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Roadburn 2022 Makes Final Lineup Announcement; Side-Programme Revealed

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 25th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Roadburn 2022, after two years absent as an in-person gathering, set a significant goal for itself to ‘redefine heaviness.’ How do you do that? What does it look like? It’s inclusionary, first off. You can’t shift a paradigm without as broad and diverse a range of perspectives as possible. You can’t repeat yourself. You can’t live the same moment over and over again. You have to move forward. Maybe that’s adding an avant-jazz venue, as they did last week. Maybe it’s reinforcing your message with panels and talks on the side-programme, some new, some old — to be fair, if you’ve never heard Exile on Mainstream‘s Andreas Kohl talk about making vinyl, it’s something you won’t mind repeating; trust me — and exposing your audience as much as possible to as much as possible.

Roadburn‘s side programme has always been a party I’ve never felt quite cool enough for, but that’s on me, not the festival, which consistently has been working to reshape parameters and live up to its mission statement.

This is the final lineup announcement, reportedly. I’ll say here once and for all that it breaks my heart not to be in Tilburg this year, to see friends and to have that special feeling of coming home to Roadburn after missing it so much since 2019. Really. Hurts.

Here’s info:

Roadburn 2022 redefining heaviness

Roadburn announces side programme, final bands and art exhibitions

Roadburn has this week added the final bands to the 2022 line up, as well as announcing the festival’s side programme and art exhibits.

Roadburn’s side programme co-ordinator, Becky Laverty comments: “The side programme has become a cornerstone of each Roadburn edition, and we’re delighted to be bringing together this great selection of Q&A’s and panel discussions that reflect what’s going on in the main musical programme. A huge thanks to everyone who will participate in bringing together the Roadburn community in this special way.”

Earlier this week exhibitions by Roadburn’s official 2022 artists Valreza Collective, renowned photographer William Lacalmontie, and a career retrospective of multi-disciplinary artist Manuel Tinnemans were all announced:

Manuel Tinnemans
William Lacalmontie
Valreza Collective

The final bands were added to the line up yesterday with our curators Milena Eva and Thomas Sciarone inviting WIEGEDOOD to perform their latest album, There’s Always Blood At The End Of The Road in full. SVALBARD will make their return to the mainland, and elsewhere MOTOR!K, SEVERANT and ORDIGORT were added:

Wiegedood
Svalbard
Motor!k
Severant
Ordigort

The Roadburn side programme returns for 2022 – reflecting elements of the musical programme in a series of Q&A’s and panel discussions taking place over the weekend.

Roadburn has teamed up with the Hell Bent for Metal podcast to host a panel exploring the overlap between the heavy music and queer communities. Joining host Tom Dare will be Liturgy’s Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, K.W Campol of Vile Creature and Meredith Graves (ex-Perfect Pussy).

Hosted by Metal Injection’s Frank Godla, the second panel featuring Hunter Hunt-Hendrix will take a deep dive into the relationship between classical and contemporary heavy music. Joining them will be Kristin Hayter (aka Lingua Ignota) and cellist Jo Quail.

As is tradition, Optimal Media’s Andreas Kohl will be holding court and getting stuck into the thorny issue of vinyl manufacture. However, this time around the Vinyl Veda Vault will kick off with a panel discussion looking into the impact of the current vinyl situation and what the future holds. Joining Andreas will be band manager Erin Lynch and label owner Ansgar Glade.

Roadburn 2022 has been an unusual event to put together (for some obvious reasons and some not so obvious reasons!) – the side programme will host a Q&A with Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers alongside curators Milena Eva and Thomas Sciarone to find out more about putting together the festival.

The final event of the side programme will focus on two tenets that have helped shaped Roadburn: community and collaboration. Host Cody F. Davis will be joined by A.L.N of Mizmor, Dylan Walker of Full of Hell, Emma Ruth Rundle, and Primitive Man’s Ethan Lee McCarthy to explore how these things impact on their lives and work.

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Desertfest London 2019 Confirms Om, Wovenhand, Stoned Jesus, Great Electric Quest, Elephant Tree, Messa, High Fighter and More

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 29th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

desertfest london 2019 square poster

A monstrous announcement from Desertfest London 2019 finds the festival, as it has over the last several years, with a far reach in geography and style alike. Acts like Great Electric Quest, High Reeper, Salem’s Bend, The Devil and the Almighty Blues, High Fighter, and Messa represent a flood of up and coming underground heavy from the US and Europe — I’d count hometown heroes Elephant Tree and Greece’s Naxatras at the forefront of that surge — while Om, Wovenhand, Mondo Generator, Stoned Jesus, Sabbath AssemblyJaye JayleHHY and the Macumbas and Wiegedood are of course no minor shakes in terms of draw or aesthetic swath.

Desertfest‘s first announcement, which came through in September with Earthless, All Them Witches, Kadavar and Colour Haze, among others, was enticing enough. This one does nothing but make one want to book travel and lodging.

The PR wire has the details:

desertfest london 2019 old empire stage

Drone doom pioneers OM confirmed as first headliner + 15 more acts added to the DESERTFEST LONDON 2019 lineup!

After warming you up with our first announcement in September, it’s time to break out the big guns. Today we’re adding 16 killer bands to Desertfest, including the lineup for 2019’s Old Empire stage, which, after years of bringing some of the heaviest sounds all weekend, will this year takeover as our Friday main stage. We couldn’t be happier with their first pick, Desertfest 2019’s opening headliners, the incomparable, spiritual force of stoner drone that is Om.

Formed in 2003 as one great band drifted off for a decade, Om – then consisting of the two-part assault of Sleep’s Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius – brought with them an extension of the hypnotic heavy first hinted at on Sleep’s Jerusalem/Dopesmoker. Achieving more with just vocals, bass and drums than most can dream of with a packed out stage, the opening one-two punch of Variations on a Theme and Conference of the Birds serves as a revelation to many; stripped-back power that cleans the cobwebs from your brain with reverberating blasts of droned-down stoner-doom.

By 2007’s Pilgrimage – the last full-length to feature Hakius on drums – Om had begun to lean more and more heavily into spiritual themes and Eastern tones, bringing about a new definition of what exactly heavy is; because let’s be clear, Om are heaviness incarnate, just not in the traditional sense. Through God is Good and their latest LP, Advaitic Songs – their first as a trio and surely one of the finest put to record this decade – Om continued down a path of hazed out perfection. It’s a testament to the importance of the band that, even as Sleep woke up, Om persist, ready to send you into a trance at the pluck of a bass. Be sure to catch Om when they headline the Old Empire stage – and Desertfest at large – on Friday 3rd May.

Joining them on the Old Empire stage, and continuing Old Empire’s tradition of showcasing heaviness from unexpected places, are Wovenhand. Labelled many things over the near two decades they’ve been kicking around, from alternative country, to neofolk, to Southern-gothic, Wovenhand are simply low and slow, oozing with an atmosphere of gloom. Music torn from the heart and soul of David Eugene Edwards (ex-16 Horsepower), Wovenhand are a deeply personal experience that you won’t want to miss.

But that’s not all for the Old Empire stage, who offer up three more treats for Desertfest 2019; firstly, a slice of black metal in the shape of Wiegedood, whose Die doden hebben het goed trilogy serves as a granite slab of brutality. Featuring members of post-black metal heroes Oathbreaker, as well as being part of the illustrious Church of Ra collective – a handful of acts tethered by a DIY ethic – Wiegedood will bring heaviness as we traditionally know it to the stage.

The jazz-inspired, ominous soundscapes of HHY & the Macumbas bring an exploration of the apocalypse to proceedings. Showcasing why they’re one of the most inimitable acts in the Portuguese, or perhaps even European underground scene, HHY are ordered chaos, wielding a twin attack of percussion and horns, tied together with a thin spine of drone.

Rounding off this year’s Old Empire stage come the desolate, minimalist sonic mantras of Louisville’s Jaye Jayle. Revelling in the simplicity of a “Less is more” philosophy, Jaye Jayle build tension with their barely crawling musical progressions and stitch it all together with the gruff, semi-spoken vocals of Evan Patterson.

Yet again, the Old Empire stage looks set to be one of the most exciting places to be over the whole of the Desertfest weekend, bringing both the darkness and the light; but that’s not all to expect over the May Bank Holiday weekend in Camden.

Elsewhere over the weekend, we’re excited to be welcoming Ukraine’s Stoned Jesus to Desertfest London. The stoner blues trio, who released their 4th full-length Pilgrims in September, possess a tone all of their own. Offering up one of the scene’s most beloved albums in 2012’s Seven Thunders Roar, Stoned Jesus remain a treat to catch live; as do punk infused stoner rockers Mondo Generator. Headed up by legend of the underground, Nick Oliveri, Mondo Generator are, like any of Oliveri’s myriad projects, an undeniably raucous experience live.

Next up, a double bill of some of Europe’s finest heavy psych; Part of the modern Greek wave of stoner and psych, without ever disappearing into the crowd, Naxatras are unashamed worshippers of the 70s riff. That said, they bring plenty of their own flavour to the mix. Whilst Oslo’s The Devil and the Almighty Blues live up to their name, bringing a devilishly groovy stomp and infusing it with their almost nonchalant, relaxed tones, fast becoming one of the most exciting bands in all of heavy psych.

There’s doom aplenty as ever at Desertfest, with all angles covered; the occult is worshipped with Sabbath Assembly and Messa’s take on the science of slow, whilst Elephant Tree will continue to show why they’re one of the UK’s finest acts with their uncompromising push outwards to the outer limits of doom.

A double dose of 70’s worship comes in the form of the strutting duo of Great Electric Quest and Salem’s Bend, with today’s announcement rounded off by two chances to get high; High Fighter are set to surround us with a densely packed smog of doom and High Reeper filtering the riffs of classic heavy metal through the So-Cal skater scene.

With dozens more bands still to be announced, including our Saturday and Sunday headliners, Desertfest 2019 is shaping up to be another hit of the best stoner, doom, sludge and psych on the planet. Don’t miss the annual celebration of the underground in Camden next May Bank Holiday weekend. Book your tickets today.

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Wovenhand, Live at Fire in the Mountains, Jackson, WY, June 30, 2018

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Desertfest Belgium 2018 Adds Dead Meadow, Ancestors, Wiegedood, Messa, and Heads.

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 24th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

desertfest belgium 2018 banner

So, uh, there’s a band called Heads. playing Desertfest Belgium 2018. They’re from Germany and not at all to be confused with The Heads from the UK. I guess the punctuation makes some different there, but isn’t it a little like calling your band Beatles. and expecting not to get sued? Question of scale there, I know, but you get my point. Heads. are a different band from The Heads. Okay.

I’m kind of surprised that Dead Meadow, in joining the lineup for Desertfest Belgium 2018, aren’t among the headliner, who are still TBA. I’ve got some names I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised to see signed on to play, but no question the lineup is ridiculously strong in the interim, what with Dead Meadow, Heads., Ancestors, Wiegedood and Messa all newly confirmed. I guess we’ll just have to wait on those headliner announcements.

From the PR wire:

desertfest belgium 2018 dead meadow

DEAD MEADOW PLAYS DF ANTWERP ’18

WIEGEDOOD, ANCESTORS and more

Well, we promised a worthy replacement for John Garcia, and we think this one will delight all you fans of delicious stoner grooves.

With 20 years and 7 records on the counter, Dead Meadow can truly be considered venerable veterans of the scene. With their most recent album ‘The Nothing They Need’, the DC band has made a glorious return 5 years after the previous outing. By now the ingredients might be familiar – heavy proto-metal riffing and long psych workouts – but once again the band proves noone cooks up a stew quite like they do. A rock solid addition to this year’s line-up, we think you’ll agree!

We already have one Belgian heavyweight on the program, so how about another? Wiegedood got its infamy coming up with a disturbing band name that translates to “crib death” in Dutch. But soon we learned that this was no mere gimmick: their peculiar version of black metal is effectively as unsettling and grim as the name suggests.

If the album teasers are anything to go by, the next album by Ancestors is gonna be something truly special. A culmination of everything the band stands for, from the atmospheric post-rock passages to the chugging riffs. Six years is a long wait for a new album in these times, but it seems like this will truly be worth the wait.

Another singular voice at the festival comes from Messa, who merge seemingly disparate genres like doom metal and dark jazz into one sonic stew they describe as ‘Scarlet Doom’. And finally, the German HEADS. adds shades of shoegaze and post-rock in their noiserock, with equally unique results.

There you have it, a selection of new names that truly add a sense of adventure and experiment to the line-up. You know we still have some headliners in store for you, so stay tuned!

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Roadburn 2018: Earthless to be Artist-in-Residence; Crowbar, Kikagaku Moyo, Zola Jesus, Mutoid Man, Joy, Harsh Toke, Petyr, and More Added

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 15th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

This invariably happens every year. Roadburn hits a point where the festival loses its damn mind and delivers a completely overwhelming onslaught of lineup additions, greatly affirming the overall character of the event as well as its ongoing utter creative dominance of the Spring festival scene in Europe. I knew it was coming. I guess I just didn’t expect it so soon.

More the fool I. Today, Roadburn 2018 confirms Earthless will serve as Artist-in-Residence, and in addition to playing a set on their own, they’ll jam out with krautrock legend Damo Suzuki of Can as well as lead the charge of a ‘San Diego Takeover’ featuring the likes of Harsh TokeJoyPetyr and Sacri Monti. Not only that, but Crowbar will play Odd Fellows Rest in full at Jacob Bannon‘s curated event, and another takeover — this time by Japanese psychedelia — brings confirmation of Kikagaku MoyoMinami Deutsch and Dhidalah. Oh, and there’s a shit ton of others added as well, including Mutoid ManJarboe and Ruins of Beverast.

If you can get your head around it, you’ve got one up on me, though it’s certainly fun to try. I got to write the Earthless announcement, so make sure you read that one. Here’s all of it from the PR wire:

roadburn 2018 banner

Roadburn Festival 2018 Artist in Residence announced; plus more lineup confirmations

– Earthless confirmed as 2018 Artist in Residence
– Huge San Diego Takeover project announced feat. collaborations and jam sessions.
– Japanese Psych Experience courtesy of Kikagaku Moyo, Minami Deutsch and Dhidalah
– Crowbar & Zola Jesus confirmed for Jacob Bannon’s curated stages

Artistic Director, Walter Hoeijmakers commented:
“To be Roadburn’s Artist in Residence is quite a prestigious position; it really gives bands a chance to open up and explore different facets of their collective personalities. Earthless are – to me – the perfect fit for this next year; their bond with Roadburn is strong and we’re thrilled to have seen them grow and develop over the years since they first played Roadburn. In fact, it will be a full decade since their first performance on a Roadburn stage – and what a way to mark the occasion.

“The whole San Diego Takeover has been over a year in the planning, and we’re still working on even more ways to enhance what is already going to be such an incredibly special part of Roadburn 2018.”

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: EARTHLESS

Roadburn is proud to welcome back our benevolent cosmic instrumentalist overlords in 2018! Earthless will perform three sets as our Artist in Residence, including some incredibly special, Roadburn-exclusive jams.

It’s been a decade since the San Diego three-piece of guitarist Isaiah Mitchell, bassist Mike Eginton and drummer Mario Rubalcaba set a standard for epic with the performance that became their landmark Live at Roadburn 2LP in 2008. Since then, Earthless have become the standard-bearers of a heavy psychedelic boom in California, inspiring countless acts around them.

As our Artist in Residence they will take the stage three times. For the first set, they’ll play in their standard three-piece incarnation, showcasing material from their upcoming 2018 album. The second set unites Earthless with progressive rock and improvisational legend Damo Suzuki, a set that is bound to be an occurrence of galaxy-shaking significance. If that’s not enough, Earthless will also take part in an ‘East Meets West’ psych jam with other members of the San Diego scene and members of Kikagaku Moyo from Japan.

The poster for Earthless was created by Maarten Donders.

Read more about Earthless, and Damo Suzuki.

SAN DIEGO TAKEOVER

Steeped in psychedelia and inspired by Earthless – who played a pivotal role in sparking this particular fire – the new breed of San Diego psych-rock bands is gearing up to launch themselves on Tilburg next April. Stand by; the San Diego circus is coming to town.

A veritable gang of musicians will be leaving behind the Pacific Ocean and making their way to the slightly less sun soaked – although no less open minded – vistas of Tilburg.

Each participating band will perform over the course of the weekend as part of the main festival programme at the 013, but a movement this influential deserves it’s own space to spread out, bloom, and indeed envelope us all. So, with that in mind, there will be a Californian takeover at the Hall of Fame on both Friday and Saturday; welcome to the San Diego Clubhouse!

When you count professional skaters among your ranks, it would seem remiss to not factor a skate expo into proceedings. Plus there will be visual exhibitions by the likes of JT Rhoades, Lannie Rhodes and BB Bastidas (the man responsible for the incredible poster below), there will also be stalls featuring Vol.4 Clothing and Psockadelic. We didn’t know we needed Roadburn branded socks until just now, but now we really need them…

More details will unfurl over the next couple of months, but for now, it’s time to get stoked: California is coming. Performing as part of the Roadburn 2018 San Diego takeover will be:
Harsh Toke
Sacri Monti
Joy
Petyr

Read more about the San Diego Takeover.

JAPANESE PSYCH: KIKAGAKA MOYO, MINAMI DEUTSCH, DHIDALAH

In conjunction with the San Diego Takeover, Roadburn 2018 will also host a Japanese psych experience! Steeped in ’60s and ’70s tradition, these bands are exploring psychedelia in a transportive and meditative way. Emphasis is put on the past, but they’re pushing the envelope, and it’s their forward-looking vision that’s prompted us to bring them to Roadburn 2018.

Please brace yourself to explore the sonic spectrum with these new champions of Japanese psych!

Centered around cult-label GuruGuruBrain, the following bands will perform as the Japanese counterparts of The San Diego Takeover:
Kikagaku Moyo
Minami Deutsch
Dhidalah

JACOB BANNON’S CURATION: CROWBAR

Crowbar have been at the forefront of heavy music for nearly three decades, and in 1998 released the album Odd Fellows Rest. This incredible album merged their existing heaviness with a refined melodic sensibility, creating one of the most powerful metal albums of the era.

Jacob Bannon comments:
“In 1991 I was introduced to Crowbar when I bought a tape of their Obedience Thru Suffering album. The sheer heaviness of the band floored me and I was hooked ever since. For me personally, their 1998 album Odd Fellows Rest is a high watermark of creativity. It is an incredible collection of songs that have been daily listens for me for nearly two decades. It’s an honor to have the band perform this record live at Roadburn Festival 2018.”

Read more about Crowbar.

JACOB BANNON’S CURATION: ZOLA JESUS

Zola Jesus is the stage name of Russian American musician Nika Roza Danilova. Under the name Zola Jesus, she has released a number of genre bending EPs and albums. Her approach is a cross pollination of electronic/industrial, classical, and gothic sounds; all of it coming together as a dark and emotional artistic experience.

Jacob Bannon comments:
“I first heard Nika’s work on the Stridulum EP. Every aspect of the release connected with me and it soon became a daily listen. The record (and all of her work) was relatable and infectious. I’ve been an avid listener ever since. Watching her artistry grow and deepen over time has been inspiring. Okovi, the latest from Zola Jesus is such a powerful album. I am truly honored to have Nika and Company at Roadburn 2018 as part of my curation.”

Read more about  Zola Jesus.

JARBOE FT. FATHER MURPHY

Jarboe has always made collaboration an essential part of her work, and her work with Italian duo Father Murphy has so far been incredibly fruitful. When they perform together at Roadburn, Father Murphy will take to the stage first and set the mood with heir creepy and enveloping aural tapestries, after which Jarboe, in all her glory, will join them to perform those songs. After that, the trio will perform a selection of some of the most powerful moments of the singer’s career so far.

Read more about Jarboe ft Father Murphy.

BIG BRAVE invite us to peek further into the shadows. Read more
DAWN RAY’D will be initiated into the Roadburn family. Read more.
HÄLLAS carry the heart and soul of the seventies. Read more.
KÆLAN MIKLA soundtrack the apocalypse with threatening darkwave rumblings beneath ominous monologues. Read more.
MUTOID MAN shake off the “super group” shackles and re-write the rules. Read more.
PLANNING FOR BURIAL are set to defy description and capture our hearts.Read more.
THE RUINS OF BEVERAST will reprise their 2013 show-stealing performance, this time with added Exuvia; they’ll play their latest album in full. Read more.
UNE MISÈRE are an explosive combination of elongated atmospherics and insanely meaty riffs. Read more.
WIEGEDOOD: furious catharsis, raging obscurity and fiery destruction from the Church of Ra  Read more.
WRECK AND REFERENCE shall devour genres and resist categorisation. Read more.
YELLOW EYES… With burning intention and a sight without limits, BLACK METAL AS SPIRITUAL WAR. Read more.

TICKET ONSALE INFORMATION
Roadburn 2018 tickets are on sale now. 3 and 4 day tickets are currently available, with day tickets going on sale at a later date.

4-day-tickets €198,40 (including €3,40 service fees)
3-day-tickets €175,40 (including €3,40 service fees)

Camping tickets are also available to purchase, with additional options (such as Festipis and camper vans) also possible. This year the urban campsite will be in a new location – but still within walking distance to the 013 venue – providing a comfortable and affordable option for Roadburn attendees.

Click here for more information on tickets and the campsite

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Roadburn 2018 Third Announcement Video

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