Richie Hawtin
Celebrate Your Inner Canadian With Richie Hawtin
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 | Event Preview | 3 Comments
Richie Hawtin at Shake It! – Village Underground (Buy Tickets)
1st July is Canada day where all Canadian’s celebrate their national heritage by downing bottles of maple syrup and having fights on ice with hockey sticks. This year the global celebrations have been ramped up. In London, Canadians will be taking over Trafalgar Square for a day of hockey and maple syrup, but in between these important activities will be performances from some of Canada’s most prolific performers. Unfortunately the globally renowned wailer to sinking ships Celine Dion won’t be present, nor will the “Man I Feel Like A Woman” MILF Shania Twain. So it’s down to Canada’s 3rd biggest export Richie Hawtin to represent the musical achievement of a nation. He’ll be playing his set from 5:40pm before the live music concert begins at 6:00pm. In his mammoth 20 minute set we can expect an incredible journey stretching out across 2 or maybe 3 records.
But fear not, Layo and Bushwacka thought it would be a waste having Richie over for 20 minutes. So they’ve got him to play an impromptu set at Shake It that same night. They’ll be starting the weekend early in the industrial surroundings of Village Underground, which was the scene for recent Secretsundaze shenanigans. We’d imagine this is worth the Friday “sickie” as its pure undiluted Hawtin, no Minus, no Contakt, Just Richie.
Get you tickets before they fly out the door from TICKETWEB.
May Day! May Day! Long Weekend!! – Eastern Electrics, Minus, Secretsundaze, Fabric and more…..
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 | Event Preview | No Comments
Well we’re on the verge of another momentous bank holiday weekend where the usual rule book goes out the window and things are pushed that extra mile. Once again, Friday and Saturday are looking alright, but those promoters have decided to pack in all the exciting stuff on the Sunday… Here are our picks…
Friday › Continue reading
Tiesto, Richie Hawtin, Luciano and Deadmau5 to Form DJ Super Quartet
Thursday, April 1st, 2010 | Event Preview, News | 13 Comments
earPipe has learned today that some of the world’s best DJs will be forming a new DJ super quartet called Fig Bad. We have learned that the three time winner of the DJ Mag Top 100 Tiesto is in final talks with the techno legend Richie Hawtin. An unlikely pairing, it seems their love for stadium sized DJ shows has drawn them together. It is a well known fact on the dance music circuit between Amsterdam and Berlin that Hawtin secretly adores the big production values of the Tiesto live show, basing his Contakt and recent Plastikman shows around this concept. › Continue reading
Richie Hawtin Will Be Plastik This Year
Monday, February 8th, 2010 | Event Preview | No Comments
Initially there were some rumours, then there was a survey and now it is all confirmed. Richie Hawtin is bringing back Plastikman for a live world tour encompassing 18 years of material, advancing technology and all the lessons learnt from the audio visual Contakt. This is going to be pure unadulterated Richie Hawtin in control of all the elements.
The show will debut at this year’s Timewarp in Mannheim followed by a show this April at Coachella festival in California. I’d bet a lot on a showing at Sonar festival, and maybe even Glastonbury? I’d also imagine that all the big cities will be included from London and Berlin to Tokyo and New York.
We’ll keep you posted when the full tour is announced, but for now you can get you Timewarp tickets from TICKETWEB
UPDATE: Plastikman just got added to Bestival taking place this September on the Isle of Wight.
The Early Bird Catches the Sonar Worm | Festival Preview
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 | Event Preview | No Comments
We’re barely out of January but thoughts are already turning to summer festival activities. If you were militantly organised you would have booked your Glasto ticket back in October. Crazy, I know. But the early bird catches the worm and all that. Another early bird special on the go is EarPipe favourite Sonar festival. Situated in and around the city of Barcelona over 3 days and 2 nights, Sonar combines forward thinking music and the multimedia arts to create a diverse and fun filled festival to the backdrop of a beautiful city. Ok the night time events in an exhibition hall on an industrial estate do lack that modernist Gaudi finesse you might expect from Barcelona, but the climate and music definitely make up for that. Also, during the day you’re based in the city so you’re free to explore all over as opposed to being penned in some camp site for the whole weekend. That pretty much sums up the whole weekend for Sonar – you get all the delights of a music festival, yet you have the freedom to explore Barcelona itself, and none of this camping bollocks, just festivals, parties and when you need it, beds, showers and running water. › Continue reading
Magda – Fabric 49 | Album Review
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 | Album Review | 1 Comment
Oh Magda, my how far you’ve come. Since your days as Richie Hawtin’s personal tea lady to now a heavy weight DJ with your own Fabric CD. A proper rags to riches story. On her path to stardom, Magda had put out She’s a Dancing Machine her first CD compilation way back in 2006 when clicky minimal techno was still fashionable. She earned some deserved applaud with her multi layered and intricately architected mix. It was mechanical, it was robotic, it was computerised, yet it clicked and jacked along dripping in synthetic funk. Magda had set her own bar high, the question is could she surpass it on Fabric 49?
The answer – no, at best on par. The mix follows the same recipe of synthetic funk, robotic rhythms and mechanical beats. The only difference is for Fabric 49 she stays caught on the same jittery electronic theme rather than providing contrast and texture exploring the techno genre. On Dancing Machine she moved from abstract sounds, to funky rhythms, to dark pummelling techno with ease. But on Fabric 49 she stays firmly locked on the same groove throughout. › Continue reading
Contakt Pushes DJing to Gig Status – Contakt @ Brixton Academy Review
Friday, October 30th, 2009 | Event Reviews | No Comments
Since the mid nineties the DJ turned into the super star DJ. No longer was the DJ some person that happened to be playing records in the background, they were thrust into the limelight, they became centre stage and elevated above the crowd, they became closer to becoming the rock star. Well at the end of September Richie Hawtin and the Contakt bunch stepped DJing that little bit closer from merely playing records to putting on a full blown show. Gone are the dark sweaty dingy small clubs; in are the arena sized live venues. No more will the single sweeping blue light and occasional strobe keep the crowds visually entertained, it must be 30ft high LED screens with intricate graphics. Production values now rival a rock gig. But is that what clubbing and dance music is all about? Had Richie Hawtin pushed the concept too far away from its roots? There had been a lot of apprehension on whether the London Contakt show would be any good founded on some of the issues from last year along with a bit of a Minus backlash with people growing tired of their sound for being too cold and too clinical. There were also qualms about the venue, the ticket price and just a general feeling of tiredness from the whole idea. Leading into the show/gig/party, expectations seemed pretty low with a general feeling of well I’ll pop along to see what its like plus I’ll get to hear a bit of Hawtin.
I happened to pop along too and to answer my questions – it can be; I don’t think so, he’s having a go at trying something new; the venue worked; and finally was it any good – a resounding yes! › Continue reading
The Weekend Reprise – Contakt, Ministry Birthday, Aphex Twin, Secretsundaze & WYS!
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
I don’t know why but the last weekend in September always seems to be unnecessarily massive. Maybe because it’s the start of uni and the clubs want to start with a bang to get the kids hooked in? Guess it makes sense. Get em whilst they’re young and all that.
So what does the weekend have installed for all these younguns? Well the question should probably more what doesn’t the weekend have installed.
Contakt with Richie Hawtin
For one more time this year London will be graced with the last Contakt show for the year. It’s been almost a year since they last step foot in London and almost a year and a half since they started doing the show. If you haven’t heard by now the Contakt concept brings the Minus clan together, allowing them to perform as one unit set to the backdrop of some impressive visuals. Basically it’s an elaborate back to back session with all the Minus producers in front of a massive LED display showing some incredible trippy visuals. › Continue reading
Life Beyond the M25 – The Warehouse Project is Back in Manchester
Monday, August 24th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
It’s pretty easy to stay stuck on this fair island called London. It seems everything you could possibly need is right here within the confines of our concrete perimeter, the M25. But believe it or not life does exist beyond those walls. For the last four years, during the autumn and winter months, Manchester has been the clubbing destination of the North. The reason – a grotty car park found in the arches of Manchester’s Piccadilly train station where the Warehouse Project setup shop to host some of the strongest nights past the Watford Gap service station.
Once again the team have put together another great run of nights starting from the end of September and running every weekend through till New Years Day. Last year we had great fun at the Cocoon night where Tobi Neumann absolutely smashed the main room after Sven Vath and the Ar:Pi:Ar boys completely stamped their mark on the back room. We also heard great reports about the Minus night with Richie Hawtin and the Resident Advisor night with Luciano and John Digweed.
So what’s hot for this year season? We think the following will be worth checking out. › Continue reading
Richie Hawtin and the M-Nus Mob Take On Brixton
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
Now that summer is already drawing to a close its time for the autumn activities to commence; September through till November is often a juicy period on the clubbing calendar. It’s often the time when people are starting new endeavours in new places, be it students, graduates or just plain new job starters. Either way, people are back from their summer escapades, people have relocated and the clubbing community is back to full strength. Prime pickings for big ass stellar events.
One on the not too distant horizon is Richie Hawtin and his band of merry laptop equipped men (and one girl). The M_nus mob return to the capital city to serve up another helping of their multimedia extravaganza show Contakt. It’s been almost a year since they would have last wowed the crowds in London with their multi tag team dj sound and retina burning visual show, so it should be interesting to see how or if the show has evolved. › Continue reading
Some Reasons Why Not to Waste Your Time on Clapham Common this Bank Holiday
Thursday, August 6th, 2009 | Event Preview | 2 Comments
- Image by Paul at Vision7Media
All things exciting seem to point to Clapham Common on the bank holiday weekend. But in all honesty, it’s not really all that it’s cracked up to be. Here are some reasons why not to waste your time on the common and some canny alternatives.
Rubbish Soundsystems
Being stuck in the heart of Clapham means you’re in the middle of a massive residential area. Residential area equals people with dogs, children, twitching curtains and a massive thirst for pissing on any parade. Call me crazy but these people hate it when their windows are vibrating during afternoon tea. Unfortunately they also pay taxes and actually have a say in how the world is run. So despite the soundsystem probably having tens of thousands of watts bottled up at its disposal, you can probably expect that the local council has it capped to a dreary cesspit tap drip. So the only way you’re going to hear anything of worth is if you’ve camped out inside the bass bin like some free party crusty.
What you need is some grotty warehouse space where you can crank it up a few notches. It just so happens that Eastern Electrics will be holed up in some grotty warehouse space › Continue reading
EarPipe’s Last Minute, One Page Sonar 2009 Guide
Thursday, June 18th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
Its just gone midnight on Wednesday night… so no time for an in depth Sonar preview. So here it is in a business like bullet point format:
Thursday
Catch Konono No1 blast out some congo riddems. Seen videos and the look fun!
If you’re invited hit the Mobilee rooftop pool party at Hotel Diagonal
Louderbach – Autumn | Album Review
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 | Album Review | 1 Comment
Troy Pierce’s alter ego Louderbach drops his second album with a little vocal help from post-punk singer Gibby Miller. The duo have been recording tracks together on and off for the last few years ever since their first meeting in New York during 2001.
Their latest offering, Autumn alludes to Troy Pierce’s dark more minimal side. The tracks are deep, abstract and have an off colour feel. Strange and eerie dominates the album which is coupled by Miller’s often chilling vocal inserts. On Seems Like Static Miller’s calm vocals provide a sinister vibe over Troy’s mechanised beats. And on So This Is Control, Miller’s vocals again provide an unnerving eeriness to the track, perfect for those haunting synths.
For the tracks where Miller’s vocals › Continue reading
Lets Do The German TimeWarp Again
Thursday, January 8th, 2009 | Event Preview, News | No Comments
You may still be revelling in the aftermath of New Years Eve shenanigans but please do spare a thought for your party needs in April as tickets are now on sale for this year’s TimeWarp event in Mannheim Germany!!
If you haven’t already heard that the bird is the word, TimeWarp is a humongous indoor arena Techno event in Germany which has been running for the last nine years or so. EarPipe was lucky enough to check out TimeWarp last year and by golly the Germans don’t do things by half. Last year every conceivable techno DJ was on the bill, from Hawtin and Vath to Villalobos, Luciano, Cox and Liebling (there were so many names I obviously had to resort to surnames only). They even had enough room to give Laurent Garnier his own arena for nine hours. It’s a proper German style marathon event starting from the Saturday evening running right through till late afternoon on the Sunday. Last year Richie Hawtin began his 7 hour closing set at 7am!?!?!
The setting itself was some sort of market place/arena complex based in the sleepy industrial town of Mannheim just south of Frankfurt. Whilst it doesn’t sound very extravagant the production effort for the event is next to none. If you don’t believe me check out the photos from last year here.
Getting to TimeWarp is pretty straight forward too. Simply jump on an aeroplane and head to Frankfurt. You can get trains from the airport direct to Mannheim and it only takes about 30-40 minutes. So technically you can fly out on Saturday morning/afternoon, go straight to Mannheim for TimeWarp, then go straight back to the airport and fly home. It’s doable but exhausting like we found out last year. So this year EarPipe will probably make it into a nice weekend get away, flying to Frankfurt on the Friday checking out either the legendary Robert Johnson nightclub or Sven Vath’s futuristic Cocoon, then doing TimeWarp followed by flying back either Sunday or Monday. Does that sound deluxe or what?
UK folks can get their tickets from Ticketweb
But it might work out cheaper to get the international E-Ticket from here
http://www.time-warp.de/content/e2/index_eng.html
Earpipe Looks Hazily Back at the Clubs, Festivals and Parties in 2008
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 | Events, News | 1 Comment
Well that’s another year over. Where did the time go? For us it was mostly spent in darkened rooms listening to repetitive electronic music in and around London with the occasional trip to another city or abroad. It probably explains why this look back on 2008 is a hazy one at best. I believe we left most of our brain cells splattered across Fabric’s dancefloor. But we’ve managed to piece together the fractured pieces of memory to come up with this half rate look back at 2008. Enjoy 
)
One of the main stories of 2008 has to be the shake up of London clubs. 2008 kicked off on a sombre note with the closure of The Cross/Key/Canvas complex in Kings Cross. Apparently Kings Cross needed some regeneration to make it look good for the incoming French on the EuroStar. As a double whammy Turnmills also decided to close their doors at the end of January, due to the lease holders deciding their central London location would make much more money as flats and offices rather than from weekends of debauchery. They’re right, but even though Turnmills had pretty much run its course pushing a dying Trance night and a load of “electro house” nights with asymmetrical haircuts it was still a shock losing two stalwarts of the scene.
Gaiser – Blank Fade Review
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 | Album Review, Music | No Comments
Blank Fade is the new long player from the master of the wobbly bassline Gaiser. Out on Richie Hawtin’s Minus label, it is sure to be weird and abstract. Gaiser undoubtedly has his own style. His tracks always have a certain ambience and spaciousness about them where each element is carefully calculated to occupy the audio soundscape. This new album is no exception.
The whole album revolves around Gaiser’s dark and eerie style, using strange electronic noises over clinical percussion and round warm bass, all served up with lashings of echo and delay to give you that vibrating vision feeling. Combine that with Gaiser’s impeccable production quality means it is a great formula. This album definitely has some stand out tracks. Ciliate With, Whether or Not, Comma Fade and Descending Order all have their own specific haunting qualities. However when you listen to the whole of Blank Fade track by track, the style seems to wear thin. All the tracks start to sound very alike causing tracks to lose their identity. Although it’s not until you listen to the album mixed when it all becomes clear.
When mixed, the album makes perfect sense. The tracks which initially seemed filler do actually serve a more meaningful purpose in transitioning between the main tracks. They keep a flow and groove which becomes apparent when you listen to this album like a DJ mix. When mixed, the electronic bleeps and noises flow and transition into one another with progression rather than the initial perception of repetition. This is why Gaiser’s live sets are entertaining because his music is in it for the long haul.
Buy Gaiser’s Blanke Fade on (CD)
Tracklist:
CD
1. Volve (4:15)
2. Face Down (4:10)
3. Ground (3:42)
4. Ciliate With (5:29) (CD + Digital Only)
5. Whether Or Not (4:10) (CD + Digital Only)
6. Substance B (4:53)
7. Comma, Fade (6:27)
8. Leave It (5:43)
9. Trunkated (8:07)
10. Descending Order (6:59)
11. One After (6:30)
12. Outline (5:13) (CD + Digital Only)
LP
A1. Leave It (6:19)
A2. Substance B (6:22)
B1. Ground (5:30)
B2. Comma, Fade (6:59)
C. Descending Order (8:19)
D1. One After (6:43)
D2. Volve (4:50)
Digital Bonus Track: Rate 78.17 (6:00)
England Makes Contakt!
Saturday, October 4th, 2008 | Event Preview, Events | No Comments
Have you noticed that the evenings have been getting darker a little earlier? You might put that down to winter. Actually the truth is the Berlin juggernaut label Minus is making its way to town. The UK leg of their Contakt tour will be rolling into London on the 18th Oct but not before a quick Minus showcase at the Manchester Warehouse Project on the 17th which I hasten to add we have a delightful competition to win a pair of tickets!
But first let’s talk about Contakt in London. On Saturday 18th October, Richie Hawtin and friends will take over the tunnels of SE One to wow your senses in an orgy of twiste, abstract techno whilst an invigorating, immersive visual display of lights and images will suck you into the dark world of Minus. Together, Richie Hawtin, Magda, Troy Pierce, Marc Houle, Hearththrob and Gaiser will collectively build a journey of music whilst Ali Demirel will interpret this into a visual extravaganza so your eyes don’t feel too left out. It’s quite a spectacle. Those that were at Field Day this year would have seen a glimpse of the visuals to be expected, whilst anyone that made it to Sonar would have seen the whole show in motion. EarPipe saw both and we can say it is visually stunning as the pictures in this post prove. Some of the best visuals we’ve seen at an event. As for the music, expect all kinds of techno and house with each of the djs inputting their mark on things. With their collective minds the possibilities are endless. Tickets are still going at Phonica and on the door, so better get in there early as this one is definitely a road block!
Now on to Manchester. Before their London show, Hawtin along with Troy Pierce, Gaiser and Barem will be commanding the northern masses. This won’t be a full blown Contakt show but it sure will be entertaining. It will be the first time that Hawtin has played the Warehouse in three years it has been going so it is sure to be something special. To make it even better, for one night only those folks from WHP have managed to smooth talk the environmental officers of Manchester to let them stay open till 7am!!!!
As attendees of that infamous ambassador’s party would say, Excellente!
So, how does one win a pair of tickets to Minus Presents… at the Manchester Warehouse Project on the 17th October? All you need to do is answer the simple question below:
Where did EarPipe catch the Contakt show this summer?
Send your answer along with your name and location to sublevelsessions@googlemail.com
Competition closes on the 12th October 2008
The Warehouse Project Sets Up in Store Street for the Final Time
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 | Event Preview, News | No Comments
Just a quick note to let you know those folks in Manchester are at it again. The third season of the Warehouse Project sees them take over the Store Street car park for the final time. For twelve chilly winter weeks you can see the finest lineups ever to hit Manchester in a stunning urban and underground setting. Co Founder Sam Kandel says,
“The programme for this years series is, we think, the best yet. It has been gradually pieced together since last October. This year there will be a second more intimate room of music, which has allowed us to go even deeper with the line-ups, putting on some really underground breaking talent in addition to the huge main room action you are used to. The preparation for the annual series has become a genuine labour of love for all involved – now everything is set its time to get moving… Welcome back to The Warehouse.”
So which nights are EarPipe looking forward to? Well the first one on our radar has to be the Minus Presents night on the 17th October. You would have thought we’d be sick of Richie and his label mates. But no we keep going back for more. Friday will see the Minus gang roll into Manchester ahead of their main Contakt event in London. Support comes from Troy Pierce, Gaiser and Barem. This will no doubt be a road block event, so get your tickets early!
The next big one has to be the Exhibitionist night on 1st November. The alien from Detroit returns to pummel the north with his space aged techno. Joining Jeff Mills will be three of the hottest heads in house music, Ewan Pearson, Ame and Dixon. Definitely not one to be missed.
Sven Vath does his usual stop off with his Cocoon night on 14th November. He’s joined by Extrawelt and Tobi Neumann, both hot property right now, especially after Tobi’s recent Secretsundaze CD release. They’ve also got all three of those Romanians doing the business right now. Raresh, Rhadoo and Pedro will be playing for six hours as the RPR sound system in the intimate backroom.
Finally if Novembers at home don’t mean anything to you the 21st November sees Resident Advisor host John Digweed and Luciano. The cheeky Chilean has also called in support from his label buddies Thomas Melchior, Alejandro Vivanco and Reboot.
So there the nights we think might be a bit alright. Obviously there are the other twenty odd nights which also look fantastic, there just isn’t enough room on these pages.
Don’t forget to check back for competitions to win free tickets to some of the nights we’ve picked out… .Viva Manchester, Viva Warehouse Project!
EarPipe’s Field Day Recommendations
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 | Event Preview | 2 Comments
The weekend is nearly here! And that means that our Saturday day time is going to be filled with the joys of Field Day. We’ll be splating rats and sack racing at the village fete and will no doubt be getting slightly inebriated in a field, well Victoria Park to be precise. But amongst all that there is actually some acts and djs to catch. So here’s who EarPipe will be checking out this Saturday.
James Holden
The Border Community head honcho and quirker electronic music extraordinaire is set to play the Bugged Out stage. James isn’t your straight forward techno and electronic dance music DJ. His extensive repertoire of music crosses all boundaries and genres so you’re never really too sure where he’s going to take you. If you’ve heard his At The Controls compilation or album The Idiots Are Winning then you will know what I’m on about. Do not miss this man!
Richie Hawtin
As ever Richie is still a firm favourite of ours at EarPipe. His Contakt set at Sonar was pretty good fun, but this Saturday it will be unadulterated, pure Hawtin. No cube gimmicks, no collaborative dj set antics. Just straight up Hawtin and techno. Well there is the addition of Ali Demirel and his meta-control visual display. Not sure what that means, but if it was the stuff that was on the screens at Sonar then I’m all for that.
The Field
Again another favourite from Sonar, we’ll be happy to catch this man again on the main stage. His warped electronic soundscapes will be a great accompaniment to the sunshine we’re keeping fingers crossed for.
Benga
Fancy taking it a bit urban? Benga is sure to entertain. This man can do no wrong on the dubstep scene at the moment. Everything he releases is touching to gold and his DJ skills are supposed to be a bit alright like. You may know him for that track Night, you know the one that goes bo bo bo bo boooooooooooooo.
Foals
This five piece indie dance amalgamation from Oxford is set to play the main stage. They were there last year as support but this year they come back to headline. Their high paced tracks with hints of punk and urm maybe a bit of funk will no doubt get the Shoreditch fashionistas revelling around.
Modeselektor
The duo from Berlin will be found on the Bugged Out stage. If you heard their Boogybytes CD from last year you will know these guys will cause a stir. House, techno, electronic dance music, the lot. They even have Thom Yorke as a fan.
Simian Mobile Disco
We all know who these boys are. They want to be our friends with those French Justice lot. They did and now we love them all. Their live show is something to be seen with the old skool synths and their taste for electronic music is impeccable. And if their forthcoming Fabric CD is anything to go by then be sure to strap on your air punching arm.
Mystery Jets
The Mystery Jets have a nostalgic kind of eighties feel about them. Their sound is slightly retro with the synths and drums. They combine it with that UK indie sound and the results are colourful. Erol Alkan has produced these guys and with once a father son lineup they’re sure to be interesting.
Crookers
Riding on the crest of fidget house, this Italian duo have been invading speakers with their blend of ghetto tech sounds with hip hop vocals on switch style fidgety beats. Plain fun bounce around beats to where those bright coloured plastic sunglasses with the struts across where the lens should be.
EarPipe Talks to Tom Baker about Field Day 2008 and Eat Your Own Ears
Thursday, July 31st, 2008 | Event Preview | 1 Comment
Field Day will be arriving on London’s door step for the second time on the 9th August. Taking place in Victoria Park, Field Day promises the alternative festival experience with music from the leftfield combined with that village fete mentality. Headlining the day out will be the Foals, Mercury nominated Fionn Regan, Mystery Jets, Magistrates, Richie Hawtin (Minus, Berlin) with a very exclusive visuals show by Ali Demirel, King Creosote (as a duo), Wild Beasts, Simian Mobile Disco, The Notwist and many more. All for under 30 bucks!
We got to talk to Field Day’s father and organiser Tom Baker from Eat Your Own Ears about this year’s festival.
hi tom, firstly for our readers that don’t know, tell us about you, what you do at eat your own ears and how field day came about?
Me and my girlfriend Natalie (who is currently putting together the Village Mentality Village Green area at Field Day this year) put together a free event a few years back outside the Griffin pub in Old Street for 1000 people a day over a summer weekend called Return Of The Rural; a village fete with live acoustic acts James Yorkston and Beth Orton alongside acts like Clinic and Four Tet. Marcus who ran the Griffin and was involved very much in making the event happen, so after the success of this we all thought we should do something bigger and on a grander scale.A year later Marcus confirmed the use of Victoria Park and I drew up a list of people i thought should be involved – Adventures In The Beetroot Field, Bugged Out, Bloggers Delight and Homefires so we have a strong net work to promote the event through. I then started drawing up all the bands i wanted to play and started talking to agents. Field Day was announced…
Eat Your Own Ears was started by me 6 years ago at 93 Feet East on Brick Lane, London to work with independent record labels such as Domino, Kitty Yo, Rephlex, Rough Trade to showcase new acts alongside established artists. Eat Your Own Ears now works with various labels as well as a selection of artists promoting in various venues mainly in London.
I was one of the first promoters to work with the likes of Danger Mouse (aka Gnarls Barkley) Four Tet, Bloc Party, Peaches, The Kaiser Chiefs, Maxino Park and many others well before any press or media hype, Mercury award winning artists Franz Ferdinand and Antony and The Johnsons, and promotes 2007 Mercury award nominated artists Bat For Lashes, Jamie T and Fionn Regan.
I’m continuing to work as director of Eat You Own Ears with an EYOE series at Indigo in April and various gigs in venues across London from the Scala to KOKO to Shepherds Bush Empire to Bardens Boudoir…
What can we expect this year from Field Day?
After many discussions following our first Field Day last year we felt we had to do it again and make it better. We have been planning ever since, in fact it feels very much like a new festival.
We are all having lots of production meetings, sending out advances and info to the bands and of course making sure posters and flyers are everywhere and mailouts are going out, so lots of hard work and lots of fete things like bunting, ribbons and aprons arriving and stacking up the office
What’s new for Field Day this year?
New to Field Day this year is a dedicated village green area.
Inspired by summer sports days and country fetes.How do you think the village mentality area will go down with the punters and how do we get involved?
Be great, like a village fete Village Mentality will host side- stalls and activities throughout the daytime, ranging from sack-racing to splat-the-rat to the ‘eat as many carrots as you can’ contest and the Tug O’ War.
Last year there were some troubles with queues, toilets, sound and food. what happened and is everything all sorted for this year?
This year we have brought in specialist events agency Ear To The Ground to ensure this years exciting line up is matched with full event management. Ear To The Ground has a wealth of experience in running a variety of events in England and was recently responsible for launching this year’s Liverpool European Capital of Culture.Using Ear To The Ground’s experience of providing for large events, we’re going to make sure that the number of toilets is more than adequate to service the site this year and this provision will be significantly above the recommended level. These will include both normal portaloos and also urinals which can reduce queues substantially.
One of the biggest challenges that any promoter faces working in an urban park is getting the sound levels from the stages right. Every local authority has rules about the amount of noise you can make to ensure that people living nearby aren’t unnecessarily disturbed. We’ve been working with the local authority since November last year and have employed a specialist noise consultancy, Vanguardia, to redesign the site and calculate what levels we need to put on a great show.
Vanguardia have worked across live music from Wembley Stadium gigs to the Download festival and are very well regarded within the business.
We are confident that with the conditions we have negotiated for our entertainment license and the day to day management from Vanguardia, we will achieve a significant volume increase throughout the site to complement the exciting line up we have secured this year.In terms of eating and drinking we have over 100 metres of bars this year provided by Peppermint, who are behind the bars at some of the UK’s most innovative and exciting festivals including Bestival, The Glade and The Secret Garden Party to name a few. There is also a wide variety of food on offer including gourmet burgers, delicous handmade pies and Cakes; vegan & veggie wholefood, Mexican food peddled from a Volkswagen Beetle and the infamous Tiny Tea Tent.
Who or what are you most excited about this year?
We recommend you see as much as you can but some highlightswould have to be Foals who played mid bill last butare now headlining the Converse / Eat Your Own Ears main stage. Their mix of stridentpost- rock / jazz / pop and electronics and poly-rhythms are intense yet catchyand should get everyone dancing… Ifyou’re a fan of Battles then you should definitely check out Foals.
Weare very lucky to have dance music pioneerRichie Hawtin playing a
special2 hour set with unique visuals by Ali Demirel on the Bugged Out stage. You can also shake a leg next door in the Bloggers Delight tent to local heroes Trailer Trash, Wet Yourself, Durrr and many others.Overon the Homefires stage you should catch Mercury nominated Fionn Regan who plays his first London show for a long while;similar to Dylan’s early albums, but with the flow of Nick Drake… FionnRegan’s live sets are beautiful and beguiling.
Baltimore’s Dan Deacon brings his own weird takeon electro noise rock to the Adventuresin the Beetroot Field and NME Stage as he takes in influences from Devo to Talking Heads to the Residentsmixes them up and delivers a sound that could be somewhere close to LCD Soundsystem on crack…
Are there any official Field Day after parties we should be getting ourselves to?
The Official Field Day after party at The End 11pm – 7am Featuring bands and dj’s playing records including Crookers, Brodinski, Foals, Mystery Jets, Filthy Dukes and more.£15adv www.ticketweb.co.uk £12 NUS/£16 on the door.
What makes Field Day different from your regular GlobalCreamW4s?
Its a central London event, and a good day out for a very reasonable ticket price for the 5 stages and amount of acts you can get to see and some great mix of music from folk to dance to indie to electronica, and by some bands that don’t play often or at all the other festivals.
Which acts/DJs are you particularly enjoying this year?
I am really into Santogolds album, Bon Iver’s album I am addicted to Radioheads album even after so many months of constant listening – Errors are great live as wellAnd finally, what would be your one tip for Field Day this year?
Get their early to see Noah and the whale and also catch Richie Hawtin, Fionn Regan, Dan Deacon, Foals and as much as i can really…
Field Day takes place at London’s Victoria Park in Hackney. For more information and tickets go to http://www.fielddayfestivals.com/
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