Lovebox 2012 preview (Sunday)

On Sunday, a few members of the Sound Influx staff will be heading down to Victoria Park for the second time this month for Lovebox, who are celebrating their 10th birthday this year, 'A Decade Of Love'. Hot Chip, Friendly Fires and Grace Jones are headlining the festival, accompanied by both critically and universally acclaimed artists such as Lana Del Rey, Crystal Castles and Special Disco Version (James Murphy and Pat Mahoney of LCD Soundsystem). Although the weather is currently rain, rain and more rain; let's hope that this bill of summery acts can bring the sun out.

Here are five acts that we're excited about seeing and think you should too:

Lana Del Rey

Having made a big impression last year with her debut single Video Games and quickly following that up with her full length, Born To Die, Del Rey has become one of the most sought after artists, with many of her gigs selling out in minutes. However, shaky TV performances and her uneasy presence have made for some unfavourable comments on how her assured and confident music translates in a live setting. Nevertheless, it could be very different at Lovebox as she has no doubt has some practice playing her songs to crowds across the world.

Special Disco Version (James Murphy and Pat Mahoney)

I'm still not entirely sure what Special Disco Version entails but anything that's a collaboration of two LCD Soundsystem members has to be good. After the news that LCD would be splitting up back in 2010, fans knew this wouldn't be the end for James Murphy and co. There's a video of Youtube with an extract of Mahoney and Murphy playing together as Special Disco Version from last year when they did a 2 hour DJ set so perhaps we can expect something similar at Lovebox.

Niki & The Dove

Sweden has been on a roll this year, with the likes of Icona Pop, iamamiwhoami and of course, Niki & The Dove showing everyone else how pop is meant to be done. Their debut album Instinct was released not long ago and received critical acclaim from across the board as every song on the album has its own merits. However, it's tunes like The Drummer, Last Night and DJ Ease My Mind that are likely to get a crowd going, whether the sun is shining or it's torrential rain.

Patrick Wolf

Having already seen Patrick Wolf a couple of times in a festival setting in both sun and rain; you can be reassured that whatever the conditions, he's guaranteed to raise spirits with his music. After 5 albums, though, it's no surprise that Wolf performances are so polished as he effortlessly converses with the crowd, switches between instruments and bounds across the stage with so much energy and youthfulness. We can expect nothing less than enjoyable from Patrick Wolf's set on Sunday.

Azari & III

Azari & III are one of the bands I've been waiting to see all year and was so disappointed that I missed at Heaven back in February. Their self titled debut is packed full of sexy electro house that slowly constructs itself offset by soulful vocals. Perhaps what looks to be one of the more lively sets at Lovebox on Sunday, it'll be interesting to see how the music comes alive with the two DJs and two hypemen.

Aurora Mitchell

Sound Influx: Tracks of 2011 - 30-11

30. Friends - I'm His Girl

 

29. Metronomy - Everything Goes My Way

28. Cold Cave - The Great Pan Is Dead

27. Kindness - Cyan

26. Bon Iver - Holocene

25. The Death Set - Can You See Straight?

24. The Throne - Murder To Excellence

23. Das Racist - Girl

22. Gross Magic - Sweetest Touch

21. Slow Club - Two Cousins

20. Yuck - Operation

19. Austra - The Beat and the Pulse

18. Patrick Wolf - The City

17. Summer Camp - I Want You

16. Gil Scott Heron & Jamie XX - NY Is Killing Me

15. St. Vincent - Cruel

14. Death Grips - Guillotine 

13. Girls - Vomit

12. Battles - Futura

11. Wild Beasts - Bed Of Nails

Sound Influx - Albums of 2011 Part 1: 20 - 11

20. Summer Camp - Welcome To Condale

For two people who started off anonymously and claimed to be a group of Swedish teenagers, Summer Camp have come a long way. After releasing their debut EP Young late last year, the internet went berserk for comparing the band to 80s teenage movies and similar popular culture references. Who could blame them with song titles like ‘Veronica Sawyer’ and ‘Jake Ryan’ that directly reference cult films Heathers and Sixteen Candles. Welcome To Condale sees the duo ease up slightly on references and brings forth a concept album based on the fictional place of Condale, based in America and you guessed it, its set in the 80s. Elizabeth Sankey sings about getting rid of whoever it is she’s singing about for a large part of the album and there’s a fiery independence in Sankey as she’s not afraid to voice her true opinions. As with any couple who happen to form a band, there’s a song that showcases both of their musical talents and makes you audibly ‘aw’ and that happens to be ‘Losing My Mind’. Despite singing about leaving the other and not loving someone anymore, Sankey and Warmsley manage to sound like they’re talking about being loved up and in general, it’s hard to not to fall for the charms of a girl/boy duo. For an album that focuses on the comedown of relationships and unrequited love, Welcome To Condale remains to be incredulously catchy and hard to ignore. By Aurora Mitchell

19. The Weeknd - House Of Balloons / Thursday

Sleazy, heartfelt, heartbroken and euphoric; The Weeknd’s recorded output thus far has been a myriad web of clashing styles and grand ambitions. Abel Tesfaye’s damaged slow jams became a word of mouth sensation and provided the platform from which he could preach his bad-vibes sermons. Veering from heartbroken to creepy in the space of one track like on the claustrophobically intense "What You Need" or crooning terrifying come-ons over a fucked-up carnival waltz on "Life of The Party", Tesfaye taps into the stereotypical male hip-hop mindset and gets busy messing it right up. The albums (they’re referred to as mixtapes, but it’s obvious from the quality of the material that these are fully fledged albums) can be seen as hugely evocative mood pieces, two slow burning beasts that invite casual enjoyment and reward repeated listening. But they also exist as reminders that the boundaries between hip-hop, dubstep and mainstream pop can be blurred with relative ease, and that when they are, the results are simply gorgeous. By Ned Powley

18. Iceage - New Brigade

Punk is a genre easily abused. Its lack of grace can be used as a mask by artists without vision or talent, who see it as a shortcut through the complexities of functioning as a band in this day and age. Iceage are, from the outset, punk as fuck. Their debut lasts a breathless 24 minutes in length, previous live shows have seen frontman Elias Bender Ronnenfelt taking every precaution to cause maximum damage to both himself and every audience member present and they publish a fanzine, titled "Dog Meat". All of this could be seen a smoke screen. A diversion to draw people’s ears as far away as possible from the only thing that really matters: the songs. So thank the lord that Iceage can bring them on an unparalleled level. There have been punk bands before them and there will be punk bands long after they’ve gone, but Iceage have got something special. Maybe it’s meant to last or maybe it’ll all disappear in a pool of beer and a puff of off-brand fag smoke, but right now, they’re the most exciting young bastards on the planet. By Ned Powley

17. Johnny Foreigner - Johnny Foreigner Vs Everything

It’s difficult for me to summarise an album that is 17 tracks long and amazing from start to finish. Johnny Foreigner have proved that you can do quantity and quality in equal measure and execute something incredible. It’s been thrown around that it’s the album to "make them or break them" and if this album does not make them, then nothing will. From the heart breaking sounds "new street, you can take it" to the shout along lyrics of "if i’m the most famous boy you’ve fucked, then honey yr in trouble" this album has proved to be a masterpiece and it cannot be faulted. If you’ve never listened to Johnny Foreigner before, then there’s no doubt about it that "Johnny Foreigner vs Everything" will make you fall in love with one of the most dedicated, fan loving bands in the world. By Julia Christmas

16. Suuns - Zeroes QC



In an age where lines between genres are becoming increasingly blurred, it’s becoming more and more difficult for artists to well and truly break new ground. Trawling through the thousands of new bands out there making the same kind of lo-fi boring shoegaze influenced music often leads to nothing but apathy and the general feeling of wanting to smash your face into your keyboard. Imagine my elation then when I discovered Suuns, a Canadian band who make the kind of music that you daren’t put in a box. There’s no doubting that Suuns are peculiar, and are by no means an instant band for many. ‘Zeroes QC’ however is a collection of songs so broad in sound yet so distinctive it’s impossible not to get sucked into it. There’s the borderline incomprehensible mumbles on tracks like ‘Up past the nursery’ and ‘Arena’ that sounds like Clinic stuck in a washing machine. There’s mutated synth noise blasts like ‘Armed In Peace’ and ‘Pie IX’ the latter sounding exactly like what David Lynch’s Crazy Clown Time should have, unpredictable, haunting and very very weird. And if that wasn’t diverse enough there are furious math rock guitar anthems like ‘Maurader’ and ‘Gaze’ to quicken the pulse, and even a choice cover of lost Marc Bolan relic ‘Organ Blues’. A truly astounding album, from one of the most promising and perhaps overlooked bands around. By Toby McCarron

15. James Blake - James Blake

Whilst it appears likely that dubstep, a genre that felt like it could genuinely go in any direction and even reshape the face of pop as we know it, has been sabotaged by dreadlocked frat-boy cretins intent on creating music of such bludgeoning stupidity that even nu-metal bastards Korn have adopted it. James Blake’s debut appears to be one of the final reminders we’ll have of this era, so thank god it’s a thing of tremendous beauty. From the atmospheric overload of ‘The Wilhelm Scream’ through to jerky ballads like ‘To Care (Like You)’, Blake showcased technical proficiency and heart in equal measure, crafting an album that defied genre conventions whilst testing the very limits of pop. Treasure it, because we sure aren’t going to see a record like it for a very long time. By Ned Powley

14. Drake - Take Care

 In 2011, Drake returned to the scene with second album ‘Take Care’ and within moments of opening track 'Over My Dead Body', you knew he meant business. Lyrically, Drake has upped his game with the majority of the album centred around a past love that he's tried to replace by getting with many other women. Classy Drake. However, amongst the seedy bravado, a very personal and intimate side of the Toronto rapper comes out. This, coupled with production duties being mainly left to Noah "40" Shebib, brings out the best of the ex-child actor and helps the album one of the standout rap albums of the year. Stand out tracks include the Jamie xx produced title track and 'Marvin's Room', Drake's answer to the drunken phone call. However, with "bitches" and "niggers" still in heavy use, it's not the perfect album for the indie section to wilfully sing along to. By Robbie Baxendale

13. Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials

Florence + the Machine seemed to go from the darling of the UK indie scene to sensational superstar taking America by storm overnight. So it was understandable that fans might have been worried that Florence would go all commerical on us with her second album, Ceremonials. But we needn't have. Ceremonials is one of the most grandiose records you will have heard all year, complete with gospel choirs, strings and of course harps. Despite all this, it is still undeniably Florence, proving that she still has one of the biggest voices in the entire industry while at the same time writing songs which connect emotionally. It's more mature than Lungs, but no less brilliant. By Jessy Parker

12. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It & See

After the controversial release of ‘Humbug,’ it left fans and critics alike wondering where on earth Arctic Monkeys’ sound could go to next. Would they retreat back to the recording studio, tail between their legs, minds clouded with nostalgia and longing for the days when they wrote about pubs, clubs, girls covered in sticky fake tan, and scummy men? Two years later, they return from The States adorning leather trousers, enough hair grease to fry breakfast with and an album even more different than their first than the last. You can hardly deny that in true Arctic style they "stick to the guns, don't care if it's marketing suicide, won't crack or compromise…", with riddling lyrics, Helder’s relentless drumming and proof that all those cigarettes have only made Alex’s voice more alluring, ‘Suck it and See’ is a testament to good old fashioned rock and roll and an indisputable musical highlight of 2011. By Bella Roach

11. Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia

In 2011 the ever-evolving Patrick Wolf returned with his fifth, triumphant album, concentrating on love at first sight and showcased what a powerful and uplifting emotion love can be. However he never loses the quirks that mark him out from the mess of bland, autotuned rubbish out there. First, there's the voice, then there's the stellar songwriting, and then of course the multitude of instruments that appear on the record. This album is his most emotion filled and cohesive offering to date, and fully deserving of a place on this list. By Holly Read-Challen

Patrick Wolf Live @ Manchester Ritz 26/10/11



Support for the eagerly anticipated Patrick Wolf was from the poptastic Cocknbullkid, whose intelligent pop songs sounded much better live than on record. Singer-songwriter Anita Blay impressed with her rich voice and cool attitude. Highlights were ‘Asthma Attack’ and ‘Hold On To Your Misery’, in a set full of cool, upbeat pop songs.

As well as playing many songs from his fifth album, ‘Lupercalia’ (well, it was the ‘Lupercalia’ tour...) Patrick Wolf also treated fans to some perfectly chosen oldies, including ‘Gypsy King’, which he dedicated to the Dale Farm struggle. We were also lucky enough to get an insight into Patrick’s new material, as he debuted a few verses of a new winter solstice dedicated track, ‘Time Of Year’.

Also included were ‘Accident and Emergency’ and the perfectly autumnal ‘Bluebells’ from ‘The Magic Position’; ‘Hard Times’, foot-stomping barn-dance ‘The Bachelor’, a dance version of ‘Who Will?’ and ‘Tristan’ from ‘The Bachelor’. ‘Tristan’ especially was a highlight, Wolf playing it ‘as it was originally intended’ on the ukulele, having found an old notebook with the original chords in recently. Despite the more serene --maybe sophisticated – exterior of Patrick Wolf’s new image (including the suit that he came on stage wearing, but later shed in favour of a Morrissey-style open shirt, showing off his famous unicorn tattoo), his stage presence was still, in true Patrick Wolf style, dramatically weird. This was even more salient during ‘Tristan’, a wonderfully angry declaration of existence ("Don’t ask me what I was on when I wrote this, or what kind of day I was having..."), and ‘The Bachelor’, (which, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again) is such a foot-stomper, during the line ‘no-one will wear my silver ring’ Wolf bit his own engagement ring- thank god, he’s still weird!  As a multi-instrumentalist, Patrick played the violin, piano, harp on the glorious, defiant ‘Bermondsey Street’ and a strange slide-guitar style instrument used during the tear-jerkingly, beautifully tender ‘Armistice’.

The ‘Lupercalia’ songs sounded even more joyous and life-affirming live than on record: ‘Time of My Life’ brought me to tears because of the beauty of Patrick’s voice and  that, along with the rest of ‘Lupercalia’, it is so defiantly happy. New single ‘The Falcons’ was also greatly uplifting, and once again got the audience dancing.

Mr. Wolf really knows how to work a crowd. Looking happy to be there and never focusing too much time or attention on one part of the audience, he glided from one side of the stage to another, reaching his hand in to sing to members of the front row. During ‘Together’, after a costume change into a glittering gold sequin top, Patrick jumped off stage and into the crowd to party with us. Before climbing over the barrier, he sang into the face of a 6-foot guy on the front row before giving him a massive snog. Wolf found his way right to the middle of the crowd, he snogged a few more guys, too, prompting someone near me to comment ‘there’s a lot of guy-on-guy action going on over there’. When asked whether we would prefer ‘more songs or less songs and a costume change’, the crowd overwhelmingly went for ‘more songs’, prompting Patrick to compliment our "excellent taste".

Choosing to close with two of his happiest, ‘The Magic Position’ and ‘The City’ were another wise decision, and a perfect sing-along way to end a simply wonderful evening. Hats off to the wonderful Patrick Wolf for lifting each and every one of us out Manchester into another place, beyond the drudgery of a mid-week evening.

By Holly Read-Challen

Get Loaded in the Park - 11/06/11

Despite the heavy showers attempting to turn Clapham Common into the Glastonbury site, the festival carried on with few interruptions. Although the sound was marred by the council limits, the spirit of the annual celebration of all things alternative lived on and triumphed over the adversarial weather. The weather encouraged more punters to buy the incredulously expensive alcohol and brought a hazier atmosphere to the park. There were no fashion statements to be made as waterproofs and wellies started off the festival season early but of course, there were the exceptions in girls who braved bare legs.


Get Loaded started off leisurely with a short set from New Zealand's finest avant garde indie jazz pioneer Connan Mockasin who was subject to sound issues due to receiving the first slot of the day. Nevertheless, Connan persevered with his live band, strumming out his unique brand of disjointed psychedelic pop. However, his almost childlike falsetto voice didn't come across strongly with the crowd as he ploughed through tracks from his album 'Forever Dolphin Love'. Despite not having widespread appeal, there is a certain charm to Connan's set which both enthrals and perplexes. Next on was Darwin Deez, Brooklyn's chirpiest self confessed hipster, bringing London the usual wacky dance routines and even a 3 minute rap performed by Darwin himself, channelling his inner most gangster. Although over enthusiastic guitarist Cole left the band, the Deez's new live guitarist brings even trippier dance moves to the live quartet.


The next change over sees annoying twee at its best with Los Campesinos! who stumble through essentially what would be classed as their greatest hits set. Gareth Campesinos! wails belligerently to cater for the diehard teenage girl fanclub who hang on to his every word and chant them back almost religiously. It's clear that Los Campesinos!' festival performances are arduous for those unfamiliar with their niche brand of twee pop. 

Born and bred in Wandsworth, Patrick Wolf considered this appearance as a homecoming, citing his former labour, making sandwiches in Clapham where he was fired from his job after a day. However, the performance displays a vast contrast from these days, Patrick now displays the kind of exuberance one can only get from a love of his career. Patrick Wolf stands out above the rest of the acts thus far, charming the audience with his energetic nature and showing that you can put on a show regardless of weather conditions. He closes with new album Lupercalia's lead single 'The City', providing an anthemic bombast to the otherwise folky proceedings of his back catalogue, with a giant 80s chorus that would make Hurts tremble in their suits.

Over at the rammed Gigwise tent (due to the rain), O. Children capitalise on the additional spectators. Tobi O'Kandi bellows his trademark baritone over tried and tested Joy Division reminiscent goth pop. Although the sound is slightly scuzzy, tunes such as 'Dead Disco Dancer' and 'Ruins' permeate more deeply than some other Joy Division imitation bands (I.e. Editors). Afterwards, French pop's most recent export Yelle has landed in the UK with sparkly disco pop aplenty  in the same vein of 2009's Little Boots. The live band arrive on stage in safari attire, resemblant of the cover to her recent album 'Safari Disco Club'. Yelle herself looking like the abominable snowman with a weighty disguise used for her intro. She rapidly whips off her costume to reveal a red catsuit and began more lively proceedings. Despite the language barrier, she commanded the London crowd, shrieking 'Dance London' and 'Show me some love!'. The crowd responded obediently, losing their minds to the distinctly French electro pop. Imagine Justice with Marina Diamandis singing in French.

Last but not least, distinct Sheffield duo Slow Club take to the Last.fm stage and commence with a new acoustic song. They proceed with the slower songs from 'Yeah So', their debut album, plus new single 'Two Cousins' which is now available to download from their website (www.slowclubband.com). Nevertheless, the amount of people sheltering from the rain and mindlessly talking during the slower songs took away from the potency of Slow Club's live performance and disrupting what would otherwise be a flawless set or indie-folk loveliness. 

By Toby McCarron and Aurora Mitchell

Get Loaded in the Park 2011 - Festival Preview

Over recent years there has a been a distinct increase in the rise of 1-day festivals. In London alone there is now Field Day, Underage and 1234 Festival to name but a few. One of the more established of these 1 day-ers is Get Loaded in the Park. Now in its 7th year, the festival returns to Clapham Common for its annual celebrations of all things indie and electronic. With previous headliners including Iggy & the Stooges and Orbital, the 2011 line-up has much to live up to. Luckily the festival has delivered this year with a wide variety of acts both established and new set to delight punters. There's crowd pleasing British indie aplenty with the recently Johnny Marr-less Cribs and the ever-reliable British Sea Power. And from other the other side of the pond Darwin Deez brings his comedy dance / NYC twangy indie-pop to cap off the day at the Gigwise arena. Not to mention Headliners of the Absolute Radio main stage, the recently "reformed" razorlight, who like a kind of indie sugarbabes have almost entirely shifted line-up as only one original member remains in ever-arrogant indie sound-bite producer Johnny Borrell who is out to prove you dont need to have all the members of your band to please a crowd. We'll be reporting from 'Get Loaded' but in the meantime here are 5 tips of who to see on the day;

1. Patrick Wolf returns in 2011 with his new album Lupercalia, an exploration of the melancholic and the theme of love. As well as performing new material such as the anthemic sing-a-long new single 'The City', Patrick is sure to pick a set encorporating the best of his previous four albums and delight his hardcore fan base with old favourites 'The Magic Position' and 'Accident and Emergency'. Performing on the main stage, Wolf's blend of Bouncy indie-folk and more traditional lovelorn romanticism should go down a treat.

2. Los Campesinos play right before Patrick Wolf on the Absolute Radio main stage. Gareth & Company write twee confessional teenage odes to such subject matters of depression (The Sea Is A Good Place To Think About The Future) and longing after girls  (Knee Deep At ATP). Three albums into their career and Los Campesinos! have already built up a devoted throng of angsty teens hanging onto their every word and dancing like maniacs to the songs that have soundtracked their progression into adulthood and the difficulties of adolescence. So go catch Los Campesinos if you are fully embracing being young or wanting to be young again.

3. Slow Club, along the same lines as Los Campesinos! provide twee love songs from a distinctively nostalgic teenage point of view. Their second record comes out later this year following the debut "Yeah So" released on Moshi Moshi in 2009, and there is a possibility of new songs on the cards at their Get Loaded slot. The Sheffield duo are sure to enthrawl with bouncy feel good songs such as 'Giving Up On Love' and 'It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful', and equally pluck at heart strings with "When I Go"

4. O. Children are in stark contrast to a lot of the bands on the Get Loaded line-up. While other bands deal in twee hyper-active indie pop, O. Children are an altogether darker and more epic prospect. They combine  Joy Division-esque guitar reverb, pounding cold wave synths and singer Tobi O’Kandi's amazing deep voice which is so low it's frequency is only just detectable by human ears. Set highlights will include the giant killing bombastic chorused "Ruins" and the more accessible pop sensilibites of "Dead Disco Dancer". O. Children are definitely worth a look if not for their tunes, then for 'that voice'.

5. Connan Mockasin plays early on the main stage following performances supporting bands such as Egyptian Hip Hip and Late of the Pier on tour. Similar to Egyptian Hip Hop, Connan Mockasin is hardly a typical run-of-the-mill act and also includes a similarly lo-fi aesthetic. Connan creates lucious psychedelic storylines intertwined with elements of blues and reverb soaked guitar-lines on his most recent LP 'Forever Dolphin Love' and his performance at Get Loaded will surely be one of the more avant garde shows of the festival.

For more info/tickets: http://getloadedinthepark.com/

By Toby McCarron