LIVE REVIEW: FIELD DAY 2017 HIGHLIGHTS

FIELD DAY 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

Victoria Park, London

June 3rd 2017

This weekend I ventured down to London to attend Field Day 2017, which boasted one of the best lineups of the year. The festival is mostly dedicated to Electronic music, but also covers great acts in Hip Hop and Indie Rock too. Definitely the kind of festival for eclectic music fans to venture to. With such a strong lineup there were inevitably some brutal clashes with Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, Run the Jewels, Slowdive, Thee Oh Sees AND King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard having their sets all crossover on different stages. I wish I could have cloned myself and seen them all, but here is what I did get to see on this beautiful day in Victoria Park.

 Methyl Ethel

My first act of the day was Australian Indie Rock quartet METHYL ETHEL who provided an upbeat and lively performance to match the glorious sunshine. Their guitars had light touches of reverb creating light psychedelic vibes. Laid back mid tempo drums gave them that chilled out slacker vibe. Vocalist Jake Webb was a strong vocal point, with a bubbly and slightly twee sounding vocal, performed with great confidence. After sticking around for a few songs, I went to check out ABRA on the Resident Advisor stage. Instantly I was drawn in with the duo's massive, pounding bass heavy beats that shook the ground around me. Their Trap influenced Alt-R&B grooves really hit hard. Abra herself oozed so much confidence as a vocalist, with a sugary sweet singing voice. Definitely one of my favourite discoveries of the day with a sound fans of FKA Twigz and Jessy Lanza will probably enjoy. Certainly one to look out for.

Bristolian's BEAK> were a fine highlight in the Moth Club tent. The band is a side project lead by Geoff Barrow of Portishead fame. Beak> are highly inspired by Krautrock acts such as Can, locking into funky, repetitive grooves, with wild electronics and scatty guitars often searing away over the top. The tent was absolutely packed out to get a glimpse of this band and it was hard to even get inside. Instead I went back to the Resident Advisor tent to watch FOREST SWORDS. The scouse Electronic producer (real name Matthew Barnes) brought his Ambient Dub productions to the stage, with a live bass guitar player added to the equation. Barnes himself also added live guitar on a couple of tracks. The use of background visuals was quite striking and his beats sounded loud and pounding through the immense sound system.

Death Grips

There was no time to spare once Forest Swords had finished, as most of the Field Day crowd dashed to the opposite end of the park to the Crack tent to secure a decent spot for DEATH GRIPS. Even half an hour before the Sacramento trio hit the stage, the tent was practically full. DJ ESTHER JOY did a solid job of warming up the crowd, but the anticipation was so high that I think most people were staring at their watches, glimpsing towards the backstage area eager for the trio to emerge. Death Grips even teased the crowd by doing a brief linecheck of 'Guillotine' before leaving the stage again, sending the fans into a pre-emptive mosh. Finally Death Grips came on, and Field Day 2017 became a completely different beast, with a mosh pit so ferocious you would think Slayer had taken over the festival. Gone were the chilled vibes that Methyl Ethel began the day with. Death Grips force-feed a crowd with so much visceral, blood pumping energy. Flatlander's dense and noisy samples and synths, Zach Hill pounding the drums like they insulted his mother, and MC Ride's manic vocal acrobatics all converged perfectly to deliver one of the most vital, free-form and passionate expressions of the entire festival. The crowd were truly swept into a frenzy of ugly, unforgiving and blunt chaos as Death Grips blasted through discography highlights such as 'Come Up & Get Me', 'No Love', 'Hot Head', 'Guillotine' and more. In particular 'Giving Bad People Good Ideas' and 'I've Seen Footage' commanded the crowd to go fully insane. Certainly one of the main draws of this year's Field Day.

Following this breathtaking performance was a more controlled chaos. The Bleep Bandstand was situated right next to the Moth Club tent, and two very different but equally influential artists were playing at the same time. To my left was MIKE PARADINAS, best known as his alias U-Ziq (part of the 90s Cornish Acid scene with Aphex Twin), and founder of Planet Mu Records. And at the same time to my right was the last remaining member of SILVER APPLES, a man who pioneered Electronic music and breakbeats in the late 60s. I was so intrigued by both artists that I felt the need to zig-zag between the two. Silver Apples presented a rather crass and primitive approach, paving lots of wild oscillated sounds across his canvas. But ultimately I found myself more drawn to Paradinas, who was rocking the joint, belting out such a well crafted array of glitch, breakcore and ambient techno mastery, that it is puzzling that his name isn't as revered as his friend and collaborator Richard D James.

S U R V I V E

Back over at the Shacklewell Arms tent was S U R V I V E, who were another huge highlight. The US quartet are signed to Extreme Metal label Relapse Records, but perform Dark Ambient and Synthwave music heavily influenced by the works of John Carpenter. The way that the four synthesizer performers played off each other was something magical. Visually the way the quartet appeared on stage was reminiscent of Kraftwerk. They had a great knack of veering off into solo sections, but often coming together to create wondrous harmonies of ice cold synths. Their music speaking in unison, creating language out of synthetic sounds. The band are best known for contributing to the original score for the hit Sci-Fi series Stranger Things, and their own music away from that defining score was fairly similar and just as enticing to listen to. Before making my way to see one of the big headliners, I popped in to catch the end of CLAMS CASINO's set. I only caught the last few songs and yet still I left with a huge impression. Clams Casino had the entire tent packed to brim delivering a ferocious approach to hard hitting Trap beats. So many people were getting their groove on to his hard sounds, bringing such a Gangsta boogie to Field Day that drove people wild.

Closing the Resident Advisor tent was one of the most anticipated acts of the entire day. FLYING LOTUS not only brought an incredible visual and light show, but his sound was deafeningly loud and just sounded massive. FlyLo played a lot of new material, even slipping in some currently unreleased material from his upcoming score for Kuso (the film Ellison directed). A trap rendition of the Twin Peaks theme was an unexpected delight, and he also performed a lot of retro video game inspired pieces, with numerous beats that sampled different Silent Hill games, and an amazing rendition of an iconic theme from Final Fantasy VII. FlyLo weaved them together through many of his most incredible album cuts into an unrelenting flow of jazzy and funky Hip Hop/IDM fusion. The vibes inside this tent were unreal. I wish I could have stayed for the whole set, but I had to leave after forty minutes to ensure I got myself a good spot in The Barn for the big headliner...

Flying Lotus

Richard D James, best known as APHEX TWIN was clearly the act most people came to see. I saw so many people donning his iconic logo on their shirts and there was such a positive buzz in the air. As you can imagine, he delivered one of the most dynamic lighting and visual crafts of the entire festival. So many coloured lasers and dizzying strobes were used. There were amazing visuals on the screen such as cartoonish images of the queen, Nigel Farage, Theresa May and... Chris Evans... with Richard's famous creepy, distorted face super imposed over the top. And at times people in the crowd were even filmed up close, but with that haunting face super imposed over their own faces. Aphex Twin performed for an incredible two straight hours. There were probably a lot of young people who were seeing Aphex Twin for the very first time (I think he last played the UK five years ago). Old school fans will know that he doesn't play the hits live. No 'Come to Daddy' or 'Windowlicker', but he did sneak in a more obscure cut 'Audax Powder' from the Polygon Window album. Aphex usually will create a unique live experience of material that even die hard fans have never heard before. Aphex truly pulled out all the stops. The first half hour was particularly doomy, and horrifying, favouring slow, warped beats and chilling horror synths. But the show gradually got a lot more playful, as Aphex moved into those classic Cornish Acid Techno vibes. He showcased some of his Drill & Bass sounds reminiscent of the 'Drukqs' era, and even some more colourful and accessible spots. He would often break people's expectations by dropping in something like an old school Hip Hop beat here, or a jungle tune there, or a straight up Dub piece. But as a whole it felt like Aphex was drawing from just about everything he has delivered over his vast and ever changing career. His set was constantly changing up at an ADHD pace, so there was always something fantastic for our ears to feast on. Originally I had planned to watch an hour of his set and then go and catch a bit of Run the Jewels, but I felt so engrossed and mesmerized by what Aphex Twin was performing, that I just could not leave. Aphex Twin delivered a true masterclass in all the things that make Electronic music interesting and innovative. His set finished on devastatingly loud lashing of bit-crushed noise and wild Industrial beats with a vocal sample screaming "FUCK OFF" repeatedly. A darkly humourous way to end a two hour colossus. As the music died down and the floodlights came on, Richard D James waved goodbye to the crowd with a big smile on his face, leaving chills down my spine as rapturous applause engulfed the massive Barn stage.

Aphex Twin

Sadly Field Day 2017 left on a sour note as news started to break that a string of terrorist attacks had broken out not far from the venue. Fortunately nobody at the festival was directly affected and hopefully everybody made a safe journey home. But aside from this, Field Day 2017 will be remembered for being well organised, full of dedicated music fans who were well behaved and contributed towards an incredible vibe and atmosphere across the whole day. For eclectic music fans, Field Day offered what will easily be one of the best lineups of cutting edge artists this year. I had a truly fantastic time!

EP REVIEW: DEATH GRIPS - STEROIDS (CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN GABBER MEGAMIX)

DEATH GRIPS
STEROIDS (CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN GABBER MEGAMIX)
Experimental Hip Hop, Electronic, Digital Hardcore.
Self-Released.
Listening Format: Digital







For a band that came very close to splitting up a couple of years ago, it is fascinating that Death Grips' output since that point has been arguably even better than their earlier material (which is also a fine selection). The Sacramento experimental trio have delivered some kind of release each year, despite a tension in the air, as if the wheels could fly off at any minute and this band could crash and explode before our very eyes. So their frequent output is surely a good thing. Last year's full length album 'Bottomless Pit' is arguably their best album to date. As wild and mad as anything they have done previously, but it saw the trio pushing further forward in terms of structure, songwriting, performance and production. The addition of roaring guitars and blastbeat drums gave them even more ammunition and intensity to work with.

'Steroids' is a 22 minute long EP (or mixtape perhaps) that has dropped out of the blue and is free to listen to on digital platforms. Although the 22 minute "megamix" flows continuously with no breaks, it does sound like it is multiple tracks stitched together into one sphere. The title crudely references Gabber music, which by definition is Techno music played at speeds exceeding 200bpm. In terms of production and craft, Death Grips have kind of gone back to the roots of their early works like 'Ex Military' and 'No Love Deep Web' to deliver something much more crass, and messy. Suitably so, as 'Steroids' does not let up for one moment. It is full of blaring, pounding, relentlessly fast beats and drums assembled by Flatlander and Zach Hill, that just pulverise the listener from the very first second. MC Ride roars and bellows a load of F-bombs right off the bat. Death Grips don't know the meaning of the word subtlety and that is the way we like it.

In terms of production, 'Steroids' is extremely busy. Almost comically so. There are so many fractured rhythms, loud and abrasive samples and sound effects whiz by with very little rhyme or reason. Everything here is assembled to be ADHD levels of disorientating, maddening and ear rupturing, which stays true to actual Gabber music. But it strangely sounds absolutely glorious because of this, and that is because of the performance the band deliver here. Death Grips sound so gloriously urgent and passionate throughout, creating an absolute racket and just attacking the senses of the listener with no holds barred. The trio deliver some of their most playful, unrestrained and free-form material yet. Even though it sounds as mad as a badger, Death Grips are sounding at their most radical and expressive throughout this utter madness.

I am so glad that this EP only lasts 22 minutes, because my brain literally could not take an entire album's worth of this insanity. It is the audio equivalent of going to a blaring 4am drug adled techno rave in a warehouse in the middle of an industrial estate... With a sub-machine gun! Death Grips sound like an inflamed meteor that is ready to destroy anything and everything in its path. The trio continue to surprise, excite and ruin the minds of even the most dedicated of their fanbase. It feels like this band can do just about anything right now and it will sound fresh, exciting and mindblowing. 8/10.

#354: DEATH GRIPS - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

As I entered the sold out Manchester Academy gig room the place was already chock-a-block full of music fans of all creeds. Hip Hoppers, Metalheads, Indie kids, Ravers, Punks and Rockers all united for the most hyped up gig of the year. The giant room was a sea of bodies, and so dark it was hard to recognise anybody. An eerie, droning siren hummed away, creating a sense of nausea and dis-ease amongst the crowd. Slowly the discordant drone gradually escalated in volume. After a few mistaken round of applauses as roadies and sound engineers appeared on stage, eventually the lights went out completely and the trio of Zach Hill (on drums), Flatlander (synthesizers and sampler) and vocalist MC Ride emerged from the ether...

...What followed for the next 90 minutes was a sheer bliss of noisy and violent music. Death Grips blur the lines between Hip Hop, Hardcore, Electronic and Noise, explaining why such a wide array of music fans were in union tonight. The trio blistered through all of their best tunes without a single pause for breath or to talk to the crowd. MC Ride stood tall like a deranged killer in the fog, ranting and screaming maniacally into the microphone. Zach Hill was a force of destruction, battering his kit like it had insulted his mother! The man was a sheer ball of fiery energy throughout and was fascinating to watch, delivering a diverse performance from the Industrial battering ram of 'No Love' to the Black Metal-esque blastbeats on 'Giving Bad People Good Ideas'. Flatlander was perhaps the most focused of the three, combining samples, laptop and synthesizers to create dense layers of noise and waves of wild electronics, piercing eardrums in the process.

The mosh pit was extremely violent and painful tonight, and I've seen plenty of Extreme Metal bands that haven't even managed to conjure up this much chaos! I began the gig slap bang in the middle, and I ended up being swept right to the front and then all over the place. The room became a tornado where bodies would fly and people's belongings soon became lost. I don't think I've ever felt so exhausted at a show and I was soon gasping for air and water! I woke up today with a battered and aching body, with cuts and bruises on my legs and arms, but I'd do it all over again!

Death Grips were absolutely relentless and shredded through just about all the songs a die hard fan could wish for! 'Get Got' and 'Bitch Please' were absolutely thumping, 'Giving Bad People Good Ideas' and 'Come Up & Get Me' were extremely raging, 'I've Seen Footage' offered a rare breather where fans could dance their asses off, 'Guillotine' was a bizarre sing-along anthem, and the finale of '(I've Got) The Fever' certainly left everyone wanting more.

Public Enemy may have warned us not to believe the hype, but I'm sure almost everyone will attest that Death Grips' live show was sheer enjoyment and an experience that was almost too good to be true! 9/10.

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October 16th 2016 @ Manchester Academy.

FRENCHIE'S LISTENING POST - JULY

Because I don't get time to review all the new music I hear in depth, I have decided to start doing some smaller reviews, rounding up the best (and worst) releases of each month! Just a short one this time as I didn't get a lot of listening time this month!

ALBUM OF THE MONTH:

DEATH GRIPS - BOTTOMLESS PIT

Industrial, Hip Hop, Hardcore Punk. Harvest Records.

Death Grips are a very difficult band to put into words. The trio are known for their violent and agro live shows, and despite announcing that they had split up a couple of years ago, it seems that plenty of new material and live shows keep rolling on. It feels like the momentum could come to a halt at any second, so a chance to hear new Death Grips material is vital. "Bottomless Pit" is definitely my favourite album of theirs yet, and it hit me instantly with "Giving Bad People Good Ideas", which smacks you in the face with Zach Hill's blastbeat drumming, roaring guitars that have a Hardcore and Black Metal kind of influence to them (made me think of Kvelertak), and of course MC Ride's macho stream of consciousness bellowing.

Death Grips continue to experiment and make weird sounds, with very abrupt changes. The slower Witch House/Hip Hop kind of styles aren't quite as prominent as their older works, aside from the fantastic "Eh" which harks back to the sound of their breakout album "The Money Store". Every track here is full of colourful production, wild aggression and silly, dark humour. The novelty and the intensity never seems to let up and it is one of those kind of albums that you just have to listen to and be swept away with, rather than have someone explain to you what it sounds like! I absolutely adore Death Grips because they are a band that have absolutely no subtlety, are completely crass, loud, obnoxious and in your face... Yet make completely innovative and scary music. That is something that is all too hard to find in these "why so serious?!" days we live in! 9/10.

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APHEX TWIN - CHEETAH
Acid Techno, Electronic. Warp Records.

Named after Richard D James' love for vintage synthesisers, "Cheetah" is his 3rd EP since the release of his Grammy Award winning "comeback" album "Syro". Usually Aphex Twin always sounds ahead of his time, but the two "Cheetah" tracks that open the record sound distinctly nostalgic, mixing Atari era Arcade game sound effects with old school beats. The compositions here are surprisingly linear, settling on 4/4 techno beats, a far-cry from his insane ADHD rhythms of tracks like "Windowlicker" or even "Minipops". The best track over these 30 minutes is undoubtedly "CIRKLON3", which was released with a new music video directed by a 12 year old boy. This song is distinctly cool and dance friendly, with the sounds of dripping, acidic synthesisers. Near the end of its 8 minute run, it shifts up a gear into a delightful wonky bass groove. As a whole the EP is closest in tone to "Analord 02" for you hardcore Aphex fans, or "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" for the more casual fan. "Cheetah" represents a rare time where Richard D James seems to be looking backwards rather than forwards, but the only troubling aspect of this release is that none of the other tracks really manage to outshine "CIRKLON3", with a lack of variation throughout. One for the more serious Richard D James collector, with wonderful artwork to boot! 7/10.

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THE AVALANCHES - WILDFLOWER
Hip Hop, Rap, Psychedelia, Electronic. Modular Recordings.

It will only take about 1 minute after you hit play before a huge smile appears on your face! I don't know why or how it has taken 16 years for The Avalanches to make another album, but they haven't lost any of their joy or scope in the process. With a great ear for sampling in mind, "Wildflower" is much more Hip Hop oriented than their debut, but still with plenty to make you want to dance. MF DOOM, Danny Brown and Camp Lo lend their rhymes. The sound of the album isn't worlds away from that Stones Throw Records sound, with an exquisite flow and track sequencing reminiscent of "Madvillainy". It is also similar to that 2004 classic because this journey of sound is very varied, quirky and full of positivity. The Avalanches implement a lot of psychedelic touches, with the sounds of flutes and acoustic guitars surfacing to emphasise the bouncing beats and basslines. Simply put, "Wildflower" is sheer bliss from start to finish! The Avalanches have come out of hiding at seemingly the perfect time to drop some good feels on the world, completely out of the blue! 8/10.

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CLIFF MARTINEZ - THE NEON DEMON

Original Score, Electronic, Ambient. Milan Records

The soundtrack to the film Drive had a strong influence on the direction modern electronic music would take, looking back towards the synth sound of the 70s and 80s. The latest film from Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn sees him collaborate with Cliff Martinez once again and the momentum of the Drive soundtrack continues. The 80s synth pop sound of tracks like "A Real Hero" is only glimpsed at here, with only two fantastic vocal tracks featured, "Mine Sweet Tempest" and a surprisingly great closing track by Sia. The rest of the soundtrack shows composer Cliff Martinez tighten up his craft even further, with an incredibly diverse Ambient and Electronic score. The album is full of dreamy motifs that reflect the themes of beauty in the film. A pounding rave track "The Demon Dance" by Julian Winding is another great highlight. The score works so well on its own devices that it will make you want to seek out the film. A truly immersive and atmospheric gem. 8/10.

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BADBADNOTGOOD - IV

Jazz, Fusion. Innovative Leisure.

BadBadNotGood are one of the leading lights in modern Jazz. As opposed to Kamasi Washington who has a nostalgic sound leaning towards the Jazz highs of the 60s and 70s, BadBadNotGood sound like they belong in 2016. Even though they are using more saxophones and natural instrumentation than on their previous albums, this is an album that can also appeal to fans of Indie Rock and Math Rock bands such as Three Trapped Tigers. The album has some phenomenally good instrumentals, combining the Hip Hop feel of their collaborative album with Ghostface Killah, with plenty of funkiness and twisting rhythms. "IV" is an album that has a lot of energy and playfulness. Though even when they slow it down on a highlight Soul track with a female vocal, they still sound invigorating. Perhaps their best work yet! 8/10.

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STEPHEN MARLEY - REVELATION PART II: THE FRUIT OF LIFE

Ragga, Reggae, Hip Hop. Ghetto Youths United.

If you didn't already think Bob Marley was incredible enough, you also have to take into account that his children are all highly talented too! The second part of Stephen Marley's "Revelation" series focuses strictly on the Ragga sound, basically combining Hip Hop and Reggae together, in a similar way to his brother Damian Marley, who did a fantastic collaborative album with Nas, "Distant Relatives". Fans of Bob Marley and the more traditional instrument based Reggae might not think much of it, but "Revelation" does a solid job of bringing Reggae to a modern Hip Hop audience. Every track features a collaboration, with Hip Hop stars old and new, including Dead Prez, Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, Waka Flocka Flame, Twista and many more. The productions are solid and most of the guest rappers actually turn up! Skip that appalling track with Pitbull at the end though! 7/10.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS - UNDERGROUND MUSIC COALITION COMPILATION

Extreme Metal, Grindcore, Hardcore. UMC.

For the bargain price of zero pence, you can download this fantastic compilation made by the great community at UMC, supporting underground extreme music all over the world and helping small artists to tour, get gigs and promote their music. This compilation features only the UK artists in the UMC, showcasing some of their latest music. The whole album shows so much talent, proving that the Extreme Metal scene still has plenty to say and deliver. My personal standouts include Forged In the Furnace of the Sun's ripping political Grindcore, Boycott the Baptist's brief "Fuck Off Trump" is a hoot, After the Abduction's technical deathcore, Pist's Pantera loving NOLA riffs and Impavidus revitalising the Gothenberg Melodic Death Metal sound! Please google UMC and download it for free!

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SEGA MUSIC TEAM - OUT RUN [REISSUE]

Electronic, Chiptune, Original Score. Data Discs.

The wonderful folk at Data Discs have done another fantastic job restoring classic Sega Mega Drive/Arcade games onto vinyl. This is a beautiful package with all new artwork with a cutaway sleeve allowing you to display your own choice of artwork. The vinyl disc has been remastered on 180 gram vinyl on a limited tri-colour disc. As for the music itself, this memorable 16-bit score has some triumphant and energetic themes that will bring a huge nostalgic smile to any gamers over the age of 25.

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