Cougar Microbes

After answering the previous week’s call from Kendal Calling, it is on to Big Chill for team Cougar Microbes‘ next stop off in a marathon of summer festivals.

Right from the off this is the friendliest I have encountered yet. Stewards wish you a jolly good knees-up. Caterers willingly smile without gritting their teeth. Furthermore there is plenty of space to pitch your tent – and there are showers.

It is no secret that this year’s Big Chill is far from a sellout – the consequence of an ever-growing UK festival market which pretty much operates all year round. But those who have flocked to Eastnor Castle Deer Park are in for numerous great acts to wave their glowsticks to.

Fenech Soler get our procedings off to a start with their cool – sometimes too cool – synth-heavy pop. The tent packs out quickly with impressive hair-do’s and catchy hooks. There are far worse ways to start a weekend.

Next up we have received an anonymous tip that Wild Beasts are tearing up the main stage. Not to fear though, we’re soon nodding along to melodic tunes in the vein of a laid back Everything, Everything. Wild Beasts by name, master craftsmen by trade.

A brief visit to one of our friendly caterers and then back to the main stage. Empire of The Sun ‘wow‘ us with glam costumes, a glitzy stage show and quality pop before veteran dance legends The Chemical Brothers light up the night with an impeccable set.

Day two starts with a gratefully received four-pack of Lucozade delivered by a bleary-eyed Chemical Brothers fan. Our summer benefactors are certainly treating us well.

Today is wetter and greyer but there is still plenty of fun to be had. We try a spinny fair ride, immediately wish we hadn’t, and recover just in time for Metronomy. The Brighton outfit are great, but then we knew they would be. They draw mainly from albums ‘Nights Out‘ and ‘The English Riviera‘, showing off their quirky electro hooks and witty lyrics en route to crowd pleasing closer ‘Radio Ladio‘.

Escaping the gloriously unpredictable weather we head for Juke Joint, a deep south barn themed tent. It feels authentic enough and as DJs spin tidy tunes we sip on a delectable Southern Comfort cocktail. Just the one – we’re working.

Saturday’s headliner is Kanye West who has the crowd howling with disapproval after turning up half an hour late. He somehow wins most people over – citing vocal troubles as his excuse for lateness – then goes on an inexplicable 20 minute rant. He raves about his music videos, boasts about awards, attacks the press and likens his public image to that of Hitler. Cue more howls of disapproval. Nonetheless his performance, when it comes, is fairly spectacular.

The final day of our festival extravaganza is peppered with heavy rain showers. However, this is no reason for the fun to stop. We spend a very pleasant half hour watching PJ Harvey‘s Let England Shake film – in a tent – before scoffing some tea and cake chez Mr Scruff.

Then it’s on to the main stage to take in our final act of the weekend – legend Robert Plant and The Band of Joy. The seasoned local boy blasts out a great set drawn from a back catalogue that boasts Led Zeppelin classics. It is a perfect way to end a great weekend.

Cougar Microbes attended Big Chill 2011 in collaboration with Lucozade‘s Play Festivals campaign.

—–

Post written by Kenny

—–

TRACKS:

Fenech-Soler – The Cult Of Romance (Alan Braxe Remix)

WILD BEASTS – Bed Of Nails

The Chemical Brothers – Swoon (DJ Macabre’s Fantastik Remix)

METRONOMY – THE BAY (ROMERO REMIX)

Kanye West – Power

Il Abanico hail from Colombia but call Boston home these days racking a number of shows on the East Coast.

Guitarist Nicolás Losada and singer Juliana Landero have taken a modern shoegaze approach and soaked it in influences from other Massachusetts bands such as Dinosaur Jnr and the Pixies.

What is exciting about Il Abanico is they have a tendency to “fuck up” their classic pop melodies throwing in unexpected chord patterns and unusual melodies into the mix. With a slight nod to the eclecticism of their South American roots the results are wonderfully jangly guitar lines laid down for Juliana‘s vocals to soar.

Catch Il Abanico on tour throughout September.

Songs of Love by il abanico

The light! by il abanico

As we headed towards the O2 arena for Smirnoff Sensation 2011 there was a evident buzz on the tube to the venue with everyone already making friends and getting hyped up. Once we arrived we were escorted to the press area but we could admire the insanely long cue of people dressed in white ready to go crazy tonight.

We enjoyed a complimentary drink from our vantage point in the highest tier of the o2 and were shown where we could get the best view which at 9:30 looking down was admittedly still pretty empty. As the venue visibly filled up including the deluxe area -a white castle amongst the stands- we could see the long queues we had spotted earlier gradually trickling in.

As we begun mixing with the crowd one hour lateral and there was a lot of anticipation in the air. It was great to see that Sensation had brought it’s trademark scenery to London. We were able to admire a ginormous jellyfish hanging from ceiling, vast underwater scenery and a spaceship like 360-rotating DJ platform with bubble-like lights sticking out strategically positioned at the centre of the venue.

Nothing was missing from this night that fans wouldn’t recognise from either a previous event or the youtube videos. Close to the launch hour, although not completely full yet, we were ready for the count down which hit us with a repetitive boom. There were fireworks, fountain works, crazy lasers scanning the crowd and the deep echoing recognisable voice of Sensation.

Mr White kickstarted the night injecting the place, which was really filling up now, with dancing fuel. He offered a good electronic beat, deep house with powerful beats. As we moved deeper into the dance floor, we observed (and appreciated) all the kinky and fun costumes. Swans , angels, aliens, carnival, masks, t shirts with puns e.g ’ this is a white t-shirt’, white sunglasses, wigs and all sorts were on display.

Powering on from Mr White‘s performance came Eric E who offered more electric beats to keep the mood going. To be honest the biggest attraction of this set were the huge glowing colourful balls that were tossed around to stimulate the crowd. We tried to get in the mix but it proved really tough to reach up with everyone else.

Joris Vroon & Nic Fanciulli were on next. Their set tick-tocked its way on to the dance floor quirky electronic sounds. First offering the strong beat from Alex Kenji’s ‘Something About You‘ before carrying with classics from Junior Jack, Daft Punk and Groove Armada, as well as more quirky minimal techno from Plastikman. These guys did not disappoint offering one of the best sets of the night in a lot of peoples’ opinion.

The Smirnoff Mix entailed a mashup of well known tracks like the never failing Benny Benassi ‘Satisfaction‘ mixed with unexpected oldies like Depeche Mode‘s ‘Personal Jesus‘. This was a fun set to that entertained and surprised us. By this point I think everyone in the entire arena was wearing a Smirnoff ring. With its LED light you could see all the grooving hands shimmer looking really cool from the distance

Fedde Legrande opened his set with Madonna music. This electrifying start was magnified by fireworks and Cirque de Soleil style dancers coming down from the ceiling- for me this was the best moment, you actually had to stop and just watch. Again, a great set was delivered on the same level as Nic Fanciulli earlier. You could tell that everyone was ecstatic at this point screaming, wolf whistling and yelling with excitement.

Martin Solveig turned up with his trade mark sweat band around his head hitting with his latest tune ‘Hello‘ right at the beginning of the set. All in all, even if was the DJ we were most looking forward to seeing , he was a bit disappointing as rather commercial on the night. he pleased the crowd with some floor fillers that have rocked our us since our teenage years but we might have found it a bit outdated.

No worries though because Sander Van Door managed to lift the spirits much higher after Solveig set. He too dropped some classics like Zombie Nation with ‘Old School‘ but the beats were a bit more lively. Spectacular fireworks appeared again for the ending followed by a deafening round of applause from the whole arena. Of course there was an encore last smashing tune, and no one dared to leave till it was actually all over and the lights came up

What can I say, Smirnoff Sensation 2011 was truly sensational and I didn’t want it to end. The good news is the mc ended things by saying ‘see you next year’. I think I speak for everyone in saying: I can’t wait!

—–

Post by Scarlett

—–

TRACKS:

NIC FANCIULLI – Green Tea (Syndrom)

Everything But The Girl – Missing (Fedde Le Grande Remix)

Martin Solveig feat Kele – Ready 2 Go (Billboard remix)

Sander van Doorn- Daisy (Tintdeejay`s Remix)

It has been a long time since I last visited a proper music festival. I have always hated camping. An attachment to home comforts – colour TV, hi-fi stereo, designer sofa, electricity, running water – exposes me for the materialistic 80s brat that I am. So it was with a degree of apprehension that I migrated north to the Lake District for a summer weekend of music.

Many of this year’s festivals have struggled to shift tickets but Kendal Calling had no such worries. The boutique event sold out well in advance and upon arrival it was immediately obvious why. Showcasing acts like Blondie, Chase & Status, The Cribs and Frank Turner against a backdrop of beautiful rolling hills – and the occasional lake – certainly makes for sunny faces.

We pitched our tent with surprising ease and headed for the arena just in time to catch hip hop old-timers House Of Pain break into ‘that’ song. So we jumped around a bit, investigated what the modern music festival has to offer – posh pizzas apparently – and then checked out headliners Chase & Status. We found the Londoners on hot form, whipping up the masses into a Friday night party. Yes.

Easy Star All-Stars set the beaming Saturday mood with dub and reggae renditions of classics from The Beatles, Radiohead and Pink Floyd. It was certainly a very pleasant way to start an afternoon before the festival’s stand-out act, angular rock outfit Young Knives, took to the stage. I am reliably informed it was front man Henry Dartnall’s first ever topless gig. The three-piece didn’t let that phase them as they stomped through favourites from ‘Terra Firma‘ to ‘Weekends & Bleak Days‘ – complete with appropriate sing-along line “hot summer, hot hot summer!”

After a few complimentary shots of Lucozade – thank you sunburnt Lucozade man – we headed over to watch the fittingly energetic punk outfit The Minx bound around stage to rapturous applause. There was just enough time to scoff a gourmet kangaroo (!) burger before seeing Japanese Popstars take over from where Chase & Status left off the previous evening. An incredibly striking aspect of the weekend was the energetic crowds. Though we did our best to keep up we headed for our nylon home some time after one am with the party still in full swing.

Drawing from a distant memory I somehow had the impression that the final day of a festival has the potential to be an anti-climax. Not so at Kendal Calling. After taking in some festival art and expert hula-hoop performances we decided to plonk ourselves at the main stage for Lancashire Hotpots’ northern humour and Frank Turner’s folk punk. Neither disappointed but the top act of the day was Cougar favourite Blondie. Not looking a day over 26 – ok, maybe a day or two over – Debbie Harry belted out hits including ‘Hanging on the Telephone’ and ‘One Way or Another’ to give this charming festival the rousing send-off it deserved.

Cougar Microbes attended Kendal Calling 2011 as part of Lucozade‘s Play Festivals campaign. Make sure to check back as we bring you more events through the summer.

—–

Post by Kenny.

—–

TRACKS:

This Saturday we fancied something a little different so we are heading to The O2 Arena for Sensation presented by Smirnoff. Expect everyone to be dressed head to toe in white while some of dance’s biggest names perform on stage.

You can expect to see the likes of Mr.White, Erick E, Joris Voorn & Nic Fanculli, Fedde Le Grand, Martin Solveig and Sander Van Doorn.

If all this is not enough to get your juices flowing Sensation also offers unique stage shows featuring all sorts of acrobats, performers, lasers and fireworks.

For more info click here.

TRACKS:

Following an impressive performance at Los Angeles‘ King King venue Cougar Microbes caught up with Little People for an improvised q&a. Over the past month or so we’ve been shooting emails back and forth to complete the interview.

Check back here tomorrow for a Little People remix exclusive available here for you.

Cougar Microbes: What time did you wake up today? Was it out of choice or necessity?

Little People: Got up round 6am this morning… Still being on east coast time + needed to finish up a remix I had been working on (Joey Fehrenbach - Underwander) … I know I should be telling you I was on a massive night out and slept in til 3pm… Sadly not so.

CM: Describe Little People to the uninitiated?

LP: The Little People sound probably originates from mid 90′s and has its basis in all the hip hop i used to listen to back then. i guess I fit somewhere between instrumental hip hop and downtempo electronica… My early material was heavily reliant on samples, nowadays i try and make it sound like it does . Beaty, bleepy, melodic, cinematic … Any of these tags work…

CM:How have you been killing time on the road, hobbies?

LP: Unless you call multiple visits to Radio Shack to get my UK kit working on US mains a hobby… When I travel I tend to want to taste of the local food delicacies each region/country has to offer. Unfortunately didn’t get much time for that… although i did come across my new favourite snack which is a mexican thing.., dried mango with chili… pure awesomeness.

CM: What have been your favourite venues to play? Any wenues you hated?

LP: LA was great… Regeneration Festival in Oregon was awesome (1000+ crowd and my first festival).. But everywhere I’ve been so far has been incredible in terms of the response from the crowd. I’m a little bit of an oddity in that I have little to no profile on blogs and press… But yet my 2006 debut album sells pretty well on iTunes in the us thanks to people discovering me the online radio Pandora. This has meant that a fair few people have turned up at my shows all over the country. I’m still too wet behind the ears as far as playing live shows to start bitching about venues…

CM: Is there a song you are simply sick of playing?

LP: I’m still baffled by the popularity of the opening track called Basique off my debut album (‘Mickey Mouse Operation‘)… It’s fairly simple and repetitive and i wasn’t sure i should include on the album at all. So i’m fairly ambivalent about playing the track live because people love it so much, whilst i’m so so about it… but hey, i’m here to please!

CM: What is the songwriting process like for Little People. Are you able to write on the road or do you do this in your off time?

LP: It used to be crate digging -> sample -> chop -> arrange -> done. But now the sampling part has been ditched, coming up with original material that’s half as as good as what’s out there to be sampled is a little more time consuming. It is of course ultimately more satisfying though.

My starting point tends to be a particular technical process or idea which offers a base around which i will flesh out a track. I’ve enjoyed using the principles self-generative music (a la Brian Eno) to help produce happy accidents and new ideas – which will in turn become fully fledged tracks.

The starting point for most my material is with the laptop – so i can make music on the go fairly easily. Further down the line i like to take things out of the box and re-record things with real actual musician and analogue outboard gear.

CM: Favourite Little People track and why?

LP: my favourite tracks tend not to be the ones my listeners prefer… ‘Behind Closed Doors‘ i really like from my debut album but rarely gets praised.

CM: If you could record any cover what would it be?

LP: ‘Bibo No Aozora‘ by Ryuichi Sakamoto I think. Or maybe if i’m bold ‘Music for 18 Musicians‘ by Steve Reich…

CM: Do your songs go through many revisions via demo recordings?

LP: There are endless iteration to the tracks i do – it’s actually a bit ridiculous. Some tracks have nearly 30 versions… I tend to take my time to get it right. I can only admire people (ok it’s more jealousy) who bang out tracks super quick. But maybe sometimes having too much material can sometimes dilute your work i feel. I like the idea of making each track count.

CM: What came first, the beat or the melody?

LP: Melody for me. Although i work in beat-based genre.

CM: What are your views on auto tune?

LP: It sounded shit when Cher first brought it to the public’s attention . What’s wrong with a vocoder?!

CM: Any other artists/bands from your local scene we really should know about?

LP: I recently met Collin Palmer (who records under the name Calmer on 1320 records) when playing Denver recently – big fan of his material. Love Star Slinger. Who doesn’t. Blank and Kytt are pretty ace…

CM: Most flattering thing you’ve read about yourselves?

LP: Comparisons to DJ Shadow. The rest of us can only ever aspire (but ultimately fail) to write our own ‘Endtroducing‘.

CM: What was the first record/tape/cd you ever bought?

LP: It was Eurythmics… yeah i know… not that cool huh?!

CM: What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

LP: Photek‘s ‘Hidden Camera‘ – which i only rediscovered recently. There’s not much of a melody but that drum break is sooo good!

CM: What was the last show you paid and queued up for?

LP: Star Slinger…

CM: If you had to bring a musician back from the dead in exchange for sending a living artist down ,which artists would it be and why?

LP: I’d bring back Curtis Mayfield – the man was just awesome. i went through a phase of listening to a lot of his stuff. He’s probably the one who got me obsessed with string arrangements. In exchange, let’s please send record exec – turned producer – turned (terrible) rapper – Puff Daddy to an early grave please. He probably did far more than most to totally ruin my enjoyment of hip hop in the late 90s.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for an exclusive download of the Joey Fehrenbach remix Little People mentions above!

TRACKS:

As summer continues to (slowly) flow in, so do fortunately music festivals ! Here is a fun and friendly festival that is worth having a look at !

Leefest is taking place on the beautiful rural location of Higham Hills Farms, Bromley, South East London and is happening on the 12-14th August.

Marked by the medley of artists it welcomes : famous acts such as British Sea Power, Fenech Soler, Young Knives, Foamo, DJ Fresh or The Whip just to name a few, it also gives the chance to young talented local acts to perform in front of an audience of 2000 people. Indeed, Leefest has carefully chosen 13 breakthrough acts out of 200 applicants, bringing you the very best of the next generation.

Leefest is also about more than just music, and offers a wide range of activities such as a graffiti performance, sculptures and installations, a campfire and a healing and massage area, as well as hosting the intriguing ‘Wonderland‘. For just 55 £ the weekend… I say it is definitely worth it.

To add to the fun, LeeFest, which has started six years ago as a back garden festival, is celebrating the growing number of portaloos by launching ‘VIPee‘ which will give guests the chance to bid for four festival tickets with all proceeds going to the Kids Company Charity. The winning bidder will earn the title of ‘VIPee‘ of Leefest 2011 and gain access to their very own red carpeted and treat-filled portaloo for the weekend !

As a non-profit music festival the organisers are dedicated to authenticity and supporting up and coming bands.What should be remembered about Leefest is their strong dedication to ethos and their approach to music. The festival is about the love of music, having fun, and giving opportunities to unsigned bands, and all that in a genuinely good and friendly spirit.

—–

Post by Olivia

—–

TRACKS:

Here is the video for Joan As Police Woman‘s new single ‘Chemmie‘ taken from her latest album ‘The Deep Field’. By all accounts this is her best output yet and this video is further proof of her genius.

The Brooklyn gal has been touring all over the world justifiably winning new fans everywhere she goes. She heads to Europe for an extensive run of shows interjected with some US dates. UK fans can expect a whole range of headline performances including a date at Shepherds Bush Empire on September 9th.

Must see!

TRACKS: