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Looking Back: The Great Escape 2013

The Great Escape 2013

By Bruce Rave

For years, the UK has had smaller versions of Austin’s SXSW. Several continue to thrive, and none more so than The Great Escape. It takes place in Brighton every May. 300 bands play in this charming party town, which is located on the English Channel. The event is more of a regional European festival with attendees and bands arriving from far and wide: Australians came to play even US bands like The Orwells, Phosphorescent and Parquet Courts, not only showed up, but blew people away in the process. A few established Brits such as Billy Bragg and Everything Everything played for those willing to shell out extra pounds to see them. For me, it was all about the up and coming peeps… just as it is at SXSW.

I saw about two dozen bands over the course of three days. If I were to give you one group that hit the biggest home run for me, it was The Strypes. These Irish mid-teens hammer out an intense R&B/garage blend of early Stones and Yardbirds. If you like this kind of music as much as I do, their live show is a “10” and it will be impossible not to have a smile on your face. They have amazing poise for their age, on and offstage. I interviewed them during the weekend, and that chat will soon be posted on B3SCI – stay tuned. Strypes hope to hit America next March for SXSW 2014. Another band that I interviewed was Tribes, who are also great live. Look for that post in the near future. This London band borrows more from the 70’s glam period and just released a new album in the UK. It follows up their top ten debut. They had the misfortune of following The 1975, who flashing-back had dazzled us at the B3SCI SXSW party in March. With two serious UK hits now under their belts, The 1975 drew such a huge throng that many Tribes fans gave up waiting in line. Temples matched the keen expectations I had for them, of which were mostly based on their first single “Shelter Song”. Their set contained several more songs with hit potential, and Temples absolutely deliver live. All four guys in the band ooze stardom, and front man James Bagshaw sports a perfect Tommy Bolan hairdo (bonus points). Temples played two unannounced shows, one being a few hours in advance of the also secret 2am set from Palma Violets. I didn’t see PV that night, but I recall they killed at SXSW.

Some other highlights among a slew of strong artists: Catfish and the Bottlemen came highly recommended to me by BBC honchos, and I loved their melodic, guitar-driven energy. Echotape are up and comers with huge potential that remind me a bit of The Horrors and even Temples. The Family Rain are three brothers, including two twins, who play like Wolfmother’s second album should have sounded. Owen McGarry is a promising Irish singer-songwriter with a crystal clear voice and lots of potential. Merchandise hail from Tampa and have become NME darlings with their dark and dirty post-punk power. An added bonus for me was at one point winding up in a private courtyard where Little Green Cars were taping a beautiful cover of Neil Young’s “Philadelphia” for VEVO. A major buzz artist was London Grammar. Her sweet voice attracted a huge outside line. I got in and can see why people are excited, even if her softer, slower style isn’t quite my glass of white wine.

While TGE is smaller than SXSW, it’s still impossible to cover everything due to schedule conflicts. One US band I hated to miss was electropop band Feathers from Austin. They definitely cut through the clutter and were on lots of lips. For SXSW, 6th Street in Austin has become such a shitshow that attendees avoid the street at all costs at night. Not the case in Brighton. Sidewalks, bars, and cafes were filled with college types and other mellow locals who seemed unfazed by the festival, so walking between venues was a real pleasure. We really lucked out with the weather. Brighton had endured ten consecutive stormy days, but not a drop of rain fell during the festival. One downside shared by both TGE and SXSW: As both events grow, there are more and more lines that make it impossible to gain admittance to certain showcases. Both festivals now have the task of trying to grow without being too big for their own good. I hope TGE can retain the casual intimacy that it still has at this point. I highly recommend it to anyone who can attend, but I’d do it within the next couple of years.

The Great Escape england (Official)

* Links and playlists from Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!

reviewed by
06-01-13

OMN – Betwixt

OMN

“Betwixt”, new from UK 18 year-old (1) OMN (Ollie McKendrick-Ness), reminds a bit (to us at least) of great Icelandic bands like Sigur Ros and Mum while morphing the sonorousness of those sounds with more modern beats, programming, and atmospheres. We are into it.

OMN – Betwixt

OMN england (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.4

brown8

reviewed by
05-30-13

Jaymes Young – Wondering

james young

Newcomer Jaymes Young delivers a sharp blend of disparate yet complementary influences and highly skilled melodic phrasing with his piano-driven track for “Wondering”.

James Young california (Facebook)

Rating 8.3

brown93

reviewed by
05-30-13

Thelonious Martin – Mirage

thelonious martin mirage

New vibes from Thelonious Martin and the fresh subterranean sounds of instrumental track “Mirage”.

Thelonious Martin (Soundcloud)

Rating 8

brown93

reviewed by
05-29-13

Ferdinand Weber – Told You

ferdinand weber

Check out the well-heeled and globally-influenced deep house sound of German artist Ferdinand Weber and his track “Told You”.

Ferdinand Weber – Told You

Ferdinand Weber (Facebook)

Rating 8.10785

brown8

reviewed by
05-29-13

Knxwledge – thts​.​rt​$​100​

Knxwledge

We just got smooth and sophisticated w/ Knxwledge and his sax positive waterbed-wave spin on N.E.R.D.’s (& Kanye & Lupe & Pusha T) “Everybody Nose”. We’re riding those waves.

Knxwledge california (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.5

brown93

reviewed by
05-28-13

Mt. Wolf – Shapeshift (Debian Blak Remix)

Mt Wolf - Shapeshift (Debian Blak remix)

Leeds UK producer Debian impresses again with soulful space garage of his new remix for Mt. Wolf. The original track for “Shapeshifter”, a slow-grooved alt-R&B-ref’ing bit of indie pop, is nice enough for sure; here, though Debian completely flips the total complexion and feel of the song switching in a unique & slightly vibed interpreation of the current UK garage sound without turning the track into some sort of cliche. Very well done.

Debian Blak england (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.4

brown8

reviewed by
05-24-13

Daithi – Chameleon Life (feat. Raye)

Daithi

“Chameleon”, new from Irish electronic musician Daithi, wins (without engaging tired current dance music tropes) on it’s fantastic you’ll-be-humming-them-immediately-and-for-days-afterwards melodies both instrumentally and vocally. Do not miss.

Daithi ireland (Facebook)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
05-23-13

Review: Body Language – Grammar [EP]

body language EP

Body Language’s Grammar EP is some damn good disco. I love how this band keeps you off guard with both female and male vocals. The spacey vibe creates a refreshing dance floor for sure. It makes me want to put on some extra small shorts and roller blades, letting the breeze flow through my hair as I spin and sway in rhythmic accordance. While the whole tape is marvelous, “Lose My Head” captivates me the most. The “Oh my God…” chorus is something I’m sure most of us can connect with and BL’s powerful chanting, over the funky intergalactic beat, may just be the cure we need. Review By Teddy Pendergrass

Body Language (Facebook(/a>)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
05-23-13

Wale Ft. Tiara Thomas – Bad (Yarin Lidor Remix)

yarin lidor

True story: when “Bad” from MMG f.b. Wale comes on the radio Immma usually changing the station as quickly as possible. Tel Aviv DJ Yarin Lidor manages not only to make that original “Bad” source material listenable but completely transforms the composition into something that not only you can bounce to but is also unique, interesting & engaging. Give it up for Y. Lidor.


Soundcloud

Rating: 8.3

brown93

reviewed by
05-22-13

Deebs – Lady Killer (Feat. Mars)

DEebs

Toronto producer Deebs links up with soulful songstress Mars for new track “Lady Killer”. R&B focused through a post-modern mechanical haze, the sound and feel of “Lady Killer” especially succeeds on the strength of Mars’ great melodic lines. Grab a sample below.

Deebs (Facebook)

Rating 8.4

brown8

reviewed by
05-22-13

Premiere: N.A.S.A. – Hide (Feat. Aynzli Jones) [A.SKILLZ REMIX]

NASA A SKILLZ Hide Remix Cover Final

B3 fave A.Skillz gets tapped for the official remix to N.A.S.A.’s brand new track “Hide”. If that weren’t wild enough, the track will be part of N.A.S.A.’s new documentary film for their 2009 album The Spirit of Apollo, which chronicles the making of the landmark release, and is also available today. Beam yourself up by hitting play below.

N.A.S.A. (Soundcloud) (Spirit of Apollo DVD link)
A.Skillz england (Facebook)

Rating 8.5

brown8

reviewed by
05-21-13