Review: Kendal Calling 2012

With awful queuing systems and minor public tantrums aside, upon arrival at Kendal Calling, campe was set up, cider was cracked open and we lazed in the sun before catching Trophy Wife on the Calling Out stage. The Oxford three-piece have impeccable taste in t-shirts and funky disco tunes to match. They played a short set packed with Foals-esque pop songs, such as Microlite and Canopy Shade, the early stage time meant that people were less willing to bump ‘n grind but Trophy Wife were fun, funky and an interesting opener to Kendal Calling for me!

We went for a wander after and once again, Kendal had proved itself to not just be about the music. I jumped on the ferris wheel with a pal, had a wander around the 100s of food and clothes stalls and headed off to Tim Peaks diner.The Tim Peaks diner was definitely a highlight of the weekend. The diner was a cosy wood cabin with Twin Peaks-esque décor, a snazzy jukebox, amazing Totes Amazeballs cereal, hilarious poets and special guest appearances throughout the festival.

Little Comets were a highlight of the Friday and of the entire festival. Having seen them a few years back I was expecting infectious pop songs, instruments strung across the stage and a lot of Little Comets fanboys and girls. And that is exactly what I got! Dancing wildly to Dancing Song and joining in with the mass sing-alongs was just brilliant. Later on I caught Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip in the sweaty, smoky Glow Dance tent. I was excited to witness them as I had somehow never got round to it and missed Scroobius Pip’s solo set on the Main Stage but I wasn’t that impressed. Several songs had to be started again, and again…and again but the hits got everyone moving.

Saturday was fancy dress day with the theme of Fairy Tales and Comic Books and I was Enid Coleslaw, naturally. I dragged all my friends to the Main Stage in the afternoon to catch reggae legend Little Roy under the premise that it was going to be the weirdest yet most entertaining event of the weekend. Little Roy and his backing singers danced through a set full of Nirvana covers and his reggae tracks and put the biggest smile on everyone’s face. And even when he forgot the words to Heart Shaped Box about 5 times everyone shouted the words back to help him out.

On Saturday evening, Islet played on the adorable Woodlands stage, a tiny stage tucked away in the trees that was decked out in fake flowers and moss, and were their usual wild and reckless selves. They also gave away free copies of their zine, The Isness at the end of the gig, how sweet is that?

 Dizzee Rascal was another highlight of the weekend with a predictable yet brilliant performance. Bonkers, Holiday, You Got the Dirtee Luv and dropping Smells Like Teen Spirit and N***sIn Paris mid set caused the crowd to go absolutely insane, I even got on someone’s shoulders, whilst lasers, fireworks and tickertape topped the ultimate party set off.
I spent the rest of Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday morning dancing on tables and sofas in the House Party Tent. DJs The Beat Club put on an excellent set of classic Motown, 70s disco and highlights from the Superbad soundtrack.

On Sunday, after a quick interview with We Are Scientists, some Tim Peaks cherry pie and Hip Hop Karaoke by the Kopparberg Kube (I rapped to Best I Ever Had by Drake), we caught We Are Scientists’ wonderful set. They played songs from all three albums and punctuated them with their hilarious mid-set banter. I’d wanted to catch them live for years and I wasn’t disappointed.
We ended Sunday night by watching the brilliant Vintage Trouble at the Calling Out Stage. I had no idea what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. The fourpiece from California played sexy, sulty soul songs that got everyone bumping ‘n grinding. knickers were even thrown onstage it was that sexy.
I missed out on Craig Charles’ legendary DJ set that always closes the festival as I was tucked up in my tent but my 4^th Kendal Calling experience was full of fun, great bands, amazing food, ferris wheels and fancy dress. I’m can’t wait to return to the fields and party in 2013!

Eden Young

Parklife 2012 - Review / Murkage Interview

So over the past weekend, whilst the heavy metal kids got their kicks at Download, Manchester played host to the Parklife Weekender, offering a completely different experience for the festivalgoer. Whilst the wellies were still on full force on a quite damp weekend, the spirits of many dance music enthusiasts weren’t dampened (get it?!). Amongst the churned mud were DJs and artists such as Julio Bashmore, Bicep, the Rapture and Buraka Som Sistema joined headliners the Flaming Lips and Dizzee Rascal. Parklife themselves have quite an easy festival to organise with many labels and organisers wishing to curate stages themselves. Drum & Bass label Hospitality took advantage of this as did deep house troupe Crosstown Rebels to help provide a wild and eclectic range of performers to keep everyone happy overall.

Our writer Robbie conducted interviews with both The Rapture and Murkage whilst at Parklife last Sunday. Below is his interview with Murkage, conducted after their slot at Reebok Radio which launched at the festival! 

So, Manchester, this like a home festival for you anyway, but how did it feel opening? Murkage Dave: Yeah, yeah, yeah! It felt fucking good, man. The last time we played this festival, we played in a fucking tree house that doubled for the silent disco. But y’know, we still smashed it! It feels like a cliché, you know “from zero to hero” and it’s not like that ‘cause we’re still on a journey but it feels good to play on the main stage to a home crowd. We saw so many people wearing the t-shirts and knew the lyrics. 

Gaika: Yeah, we know so many people that have supported us from the start and yeah, it was dope. It just went off with everyone jumping at the end. 

MD: that’s the way we look at it, we want to be the first stadium rap group from the UK, there isn’t really anyone out there doing that. 

So that’s the ambition then, you want to be a stadium group rather than staying in the underground like a lot of other rap groups do?
MD: I just let the secret out of the bag, but yes!
G: The thing about us is that we’re very humble, but we’re not modest. Our ambition is to win. MD: We said before, it’s all about the deconstruction of the old. We’re breaking down old ideas, bringing new energy, new people, whatever you want to do. Like, why not? Why indoctrinate yourself? 

Especially with such a big group yourselves, with the whole cartel; it must be emphasis on the group things around at the moment. The ASAP mob and Odd Future are all doing their own thing, so is there more of an onus on it?
G: it’s to do with the world changing. People have to make their own structures, their own barriers, they have to it themselves; that’s the one thing you take from us, it’s within you. 

MD: From the online presence, the blogging, the videos, the merchandise, not everyone is doing the same thing. Everyone’s bringing a different thing. It makes you feel closer and more connected, it’s good. 

G: we were all friends before this and we’ll all be friends after it. So it’s an amazing feeling being with your mates.
MD: it’s just fucking good. I’ve got my brother here with me, my good friends, it’s a privilege to be doing this with the people you actually love. 

In your set, you also mentioned the other Manchester MC’s that are coming through such as Virus Syndicate. 

MD: Definitely! They paved the way for us y’know? They were the first ones big in Europe 

G: Broken English and Fallacy! 

MD: Especially Fallacy, he did it his own way. He didn’t have to rap in an American accent, he didn’t have to be a backpacker or mimic the Brooklyn sound but above all, he’s just fucking sick. 

G: and when no one was fucking with us, he was! So shout-outs to him.

As well as the Manchester scene, there are sites such as Don’t Flop, do you feel the genre is going to begin getting over saturated?

MD: Nah, nah, nah! Chronicle and Roman have started something. I’ve been in Manchester for 9 years now and this is the first time there’s something exciting going on. From Wu Lyf, to Illum Sphere to Blizzard even Dub Phizix jumping on that track with Strategy, there’s an explosion waiting to happen and people just need to understand it. 

G: We should work together ‘cause there’s a lot of good music coming out of the city at the minute 

So finally, for Murkage, what are the main summer plans? 

MD: we’re in Europe a lot, European Festivals. We’re looking at trying to get to as many festivals as possible. Sweden is gonna be peak and Belgium! 

G: Yeah, we’re going to France with Xzibit! 

MD: We’re doing EuroRockenes so it’s just crazy. We’re doing about 5/6 festivals in France, we’re in Belgium and Germany. 

G: We’re doing Bestival and Secret Garden and Lattitude and Isle of Wight, everyone from the crew is doing something!

Robbie Baxendale

Kendal Calling 2012 - Preview

Oh Kendal Calling, you’ve done it again! You quietly came onto the festival scene as an intimate 900 capacity festival in the Lake District, Cumbria. You’ve moved about quite a bit over the 6 years you’ve been running and increased in capacity ever year. But that hasn’t got you down and you’ve managed to blossom into a brilliant yet still intimate festival that’s set in a picturesque deer park in Penrith. Oh and you’ve also hosted the likes of Blondie, The Cribs, Doves, Mumford & Sons, Pendulum and Calvin Harris to name but a few.

This year sees old favourites such as Dizzee Rascal, Twisted Wheel, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and of course The Lancashire Hotpots returning to Lowther Deer Park. Dizzee joins Maximo Park and James as the main stage headliners. Although the majority of the acts haven’t been announced yet the line-up does look promising with the likes of Benga, Feeder, Shy FX, Utah Saints, Ms Dynamite and reggae legend Little Roy gracing the fields.

As a Kendal Calling devotee the line-up isn’t the only attraction at the festival. Kendal Calling is also home to the Soapbox, a stand-up comedy, dance class and spoken word tent, a “Garden of Eden” which is a chill haven with plenty of stalls to pamper yourself the morning after, the “Happy Slap” Boutique that puts on burlesque shows and fire performances, a Houseparty tent with sofas to lounge on, beds to jump on and karaoke. And if that’s not enough the Holy Quail pub hosts a real ale festival within the festival. The latest addition for 2012 is a Twin Peaks style diner café curated by Tim Burgess and aptly named “Tim Peaks”. Tim Peaks will be home to DJ sets, book readings, a mean cuppa and the only place to purchase his “Totes Amazeballs” cereal!

Oh and to top that all off, Saturday is fancy dress day. With the theme last year being Beasts and Machines it’s hard to predict what they’ll think of this year.

Kendal Calling is an eclectic, lively and fun festival that appeals to families and teenagers alike. With a unique line-up, amazing entertainment and a friendly feel Kendal Calling is set to become more and more popular every year. It’s a festival that never fails to please.

See you in the fields!

Eden Young

Parklife Festival 2012 - Preview

One of Britain’s quickest growing festivals, the Parklife Weekender based in Plat Fields Manchester, has announced its return with yet another bunch of eclectic artists from the dance world. With confirmed acts ranging from likes of The Flaming Lips to Kelis and Buraka Som Sistema to Tempa T, 2012 proves that this year will be the festival's most diverse range of acts. Other acts also confirmed to be playing this year are fellow headliner Dizzee Rascal, Justice, Nero and rising hype star Azealia Banks, Parklife is guaranteed to suit everyone’s needs when it comes to the electronic side of the music world. Whilst these big names dazzle the passing customer, it’s the smaller acts billed on the festival which makes the festival so special. Sets from Joy Orbison, the Field, Fred V & Graffix will be sure to entertain everyone from minimalists to drum’n’bass heads back to the dubsteppers. For a price of £64.50 for the weekend (day tickets are available for both the 9th and the 10th), this Manchester based festival is the steal of the summer.

For full line-up details and for further announcements, visit http://www.parklife.uk.com/ 

Robbie Baxendale