A Festival Mixtape: sŵn 2011
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'S?n' means 'noise' or 'sound' in English, and s?n has been promoting glorious noise and the delightful surrounds of Cardiff since 2007. Traditionally, the festival has enjoyed a little bit of an exchange programme with Manchester's very own In the City as the pair host stages at and attend each other's events - expect a number of Northerners to make the journey to Cardiff in ITC's absence this year.
S?n has given legs up to Yeasayer, James Yuill, The Joy Formidable and Marina and the Diamonds in the past, and they've since spread out of the confines of three days with a S?n Presents spinoff for one-off shows. This year's festival promises to continue in the grand tradition of its predecessors with a lineup of high quality spanning a variety of genres. Picking just 12 acts to showcase was an absolute nightmare...
1. Three Trapped Tigers - 'Noise Trade'
Three Trapped Tigers are one of few noisy leftfield instrumental bands that come vaguely close to the genre's speaker-rattling supreme overlords 65daysofstatic. The band finally released a fairly aptly-named full-length debut Route One or Die earlier this year, and this is its lead single. It's great how 'Noise Trade' manages to be melodic while still giving your ears a jolly good workout. The progression and shift in mood between 1.30 and 2.00 is amazing, and the video is simply beautiful. It's really quite tempting to nominate this for Motelvision 2011...
Saturday, October 22 / Clwb Ifor Bach (downstairs) / 20.45-21.30
2. Esben & the Witch - 'Hexagons II (The Flight)'
Without wasting any time, Esben & the Witch have already produced a follow-up to their haunting debut album Violet Cries, and this taster from it is the perfect soundtrack as autumn beds in and the nights get longer. Deceptive fast synth beats open 'Hexagons II' before it settles into reassuringly familiar, eerie territory.
Download YouTube Video | Convert YouTube to MP3
Saturday, October 22 / Buffalo / 20.30-21.30
3. Creatures of Love - 'Barbatos'
'Barbatos' is metronomic, hypnotic and haunting. That's a one-line summary of the North London trio's next single. The longer version - Bonita's vocal proves irresistible, soaring from low to high and back again throughout its five chilling minutes. Underneath, there's a particularly persistent drumbeat accompanied by Cure-esque guitar lines and a number of other deliciously disconcerting noises. Now, there's been apparently been a mild brouhaha over the video, but if you're not scared of sharks or women dressed as schoolgirls itching their legs a lot, then you're going to be absolutely fine. If you really aren't keen on either, then press play, let that oh-so-mesmerising drumbeat control you and open up this this optional picture of a kitten in a box in another tab.
Friday, October 21 / Solus (University of Cardiff) / 18.45-19.30
4. Niki and the Dove - 'The Drummer'
Malin Dahlström and Gustaf Karlöf have conjured up an exceedingly radio-friendly floorfiller here. More upbeat than their earlier offerings, 'The Drummer' possesses the best middle eight of the year, and it's also full of that that knowing sense of attitude that only pop hailing from Scandinavia possesses (seriously, there must be something in the water there - Robyn, Those Dancing Days and now this lot...) This is the kind of track that has the potential to unite genres through the medium of dance alone.
Friday, October 21 / O'Neills / 23.15-00.00
5. Mammal Club - 'Otter'
Mammal Club make their second Fugitive Motel Festival Mixtape appearance of the year with this, a song which - aptly enough - shares a title with a mammal. The opening xylophone/synth refrain unequivocally screams PARTY CENTRAL, and that's before the band's trademark irregular guitarlines and joyful, faintly melodramatic vocals kick in. Anyway, you can all have fun a) trying to work out the words and b) dancing along furiously to this offering from the best thing to come out of Newcastle since the Great North Run.
Unfortunately Mammal Club will now not perform at s?n, as confirmed on their official Facebook page.
6. Beaty Heart - 'Cola'
'Cola' has been doing the rounds for a while now as an early demo, and it will soon see an official release as part of the Peckham trio's Slush Puppy EP. Formed just last year, their upbeat, drum-led stylings would fall somewhere between Vampire Weekend, Beach House and Animal Collective on that metaphorical musical Venn diagram your editor just loves to call upon when she's being lazy. The Spanish-language(?) closing sample will put a smile on your chops, too.
Saturday, October 22 / Dempsey's / 21.15-22.00
7. ? - 'Tessellate' (demo)
? is pronounced Alt-J, after the Apple Mac keyboard shortcut, and searching for said '?' on a well-known search engine that rhymes with 'poodle' proves to be no help during research. This is the demo version of a track that's just triumphed on Steve Lamacq's Rebel Playlist on 6Music, which is hardly a surprise given its irresistible, danceable combination of piano and drums. If you miss them at s?n, then be sure to catch them at Constellations Festival in their native Leeds next month.
Thursday, October 20 / Dempsey's / 23.00-23.45
8. Mechanical Bride - 'Young Gold'
The last time Lauren Doss, aka Mechanical Bride, featured on the Motel, it was a cover (admittedly an excellent one - and of David Bowie, no less) and thus a bit of a copout. 'Young Gold (You Stole My Heart)' is an ambient, strangely sad little ditty with an irresistible descending hook and tip-top drum beats. There's even a stray flute that blusters in every so often doing its best woodpigeon impression (only far less annoying than one of the persistent feathered critters). One of the highlights of second album Living with Ants.
Sunday, October 23 / Gwdihw / 14.30-15.15
9. The History of Apple Pie - 'Mallory'
Yet another band making a repeat Festival Mixtape appearance, and The History of Apple Pie's new single 'Mallory' picks up where their previous repertoire left off, provoking misty-eyed Radio 1 Evening Session memories of noisy indiepop with the guitars turned up to eleven and a breezy vocal that's so good you could eat it. They traces a lineage that takes in these shores (Ash) and transatlantic influences (the irresistible Love Like Fire). 2012 is bound to be their year - mark my words.
Sunday, October 23 / Cardiff Arts Institute / 19.45-20.30
10. Patterns - 'Induction'
Introduced to the Motel by its very own Hannah and Dan - who released an EP from the band as Pull Yourself Together last December - Patterns specialise in the introspective. 'Induction' comes from a very different place from that debut (particularly 'Broken Trains', which has already clocked up two Festival Mixtape appearances in 2011), but it's equally good - melancholy, languid vocals and shoegazey guitars combining to create a sense of atmosphere that's spot on for autumn days like this.
Saturday, October 22 / Cardiff Arts Institute / 18.15-19.00
11. Y Niwl - 'Undegpump'
Y Niwl's psychedelic/surf-rock revival stylings were recently featured on Football Focus, which is generally a sign that (a) musical artist(s) has/have Arrived, with a capital 'A'. They're currently on tour supporting the mighty Gruff Rhys, another surefire seal of approval. And if all that hasn't convinced you, press play on the minor-key, Pulp Fiction-esque 'Undegpump' and play along on that invisible guitar you keep behind your sofa and dig out when nobody's there to see you looking like a complete and utter idiot.
Saturday, October 22 / Cardiff Arts Institute / 14.00-14.30 // O Neill's / 16.30-17.15 // Gwdihw / 20.15-21.00 and Dempsey's / 23.45-00.30
12. Herman Dune - 'I Wish That I Could See You Soon'
One of the happiest songs known to mankind, 'I Wish That I Could See You Soon' is the high watermark of Herman Dune's offerings. It turns up the saccharine dial to fifteen - composed mostly of jovial acoustic guitar, ethereal, almost too-cool female backing vocals and bursts of mariachi trumpet. But, as is often the case with perky, quirky pop like this, it works. I love the line "# You hit my heart like a harpoon #" - very clever. Whatever genres usually float your boat, I challenge you not to fall in love with this track. Oh, and there hasn't been a brouhaha over the video, but it is so twee that it almost becomes parody. So, if you're allergic to one or more of a) children, b) tambourines and c) handlebar moustaches, then we have also given you the option of this picture of a ki... oh, you know what I mean.
Thursday, October 20 / Clwb Ifor Bach / 20.45-21.45
mixtape by Kate Goodacre
s?n festival takes place between October 20 and 23 in various venues across Cardiff. Early bird tickets are priced at £49.50 (excluding fees) for weekend passes, with day passes ranging between £10 and £25. All tickets are available by clicking here - do bear in mind that prices will go up the week before the festival. Travel advice is available by clicking here, and here are some accommodation recommendations from the s?n crew.
