Posted in Whathaveyou on March 28th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Obviously the focus here is on the lineup and that’s exactly how it should be, but I’d also like to point out that Belgian festival Down the Hill 2023 will also boast among its amenities an ‘ice cream barn,’ and that’s some wonderfully wholesome accompaniment for a weekend’s worth of heavy and psychedelic — and heavy psychedelic! — vibing. The final four adds to the lineup are Earthless, who, duh, headline, as well as Radar Men From the Moon, Condor Gruppe and Kameel, and they continue to flesh out the reach and range of the Down the Hill, which is set for this August 25-26 in Rillaar and admits only 600 people to keep an intimate setting.
So, keep that in mind as you peruse the bill and see the likes of Mars Red Sky, the reborn live lineup of Sula Bassana, Kanaan, Dorre, Fire Down Below and a slew of others from within and without Belgium. I’ve never been, but this seems like a really cool, dug-in kind of couple days, and if you get to go, well, I’d love to hear about it at some point. You know I daydream on this stuff.
From social media:
DOWN THE HILL 2023
On August 25 & 26 the Down The Hill Festival will arise again from the lush green hillsides in Rillaar, Belgium!
Already known for the small & cosy set-up (limited to 600 tickets) on a gorgeous piece of farm style land and its magical charm. This 2-day outdoor festival shows some of the finest heavy psychedelic underground rock bands from around the world, on a wooden stage!
GET READY FOR THIS!
*EARTHLESS (usa) *MARS RED SKY (fr) *SULA BASSANA (ger) *RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON (nl) *HYPNOS 69 (be) *CONDOR GRUPPE (be) *KANAAN (nor) *GNOME (be) *FIRE DOWN BELOW (be) *KAMEEL (be) *DORRE (be) *GRANDMA’S ASHES (fr) *MOJO AND THE KITCHEN BROTHERS (be) *DÔME *BEAR BONES, LAY LOW *DR. SPACE *VITJA PAUWELS (be) *DRIES GEUSENS (be) *JONAS MEERSMANS (be) *KOONDA HOLAA *FRANKIE TRAANDRUPPEL *JEF MERTENS *FLOATING BODIES *VENEDIKTOS TEMPELBOOM *SLOW BEAR *ETHERIK & AMBI-J
*DJ’S: COSMIC MASSEUR (be) COCONAUT (nl) 7” OF RIFFS by MOOS (be)
*AFTERPARTIES *BAND MERCH area *SPACE FUZZ RECORDS store *FESTIVAL MERCH stand will also be available on the DTH website
*BAR *FOOD TRUCKS meat, veggie and vegan *BREAKFAST & ICECREAM BARN powered by ‘t Nijswolkje
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 5th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Very little says ‘vibe’ as directly as having a reunited Hypnos 69 and Kanaan at the top of a bill, except maybe for the word itself. Down the Hill in Belgium looks immediately like a good time, and I don’t expect the lineup is done either, so all the better. They’re later in the summer than some of the other European events being announced now, so I’d imagine there’s still some things that are too bad confirmed — and I’m not playing coy or anything, I actually don’t know — but it’s cool to see what started as a one-off for Hypnos 69 becoming a real thing, and Gnome seem primed for a pretty big 2023. Fair enough. Their record is doing pretty well in the year-end poll here too, so good for them.
Gonna try to keep up with this one as it comes together closer to the two days next August when it actually takes place, but they’re off to a good start.
Dig it:
Here they are! The first 5 bands that will crash the wooden stage at the Down The Hill Festival on August 25 & 26 2023 in Rillaar, Belgium!
For the Early Birds out there, a limited amount of tickets are going on sale the 5ft of december at 10.00pm.
Hypnos 69 is a space rock/psychedelic rock quartet based out of Belgium. Forming in 1994, this band would draw heavily from 1960s and 1970s psychedelic and space rock. In a career spanning nearly twenty years the band would release five studio albums all the while performing all over Europe as a marquee act.
The band’s final shows would be a short tour in 2011 and a string of shows the next year, sharing the stage with the likes of Glowsun, Sungrazer and Lonely Kamel. Hypnos 69 would ultimately disband in 2012.
In September 2022 Hypnos 69 reunited for the 25 Years OrangeFactory happening in Leuven, Belgium. And they played a more than epic set at Desertfest Antwerp 2022.
It seems Hypnos 69 is back from a 10 year hibernation!
The name was taken from the ancient Greek god of Sleep and Subconsciousness. The number 69 stands for equilibrium and stability; properties that can be retrieved in the marked sound of the band.
KANAAN
Kanaan – Band is a Norwegian power trio that has been playing their own form of free-flowing psychedelia, heavy stoner-rock and jazz-influenced krautrock for the last few years. They´ve released six albums since 2019 and have played over 100 concerts in ten different countries since they emerged as a powerful live act on the European music scene in 2019. This spring they won the Norwegian grammy awards for their heavy stoner-rock album “Earthbound” and recently released the experimental album Diversions vol 1: Softly Through Sunshine. The latter features the talented Norwegian jazz keyboardist Håvard Ersland and is a document of a fruitful musical collaboration.
As a live act Kanaan are known for their fiery, intense and loud performances, and their gig at Down The Hill will not be an exception.
GNOME
Belgium’s hardest rocking creatures, Gnome are back with their majestic second outing, King.
After the sucses of 2018 debut Father of Time, demonstrating their talent for stacking riffs like lego blocks, and conquering stages across Europe with their shin-kicking live sets, the power trio from Antwerp raise the bar for their second album, sounding bigger, catchier and heavier, with more room for vocals (including special guest Oskar Logi from The Vintage Caravan) but never losing sight of the quest for the golden riff.
This silly looking, greasy smelling, small but heavy three-headed being packs abigger punch then the name suggests: combining sing-along hooks, wall-of-sound guitars booming drums and thundering bass with adventurous rhythmic twists they brew their unique and ultimately satisfying potion of sludge, prog and stonerrock.
GRANDMA’S ASHES
Grandma’s Ashes is a female power trio of alternative / progressive rock.
For almost 5 years, the band has been inviting people to an introspective and transcendent musical journey on the roads of France. Their first EP, “The Fates”, released in January 2021 has shown a singular vision of a modern and narrative rock. On the dark, sometimes sarcastic texts, the voices of the three musicians intermingle. The clear and melodic lead vocals are sublime in contact with a heavy and meticulous instrumentation. If it constitutes a first piece to the edifice or rather, to the gothic cathedral that Grandma’s Ashes is building, the Grandma’s Ashes, the group has not however finished to enchant you.
MOJO AND THE KITCHEN BROTHERS
A 5-headed omnium gatherum of eclectically inspired music freaks from Belgium cooking up a late 60’s early 70’s minded mix of heavy progrock soaked in psychedelia. The smells emanating from our kitchen recall bands like Black Sabbath, Wishbone Ash and Pink Floyd. However, M&TKB is more than a nostalgia trip. Firmly tuned into the spring of our contemporary psych rockers, Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers’ catchy tunes, proggy riffs, deafening drums, roaring basslines and spacy, triple-guitar jams take the listener on a Janus-faced journey through the limbo between past and present.
