Raw Power Festival 2016
Richard Collins
Raw Power 2016 is just around the corner, we highly recommend you start preparing your brain to be pulled into various cataclysmic directions, perhaps start warning your liver too whilst you are at it. This legendary festival, hosted by Baba Yaga’s Hut takes place at The Dome in Tufnell Park from May 27-29th and you’ll be pleased to know May 30th is a bank holiday, just enough time to nurse that celestial bangover ready to return to horrific real life. Tickets are cheap as piss so snap one up and guarantee yourself a weekend you’ll remember forever!
Last year we sent Rich Collins to jot down what happened for us, which turned into a complete waste of time as it was officially reported that he was the drunkest man at the festival. However, we’re giving him one last chance because he loves this kind of thing and we feel sorry for him. He’s also cast his eyes over the rather outrageous line up to tell which bands ‘you can’t fucking miss at Raw Power’.
Enjoy!
Sly & The Family Drone
Have you ever wanted to be in the most entertaining live band in the known universe? Course you have. Get there early, acquire a nice spot, grab a drum stick and get stuck into Sly’s mind-altering rhythms for guaranteed fun times. The main man, Matt Cargill will strip to his pants and climb stuff too, which he’ll carry on doing until he’s like over 100.
Sly & The Family Drone
Slabdragger
If there’s a festival without metal, is it really a festival? Whilst you ponder life’s big question let me tell you about Slabdragger. Slabdragger are a three piece doom band from Croydon, who can flick between death metal fury and spacey jams within the blink of an eye. Their latest opus Rise of the Dawncrusher has gained them a huge level of well-deserved attention and some say they blew High on Fire off the stage at the Scala last year. True or not, we are truly lucky to have this potent portion of metallic dynamite still lurking around London’s underground scene.
Workin’ Man Noise Unit
If you didn’t enjoy Workin’ Man Noise Unit’s Play Loud album, released on Riot Season last year, then you maybe need to go back to the drawing board and reassess. Bold, catchy tunes delivered with serious fucking power. These four chaps from Reading are going to nothing less than absolutely tear it the fuck up!
Mugstar
Blast … Sun, Broken… and tell me it’s not the best thing you’ve ever heard. These scousers have the power to beam you directly into the eye of a solar storm where you’ll have a right old time. They’ve been around for so long now that they have their shit down to a true art form, unmissable.
Melting Hand
What do you get when members of Bong, Terminal Cheesecake, Luminous Bodies and Gum Takes Tooth have a jam? Something indescribably* awesome that’s what!!!!
*Actually, maybe a trippier version of Mainliner but you get a cuddle from the universe rather than a boot to the face.
Part Chimp
Extremely rare live outing for one of THE most loved noise rock bands on the planet. It’s going to feel like someone is throwing bricks at your head, all you can do to get through it is put one arm around your mate and pump the other one like a complete twat until it’s all over.
Part Chimp
Bonnacons of Doom
I know nothing about these other than Jason from Mugstar is in the band and they have the word ‘doom’ in their name… I’m partial to a bit of doom. I’m just watching a clip of them on YouTube playing at Supernormal Festival, what…the actual… fuck?
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
Back in February, Baba Yaga’s Hut teamed up with Cosmic Carnage to celebrate all things Box Records, headlined by Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. To this day, nobody can remember what happened in that room during the performance. Just the odd flashback of people crawling across the ceiling, litres of sweat cascading down the walls and bodies seemingly merging to become weapons of sheer mosh devastation. I can’t think of a single band who blends heaviness and fun to a level that these guys do, unbelievable stuff.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
Lower Slaughter
They have not been around long and they have quickly gained the reputation for being one of the most exciting punk bands in the country. Go and give your brain the fucking pounding it surely deserves.
Melt-Banana
Oh my fucking God!
Gum Takes Tooth
Two chaps harnessing bonkers undiscovered rhythms and technology to bring you an electronic experience which will never be understood by anyone… not even themselves.
Teeth of the Sea
These chaps released an album called The Master a couple of years ago, which got them a shit load of interest and high profile live slots such as supporting Goat at the Electric Ballroom and a bash at Latitude Festival. So what do they do to capitalise on this success? Make a dark, harrowing, almost industrial album entitled Highly Deadly Black Tarantula of course. This has opened up terrifying new territory for this creative powerhouse, be there!
Selvhenter
I’m not familiar with these so I just stuck some on in the background whilst I smashed out this article. What I’m hearing is intoxicating, drone fuelled assault, which is tripping me right the fuck out. This goes to show that you should completely ignore this article and watch every fucking band on the line up.
Videos taken at various Cosmic Carnage shows by RIFF.Underground. Photos by Jose Ramon Caamaño Photography, also taken at various Cosmic Carnage shows.
