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Incubate is, in a sense, the perfect music festival. The line-up is colossal, not just in size but in scope. Seriously I’ve never seen a bill that genuinely does include a bit of everything before, but Incubate managed it. From black metal to jazz to drone, via rap, folk and house, Incubate 2013 had it all.
Such an achievement in curatorship would, of course, be nothing without the infrastructure to back it all up, and that was something Incubate also delivered brilliantly. With the exception of the frustrating token system in place for drinks at the main 013 venue, the organisation was top-notch. Stages ran more to time than at any festival I’ve done in the past few years, and the sound was largely excellent. All in all, the highest of praise to Team Incubate! Rather than write up an in-depth review of such a mammoth festival (which would be impossible because I haven’t worked out how to clone myself so as to watch multiple bands at once yet) I’ve selected ten highlights, in rough chronological order, from the weekend.
Man Forever - Pieter Vreedeplein
The solo (figuratively if not necessarily literally) project of Oneida drummer Kid Millions had no need for a stage at Incubate this year. Three performances took place over three days, all in the middle of the shopping precinct in the middle of Tilburg. Friday’s performance was a slow repetitive, trance-like affair, in which six drummers created a sound not unlike that of heavy rainfall. Sunday’s market shoppers, meanwhile, were treated to six percussionists throwing the kitchen sink at their kits in riotous exaltation. The reactions from passers-by range from bemusement and disgust to wild-eyed amazement, especially from several young children. More than anything else, these sets indicated the adventurous spirit at Incubate’s heart.
Mannheim - Extase
Imagine the grinding noise rock riffage of Shellac paired with the bouncy time signatures of And So I Watch You from Afar. Now stick the avant-garde jazz of Fire! on top. Sound good? Of course it does, and thankfully Mannheim are just as good as the combination suggests. Their Friday night set was a revelation; just one unstoppable blast of greatness after another. It appears the Dutch quartet have just released their debut full-length Super-Empowered. It’s well worth checking out on this evidence.
Anna Von Hausswolff - De NWE Vorst
Swedish songwriter Anna Von Hausswolff’s Ceremony has been something of a revelation this year. There’s more than a little of Kate Bush about her voice, but live the full Floyd-aping majesty of her compositions becomes apparent. As one of the grander venues on the Incubate map, De NWE Vorst was the perfect setting for Von Hausswolff and her immensely talented band. Proof for all the doubters that brilliant pop songwriting can be accompanied by beautiful widescreen musicianship.
Wolf Eyes - Little Devil
Wolf Eyes are a law unto themselves and, with several of their projects appearing over the Incubate weekend, the trio were effectively ever-presents even before they took to the Little Devil stage just after midnight. The brutality their reputation implies was missing early on, as tension was chosen as the superior weapon by Nate Young and co, but when they launched into a brand new track (one of the most vicious things they have done in years), the two sides of the band merged into one terrifyingly overwhelming whole.
Teeth of the Sea - 013 Stage01
With superb new album Master only just around the corner it’s good to know that Teeth of the Sea are on top live form right now. Arguably the perfect Incubate band with their mix of the noisy and the epic this was some wake-up call early on Saturday afternoon, with set and new album closer ‘Responder’ being one of the most sonically enrapturing, and punishing, moments of the entire weekend.
Grumbling Fur - Paradox
Daniel O’Sullivan and Alexander Tucker are two of Britain’s most exciting musicians at the present time; due in equal measure to their prolific output and consistent quality. Their Grumbling Fur collaboration brought a definite sense of English eccentricity to the wonderful jazz club Paradox on Saturday afternoon. Tracks from new album ‘Glynnaestra’ retained their anthemic studio air and the more experimental moments blended seamlessly into the main body of the set. Watching the two on stage, it's hard not to feel like you're in the presence of genius.
Pete Swanson - 013 Kleine Zaal
Pete Swanson’s solo material borrows much from the noise of his Yellow Swans days, but with the added power of thumping techno. Setting up on the floor rather than on the stage confused a fair few punters, but that was nothing compared to their expressions when he launched into a blast of delirious sound. Music to dance to until it makes one of your limbs falls off.
Tim Hecker - Theater Tilburg
Tim Hecker has arguably become the biggest name in the drone world in recent years and forthcoming LP Virgins isn’t going to do anything to decrease the buzz around him. Neither will the memory of this superb live set, delivered in complete darkness in the plush Theater Tilburg, which adeptly counter-balanced the hymnal ambience he is best known for with the subtle aggression of the aforementioned new album. A sonic mastermind at work.
Evan Caminiti / Jon Porras - Paradox
Ahead of a performance of their Barn Owl project on Sunday, both Evan Caminiti and Jon Porras played rare solo sets on Saturday evening. Whilst their Barn Owl performance the following day suffered a little from low volume and following on from Fire! (see below), both Caminiti and Porras produced sumptuous performances on their own, The hypnotic textures of the latter proved particularly mesmerising, but both emphasised just how talented they are with sets that contrasted the soothing with the restless. A real treat for drone aficionados.
Fire! - Paradox
It’s good to save the best until last and, although Fire! were not technically the last band of my Incubate weekend, they may as well have been given the dominance over my memories they have exerted since then. The core trio of this ever evolving outfit (Mats Gustafsson on sax and electronics, Johan Berthling on bass and Andreas Werliin on drums) are so insanely talented that just to watch them play would be impressive enough. However the symphony of sounds they created on Sunday in Tilburg were so beyond being merely “impressive” that the term sounds almost insulting. A performance of stunning clarity and invention, one that in effect summed up all that is brilliance about Incubate in the process.
The message overall is clear; if you get the chance to go to Tilburg for Incubate 2014, take it!
