Posts tagged ‘Festival’

September 9, 2016

Reading Festival: Friday Review 2016

Reading Festival has to be one of my favourites, and that’s mainly because of the eclectic mix of music, and them always being at the forefront when it comes to supporting Grime and UK Rap artists such as Giggs, Fekky, Sneakbo.

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Arriving on the Friday in the early evening, we only got a few hours to see some of the acts left on the first day. Entering the arena from behind the main stage we watched producer duo and brothers Disclosure who were on the main stage and opened with their hit ‘White Noise’. They went onto play their own tracks ‘F For You’ and ‘You & Me’ saying that “Reading Festival was the first festival me and Howard went too, that’s why I think this is going to be the best crowd we’ve ever played too, am I right?” The crowd were quick to scream their answers of yes adding to their excitement. As the sun set and we were in darkness, the lazers appeared across the sky from the stage with ‘Bang That’ being played out to the huge crowd.

As we passed the Dance Stage there was some heavy tunes and dirty basslines coming out of it, so naturally we entered and discovered the sounds of DJ/Producer duo Jack U also known singularly as Diplo and Skrillex. They banged out some heavy-duty tracks that you couldn’t help but skank out too, including their own track and one of my personal favourites, ‘Take You There’, Disclosure’s ‘You & Me’ (Flume Remix), and Skepta’s ‘Shutdown’. The energy in the tent was insane and they definitely did shut down their headline set on Friday in the Dance Tent.

Wiley was last up at the BBC Radio 1Xtra Stage and I managed to catch most of his set, he entered onto the stage spitting “I done a lot of tracks in the manor, E3 you can get the loud pack in the manor.” Scratchy then joined him on stage flowing over a classic grime instrumental ‘Creeper’ by Danny Weed bringing more energy to the stage with this track. Wiley moved onto ‘Can’t Go Wrong’ and more commercially known track ‘Wearing My Rolex’. Flowdan was brought out where the three went back to back over Preditah’s ‘Circles,’ and Rebound X ‘Rhythm N Gash’ where JME bounced out onto the stage also joining in on the mic. As the end of the night appeared and Wiley’s set was drawing to an end he announced, ““They said to shut it down, you know what we’re gonna do,” and left us with renditions of Skepta’s ‘Shutdown’ and BBK’s ‘Too Many Men’.

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September 16, 2015

Found Presents: Ceremony Festival [Review]

Returning to Finsbury Park for it’s second year on Saturday 12th September, Ceremony Festival was the second to last of five festivals from promoters Found and along with United Festival closed Summer 2015.

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Arriving at 4pm I headed to the Tropical tent where I spent most of the evening, as this was predominately Grime. When I had arrived Logan Sama was just stepping off and Dubstep/Grime DJ Plastican was coming on with an MC who is making a name for himself right now, Jamz. He started off with some old skool garage tracks such as Wookie, then moved into old skool Grime and Dubstep.

We then headed next door to the Heritage tent to catch some old skool garage from a figurehead of the scene, Matt Jam Lamont who had MC Kie on his set hosting. The two had the whole packed tent raving and the atmosphere was like taking it back to early 2000’s, packed full of good vibes.

The next hour or so was spent in the VIP Sports Banger Area which was hosted by sportswear’s brand Sports Banger. Artwork played a banging 80’s set, with some club classics that got the VIP area all singing and dancing along. This proved a hit for everyone here and was a perfect set to end the last festival of the Summer.

We then headed to catch Birmingham born brothers producer Preditah, and MC C4 who hosted the set. Preditah started off with some light house music, moving into Garage and then Grime, playing some classic old skool Grime such as ‘Pow’ and JME’s ‘Man Don’t Care’.

The two artists everyone had been waiting for were next up in the Tropical Tent; Skepta and JME from Boy Better Know. They were joined by DJ Maximum, Shorty, Frisco and Jammer for their set which was a full hour long. The tent was packed to capacity and everyone was chanting their lyrics as they filled the arena with vibes and energy performing tracks such as ‘It Ain’t Safe’, ‘Serious’, some old skool ‘Blacklisted’ and of course Skeppy’s latest hit ‘That’s Not Me’.

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Slimzee switched over next on the Tropical tent and repped for the old skool Grime generation whilst having MC’s such as Jamz, Elfz and Flirta D on his set to host. We headed to the 4,500 capacity main stage last to catch a bit of Bronx born The Martinez Brothers who had everyone in the crowd in a trance playing innovative house and trance.

The organisers Found have done a spectacular job with Ceremony, especially with the sound levels which I expected to be quite low, but went above my expectations. The venue was a great size and the tents were all easy to find and nice and close to each other. I’ll definitely be back next year.

June 9, 2015

Born & Bred Festival 2015 [Review] @bornandbredLDN

Born & Bred Festival set in Haggerston Park, East London was the first festival to take place by promoters Found who already host a variety of other festivals across London. This one was one made for me and bass lovers, as it specialised in Grime, Drum & Bass, Dub, Jungle, Garage and more with a plethora of artists with a distinction in each of those genres.

The four stages were prominent when we walked in, The Main Stage with headliners from different musical backgrounds, Just Jam (the Grime one), Swamp 81 (a music label set up by Loefah) and Wavey Garmz (a lot of Garage). Starting at 11am, I missed The Square, Grime’s favourite upcoming crew from Lewisham. Unfortunately this was a bit too early for me as I arrived at 2.30pm.

I headed straight for a drink as the sun was beating down on Saturday and needed to quench my thirst! Checking the line up on my phone whilst by the main stage I heard the sounds of The Heatwave for a bit who gave an Carival-esque set with Bashment & Dancehall blaring from the speakers and a host to who was getting the crowd hyped.

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[Photo Credit: Marc Sethi]

Wavy Garmz was where I went to hear some old skool riddims from the likes of Oxide & Neutrino from So Solid crew, who really took me back in time with their 2 step tunes and a crowd sing-a-long to their crew anthem from So Solid.

I headed to Just Jam to catch the mighty Sir Spyro on the decks drop some classic bangers, with ad lib Grime legend Flirta. The crowd was so hyped when he touched the mic. We headed back afterwards to watch one of Grime’s favourite and famous duos, Newham Generals who graced us with new tunes from their EP ‘N To The Gs’ such as ‘Levels’ and old school classics such as ‘Hard’ and ‘Streetfighter’. It was good to see people so enthusiastic about watching Grime veterans like these on stage!

I can’t forget watching Joker on the main stage who brought life to open air field at only 3.30pm in the afternoon, and then took it down to some tracks off his newly released album. He certainly had the audience going for one of my favourite sets of the day, Digital Mystikz (Mala & Coki) who had everyone in awe of their dub classic tracks and literally had everyone raving and pulling up tracks such as ‘Earth A Run Red’.

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[Photo Credit: Marc Sethi]

I caught a bit of Loefah’s set over at the Swamp 81 tent which was fully fledged with tunes full of synths and bass. I then headed back to catch a set I was really looking forward to, and that was Zinc’s Jungle set on the main stage where he played his classic track ‘Super Sharp Shooter’ and Chase & Status & Jenna G’s ‘In Love’. I didn’t leave as he played banger after banger and as Wiley was late had to extend his set (I wasn’t complaining).

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Wiley turned up to his headline, 1 hour set practically 45 mins late, with B&B announcing he was on his way, but really not many people believing and leaving the main stage area as Zinc had left and they had really messed with the atmosphere by playing commercial hip hop. Once on stage he performed ‘Chasing The Art’, ‘On A Level’ ‘Step 1 Freestyle’ and ended on ‘Heatwave’. I was pretty disappointed that he didn’t pull out more classics as this wasn’t really a commercial kind of festival, he could of left them for Wireless or whatever. The sound system shut off at 9 on the dot and the crowd were not happy with Wiley who later tweeted it was not his fault though “Yesterday I was actually on time . But my manager and Dj messed up this one . #Simples . I can take blame for a rusty start tho.”

All in all for the first festival of Born & Bred, it went really well with no trouble that I witnessed and was full of harmony. It’s tapped into a market that wasn’t delivering us the bass culture we needed all in one. Well done to Found, we salute you.

May 28, 2015

Found Presents: Born & Bred Festival [Event]

Love bass music? Well I have the perfect festival for you in to attend. In the heart of London in two weeks time, people with love for bass culture will be flocking to Haggerston Park in Shoreditch for Born & Bred Festival.

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London promoters Found are to raise their game for 2015 by announcing the first in a new Found Series of five festivals taking place throughout the summer. From dub to dubstep to garage to grime, pioneers in their respective scenes will be performing on one day. Wiley, Goldie, Zinc, Digital Mystikz, Joker, Loefah, Youngsta, DJ Luck & MC Neat, Oxide & Neutrino, Trojan Sound, Moxie, Channel One, Klose One, Newham Generals, Paleman and many more are included in the line up.

FOUND Presents: Born & Bred
Date: Saturday 6th June 2015
Venue: Haggerston Park, Shoreditch, E2
Doors: 11am – 9pm | Last Entry 7pm
For more information and tickets go to www.bornandbred.london & residentadvisor.net
May 26, 2015

Nozstock The Hidden Valley Announces Final Names [Festival Event]

Nozstock The Hidden Valley has announced its next wave of names performing at the festival this July at their beautiful working farm in the Herefordshire hills, curated and managed by the father and daughter partnership of Noz and Ella.

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The festival in it’s 17th year has already announced Wu Tang Clan, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Beardyman and many more.

The festival is now very proud to announce Fuse ODG joins the bill, with further new live artists including the Neville Staple Band, Will and The People, Mouse Outfit ft Dr Syntax & Sparkz, By The Rivers, The Computers, Will Joseph Cook, Clarence Clarity and many more, with P Money, Mad Professor, Chimpo, Reggae Roast and lots more DJs and MCs, plus in Laughing Stock Seann Walsh, Mark Simmons, Andrew Maxwell, Mike Wozniack, Brett Goldstein, Spencer Jones and Pat Cahill all star.

 

February 26, 2015

Nozstock (@Nozstock) : The Hidden Valley [Event]

Nozstock is a festival that is new to my ears, but it has actually been running for 17 years this year. Set in rural Hertforshire and at their home and run by the family on their working farm.

The father and daughter combination of Noz and Ella have curated one of the country’s most charming and beguiling festivals, surrounded by verdant rolling hills and imbued with a true sensation of escapism.

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Independent and just a little bit left-of-centre, Nozstock brims with diversity, creativity and excitement. Reassuringly welcoming, it has evolved from 50 friends gathered at the original event in themed 90s and flourished into an intimate musical odyssey joining the dots between pop, ska, folk, funk, soul, indie, drum and bass, psytrance, house and a whole lot more, now firmly established as one of the country’s leading boutique festivals.

Nozstock is thrilled to reveal a very special headliner for this summer: NY-based Wu-Tang Clan, who not only proved to be the most revolutionary rap group of the mid-’90s but are arguably the greatest ever hip-hop group of all time

If your a drum & bass head then Nozstock has its founding roots within this culture. This year Hospitality will be present with London Elektricity, Etherwood, Danny Bryd, Metrik, Krakota and MC Wrec who take over The Cubicles on Friday. DJ Hype will be there along with Ed Rush & Optical, Deekline, Rinse FM’s Uncle Dugs, Ratpack, Slipmatt, Kenny Ken and Billy Daniel Bunter.

 Other acts include Jungle stars Congo Natty, heavyweight bass-basher Dillinja, the beatboxing Beardyman. 

Across the weekend trail-blazing hip-hop, bass music, grime, dubstep and raucous beats come from a brilliantly diverse range of DJ and live acts. Dr Syntax and Pete Cannon have produced for Action Bronson and Punchtown, whilst the Dead Players trio of Jam Baxta, Dabbla and Ghost Town are the chameleons of rhyme. They are joined by Ruffnek Diskotek w/Dub Boy, Dutty Inspectors and Ghost Writerz, Mr Woodnote & Eva Lazarus, Smokey Joe and The Kid, Gypsy Hill, Solko, Sounds of Harlowe, Octo Pi & Koncept, Scope, Modify Perspective, Remidy M.C and Trafic M.C and many more to be announced.

Nozstock – The Hidden Valley

Friday 24th – Sunday 26th July 2015

@ Rowden Paddocks, Bromyard, Herefordshire, HR7 4LS

Tickets from £80 teen / £105 adult
www.nozstock.com / @Nozstock

www.facebook.com/nozstockthehiddenvalley

September 24, 2012

MTV Wrap Up – UK Rap Rundown [News]

Hey guys. It looks like winter is back; hopefully my news will cheer you up on this gloomy day! On Saturday night (22nd) I went to the East Ender Festival in Shoreditch where newbies such as the Bakery Boys, XO Man and Joel Culpepper joined some old-school heads like Blak Twang, Mystro and TY. I had a chat with TY about why events like these are important to the scene… He said: “Hip-hop events like this are important because in a time when mainstream pop-rap is so readily accessible in the charts, you need somewhere where the real lovers of all forms of hip-hop music can see artists from all over the world on the same stage.”

Saturday’s co-hosts Supa Dupa Fly said: “It’s important to put out quality hip-hop from the UK. Having legends TY and Blak Twang on the line-up made it really special for us. We plan to do more events like this – watch out for the Jazzy Jeff show at Jazz Cafe on October 15!

The booking of Doom had nothing to do with us, but its big shame and let down for the audience that he did a no-show. This just makes us want to support British music even more – TY, Blak Twang, Big Ted and Emily Rawson saved the day!”

I also picked up Mystro’s debut album ‘Mystrogen’ from him on Saturday night. The album reflects the set of skills he is renowned for; it is witty, humorous and has a great mix of wordplay, punch lines and social commentary – I think it is set to be a classic. It’s now available from all good digital outlets and includes features and production from Si Spex, Show N Prove, Mr Thing, Big Al and Homeboy Sandman.

Let’s take a look at tracks and videos of the week now. Genesis Elijah released ‘Underground King’, an honest and hard-hitting track where he spits his views on the music industry. Klashnekoff alsoreleased his highly-anticipated album ‘F**k The Long Talk’ last month and last week he gave us one of the tracks ‘Got To Be Right’ produced by Show N Prove to stream.

Ard Adz and Sho Shallow were due to open up for the Maybach Music Tour earlier this month; sadly, it was postponed. However, the pair covered their track ‘Actin Up’ with a version of their own in true Windy Music style. The duo also visited Link-Up TV for a session, giving us some deep and honest bars.

Melanin 9 released a video to his second track ‘Organized Democracy’, which is also a trailer for his ‘Magna Carta’ album which will be out on December 3.

Lastly, USG’s boss Squingy released the video to ‘Deeper’ from his ‘Wrighty’s 1st Son Part 2’ mixtape. I was a part of the video shoot so see if you can spot me in the visuals…

Until next week!

September 11, 2012

MTV Wrap UP: The UK Rap Rundown [News]

I’m back after a week’s holiday in the beautiful country of Croatia for Outlook Festival, where I caught Akala’s set and the Don’t Flop Battle alongside much more. I had no technology out there, which was wonderful, thus missing my last week’s rap column. I’m back now and here to fill you with this week’s happenings in the wonderful world of rap…

Whilst I was away a new Rapper Tag UK came out. Rapper Tag has been going on for just under a year and is an online cypher that started off with Mystro. You get a wide array of the UK’s finest spitting their bars before tagging another deserving rapper to join in.

Dubbledge tagged Iron Brayd for the latest one, who at the end appears to tag in North London’s M9 aka Melanin 9… watch out for his Rapper Tag video.

Political Peak released his video for ‘Tears In The Rain’ featuring Exo who sings the hook. The track is taken from his forthcoming mixtape ‘Dreams To Reality’, which is set to drop on September 29. You can catch Political Peak supporting the Maybach Music tour on Wednesday.

Ratlin and Squeeks joined forces for their new video ‘Not Gonna Change’ featuring singer Karina, bringing us into their world and discussing the past and present. True Tiger released their EP ‘Eye Of The Tiger Vol 2’ with one noticeable track for me called ‘Even In Death’, which hears Mic Righteous spitting over the producers beat.

Rap City recently released a video from their ‘Lost Files’ series. ‘Not Guilty’ comes from Joe Black’s ‘Realionaire’ mixtape which came out last year. We should be seeing Joe’s ‘Realionaire 2’ soon as he recently tweeted:, “NO MORE TWEETS UNTIL #REALIONAIRE2 IS READY.”

The multi-talented artist/radio presenter/battle rapper Mr 13 brought us a video release called ‘Kick Back Part 2’, which was shot at the 2012 Nottinghill Carnival and comes from his recent EP ‘Pain Is Inevitable, Suffering Is Optional’.

I was at the USG clothing shoot on last week with SquingyLeftyK. Koke and Exo for their new merchandise collaboration with Avit Clothing. Squingy was also shooting parts of his music video to the track ‘Deeper’ from his ‘Wrighty’s 1st Son Part 2’ mixtape. Watch out for the music video to ‘Deeper’ coming soon!

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, head down to Peterborough for the Boombap Hip-Hop Festival, which takes place between the 14-16 September and features artists such as Kyza SmirnoffDabblaPhi-Life Cypher and Jehst.

Until next time!

July 9, 2012

LIVE REVIEW: WIRELESS FESTIVAL – LONDON (7-8 JULY 2012)

This weekend was the one everyone was waiting for… Wireless Festival! On Saturday, I caught a few tracks from the beautiful Rita Ora, which included ‘How We Do (Party)’, ‘Hot Right Now’, and ‘RIP’. She looked every inch the Roc Nation princess in camouflage combat trousers, black crop top and black beanie hat…

I had to run to see the amazing UK act Clement Marfo + The Frontline, who sent everybody absolutely mental as one of the first acts on at the Pepsi Max Stage. Frontman rapper Clement and singer Kojo exuberated energy, gaining lots of new fans.

Tulisa was up next on the main stage after Rita, opening with N Dubz songs. She showed her ex what he was missing by wearing a black low cut bra style top, with her midriff bare and a high waisted, short black star print skirt. She then dedicated ‘Titanium’ to her ex, saying “this is to my d***head ex-boyfriend, Justin f****** Edwards!” She also performed a track from her new forthcoming album called ‘Leave Me Alone’.

I then ventured to Barclay’s Unwind Stage to catch Sneakbo, where I saw Political PeakSho Shallow and Ard Adz performing. Sneakbo then came out and the crowd went even wilder. He performed ‘Yo Sexy’, ‘Call Me A Naija’, as well as doing covers of ‘Imma Boss’, and ‘Oliver Twist’. Of course he then ended with ‘Show Me The Wave’, and recent release ‘Sing For Tomorrow’.

UK hip-hop’s savior Sway was next up on the Barclays Unwind Stage; again you could tell there were hardcore fans in the audience as he performed ‘Up Your Speed’. ‘Still Speeding’ was definitely a crowd pleaser and his latest single ‘Level Up’ left the crowd unable to control their high.

I then went to see Taylor Gang general Wiz Khalifa who looked very indie in a bowler hat, long t-shirt, black skinny jeans and denim jacket, performing his well-known tracks ‘Roll Up,’ ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’ and closing on ‘Black & Yellow’.

Fans gathered early to see The Weeknd. From the ‘House Of Balloons’ mixtape he sang ‘The Morning’, ‘The Party & The After Party’ and ‘Wicked Games’.  He also played tracks from the infamous ‘Thursday’ mixtape, which the crowd enjoyed the most. His solo performance for me was the best of the night; his vocals were 100% and you could hear every word of his stunning voice.

Next up was Ms Nicki Minaj. She got carted to the stage kicking off her set with ‘Roman’s Revenge’, ‘Did It On Em’, and ‘Beez In The Trap’. When ‘Moment For Life’, and ‘Starships’ came on, everyone was singing along. Near the end she did a dancehall inspired set, singing and dancing to songs like ‘Who Am I’ by Beenie Man and Tony Matterhorn’s ‘Dutty Wine’, where she showed everyone how it was done by wining on stage. ‘Superbass’ and ‘Monster’ were the closing tracks for the first lady of YMCMB.

Despite the rain, it was then time to see the artist everyone was waiting for – Drake. Coming on looking every inch the superstar, he was dressed all in black with touches of gold. He opened with ‘Underground Kings’, and ‘Lord Knows’ before quickly moving onto ‘I’m On One’ and ‘Over’.

He then said: “London is like my second home, I don’t give a f**k about the rain tonight.” The Weeknd came out to join him on ‘Crew Love’ and ‘The Zone’. Drake almost brought tears to The Weeknd’s eyes when he put his arm around him and told him, “I remember when I met you in Toronto, I knew you were going to be the greatest musician alive.”

Nicki also came back on stage for ‘Proud Of You’. The crowd joined in with Drake for ‘Take Care’, filling in for the missing Rihanna. He made the females falling for him judging by their love struck eyes! Despite the bad sound quality from the main stage, Drake put on a brilliant performance and proved why he was the headliner for Saturday and no one else.

Sunday’s Wireless saw Hyde Park become a lethal mudbath. The day was an eventful one, with the ‘King Of Hearts’ Lloyd taking to the stage to wow the ladies in the afternoon. UK soulstress Cleo Sol also represented in the afternoon, performing her new smash ‘Never The Right Time’. Other memorable acts included rapper K-Koke, StooSheLabrinthFlux PavilionRizzle KicksJessie J and J Cole.

Rihanna headlined Sunday’s event, which unfortunately was impacted by the poor sound quality, as it was for Drake’s set. Kicking off her set late, the star demonstrated her love for Egypt with an Arabian themed stage. The singer performed tracks like ‘Hard’ ‘Live Your Life’ ‘What’s My Name’ ‘Where Have You Been’ ‘S&M’ and finished off with ‘Umbrella’, at which time it was actually raining.

The 24-year-old’s headlining set was finished off with fireworks and bouncy balls being thrown into the crowd, before she told her adoring crowd: “Thanks for staying to watch me in the rain… Only in London would you guys stay to watch this show.”