August 2008

44100Hz continues to acquaint its readers with the best festivals of electronic (and not only electronic) music. We invite you to look through a list of large-scale musical events that will take place in August 2008 in the most diverse places on the planet...

The festival appeared in 1994 as a series of club ambient parties. Then, having gained popularity among English youth, it was moved outdoors to Wales, and then Herefordshire, where it is held to this day. Every year more and more guests came to the event, and at the start of the new millennium The Big Chill expanded its borders: Greece, Cairo, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Japan, Australia, India. But behind this name lies not only a festival but also a bar and club in London, broadcasts on the Chill radio station and a record label that releases special compilations and little-known up-and-coming artists. Every year the organizers of The Big Chill try to find new, interesting musicians and give them a chance to show themselves. The well-known English music magazine Melody Maker called the festival "full of "messiahs" of new music", where the then-unknown Zero 7, Gotan Project, Royksopp, Lemon Jelly and Amy Winehouse once performed. Works of art are also exhibited at the event: paintings, photographs, sculptures, and this year theatrical productions will give visitors the chance to fully use their imagination and set off into a world of fairy-tale and mythological characters.

Line-up: Leonard Cohen, Matthew Herbert Big Band, Mum, The Orb, Plaid, Roisin Murphy, DJ Krush, Thievery Corporation, Trentemoller, Ursula 1000, Yam Yam.

Tickets: 60 euros - children. 110 euros - students. 129 euros - adult.

In the early '90s a new wave of electronic music swept over Germany. Two of the centres for the new movement's development were Dresden and Leipzig. It was here, after several closed raves in the Granary storehouse, that the idea arose of creating an open-air dedicated to current dance music. Nachdigital was held for the first time in 1998 and drew around 1,000 people. Since then the festival has never grown into a major musical event, but it delights its visitors with a warm, homey atmosphere and refined, sometimes experimental music. Contemporary German design communities are usually invited to decorate the venue, and each time they bring new features to the already established image of Nachdigital.

Line-up: John Wink, Plaid, Four Tet, Stephan Bodzin, Guy Gerber, DJ Lawrence, DJ Daniel Stefanik, Mathias Kaden.

Tickets: 40-50 euros.

Another Dutch dance-music festival. The main direction of this event is techno. Last year its headliners were Steve Bug and Josh Wink. This year the festival grounds will be divided into 4 stages and a circus. Among the advantages of Welcome to the Future Festival is that all the stages are equipped with one of the world's best sound systems, Function One, tuned by the country's best sound engineers. The festival's main stage is decorated with a huge half-rainbow the size of an apartment building. It gives the impression that the DJ is playing under a rainbow in rays of sunshine projected by a special laser system.

Line-up: Luciano, 2000 and One, Guido Schneider, Bart Skils, Joey Beltram, Christian Varela, Counterpart, Steve Rachmad, Boris Werner, Mathias Kaden.

Tickets: 38.5 euros - 1 day.

VEMF is a non-commercial event organized by the Northwest Entertainment Foundation. This year the event will be held for the fifth time in the Centennial quarter, located in the very centre of the city of Victoria. VEMF enjoys the support of the local administration and the media for its reputation as an event that enriches the country's culture, discovers new talent and entertains the public at a high level. Last year around 8,000 people attended the performances, lectures and seminars. The event's goal is to acquaint people with the various directions of electronic music, to tell them about the process of creating tracks and distributing them. The seminars are led by well-known DJs and music producers from America and around the world.

Line-up: DJ Irene, King Britt, Derrick Vnuk, Gatringer, DJ Sheldon, Gobe, Greenlaw, J-Feud, Joka, Mork, Natron, Thom Banks, Timeline, W.A.X., Charles Feelgood, Dave Armstrong.

Tickets: the festival is sponsored by a large number of companies and the local administration, so you'll be able to get in for free.

This small independent festival in West Yorkshire was held for the first time three years ago. The idea behind its creation was to gather people in a remote, picturesque corner of the world and give them a chance to enjoy the sounds of music. The organizers of Moor Fest are a group of friends united by the desire to give people an unforgettable musical weekend away from the city. Among them are a teacher, a former go-go dancer, artists, decorators, an engineer, and even a call-centre operator. Local musicians and well-known English bands usually perform at the event. This year the organizers promise plenty of good and varied music, tasty and healthy food, interesting films and walks through the protected landscapes of Northern England.

Line-up: Matrix + Futurebound, The Long Blondies, AudioJack, Tim Sheridan, Paul Woolford, Dragons, Pete Molinari, Esser, Rambo And Leroy, The Sugars, Smoke Feathers.

Tickets: 65 euros - 2 days. 35 euros - 1 day.

This alternative and indie-rock festival has been held since 2001 at the De Montfort Hall and the parks surrounding it. Over three days around 80 musicians perform there: the main stage is meant for the headliners, the rest for acoustic concerts and little-known and local bands. For those who arrive early, a special pre-party stage is set up, all the proceeds from which go to a local shelter. Summer Sundae is an event for the whole family, with large playgrounds and games. The festival is small in scale, but in 2006 it received the title of "Best Small Festival" in England.

Line-up: Supergrass, Roywor, King Creoste, Errors, The Beat Winner, The Heavy, Dead Slow, Catherine Tran, The Heavy, Emma Pollock.

Tickets: 50 euros - 1 day. 100 - 3 days.

Ffwd Dance Parade is an equivalent of Berlin's Loveparade. The festival takes place right on the streets of Rotterdam. Partygoers from all over the world fill the city's streets for a day, dancing and having fun until they drop. This year huge trucks equipped with special music gear will set off at two in the afternoon from the centre to circle the whole city and stop at 9 p.m. at a spot called Willemsbrug, where the climactic party will take place. The motto of the twelfth Ffwd Dance Parade — It's all about the records — is essentially a play on words, since in English the word "record" means both an achievement and a musical recording. In addition, the festival's organizers plan to hold a symbolic competition between the DJs and choose the best of the best. For those who want to dance until morning, fourteen of the city's clubs are organizing their own after-parties.

Line-up: Addict, DJ Dazzle, DJ Sounds, Lo Fi Society, Nope Is Dope, Lucien Foort, Michel de Hey.

Tickets: you can join the parade for free, while admission prices for the after-parties are set by each club individually.

Storm differs a little from the other European summer festivals. It doesn't build one big stage where various artists perform over several days. Storm could be called an association of Danish promoters, each of whom comes up with something of their own. Over five days, musicians from Denmark and all of Europe play at open-air and indoor venues around the city. Originally created to entertain the local public, the festival strives each year to attract a larger crowd and earn international status.

Line-up: Morten Riis, Jonas Olesen, Jonas R Kirkegaard, MIA, DJ Nabo, Morten Kamper, Modeselector, Oh Land, Bomb The Bass, DJ Hatcha.

Tickets: prices vary depending on the event.

In just fifteen years Sziget has grown from a small student festival into a major musical event of Europe. The festival was first held in 1993 as a small open-air that gathered, to the surprise of the organizers themselves, Péter Müller and Károly Gerendai, more than 40,000 people. According to the organizers, Sziget is not one but many festivals, united by their venue and name. Here you can see both world stars and new experimental musicians, performances by dance troupes and theatre companies, and visit art exhibitions. Concerts are held day and night over five days, and for lovers of heavy music there is a so-called "day zero", at which the famous heavy-metal band Iron Maiden will perform as part of their world tour. Besides an impressive list of headliners, the festival's line-up includes the names of well-known world-music musicians: the Serbs Balogh Kalman Gipsy Cimbalom Band and Goran Bregović's ensemble, the English Transglobal Underground and Natacha Atlas, as well as several Russian names: the bands Leningrad and Deti Picasso.

Line-up: Alanis Morissette, The Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs, Jamiroquai, Die Arzte, Sex Pistols, Roisin Murphy, R.E.M., Serj Tankian, The Killers, Babyshambles.

Tickets: 150 euros - 5 days (with camping), 120 euros - 5 days (without camping), 32 euros - 1 day.

Unlike many European festivals that urge people to forget the urban bustle for a while and spend a few days in nature among ecologically clean forests and bodies of water, C/O Pop is held each year in the clubs and open-air venues of the German city of Cologne. Originally the festival specialized only in German dance music, promoting the so-called "Cologne sound". Now you can hear the most contemporary directions of pop-rock, indie and electronica there. The climax of the event is considered to be the parties organized by the well-known German label Kompakt, especially the party called "Local Heroes", where musicians released on the label and specially invited guests perform. Besides the entertainment festival there is also a professional C/O Pop, to which representatives of the largest labels and record companies gather, along with everyone connected in one way or another with the music industry. At the conferences the most current issues of creating, distributing and disseminating musical material are discussed.

Line-up: Hercules & Love Affair, Sven Vath, Ricardo Villalobos, Jose Gonzales, Crystal Castles, Supermayer, DJ Koze, The Teenagers, The Field.

Tickets: around 20 euros depending on the party.

The largest Belgian festival, which this year will be held for the 23rd time. The event is mainly aimed at lovers of alternative rock; at various times Nine Inch Nails, Sonic Youth, The Smashing Pumpkins and Iggy & The Stooges have performed there. But moving between the closely spaced stages you can also hear post-punk, electronica and even heavy metal. On a separate stage this year such electronic-music gurus as Ricardo Villalobos, Miss Kittin and Carl Craig will perform. Unlike many other festivals, Pukkelpop is not a place for a family holiday in nature — there are no large playgrounds or circus here. From early morning the young people — who make up the majority of the fest's visitors — buy beer at the bars and head for the stages to dance to the heavy roar of guitars until late at night. And so as not to litter the national park's grounds too much, the event's organizers will give you a branded T-shirt for every 50 beer cups you collect.

Line-up: Metallica, The Killers, Sigur Ros, Bloc Party, Within Temptation, Manic Street Preachers, Roisin Murphy, Serj Tankian, Soulfly, Hot Chip, Ian Brown.

Tickets: 75 euros - 1 day.

Over three days, in the very centre of Holland, a small city springs up with a population of around 55,000 people. There are bars, restaurants, markets, cinemas, a radio station, a local daily newspaper and, of course, 8 stages where musical concerts, literary evenings and street-theatre performances are held. Lowlands (full name — A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise) is mainly an alternative-rock festival where Sex Pistols, Franz Ferdinand, The Hives and The Kooks play, but, as at other fests, there are special stages here where you can hear Hot Chip, Ellen Allien and Underworld.

Line-up: Infadels, The National, The Roots, Sigur Ros, Thr Dresden Dolls, HIM, Booka Shade, Miss Kittin, Sven Vath, Tricky, Digitalism.

Tickets: 132.5 euros - 3 days. 152.5 euros - 3 days (plus entry to the Walibi World amusement park, which is located next to the festival grounds).

A major dance open-air that is held each year not only in England, where it was born, but also in Argentina, Spain, Ireland, Uruguay, Turkey, Mexico, Russia, Peru, the Czech Republic, Chile, Brazil, Poland and Portugal. In England the festival takes place at the end of August during the so-called bank holiday. Officially this day isn't considered a holiday in the country, but by tradition on the last weekend of August most people get off work (except the police, hospitals and social services), and most importantly, on these days not a single bank operates and it's impossible to carry out any financial transaction. Since Creamfields is held at the end of August, it has already established itself as "the last musical event of the summer", where thousands of people gather to plunge one last time in the year into the atmosphere of an open-air rave. The most famous DJs usually play at the festival: Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk, Fatboy Slim, Sasha. But the organizers give young people a chance too: this year the Creamfields administration is holding a competition among aspiring DJs. Anyone who wishes can upload their mix to the festival's page on MySpace, and the winner will get the chance to play their set alongside the most popular musicians in the world.

Line-up: Fatboy Slim, Pendulum, Pete Tong, James Zabiela, Hernan Cattaneo, Kasabian, Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, Ferry Corsten, Hercules & Love Affair, Underworld, Erick Morillo, Dubfire, Claude Von Stroke, Sasha.

Tickets: 115 euros - 2 days (with camping). 105 euros - 2 days (without camping). 199 euros - 2 days (vip).

England is a country with a rich musical history and a developed contemporary electronic scene, so open-air organizers can afford to hold two major musical events at the same time. South West Four, like Creamfields, takes place during the traditional bank holiday. It's the second-largest English dance-music festival, with a big list of invited stars: Carl Cox, Sven Vath, Armin Van Buuren. This year South West Four will mark its fifth anniversary, and for the occasion its line-up includes the names of the best DJs playing completely different music: house, drum'n'bass, electro, trance, chillout, progressive. Also this year an additional fourth stage will be built, where Claude Von Stroke, Nic Fanciulli and Jon Rundel will present their sets. When the event ends, anyone who wishes can carry on partying at one of the best clubs in South London, The Clapham Grand, where John Digweed himself will perform for them.

Line-up: Eric Morillo, Carl Cox, Fedde Le Grand, Layo & Bushwacka, Danny Tenaglia, Paolo Mojo, Francois K, Tiefschwarz, Green Velvet.

Tickets: 45 euros. 20 euros - afterparty.

Japan has always been considered a closed country with its own distinctive culture, often incomprehensible to the European eye. But today it is a country where a great many true music lovers and collectors of musical material live, and Tokyo is rightly considered one of the main club capitals of the world. Metamorphose is the largest Japanese open-air, where around 20,000 spectators gather each year. Both local celebrities, for example DJ Krush, and world stars — Tony Allen, Josh Wink — perform here. The festival will last from sunset to sunrise, but anyone who wishes can attend the pre-party and after-party.

Line-up: Manuel Gottsching & Ashra, Galaxy & Galaxy, The Album Leaf, Theo Parrish, Jah Shaka, Cobblestone Jazz, Mathew Dear, Mezklah, Boom Boom Satellites, DJ Krush, Hiroshi Kawanabe.

Tickets: 10,500 yen - pre-sale. 12,000 yen - on the day of the event.

The third English festival during the Bank Holiday. For its fifth anniversary Get Loaded will move to one of London's most picturesque districts, Clapham Common. Last year it was nominated for the title of "Best Medium-sized Festival in England", where M.I.A., The Streets, Dizzee Rascal, Dirty Pretty Things and The Go! Team performed. This time the event's line-up includes the names of the most famous rockers and the currently fashionable new-ravers. The main star of Get Loaded 2008 will be the punk-rock legend Iggy Pop & The Stooges.

Line-up: Supergrass, Gogol Bordello, The Hives, Plastic Little, The Holloways, Kate Nash, Reverend And The Makers, Toddla T, The Gossip, Soulwax, Boys Noize, Mylo.

Tickets: 35 euros - 1 day.

Anarchy, funk, nostalgia and surrealism — that's how the Irish organizers describe their festival. There's everything here — concerts, theatre, stand-up comedy, art exhibitions, political debates, dance lessons. This year the event's visitors will be able to hear music varied in mood and theme: from the provocative Sex Pistols to the melodic and romantic Sigur Ros. My Bloody Valentine, whose 1991 album Loveless was recognized in the country as the best rock'n'roll album of all time, will play their first concert in Ireland in 17 years. The Scots Franz Ferdinand will present their third record. Electric Picnic will also feature the funk legend George Clinton, the dance-music icons Underworld and the alternative rockers The Breeders. Writers and poets from England, the United States, South Africa and Australia will come to give public readings of their works. Lectures on contemporary culture and politics will be given by journalists, professors and culturologists from around the world.

Line-up: Sex Pistols, Goldfrapp, Christy Moore, The Gossip, Digitalism, Hercules & Love Affair, Tiga, Duffy, George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars, Tindersticks, Cathy Davey.

Tickets: 240 euros - 3 days. Single-day tickets are not sold.

To be continued...