Posted in Whathaveyou on December 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Am I taking this entire Desertfest Berlin 2024 announcement as an excuse to put on Ruff Majik‘s Elektrik Ram yet again even though I was playing it approximately 40 hours ago while writing the best-of-2023 post? You bet your ass I am. 40 hours is about as long as I’ve made it all year. Less if you count hearing the songs in your head when the music isn’t actually on.
Elsewhere here, check out Masters of Reality confirmed for both flagship Desertfests. Another record might be too weird for planet earth, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. And I’ll note that this is the first I’m hearing of a farewell tour from Pentagram to take place in 2024/2025, but apparently that’s going to be a thing. Call it a low-level surprise? Nobody’s gonna say Bobby Liebling didn’t put in his time, even if you only count since the band got going again in 2009, never mind the better part of four decades prior.
I’ll be expecting tour announcements from Mondo Generator and Ruff Majik — maybe they’ll be out together; that would kind of rule as a pairing — Daevar, Pentagram, Arthur Brown, etc., and will post accordingly when I see what I see.
From the PR wire:
DESERTFEST BERLIN confirms PENTAGRAM, MASTERS OF REALITY, MONDO GENERATOR & many more new band names for 2024!
Desertfest Berlin has announced new names for their eclectic 2024-edition, and confirms iconic PENTAGRAM (last Berlin show ever!), MASTERS OF REALITY, THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN, MONDO GENERATOR, RUFF MAJIK, DAEVAR, APTERA, ZAHN, ZERRE and EINSEINSEINS! Get ready for THE riff party of the year – aside a wild and high-class blend of finest psychedelia, stoner rock, doom, desert punk blues, sludge and all that is metal, this is also going to be your last chance to see PENTAGRAM live in Berlin on their final Farewell Tour in 2024/2025!
Desertfest Berlin will take place between May 24 – 26, 2024 at Columbiahalle and Columbia Theater. Tickets, that would also make some perfect Xmas gift, are on sale at: www.desertfest-tickets.de
AMENRA | OSEES | PENTAGRAM MASTERS OF REALITY | ACID KING | BRANT BJORK TRIO THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN | TAMIKREST PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS | MONDO GENERATOR MONKEY3 | SIENA ROOT | DŸSE |EARTH TONGUE DIRTY SOUND MAGNET | THRONEHAMMER | RUFF MAJIK | FULL EARTH NEÀNDER | APTERA | ZAHN | DAEVAR | ZERRE EINSEINSEINS | PRAISE THE PLAGUE & MANY MORE
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Getting Masters of Reality over has been a project in the works for Desertfest London since before the pandemic, and it looks like 2024 will be the year. The band burned a few bridges over the last couple years when frontman Chris Goss took a hardline right-wing stance on issues surrounding covid and whatever else (that kind of thing will win fans as well in some cases), but their work remains the stuff of legend and any time there’s a connection to OG-era Californian desert rock — as there is with Goss, who was there in his own band and as producer for Kyuss, etc. — that’s a boon and a good get for Desertfest generally, though even if you’re not a Masters of Reality fan owing to politics or just never having gotten on board, the entire line right under them on the poster is unfuckwithable: Godflesh, Monolord, Acid King and Ufomammut. Goodness gracious. And the next name is Brant Bjork. Gonna be Desertfest, to be sure.
Warms my cold dead ‘eart to see Stinking Lizaveta and Darsombra confirmed — I’ll put Domkraft in that sentimental-favorite category as well, and check out fellow Swedes Astroqueen doing some more traveling — and I look forward to the grandiose plaudits soon to be bestowed on Warpstormer and Goblinsmoker after their respective appearances, which is something Sergeant Thunderhoof should be able to help them through. With Clouds Taste Satanic traversing the Atlantic again, and others like Pijn and Duskwood, Mantar, Maserati and Monkey3, there’s a three-day fest’s worth of acts already revealed in this first announcement and probably two or three more three-day fests’ worth of names to come. I’ll tell you outright I’d shit a brick to see this. If you’re gonna be there, know how lucky you are.
From the PR wire:
Desertfest London announces 25 bands for 2024 edition including headliners Masters of Reality plus, Godflesh, Monolord, Acid King, Ufomammut & more
Friday 17th May – Sunday 19th May 2024 | Weekend Tickets now on sale
Desertfest London have unveiled 25 bands for their 12th edition, taking place across multiple venues in Camden next May 17th – 19th.
Following their pandemic induced cancellation in 2020, Desertfest is thrilled to announce desert rock pioneers Masters of Reality for the event. It will be the band’s first UK appearance in almost a decade. Masters of Reality is the brainchild of legendary producer Chris Goss (Welcome to Sky Valley, Rated R, Blues for The Red Sun, Dust, Songs for The Deaf). Their combination of hard-rock blues with a progressive tinge makes no apologies for not sticking within the stylised box listeners would expect, yet simultaneously provides the perfect lesson in the musical ethos and story-telling of the Palm Desert scene – all led by the man who laid its foundations.
Following an unforgettable performance at the New York edition of the Desertfest franchise a few months ago, industrial trailblazers Godflesh will return to London for a masterclass in sonic brutality. UK exclusive performances come in the form of Swedish doom masters Monolord, California stoner metal legends Acid King and the long-awaited return of Italian experimentalists Ufomammut.
Further Desert Rock royalty rolls into Camden Town, as Brant Bjork Trio will treat attendees to a back-catalogue few artists can compete with. Instrumental sound shifters Maserati, hard-hitting duo Mantar, introspective visionaries Cloakroom and heavy-psych rockers Monkey3 will take the concept of genres and set them ablaze.
Elsewhere the likes of Blanket, Domkraft, Pijn, Sugar Horse, Stinking Lizaveta and Darsombra will bring a captivating change of pace to the event. Whilst the stoner rock vibes remain alive and well with Astroqueen, Wet Cactus, Sergeant Thunderhoof and Duskwood.
If that wasn’t enough to get your teeth into, Desertfest rounds of its first announcement with Goblinsmoker, Clouds Taste Satanic, Warpstormer, Sonic Taboo & Wizdoom.
Weekend Tickets for the event are on sale now via www.desertfest.co.uk with much more to still be announced!
A Masters of Reality album that’s more of a collection of odds and ends and utterly disjointed and still somehow cohesive, Give Us Barabbas surfaced in 2004 through the band’s self-release imprint Brownhouse Recordings and has its roots in a got-shelved 1995 long-player called The Ballad of Jody Frosty. What would’ve been the follow-up to 1992’s Sunrise on the Sufferbus (discussed here) never made it to public ears, and in addition to its title-track, which appears here as the string-laced opener, an instantly memorable hook of a melody that also served to intro the live album Flak ‘n’ Flight (discussed here), it featured “Voice and the Vision,” “Still on the Hill,” “Bela Alef Rose,” and “Brown House on the Green Road,” which show up on Give Us Barabbas as well, along with pieces like “Desert Song” with Ginger Baker (Cream) on drums, “Jinalee Jindalie” with guest vocals by Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and the John Lennon cover “It’s So Hard.”
What’s ironic about the Lennon track is that it’s not the most Beatlesian inclusion on the record at all, or even the most Lennon-solo feeling. Taken from Imagine, it’s Lennon doing bluesy Elvis worship, while “I Walk Beside Your Love” comes through like a lost Dakota demo, and “Voice and the Vision,” “Off to Tiki Ti” and “Don’t Get Caught by the Huntsman’s Bow” tap into that weird, kid-song singalong spirit of “Rocky Raccoon” or “All Together Now,” and though the follow-the-bouncing-ball oddity of “Don’t Get Caught by the Huntsman’s Bow” is delightfully strange as twisted through Masters of Reality spearhead Chris Goss‘ vision of folk and might be more “Octopus’ Garden” than “Yellow Submarine,” the spirit is there one way or the other. Personnel, arrangements and styles vary throughout, but songwriting carries the album through its 12-song/41-minute entirety, and however they came together, from the stand-up bass that gives such warmth to “Voice and the Vision” to the handclaps in “Off to Tiki Ti” and the gentle blend of acoustic and electric guitar on “Jindalee Jindalie” — never mind the harmonies between Goss and Weiland — the album is a masterclass in being exactly what it wants to be, each song fostering its own intent and structure while feeding into the overarching strength of the whole.
Goss is of course known for his production work and collaborations with Kyuss, Fatso Jetson, Nebula, UNKLE, Ian Astbury, Mark Lanegan, Queens of the Stone Age, Melissa Auf der Maur, as well as for performing on records for many of the same and in projects like Goon Moon and Desert Sessions, etc. He’s someone who’s had an essential hand in making heavy rock and roll what it is today, especially in his work helping to shape Californian desert rock in the studio. Fair enough. Give Us Barabbas is something of a look at the aftermath of that. It was the first full-length Masters of Reality put out following 2001’s Deep in the Hole (discussed here), and the subsequent European touring with Nick Oliveri and Josh Homme — both then of Queens of the Stone Age — documented in 2002 on the aforementioned Flak ‘n’ Flight live outing. Deep in the Hole is probably the closest Masters of Reality ever came to doing ‘desert rock’ on aesthetic terms, and it felt like a conscious decision. Give Us Barabbas, with its fluid lineup, older songs and reworked pieces, reconciles some of that with the pre-“alt-rock” alternative rock of Goss and the band’s earliest output in their 1988 self-titled, aka The Blue Garden. Perhaps that’s where some of the Beatles-style songcraft comes in. If you’re going back to the roots of a thing, that’s a good place to head.
But for all the variety throughout these songs — and there isn’t a complete version of Give Us Barabbas streaming anywhere, you’ll note “Hey Diana” and “It’s So Hard” are missing from the playlist above; sorry, I did my best and I’m not about to just upload the thing myself without permission — there’s nothing haphazard about them. The sharpness of sound in “I Walk Beside Your Love” is no less purposeful than the lush “The Ballad of Judy Frosty,” and the boogie in “Brown House on the Green Road” adds movement to the harmonies in “Bela Alef Rose” just before it and “Still on the Hill” — are we talking about the ‘Fool’ there? — a short time later, that track working similarly leading into “The Desert Song,” which renews the shuffle. At this point, Masters of Reality had already been a band for over 15 years, and with Goss as the ringleader — he gets co-billing on the album cover, even listed first on some versions — they were obviously comfortable going wherever they wanted to go. Comfortable enough to tuck “Jindalee Jindalie” away as the penultimate cut on the record, effectively buried in the linear CD format like the treasure that it is, hidden away with the rest of the tracks on top. And as if to underscore the point, to cap with “Don’t Get Caught by the Huntsman’s Bow,” with its Super Mario Bros. 3 keyboard line and a druggy whoknowswhat even beyond what Masters of Reality fostered on 1999’s Welcome to the Western Lodge, well, yeah. A band so willing to mess around with their own processes should only be admired.
Masters of Reality‘s last album was 2009’s Pine/Cross Dover (review here). There was word they were to put out a record and tour Europe in 2020, but neither materialized, the tour for pandemic reasons, the record presumably because there was no tour. Fair enough. Chris Goss posted a few tracks on Soundcloud a while back, but there’s been no solid release date offered for the next release that I’ve found, though I’d be happy to be corrected on that. He worked on John Garcia‘s last solo album and has been busy with various other concerns, his social media a blend of rock and roll, conspiracy theories and so on. Strange times. I’d still be plenty happy to have another Masters of Reality album, should the occasion come about.
Thanks for reading. As always, I hope you enjoy.
—
The Pecan woke up this morning before 6AM and when I finally went up to bring him down after finishing the above — it was a bit after 7; always takes him a while before he’s willing to get up anyway — dude was a fucking tornado. Not so much bouncing off the walls as crashing through them. He took a nap yesterday afternoon, as did we all, and it clearly did him some good. Me too. I was a god damned wreck before that. After, just a regular wreck.
Family coming down from CT and from up the hill in the neighborhood later on today, so that will be enjoyable and probably a lot. How it goes. I’ll shower, take a xanax, have a shake for lunch; self-care. It’ll be fine.
Next week is the Quarterly Review. Can you hang with it? It’s a full two weeks. Next week and the week after. 100 releases front to back. I haven’t done a double-QR in a while, and I’m tired of looking at all the same folders on my desktop. This will clear out most of them. Maybe I’ll even make a new banner if I have time.
The Pecan starts camp on Tuesday, which is what will make that Quarterly Review even remotely possible. What a wreck these past two weeks have been in between school and camp starting up. He’ll be going three hours a day, five days a week. Dude needs to be out of the house. He just needs it. And after the pandemic year, I figure the more socialization he gets the better off he’ll be in the longer run. But even more than that, it’s just about accommodating all of his GO. Because he’s all go.
I’m interviewing Eddie Brnabic from Hippie Death Cult tomorrow. Was supposed to be yesterday, but the day was just too much of a mess. Couldn’t handle it in the ol’ brain. With the QR on, I don’t know when that will be posted, but I’ll make it happen whenever I have a spare couple minutes next week. Don’t expect a lot of news or anything like that. 10 records written up per day is the mission. Everything else is gravy.
Speaking of interviews, thanks to those of you who checked out that one with Dave Wyndorf. I got some kind words on that and it was much appreciated.
All on social media, interestingly. Not one actual comment on the site this week, which is odd. Usually there’s something. Too hot, maybe? I don’t know. People are sweet either way, mostly. I’ll take what I can get.
New logo merch coming soon. Sleeveless for your sun’s-out-guns-out summer, and tote bags basically because The Patient Mrs. likes tote bags. It’s the logo with a cool little “est. 2009” on there. I’ll post it when it’s live in the meantime, thanks to MIBK for making it happen.
Gimme show is next week with the second Neurosis thing. That’s super fun. Need to do the voice tracks, which I guess now’s as good a time as any. Let me get on that.
Thanks for reading. Great and safe weekend. Hydrate and all that.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 6th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
So let me get this out of the way and say that the whole friggin’ Stoned and Dusted 2020 lineup is incredible. Kudos to the California Desert Wizards Association, which is the mysterious entity putting on the festival out in the Mojave, both at Pappy and Harriet’s and in the open air itself, taking place outside with camping and all the rest of it. Whole thing, great job. Okay. But seriously, at the first night of the thing, they’ve got Los Dug Dugs from Mexico City playing, and if you’ve never dug-dug into their stuff, it’s yet another lost classic of the heavy ’70s that’s begging to be heard. That’s an impressive get through and through. Nicely done.
Now, onto the rest. Yawning Man, Brant Bjork, Corrosion of Conformity, Masters of Reality, Dead Meadow, Earthless, Mos Generator, Big Scenic Nowhere, The Well. The inclusion of all of the last three I assume means that Tony Reed of Mos Generator and Ian Graham and Lisa Alley of The Well will take part in the Big Scenic Nowhere set — could be a package tour in the making there — and it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect Mario Lalli might be on hand to play bass either, as Yawning Man will be playing the first night.
Toss in Hippie Death Cult, Helms Alee, The Heavy Eyes, BALA, Jesika von Rabbit, Sean Wheeler, Hammer of the Ozz and a few more TBA, not to mention Mad Alchemy doing the lights, and you’ve got a three-night desert party that’s very, very clearly going to be something special for those fortunate enough to be there to witness it.
To that end, tickets go on sale Saturday, as per the PR wire:
STONED AND DUSTED 2020 LINEUP
Yeah buddy! Here it comes again! Are you ready?! Finally the scoop on this year’s Stoned and Dusted party, brought to you by your California Desert Wizards Association.
In 2020 we have THREE NIGHTS of fun: Friday May 22nd; Saturday May 23rd; and Sunday May 24th.
STONED AND DUSTED WELCOME PARTY: On Friday May 22 we have a very special lineup at California’s most famous cantina, Pappy & Harriet’s. Friday’s show is on the indoor stage and we are proud to present 1970’s psych legends from Mexico City, Los Dug Dugs, with desert legends Yawning Man and more TBA.
STONED AND DUSTED ROADHOUSE: On Saturday May 23 we are doing it up again at Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace (outside stage), our favorite dusty, desert roadhouse. Pack your earplugs, rolling papers and bring a designated driver for this insane lineup: Corrosion of Conformity, Masters of Reality, Brant Bjork, Helms Alee, BALA and a late show inside from Jesika von Rabbit.
STONED AND DUSTED CAMPOUT: On Sunday May 24 we invite you to a generator party – a Memorial Day concert, cookout and campout at a secret desert location. You can camp on site and party with your friends and fellow desert wizards late into the night. The boulders are there; we are bringing the rock! Dead Meadow, Earthless, Big Scenic Nowhere, The Well, The Heavy Eyes, Mos Generator, Sean Wheeler Y Los Caminos, Hippie Death Cult and Hammer of the Ozz. The Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show will light up the desert once again this year.
General on-sale begins late this Saturday night, Feb 8, around midnight into Sunday morning. Go to our website and join our email list for more information.
STONED AND DUSTED PRE-PARTY $22 STONED AND DUSTED ROADHOUSE $60 STONED AND DUSTED CAMPOUT $230
For the STONED AND DUSTED CAMPOUT, we also offer a camping gear add-on for those who can’t fly with a tent and want to camp out under desert skies.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 5th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Any sort of activity on the part of Masters of Reality is nothing but welcome news, as far as I’m concerned, and as the band have already been confirmed for Desertfest in London and Berlin, Sonic Whip in the Netherlands and Kristonfest in Spain, it’s maybe not such a surprise that they’re announcing tour dates to tie those appearances together, but still, I’ll take it. Do I think it’s going to lead to a full surge of activity on the part of Chris Goss and company, new album blah blah blah? I don’t know. It’s been over a decade now since the last Masters of Reality LP, 2009’s Pine/Cross Dover (review here), and though there have been reissues since then and Goss posted some songs circa 2018, I’m not exactly holding my breath for the album if you know what I mean. 2021 will mark 40 years of existence in one form or another for the band. I’ll take what I can get at this point.
And not that I’ll be fortunate enough to see these shows, or that I’ve ever seen Goss perform, much to my chagrin, but I’m glad they’re happening, and yeah, I hope there are more to come, and a record, and all that stuff. Would be awfully nice.
The PR wire takes it:
MASTERS OF REALITY return with a full European tour and festival appearances this May
The legendary desert rock project driven by the unique creative force of guitarist and vocalist Chris Goss, MASTERS OF REALITY, return strong in the spring of 2020 with a series of European shows including festival appearances.
Chris Goss formed MASTERS OF REALITY with Tim Harrington as a two-piece in Syracuse, New York in 1981. He is also widely known for being the cornerstone producer of many behemoths of the Palm Desert scene, including Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Mark Lanegan, Mondo Generator and the Desert Sessions.
The band has released six studio albums and two live albums between 1988 and 2009, punctuated by countless tours across Europe and North America. However, their name has remained a landmark of the Heavy Rock age, this is why MASTERS OF REALITY have decided to return to Europe to blow fans’ minds again this spring, with a series of shows including headlining performances at Desertfest London and Berlin, Kristonfest and Sonic Whip Festival.
MASTERS OF REALITY European Tour 2020: 01.05.20 – LONDON (UK) Electric Ballroom 02.05.20 – NIJMEGEN (NL) Sonic Whip Festival 03.05.20 – BERLIN (De) Desertfest Berlin – Arena 05.05.20 – ASCHAFFENBURG (De) Colos Saal 06.05.20 – MUNICH (De) Strom 07.05.20 – DÜDINGEN (Ch) Bad Bonn 09.05.20 – MADRID (Sp) Kristonfest – La Riviera 10.05.20 – VITORIA (Sp) Jimmy Jazz 12.05.20 – PARIS (Fr) La Maroquinerie 13.05.20 – COLOGNE (De) Art Theater 15.05.20 – SINT-NIKLAAS (Be) De Casino 16.05.20 – LEUVEN (Be) Depot 17.05.20 – KORTRIJK (Be) De Kreun
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 21st, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Next May will mark the third edition of the Sonic Whip Festival, though I’ll admit this is the first I’m hearing of it. No surprise there, as I’m about two years behind on most things in life. Tickets for Sonic Whip 2020 are set to go on sale tomorrow at noon CET for the night-and-dayer, with a pre-party May 1 and a full event on May 2 at Doornroosje in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and the lineup will feature a few of the acts making the rounds at that time, including headliners Masters of Reality and Kadavar, as well as Pissed Jeans, Rotor, Forming the Void, The Cosmic Dead, Gum Takes Tooth and Bonnacons of Doom.
I’ll admit it was Forming the Void that caught my eye and not just because I happen to be wearing their t-shirt today. This is the second event around that time that the Louisiana-based progressive heavy rockers have been announced for, and while I was already just waiting for them to announce a European tour after the first one, this only further confirms that update is coming.
Likewise keeping an eye out for Masters of Reality‘s full run to be unveiled, as they’re set to do Desertfest and others in addition to this one. And, well Kadavar are just kind of always on the road somewhere, so yeah, they’ll probably be touring too.
But I’m getting off-track, so here’s the announcement from the fest:
Sonic Whip 2020
Sonic Whip, the multi-headed rock monster that combines roaring guitars riffs with steaming bass lines, pounding drums and other sonic, psychedelic excesses, is preparing for the third edition. We kick off on May 1 with a pre-party deluxe in Doornroosje to go completely berserk on May 2 at the same location.
LINE-UP ? MASTERS OF REALITY ? KADAVAR ? PISSED JEANS ? ROTOR ? THE COSMIC DEAD ? FORMING THE VOID ? GUM TAKES TOOTH ? BONNACONS OF DOOM ? MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED…
Ticket sales start on Friday 22 November at 12.00 with the combi tickets. The first batch of very limited combi costs € 57.50, then € 67.50. Day tickets go on sale later, more info will follow.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 13th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
As will happen from time to time, the announcement info below was run through a major tech company’s translation matrix, so take the actual verbiage with a figurative grain of salt. The important thing to note is that there are five bands booked for Madrid’s Kristonfest 2020 all-dayer next May and not a clunker in the bunch. Truth. I haven’t seen Masters of Reality — something I’d hope to correct sooner or later — but I’ve seen the other four and they’re all awesome. MaidaVale, who’ll open the show, bring classic rock vibes straight out of tomorrow, and of course you don’t at all need me to extol the many virtues of Brant Bjork or C.O.C., and probably not Swans either, as I’m sure you’ve already heard their latest record and know it’s ridiculously good.
And if you’re still on the fence, I have the utmost faith Masters of Reality will be astounding. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a new record from them around Springtime next year. Doing this and Desertfests means perhaps a tour, and a tour is rare enough to make me think a full-length is coming. Fingers crossed.
Here’s that info:
Kristonfest 2020 – May 9 – Madrid
Masters of reality (USA), Brant Bjork & Band (USA) and maidavale (Sweden) Join Swans (USA) and corrosion of conformity (USA) to complete the poster of the kristonfest 2020. Five Bands with a very marked style That will bring diversity and excellence to a new edition in the La Riviera room in Madrid.
The tickets, which are already available through the website of the festival www.kristonfest.com and in Escridiscos, will not vary their price, staying in the 45 € + Distribution Costs announced initially.
Formed in 1981 and led by legendary producer Chris Goss, Masters of reality is a very important band in the history of rock, as it clearly influenced many bands that were springing up in the state of California at the end of the ‘ 80 And principles of the ’90s, coming to create a musical movement with its own name. So much so that bands like kyuss, fu manchu, sleep, Nebula, yawning man, fatso jetson, etc… have openly declared their admiration for masters of reality.
The different stages of masters of reality have counted with relevant musicians, where ginger baker is featured (Cream, hawkwind, p.i.l.), Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens of the stone age), Mark Lanegan (screaming trees), Dave catching (Queens of The Stone Age, Eagles of death metal, Mondo Generator, etc…. and where the combination of experimenting with hard-Rockers riffs and their tastes for the progressive rock of the ‘ 70 s let their hobby be revealed by King Crimson and Black Sabbath,… so much so the band took its name from the album that these last published in 1971, “Masters of reality”.
The letters of Chris Goss, who is considered the godfather of the whole desert-rock movement, are like reading the Bible of everything that surrounded the birth and development of a scene that was never supported by the great record labels, but that has managed to keep Live thanks to the passion of your followers.
The fourth confirmation is that of Brant Bjork & band, key name of the stoner-rock scene for being the drummer of the legendary kyuss and who has recently reissued one of his best albums, “Jalamanta” (1999). If To this we add that the great Sean Wheeler is part of the band is a news that makes us very excited, since Sean is a key piece of the desert scene for being the leader of throw rag and have collaborated in many projects next to Jesse Hughes, Josh Homme, Chris Goss, Mark Lanegan, etc….
The last confirmation is that of the Swedish MaidaVale, which shines like few in the skies of psychedelia-Rock and heavy-Blues of the last decade. Without a doubt, Mathilda Roth (voice), Sofia Ström (Guitar), Linn Jóhannesson (Bass) and Johanna Hansson (Drums) drink from the influences they left for history the decade of the ‘ 60 s, contributing to their repertoire A more direct, atmospheric and forceful sound.
His passage through festivals such as Sweden rock, desertfest, freak valley and red smoke festival has helped them to build the reputation of live, soulful and charismatic band, so get ready to be captivated by this quartet that has a lot to say.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 8th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Desertfest London 2020 has made its first lineup announcement, with nine acts serving as the foundation of the fray set to take place May 1-3 next year. This one happened a bit ago, concurrent I think to the Desertfest Berlin first announcement, but, well, life happens I guess. Either way, the two festivals will share an artwork theme for the first time, which feels only appropriate — one hopes Desertfest New York does the same next September, if only because I’d like to buy a poster on this theme — as well as a few acts in the likes of Masters of Reality, Corrosion of Conformity, Brant Bjork, and Orange Goblin.
They may end up sharing more than that, of course, between the bands that each has thus far revealed. There’s always a bit of stagger between one and the other as they add locals — The Brothers Keg and Green Lung and Black Orchids come to mind here — to distinguish themselves and each offer something of its own to attendees. I wouldn’t be surprised, for example, if The Picturebooks and Possessor wound up playing Berlin too, but that hasn’t been announced yet if it’s going to happen at all. You get the point.
The point is Deserfest London 2020 already looks awesome, and if you can make it, you should go. I should go too. We should all go. And hang out. It’ll be fun.
Mark your calendar:
MASTERS OF REALITY, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, ORANGE GOBLIN + 6 MORE ANNOUNCED AS FIRST ACTS FOR DESERTFEST LONDON 2020
For their first UK appearance in five years, Masters Of Reality – Official will make their Desertfest debut as 2020 headliners next May. One of the most influential bands in desert rock history, with the genres very own Godfather at the reins, Masters is the brainchild of legendary producer Chris Goss (Welcome to Sky Valley, Rated R, Blues for The Red Sun, Songs for The Deaf). Their effortless combination of hard-rock blues with an experimentally progressive tinge makes no apologies for not sticking within the stylised box listeners would assume, yet simultaneously provides the perfect lesson in the musical ethos and story-telling of the Palm Desert scene.
Joining them on the bill will be North Carolina favourites Corrosion Of Conformity whose unmistakable Southern stomp is always a welcome addition, OG’s of the Desertfest family Orange Goblin will celebrate 25 years of relentless riffs and the desert daze continues as living legend Brant Bjork is set to bask in psychedelic sunshine.
Elsewhere we see high-octane German party duo The Picturebooks, London based psychedelic doom devotees GREEN LUNG show just why they are on our ones-to-watch-list and more home-grown talent comes in the form of space sludge stalwarts The Brothers Keg, the unhinged ferocity of Possessor and a journey of groove and reflection with the other-worldly soundscapes of Black Orchids.
Weekend tickets are now on sale and with dozens more bands to still be announced we implore you to pick up a ticket sooner rather than later!
