Spring Festivals 2010
Чтиво · 08.03.2010
By Маргарита Аминева
Lyon, Graz, Brussels, Mannheim, London, Berlin… The geography of the festivals of the spring now under way is, as always, diverse. Their schedule may not yet be as intense as in the summer season, but it's already time to keep an eye on the airlines' special offers and wipe down your sunglasses! Here's what awaits us over the next three months…
This year the festival will once again take place on the grounds of the modern Bultins Minehead resort complex on the west coast of the UK. Two dance floors are set aside for the performances, a separate pub stage, the Un:Bloc space for music other than electronic, and an arena for an interactive-art exhibition. Musically, the event is counted among the main festivals of independent electronic music in Britain. The line-up features acts of various genres, including more than 60 foreign musicians: Salt N Pepa, Grandmaster Flash, Mixmaster Mike, Adam Beyer, Skream B2B Benga, Luke Vibert, Congo Natty aka Rebel MC, MJ Cole, Kode 9, Roots Manuva, Autechre, Ms Dynamite, Wiley, Derrick May, Luke Slater, Lindstrom, Anti-Pop Consortium, Surgeon, Nathan Fake, Joker, Mark Ernestus feat. Tiki Man and others. The ticket, at 140–150 pounds sterling, includes the cost of a hotel room and an entry pass to the festival's various venues.
A music forum scheduled for the last weekend of March in two cities, gathering the main figures of Swiss pop music and press. The main focus is on young talent. Nonetheless, already established Swiss acts will appear here too — Bonaparte, Josef of the Fountain, Solange La Frange, Round Table Knights — as well as guests of the land of Alpine meadows: Jose Gonzalez, These New Puritans, Booka Shade and many others. Several conferences are planned on topics such as: label management, copyright, online promotion, using Ableton Live on stage, future alternatives to Myspace and others. Admission to the seminars and conferences is free. Tickets from 20 to 88 euros for the musical performances here.
A relatively young festival taking place for the second time this year. It brings together such kinds of electronic music as electro, krautrock, minimal techno and the experimental. Most of the events will be based at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels. One of the city's concert halls is also brought in as a venue — for "seated" concerts. The line-up isn't very large (just over 30 artists in all) but is worthy of attention: Hexstatic, Johann Johannsson, Chris De Luca, James Holden, Ryoji Ikeda, Cluster and others. Tickets from 14 to 35 euros depending on the number of days.
This event will be of the greatest interest to guests of the annual, 25th Winter Music Conference in Miami, since it will serve as its logical culmination. Without exaggeration, the festival will gather world stars whose names, listed one after another, are almost dizzying: Tiesto, Deadmau5, David Guetta, Orbital, Groove Armada, Carl Cox, Faithless Sound System, Sasha & John Digweed, Armin Van Buuren — the list could go on for a long time. Tickets priced from 140 to 350 dollars here.
Perhaps one of the most eagerly awaited spring festivals for many fans of large-scale musical events, accustomed to trusting German quality. If you're not tired of names like Sven Vaeth, Laurent Garnier, Ricardo Villalobos, Loco Dice, Dubfire, Marco Carola, Speedy J, Ellen Allien, Karotte, Magda, Tobi Neumann, Reboot, Martin Buttrich, Dixon, Chris Liebing, and the finally reincarnated Plastikman, then this is definitely the place for you! Nor should the festival's educational mission be forgotten. On the same day the Time Warp lab will be running — a series of free-admission lectures and seminars aimed at improving the knowledge and skills of aspiring musicians. A ticket to Time Warp will cost around 50 euros.
Practically one of the first open-airs of the spring, spread across the green grounds of a polo club named Empire. In terms of its line-up, Coachella meets the requirements of a modern music festival — that is, it presents a wide spectrum of genres. On its stages you'll spot both 2Many Djs, Hot Chip, Fever Ray, Plastikman, Gossip, MGMT, The XX, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Whitest Boy Alive, Muse, Aeroplane, and Tiesto, Phoenix, Orbital, Infected Mushroom, LCD Soundsystem, Deadmau5, Erol Alkan, David Guetta… At the festival guests' disposal are camping, car parking, rooms in the local hotel and other delights. One of the festival's sponsors is PlayStation, which means the chance, if not to listen to music, then to pass the time in Coachella's gaming sector. Tickets cost around 270 dollars.
A two-day event, a "laboratory of visual electronics", a union of electronic music and the visual arts. Interestingly, the festival's abbreviation — L.E.V. — is a tribute to the Russian scientist-inventor, the father of Russian electrical engineering, Lev Termen (Leon Theremin). In 2010 L.E.V. takes place for the fourth time and once again at the Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura arts theatre. Judging by the festival's previous editions, the organizers keep their bearings on the experimental rather than the commercial scene. Last year, for instance, one could hear Aphex Twin, Moderat, Byetone, Alva Noto, Daedelus, Kettel, Isolee, AGF and others here. The line-up for the upcoming event is still being decided, despite the short stretch of time remaining. So far, performances by Dj Krush, Signal, Aufgang, Echtra are confirmed…
a/v: Byetone from easyKL on Vimeo.
At this time the official start of the open-air season is given in the German capital. Some of them are planned months in advance, while others crop up spontaneously — all you can do is track the information on Berlin's insider online listings guide restrealitaet.de, which requires a command of German and registration by invitation from one of the site's users. So, on 24 April at the club WMF the Killekill Megarave will take place, put on by the collective of the same name, Killekill. On 30 April — the "May express dances" (Express Tanz in den Mai) at Cassiopeia, the special Maifestspiele party at Maria. On 1 May — an open-air by the promo group vergissmeinnicht, a party boat from the club Salon zur wilde Renate. On 2 May — an open-air by the crew Reclaim The Sparkasse, on 13 May — the Moo Milk open-air…
For those who find themselves in London in early May, there will be a chance to take part in a kind of "City Days". The event is devoted to art, fashion and new music of various genres, from electro to rock and avant-garde directions. Until the end of January the City Showcase organizers were accepting application forms and demo recordings from musicians. Their names have now been approved and are in a special section of the festival's official site. Around 30 different city venues will be involved in the event, including the stage on Gerrard Street, the Borderline and 100 Club clubs, shops on Regent and Carnaby streets and others. In addition, several workshops will be held, one of them at the Apple store (Regent Street). Keep an eye on the city's listings!
A festival of dance culture that takes place in Austria's second-largest city and this year marks its tenth anniversary. The event, combining electronic music and experimental art, is aimed primarily at introducing the public to new artists. Among the unknown names in the line-up, however, you can find Kruder & Dorfmeister, autokratz, Noze, Parov Stelar, Karotte, Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Pantha Du Prince, Jahcoozi, Kode9, Matthias Kaden, Steve Bug and others. The organizers of the "Spring Festival" also note that it matches the spirit of the city, which combines the features of classic Old Europe with modern architectural solutions. The event's main venues are enticing too: the foot of a mountain, an old fortress, an island with steel-and-glass structures, the Museum of Modern Art. They are all within walking distance of one another, but for greater convenience a special bus will also be running. Tickets in the region of 80 euros here. On the official site you can find daily video podcasts and interviews with artists from the festival's previous editions.
The brainchild of one of the key figures of the French electronic scene, Sebastien Devaud, better known for his Agoria project. The event bills itself as a festival of electronic and independent music. Last year the festival drew more than 65,000 people. The project is large-scale, with the most varied spaces set aside for it: concert halls, industrial premises, museums, galleries, cinemas, squares, streets, clubs and bars. Line-up: Unkle, Hot Chip, Laurent Garnier, Lindstrom, Body & Soul, Busy P, Glass Candy, Seth Troxler, Ivan Smagghe, Jennifer Gardini, Optimo, 2 Many DG's, Paul Kalkbrenner, Booka Shade, Joris Voorn, Uffie, Vitalic V Mirrors, Dixon, Matias Aguayo, Oxia, Chloe, Agoria and others. Tickets can be reserved on the site.