought would be great to collect, which was to have a picture of the local mayor from every town where we played. The only one we got in the end was from Gloucester where they gave us a picture of the town crier which they also got signed – that was ace!

Now that you have played with your long-term idols the Manic Street Preachers, who would you most like to support?
GG: I always come back to Prince. I’m also pretty obsessed with Scott Walker at the moment – he’s the musician I most admire. I’m not sure how we’d go down with his audience but he’s awesome.
R: It’s still The (Rolling) Stones for me. Apparently we did get an offer to support them in Vienna about three years ago but we were already booked in for a festival in Wales on the same day.
GG: Keith Richards is pretty much top of the tree when it comes to rock and roll. Hopefully the opportunity will come up again…

Delays release their fourth album ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel on 21st June 2010 on Lookout Mountain Records, preceded by the debut track ‘Unsung’ on 14th June.

Now this one has us rubbing our hands together in excitement. It’s not just the music that is getting us hot under the collar – although the line up is pretty electrifying. Standon Calling has a well earned reputation for having its finger on the new music pulse, prostate and this years festival is no exception. It’s also because of the care and attention to detail that Standon has put into their event, pharm once again highlighting the difference between the sprawling, stuff amorphous and messy mega-festivals and their small -but perfectly formed boutique counterparts.

Danish collective Efterklang will be playing at Standon Calling

As will Telepathe, who we discovered last year. Read our coverage of them here.

Known for being keen champions of upcoming talent, Standon has put artists on the stage at times in their career when they still needed people to take a chance on them; case in point, Florence and the Machine, Friendly Fires and Mumford & Sons have all played at Standon a good year before they orbited into the festival stratosphere. So stay close to the stages this year, to see the cutting edge and critically acclaimed artists that everyone will be talking about in the next few months. Joining Metronomy, British Sea Power, Steve Mason, Jeffrey Lewis, Alice Russell and The Magic Numbers will be Danish collective Efterklang (who we will be interviewing shortly), Southend art-rockers These New Puritans, upbeat electro-popsters Casiokids, a DJ set by Tom Ravenscroft, one of Brooklyn’s finest exports, Telepathe, and a band who we will support until the end of time, Lulu And The Lampshades, (the lead singer is an ex-Amelia’s Magazine staffer). Of course, this list is but a drop in the ocean of the final line-up, check Standon’s website for all the details.

Look out for Casiokids, playing at Standon 2010

As we mentioned earlier, a lot of love, time and energy has gone into planning Standon and making sure that it not only meets, but improves upon the check list that a seasoned festival goer might have. Living up to their boutique credentials, the thoughtful folk understand that you can love music and still want to maintain basic hygienic standards, so they have laid on extra (and ‘top class’, no less) showers and toilets for the campers, and for those who are bringing water-wings – always be safe, kids – Standon are in the unique position of having a swimming pool at their disposal to offer up. But here’s what I like best about the Standon experience, and I could probably write a festival preview on this basis alone; the Standon ‘fairies’ leave a revitalising drink outside each guests tent in the morning. Seeing that my drink of choice at a festival is Vodka and Berocca, I can’t think of anything more thoughtful, necessary or appropriate for a three day festival. Note to other festivals, take your cue from Standon!

Pack your cossie for a dip in Standon’s pool

Standon Calling is held from 6th – 8th August, in Standon, Hertfordshire, around 40 miles outside of London. There are several options for tickets; a full adult weekend ticket costs £95 (a Sunday day pass is also available). Check the website for details on tickets and various options for camping, including tipis and yurts.

Standon Calling is also running a competition that will appeal to a huge section of our readers.They are inviting designers, artists and illustrators to design a t-shirt, with the winning entry being turned into festival merchandise. The competition will be judged by a panel of creatives and illustrators. Here’s a bit more information from the people behind Standon:

This year’s theme is ‘Murder on the Standon Express’ so think murder, mystery, mayhem and madness. A panel of established arts professionals will judge the designs, with the winner receiving two VIP festival packages including boutique camping, as well as seeing their T-shirt printed. The winning artist will also be featured on the festival website. This isn’t a money-making exercise, so any proceeds will be donated to charity.

How to enter
-Please email your design to design@standoncalling.com before the 21st June 2010 as a moderately high j-peg (at least 1500-pixels wide). Although please note that the final artwork will need to be supplied as either a colour separated PSD file or a vector/bitmap based Illustrator file.
-Your design should contain a maximum of three colours.
-Your design should not contain any copyrighted material.
-Please don’t include any fancy pants printing techniques, such as glow in dark, fuzzy felt or marmite.

Written by Cari Steel on Monday June 14th, 2010 9:51 am

Categories ,British Sea Power, ,casiokids, ,festival preview, ,Florence and The Machine, ,Friendly Fires, ,Illustrator Brief, ,Indie, ,Jeffrey Lewis, ,Mumford and Sons, ,Standon Calling, ,telepathe, ,The Magic Numbers, ,Tom Ravenscroft

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