Posted in Whathaveyou on March 23rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
I’ve included the day schedules here not to wallow, but to emphasize the tremendous amount of creativity and heart that goes into making Roadburn Festival each year. We all knew by now there was no way that as governments are increasingly warning people to shelter in place and beginning to tighten quarantine restrictions because of the global pandemic of COVID-19 that Roadburn 2020 wasn’t going to go forward as was originally planned, but I know at least I held out hope that there would be something next month. Almost anything. Really if I just flew to the Netherlands and hung around the 013 for a couple days pretending I work there like I do every year as we run the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch daily fanzine out of there and publish for the fest-goers, that would’ve been cool. Just some glimmer of that experience.
Not this year.
Everyone knows the circumstances here are bigger than the fest’s control, and while I’m super-bummed I won’t be able to obtain the glorious poster art below on a likewise glorious green Roadburn 2020 hoodie to go with the pinkish/red one I got last year, even I have to look outside myself for about 30 seconds and understand there are wider issues at play. And it looks like I’ll have plenty of time to come to that understanding while not traveling this Spring.
So it goes. Roadburn of course will be back in some way, shape or form, but today’s not the day even to think about what that might look like. For now, I want to send my sincere love and gratitude to Walter and Becky and everyone behind the scenes at the 013 venue who make Roadburn happen every year. Thank you.
Here’s the fest’s statement:
Due to the recent announcements from the Dutch government that all events in the Netherlands are forbidden until June, it will be impossible for us to hold Roadburn in April as planned. We know that many of you had already guessed that this would be the case, and we appreciate your patience as we have navigated the necessary processes that come along with organising an event as complex as Roadburn.
The current situation is having an enormous impact already – on the venues we rely on, the bands that we love and the events that we have planned for. Until we come out the other side of this, it will be impossible to do a full assessment of the damage caused to the live music industry. We ask for just a little bit more patience from you whilst we continue to work to bring you the most clear, concise and useful information relating to the postponement of Roadburn 2020. We know you have a lot of questions and we will do our best to answer in the coming days.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 19th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Let’s assume that if Roadburn 2020 is allowed to proceed at all as scheduled, it will do so in drastically different form due to the ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19. That seems pretty safe to say. I am sorry I have no insider info to give you as to whether the fest is happening — I’ve been proceeding with Weirdo Canyon Dispatch as if it is, which is to say, I’ve been feeling anxious and overwhelmed — but I also know that this kind of thing is legitimately unprecedented, for the festival and governments worldwide alike. As bad as the flu gets, it’s been a while since words like “global pandemic” have been bandied about not in hyperbole or speculation.
The update is essentially that Roadburn is hurrying up and waiting. Like all of us, everywhere, for everything, to see how all of this is going to play out. For what it’s worth in terms of reading between the lines, this is the first word I’m seeing of any kind of effort to reschedule the festival, though of course, I’d have no idea what that would look like either, or when it would happen, if it would be the 013 or at least some of the same bands, who who the hell knows what. The point I’m making is I don’t, and I don’t think they do either. If they did, they’d probably say so.
Here’s the update:
Thank you for your patience these last few days, we know that it is not easy to wait for answers and be met with silence. As you will hopefully be aware, it is not in our nature to be closed off from you – we have always taken pride in open and transparent communication. We are relieved to be able to bring you something of an update, although we are aware that it won’t answer all your questions immediately.
The world we are living in today is dramatically different to that of just a few weeks ago – we are all trying to adjust to an altered daily life, and alongside the personal stresses of that, we have been desperately seeking a way to keep Roadburn on its feet. You will know that for us, this is a labour of love and the impact of the current situation is already devastating for us. We are fortunate to have the support of the 013 venue who – as you may be aware – operate as the business side of the festival (they take care of the financial, legal, and logistic elements). The message below is from the interim CEO of the 013 venue, and at present this is the extent of what we are able to share with you.
We are grateful for your support and understanding, and hopeful that we will come out the other side of this even stronger.
– Walter, Becky & the whole Roadburn team
ROADBURN UPDATE: 18 MARCH, 2020
Due to the COVID-19 virus, there are currently restrictions on travel, events and venues which are having an effect on concerts and festivals the world over. We understand that Roadburn attendees have a lot of questions – about health, safety, risks, restrictions, travel arrangements and more. We are in constant contact with officials, advisors and others, and we are working solidly to provide as much information, as quickly as possible.
This is not just the first time in Roadburn’s 22 years that we have faced something like this, it is the first time in our lives. We are required to wait for direction from the Dutch government to determine our next steps. That direction may have consequences for the continuation of Roadburn 2020. As a sustainable future for Roadburn is our primary goal, we’re now looking into the best options. It might be that we have to reschedule.
We kindly ask for your understanding in this exceptional situation. As soon as there are new developments we will inform you.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 17th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Alright, so now that the lineup for Roadburn 2020 is finished, who’s your must? Who’s the one act you have to see above all the others? Well, aside from my needing, needing, needing to get the hoodie bearing the poster design below — preferably in green, possibly also in red if they have it — I think the one set I’ll absolutely have to watch is the David Eugene Edwards solo set. That’s been on my wishlist every year since before Wovenhand even made their first devastating stop at the Tilburg, Netherlands-based fest in 2011. That’s my must. I’m also intrigued by The Ballet Bombs, who are newcomers and seem like a lot of fun. You can see one of their videos below. I hesitate to make too many plans before seeing the actual schedule, because one never knows with conflicts, secret shows, and so on, but there’s always more than enough to choose from as you make your own path through what always seems to turn into the best five-day-weekend of the year.
Here’s how it rounds out:
Roadburn Festival 2020 – Final Lineup Announcement
Our final line up announcements for Roadburn Festival 2020 are here! Emma Ruth Rundle is rounding out her curation in style – she has invited Earth to perform a special celebratory set to mark their 30 year anniversary. Dylan Carlson will also be performing a solo set, plus there will be sets from False and Sylvaine.
“It’s an honour to be asked to perform twice at this year’s Roadburn. In addition to celebrating 30 years of Earth, I am excited to be performing Conquistador with Emma Ruth Rundle, as heard on the album. We have wanted to perform together for some time, and now we will finally have the opportunity to do so. Joining us will be dancer Holly Carlson (who played percussion on the album) with a special visual performance for this event. I have long thought of music and dance as inextricably linked, especially with my exposure to the possibilities of dance, courtesy of Holly. It seems they have been separated (especially in the realm of rock/hard rock music) for too long now. This will be a very special set, and I am so glad to be joined on stage by two phenomenal performers” – Dylan Carlson.
Elsewhere we have Body Void, Sólveig Matthildur and Dynfari who have announced a second set performing their new album. Our Roadburn Presents… band this year is The Ballet Bombs and we welcome Burlesque of North America back to Roadburn for Full Bleed IV.
Roadburn 2020 and Never Mind The Hype Presents: The Ballet Bombs.
You want brash, stomping, swaggering, fuzzed-to-the-max heavy rock and roll? Look no further than a couple train stops from Tilburg as we bring aboard the young Eindhoven trio of Rubin “Zwoelboy” van Nistelrooy, Erik “El Cahole” van de Beek, and Frankie Fuzz. These overdriven fanatics don’t have an album out yet, but they’ve got enough attitude songs like “Hey, Wait!” and the extra-righteous “Leave My Head,” the video for which pretty much tells the story of The Joker, only, you know, without all that incel subtext.
With the inimitable energy of young punks, they tap into the spirit of raw rock like Blue Cheer and the glorious of the most riotous garages. We can’t wait to find out what they’ll do over the course of a full set on Saturday, April 18 at the Hall of Fame.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 15th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Somewhere along the line, I lost track of how many announcements deep Roadburn 2020 was into its lineup. Perhaps it was being CONSTANTLY BLINDSIDED by the lineup. Yeah, that’s what I’ll tell myself. Couldn’t possibly be that I’m just dumb. Whatever. I think this is number eight, which is pretty significant, so it’s probably number 14.
In any case, here we are in January the festival is still developing its lineup for the year. There’s much more to come, and then you get into stuff like surprise sets, secret shows, the big announcement of the side-programme and everything else. We get the Ignition pre-show in this announcement. It’ll be The Dead Cvlt, Early Graves and Splinter, which sounds like a wild time. Generally is though, so yeah.
But things just keep getting weirder here, with Alexis S.F. Marshall from Daughters signing on for a solo set and a sit-in with Lingua Ignota, plus LSD and the Search for God and a whole host of others whose names may or may not be familiar but you just trust Roadburn and go with it because it’s Roadburn and that’s what you do.
Yup:
Today’s announcement features Alexis Marshall (last seen on a Roadburn stage with Daughters) performing a solo set, as well as joining Lingua Ignota for her covers set, plus… DARKHER, Forndom, The Devil’s Trade, LSD and the Search for God, Ulveblod, Doodswens making a return, KODIAN TRIO (Dirk Serries) celebrating their fifth anniversary, Jonah Parzen-Johnson, The Sweet Release of Death, Motorik, Of Blood and Mercury, and last but not least – VONNIS.
As you will have seen earlier – we have another stacked line up for the Ignition Roadburn pre-party on Wednesday 15 April!
Given that we have Early Graves? in town already, we really couldn’t resist inviting them to do a second set and be part of the welcoming committee on Wednesday night. With their hearts in the boogie and their minds in the gutter, Amsterdam’s Splinter? (with members of Death Alley and Birth of Joy) could hardly be more appropriate to launch Roadburn 2020. Rounding out the bill will be The Dead Cvlt: amped up on a lethal dose of misanthropic black metal, pounding blastbeats and oldschool drum and bass.
Wristband exchange will be open from 6pm on the Wednesday so you can come and get yours early to save queuing on Thursday… and more importantly, Ignition is an opportunity to get your Roadburn experience off to an amazing start. Admission is free. See you there!
Only Sunday day tickets remain on sale – all other tickets are sold out.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 11th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Oh whatever, Roadburn. You had me at the poster.
Maybe there’s such a thing as too much of a good thing, but if so, nobody tell Roadburn 2020 that, because I wanna ride out the rest of this lineup and see where the hell it goes. Frankly though, if this was it and they were like, “Okay, we just gave you two Dungen sets including Ta Det Lugnt in full, that’s all you get,” you’d be hard-pressed to argue it wasn’t already pretty incredible. I don’t know how much more lineup is or isn’t coming, but the fifth announcement goes right for the heartstrings, and my understanding is there are less than 30 full-weekend tickets on sale now, as individual-day tickets also hit the market. Will it sell out? Yeah, it will. It’s Roadburn. That’s what it does.
The link for day tickets and splits are below. Click the posters to enlarge them (then click again to make them go back). The latest announcement follows:
Roadburn 2020: new names confirmed ahead of day ticket launch
Single day tickets will be on sale tonight, December 10 (at 18:00 CET) and priced €67 for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday tickets, and €60.50 for Sunday tickets. There’s still 4-day tickets on sale, but be warned, they’re running low now with 99% tickets sold already. More information about tickets and accommodation options can be foundHERE.
DUNGEN
For almost two decades, Dungen, the brainchild of Swedish multi-instrumentalist Gustav Ejstes, has been liquefying the known boundaries of psychedelia by incorporating ‘60s pastoral folk, psych-pop, prog, free-jazz, instrumentalist ambience and soaring atmospheres. They have become one of the most revered psychedelic bands of their generation, and to honor their pushing the limits of art and genre, we have invited Dungen to play Roadburn 2020, not once, but twice.
One show will take in Dungen’s legendary Ta Det Lugnt (Sunday, 19 April), and the other will focus on Häxan, the band’s highly entrancing score for the 1926 animated film The Adventures of Prince Achmed, on Saturday, 18 April. Dungen is synonymous for our very being, and Häxan, and especially Ta Det Lugnt, fuel our late-night, psychedelic jams and unite the likeminded psych heads at the festival.
JAMES KENT’S CURATION:
ULTHA
A couple of months ago Ultha informed their followers that the band was taking a break in 2020, an unexpected turn which seems to cast an even darker shadow of melancholy and sorrow to their already bleak take on black metal. Roadburn and its co-curator James Kent have pulled Ultha back from the void where they were planning to hibernate in for a very special appearance at Roadburn 2020.
As the band tells us: “A ‘regular’ invitation would’ve already been a no-brainer, but receiving such a heartfelt message, by a prolific and passionate artist we all respect, telling us how much he admires our work, really made it that more special. So, we are more than thrilled to be part of James’ curation for Roadburn 2020, playing our Belong EP in full plus selected cuts from our other releases.”
ALSO ANNOUNCED…
CULT LEADER
We’ve admired Cult Leader from afar for some time now, but the stars have never quite aligned before. However, with the release of A Patient Man this time last year our eagerness increased, then earlier this year witnessing some live shows tipped us over the edge and we knew it was a done deal. Fortunately they felt the same way, and with that, we’re honoured to be bringing you a special Cult Leader treat for Roadburn – the band will play 2018’s A Patient Man in full for us.
JEROMES DREAM
A two decades long absence did little to dull the jagged edges of Jeromes Dream. They came hurtling back into our lives earlier this year with their newest album, titled LP, reminding us what we’d been missing. That angular anguish and skin scraping abrasion is still there, but there is admittedly more nuance and a few notable junctures of what could be described as atmospheric, almost shoegaze-esque passages. So, it’s with much joy that we welcome Jeromes Dream to Roadburn 2020.
PORTRAYAL OF GUILT
Portrayal of Guilt have been positively prolific over the past few years – and our lives are all the better for it. Two singles, two EPs, two splits, and one mighty album in the form of Let Pain Be Your Guide have cemented Portrayal Of Guilt as an essential band in the modern metal / hardcore lexicon. So it’s with huge pleasure that we’re announcing Portrayal of Guilt will be joining us at Roadburn 2020.
PIJN & CONJURER PLAY: CURSE THESE METAL HANDS
The underground metal scene in the UK is in rude health – and we demonstrated this at Roadburn 2019 by showcasing the best of what Holy Roar Records had to offer. Among the bands that played were Conjurer and Pijn – two bands that embody so much of what is innovative and exciting about British music at the moment. In 2018 the two bands united under the Curse These Metal Hands banner to create new, original music that was released via Holy Roar this year.
EARLY GRAVES
After an already massive initial greeting card by the name of We: The Guillotine, in 2008, the Californian quintet dropped their masterpiece in 2010. Goner was everything a moshpit junkie could ever ask for. Unfortunately, tragedy then struck Early Graves. Only a couple of months after the release of Goner, the band suffered a van accident traveling from Oregon to Nevada, which took the life of their firebrand vocalist Makh Daniels.
Though the band soldiered on for a while activity has dwindled during the last few years, and 2020 is set to be the last chapter for Early Graves. A celebration of their existence, which will naturally consist of their ten-year-old super classic album Goner played in its entirety, will therefor take place at Roadburn.
Already announced for Roadburn 2020 is: Emma Ruth Rundle and James Kent as curators, commissioned projects from James Kent & Johannes Persson, Jo Quail, and Vile Creature & Bismuth, the return of Julie Christmas, Red Sparowes, Russian Circles, Inter Arma, Alcest, Torche, Brutus, Bada (ft. Anna Von Hausswolff), David Eugene Edwards, Health, Boy Harsher, Lankum, She Past Away, and two Artists In Residence: Full of Hell and Lingua Ignota.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 29th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
This announcement went out yesterday from Roadburn 2020, and as we in the United States celebrated Thanksgiving — one of our least morally reprehensible holidays until one examines it in any sort of historical context whatsoever — I was extra grateful for the fact that I found out this week that the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, the daily festival ‘zine for which I’ve served as editor for the last six years, will run again. It’s always a fingers-crossed scenario as to whether there will be the budget for such a thing — it’s not like I could begrudge them making the right choice if it was “who needs the money, David Eugene Edwards or WCD?” — but I am of course beyond thrilled to say that I will be at Roadburn Festival for the 11th year in a row in 2020. If you’re going, I’m the guy with the cosmic backpack dorking out during Patrick Walker‘s solo set.
Which, by the way is a thing that’s happening. That was added along with Inter Arma playing their latest LP, Sulphur English, in its masterful entirety, Dommengang, Darsombra, two sets from Alcest, 40 Watt Sun doing The Inside Room in full, and Kungens Män and a whole bunch of others. I’ll look forward to feeling completely overwhelmed by it all as I try to cover as much as possible — like always.
Thanks from the bottom of my heart to Roadburn for having me back. This festival has changed my life.
Here’s the update:
Today’s announcement for Roadburn Festival 2020 includes the only band where our two curators cross over: Alcest, who will play a special set titled ‘Visions du futur’, focussing on their last two albums. James Kent (AKA Perturbator) also added OKKULTOKRATI to his curation, whilst Emma Ruth Rundle added INTER ARMA (playing Sulphur English in full), 40 Watt Sun (playing The Inside Room in full) and a solo Patrick Walker set, Helms Alee and FACS.
Elsewhere we added Algiers, Richard Dawson, Dynfari (playing The Four Doors Of The Mind), BAD BREEDING, White Ward, Dommengang, Kungens Män, darsombra and TAU and The Drones Of Praise.
With 97% of weekend tickets now gone, and day tickets on sale on December 10 – we’re looking forward to seeing you all in Tilburg in April:roadburn.com/tickets
EUROPEAN FESTIVAL AWARD NOMINATION
Roadburn has been nominated in the best small festival category (less than 10,000 visitors) at the European Festival Awards 2019. Votes can be cast HERE. Votes and spreading the word are appreciated as it would be a huge honour for us to win such recognition.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 14th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
David Eugene Edwards. Solo. Acoustic. Every year I’ve been fortunate enough to go, there’s been one keeps-you-alive-until-April Roadburn set, from Saint Vitus with Wino in 2009 and Garcia Plays Kyuss in 2010 to Sleep playing Sleep’s Holy Mountain this year. There’s always one. At least. In 2020, for me, that’s David Eugene Edwards of Wovenhand and 16 Horsepower playing by himself on stage. Whatever else gets added, whoever else is playing, hell, even if Wovenhand end up playing, this is the one that got me. Well done, Roadburn 2020.
Also featured in this massive lineup addition are PH (whose announcement I wrote), Elizabeth Colour Wheel, familiar faces Primitive Man and a host of other, of course widely varied, incarnations of badassery. I’m not trying to take away from anyone else or anything like that, or anything that might still come by saying the above, you understand. Roadburn 2020’s already primed to push well beyond the common bounds of heavy. It was before this announcement, frankly. But from here on in, my schedule already has its circle, and whether we do the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch or not (every year I kind of wait for the shoe to drop on that like it’s something we’ve been getting away with for the last six editions), I’m there, and I don’t care who he’s up against or who’s on next on what stage. If I have to sleep in the gutter of Weirdo Canyon in order to be there, I’m not missing a minute of David Eugene Edwards‘ set. Period.
From the fest:
Roadburn 2020: new announcements, more curator picks, and a showcase!
– Less than 10% of 4 day tickets remain – David Eugene Edwards joins Emma Ruth Rundle’s curated event – James Kent picks a special collaboration for his curation – The Flenser will present a label showcase
Less than 10% of 4-day tickets remain for Roadburn 2020, and single-day tickets will go on sale on December 10.
Artistic Director, Walter Hoeijmakers comments: “As we edge closer towards selling out Roadburn 2020, I am excited that we still have so much more to announce. This year we are putting an emphasis on the context and creativity of the artists we’re announcing and knowing that we have still more up our sleeves means I am delighted to see where Roadburn 2020 is heading.”
EMMA RUTH RUNDLE’S THE GILDED CAGE:
DAVID EUGENE EDWARDS At Roadburn, David Eugene Edwards has graced us with his presence on two occasions as part of Wovenhand. Each performance pulsated with energy and elevated the sets to be highlights of each respective edition of the festival – in no small part due to David’s electrifying presence. We’re delighted to bring him back to Roadburn, this time as part of Emma Ruth Rundle’s curation, The Gilded Cage. David will perform an acoustic, solo set that promises to showcase the diversity of his delivery and the nuances of his craft. Emma comments:
“It’s been a secret wish to see DEE playing solo and delivering his songs in their most bare forms. This was the very first thing that came to mind when I was asked to co-curate Roadburn and it’s going to be a rare and precious jewel of a performance.”
JAMES KENT’S CURATION: REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER A product of the burgeoning French underground scene that has produced so much incredible music in the past few years, over the course of two records so far, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber have used scraps from the most sinister subgenres, from black metal to sludge to build up truly frightening epics. Always apocalyptic in feeling, emotional and ruthless in equal measures, drenched in religious imagery and references, and creating a sonic depiction of the fall of mankind… and its subsequent rising to replace the cruelty of the established gods. Not only will we be expecting all of this maelstrom of fiery feelings, but also a healthy measure of the unexpected as well, since Regarde Les Hommes Tomber will be playing their new not-quite-announced-yet album in its entirety.
HANGMAN’S CHAIR X REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER Regarde Les Hommes Tomber will join forces with Hangman’s Chair for a collaboration at Roadburn 2020. Hellish, sludgy black metal will clash horns-first with cold, despondent doom, and the result will surely transcend even the most delirious of descriptions that we can come up with at this point. Originally commissioned by Red Bull, this unholy collaboration has occurred just once previously, in Paris. That performance lasted 45 minutes, but for Roadburn an additional 15 minutes of material will be debuted just for us.
PLEBEIAN GRANDSTAND Plebeian Grandstand are a band that have morphed from a core of quite technical, hardcore charged metal to be the hulking beast of black metal fury we see before us today. The creative journey they have been on has led to an infusion of influences from outside the black metal sphere, resulting in nuance and depth that can sometimes be hard to find within the genre. On top of that, they eschew the cartoonish elements of extreme black metal – you’ll find no burning churches here – in favour of something rooted more firmly in reality. After all, what’s more nightmarish than the real world?
TRUE BODY With a calculated sense of tension and just enough human touch to cut through their own cold post-punk atmospheres, Virginia’s True Body has built a following with their urgent and impassioned music. Instead of falling into melodramatic excess or disconnected affectations, the band manages to bring the best of each realm for something that leaves audiences rapt and thrilled. With this masterful take on such a beloved sound, we’re honored to announce that True Body will be performing at Roadburn 2020 as part of James Kent’s curation.
THE FLENSER SHOWCASE In 2020, The Flenser will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the label’s first release. The San Francisco based label has been committed to releasing experimental, avant-garde music for a whole decade – which – naturally – has not escaped our notice here at Roadburn HQ. To celebrate this milestone and to acknowledge the impact that The Flenser has had on our record collections and the broader musical landscape we have invited several of the label’s current artists to perform at Roadburn 2020.
The Flenser label manager, Jonathan Tuite comments: “Roadburn is my absolute favorite festival in the world. The lineup is always diverse, the audience enthusiastic, and the curation is second to none. I can’t think of a more appropriate place for The Flenser to celebrate our ten years of existence.”
GILES COREY For over ten years Dan Barrett has been cementing his role as a visionary in dark music history.Perhaps none of this work has resonated with more intimacy than Giles Corey, his acoustic guitar led, ghost noise-soaked songwriting vessel. While on paper an acoustic led-project sounds like a potentially low-key affair, Giles Corey is bursting with electric energy–recordings are awash in swirling organs, reverberating choirs, striking horns, and blown out drums. While Giles Corey has performed as a solo-act, Roadburn 2020 will mark the project’s first appearance as a full-band. Members of Have a Nice Life, including central figure Tim Macuga, will help bring the album’s haunted sounds to life: expect the stage and audience to be left in a scorched earth state of desolation.
ELIZABETH COLOUR WHEEL “Otherworldly” is a description often applied to artists that evoke the ethereal, and whilst that is occasionally applicable to Elizabeth Colour Wheel, the otherworldliness they invoke is more to do with the fact that it’s not always clear if they really inhabit the same world as we do. Their debut album, Nocebo, laughs in the face of genre descriptors, forging a new path that may be tricky to describe but that offers a wildly enticing prospect.
DROWSE Drowse is an outlet for Kyle Bates to explore his place in the world; his music echoes what he experiences on the varied paths of this internal-reflection. Sometimes those paths lead to extraordinary places – this year’s Light Mirror LP was inspired by an isolated trip to northern Iceland where he took up an artistic residency in 2018. The melancholic results are the sonic equivalent of a sliver of sunlight permeating an otherwise bleak and drizzly morning. The weight of Bates’ reflections is mighty, but it never quite succeeds in suffocating the shards of harmonious hope that glint in the winter sun.
MAMALEEK Mamaleek have been unearthing truly uncategorizable sounds from the catacombs of black metal since 2008. Founded by two anonymous brothers, the Bay Area project has become known for both its wild experimentation and aesthetic cohesion. The use of left-field samples threads their discography together, with sound sources growing more bizarre with each release. The current lineup mixes childhood friends and total strangers. Their participation is an outgrowth of the core duo, an experiment in a live setting, using instruments and sounds that highlight experimentation and flout genre conventions. Who knows how long this iteration will last before the next metamorphosis.
MIDWIFE As a multi-instrumentalist, Madeline Johnson AKA Midwife has sculpted a fuzzy take on experimental dream pop, drenched in melody and punctuated with distortion. Despite a central theme of “devastation” Midwife makes for nuanced and evocative easy listening that can’t help but feel like something of an audio honey trap. We’ll have to wait until April to find out exactly what lurks beneath the surface…
ALSO ANNOUNCED…
PRIMITIVE MAN It is with great anticipation that we’re delighted to announce that Primitive Man will be playing twice at Roadburn. One set will be a business-as-usual, throat-ripping, bone crushing display of what makes them a must-watch band. And one set will be a run through of their 2017 album, Caustic. This is the kind of endurance test we relish – an audio pummelling so intense that there’s no way to come out the other side without a shift in our worldview.
LANKUM When The Livelong Day – the latest offering from Dublin four piece, Lankum – passed over our desks, our ears pricked up and we knew we had to invite them to Roadburn next year. It’s not uncommon to find us feeling effusive about noise, drone and ambient projects in the Roadburn world, but it’s a much rarer prospect to find such tonal qualities on what is undoubtedly, most definitely a folk album. Uilleann pipes and harmonium come together to create a cinematic soundscape that many Roadburners will feel right at home with. The album makes for an appropriate gateway for those attending Roadburn, regardless of which side you’re approaching from – a folk fan heading towards darker territories, or a heavy music fan lured by the promise of a genre steeped in history and countless traditional flourishes.
HILARY WOODS Hilary Woods wrote her debut full length, Colt, alone – before before taking her recordings to Berlin to work with James Kelly (Wife, Altar of Plagues). The solitude is palpable, and listening to what she has made feels like a cautious invitation into a quiet place that she has created. Imagine a soft cocoon of sound, enveloping you as you step through into the netherworld of her making.
FÖLLAKZOID AND ATOM TM Spearheading Chile’s vibrant psych scene, Föllakzoid will transport Roadburn 2020 on an all-encompassing voyage. Joined once again by German electronic artist and producer, Atom TM, the band will make their Roadburn debut, aiming to, “modulate the gravitational waves in order to alter the temporality perception and get sucked into the timeless space continuum,” as guitarist/singer Domingæ Garcia-Huidobro aptly puts it.
TORPOR Rhetoric Of The Image showcases Torpor’s confidence; lengthy post-metal tracks smoulder whilst shorter, more experimental cuts punctuate the album. The three piece will expand a little for Roadburn in order to do justice to the full fifty one minutes that make up Rhetoric Of The Image as they perform it in full for us at Roadburn.
SUM OF R The current incarnation of Sum of R already sees Reto teamed up with Jukka Rämänen (Dark Buddha Rising, Hexvessel, Waste Of Space Orchestra), which has allowed them to forge even more adventurous paths from their dark ambient/drone of yore, but now yet another figure from that particular Finnish scene will be adding his own very particular twist to the proceedings and giving them a new voice, quite literally, as it is none other than vocalist Marko Neuman (Dark Buddha Rising, Waste Of Space Orchestra, Convocation, Ural Umbo).
PH Earlier this year, PH released Osiris Hayden, their second offering through Svart Records and fifth overall in their prolific decade together. Their latest work finds them embracing new reaches of the cosmic infinite, taking on electronic charge as they never have before and exploring the connection between organic and inorganic audio experiences.
MANY BLESSINGS Those of you familiar with Ethan McCarthy will know him as the formidable frontman for Primitive Man. Under the banner of Many Blessings, Ethan performs a much less frenzied kind of music – and yet somehow it manages to be no less disturbing and spine-chilling. Many Blessings has seeped into our consciousness – a slow, creeping threat of sonic menace. Whilst the ferocity we are are perhaps more accustomed to is not present, the wordless missives are brooding and visceral.
EYE FLYS After listening to their blistering debut album Context, and considering the fact that guitarist Spencer Hazard was already roped in for Roadburn 2020 as a member of one of our artists in residence, the wonderful Full Of Hell, how could we ever pass on Eye Flys? The Backslider rhythm section of Jake Smith – here on guitar and vocals – and Patrick Forrest plus Triac’s Kevin Bernsten complete the line-up.
ROADBURN 2020 TICKETS
Weekend tickets for Roadburn are on sale now (3-day tickets are sold out, 4-day tickets remain on sale). Single day tickets will be on sale on December 10. More information about tickets and accommodation options can be found HERE.
Already announced for Roadburn 2020 is: Emma Ruth Rundle and James Kent as curators, commissioned projects from James Kent & Johannes Persson, Jo Quail, and Vile Creature & Bismuth, the return of Julie Christmas, Red Sparowes, Russian Circles, Torche, Brutus, Bada, Dool, Health, Hide, She Past Away, and two Artists In Residence: Full of Hell and Lingua Ignota. Check the full line up HERE.
EUROPEAN FESTIVAL AWARD NOMINATION
Roadburn has been nominated in the best small festival category (less than 10,000 visitors) at the European Festival Awards 2019. Votes can be cast HERE. Votes and spreading the word are appreciated as it would be a huge honour for us to win such recognition.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 18th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
So three-quarters of the tickets for Roadburn 2020 are gone. I have to wonder what the corresponding percentage of the lineup has been unveiled. Maybe a third? Maybe? I doubt half. There are still smaller rooms to fill out and other this and that-type happenings. It’s amazing the culture around this festival though. Just look at these adds. Lana Del Rabies and Crypt Sermon. How does that even happen? And somehow, Roadburn pulls it off, year after year after year. It’s because people want to add to that culture, to be a part of it. It’s like nothing else. Like this joint art project that everybody there becomes a piece of. And if that description sounds totally unbelievable, then good. It is unbelievable. And yet, here we are. Year after year after year, on Planet Roadburn, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
I don’t know what else to say except that, as always, I hope we do the ‘zine again. Seems like there’ll be a lot to talk about this time around.
From the PR wire:
Roadburn 2020: Further announcements; over three quarters of tickets sold
– Over 3/4 of weekend tickets are already sold – Oranssi Pazuzu will present their new album as part of James Kent’s curation – Further additions to both James Kent and Emma Ruth Rundle’s curated events.
With over three quarters of weekend tickets already sold (three-day tickets are completely sold out), and many more bands still to announce, Roadburn’s Walter Hoeijmakers comments:
“I am absolutely overwhelmed by the faith that people have put in us to deliver an exciting line up. We will honour that faith and Roadburn 2020 will be one for the history books. Sincere thanks to everybody who has picked up a ticket so far, it’s an incredible feeling..”
JAMES KENT’S CURATION:
ORANSSI PAZUZU There are so many pieces of the puzzle that will fall into place between now and next April, and we’re sworn to secrecy on just about all of it. But what we can tell you is that Oranssi Pazuzu will be performing their as-yet unnamed new album in full at Roadburn 2020, as a part of James Kent’s curated event. It seems incomprehensible that Oranssi Pazuzu may have evaded your attention at this point. But we’re sure there’s a few of you out there – the uninitiated. Begin preparations immediately, as come April 2020, there will be dark forces at work here in Tilburg. A magical, mind-melting mangle of psychedelic avant-garde spirits will cast a spell over us all.
BLANCK MASS Among the list of achievements that Blanck Mass can be proud of is soundtracking the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony in London – and come April 2020, Benjamin John Power will also be able to say he played Roadburn! Whilst we might not have an audience of 900 million watching what goes down in Tilburg that day, we can be sure to give Blanck Mass a customary Roadburn welcome. Soundtracking the emotions that accompany personal and societal loss, intimate and global grief – his latest album, Animated Violence Mild, is direct, honest and absolutely drenched in melody.
HANGMAN’S CHAIR Making a return to Roadburn – this time under the curatorship of James Kent – is France’s Hangman’s Chair. The cathartic doom/post-punk combination will be familiar to Roadburners who witnessed them back in 2016, but the intervening years have only seen the four-piece pick up the pace. Their 2018 album Banlieue Triste (which featured James in his Perturbator guise, and Wolvennest’s Marc de Backer) will be played in full during their Roadburn performance. Sink into the melancholic explorations of some of the darkest places they have been.
EMMA RUTH RUNDLE’S THE GILDED CAGE:
MIZMOR Mizmor’s latest album, Cairn, is a mesmerising piece of work. Back in 2016, we were bowled over by Yodh – Mizmor’s previous offering – and we invited multi-instrumentalist, A.L.N, to bring his project to the Roadburn stage in 2018. The set proved to be a defining element of Roadburn that year for all who witnessed it. Cairn is a continuation of Yodh – yet somehow more personal, more intense and more captivating. It’s not necessarily an easy journey, but it’s one we went on willingly. So, it is with enormous pleasure that we announce Mizmor’s return – performing Cairn in full at Roadburn 2020.
CLOUD RAT We already announced that Cloud Rat would be playing Roadburn 2020, but we’re delighted to announce that they have agreed to a second show. There are dozens of reasons why their latest offering, Pollinator, stands head and shoulders above many other 2019 releases, and just one of them is the accompanying EP that was released at the same time. Performing tracks from this EP, as well as a couple of cuts from elsewhere in their catalogue, Cloud Rat will be showing off a different side to themselves. In order to do justice to the songs in a live setting, the band are enlisting the help of a familiar face and dear friend of Roadburn – Thou’s Andy Gibbs.
SRSQ The haunting, sorrow-tinged melody that envelopes SRSQ’s debut album, Unreality, gives a big clue of what to expect when Kennedy Ashlyn takes to the Roadburn stage next April. Formed after her previous project, Them Are Us Too, ended due to the tragic death of Kennedy’s collaborator, Cash Askew, SRSQ (pronounced Seer-skew) retains much of the magic that made TAUT so compelling. The soaring synths and layers of swirling emotion are still present, as of course is her lullaby-esque dreamy vocals.
FVNERALS Their 2016 album, Wounds, is a creeping, eerie voyage through some incredibly dark shadows. Dripping with lethargic menace and hazy atmospherics, Fvnerals paint a sonic landscape that feels devoid of sunlight, absolute desolation pervades. News has reached us that writing will soon commence for their next opus due out in late 2020. Whilst Fvnerals are not a cheery prospect, they are a strangely alluring one. We’re delighted to welcome them to Roadburn 2020.
ALSO ANNOUNCED…
BIG BRAVE & JESSICA MOSS Big Brave are a modern wonder – a trio of musicians that have seemingly created their own little universe, with no need for our earthly categorisations, no need for our restrictive genres, and no need to stick to any kind of formula. A joy to witness live at any point, but especially so when they’re joined by a special guest. Jessica Moss featured on the Big Brave albums, Au De La and Ardor, performing violin, and on extremely infrequent occasions she has performed with the band live. We’re thrilled to announce that this unholy union will be sharing a stage at Roadburn 2020; the stars in the Roadburn universe have aligned and we’ve captured this most rare of beasts.
JESSICA MOSS As well as performing alongside Big Brave, Jessica Moss will take to the stage a second time at Roadburn 2020 to perform her own set. Her captivating sonic experimentation and ethereal violin playing will be an all-consuming musical journey for Roadburners lucky enough to witness it live. For those who appreciate the intricacies of quiet moment found at Roadburn – Jessica Moss is the show for you.
CRYPT SERMON Confidently lassoing all that is great about traditional heavy metal, straddling it and whipping it into shape for a contemporary audience, Crypt Sermon may just have concocted a magic formula that pays tribute to those who have paved the way, whilst simultaneously forging a new path. It’s time to break out your leather jacket – or if you’re feeling bold, the double denim – and get ready to rock out: Crypt Sermon are heading straight for Roadburn 2020 to play their new album The Ruins of Fading Light in full.
LANA DEL RABIES The origins of Lana Del Rabies may have a connection to her namesake, but since those early days of paying a droney tribute to the pop star, Lana Del Rabies has taken a life of its own. The project and pseudonym of Phoenix, Arizona resident, Sam An, blends synthesized electronics, drone/noise elements and industrial heaviness into an atmosphere of existential abreaction and an exploration of the occult.
RED KITE For Roadburn 2020, we will continue our quest to bring you some of the most exciting prog bands around. Championing the burgeoning Norwegian psych-prog-jazz scene is Red Kite. Their self-titled debut is a master class in progressive jams and hypnotic soundscapes, hence inviting them for Roadburn.
Already announced for Roadburn 2020 is: Emma Ruth Rundle and James Kent as curators, commissioned projects from James Kent & Johannes Persson, Jo Quail, and Vile Creature & Bismuth, the return of Julie Christmas, Red Sparowes, Russian Circles, Torche, Brutus, Bada, Dool, Health, Hide, She Past Away, and two Artists In Residence: Full of Hell and Lingua Ignota. Check the full line up HERE.
