the summer ATP arent even over yet and they have already announced the Christmas one and wow

"After the enormous success of last year’s sold out and mind-blowing UK tour and a brilliant turn as the inaugural curators for ATP New York, we are very pleased to announce that the curators for ATP: Nightmare Before Christmas, 2009 will be:

MY BLOODY VALENTINE!

The event will take place at Butlins Holiday Resort in Minehead, England from December 4th - 6th, 2009.

So far confirmed to join the legendary sonic sculptors are:

Sonic Youth
De La Soul
EPMD
Sun Ra Arkestra
The Horrors

And of course, My Bloody Valentine themselves."

Tickets go on sale Firday

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This weekends hangover mix comes from Nottingham band Lovvers. Lovvers sound is a chaotic mixture of fractured guitar and mangled vocals, redolent of early 90s US acts such as Scratch Acid and Drive Like Jehu. The group features a former member of The Murder of Rosa Luxemburg.
check out what tracks they picked in the read more as well as the dates for lovvers playing in Ireland


01 Boards of Canada - In a beautiful place out in the country
02 Beach Boys - Surfs up
03 Om - At Giza
04 Swamp Rats - I'm going home
05 My Bloody Valentine - sometimes
06 Food - Exeter Opening
07 Replacements - Androgynous
08 Leonard Cohen - you know who I am
09 John Fahey - In christ there is no east or west
10 Linda Perhacs - Chimacum Rain

Click here to download

Lovvers - Human Hair


3 Oct 2008 LOVVERS (Uk, Wichita Records) / BATS / WEIL RATS Boom Boom Room, Dublin



4 Oct 2008 Lavery’s Attic OSCILLATIONS FESTIVAL @ BOPYESTRUM BELFAST


Lovvers myspace

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Fun and frolics abound at the latest Electric Picnic which, despite having several worthy acts poached by the cunt of all festivals that took place back in July, still mustered together enough madness to make it easily Irelands music festival of choice.

Click on the read more for my blow by blow account of what the hell I got up to during the day and most importantly who I saw and even more importantly if they were any good.



Friday

Before I embark on this dredge into my memories I'm going to give a spoiler: I saw no bad acts at Electric Picnic. Some were lacklustre but nobody truly sucked which was a bit of a revelation as usually at each festival there's one or two acts who will truly piss me off. A bit like MGMT did at the aforementiond cuntfest.

Having arrived in the early afternoon it was considered pretty good going that I actually managed to get all the way from the back of the Andy Warhol campsite in time to see Jape. Did anybody else notice how fucking annoying it was that they gave the campsites names this year instead of colours. How many times did you hear "What campsite are you in?" "Jimi Hendrix" "Which one is that?". Whats wrong with just simple red, blue and yellow. Causes far too much confusion.


Anyway. Jape. Well if you don't already know that the man has one of the best albums of the year and a class live act then you shouldn't be reading this cause he does on both counts. I found it strangely ironic that the Crawdaddy tent is about ten times bigger than Crawdaddy itself but Jape managed to pack the fucker out and entertain the masses who all sang along in their droves to "Floating" and "I was a man" amongst others.

While stopping to have a mong break after Jape one couldn't help but take in a little bit of yet another reformed Irish act this time in the shape of The Stunning. Not having been old enough back in the early 90's to have appreciated these lads most of the songs were fairly lost on me but its telling how much of a fickle bunch modern audiences are that during their last song ("Brewing up a Storm" naturaly) everybody starts running towards the tent in order to cath a blast of the only Stunning song that they (and I) know. It does happen to be a good one though if a bit of a rip off of "Don't fear the Reaper".

Wander over to Goldfrapp to catch a few minutes. She's good at what she does but she's never exactly blown my skirt up and she seems to be dipping into her folky shit instead of the dancy stuff that everybody likes. Ho hum.

My mate Jono from England turns up out of nowhere. "What are you doing here man?" I say. "All I have to do is inflate the inflatable church at the start and deflate it at the end. Free flight grub and ticket". Bastard. He did however draw my attention to Beardyman playing in the Bacardi live tent. Human beatbox kind of character. Very very impressive sounds coming out of his gob. Doing cover versions of songs while playing all the instuments with his vocals at the same time. Fucking man had some time so spare growing up no doubt.

Wander over for a bit of Digitalism. Good sounds. Pity I wasn't so fucked or I would have stayed longer. Reminded myself to get the album and note next time they're playing.

First must see of the weekend: Sigur Ros. Nothing will make me forgive myself for walking out of them two years ago at cuntfest and go to see Humanzi instead just on the basis of being too hyper for whale music. This will rectify everything hopefully so set up my chair and sit and let the beauty wash over me. I'm not going to say that Sigur Ros get better and better with each album as they're last two haven't been as good as "()" or "Agaetis Byrjun" (they're still great though) but they've got enough quality to fill as sets worth and I pray nonetheless that "Untitled #8" will finish the set which, thank fucking christ, it does. If ever there was a song you'd want playing as the world blew up around you then that would be it. The rest of the night is left hoping just that will happen.




Saturday

Saturday begins mid afternoon with a trip to the Electric Arena where Midnight Juggernauts are halfway through the set. Not being familiar with their work I head on advice and am impressed with their electro rocky sounds. Will be seeing if the album measures up so wait with bated breath guys lest I piss on thee from afar.

The Breeders begin and within two songs have bored the shite out of me so I head over to the Little Big Tent to wait for The Faint. Having been listening to these dudes for about 6 years tensions are rising with their first trip to these shores. Unfortunately this didn't turn out to be the barnstormer that we all had hoped as they appear 25 minutes late only to play for 20 minutes and then bugger off. They cite technical difficulties but we love The Faint so in fairness they could have come out and read the fucking phone book and we would have been happy. Next time though please come and play your own gig and really blow our cockheads off.

A bit of a tent break to prepare ourselves for what is certainly going to be the maddest hour of the weekend as Warlords of Pez follow three sexy nurses toting free vodka shots onto the stage and swing their mighty cocks and balls into our gleeful mugs. I've had to wait long enough to see these mad cunts so I'm going to be a selfish bastard and not tell you what went in just so you can drag your carcasses down to where they will next rape and pillage and see them for yourself. Consider yourselves warned. And shat upon.




Little bit sad I missed Grace Jones but what can one do. Head to the Electric Arena for Underworld? Sure why not. Good sounds. Tent too packed? Too stoned? That would be a yes. Lie on the grass and mong out? Yes please. Underworld prove that they can still pump out a quality crowd-pleaser but unlike The Chemical Brothers who seem to evolve as dance evolves they seem to be still stuck in their mid to late 90's phase. Woody Allen's analogy about the shark moving forward springs to mind but regardless they know how to pack a tent out.

Wander past George Clinton. Not feeling it. Good funky sounds but elsewhere needs attention.


Sunday

On what is normally my festival day for lying around feeling like the population of Morocco just shat in my head I find myself strangely chipper in the morning and what is more, am able to head down to catch my earliest festival slot in 6 years. Despite playing at the ungodly hour of 12.30 Ham Sandwich have managed to almost fill the Crawdaddy tent. A mighty achievement and proof still that this band are rising and rising. Their songs sound great on the large stage and Niamh Farrel shows she has recovered well enough from popping a sprog. The main focus as usual is on Podge and what he's wearing, in this case a bunny suit, and god did I ever envy the stage dive he does halfway back the tent as the band walk off. Top stuff altogether.

Walking back to get some breccie we're treated to the Dublin Gospel Choir on the main stage running through a version of Sigur Ros' "Hoppipolla". Fucking bizarre and how they learnt the words is beyond me.


Back in time to see my surprise hit of the festival. Pivot have brought out one of the best albums this year and its clear from their live show that we're going to hear lots and lots from them before the year is out. Check em out in October when they come back over here. Like a mixture between Battles and God is an Astronaut which you have to admit sounds pretty good.

These New Puritans disappointed however. I like their album a lot and really dig the song "Elvis" but they just don't seem to give much of a bollocks onstage and all look so drippy that I'm worried the next fart somebody lets will knock them over. Shame really. They're not bad per se, just lacking a certain something. Its not Je ne sais quoi but I don't know what it is. Har.

Stick around long enough to see the start of Faust. About ten years ago in my more impressionable days I had the idea of bringing Chainsaws and Black and Deckers on stage and using them as musical instruments. Don't really know or care how they sounded cause the start of if was the lowest in wanky shite and I bailed having no desire to hear the sounds of a cement mixer mixing cement. Tosh.

Sunday being sunday I usually see less bands than usual, but seeing as I saw a huge number the previous days, the fact I saw 4 bands is fucking epic. My Bloody Valentine are the other must-see band of the weekend and boy oh boy do those chaps (and chapettes) know how to make some fucking noise. Its only listening to them now do you realise just how inspirational they've been on music thats out nowadays and as you stand and try to listen to they're 15 minute wall of noise that ends their set you wonder how in the name of God you can stand it. Rumours abound of some pussies falling out of the tent crying and throwing up. These people should not be allowed at music festivals and in fact should not be allowed to live. Smashing stuff.

Wander to body and soul past Sex Pistols. Manage to catch "Problems", "God Save the Queen" and "EMI". Hear Lydon hurling abuse at some angsty prick in the crowd. Doesn't he know who he is. No respect at all. Even if he is a racist bollocks surely thats the point of the Pistols isn't it?

Roll on next year by god.




Cheers to James Goulden and Eddie Ryan at State for the live photo's

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It’s that time of the year again, and as people get their wellies out for electric picnic egoeccentric compiles a guide to our must-see acts. With a line-up drastically removed from the likes of Oxegen, there’s always plenty of gems at the Picnic, and many of them are acts most folk never heard of before. This is the beauty of Electric Picnic- think of it as a live mixtape made by someone with impeccable (if mildly insane) taste.

Read on for the guide…

Friday

Digitalism
9.15-10.30, Electric Arena

What will probably be the dance highlight of the weekend, Digitalism’s first album was a humdinger featuring four singles, at least one of which you’re bound to have heard. Idealistic is a thumping dance-punk classic, Zdarlight is an awesome psychedelic dance opus, and Pogo a kickdrum & synth heavy indie song. So something for everyone… Bring water, it’ll get sweaty.

Mp3: Digitalism- Idealistic



The Gutter Twins
9:30 - 10:30 Crawdaddy stage
Two of the alt-rock era’s greatest frontmen, The Gutter Twins is a musical collaboration between rock musicians Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan. not to be missed


MP3:The Gutter Twins - Idle Hands





Sigur Rós10:30 - 12:00 Main Stage

The Icelandic slow-motion rock band return to our shores with new material for the latest album as well, high hopes for a reenactment of the video for Gobbledigook in the crowd.

Sigur Rós - Gobbledigook





Saturday


Dan Deacon
19.45-20.45, Little Big Tent

Mister Deacon is a favorite round these parts, and his Saturday evening set has got to be considered one of the Picnic’s unmissable events. Famed for his maniacally enjoyable live show, Dan’s unique approach to a live show has a touch of ‘kid’s birthday party’ about it, albeit a party soundtracked by insanely eclectic electro. Do not miss this, it could well be the hour during which your ticket price is justified.

Mp3: Dan Deacon- Okie Dokie




The Breeders
5:00 - 6:00 Electric Arena
New album called “Mountain Battles” out now , what more can be said about the Breeders other than walking legends

The Breeders - Walk It Off





Ra Ra Riot
4:00 - 4:45 Little Big Tent
Formed at Syracuse University in January 2006, Ra Ra Riot is an amorphous blob that consists of seven highly dedicated individuals, each bringing her/his own experiences as both people and musicians to the metaphorical table.They are dedicated to moving people physically and mentally as a means of affecting positive micro/macro cosmic change

MP3:Ra Ra Riot - Dying Is Fine


The Faint
17.15-18.00, Little Big Tent

One of our all time favorites finally makes it to Ireland, and with a stunning new album to promote. The Faint are have somehow managed to remain relatively under the radar for ten years whilst all the while releasing some of the most adventurous and visceral albums of their type. Having mastered the electro-rock genre well before it became fashionable the band have over the years furthered their repertoire by incorporating punk and classical music seamlessly into catchy, dancey tracks. Top all that off with a live show that’s so damn good it’s got me flying to Manchester tomorrow specifically to see them play in a club… and you’ve got the makings of a
surefire festival highlight.

Mp3: The Faint- In Concert



George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars
00.00-2.00, Main Stage

George Clinton is possibly the funkiest man who has ever lived. He is considered one of the most sampled musicians of all time, has worked with everyone from Snoop Dogg to the Chilis and in the 60’s worked as a staff writer for Motown records. In short, he’s a legend. Gaining much of his notoriety by bringing funk to the masses through bands such as Parliament and Funkadelic, Clinton took what James Brown started, threw in a dash of Hendrix and turned up the bass. Expect much dancing and yelling of refrains such as ‘WE WANT THE FUNK!!’ (and, if you’re really lucky, a giant funk-fuelled UFO landing on stage).

Mp3: Parliament- Flashlight



Sunday


My Bloody Valentine
9:20 - 10:50 Electric arena
Sweet sweet lush noise let it wash over you another one really not to be missed

MP3:My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes

Foals
18.00-18.45, Crawdaddy Stage

Having come out of the gate with a series of kickass adrenaline-driven-yet-intricate math-rock tunes, Foals surprised all by ditching them for their debut album and instead going ‘a bit weird’. Not in a bad way, but in a ballsy, experimental ‘let’s get the dude from TV On The Radio to produce us’ kinda way. Don’t worry- the singles (Hummer et al) are still staples of their live show- a show which is quickly gaining notoriety for being both captivating and frenetic (just ask anyone who caught them in the Academy…). Perfect for a good ol’ mosh, and one that avoids unnecessary smelly-metal/hard-rock clichés. Woo hoo!

Mp3: Foals- Mathletics


Pivot
2:30 - 3:00 Little Big Tent

Pivot is equally influenced by Synthesizer luminaries Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre, Warp label mates Autechre and the post-punk new wave of Talking Heads. Comprised of Sydney’s brothers Pike, Laurence and Richard, and Perth electronic wunderkind Dave Miller.

MP3:Pivot - Fool In Rain


The Roots
7:00 - 8:00 Main stage
With there heavily jazzy sound and live instrumentation and known to put a skip in your set, with newest album ‘Rising Down’ song being predominant in the set but im guessing some gems off other albums as well


MP3:The Roots - i can't help it (featuring malik b & p.o.r.n.)




Stephen Malkmus
7:15 - 8:15 Crawdaddy Stage
Former member of the bands Pavement, Silver Jews, and the Crust Brothers, Most recently Stephen Malkmus released the Jicks’ latest album, Real Emotional Trash

MP3:Stephen Malkmus - Baltimore


Grinderman
7:35 - 8:35 Electric Arena
The story of Grinderman begins within the working processes of another band: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. At the start of 2004, when Nick Cave took a small team of Bad Seeds members - violinist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P Casey and drummer Jim Sclavunos - off to the tiny Misère studio in Paris, France for a songwriting session, they effectively established a new working process.

MP3:Grinderman - No Pussy Blues

Irish Acts you'd be a fool to miss:

Warlords of Pez follow last year's Sunday Mass with a well deserved Saturday evening slot... Jape get amazingly dancetastic and meloncholic at the same time... pure unadulterated fun & drum-machines from Hybrasil... A post-choice award, pre-remix album Super Extra Bonus Party are sure to be class as always... Giveamanakick promote their excellent debut Welcome to the Cusp... Top quality Indie-Rock from Large Mound... last but far from least, Halves will be treating folk to their beautiful orchestratic electronica.

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My Bloody Valentine playing "To Here Knows When" at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL

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This weekend your in for a real treat as Somadrome has picked this weekend hangover mixtape. Somadrone is Neill O'Conor (member of Dublin's The Redneck Manifesto and The Connect Four Orchestra) mixing the sounds of To Rococo Rot, Stereolab and Spacemen 3 type electronic blankets of melody and intricate gliches and noise using laptop, vibraphone and pounding live drums.
(tracklisting and download link for the rather excellent mixtape in the read more)


tracklisting
1. Devo - Beautiful World
2. Yo La Tengo - Everyday
3. Kraftwerk - Europe Endless
4. Serge Gainsbourg and Bridgette Bardot - Bonnie and Cylde
5. Sun Ra - Space is the Place
6. Brian Eno - The Big Ship
7. My Bloody Valentine - To Here Knows When
8. David Bowie - Look back in Anger
9. Talking Heads - The Great Curve
10. Sonic Youth - Expressway to ur Skull

Click here to go to download page

Somadrome as a list of up coming gigs they are as follows
8 Aug 2008 20:00 Roisin Dubh Galway
15 Aug 2008 20:00 Cleares - Kilkenny Arts Festival Kilkenny, Kilkenny
16 Aug 2008 20:00 Plugged Records Cork
30 Aug 2008 20:00 Electric Picnic Stradbally, Laois
25 Oct 2008 20:00 Cyprus Ave Cork
8 Nov 2008 20:00 Model Niland - New Spaces for Music Sligo
12 Dec 2008 20:00 Stress - De Burgo’s Galway

also his albums can be bought thru paypal on his myspace page

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Although the tickets and line-up were already supposed to have been announced by now. And even though Oxegen has, for the second year in a row, pinched a large portion of the deadly bands. And despite the fact that the line-up has gotten steadily weaker since the original weekend in 2005, I still have high hopes for this years Electric Picnic. Let's hope the lineup justifies the 240 euro price tag!

Seeing My Bloody Valentine is most definitely a plus point but unless I need a new pair of trousers when they finally announce the line-up tomorrow evening, then I will be most displeased to see the beginning of the inevitable decline of great potential.

Pessimistic? Perhaps. But remember. A Pessimist is never disappointed.

Electric Picnic 2008 takes place in on the 30th & 31st August and 1st September in Stradbally Laois. One or two bands including My Bloody Valentine have already been announced but the first proper announcement will come tomorrow evening and tickets will go on sale this friday priced E240. Gettem here.

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I hate to give credit to Hot Press for actually delivering some news but I heard this from The Butterfly Explosion who directly copied it from Hot Press so here it is. My Bloody Valentine are playing Electric Picnic.

If you want to read the article it came from then you have to subscribe to that rag but here is the headline of the article just as proof.

As the Butterfly Explosion seem to have a subscription (explanations needed lads and lassies) and have taken the time to copy and paste the whole thing into a Myspace bulletin for us, here it is in all its glory.:


The reformed My Bloody Valentine will be playing the Electric Picnic festival this summer.

Hot Press has learned that My Bloody Valentine will be playing at this year’s Electric Picnic festival, which takes place in County Laois from August 29 to 31.

While yet to be confirmed by the promoters, a UK source reveals: "They’ve looked at the various Irish festival options open to them, and decided that the Picnic is the best fit. The clincher was Primal Scream and The Jesus & Mary Chain raving about how much fun they had playing there last year."

Diehards will also want to put these other new dates in their shoegazing diary: Roskilde, Denmark (July 5); Zenith, Paris (9); Oya Festival, Norway (August 8); and Benicássim, Madrid (18 & 19, day of appearance to be confirmed). As previously reported in Hot Press, the band’s comeback tour commences on June 24 with a sold-out five-night run in the London Roundhouse.

A new studio album from the pioneering band is also in the works, with frontman Kevin Shields revealing in a recent interview that much of the new record will be comprised of material written around the time the band broke up in 1995. "It sounds like what we sounded like - different, but not radically different." he said. "People will go, "yeah, it sounds like My Bloody Valentine."

This is fucking awesome news for anybody who is a fan of the Shoegazing godfathers.

Here's a remind of how savage they were and still can be.

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I'm sure there's quite a few of you reading this who have been enlightened to the M83 sound for some time now but for those of you who haven't and one of those, by his own admission, is our Rob I'm going to treat you to a little bit of sum'in sum'in from our Gallic friends.

As you can probably tell from that last paragraph M83 are indeed French and have been around for the last 7-odd years making their lush, electro-like and often quite heavy sounds that mix the shoegazing style of My Bloody Valentine with the ambient dream-pop of Air.

They havn't done anything since 2005's Before the Dawn Heals Us which is apparently because one of them has walked leaving Anthony Gonzalez to play on his tobler. There's a new album slated for the spring so we might see M83 doing the festivals this year. Savage.

In the meantime have a listen y'all (and Rob) to some of the good shit. And a hearty thanks to the Duffmeister over at Pascals Country Sounds for introducing me to them all those years ago.

Unrecorded from Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts


* from Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts


And just because I like lush songs with nice videos starring unconventionally attractive girls, Don't Save Us From The Flames also from Before the Dawn Heals Us

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It's been talked about for eons, but My Bloody Valentine have finally conforemed their return to live duty with the announcement of three UK shows next summer. More dates are sure to be announced in the meantime, and as Kevin Shields has been hinting, a new album is more than likely on the cards too.

Click here for details on the UK dates.

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