The Berlin Festival came along for its inaugural outing in 2005, and has been growing year on year. Set against the impressive (and formidable) 1930s backdrop of the now abandoned Tempelhof Airport, the two-day festival is aiming to be something a bit different. The airport motif is used throughout the fest, with the departure boards used to tell punters when and where different bands are on. This year’s line up looks to be the strongest yet, and whether it is partying in one of the aircraft hangers, or dancing to some pilot uniform clad djs at the Mobile Disko, I think this could get messy – Berlin style… With a healthy dollop of continental musical mysteries, there should be some good bands that haven’t quite made it across the Channel yet, thrown in with some summer festival favourites.

1. 2manydjs (Soulwax) – E Talking
Speaking of favourites…playing in one of the aircraft hangers at 2am on Friday, 2manydjs will undoubtedly unleash their mash up magnificence to a very willing crowd of Berliners. A dj set that never disappoints, the Dewaele brothers will hopefully concoct some insane pairing that just hits all the right spots. Their remix of MGMT’s Kids might get people a little over-excited. And to prove how committed the duo are to the festival, they’ll be back on Saturday evening to rock out as their alter egos Soulwax. Expect a playful set, with a healthy dollop of humour and possibly more than one drum kit.
2MANY DJs – E Talking (Soulwax) by ehz

2. We Have Band – Oh!
Oh! is so infectious that after the first half minute you’ll be sure you’ve danced to this before somewhere. London-based We Have Band are an indie-electro outfit in the mould of bands like Bloc Party and New Young Pony Club. If their Berlin set can keep delivering the energy of Oh!, they could be festival favourites of the future.
Oh! – We Have Band by musicmanners

3. Lali Puna – Faking The Books
They’ve been dubbed an ‘electropop super group’ due to the band members being sourced from various other bands around Germany and remodelled to make Lali Puna. The group is glued together by singer and keyboard player Valerie Trebeljahr, whose delicate vocals drift and weave between the samples and riffs. If you like the sounds of Postal Service or Air, this Munich band are probably for you.

4. MIT – Pudong
Another German band well worth checking out are Cologne-based electronic outfit MIT. Their second album Nanonotes has had the helping hand of Simian Mobile Disco and über-legends Kraftwerk, which bodes well.
MIT – Pudong by cooperativemusic_germany

5. Herman Dune – My Home Is Nowhere Without You
If your ears have already taken in too much bass and cowbell, then it might be time to take it down a notch and enjoy the melodic folk pop of Herman Dune. Every song is like being told a lovely musical story by a guy with a fabulous beard. It’s basically what summer festivals are all about. My Home Is Nowhere Without You manages to evoke sounds and images of Wild West frontier tumbleweed towns while telling the tale of a wandering nomad.
Herman Dune – My Home Is Nowhere Without You by GlassHalfFull

6. Seabear – I’ll Build You A Fire
There must be something in that Icelandic water that produces beautiful music-makers. ‘Folk pop collective’ Seabear certainly don’t let the nation down. Seabear started off as a solo artist Sindri Már Sigfússon, but he recruited six other multi-instrumentalists to join the mix. I’ll Build You A Fire perfectly demonstrates their sometimes orchestral, yet subtle style and haunting vocals. Surely the Arcade Fire comparisons are unavoidable.
03 – Seabear – I’ll Build You A Fire by user4482946

7. Le Corps Mince de Françoise – Cool And Bored
A fusion of indie pop and euro disco? What’s not to like? My Finnish sources tell me this girl duo are the coolest thing to come out of Finland since…um reindeer? Well, you get the picture. They have ‘hip’ written all over them, and a very silly name, but luckily for them it doesn’t come off as too massively pretentious. According to their own hype, Le Corps’ live shows are brightly coloured and have crazy, wild visuals. It’s just a case of keeping up with their rapid, frantic style.

8. Blood Red Shoes – It’s Getting Boring By The Sea
OK, well this lot are probably quite familiar with the Channel, being from Brighton and all, but I had to throw in something a bit closer to home with all these European types. They’re probably about to go stellar, as their track It’s Getting Boring By The Sea has been featured in the film Scott Pilgrim v The World, putting them in the company of Broken Social Scene and Beck. It’s rather good.
Blood Red Shoes – It’s Getting Boring By The Sea by vociferousslam

9. LCD Soundsystem – I Can Change
Cropping up at many of this summer’s festivals, this could be one of the last chances to see the band, as James Murphy has hinted his frontman days may be over and it’s time to head back to his beloved DFA Records and get busy there. But fear not – I feel we haven’t seen the last of him. A truly fantastic live band, they’ll tease and tease building the crowd up into a frenzy until leaving them desperate and gasping for more. One of the highlights of LCD’s Glastonbury set for me was I Can Change, off their most recent LP This Is Happening. I already don’t want their set to end.
LCD Soundsystem – I Can Change by nissanbahar

mixtape by Catherine Bolsover
archive picture of Herman Dune by Kate Goodacre

Berlin Festival takes place on September 10th and 11th at Tempelhof Airport. Weekend tickets are EUR59, with day tickets priced at EUR39 (not including booking fees). For more information, visit the festival’s official website.

www.berlinfestival.de

It’s almost time. The Wishing Tree is almost built, the comedy lineup’s just been announced and catamaran companies along the Solent are bracing themselves for something a bit like this:

OK, maybe not quite like that. Anyway, they are preparing themselves for an onslaught of ‘overexcitable’ punters who’ve got enough luggage for six months away, not five days. Keep your eye out for our DIY Bestival Bingo card, drawn by yours truly – it debuts online tomorrow night and we’ll be hopefully handing out 50 beautifully-printed limited edition copies on the ferry (as long as we can get down the sustainable printers on time). With any luck, some of the Motel will be playing along for internal bragging rights too. So, see you on the island, and in the meantime, here’s side B of Benjamin’s mixtape – a fine education in Bestival’s great tradition of heritage acts…

1. Gil Scott Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

For far too long, adjectives such as “legendary” and “unique” have been devalued by their overuse. Yet Gil Scott Heron, the man who mixed rhythmic funk with radical poetry to light the blue touch paper of hip-hop as we know it today, is surely deserving of such praise. This, his most well known track, is a positive and powerful call to African-Americans to rise up against the threat posed by their own apathy (as he envisions that “black people will be in the street looking for a brighter day”). Now over sixty years old, and freed from a spell in prison for drugs offences, a rare appearance on stage from the original forefather of rap is sure to be an unforgettable Bestival moment.
47. Gil Scott-Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by alvaradodurandgmail

2. Heaven 17 – Temptation

Depending on your viewpoint, Heaven 17 are either a guilty pleasure best left undisturbed somewhere deep within your parents’ collection of vinyl, or a pioneering synthpop trio to whom many of the younger artists featured on Bestival bills past and present (La Roux and Hurts to name just two) are heavily indebtted. One listen to Temptation, an omnipresent feature of nostalgic 1980s compilation CDs, is probably enough to convince most people to err towards the latter opinion.

3. Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug

Roxy Music mainman Bryan Ferry is so effortlessly cool that his lyrics on Love Is The Drug make even speed dating sound appealing (”# Late at night/Park my car/Stake my place in the singles bar #”) and not even his sideline as a model for Marks & Spencer has had a negative impact upon his flawless image. So the many occasions on which his son Otis has been arrested, most notably for drink driving and breaching the peace on demonstrations in support of fox hunting, are rare examples of reverse intergenerational embarrassment in which the elder member of the Ferry family could rightly claim to be appalled by the (mis)behaviour of his offspring.
27.Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug by rafinsf

4. Rolf Harris – Two Little Boys

When not painting portraits of Her Majesty, or presenting television documentaries on the topic of everyday life in a veterinary surgery, Antipodean wobbleboard maestro Rolf Harris sometimes performs heartwarming songs inspired by sibling rivalry and the American Civil War. Two Little Boys is one such example of his oeuvre. The mid-afternoon novelty act is a longstanding Bestival tradition, so don’t be deterred by the fact that Margaret Thatcher cited this track as one of her all-time favourites.

5. Chic – Le Freak

As perhaps the only group to have been sampled by artists as diverse as Grandmaster Flash and Queen, the influence of Chic is undeniable. Behold Le Freak for example, an all-time wedding disco classic, rivalled for church hall floorfilling potency by only Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl. The disco-funk troupe fronted by Nile Rogers will have you pulling shapes with your long-forgotten aunty and devouring the canapés in the time it takes to say “you may now kiss the bride”. There’s no better way to celebrate being joined in (thankfully not legally binding) matrimony at Bestival’s inflatable chapel.

6. The Wailers – Jamming

Bob Marley, the original Jamaican superstar, died in 1981. And with him, a large part of his backing band The Wailers’ very reason for existence was laid to rest. Still, they continue to tour without him, and at the time of writing the Bestival weather forecast is looking promising. As everybody knows, the perfect musical accompaniment to sunshine is reggae, so resurrected classics such as Jamming are sure to bring a Caribbean heatwave to the Isle Of Wight this September.

7. Echo And The Bunnymen – The Cutter

For those who think The Coral are the original eccentric Scousers, this is a reminder of where it all began. Back in 1984 they led their fans on a bicycle ride around Liverpool, along the outline of the mythical rabbit from which they take their name, towards a gig at the city’s grandiose St George’s Hall. Some might say they were heavily under the influence of contraband substances, but if that’s the case their creative vision was most certainly not clouded. Outstanding songs such as The Cutter drew them into a three way post-punk face off with U2 and Joy Division for the title of Best Band In The World. And whilst they may have been defeated by Bono’s Irish quartet in the long term quest for mainstream success, it’s Ian McCulloch and his bandmates who retain their credibility three decades later.

8. The Prodigy – Firestarter

Let’s face it, The Prodigy haven’t released a decent song since this, their incendiary 1996 hit. These days they’re more widely known for Liam Howlett’s nocturnal escapades with Natalie Appleton of All Saints and Keith Flint’s zero gravity hairdo. But as the Sunday night headliners bring Bestival to a close for yet another year, we challenge you not to rave like a possessed pyromaniac.
Prodigy – Firestarter by Trgino

mixtape by Benjamin Thomas
introduction and archive picture by Kate Goodacre

Bestival takes place between Thursday, September 9th and Sunday, September 12th 2010 at Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight. It is completely sold out. Campsites open at midday on Thursday, September 9th and close at 14.00 on Monday, September 13th. Southern Vectis will run shuttle buses from all major Isle of Wight ferry ports for a small charge, and a car-sharing scheme is in operation here. This year’s fancy dress theme is fantasy, so get creative!

www.bestival.net
www.twitter.com/robdabank

As 2010 continues the trend from the latter part of the last decade where the reunion became the most fashionable thing in music, Glasgow duo The Vaselines’ refreshing take on said concept is a delight to hear. Reunited after twenty years of proving their musical worth as solo musicians, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee have given the world a fun-filled reminder of what bought them to the attention of the music buying public.

While two minute lo-fi thrash opener Ruined appears to pick up where Eugene and Frances left off many years ago, what follows shows a refusal to be tied down into any kind of uniformity. The title track is a double entendre fuelled slice of amusingly juvenile indiepop, and this familiar theme continues with the blues-infused, unadulterated sleaze of The Devil Inside Me. Turning It On is pure Sonny and Cher, if written by a couple of oversexed adolescents, a caper that is returned to a couple of songs later (or in terms of lyrical content, a couple of decades later) with Poison Pen.

The lower order keeps the listener both engaged and amused to the end. I Hate the 80s betrays the cynicism that those of a certain age can build up towards youth inbetween some killer guitar licks. The blissful 60s pop stylings of Whitechapel, however, swiftly stands to the fore as the album highlight though, with Frances’ vocal delivery as smooth as you could hope to hear. As the acoustically driven Exit The Vaselines meanders the record to a close, it is clear the band’s name will only be enhanced by having this on its release list.

words: Steve Welch

The Vaselines tour the UK and America this autumn, and will appear at the Bowlie 2 ATP festival curated by Belle and Sebastian this December.

www.thevaselines.co.uk
www.myspace.com/thevaselinesband

At just 30 minutes to Hainault from central London on the sweaty cylinder more commonly known as the Central Line, the locals have no excuse. A selection of the finest young musical minds (and Tim Burgess) will be proving why they could be ‘the next big thing’, so while the journey may be somewhat longer for some (or shorter, depending where you start from), entertainment is inevitable. Plus, you can try Garam Guru’s revitalising Sexy Breakfast. What more could you ask for? Here are some examples of the brilliance coming to East London…

1. Male Bonding – Nothing Used To Hurt

For stand-out Offset bands you can’t look beyond Male Bonding, not only because there are 13 shoe-gazing grunge-punk reasons on their Sub Pop debut Nothing Hurts, but because the vibrancy and discordant thrill their live show offers is unmatchable. Seeing them at The Basement a few months back felt like nirvana. Or Nirvana. Choosing an example track to emphasise the point was tough, but your Fugitive chose to look beyond the inevitable Franklin or Years Not Long to hidden gem Nothing Used To Hurt, mainly for the life-affirming drop at 1.06.
09 Nothing Used To Hurt by subpop

2. Egyptian Hip-Hop – Heavenly

Being hyped at the start of the year as one of the BBC’s ‘Ones to Watch’ can be a burden to heavy to bear for some. One fears that Ellie Goulding may buckle within the intense media whirlwind at any moment. Egyptian Hip-Hop have remained firmly under the radar but have set about crafting a fine selection of soulful tropicalia, not least on Heavenly. If the sun shines on the Saturday, Egyptian Hip-Hop will definitely become your new favourite band.
Egyptian Hip Hop – Heavenly by Pure Groove

3. Colours – Lost Youth

London foursome Colours produce songs draped with claustrophobic reverb yet filled with vibrant melody, making for a thrilling sonic experience. While their song-naming can only be described as satisfactory (Lost Youth, The Lost Hour, Losers), there’s much to love in their powerful three minute thrash. Having shared vinyl space with fellow Offset attendees Not Cool, Colours will definitely provide a Saturday treat.
Colours – Lost Youth by Brattwell Recordings

4. Fiction – Curiosity
Much is being said and written and loved about London’s Fiction, so let’s add to that here at the Motel. The foursome conjure an addictive, restless sound, with touchstones in post-punk and new wave, but without dwelling on any genre for long before it’s on to the next. Having recently released Devo-esque single Curiosity, on Offset Recordings, the band will no doubt be seeking to impress their erstwhile employees, as well as the rest of the ECC Stage spectators on the Sunday.
Fiction – Curiosity by Worthknowingpleasures

5. Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster – Celebrate Your Mother

Choosing a fifth and final example of why you MUST attend Offset Festival was a tricky business. It could have been Caribou’s psychedelic aural blessings, Mystery Jets’ increasingly powerful power pop, or Bo Ningen’s bombastic, 70’s rock revivalism. Instead, I can’t look beyond Brighton’s own 80’s Matchbox. It was partly brought on by seeing Guy lately in the town’s unmatchable thrift/antique store Snoopers Paradise and seeing the grey streak of maturity through his otherwise raven locks, but mostly because, despite the hampered quality of their more recent output, their first two records remain throbbing, gothic treats. Their live show offers the most self-destructive, gum-chewing, eye-popping spectacle this Moteller has ever witnessed. So for the very reason that every show may be their last, you must see 80’s Matchbox.

mixtape by Andy Porter

Offset Festival takes place in Hainault Forest, London, on September 4th and 5th, 2010. Weekend tickets start at £55, with day tickets priced at £29 – visit the Offset website to purchase tickets. The nearest tube station is Hainault, with shuttle buses in operation throughout the weekend. The campsite opens at 09.30 on Saturday, September 4th and closes at 12.00 on Monday, September 6th.

www.offsetfestival.co.uk

One thing that should be noted before you read this is how bloody hard Everything Everything are to review, as while there’s a touch of the scenester about them – Franz Ferdinand-esque grooving basslines, the odd case of the Vampire Weekends creeping in around the guitar riffs- Man Alive steers gloriously clear of being pigeonholable. A nice treat for my ears given that I couldn’t instantly call it ‘chillwavewitchhousedreampop’, but a right bugger when it comes to writing about it. So I’ve tried my best, but you should see how amazing it is for yourself.

Singer Jonathan Everything’s frantic falsetto bounds around a variety of subjects (terrorism, narcissism and even homicidal girlfriends) like a cat on speed, particularly on MY KZ UR BF, which really does deserve to be in the top ten singles chart. Suffragette Suffragette probably contains one of my favourite examples of mondegreen in a song EVER. Is he talking about sitting on someone’s face in a sexy way, or talking about sitting on the fence waiting for someone to make a decision? It all gets deliciously confusing after a while, but it’s so cleverly written that you’re at once intrigued and frustrated by it. It’s quite refreshing to hear a band write such brilliantly good pop songs, yet still be really intelligent at the same time.

Schoolin’, pulls you by the hair through so many genres (pop, jazz, funk, whistling) that you feel like you should be panting with your back against a wall by the end of it. In a good way obviously. It’s like something ELO might have written if they were a bit cooler. The time signatures are mostly all over the place though, so beware when dancing; you might fall over your feet. This kind of genre-soupy vibe carries on throughout the album, not least on QWERTY Finger. It starts off harmlessly enough with some handclaps, before speeding up into a euphoric mess of synths, three-part harmonies and frantic riffing, then suddenly morphing into a slowed-down anthem complete with some pretty enthralling yelps. It’s bloody euphoric though – it kind of makes you think of Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

I could go on in a really gushy fashion about Man Alive, but the last thing I will say is that it’s just so NICE to hear something that isn’t like everything else, that isn’t going to be easily duplicated by a load of identikit bands in two months’ time. Sure, they sound as if they might be a bit crackers, but it’s all meaningful, brilliant eccentricity. Gibberish, danceable hooks and lyrics that blow other bands out of the water- what’s more to like?

words: Holly Arrowsmith

Everything Everything’s busy live schedule takes in the following instores and touring venues in the next fortnight: Leeds Festival (August 27, 12.45, Radio 1 Stage), Reading Festival (28, 12.45 Radio 1 Stage), HMV Arndale Centre, Manchester (31, 17.00) Rough Trade East, London (September 1, 19.00), The Barfly, London (2), HMV Oxford Street, London (3, 13.00) and Bestival, Isle of Wight (11). A full UK tour will follow in September and October 2010.

www.everything-everything.co.uk
www.myspace.com/everythingeverything

1. Goldfrapp – Lovely Head

A strong start to any mixtape, this is Goldfrapp at their kooky, interesting, arresting best. This sultry little number from the band’s first album Felt Mountain showcases some refreshing instrumentation, haunting samples and Alison Goldfrapp’s infamous come-hither vocals. Lay back and enjoy.

CD1 – 02 – Goldfrapp – Lovely Head by frenetic

2. Tiga – What You Need
Montreal’s Tiga has a remix discography that includes work for musical heavyweights like The Killers, LCD Soundsystem, The Prodigy and Soulwax, but his own material’s a joy to listen too as well. The glitchtastic What You Need, from 2009′s Ciao!, was written and produced by the brothers Dewaele, in a heartwarming example of repeated musical collaboration.

What you need – Tiga by triselectif

3. Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane remix)
Here is a rare example of an occasion where a remix of a track turns out to be considerably better than the original. Aeroplane’s reversioning brings order and maturity to the St Albans’ trio’s second single, with sultry vocals courtesy of the ever-charming Au Revoir Simone. The result is altogether more instant.

Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane Remix) by Say P-

4. Calvin Harris – Colours
The good ship Motel’s cap’n must declare that has a bit of a soft spot for Calvin Harris (pictured), especially after seeing him play at Bestival in 2007 with a full live band. He really didn’t have to – Harris could have just played all those songs on synths with a computer next to him, but giving them the full live treatment lent his first offering I Created Disco more bite, and created a real sense of an occasion. Hopefully he’ll do the same in Victoria Park this time around.

Calvin Harris – Colours by alwaysprettynadya

(P.S – 1,000 Motelista bonus points for anyone who runs onstage with a pineapple on their head during The Girls and provides us with pictoral or video evidence – Mischievous Motel Ed)

5. Soulwax – Much Against Everyone’s Advice
Soulwax have been a huge part of the Motel collective’s social calendar since its inception in 2007 – both in their original form and under the heading of their disc-spinning alter ego 2manydjs. The title track from their 1998 breakthrough album shows them at their most commanding – and serves as a sour reminder to your editor of how she really should have gone to see them at Bestival last year.

Soulwax – Much Against Everyone’s Advice by masstsnk

mixtape and archive photography by Kate Goodacre

Tickets for LED cost £70 (weekend tickets) or £40 (day tickets), and are available from the usual outlets. Prices do not include booking and handling fees or postage. A full list of prices is available on the LED website. The gates will open at 13.00 on both Friday and Saturday. The entrance is located on Grove Road. Nearby Tube/DLR and Overground stations include Mile End, Bow Road, Bow Church, Stratford and Bethnal Green. Please bring ID if you are fortunate enough to look under 21 years old. Finally, there’s no camping at LED – you must leave the site at the end of Friday if you have weekend tickets.

www.ledfestival.net

Hailing from the sunshine state, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino writes surf pop songs about boys, love, her cat and getting high. From the first drum roll, opener Boyfriend instantly grabs the listener with its dreamy guitar feedback and demands repeated listens. The lyrics are straightforward, a naïve, desirous infatuation about a boy who’s out of reach, someone who’s “# just a friend #“. This standard is maintained throughout the album, which is part of the band’s problem. With only one of the record’s thirteen tracks over three minutes long, the West Coast trio deliver a barrage of quick fire lo-fi garage rock catchiness, so much so that it all becomes a bit of a drone. The lack of variation makes it feel as though we’re listening to the same song over and over.

Lyrically, the tunes here are simple and effective for the most part, although the unchanging motifs begin to wear thin on repeated listens. On the title track, we have “# you drive me crazy but I love you #“. Later, on Our Deal, “# the bed is empty and I feel crazy #“, whereas the bonus track When I’m With You leads to Cosentino revealing the not at all surprising or in any way shocking declaration: “# we’re just crazy #“. The same thing happens with the ‘I love/hate/miss/want you’ motifs. This painting a picture of everyday relationships is no bad thing, but when the lyrics are the same every time it becomes just a tad repetitive. When Cosentino breaks from these tried and very much tested methods and adds a spark of her own quirky personality, we’re rewarded with the most amusing and finest lyrics on the record: “# I lost my job/I miss my mum/I wish my cat could talk …And nothing makes me happy/Not even TV or a bunch of weed #“, from one of the highlights, Goodbye. A few more lines like this wouldn’t go amiss.

Sometimes simple is best, and it’s somewhat refreshing that Cosentino lays her heart bare in layman’s terms rather than in a garbled, pseudo-intellectual form. I’m not suggesting they go all Kele Okereke on us, and I’m usually a fan of albums with a theme throughout, but perhaps Best Coast could add a few more designs into the mix next time, a more profound dissection of relationships perhaps. Maybe this is a little unfair; after all, it worked for the Beatles. The band is sure to have its detractors, dismissing this as the adolescent whining of a California brat, but (as clichéd as all these adjectives sound) happy-clappy, summery feel-good pop should be uncomplicated and enjoyable. This is throwaway yet equally indispensable pop music at its best.

words: Ste Grindrod

Best Coast are playing the Ruby Lounge in Manchester (November 29th), Glee Club in Birmingham (30th) and London’s Scala (December 1st).

www.bestycoasty.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/bestcoast

Shearwater
Trof Grosvenor Street, Manchester
Saturday, July 31st 2010

The beautifully crafted surroundings of Manchester’s most attractive venue set the scene perfectly for the entrance of Jonathon Meiburg and company, with a sizable crowd present hoping for a repeat of February’s impressive Ruby Lounge appearance. As the band file on in unassuming yet cheery fashion, it is clear it’s time for another memorable evening in their hands.

Beginning with the attention grabbing Black Eyes, a song that immediately evokes the image of a mythical army about to charge over a hill, it is clear the band mean business in their own unassuming way characteristically letting the music do the talking. This leaves the crowd with the pleasure of an hour of the most carefully crafted songwriting one could hope to see, and as on record, nothing is ever left to chance and each element is there for a reason. A prime example comes in the sublime Hidden Lake with its glockenspiel harmonies that whisk the audience to a soundscape of magic and wonderment.

The above is not in any way to say that Shearwater lack to any degree the extra dimension that any band need to bring to the live arena. The main reason for this is simple – you could watch Meiburg sing for any length of time and never tire of his truly exceptional voice. Whether crooning along to cuts from the band’s most recent work (the blissfully relaxed Golden Archipelago), or belting out fans favourites such as 74, 75 or Century Eyes, from earlier work he steals the show completely, adding a definite wow factor to the efficient musical machine on stage.

Charming and amusing in a low key fashion between songs, you can’t help but wonder how such a talent continues to fly under the radar. As he brings proceedings to a close with a wonderfully understated solo encore, you have to hope that Meiburg and his companions will be visiting these shores for years to come.

words: Steve Welch

www.shearwatermusic.com
www.myspace.com/shearwater

Make sure you stay tuned for a very special interactive Bestival-themed feature next week celebrating all the whimsical goodness of Rob da Bank and Sunday Best’s annual entertainment extravaganza. It also requires some audience participation, so you’re more than welcome to print it out, take it with you and play along. That’s all we’re saying for now. In the meantime, enjoy the first half of Benjamin’s bumper Besti mixtape – and don’t worry, he hasn’t come over all ageist and left out the heritage acts – they’ll be along sooner than you think on Side B…

1. LCD Soundsystem – Drunk Girls
If the ongoing rumours regarding LCD Soundsystem mainman James Murphy’s imminent disbanding of his disco-punk supergroup are to believed, then Bestival may well be one of their final festival appearances. Arrive well in advance of their performance in the Big Top to secure your place amongst the thousands of drunk girls (and boys) who will be clamouring to hear tracks from the latest album This Is Happening as well as its predecessor Sound Of Silver and the imaginatively titled debut LCD Soundsystem.

LCD Soundsystem – Drunk Girls by nzemi

2. Fever Ray – When I Grow Up
When she’s not otherwise engaged as one half of Swedish dance duo The Knife, who most recently have written an electro-concept-opera on the unlikely topic of Darwinism, Karin Dreijer Anderson makes music under the disguise of Fever Ray. Her past performances suggest that she may appear with a prosthetic melting face, or looking quite literally dragged through a hedge backwards, adorned with all manner of twigs and leaves. A blindingly intense laser show also seems likely. Thankfully, her songs are sufficiently outstanding to avoid being suffocated by such extravagant stagecraft. When I Grow Up, infinitely preferable to Garbage’s 1999 single of the same name, articulates in its lyrics her eccentric childhood longings: “# I want to live by the sea, crab claws and bottles of rum / That’s what I’ll have #“.

Fever Ray – when i grow up by bfazenda

3. Darwin Deez – Radar Detector
Bestival, as the name suggests, is amongst the nation’s best festivals, so it seems fitting that this year’s bill should feature one of 2010′s best breakthrough musicians playing one of the best songs of the summer. And even if you’re not a fan of Darwin’s contagiously melodic pop, then he’s still worth watching just to witness his joyously freestyle dance routines, which are enough to make the average clumsy indie kid throw away their plimsoles in defeat.

Darwin Deez – Radar Detector by LuckyNumberMusic

4. Dizzee Rascal – Fix Up Look Sharp
By the time Bestival takes place, Dizzee Rascal may well be the owner of not one but two Mercury Music Prizes, as his most recent album Tongue ‘N’ Cheek has been nominated for the same award he won in 2003 for his debut longplayer Boy In Da Corner. In the interim, his sound has evolved almost beyond recognition, from dark underground grime to chart-topping party pop. Fix Up Look Sharp lies somewhere between those two extremes, mixing the filthiest of basslines with a shoutalong chorus. And Dizzee is incidentally also the owner of the Isle Of Wight Zoo, a curious snippet of trivia which may have its origins in an elaborate Wikipedia hoax, but who cares? (Er, was this hoax your doing, Benjamin? – Los FM Editoriales)

Fix Up, Look Sharp / Dizzee Rascal by bangsandabun

5. The xx – Islands
Meanwhile, The xx are shortlisted for the Mercury Prize for the first time, and are favourites to emerge victorious from the ceremony. Islands, from the universally acclaimed album XX, earns it’s place on this mixtape by way of a tribute to Bestival’s location on the Isle Of Wight. Which is, of course, an island.

The xx / Islands by Young Turks

6. Hurts – Better Than Love
Mancunian readers may recognise two members of Hurts from their former incarnations as members of legendary local acts Bureau and Daggers. Now, fresh from a recent appearance on GMTV, they are making divaish demands befitting of their increasingly high profile (as part of their recording contract they are alleged to have requested a meeting with Simon Cowell, tickets to the Eurovision Song Contest final, and a round of gin and tonics). On the strength of songs such as the sublime Better Than Love, they deserve to have even their most outlandish whims satisfied.

Hurts – Better Than Love by Fantastic Plastic Mag

7. Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip – Last Train Home
As members of Rob Da Bank’s extended Sunday Best family, this hip-hop twosome are an annual feature of the Bestival line up, their rain and rose wine-soaked performance of 2008 being most memorable. Last Train Home, a highlight of their recent second album The Logic Of Chance, is notable for Dan Le Sac’s skanking dubstep production, soundtracking the lyrical wit of hirsute wordsmith Scroobious Pip as he simultaneously jokes at the expense of Amy Winehouse and post-War On Terror paranoia (“# Since 9/11 this beard ain’t travelled so well… And when they asked if I was Jihad I said no, no no #“).

8. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – Dance The Way I Feel
In light of the recently reported suicide of singer Charles Haddon, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool’s appearance at Bestival will no longer be taking place. Yet one listen to their debut single Dance The Way I Feel, from the album Christ Died For Our Synths (planned for an October 2010 release), is enough to demonstrate the excellence of their curtailed legacy and the great potential they will most likely now never fulfil in this form. Charles’ tragic loss will be felt by Bestival goers, the music community at large, and – most importantly – his friends and family.

Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – Dance The Way I Feel by WeAreBlahBlahBlah

mixtape by Benjamin Thomas
introduction and picture of Elbow by Kate Goodacre

Bestival takes place between Thursday, September 9th and Sunday, September 12th 2010 at Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight. It is completely sold out, and tickets are being dispatched to customers from as of this week. Campsites open at midday on Thursday, September 9th and close at 14.00 on Monday, September 13th. Southern Vectis will run shuttle buses from all major Isle of Wight ferry ports for a small charge, and a car-sharing scheme is in operation here. This year’s fancy dress theme is fantasy, so get creative!

www.bestival.net
www.twitter.com/robdabank

Familiar with Melbourne rock export The Temper Trap? Why, of course you are – their monster hit Sweet Disposition has been flogged on every advertisement and television show going. In fact, you’re probably sick of hearing those corporate whores playing that annoyingly infectious guitar hook with all its reverb and repetition. “Get that blasted song off my television,” you cry!

If the latter is true, then you are of course wrong, because this fivepiece have got considerably more depth in their arsenal than one particularly commercial song, as tonight ably demonstrates. Emerging onto the Somerset House stage in a haze of acrid disco smoke which fogs the photo pit in seconds, they immediately launch into a moody instrumental with all the amps set to the switch marked ‘Spinal Tap’ (11, obviously).

Bandleader Dougy Mandagi is a picture of passive calmness. Compared to most of his contemporaries, he doesn’t showboat, instead betraying any emotions he has with a statesmanlike raising of hands every so often. He makes an exception towards the end of the main set, where he removes his jacket and leaps from the stage towards the crowd. Mandagi’s falsetto possesses the same quality as his lower range, pinging out as clear as a bell over the Somerset House courtyard. On occasion, his exuberance manifests itself as over-singing, but it doesn’t detract too much from an otherwise solid performance.

There are a couple of songs that are acknowledged by the audience – the Prince-tinged Love Lost gets some appreciative whoops from the front few rows, Fader provokes an enthusiastic singalong, and the Big Hit (thankfully given a reworked intro with a good dollop of kick drum) obviously provokes communal clapping and a bit of a sing-along on the chorus. They even play a new song with a dash of Surfer Rosa-era Pixies about it. It has to be said that their repertoire possesses a surprising (and welcome) amount of diversity.

There’s rather a lot of jamming on show tonight, perhaps to hide the fact that the band don’t really have a huge collection of songs yet. However, when they go off on a meandering instrumental, there’s enough character to prevent it from becoming too self-indulgent. Although it does feel like padding, it’s more of a bubble wrap instead of those awful foam curls that one often encounters in a parcel. It’s clear on the basis of tonight’s performance that The Temper Trap are more than one-hit wonders – with live prowess like this, they’re well worth keeping your eyes and ears on.

words and pictures: Kate Goodacre

The Temper Trap support the Buzz Off project, an Australian Relief and Mercy Services initiative to tackle malaria in a number of countries including Burma. Visit www.buzzoff.org for more info. The band will play at V Festival this summer.

www.thetempertrap.com
www.myspace.com/thetempertrap