So what do you do when you've put on pretty much the finest celebration of post rock the world has ever seen? Apparently you go out & book Mono, Russian Circles, This Will Destroy You, Ef, team up with Sargent House and pack the undercard with wonderful rising talent like Rumour Cubes, Codes In The Clouds, Karhide, Lost In The Riots & Wicket; bands that readers of these pages may well be familiar with but a wider audience will get the pleasure of for the first time.
(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?
75!
(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?
Well, we’ll have just released our new album (out on 18th August) so you can expect a lot of tracks from that. Terry’s managed to write some parts that are quite hard to play and dance to at the same time, so he’s been practising his co-ordination. We’ve also been thinking very hard about which band t-shirts to wear, and auditioning complete strangers to provide the between-song banter as it’s something we’re all pretty terrible at!
(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?
I (Hannah) went last year and quite simply it was the best thing ever. The whole thing was one huge highlight, but if I really had to select a few standout moments: Charlie Barnes playing the PX3 tent, ASIWYFA doing what they do oh so well, 65daysofstatic, Team Echoes & Dust, Chilli tequila, disposable cameras and sunshine.!
(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?
MONO. For the love of God, MONO. Although Jay is flying to America on Sunday and, heartbreakingly, may have to miss them. Terry’s looking forward to seeing iLikeTrains for the 800th time. A chance to view Joe in his natural habitat is always fun. Local beer (Is there local beer?). Cleft, Russian Circles, Monsters Build Mean Robots, Alpha Male Tea Party, Theo, Charlie Barnes, ASIWYFA. Everyone and everything, essentially!
(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?
I’d absolutely love to see Vessels play again. Terry says he’s not going unless Burt Bacharach headlines, but we hope he’s joking. Eugene Quell are definitely noisy enough and would go down a storm. Sigur Ros headlining, perhaps? That’d be pretty special.
(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to.
Teeth of the Sea – Responder
New Order - World in Motion
Wham! - Club Tropicana
Arcade Fire – Haiti
Blues Brothers Medley
(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?
Our new album! And maybe autographed bananas (says Terry).
(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?
Oooooh, that’s a tough one. Four of us have Signals t-shirts after supporting them in Southampton recently, so I imagine at least one of them will make an appearance! Other ace t-shirts we’ve picked up recently include He Was Eaten By Owls, Bad Owl Promotions, Lost In The Riots, Sean McGowan & Alcopopalooza. Terry says he’ll likely wear his Strange Death Of Liberal England t-shirt. Adam only has 2 t-shirts, a red one (called “red”) and a blue t-shirt (called “blue”). I imagine Joe will be wearing his Cleft t-shirt at some point, but probably not while Cleft are playing as that would just be silly.
(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?
Underneath the Echoes and Dust flag or in the queue for the bar. Essentially, wherever there’s ale and cider!
(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?
Good question! We’re currently in the process of sorting out transport, but we may well be using Tom Lattimer (recommended for any bands in the London area, he’s an awesome guy with a splitter van. But you can’t have him for ArcTanGent!). Our playlist? Probably all of the bands on the line-up on shuffle! Although we do listen to a lot of Flaming Lips, and once we’ve all fallen asleep in the van Jay tends to put on The National.
