So, ArcTanGent... where to begin? Long-time readers of our site will be aware that when ArcTanGent announced their inaugural event last year, we all but exploded with excitement. We had an absolute blast at the festival, and you can read our extensive, gushing coverage here. 

Such was the success of last year's event that I've spoken to numerous people since who have told me it's a festival their friends have been going to "for years". Already firmly ensconced in the annals of post/math-rock history, ArcTanGent 2014 has a line-up that will knock your socks off. 

Listen to the playlists below, which contain a track from every single band who are playing over the weekend, and have a look at some of our personal recommendations. 

We asked our writers for the 5 bands they're most looking forward to seeing, which caused a fair amount of consternation amongst people horrified we were expecting them to only pick 5. Nevertheless, here are some of their choices:

This is what we got up to last year...

and below is the full line-up for this year. I think you'll agree it looks pretty bloody impressive!

In any band’s life there’s a number of defining moments. It’s no exaggeration to say that another milestone in the upward path of Sydney instrumental rock outfit sleepmakeswaves was reached in Melbourne on Friday night when they played to well over 600 punters at the Corner Hotel in support of their new album Love of Cartography. It’s their biggest headline show to date, and around the same or more than Deafheaven, The Misfits, and other international bands have got there recently.

At the end of the night I spoke with a young guy called Dane who was telling me he had never heard of any of the bands playing that night but a friend had brought him along. He had a great time, and I’d say a big chunk of the crowd were there in the same circumstances. I’ll let that sink in - a hundred or more people turned up to hear a proggy rock band that they don’t know and that has no singer.

It was that mix of fans who had been there at the start seven or eight years ago, music fans who had never heard them, and everyone in between that contributed to the atmosphere of the night. This band no longer belonged to the post-rock/progressive niche crowd, and the niche crowd was ready to share, just as the band enthusiastically embraced the crowd as one.

‘Perfect Detonator’ opened the set, as it should, and holding nothing back it was everything that the band represents; power-laden chords, chiming arpeggios, explosive crescendocore, dynamics, and that cracking pace from drums and bass. After another from the new album, ‘Traced in Constellations’, we turned the clock back to the start with 2008’s magnificent ‘We Sing the Body Electric’, a regular inclusion that continues to evolve.

The rest of the set served up the best of their hard hitting tracks from both albums including ‘A Gaze Blank and Pitiless as the Sun’, ‘The Stars Are Stigmatica’ and ‘Great Northern’, with Kid calmly tickling and caressing his strings, Tim smacking the drums, Alex rocking out and Otto pacing around either screaming with energy or closing his eyes in concentration as he lapped up the moment. The set was punctuated with lighter moments as Alex took to his synth for 'Our Time is Short But Your Watch is Slow’ and ‘A Little Spark’, and the night would have been incomplete without the showcase for Tim’s incredible skills behind the kit; ‘In Limbs and Joints’.

Sleepmakeswaves are a band who pretty much get down to business, although they always take the time to connect with the crowd - more so than many instrumental bands. More than this they show that you can play heavy and intense progressive rock that leaves the crowd happy as fuck, the sort of smile and bounce you would expect to have after seeing someone like Gomez or Holy Fuck. It was a point brought home before playing closing song ‘Something Like Avalanches’ when Alex told the story of how they wrote the song when they were in a happy place. Well they were clearly in one again as they walked off to the roar of the crowd only to return for encore‘To You They Are Birds, To Me They Are Voices in the Forest’.

 Support for the night came not from a pair of post rock bands but from Sydney’s Teal and Breaking Orbit. Both brought bags of energy with them and two very different styles of progressive rock. Teal called on a range of influences to deliver a smooth but fast flowing heartbeat that vocals and guitar built their detail on as the dynamics rose and fell.

Singer Joe showed off his vocal range and strength but also his versatility  by picking up guitar then later taking over bass for one song. If you’ve ever wondered why there’s so few bass-playing singers, well it's because it’s fucking hard, especially when pumping out such soulful vocals. They played with a level of tightness that you’d expect from an older band and their skill in composition and delivery radiated as they wandered from delicate passages to thunderous climaxes. There’s a lot of talk out there about the potential of this outfit but fuck that, these guys are playing the good shit right now. Go and see them.

I’ve seen Breaking Orbit a couple of times including their launch of The Time Traveller and they played a few songs from that album, including opener ‘Echoes’, ‘Orion’  ‘My Direction’ and the instrumental ‘Machiguenga ‘. It was one of my favourite records of 2012 and showcases the intricate, complex sound that they have developed in their brand of progressive/alternative rock. It’s ambitious music to reproduce and in the main it was solid and powerful, although Matt’s vocals were losing some clarity in his lower range by the time they reached closer ‘The Time Traveller’. His higher notes were still strong so I don’t know if it was the mixing on the night or some other issues, because some of the instrumentation got a bit muddy at times too. Regardless, it didn’t detract and the crowd enjoyed the strong set that included ‘Become the Light’ from their upcoming second album.

It’s clear that sleepmakeswaves and their manager Mike of Bird’s Robe Records learned a lot about getting instrumental rock under the noses, or in the ears I should say, of the right group of Australian music fans, and the response to their opening support sets for Karnivool on two tours has shown that what works (apart from working hard and being fucking good at what you do), is defining yourself more broadly as a progressive, heavy rock band, not narrowing that down to an instrumental post-rock band. Look at the attendance at the two Melbourne events Sans Vox against Progfest for confirmation, and the fact crowd surfing is not something you normally associate with post-rock (no doubt a group of Vooligans who were back for more). Dunk! may be a great festival for the band over in Europe, but in Australia Soundwave is where the potential for the band lies. So, take to your social media of choice and get busy pointing out to A.J. that not only do Soundwave and sleepmakeswaves both start with ‘S’, they end in ‘wave’.

Oh, and remember Dane who I told you about at the start? He had seen me holding a drum head and came over to present me with a battered drumstick signed by Breaking Orbit, explaining at some length (and more than once) that I would need it for the drum skin to work and that I would get much more enjoyment and use from it than he would. Yeah sure he was under the influence of something other than just the great music he’d heard that night, but he was the friendliest guy and his mood and generosity personified what had just happened between those on stage and in the crowd. It was a memorable night to be a part of. 

Did you ever hear of a little gathering on the West coast of Wales, in the tiny town of Borth, called Square Festival?  No?  Didn't think so.  Unfortunately, 2009 - the very year that I attended this festival - was the third and final year that it took place.  This was also the year that 65daysofstatic headlined the main stage of  the festival, and the first time I saw the young group of instrumental maniacs pounding their drums and guitars as hard as physically possible whilst dancing about the stage.  My eighteen year old self was utterly blown away.  

Five years on, and perhaps a little more educated and (hopefully) mature, I eagerly awaited seeing 65daysofstatic for a second time.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were playing at The Globe - one of Cardiff's hidden gems in terms of it's quality as a venue, but sadly at which decent concerts rarely happen.  

The past few weeks have been lovely weather-wise.  Wales' population who are so used to endless dull cloud and rain - who are we to complain when the sun is out?  I hate to take an English approach about the weather, but by golly it was unbearably hot that Monday evening.  This was something that The Globe seemed inept to deal with.  The room, although not at all small, was the hottest room I have ever entered.  Sweating from places I didn't know you could sweat from, I found my way to the front of the crowd, desperate for water and in a bit of a grump.  

Suddenly, all my worries about passing out from the heat evaporated as the lights went out and feathery figures took to the stage.  Although I have attended several festivals that Nordic Giants have played, this was the first time I had managed to catch the two piece.  God I wish I had seen them sooner.  

Sat facing one another at opposite ends of the stage, Loki and Roka Skuld (as their bio names them) played a mixture of drums, keyboards, sound pads, guitars and trumpets.  Their sound is a huge blend of genres and influences that I could feebly attempt at locating all day long.  In short, a cinematic postrock finds math and jazz injections, whilst always retaining a dark, thunderous and ultimately enormous canvas of rich textures, dynamics and sounds.  Theirs is a sound that amongst the endless list of today's postrock acts is truly unique and enveloping, never ceasing to burn with emotion.  

Not only is their music gorgeous, but their live show is simply astonishing.  They were accompanied by projections, both front-centre stage and on the rear backdrop.  The images at the front of the stage were placed on a rectangular box, about 0.5m x 1m.  The backdrop projections were altogether larger and more standard in their shape and form.  What's more, the films projected on these two canvases were slightly different - often similar in theme but with slight variations in position or detail.  The films, created by someone (or potentially a whole team?) who is extremely talented, varied from abstract wisps of smoke to families running around in full blown scuba diving equipment.  During these wonderfully engulfing clips, there was a regular return to visuals that incapsulate the band's native American influences.  

Nordic Giants don't just go all out in their sound and visuals;  their attire is a marvel in itself.   Enormous feathered headpieces, tribal body paint smeared all over, rags that appear filthy and hair pretty much everywhere.  The band also utilised their own light show, discarding The Globe's enormous rig.  Instead, two lights were positioned at the foot of both members, facing upwards so as to darken the eyes and lengthen the shadows.  As the two men aggressively assaulted their instruments like two possessed demons, smoke spewed from the machines, creating a misty vail that enveloped the room.  

As a result, every single sense in the human body was successfully triggered by the band's performance.  I have already tried tirelessly to describe the experience of seeing this incredible act to several friends.  Alas, words cannot do Nordic Giants justice.  Their bio on their website perhaps comes close, suggesting that their live shows are like a 'religious experience'.  I am by no means religious.  But if you were to have one of those outer-body, my-small-life-and-worries-are-miniscule-and-insignificant-and-I-am-living-only-in-this-wonderful-wonderful-moment type of revelations, then it may be roused by the simply perfect Nordic Giants.  

The crowd, in their transfixed state, started to come to their senses just after the two piece had left the stage, with a rather laboured applause at first.  On coming back down to earth and with a realisation at the immense spectacle they had just witnessed, howls and roars of approval were offered up as appreciation to the astonishing performance.  Everyone slowly departed outside, still semi-mesmerised, to gain respite from the sweltering heat.  

During the interval there was some strange, poppy/emo crap playing over the speakers.  I had not a care for what it was, just that it would stop as soon as possible.  At the bar, I turned to my companion and suggested that Nordic Giants were so flipping fantastic I would hate to be the band following them.  Perhaps it was my excitement at seeing them for the first time.  Or perhaps I was still lost, dreaming and captivated - swallowed up and altogether enchanted.  In any case, I watched attentively as 65daysofstatic took to the stage in front of a very receptive crowd.  

They opened with the first track from their latest album Wild Light, which is called 'Heat Death Infinity Splitter'.  A standard 65days sound bed was laid down, glitchy and barely tonal, whilst a sample read 'No one knows what is happening.  There is a lot of danger out there, OK?'  All of a sudden a fuzzy synth took the lead, and brought with it synthesised drums and typical walls of distortion.  It is a slow burner, and one that although you might not associate it with the start of a set, works remarkably well as a opener.  It also set the mood for the band's latest material, with the synthesisers taking the limelight.  

From the off, the band played with balls and gusto.  The drummer stood up, thwacking seven shades of shit into anything within his reach.  The unnecessarily huge amps were made to squeal, and every single key on the synths is rammed.  There was jumping, dancing, whirling and grinning.  The band certainly seemed to be having a whole lot of fun, and so did the audience.  

'Taipei' was the highlight of the set for me.  The use of a lone shaker by the drummer allowed the texture to be almost none existent - a nice change from the constant and relentless synths.  Beautifully clean piano chords were brought in before the drums decided to bounce about.  The guitar part was sparse, with only one or two notes emphasising the piano.  After a build, a climax, and a relapse into the thick textures of those synths, the song subsides.  But there is no boring or repetitive nature about the song - it is altogether tingly and has this innate swaying feel.  

There were also a few oldies thrown into the set.  One guy stood behind me was absolutely dying for 'Radio Protector'.  Before every song started, he was certain that 'this is it, this is it!' and was thoroughly disappointed when it wasn't.  Hmmmm.  He finally got his wish about an hour into the band's performance.  I've got to give them credit - although they must have played 'Radio Protector' a million times, they still gave it all they had and seemed to enjoy playing it just as much as their newer material.  It was also quite nice to be transported into the past when my younger self was obsessed with 'One Time For All Time'.  

Despite the fact that I have enjoyed practically every 65daysofstatic release and have always heard good things about their live shows, I was altogether underwhelmed.  That said, their performance was flawless and fun.  It is certainly evident that they put their hearts and souls into their music and live shows.  Again, maybe I was unable to take any more astonishment after absolutely loving Nordic Giants.  This should not detract from what was a brilliant performance put in by 65daysofstatic.  But somehow, it just did.  

It's that time of the year again. Summer in Europe is the place to be if you're into alternative and heavy music. Now you need to ask yourself, how deep down the genre and sub-genre rabbit hole are you willing to go?

I've been trying my luck for the last three years by attending different festivals around Europe. The majority of these didn't really cater for my needs from a sub-culture or music fulfillment point of view. Well, that's until I decided to make it over to a little town called Trutnov in Czech Republic for Obscene Extreme Festival in 2013. It had everything one could ever want from a festival. Cheap food, incredible people and amazing bands. So sure, I'm back here for the 2014 installment of Obscene Extreme and it looks to be a good one.

Ever hear the phrase " Fast music for slow people"? Well this is exactly that. With over 69 bands on this years line up, it isn't hard to understand why I made my way back. There are bands from various genres, some well known and some not so well know. But just as good as their better known counterparts. Genre and sub-genre distinction is the name of the game with bands from grindcore, hardcore, punk, crust punk, d-beat, death metal and even some sludge thrown in the mix for this years addition of Obscene Extreme.

Obscene Extreme is the brainchild of Curby, who started with fanzines before he got Onscene Productions up and running in order to bring grindcore to the masses. Now, he's been successfully organising Obscene Extreme for about 16 years in Trutnov, Czech Republic, but has since also taken it global in the last 2 years, with fests in North America, Asia and Australia. This is all been done without losing the D.I.Y ethics and attitude combined with the punk ethos - an incredible feet he should be commended for.  Most of us would have never been able to see these bands nor heard of them in the first place.
I arrived in Trutnov yesterday and  I've managed to get my backstage pass and I am looking forward to getting to know some bands better through interviews and just basic shop talking. So this is basically a guide for those of you attending later today or just at home, because you could't get time off work. We all know the big names attending, such as Possessed, Eyehategod, Cripple Bastards
and Immolation. So I'll dig more into bands to look out for on the day.

Thursday, 17th of July.

This is probably my favorite day of the entire fest. Proceedings kick off at 13:00. If you're a grindcore manic or speed freak, you'd want to be front and center for the following bands:

Livstid from Norway, who I was thoroughly impressed with in Europe earlier this summer. They're followed by immediately by France's Chiens from Nancy. Abrasive, fast, grindcore, with some powerviolence influences along the way, together with some of the best musical showmanship on display. Their front man is an absolute maniac and can get any crowd going. Chiens are closely followed by their partners in grind, Whoresnation, who are just as brutal from start to finish, with some incredible riffs, drumming and all together tightness throughout their set, which is a whirlwind of destruction.

Later on in the evening you're in for a treat. All the way from Tokyo, Final Exit, the noise boys from Japan have an incredible sense of humor and stage presence. But don't be fooled - they're not here to fuck around by any means and they play some of the fastest, shortest, most intense music on the planet. This is also their first time touring outside of Japan. So do yourself a favor - don't miss them.

Other bands to look out for on the day include The Kill, ACxDC and death metal legends, Master! That's a killer first day. Most of you probably won't make it through, but that's the price you pay to grind.

Friday, 18th of July.

Kicking off a lot sooner, with more bands to see, Friday is going to be an absolute ripper. Basically there are bands from all corners of the globe. I am particularly excited to see Brazilian d-beat new comers Deaf Kids. They release a record last year, titled "I am the sickness", which absolutely blew me away. I was in a very fortunate position to review this record and managed to get my hands on a tape as well.

Another band to look out for is Masochist from Thailand, which I am pretty excited about. Yet I am not entirely sure what to expect; but if you're invited to play Obscene, there must be something going for you.

Warcollapse from Sweden is another band to check out. If you're not familiar with their legendary music hailing from the southern part of Sweden, I would highly recommend you get on that immediately. VitaminX and Nunslaughter are back to back, which promises to bring together an interesting mix of people as the dutch fast and furious hardcore punks from Amsterdam will be followed by another incredible  death metal act in the form of Nunslaughter.

The day keeps getting better and better as Brutal Truth are set to rip it up on their last Obscene appearance ever, as sadly the band intend to call it quits later this year. And this is only the start of three incredible acts to follow one another. After Brutal Truth, we are blessed with the myth and the legend that is Possessed. To quote Lock-up,"SEVEN CHURCHES ON VINYL OR FUCK OFF", should basically say all you need to know about Possessed.

Then, there is probably one of the most anticipated acts of the fest. Eyehategod are going to bring everything to a grinding halt with some sludgy goodness we can all band our heads too.

Saturday, 19th of July.

Hung over? Tired? Probably. But the festivities continue on the final day you get to grind at this installment of Obscene Extreme 2014. I am pretty keen for Saturday as I have yet to sample all the bands on offer. You must check out Nuclear from Chile, who are set to tear us all a new one with some explosive, fast-as fuck-thrash metal.

There will be various local acts from the Czech Republic who also look pretty promising. Later in the afternoon, ultra core maniacs Turbokrieg from Houston take ot the stage to deliver their own brand of grindcore, with some incredible music showmanship on display, a line-up which includes members from Pretty Little Flower, Mindboil, Insect warfare and death metal masters Warmaster. If that doesn't get yer motor going, I doubt that anything will.

The night is young as the bastards are back. Cripple Bastards to take the stage and destroy everything in their path with their own brand of old school grindcore. The list seems never ending as Doom, Wermacht
and Immolation are set to give it their best in destroying Trutnov. Corrupt Moral Altar is another act to watch out for - the lads from the UK know what's up when it comes to slowing it down a notch.

So if all of that has happened and you're still not satisfied, you could always stay for the after party on Sunday, which includes Masochist, Turbokrieg and The Kill among others.

Have a good one maniacs!

It’s a big night for Se Delan. Not only is their debut album The Fall due to be released the following day (although copies are available from the merch desk tonight), but this is their first UK gig – in fact, their first gig, period. They arrive on stage in near-silence, and it’s only when Belinda Kordic takes position behind her mic that the audience appears to realise that this is the support act – clearly we don’t have many Crippled Black Phoenix fans in the crowd tonight, who would have already identified the unassuming Justin Greaves on guitar. Following a minimum of tuning and a few nervous looks, the band launch into the opening track from The Fall, 'Intro', rapidly followed by 'Chasing Changes', and almost immediately a hush falls.

This is Se Delan’s strength: they effortlessly conjure an atmosphere of glacial unease that’s more effective at stopping audience chatter than the loudest metal riffing would be. Their third song, the fragile and eerie 'Little One', only magnifies the effect. After the song, there's a few seconds of utter silence as the intimacy of the song fades before the applause begins.

It’s only a few songs into Se Delan's support slot that Kordic, who appears to have been in a state of near-trance throughout the set, seems to realise that she has not said a word to the audience. Her attitude seems to be one of letting the music do the talking, and her terse, Hope Sandoval-esque approach to audience banter leaves the audience wondering how best to react. Whilst Se Delan’s icy instrumental tendrils hardly lend themselves to barrow-boy hijinks from their frontwoman, there’s little doubt that many feel unsure how to take Kordic’s near-monosyllabic approach.

The aptly-named 'Dirge' - which has been doing the rounds as a promotional track for the bands album - brings the house down, however, and the applause that greets Se Delan - minus Kordic, who has stalked wordlessly off stage during the outro of closing song 'Lost Never Found' - at the end of their all-too short set is genuinely warm. It’s good to see a few copies of The Fall departing from the merch table, clutched in eager hands, during the pause before Gazpacho take to the stage. Considering that this was Se Delan’s first live show, there’s real potential here, although perhaps a greater connection with their audience might improve things.

Gazpacho, on the other hand, return as conquering heroes. It's taken them a while to build an audience, despite a leg up from Marillion, who provided Gazpacho with a number of support slots over several years in the 2000s. A few short years ago, scarcely a couple of dozen people turned up to the band's London show in support of their album Tick Tock - and whilst the band would undoubtedly insist that they prefer quality to quantity, it must have been dispiriting. The band's subsequent signing to the much-loved Kscope label has unquestionably gone a long way towards helping this hugely talented band attract more of the attention and plaudits they so richly deserve. Reassuringly, audiences have been rather larger at more recent shows.

An intro tape comprising music from Demon’s centrepiece, the epic 'Death Room', is played to build atmosphere, the band arriving on-stage to the sound of a ticking clock and film of a clock running rapidly forwards on the rear projection screen. The ticking is instantly familiar to the faithful, and there is a loud cheer as everyone heralds the opener, 'Tick Tock'. The first two parts of the fan favourite are played to reverent near-silence from the spellbound crowd, Jan Henrik Ohme's soaring, effortlessly emotive vocals cresting a tide of power chords, eerie choral interludes and plaintive violin underpinned by seismic drumming. The audience is transfixed; between notes you could hear a pin drop. When the band grind to a halt, however, the crash ending of Tick Tock II is nearly drowned out by the applause. Gazpacho audiences really know how to listen. They also love what they are listening to.

If anything, this is simultaneously Gazpacho's greatest weakness and their greatest strength: their live shows are geared firmly towards the die-hards, the fans who know the albums forwards and backwards and who visibly hang on every note, every evocative musical passage. To these fans, the construction of the songs, and the pregnant gaps between musical set-pieces are as important as the notes themselves. Gazpacho understand drama: the perfect moment to play that note, the perfect moment to pause and wait for everyone to draw breath. For the most part, the concepts of the verse and the chorus are roundly ignored, the peaks and troughs of the pieces laid out like topographical features. Gazpacho's songs don't feel so much planned or written as grown. Consequently, their live shows are banquets for the faithful and both bewildering and - given time, one suspects - bewitching for newcomers to the Norwegians' epic soundscaping.

With most of the set comprised of more recent material from the conceptual albums Night, Tick Tock, Missa Atropos, March Of Ghosts and Demon, the sole concession to the band's early material is a real surprise. 'Vulture', from the band’s little-showcased third album, Firebird, is played early in the set. It’s perhaps a reflection of the band’s more recent successes that it receives the quietest reception of the night, although its more electronic feel has heads nodding and the blood-curdling lyric is a perfect fit with the band's new material.

The material from Demon is given a mid-set slot all of its own, the band understandably unwilling to break it up throughout the set. With the dense and lengthy 'Death Room' not in the set – the band later admit that they really aren’t ready to tackle it on stage – Demon is represented by the first three tracks from the album, the two parts of 'I’ve Been Walking' broken up by the briefer musical palette-cleanser that is 'The Wizard Of Altai Mountains'. If there was any question that the unpredictable ‘polka’ section of 'The Wizard…' would be difficult for the band to pull off live, they swiftly dispel any doubts with an effortless display that relieves some of the tension built up by the exceedingly tense first part of 'I’ve Been Walking'. Demon may be dividing opinions among listeners, but live the material really comes into its own, the heavier sections crackling with energy and contrasting beautifully with the glacial calm of the keyboard and violin-led segments that possess a breathtaking, tragic quality that appears to suspend time altogether, Mikael Krømer's truly outstanding turns on violin and mandolin almost a second lead vocal. Krømer receives an ovation of his own after some of his solo spots, seemingly much to his embarrassment. Thomas Andersen's keyboards are equally as crucial to the new material, though: more often than not, they are the glue that binds together the varied parts of the whole. The moments when Andersen and Ohme are essentially duetting are both spooky and moving: several times the other band members can be caught watching Ohme as he powerfully emotes his way through some pretty harrowing material.

Some much-beloved fan favourites are scattered through the set: the lilting sing-along beauty of 'Winter Is Never' forms a perfect antidote to the intensity of the Demon material, whilst the likes of the propulsive 'Golem'  - driven along by Lars Erik Asp's powerful drumming - and the muscular 'Vera', which closes the main set tonight, receive loud and enthusiastic responses from the crowd. Jon-Arne Vilbo on guitar has been a largely static but powerful fulcrum for the band all evening, but the ending of 'Vera' sees him hamming it up beautifully for the crowd, who cheer him on as he builds up a wall of powerful riffing  for the song's ending.

As if to prove that there is always at least one more beloved treat up their sleeves, the encore is fashioned from two lengthy tracks from the band's breakthrough album Night, and if 'Upside Down' proves as popular as ever, the Assembly goes positively bananas for the infrequently performed 'Massive Illusion', which contains a chant-along section for the by-now delirious crowd to get stuck into and an enormous, almost Zeppelin-esque coda. Unfortunately, a tighter curfew means that we don’t get the final encore that is on the set list ('Marie Celeste', from March Of Ghosts), but as the lights come up the applause is long and loud, and everyone is on their feet. If the band sometimes appear faintly embarrassed taking their bows, it's a reminder that this band have not long celebrated their tenth anniversary. With eight albums under their belts already, their ambition undimmed and their star firmly in the ascendance, there's a real sense that Gazpacho are still just warming up. Where they will go from here is anyone's guess, but one thing is sure: it'll be worth hitching a ride.

Those of us of a certain vintage will remember 1985’s Live Aid spectacular and Phil Collins’ Concorde trip to play at both Wembley and JFK Stadium, Philadelphia.  In homage to that feat (but with a lower carbon footprint) Matt Stevens plays a set in The Vineyard pub with The Tangent’s keyboard wiz Andy Tillison, before hotfooting it over the road for his electric band’s gig in the Assembly Hall.

The Stevens/Tillison project is a relaxed affair as the pair joke with us and improvise around one another with no pre-arranged setlist.  As if presenting an episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Matt requests a key for a leap into the unknown.  My suggestion of F# is deemed to be too ‘Ornette Coleman’ and so an assault on the senses in E minor begins.

Matt’s trademark looped acoustic patterns are augmented today by his guitar synth module, making for some very odd sounds.  Andy keeps control amid the organised chaos by punctuating the rhythms with bass notes or quoting some well-known musical phrases - at one point leading the assembled crowd in an impromptu singalong of Steely Dan’s ‘Do It Again’.

Heaven knows what the pub regulars made of all that but the rest of us had fun.  I am assured that the duo have recorded together and an album will be forthcoming in due course.  If their chemistry today is indicative then those recordings will be well worth picking up.

After a quick scurry across the street, Phil…sorry…Matt takes the stage with his electric rig as one quarter of mathy post-rockers The Fierce and the Dead in their biggest gig to date, playing second-on-the-bill to a festival audience, many of whom will be experiencing this music for the first time.

The band make an enormous racket in club venues with their intricately woven noise-tapestries - how will they fare in the grandiose environs of the Assembly Hall?  The answer is clear from the outset - the quartet own the space immediately from the first Steve Reich-inspired, Crimsonesque phasing of ‘Part 4’.  Stuart Marshall’s frenetic fill-heavy drumming and tight syncopation coupled with Kev Feazey’s monstrous fuzz bass provide the scaffolding for the twin-guitarists’ hypnotic interplay.

As the set progresses, and with each good-natured between-song quip, the reception becomes warmer and it’s clear that a few recruits are being on-boarded tonight.  ‘Let’s start a cult’, indeed.  For all the weirdness of this instrumental music with its odd time-signatures and predisposition to abstract noise, there is a melodic accessibility - actual tunes that make it easy to enjoy in a festival context.

Although The Fierce and the Dead have made a name for themselves in prog circles, their nearest cousins are Mogwai, 65daysofstatic, Teeth of the Sea.  Once they can get their music across to that audience they will reach the next level.  Judging by tonight’s recruitment drive those audiences will like it, they’ll be into it.

Islington Assembly Hall is a pretty venue. Its theatre-like interior lends an aura of class to its performers. Anathema don’t need any help in that department, of course. As an acoustic trio, this evening they present their anthemic songs of love, loss and longing without subtracting any of the grandiose power in their music.

Danny Cavanagh enters alone to huge applause, straps on his acoustic and begins the fingerpicked intro to 'Untouchable (Part One)'.  The familiarity of the lead-off track from Weather Systems, and the entrance of brother Vinnie, evince more applause and the atmospheric conditions are just right for a special evening. With the help of his trusty loop pedal Danny proceeds to layer strummed chords and percussive slaps of the guitar body in lieu of a drummer. With his typical affable manner, he exhorts our hand-claps as another rhythmic device. We are all part of this performance.

Three-part harmonies, with the addition of the heart-rending voice of Lee Douglas, bring to mind a prog version of Crosby, Stills and Nash. Douglas’ first chance to shine comes with 'Untouchable (Part Two)', the feminine response to Vinnie’s anguished cries in the first part. The pristine yet powerful quality of her voice make her an indispensable ingredient of their sound now, rather than the guest musician which began her tenure.  That period is revisited with a moving rendition of 'A Natural Disaster'.

In a set that also includes 'Thin Air', 'Fragile Dreams' and 'Dreaming Light', it’s impossible to pick a highlight. Everyone here tonight will have their own highlight anyway, such is the very personal relationship this band’s music has with its listeners.

As time ticks away, signs from stage left indicate it’s time to being wrapping up, forcing Danny to reveal he will have to drop a cover of Pink Floyd’s 'High Hopes'. Instead we are introduced to an experiment - the world premiere of the title track from the new album, Distant Satellites. On record it is driven by electronic beats, strings and synths. Tonight they attempt to render it acoustically. It is an absolute triumph as the crowd sing back the chorus to the stage, the chorus to a song they are hearing for the first time, such is its immediacy.

As the trio leave the stage we are still singing the refrain to them over the looped guitar figures. Anathema are a supreme live act (elsewhere on this site I reviewed the Universal live concert film). What they have proven to many tonight is that those songs do not need the orchestral backing of that film; they do not even require the full rock sextet to deliver the emotion inherent in their songs. Their rise has been inexorable up to this point. But they are now on the cusp of greater glory and richly deserved acclaim.

They have put on years of fantastically eclectic and mind-expanding shows over the last few years, from Melt-Banana, to Bohren, to Stephen O’Malley and Aluk Todolo, to the Cosmic Dead and a whole heap more, and that’s merely in the last couple of months.  So it’s pretty exciting that Baba Yaga’s Hut are stepping up from an all-dayer a while ago to a full-on three day Raw Power festival, at Tufnell Park’s Boston Music Room and The Dome venues.  I threw a few questions over to Anthony, who’s been booking the bands for a year and half, about what’s in store for the psychedelic wig-out faithful.

(((0))): What’s the Baba Yaga’s Hut philosophy for the shows you put on?  And what have been the main highlights in your time at Baba Yaga’s Hut so far?

Definitely since I've been here Melt-Banana was a massive highlight last week.  Totally blown away!  Teeth of the Sea, Evil Blizzard & Bass Clef in Jana recent highlight too.  We try to put on left-field heavy music, psych rock, space-rock, weird electronics and the like. It's hard to put into words but I definitely have it in my head what a Baba Yaga's band is!

(((0))): What was the inspiration for starting a festival?

We had a ton of brilliant bands we wanted to put on and thought, why not try to do it like this?!

(((0))): Which band/s are you most excited to see, now the line-up is complete?

Very excited to be putting on Bo Ningen again.  They are a band that I have worked with for years but over the last couple of years their popularity has blown up and it's been a while they are sure to storm it.  I’m also really looking forward to seeing Richard Pinhas, who hasn't played in London for years.  I wasn't that familiar with his stuff but some friends are massive fans. 

(((0))): What lesser-known bands you’ve picked do you think will blow everyone away

The Comet is Coming are an act I've been looking forward to seeing.  Pretty new and sounding like one of the best new things going right now.

(((0))): What’s going to make this festival stand out from other events as really amazing?

I think we have a very specific type of audience in mind, and have booked what we hope is an incredible lineup for that specific type of thing.  If what we normally do is the kind of thing you’re into, then you will LOVE this!

As for me, having seen Acid Mothers Temple at all manner of venues over at least the last decade, it will be great to hear how they sound at the end of a long Saturday of great bands.  I’m sure hearing the familiar chimes of the “Pink Lady Lemonade” riff will be a highlight.  And I’m intrigued to see Clinic’s off-kilter postrocky style on Friday.

The heavy Riot Season contingent of Henry Blacker, Hey Colossus, and Bad Guys I’m sure will do justice to the Birmingham label’s impeccable reputation for all that’s intriguing on the farther shores of noisy and revelatory rock music these days.  Having been recently swept up in the chaos when Terminal Cheesecake recently turned a Bristolian crypt into a sweaty pit of lunacy, I can testify to their unabated power for pulsing mind-expanding, body-overriding trance rock, so am keen to get reacquainted with all of that nonsense too.  I’m most definitely looking forward to seeing the sludgy growls of Early Mammal and Teeth of the Sea’s psych for the first time, while the combination of seeing some vaguely familiar names on the schedule, and my complete faith in Baba Yaga’s music philosophy mean that I’m certain there will be some unexpectedly rewarding ear-opening moments elsewhere too.

Bo Ningen have passed me by a little, I have to admit, though when when Acid Mothers mainman Kawabata Makoto resurrected the gloriously monstrous Mainliner last year, I did enjoy seeing the androgynous ghost of Bo Ningen’s Taigen throwing around elbows, knees and bass riffs at impossible angles.

The most important question of all, however, is whether Mainliner can be pressed into playing their world-destroying side-long track ‘M’ from the (also recently reissued) Mellow Out - a monumentally heavy riff epic that stands as a high-point of psychedelic noise emanating from Japan.  I made sure my demand was heard, and Anthony (perhaps in slight nervousness at my wild-eyed zealotry) promised to pass that on to Makoto and the band…

Anyway, regardless of the finer points of Mainliner’s setlist, Raw Power looks set to be an incredible addition to London’s festival weekends, and a great chance to see Baba Yaga’s great taste in bands extended over three days.  Tickets are right here: https://babayaga.ticketabc.com/events/baba-yagas-hut-pr-30/ See you there!

Friday

What's great about Capsule is how self-effacing they are - they go to great lengths to make clear that this is a limited edition festival, much smaller than it would usually be.  They do this while providing two days of what would be a world-class line-up for any festival, let alone one taking place under a railway bridge in Digbeth.  The weekend was much better than it had any right to be.  But, having been twice before, this wasn't a surprise.  At the very worst, you'll come away with a handful of names you will look up on Bandcamp or Bandsintown; at best you'll leave with a deep sorrow in your heart, and pine while sitting on the bus to work about the time you saw the bloke from Sly and the Family Drone in his pants, or Swans dust themselves off after every song from whatever shit was falling off the ceiling as they played, or eating some vegan chilli while the Custard Factory throbs behind you.  I'd only ever been to the festival in its October incarnation, so going in the summer was a strange experience and detracted slightly from the doomy atmosphere.  But who goes for the atmosphere?  Who pays £40 for atmosphere?  Fuck you if you pay that much for atmosphere, you're an idiot.  The all-important drink situation was much improved as well - Purity ale stepped up their sponsorship, providing an entire craft beer bar at the main stage.

Basic House started the weekend with some a bit of noise on the main stage.  What I really like about Basic House, and it really comes through when you see him live, is how organic it all sounds.  I have a lot of time for digital noise that sounds digital (Merzbow), and I'm pretty sure Basic House is digital, but it has a very "found sound" feel to it.  Does that sound dickish?  I didn't see all of his set (in favour of the next act, sorry dude) but he managed to create, on a weirdly bright stage, quite a dark atmosphere.

Supersonic must be one of the only festivals in the world that puts the more experimental acts on a much bigger stage than the more straightforward rock or doom bands.  And it really works with an act like Basic House whose whole stock in trade is dark atmosphere.  On the second stage, ANTA's genre hopping style - always in the remit of cosmic jams, but staying tight - goes from thrashy chugging to free-flowing space prog, taking in bit of post-rock along the way.  I'm a big fan of any band that can properly use a keyboard player, and ANTA deployed theirs perfectly.  That's a thing pretty unique to this kind of band, as we'll see when we come to Alien Whale.  If you need some quick shorthand for ANTA, they're a band whose bass player has more pedals than their guitarist.

I've never seen Matmos play live, so I don't know how much of their set is usually taken up by an animated talking head, but it wasn't for me.  The music behind it sustained a lovely air of menace which really worked, but ultimately I found it really difficult to care.  Opium Lord, on the other hand, present such an intimidating assault on the senses that even their soundcheck is menacing.  They might be the best young doom band at the moment, and the fact that they seem like really nice guys only makes the ferocious racket they create sound all the better.  If you're being artsy fartsy you'd call it abstract doom, and it's definitely informed (perhaps subconsciously, perhaps not - I don't know) by the avant-garde; they're definitely closer to Khanate than St. Vitus.  As counter-intuitive as it sounds, their music suggests much more than it reveals, while also being entirely loud.

I'll tell you what else Capsule really nailed this year - timetabling.  With a few exceptions, it was possible to see almost everything on both stages.  If you wanted to venture into anything more playful and experimental (i.e. in the theatre) then you'll almost certainly miss a band or two, but if you went for the music only, they did a great job in scheduling.  This allowed me to formulate an excellent double-bill of Opium Lord and Felix Kubin, polar opposites in musical style but jolly bedfellows in fuck-you attitude.  Kubin is a mite less aggressive than Opium Lord, but his homemade avant-electro makes just as much of an impact.  In his songs, proper songs with choruses and everything, he treads a fine line between earnesty and irony, knowing how insane the songs are but believing in them totally, challenging you to disregard them while inexorably drawing you in.  He has great stage presence and as much as I love the hideous noise, it was nice to have a performer with a small amount of pop sensibility, influenced as much by the Pet Shop Boys as Suicide.  I particularly enjoyed "Atomium Vertigo", and the accompanying dance routine.

Evil Blizzard, on the other hand, felt like a descent into something from a Gaspar Noé movie.  I've never seen them live in the flesh, and what surprised me the most about their performance is how weirdly sexual it is.  This might just be indicative of something hidden deep within my psyche, but something about the smaller second stage, all the masks, and all that bass (five bass players), was very engaging.  They're like the live soundtrack to a fetish club, yet they sound surprisingly crisp, given all that low frequency playing.  They're fun, pop-infused doom (closer to St Vitus on my trademarked St. Vitus/Khanate scale), and again they bring plenty of theatricality, with good tunes to back it up.  

The total opposite, then, to Sleaford Mods.  Andrew Fearn's sparse but high energy laptop beats provide a perfect backdrop to Jason Williamson's rants from the bus stop at the end of the world.  It's everything: it's poetic, it's uncompromising, it's angry, and it's not going to take it anymore.  They're so fresh and free of cliché that I feels a bit shit typing these words, as it doesn't really represent the experience of seeing them live at all.  You'd be surprised how much performance two blokes with a laptop can give, but their occasional dancing and Jason's fidgety microphone technique filled the stage.  They were undoubtedly the best act of the night, as they usually are, because they cut the shit and get straight to the point - an ever unfolding tirade against the banal, the superficial, the venal.  In other words, they're quite good.

Saturday

I wish I'd seen more of Ex-Easter Island Heads, but only caught the end.  There's was about ten of them, in a line on stage, and it sounded great.  I did see all of Chris Brokaw.  His slow alt-grunge sounds a bit like Dylan Carlson goes pop, with occasional bursts of fuzzy noise breaking through.  They're invigorating moments amongst his extended scenes of heartbreak and loss, and a downbeat but effective start to Saturday.  Also not afraid to pop up around the festival, which is nice - I think I saw him about fifty times around the place.  

Across on the mainstage, Agathe Max's improvised noise violin set to bassy, industrial ambient required so many pedals and gizmos that she seemed to play most of the set perched on one leg.  It's great to see a genuinely talented and trained musician abusing their talents in that way - it sounded amazing, and moments of very beautiful playing occasionally broke through a delicious wall of noise that didn't let up for her whole set.

Rattle, from Nottingham, who I erroneously described in my Supersonic preview as having three members, wove a very poppy sound considering they only consisted of two drummers.  Their formula is intricate drum lines forming simple, poppy songs, usually based around a single phrase or motif.  They're exciting to watch, very self-effacing, and danceable in a weirdly tribal way.  Any dilution to their sound would probably ruin the live experience a little bit, unless it's a keenly deployed Moog.  Every band could use more Moog.  

Alien Whale, at the main stage, on the other hand, needed no help in that department as their power trio consists of guitar, drums, and keytar.  First and last keytar of the festival, which was a shame, but their huge sound more than made up for that.  They're a fun-loving cosmic jazz rock band who appear to be as inspired by Jimi Hendrix as they are by mushrooms.  Mountainous guitarist Colin Langenus immediately starts to throw some high-intensity guitar moves, which inspires some breakouts of dancing here and there in the usually staid Supersonic crowd.  Their booty-shaking jams are both epic and intricately layered, while their occasional (and surprisingly good) diversions into southern and blues rock are very welcome, but always filtered through their bass sound.  They strike me as a band who could just keep chugging riff after riff until you asked them to stop, be it after ten minutes, three hours, or nine days.

Back on the second stage, Youth Man were setting up.  I'd heard a bit about them in local press/blogs but I'd crucially never actually listened to them, figuring them to be a key part of the nascent B-Town movement that has recently taken up small column inches in NME and disregarding them as Not My Thing, so their presence at Supersonic was surprising.  I'd gotten it all wrong about them - their muscular riffs and idiosyncratic sound tore the roof clean off a packed room.  They seem enamored with the chaos they create, and singer/guitarist Kaila Whyte threw herself into every word and chord with the gusto of a stadium act.  That they're so good so young is sickening really, and it's a rare case of the buzz surrounding them being completely justified.  If I can be completely honest for a second, it was probably the only set of the festival when I didn't check my watch at some point.  Awesome in the literal sense of the word.  

My lack of watch checking meant I missed most of Sly and the Family Drone, which people have called the performance of the festival, mostly because Sly ended up in his pants in the middle of the crowded room.  They played on the floor (as opposed to the stage) and the set up made for a more intimate surround than you'd usually get from that room, and while it sounded great, it was just too packed. 

Sarah Kenchington's weird table bike of noises took centre stage in the theatre, which slowly packed out as she ran us through her creations and the surprisingly wonderful noises each instrument made.  She's a charming host, unaffected and unpretentious, pricking any pomposity that the experimental music scene is imagined to have - she seemed amused by her own creations, and excited to show them off to a receptive audience.  Her performance was at turns funny and rhythmic, and the music she managed to create from the strangest devices - at one point playing a tuba with a freshly inflated raft, pouring a kettleful of water into the barrel - and attempting at the end to play everything at once, we she actually managed to do.  It really felt like she summed up everything Supersonic was actually about - pushing the limits of what music is and how we should think about it, as opposed to big name headliners whose fans arrive to see them and them alone, and clog up the central atrium in the process.  Ahem.

Wolf Eyes played next, on the main stage.  I'm a big fan of early Wolf Eyes - let's say everything (not everything, obviously, that's about eight hundred releases) up to Burned Mind, but I'd never seen them play live before.  It really pains me to say this, but I loathed their performance.  It was so ironic, so arch, so cynincal, self-regarding and indulgent that I found it really hard to stomach.  It might have been because it came in such close proximity to the understated and self-effacing charm of Sarah Kenchington, but I found Wolf Eyes almost unbearable to watch, and not in a good way.  

Imagine my relief when Swedish songstrel Jenny Hval appeared after they'd cleared off and, with her three piece band, outplayed, outsonged, outcharmed and outperformed them.  She was another act who was pretty new to me, but I was really impressed by the craft she and the rest of the band clearly put into their sound, mixing in elements of pop with, if the newer songs are anything to go by, a much more uncompromising and unforgiving style.  

Touring with Swans will do that to you, I suppose.  By the time the guys themslves actually arrived, the crowd were just about ready to burst.  Unfortunately, just as they started to rev up the muscle car that is Swans, some fuse blew and the entire stage went dark.  Outstanding.  It took a few minutes for things to get going again, in which time Michael Gira entertained us with some ad hoc shadow dancing, and once the lights were back on they dutifully started over, with nary a complaint.  Not even the shit, paint and dust falling off the ceiling onto them put them off playing ferocious song after ferocious song, only stopping periodically between songs to brush themselves down.  I felt sorry for the guy on steel guitar.

You don't need me to tell you about Swans, you and I both know that they're always great so, in the spirit of intrepid reporting, I went to see Khünnt.  Khünnt had the difficult job of playing a set in the middle of Swans' two hour marathon performance, but they did draw a crowd and were just as intense as you'd hope from their recordings.  I was actually familiar with Khünnt previous to the festival, as I'm a big fan of Geordie folk-hero Richard Dawson (who is loosely and mysteriously affiliated with them) and in my previous life as a writer for another site I had the pleasure of reviewing them.  I absolutely love them, they're another young, no-fucks-to-give doom band of the most miserably crushing variety.  They have a great frontman, and all the band gave a hell of a performance to a room that was criminally underpopulated.  Their drummer gamely wore a Swans tee, and admonishing the audience on Twitter afterwards for seeing them instead of Swans was a nice touch.

So yeah, it was a great weekend. Big thanks to Capsule, and Lauren of Rarely Unable for sorting out the tickets.

Essentially a celebration of a place and the talent it inspires,  Camden Rocks is a total blow out of 200+ bands rocking out in 20 venues all over Camden Town, from the Purple Turtle down at Mornington Crescent, all the way up to The Enterprise at Chalk Farm.

11am The Worlds End

Wristband and the first pint of the day successfully acquired.  There was already an excitable buzz present, with the wristband queue snaking out of the pub and round the block, whilst there were whispers of plans of who to go watch.  Arguably, all 8000 people in attendance quite possibly saw 8000 different combinations of bands.  With so many bands vying for your attention, where do you even begin…

12pm Our Black Heart

…Sometimes you just go by an interesting name, and for Death Koolaid that certainly worked.  As a bonus, they were really good!  They kicked off proceedings with a blizzard of strobes and industrial punk rock riffage.  The snarl of frontwoman Siren Sycho's presence easily commanded attention just as much as the songs, namely ‘The Second Rule’ and ‘The Horror’ - both of which had an assembled throng nodding in approval.

www.deathkoolaid.com
www.facebook.com/DeathKoolaid
https://twitter.com/deathkoolaid

1pm The Enterprise

Another female fronted act, but in a completely different spectrum, is the eponymous Mia Klose.  Her brand of 80’s glam rock (think Bon Jovi/Guns n Roses) was wonderful to watch.  In an unexpected spin, the band played an acoustic set.   And although it was to thirty people in a pub, Mia still performed as if she was headlining a stadium.  It was all very “Rock Of Ages”, especially with the cover of “Paradise City”, but still brilliant.

www.miaklose.com
https://www.facebook.com/MiaKlose
https://twitter.com/Mia_Klose 

2pm Proud Camden

With so many bands rocking out, it was noticeable how everything pretty much run like clockwork.  My first (and happily only) encounter with broken scheduling was when I entered the venue and some band who I didn't know were playing covers of 90’s indie.

However, they soon parted, and Tankus The Henge finally took the stage, promptly becoming my new favorite band!  Mixing equal parts Chas n Dave charisma and Blues Brothers  showmanship, they created a party atmosphere which culminated in the frontman setting his hat on fire (as you do).  They went down such a storm that they were even allowed an encore!

https://www.tankusthehenge.com
https://www.facebook.com/tankusthehenge
https://twitter.com/tankusthehenge 

4pm The Underworld

Another band to wear you’re dancing shoes too are Hounds, but they are a completely different kettle of fish.  They exploded onto stage in matching white outfits with an energetic Industrial Electro-metal, emphasizing solid dance grooves.  The inclusion of a cover of Stigmata by Ministry will give you an idea of their M.O.  But this did not overshadow their own material, as the mass sing along that accompanied the closing song ‘The Wicked Witch’ testified, along the various shapes that were thrown down by the front rows.

 https://houndsmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/houndsofficial
https://twitter.com/hounds_official

5pm The Underworld

Devil Sold His Soul are Devil Sold His Soul, and, as always, were utterly magnificent.

https://www.devilsoldhissoul.com/devil
https://www.facebook.com/devilsoldhissoul
https://twitter.com/D_S_H_S 

6pm The Monarch

In a choice between something well known (Turbowolf) or something brand new I decided to opt for the latter and enjoy some caustic hardcore courtesy of Black Dogs.  Unfortunately, the set was hampered by a non-existent P.A. meaning only drums and vocals were actually (just!) audible.  But they threw themselves into the visual performance with enormous gutso, and the crowd responded in kind to cause all manner of chaos.

https://weareblackdogs.bigcartel.com
https://www.facebook.com/weareblackdogs
https://twitter.com/weareblackdogs 

7pm The Hawley Arms

The toss of coin resulted in watching Turbogeist rattle though an enjoyable set of Punk Rock with humorous lyrics.  However, they didn't appear to play ‘Alien Girl’, which was disappointing.

https://weareblackdogs.bigcartel.com
https://www.facebook.com/Turbogeist
https://twitter.com/turbogeist 

8pm Dingwalls

It was only on the previous Thursday before the festival that I discovered Acoustic TV is actually Terrorvision!  Well Tony Wright with an acoustic guitar.  But still, that made this set a priority target for me to fan boy over, as Tony and accomplice blitzed through 30 minutes of ‘Vision classics such as ‘Party Over here’, ‘Oblivion’, ‘three wishes’ and ‘Tequila’.  Great fun, but over way WAY too soon.

At this point my cunning plan was to head to the Barfly to watch Hang The Bastard and secure a position for the mighty Orange Goblin.  However, I was confronted by a queue that showed no inclination to move so I did what any sensible person would do…

https://www.facebook.com/AcousticTv

9pm Cuban

…Head to the Cuban bar to drink rum cocktails and dance to melodic thrash metal courtesy of Cypher16 of course!  A strange choice of band and venue that might have dropped like a lead balloon.  But it actually worked, as it created a jovial atmosphere due to everyone being there just to have a good time.  The band cottoned onto this and played accordingly - consider me converted.

 https://www.cypher16.net
https://www.facebook.com/Cypher16?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/cypher16

10pm Black Cap

Another clash of bands - another coin toss - took me to see Wounds tear up the black cap with an energetic and enthusiastic set of hardcore based punk rock that culminated in a chaotically barnstorming ‘Dead Dead, Fucking Dead!’ - which, at one point in the melee, featured yours truly on vocal duties (I apologise to anyone who experienced that!)

https://www.woundsmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/WOUNDSBAND?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/woundsband 

10:30pm Black Heart

A quick dart across the road allowed me to catch the tail end of God Damn knocking out some big filthy RIFFS.  And with that, my Saturday adventure was complete.

https://goddamntheband.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/goddamntheband?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/GODDAMNTHEBAND

Suffice to say Camden did indeed Rock!

Pictures supplied by Tamar Elderton of Captain Metal Photography 

When Capsule announced that Supersonic festival would be coming back this year, at the end of this month in fact, we were all very happy.  It's probably best festival in the world, blah blah blah, you've heard all this before.  I did an excitable preview of it (https://www.echoesanddust.com/2014/04/o-festival-preview-supersonic) because it had a fantastic line-up from the off.
A few weeks went by and everything was great. We were all getting on with our lives, killing time before the festival.  Then suddenly, out of nowhere, they revealed that the opening of Alfie Birds (a new venue at the Custard Factory) meant that there would now be two stages, a shitload more bands, and an extra 200 tickets released.  No biggie.  But it is nearly sold out so if you fancy going, you'd better get yourself a ticket.  I've already got mine so, if nothing else, you'll can take comfort in the fact that I'll be there.

Here's a quick run through the new additions, along with a few extra-curricular activities.

Khunnt
I don't even know what you'd call Khunnt without resorting to staid cliche.  Vague music journo terms might include experimental doom, or noise doom, but that doesn't really express what they do at all.  They've perfected their brand of minimalist, barely controlled percussive heaviness over the last eight years and have picked up a surprising cohort in Geordie experimental folk hero Richard Dawson, Supersonic's bard in residence and all-round megadude.  They'll be making a shameful racket that both arouses and disgusts.

Sly and the Family Drone
They've gotten a lot of attention over the past few years, partly because of their brilliant name and partly because of the quality of their output.  Theirs is a bizarre, yet rather effective set up.  The classic "two drummers, two vocalists, cassettes and FX pedals".  My favourite acts at Supersonic are always ones that require a table and a shitload of wires, and Sly and the Family Drone are one of those.  Their racket is one that is sorely lacking in most music, and joyous to watch - they actually put on a visual show or, at least, jump about a bit on stage.  Expect high volume, with lots of screaming, percussion, and knob twiddling.

Opium Lord
I'd personally say that Opium Lord are the new kings of Brummie heaviness.  That's me, personally, speaking as a person.  Sludge is booming at the moment - fuck the B-Town indie bullshit, the leaders of the new Birmingham music frontier are this avant-sludge fivesome.  Opium Lord's members are veterans of bands like Mothertrucker, Stinky Wizzleteat, and History of the Hawk.  Their fantastic EP "The Calendrical Cycle - Prologue: The Healer" was, well, fantastic.  They're currently recording their full-length debut and yeah, I'm a fan.

ANTA
Bristol-based Anta are a space rock/psychedelic unit, exploring the outer limits of consciousness through unique, synthy prog.  Their debut 'The Tree That Bears The Equine Fruit' is essential listening for connoissuers of the UK scene.  And while they never fail to bring the jams, they are also much heavier than people give them credit for.  Last year's 'Centurionaut' ploughed much the same field as their debut, but also pushed the envelope of what the band is all about.  They are unpredictable, funky, laid back and sexy, like me.

Evil Blizzard
Evil Blizzard are an aggresively masked, multi-bass funk machine whose shocking image and technical set-up belies actual good songs that are actually good.  They look scary and they wear masks and stuff but they are closer to Frank Zappa than GWAR in attitude and intent.  They've managed to build up a sizeable following on the back of various live performances and some great music videos, one of which is shown below.

Chris Brokaw
A big coup for the festival this year has been in securing Chris Brokaw.  Like Sir Stephen Bishop (who played last time) he specialises in pieces for electric guitar.  He is influenced by alternative rock while not strictly adhering to it, taking it in more imaginative and contemplative directions.  He came to prominence as part of Codeine, and later Come, before diving in movie soundtracks.  Both bands recently reunited but that doesn't mean Chris Brokaw can't come and have a bit of fun in Birmingham.

Alien Whale
Another band bringing the psychedelic jams are space rock trio Alien Whale.  You know the score - pounding rhythms, humongous riffs, and a total pain in the ass to search for on Google.  That shouldn't detract from the live experience, however, and Alien Whale should be great for fans of previous Supersonickers Mothertrucker (2011), Earthless (2009), and Gnod (2012).  All of those bands should be in your mind when you're listening to them.  Soon every band offering slab after slab of endless stratospheric riffs will have played the Supersonic.

Rattle
Two drummers a guitarist, and that's it.  That's Rattle.  Three great musicians (Theresa Wrigley of Fists with Katharine Brown and Mark Spivey of Kogumaza) making a danceable racket from percussion and voices.  It's almost monastic in its sparsity, using repetition to gradually expand outwards and build towards a big, sweaty, drummy orgasm.

Rattle Bandcamp

Youth Man
Youth Man have been making inroads at the heavier end of the NME-promoted B-Town movement, providing a punk inflected nineties sound reminiscent of the muscularity of early Manics with the frantic energy of X-Ray Spex.  They're not afraid of sharp left turns in their music, occasionally devolving into abstract noodling or surprising progressions, which marks them out from their less imaginative peers.

Backwards
All you need to know about Backwards is that they feature ex-members of Beestung Lips, Una Corda and Napalm Death.  Combining creaking sludge with chugging noise, they sound like a dying robot struggling for air.  They describe themselves as "the fag end of No Wave meets the ugly monotone of Hate Sludge.  Two basses, drums, voice and electronics."  They're like early Swans, if Swans were a bit more depressed and came from the Black Country.

Backwards Soundcloud

Karen Gwyer
The junk synth stylings of Karen Gwyer have made her a big draw across electronic venues throughout Europe.  She's on Opal Tapes, also home to fellow act Basic House.  And while her style is more rhythmic and, dare I say, pop than his, that doesn't make it any less entertaining or worthwhile.  She's an extremely talented musician and composer, with a great ear for atmospheric beats.  She takes influence from chiptune and 8-bit themes alongside traditional EDM to create her own unique style.

Besides all the music, there's also a few extra-curricular activities:

Death Waltz Records and The Duke Mitchell Film Club at the Theatre Space
Fuck knows what this will be, given the two outfits that are putting it on.  Death Waltz specialise in obscure, rare-to-find soundtracks, while Duke Mitchell do the same with weird old films.  Whatever it is, it'll be worth seeing - a bizarre mixture of film and music that will take over the cinema tent on Saturday night.

Run What Ya Brung
Morton/Underwood's monthly meet up If Wet - their experimental audio night in the local village hall recently featured in The Wire magazine - are doing a special Supersonic version of their Run What Ya Brung feature, in collaboration with local art agency Stryx.  Basically, people are asked to bring whatever weird stuff they like/have found/invented, as long as it makes a noise.  A friendly exploration of audio art, by nice people, for interested audiences.

The Quietus At Leisure
Hit music blog The Quietus are showing a few short films, as part of a series that investigates what a few chosen musicians get up to in their spare time which editor Luke Taylor has been completing over the past two years.  Included is one featuring Steve Ignorant of Crass, who - when not bending minds as part of Crass - is involved in manning RNLI lifeboats.  Another features Alan Sparhawk and his obsession with American Football.  Cosey Fanni Tutti (COUM, Throbbing Gristle, Carter Tutti) features in another demonstrating her work in organic vegetable gardening, and Stephen Morris (Joy Division and New Order) showing off his collection of military artifacts.

Swoomptheeng Disco
They all wear costumes and make fucked up disco music filtered through rave and rock, until it becomes something different, better, unique, and they'll be in Alfie Birds from 12am till 2am, hoovering up everyone who isn't at Swans.  Good luck guys!

Quite a weekend, right?  I think there's a handful of tickets left so if you haven't got one yet then, well, buy one.

Something is not right here tonight.  Crippled Black Phoenix – one of my favouritest bands in the whole wide world – are playing in Edinburgh for the first time in years, and there is nobody here.

Doors opened at 7:00.  It is now 7:15 and the support band is just about to start playing, to maybe ten people.  Yeah, I know it’s early, I know it’s a Sunday night – but c’mon.  Ten people?

I knew about this gig months ago.  But, for some reason, the promoters didn’t release tickets were for sale until just a few weeks ago.  And then seemed to forget all about promoting it.  I never saw a single poster anywhere, and there wasn’t an event page on Facebook.  Nothing.  Nowhere.  And this, Dear Reader, is the result.

Anyway, let’s get on.

The poor guys on stage, A Liquid Landscape from the Netherlands, look at each other and shrug.  ‘Shall we start?’ says singer/guitarist Fons Helder, who looks alarmingly like Chris Martin.

Credit to them, they play as if they are in front of a packed room.  Their more than decent brand of post-prog (is that even a thing?) goes down well with the ‘crowd’, blessedly not sounding remotely like Coldplay.  They make me think of Oceansize - which is odd, as I know very little about Oceansize.  Their set is drawn largely – or entirely, perhaps? – from their forthcoming new album ‘The Largest Fire Known To Man’, and it’s darned fine stuff.  The songs pretty much follow a quiet – loud – very loud plan, but there’s enough variation to keep it interesting.  Sadly, they are not helped along by a murky sound and an echoey empty room.  Despite this, they are well received, and there is some enthusiastic  whoopin’ and hollerin’ going on by the end of their forty-five minutes.

By the time Crippled Black Phoenix come on, the crowd has swelled a bit.  Still, though, it is a very long way from packed in the Liquid Room.  I don’t know how many people there will be by the end of the night, but it won't top one hundred.  And maybe that’s why they seem a little flat, at first.

I have seen CBP a few times before, and the experience has always been genuinely life-enhancing.  But they seem a little off tonight.  Maybe it’s just me, or maybe it’s the two-thirds empty room.

Actually, I think it probably IS just me.  Apart from a rousing opener of ‘Stand Up and Fight’, the first half of the show is almost entirely new material.  Other than that one, ‘The Brain/Poznan’ and ‘Born in a Hurricane’, it was all from their new album ‘White Light Generator’.  To my shame, I have not heard any of it before.  Also, new singer Daniel Anghede’s vocals are a bit lost in the mix, which doesn’t help.

Now, don’t misunderstand.  None of the above should be taken as meaning CBP were bad.  Far from it.  It’s just the unfamiliarity thing.  There are songs which will be favourites – the pounding ‘Let’s Have An Apocalypse Now!’ and the epic ‘No!’, featuring guest vocalist Belinda Kordic harmonising exquisitely with pianist Daisy Chapman, for example.

The first half of the show ends with the lovely ‘We Remember You’, dedicated to the owner of the restaurant next door, with whom the band had had a, let’s say, falling out.  It seems unlikely that he will feature on the CBP Christmas card list…

Earlier in the evening, Justin Greaves explained that it had been a long time since they had played Edinburgh, and that it had been a different time, a different band.  But it is when they step back to that time and bust out the ‘greatest hits’ that they truly come to life.  They give us ‘Song for the Loved’, ‘Fantastic Justice’ and ‘Troublemaker’.  They give us the Journey Cover, ‘Of A Lifetime’, which they do better than Journey ever did.  They are now unstoppable.  And then they get better.

The closing trio of ‘444’, ‘We Forgotten Who We Are’ (the grammar nazi in me struggles hard to not correct that title) and ‘Burnt Reynolds’ are simply glorious.  A religious experience, almost.

I’m not generally a fan of guitar soloing, seeing it as self-indulgent wankery in most cases.  But Karl Demata’s playing tonight has been sublime, never getting in the way of the rest of the music.  His bottleneck work during ‘We Forgotten…’ has me nearly in tears.  I never want it to stop.  But it has to, because they must, by law, finish with ‘Burnt Reynolds’ which, from its haunting keyboard intro to its audience singalong finish, is pure, unalloyed joy.

They leave the stage, as we know they must, for the 10:00pm curfew is looming.  But we keep on singing. Yes, we know they will be back, it’s just part of the game – and here they come.  We are still chanting  and they pick up as if they have never been away, stirring ‘Burnt Reynolds’ back to life for a final perfect climax.

Oh, but it’s not over yet.  The curfew is disregarded, and they rock and roll through a couple more – ‘Let The Day Begin’, a Samhain cover, and finally, ‘Bella Ciao’.  It is a rattling good end to a damned fine show.  And it is hard to tell who’s grinning wider, the band or the crowd.  Let’s call it a draw.

Maybe they took a bit of time to get going tonight, but they did not disappoint in the end.  Next time I see them, the new songs will have settled into my brain and I will accept them as old friends.  And Crippled Black Phoenix will continue to be fucking awesome.

Their tour is over now, but they are playing ArcTanGent in a couple of months.  Seriously, you should go.  Really.