LIVE ACTS MAIN STAGE 2010 - 1ST ACTS ANNOUNCED..................
CALVIN HARRIS
It was when Harris hit upon what would become his trademark sound - irresistibly infectious dance-pop tunes built from juicy staccato synths and squelchy electro basslines - that he caught the public imagination. He describes the overall feel and mood as “Classic dance music in a modern environment”, “wanting to make dance tunes that don’t seem like they are dance tunes, but hopefully work and make something that someone either hasn’t heard for ages, or has never heard before. Hopefully the latter.” CALVIN HARRIS ONLINE
CHASE & STATUS (LIVE)
How many artists / producers can count Jay Z, Snoop Dogg and Pharell as fans as well as drum and bass’ finest Andy C, Hype and Pendulum; enjoy heavy rotation in the hands of dub-step royalty such as N-Type and Skream? This is what Chase & Status have achieved, which has helped turned them into a unique urban phenomenon, and the biggest crossover act to come out of the underground. This will be their first ever live tour with their new set up including the amazing Andy Gangadeen on drums and appearances from vocalists including Plan B, Kano and Yolanda who all feature on ‘More Than Alot’. “The best new producers finally make it out of the studio. It will be worth it.” (Zane Lowe)
CHASE & STATUS ONLINE
ELLIE GOULDING
Ellie Goulding is a complicated thing in a seemingly simple package. On first hearing, she’s a bright and shiny 22 year old singer-songwriter, with her fingers on her guitar, her feet in a night-club and her head in the heavens. But very few singer-songwriters, young or old, can flip between dance-til-you-drop euphoria and wistful, journeying space-folk between lyrics. Ellie’s songs are built around big proper tunes that lift you up and spin you round, yet there’s something off-centre about them, something sparkly, filmic, haunting, odd. She mixes heartfelt emotion with other-worldly atmospherics, spins cool electronica into dreamy warmth.
ELLIE GOULDING ONLINE
PLAN B
A loud, proud, obscenity-riddled scream of anger and pride from the estates of East London. Rapping and singing in his own accent, playing his guitar, telling stories about the world he’d grown up in. “When I’m trying to make a statement in my rap lyrics, I never really pull it off. I’m able to get a message across better when I tell a story. From then on, I wanted every song to be like a different short film”
PLAN B ONLINE
THE FUTUREHEADS
The Futureheads are back, bolder and better than ever, exploding back onto the scene with their new album ‘This Is Not The World’. Embracing the punk-rock ethic like never before, Barry, Ross, Jaff and Dave are releasing their third album independently and taking control of their own destiny. It’s going to feel like the first time, all over again…
THE FUTUREHEADS ONLINE
EXAMPLE
He brings to you, with versatility and ease in crossing over into several genres, a mash up of all different flavours with his unusually infectious enthusiasm and passion for sharing his excitement. “On my first album I wanted to be a cool credible rapper. Then, when I was free, I realised I just wanted to make pop songs, be a popstar, have fun, be on stage and play to big crowds.”
EXAMPLE ONLINE
NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB
New Young Pony Club (NYPC) is a four-piece electro band from London consisting of Tahita Bulmer (vocals), Andy Spence (guitar), Igor Volk (bass) Lou Hayter (keyboards) and Sarah Jones (drums), and they provide a kind of tight and bass-heavy future discoid noise.
NYPC ONLINE
DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP
After a successful BBL 2008 and 2009 Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip are back by popular demand. Their debut album Angles made the most eccentric, entertaining and original debut of the 2008. In constant contention with perceived wisdom and at issue with the sanctity of pop-culture's sacred cows, dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip have become the new faces of 'outsider pop'.
DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP ONLINE
I BLAME COCO
Britain’s best new pop star, a contradictory mix of deep insecurities and special musical dexterity, I Blame Coco is headed by Sting’s daughter Coco Sumner (real name Eliot Pauline Styler Sumner), supported by Joy Joseph and Raphael Mann from Mr Hudson & The Library on drums and bass.. Timeless and explosive? Welcome to the world of I Blame Coco
I BLAME COCO ONLINE
DAISY DARES YOU
Daisy describes her music as a "delirious funky produce" and, sure enough, songs like Daisy Dares You and Number One Enemy are giddy, electro-pop rushes which cartwheel and surge around huge hooks and whopping great choruses. She’s a bundle of energy that will make you feel young again!
DAISY DARES YOU ONLINE
BEARDYMAN
Beardyman is awesome. . . .He has won pretty much every Beatbox title there is to win and in June 2007, he became the first beatboxer in UK history to win the national championships twice in a row. In 2009 he won the award for Best Mc/Vocalist at the World renowned breakbeat awards ceremony Breakspoll. As well as being a world-class solo human-beatbox, he uses his voice and live synths, driven through cutting-edge sound-mangling technology to create dance-inducing layered rhythms, breath-taking soundscapes, fully produced songs and tunes, often totally improvised and all created entirely from scratch.
BEARDYMAN ONLINE
FENECH SOLER
Fenech-Soler are hot dancefloor property right now, having recently collaborated on Groove Armada’s remarkable ‘return to form’ Paper Romance and remixed the latest Marina & The Diamonds single Hollywood into a club and blog sensation. Stop And Stare once again taps the bands gift for radio-friendly hooks and peak time floor filling.
FENECH SOLER ONLINE
KURRAN & THE WOLFNOTES
Kurran and the Wolfnotes come with an abundance of catchy melodies heavily drenched in beautiful harmonies. The new school of Brit-folk, they are an endearingly melancholy affair, bringing to mind the Decemberists at their most wistful. These guys are going places and when they get there, we’ll be watching!
KURRAN & THE WOLFNOTES ONLINE
DOLL & THE KICKS
These guys have attitude, radiate confidence, strike poses and deliver high quality, driven, eccentric pop. Singer Doll's voice is a perfectly spotless hybrid of Kate Bush and Gwen Stefani. Her energy is frantic yet focused and she works the crowd like a pro. This is danceable indie rock at its best that sits nicely between the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Rapture.
DOLL & THE KICKS ONLINE
JAMES OWEN FENDER
James Owen Fender has a bundle of songs full of catchy hooks that are currently getting everyone excited. His influences are drawn from far and wide. Musically they are as diverse as The Clash, Bill Withers and Tom Waits – while err…other things that influence him include Leeds United and ‘pretty pretty girls’! Support slots with The Wombats, Cage The Elephant, Manchester Orchestra and Cold War Kids have allowed him to perfect his live show and ensure audiences sweat till their teeth drop out!
JAMES OWEN FENDER ONLINE
THE CORRESPONDENTS
A swing-hop duo featuring MC Mr Bruce and DJ/Producer Mr Chuckles, collaborating to make Hip Hop for the 1930s, Big Band music for the 00s. Slicing swing samples with squelchy synths over dusty drum loops they’ve depicted a modern day journey into time of rogue’s, lust, affordable clowns and foot-tapping toe curling "get your brogues on" dance floor swing beat. Since then tracks have been recorded, stages have been stomped (with the likes of Florence & The Machine, Lilly Allen,Bassment Jaxx, Rusko) and knees have hit nipples.
THE CORRESPNDENTS ONLINE
THE MILK
One of the great paradoxical facts of life is that only in the deepest darkest most inhospitable caves do you find the shiniest, most precious of stones. Keep that in mind when you think of The Milk. These four best friends grew up in Essex and though immersed in all of the unique cultural slush that Essex is synonymous with, developed a passion for Soul music and culture. Gradually these offbeat influences combined to produce their unique brand of high octane, sharp suited Soul music. So grab your canary and a pickaxe and come venture into the darkness to find out more.
THE MILK ONLINE
DUB MAFIA
Dub Mafia are an explosive new dub heavy live drum and bass band from Bristol who have been taking the UK and Europe by surprise, with a unique combination of talented musicians forming a live dance music sensation. This is live dance music at its best. Soulful lyrics, killer bass lines and a real life drumming monkey!
DUB MAFIA ONLINE
FIRST DEGREE BURNS
FDB are an eight piece band whose influences stem from the concrete roots of Bristol, via France, Jamaica and much in between. Channelling a plethora of musical styles and influences, be it Dub, Skank driven Ska, Roots Reggae, Two Tone, Rock, Metal through the all inclusive umbrella of Hip Hop, they’ve created a fusion which they proclaim as “Skip Hop” – up tempo, conscious, danceable, invitingly innovative, musically accomplished, eclectic… and most importantly, not taking itself too seriously!
FIRST DEGREE BURNS ONLINE
THE DJ'S - 1ST ACTS ANNOUNCED
ANNIE MAC
Annie Mac is most well known for her Radio 1 show, The MASH UP, where she broadcasts 2 hours of dance music around the world every Friday night. Her show has broken boundaries for having no limits in terms of the music it represents, she plays everything from Drum And Bass to Disco to Hip Hop to Electro House…Through the respect of her music choices on BBC Radio 1 and her ever increasing DJing accomplishments, Annie Mac always attracts crowds and her ability means she will always impress.
ANNIE MAC ONLINE
HIGH CONTRAST
The name High Contrast needs no introduction anymore. Signed on the strength of his mini-disc demos, the Welsh wonder has smashed his way through the d+b scene in no time at all. With High Contrast sitting firmly at dance music's top table, Expect the unexpected as High Contrast looks to keep things fresh in 2009. Keep it locked!
HIGH CONTRAST ONLINE
SUBFOCUS
It all started with a demo CD being passed on by a friend to the biggest drum and bass DJ in the world, Ram Records' boss Andy C in 2003. His eclectic formation, allied with an insatiable musical curiosity, with interest ranging from rock to experimental electronic music - happily discussing Vangelis, Nirvana and Justice in the same breath - explains how Subfocus production manages to sound pristine, unique and strangely accessible, and why his imminent album and DJ appearance is so eagerly anticipated.
SUBFOCUS ONLINE
FAKE BLOOD
Men of mystery are always beguiling: from Spiderman and Zorro to Banksy and the baddy in Scooby Doo. The mysterious DJ whose real alias is hidden behind the words 'Fake Blood' has exploded like a 'Loose Women' debate on diet pills onto the club scene with his non-stop, no surrender, mental-as-anything mash-up madness. So who is he?
FAKE BLOOD ONLINE
SCRATCH PERVERTS
Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and Plus One are the Scratch Perverts - a name that has become synonymous with HipHop and battle DJing ever since their formation in 1996. Their reputation as one of the world's most progressive DJ collectives is unparalleled; two consecutive World DMC Team titles, Plus One's World DMC Champion and World Vestax Champion titles, Prime Cut's back to back World ITF Scratching crowns, and countless showcases and gigs all over the world.
SCRATCH PERVERTS ONLINE
ZINC
Zinc opens the doors of his incubator to reveal a new creation which moves to a house tempo. With sights set squarely at the dance floor Zincs brand of house is serrated with the ruggedness that saw him cut his own niche through jungle, drum & bass and breaks. Weighted with basslines from dubstep and jungle and infused rave influences, there’s nothing polite about Zinc’s new production or DJ sets, as he brings his unapologetic energy into the house arena.
ZINC ONLINE
JACK BEATS
Jack Beats are a multiple DMC Award winning DJ duo made up of Niall Dailly (DJ Plus One of Scratch Perverts fame) and Ben Geffin (The Mixologists) Citing influences as diverse as Timbaland, Rage Against the Machine, A Guy Called Gerald and Sebastian, the two began to hone a style fusing House, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass and Dubstep with Electro and Baltimore Club, and what emerged was a cutting edge sound.
JACK BEATS ONLINE
JAYMO AND ANDY GEORGE
DJ’s/producers/promoters and more recently radio presenters too, with some massive house party beats, fresh electro and future disco, loads of remixes, original productions & blatant bootlegs floating about. They recently became two of the youngest people to ever record a LIVE ESSENTIAL MIX for Radio 1, after being nominated by KISSY SELL OUT as his favourite new DJ’s as part of the BBC Introducing Tour.
JAYMO AND ANDY GEORGE ONLINE
TODDLA T
Cut yer boy TODDLA T open and you’ll be vaporized by the pure Sheffield electronics crackling inside him. The Steel City ‘Bleep’ bubbles right through the blood, brains and musical meat of this dirty rascal’s DJ stints, rerubs and original night-time material. Weaned on the teat of bashment from a young age Mr T rolled through his early years on his hands and knees with ears glued to the speakers of his folks’ hi fi.
TODDLA T ONLINE
MC SEROCEE
Born in Small Heath, Birmingham UK, Serocee showed signs of his musical talent at an early age. As a baby he was sent back home to Kingston, for a Jamaican education and this was where he had his first real exposure to Reggae music. A lasting love affair was born. Though a self-proclaimed hip hop master now, Serocee's native roots still resonate through his work.
MC SEROCEE ONLINE
NERO
NERO have become a big name in both the Drum and Bass and Dubstep scenes, often fusing both styles of music in their DJ sets. They started with DnB, joining DJ SS's Formation Records in the Summer of 2004. Since then Dan and Joe's tracks have caused quite a stir, gaining huge support. Since then, Nero's consistent releases have made them one of the most talked about acts in dubstep. Their remix of the Streets' tune 'Blinded by the Lights' was a massive radio hit as well as a dancefloor smasher played by DJ's such as Chase and Status and Skream.
NERO ONLINE
DUB PISTOLS SOUNDSYSTEM
The Dub Pistols are emerging as a cutting-edge modern pop group without losing the danger, humour and mania. The Dub Pistols 4th album, Rum & Coke, continues their journey, with a variety of sounds, from tracks with a richly-melodic summer strut riding a smile-inducing bassline, smokey ballads and full on in-your-face club anthems. Barry Ashworth who still DJs relentless with the Dub Pistols Soundsystem, will be coming along, predicts that the Specials shows will be, “some of the best nights of my life”.
DUB PISTOLS ONLINE
BURNS
Brighton based Burns. Having shot to public awareness via the magical catapult of the blogosphere (and a frankly inspired reworking of Buy Now’s “Bodycrash”), his talent as a producer has since seen him remixing a roster of artists ranging all the way from Late of the pier and Calvin Harris to Linus Loves and Yuksek. His sound is certainly distinctive, escillating between the effortlessly funky and downright brutal
BURNS ONLINE
ZERO T
Zero T (aka Cian McCann) is arguably the brightest rising star coming out of the Dublin Drum & Bass scene. Since 2000 his production has been released on such major Drum & Bass labels as C.I.A., Signature, Subtitles, Liquid V, Hospital, Commercial Suicide, Reinforced, Innerground and Bassbin, amongst others. Cian’s influences range from the early 90s conscious hip-hop sounds of Pete Rock, DJ Premier and A Tribe Called Quest to UK trip hop artists and labels such as Mo’ Wax, Ninja Tune and Massive Attack.
ZERO T ONLINE
MARC ROBERTS
As well as heading up programming for this wonderful event, Marc Roberts has been pimping his self-indulgent eclectic electronica around Europe and beyond for a decade and a half, stopping off to do gigs for the likes of Bugged Out!, Together and Chibuku and playing at festivals such as Global Gathering and Creamfields along the way. We salute you.
MARC ROBERTS ONLINE
