On Saturday 26th March, Home Of Metal will be taking up residence in The Public, inviting fans to bring along their memorabilia & stories to be photographed & recorded to contribute to the digital archive. Home Of Metal are looking for everything from concert tickets to photographs, badges, album covers, t-shirts, demo tapes, fan letters, fanzines, flyers, lyrics, posters, press articles, set lists and promotional materials to build the collection online, which will inform Home of Metal exhibitions.

- Hosted by Kerrang! Radio DJ Johnny Doom
- Appearance by former ‘Raw Power’ presenter, Ozzfest compere and Metal expert Krusher
- Create your own DIY guitar and other family activities with Juneau Projects
- Photography masterclass with Steve Gerrard
- Meet the Home of Metal team

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Home Of Metal – An exhibition exploring 40 years of Heavy Metal & it’s birthplace
18 June – 25 September 2011
Tickets: £6 (Adult), £4 (Seniors, Students, Children), £3 (Unwaged), £14 (Family)

Over the past four years, Home of Metal has scoured the UK and beyond for relics, artefacts, memorabilia and interesting stories. They have met the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy and Tony Iommi. They have spoken to the most passionate fans, and to the biggest movers and shakers within the industry. This summer, it finally will come together as a celebration of the HOME OF METAL.

When four working-class Aston lads known as Black Sabbath unleashed their debut album in 1970, it saw the birth of a new musical form, one unmistakably birthed from Birmingham and the Black Country. In the proceeding years, a myriad of bands from these locales took the lead from Sabbath and continued to evolve, innovate and break the barriers of this new genre.

Summer 2011 will see a large-scale exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery that will explore the ingredients that together made Heavy Metal. The show will offer an insight into the region’s industrial history, the early blues-rocks sound, the changing music industry, DIY politics and the global impact of the sound as well as a chance to hear stories from both the fans and the artists.

Four decades since Heavy Metal was unleashed onto an unsuspecting world, it is finally coming home to Birmingham and the Black Country in celebration of a truly global musical phenomenon.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery
You Should Be Living: The Visual Language of Heavy Metal
18 June – 17 September 2011

Home of Metal explores the relationship between fans and music; this exhibition further investigates the relationship by examining the work of artists inspired by the genre. Work on display will illustrate the visual impact of Heavy Metal, exploring the motifs and myths of the music.  The featured works use typography, vintage t-shirts, sculpted pieces and sound to explore the varying aesthetic of Heavy Metal and its relationship to contemporary art. The exhibiting artists, both national and international take inspiration from the genre, exploring notions of fantasy, chaos, performance and devotion.

Thirty years after the formation of Napalm Death, a special collaborative piece of work has been commissioned for this exhibition. French artist and grindcore fanatic Damien Deroubaix and Napalm Death founder Nicholas Bullen will present their sculptural construction containing text and abstractions, embedded video monitors, audio cables and microphones, referencing the work of both artists and the first Napalm Death album ‘Scum’. Thirty years after the birth of ‘grindcore’ You Should Be Living: The visual language of Heavy Metal is a celebration of the devotion of music fans to Heavy Metal and the work that is born of this.

The New Art Gallery Walsall
Mark Titchner
BE TRUE TO YOUR OBLIVION
8 July – 11 September 2011

i saw a light image mark tichener

As part of the Home of Metal season, The New Art Gallery Walsall will present a solo exhibition by artist Mark Titchner. The exhibition will include newly commissioned work as well as existing works.

Mark Titchner works in a wide range of media including sculpture, installations, light boxes, posters, video and performance. The use of text is a central element of his work and he derives inspiration from a range of sources such as song lyrics, advertising, utopian statements, political manifestos, philosophy and sociological theory. His visual language is very much influenced by his early interest in music and comic books.  Mark has exhibited widely nationally and internationally and was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2006.

Be Angry but don’t stop breathing (II) is a new version of a work in which visitors are encouraged to engage in a group primal scream exercise which visualizes the vibratory nature of sound.  The sounds produced by the screams are processed and used to vibrate trays of ink attached to loudspeakers. The work will be situated in the gallery next to N (I) B and will contrast with the silent scream.

A text based banner will be produced for the gallery’s Window Box, a project space which can be seen from the outside of the building for 24 hours per day.  I’ll choose my fate is a lyric taken from the song You Don’t Have to be Old to be Wise by Judas Priest.  This work links to Walsall Leather Museum’s display of Judas Priest’s stage costumes.

Walsall Leather Museum
Hell Bent for Leather: Judas Priest and the Heavy Metal Look
8 July – 11 September 2011

judas priest designs credit ray brown fashion

Eager to contribute towards the Home of Metal celebrations, Walsall Leather Museum will be focusing on the sights rather than the sounds of this musical phenomenon. The Museum will be displaying some of the stage costumes worn by local heroes of the Heavy Metal scene, Judas Priest and will be offering fans the rare opportunity to see costumes from the private collection of the band.

Home of Metal Conference – Heavy Metal and Place
University of Wolverhampton & Light House
1 – 4 September 2011

As a key part of the unique celebration of the Home of Metal the conference will explore, debate and celebrate the significant themes and origins of Metal in  ‘Home of Metal: Heavy Metal and Place’.

Over four days experts and academics will engage with the origins of the popular music genre of heavy metal and its formation in the industrial areas of Birmingham and the Black Country in the late 1960s.

The conference panellists will explore the sense of place.  The central theme will examine the social, cultural and economic structures which prompted the creation of a particular musical form, and the social relationships which maintain its local base, for both artists and fans. How does popular music relate to a sense of place?

A key issue will also be the interplay between globalism and localism, explored through the particular and localised expressions of a major international and multi-cultural musical form. Contributors will examine the musicological, social and economic determinants and there will be a particular concentration on musical heritage and the archiving of cultural history. Tickets and website details on sale in April.

Sponsors
Home of Metal gratefully acknowledge the support of Black Country Arts Partnership, Arts Council England, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Screen West Midlands, Laney, Gibson, Metal Hammer & Classic Rock Magazine.

To find out more and to upload metal memorabilia to the digital archive, visit www.homeofmetal.com

Launching in June 2011, Home of Metal founders Capsule, present a series of ambitious exhibitions and associated cultural programme under the banner of Home of Metal, exploring the foundations, social context and heritage of heavy metal culture, which has gone on to be a global phenomenon.

Informed by personal collections and iconic material from the Home of Metal digital archive, and featuring an original solo exhibition from acclaimed contemporary artist Mark Titchner, as well as work by French artist and grindcore fanatic Damien Deroubaix and Napalm Death founder Nicholas Bullen, the exhibitions will take place throughout The Black Country and Birmingham this Summer.

Focusing on the Midlands-born innovators of the genre and those that continued to develop it , the five key bands who inform the exhibitions are Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Napalm Death and Godflesh.

“Judas Priest have always been proud to fly the flag for British Heavy Metal on our tours around the world. We make a point of letting everyone know that we are from the Black Country and so for us to be included in the prestigious Home of Metal event is another solid way of showing the strong connection we share with Birmingham and local fellow metal musicians throughout the region. There has and will be a tremendous interest and importance surrounding the innovative music coming from our part of the UK that has continued to inspire and influence countless musicians…. A big thank you to the Home of Heavy Metal and of course the fans who are the ones that make all this possible” – Judas Priest

Home of Metal – an exhibition exploring 40 years of Heavy Metal and its birthplace. This will be the core exhibition at the prestigious Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, taking over the largest UK temporary gallery space outside of London from 18 June-25 September. Informed by original band artefacts and materials from the Home of Metal digital archive, the show is the first metal exhibition of its kind, bringing together unseen memorabilia sourced directly from the fans themselves, and placing it alongside iconic items from metal such as Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules stage cross and handwritten Napalm Death lyrics. The show will also explore the ingredients that together made Heavy Metal, offering an insight into the region’s industrial history, the early blues-rocks sound, the changing music industry, DIY politics and the global impact of the heavy metal.

As part of the Home of Metal season, The New Art Gallery, Walsall will also be presenting a solo exhibition by internationally renowned artist and former Turner Prize nominee, Mark Titchner, BE TRUE TO YOUR OBLIVION. The exhibition will feature newly commissioned work such as Be Angry but don’t stop breathing (II), in which visitors are encouraged to engage in a group primal scream exercise which visualizes the vibratory nature of sound.  The sounds produced by the screams are processed and used to vibrate trays of ink attached to loudspeakers. Influenced heavily by metal music and the associated aesthetics, Titchner’s Turner-nominated Ergo, Ergot will also be on display, which references the iconic Vertigo logo.

Opening in July, Wolverhampton Art Gallery will present You Should be Living: The Visual Language of Heavy Metal, an exhibition which explores the relationship between heavy metal and artists inspired by the genre, using typography, vintage t-shirts, sculpture and sound to explore the varying aesthetic of Heavy Metal and its relationship to contemporary art.   Thirty years after the formation of Napalm Death, French artist and grindcore fanatic Damien Deroubaix and Napalm Death founder Nicholas Bullen will present their sculptural construction containing text and abstractions, referencing the work of both artists and the first Napalm Death album ‘Scum’.

Also opening in July, Walsall Leather Museum will be displaying stage costumes worn by local heroes of the Heavy Metal scene as part of their exhibition Hell Bent for Leather: Judas Priest and the Heavy Metal Look. This will be a rare opportunity to see costumes from the private collection of the band. There will also be Home of Metal exhibitions at The Public, Bilston Craft Gallery and Dudley Museum & Art Gallery.

Bringing people together to share their passion for heavy metal music, Home of Metal’s ambitions include the development of heritage tours and ultimately a permanent collection dedicated to telling the story of Metal and its unique birthplace for fans to visit in the future.

These exhibitions form part of the 2011 programme, which will also include a touring film programme, concerts, further exhibitions and a heavy metal conference, with further details yet to be announced.

The Home of Metal project is to hold a fourth and final Open Day at The Public on Saturday 26 March, offering one last chance for fans of all ages to share their memorabilia and stories with the digital archive and help to tell the true story of the birthplace of Heavy Metal.

11AM – 4PM, SATURDAY 26 MARCH 2011. THE PUBLIC, WEST BROMWICH.

FREE – ALL AGES WELCOME

Fearless Vampire Killers

Fearless Vampire Killers are a London based band specialising in their very own take on Death Pop/Punk music, constantly touring and building a strong fan base, they have support slots looming with Turbowolf and Chickenhawk as well as gigs in school assemblies, churches and working men’s clubs.

They have recently released their first EP called In Grandomina/ Ruple & Evelyn on which the five tracks form the soundtrack to a novel written by the bands Laurence Beveridge. The artwork for both the EP and the book is created by lead guitarist Barronè.

To honour this the band are making a limited edition run of books and CDs with hand printed covers available to fans through their website in what appears to be an industry first for a debut EP.

Musically, think of Avenged Sevenfold or The Used, if they had more Bowie and Queen albums in their collection, that is the official line from the band themselves and it is fair to say that the theatrical side of the band does appear to owe something to both early Queen and Bowie music.

Have a listen to the recently made video for the track Palace in Flames which has been received well by the music media as well as fans.

Fearless Vampire Killers – Palace in Flames

“The novel illustrates the origins of Grandomina, the fictional city our songs are set within. It serves as an introduction to our world, for those who’d like to dig deeper. All our music is conceptual, but the lyrics are used as metaphors to describe our real experiences, and we are just as excited by someone taking the song in their own way, as we are someone reading into the history of our world.” – Fearless Vampire Killers

Fearless Vampire Killers EP In Grandomina…/Ruple & Evelyn is available now as a unique EP/Novel release through iTunes and Topspin media.

E.P FORMATS ON OFFER

1.   DIGITAL EP £1.99
5 x Audio tracks plus Palace in Flames video

2.   DIGITAL EP + eBOOK £2.99
5 x Audio tracks plus Palace In Flames video + PDF eBook

3.    CD EP £3.99
CD with 5 x Audio tracks plus Palace In Flames video + PDF eBook + secret scrapbook digital content

4.   CD EP & T SHIRT BUNDLE £11.99
CD with 5 x Audio tracks plus Palace In Flames video + PDF of book + secret scrapbook digital content & T shirt

5.   DELUXE BUNDLE £18.99
CD with 5 x Audio tracks plus Palace In Flames video + PDF of book + secret scrapbook digital content

Book – Hand printed cover, signed by the author, hand numbered limited edition of 100 plus set of 5 postcards, each one signed by a member of the band

Leonard Cohen

Music fans with tickets for the Green Man Festival are in a for a very rare treat, organisers are rolling out the Green carpet and turning the ‘Far Out Tent’ into a 2,000 capacity cinema on Thursday night (August 19th) for the UK Premiere of the Tony Palmer directed film Bird On A Wire.

Almost four decades after it was first made, this is the strange tale of Bird On A Wire – a remarkably candid documentary captured across all 20 concerts of Leonard Cohen’s 1972 European Tour.

A hitherto unseen insight into the world of one of music’s genuine geniuses, this near-mythical piece of musical history was hijacked and hacked up upon its completion.

Reluctantly lost from director Tony Palmer’s hands, artistic wrangling and massive editorial cuts mean Bird On A Wire has never been seen as its makers intended.

Now, having languished in the vaults for 38 years, the original film has been salvaged, restored and pieced back together through a huge labour of love (and just a little luck) – and you can see it first at Green Man.

Director Tony Palmer, who has previously made films with The Beatles, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa, said: “Maybe what is valuable about the film today is not only that it contains 17 of Cohen’s greatest songs performed by him in his prime, it has a real feel for the rough and tumble and difficulties of life on the road. I know of few other films where the backstage confusion comes so vividly to life, with Cohen apparently taking no notice whatsoever of the camera. I doubt if today we would be allowed such access.
The songs are haunting, unforgettably so. The poetry is extraordinary. But so is the man. Looking back after 38 years, my admiration for Cohen remains undiminished. The original film was made with love – I hope that quality once again shines through the restored film.”

Producer Stephen Machat, whose late father the famous industry stalwart Marty Machat managed the star until his death in 1988, added: “This film is the culmination of an epic journey. My father cajoled Leonard into documenting his tour even though Leonard didn’t want to. But my father could see what it would mean. At the time, I had no idea why he was interested in doing this. But on viewing the beautiful film that Tony has put together, I see it and feel it.”

This UK exclusive will take place on the Thursday night of this year’s festival – an extra special treat for all you Holiday Campers and early arrivals. What better way to raise the curtain on what promises to be the best-ever Green Man festival?

The sold out Green Man Festival takes place in the Glanusk Park, Usk Valley, Powys, Wales from August 19th to August 22nd.

A Hawk & A Hacksaw will be performing tracks from their forthcoming fifth album during the tour where the core duo of Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost will be augmented by regular collaborator Sam Johnson and newcomer Issa Malluf.

A Hawk & A Hacksaw will be performing at the following venues;

Tuesday 3 August
Cafe Oto, LONDON (with The Family Elan)
18-22 Ashwin St, E8 3DL
Doors 8pm
Tickets £12.50 adv / £14

Wednesday 4 August
The Kazimier, LIVERPOOL (with a.P.A.t.T and Trouble With Books)
4-5 Wolstensholme Sq, L1 4JJ
Doors 8pm
Tickets £6

Thursday 5 August
The Harley, SHEFFIELD
334 Glossop Rd, S10 2HW
Doors 8pm
Tickets £8

Friday 6 August
Standon Calling, STANDON (Crooked House stage)

Following their sold out show at Bishopsgate Institute, Wildbirds & Peacedrums will return to London for a low-key duo show in the week of release of their new album, Rivers (released Aug 23). The show takes place at The Lexington on Thursday August 26.

Mariam Wallentin and Andreas Werliin released two limited edition vinyl-only EPs earlier this summer, Retina and Iris, and these have now been compiled into the double CD Rivers album.

The Leaf Label have prepared a special preorder bundle for Rivers in the Leaf Label shop, where £18 (plus p&p) will get you a CD, an instant download of the album (currently only available as part of this offer) while you wait for the CD, a ticket for the London show and a ‘Wildbirds & Peacedrums with Voices’ poster.

On August 23, Efterklang will release double CD Special Editions of their first two full-length albums, together with their accompanying mini-albums, in deluxe fold-out card packaging with new 16 page booklets containing sleeve notes written by the band.

The band’s 2004 debut, Tripper, comes with the band’s first release, the Springer mini-album, while Parades is augmented by the long out-of-print Under Giant Trees.

Both releases include two live recordings of songs from the relevant albums, and, for a limited time, Parades + Under Giant Trees also includes the full-colour poster that came with the original Parades CD. In addition, Leaf Label have re-pressed a limited quantity of the original Tripper double LP (the original Parades is still available on vinyl in limited quantities).

Wigan songstress Nancy Elizabeth has announced two full band shows, alongside Homelife and Denis Jones. The shows take place in Manchester (Sep 9) and at London’s King’s Place Festival (Sep 12).

An EP of specially recorded cover versions and remixes by the artists involved will be released by Manchester’s Humble Soul Records to coincide with the dates.

Actor Elijah Wood has compiled an album in aid of The Art Of Elysium, a non-profit organisation which brings musicians, artists and actors into hospitals to work with sick children. The album, entitled Elysium: A Benefit For The Art Of Elysium, features recent Oh No Ono single ‘Internet Warrior‘ alongside the likes of Sonic Youth, White Denim and The Kills. The album is available through iTunes.

And finally you can see the new tune Earth Crisis from Icy Demons below. The track was part of a session recorded for new website Giant System Chicago. Icy Demons are currently hard at work finishing the follow up to Miami Ice.

Latitude Festival - The Horrors, The National, The XX, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mumford & Sons, Frank Turner, Temper Trap & more

Latitude Festival returns for an incredible 5th Edition on 15-18th July 2010 set in the beautiful countryside of Henham Park Estate on Suffolk’s Sunrise Coast.

Latitude is dedicated to giving you only the best and most eclectic ensemble of music, theatre, comedy, literature, film, poetry, dance, art, fashion and cabaret for three spectacular days and as ever, this focus has delivered a line-up like no one else.

As with all good festivals Latitude has a great and diverse range of music across several stages.  What I like best about Latitude is that it isn’t too large, like Glastonbury, but big enough to attract a great line-up.

So if you’re lucky enough to have tickets you might be thinking of which performances you want to see over the weekend.

The three headline acts on the main Obelisk Arena will be Florence & the Machine, Belle & Sebastian and Vampire Weekend.  None of those really take my fancy.  But when I look at other acts performing on the main stage there are a few I’m already looking forward to, including Mumford & Sons, Frank Turner, Temper Trap and the wonderful Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Furthermore, there is plenty of music on the other music stages.  Highlights for me are The Horrors, The National, The XX, The Big Pink, Wild Beasts and Grizzly Bear all appearing at The Word Arena.  On the Sunshine Arena I hope to see the wonderful Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Girls, Tokyo Police Club and a late night performance by the Gentleman’s Dub Club; while Beth Jeans Houghton will be performing on The Lake Stage.

In all there is no fewer than 17 stages offering music, dance, film, art, poetry, theatre and comedy.

Spread throughout the site, just waiting to be discovered, expect the highest calibre of art.  Building on its reputation as one of the most respected and highly anticipated events of the season, 2010 promises to be an inspirational and entertaining, sophisticated and scintillating weekend; another spectacular slice of unadulterated cultural fun and adventure.

Celebrating its fifth year, Latitude continues to lead the way as a bold and pioneering festival cherry-picking the very best from the worlds of music, theatre, comedy, literature, film, poetry, dance, art, fashion and cabaret and bringing them together for one glorious weekend. It is a place like no other; an intimate world away from reality that encourages you to be all that you’ve ever wanted to be whilst indulging in the spirit of exploration and discovery.

Latitude Festival is on Thursday 15- Sunday 18th July 2010.  Tickets are sold out.

Latitude Festival 2010

With artists still being confirmed on a daily basis for the fifth edition of the Latitude Festival, news has just arrived from the organisers Festival Republic that with two months still to go, all weekend and individual day tickets for the 2010 Latitude Festival have now sold out.

Expanding to 35,000 capacity for this, Latitude’s fifth edition, the success of this festival continues to grow and grow and with a line-up that boasts music headliners Florence + The Machine, Belle and Sebastian and Vampire Weekend, as well as the very best from the worlds of comedy, literary, poetry, cabaret, theatre, film, art and dance – it’s easy to see why all these tickets have been snapped up so quickly.

With more acts across all arenas still to be confirmed, the fact that the festival has sold out with still so much to be added speaks volumes of Latitude’s reputation as an unrivalled, unique weekend away.

Starting out in 2006, Latitude’s big ideas of being an all-encompassing arts festival with each section of art taking equal prominence alongside the music bill has firmly established it as a cultural haven for the open-minded festival goer.

Year on year the festival has not only expanded in size, but also in breadth and quality of the line-up. As well as the designated arenas with programmes running all weekend, fun and laughter can be found round every corner, either on full display or hidden deep within the woods waiting to be discovered.

This is what you will be missing if you have not bought tickets for Latitude 2010: the comedy stylings of Emo Philips, Tommy Tiernan, Ardal O’Hanlon, Rich Hall, Phill Jupitus & Friends Improv Show and Richard Herring; literary musings  from the ever-popular Robin Ince’s Book Club with Kevin Eldon, Jo Neary, Robyn Hitchcock, Josie Long & Gavin Osborn as well as Bret Easton Ellis, Hanif Kureishi and Sebastian Faulks; poetry from Wendy Cope, John Cooper Clarke, Blake Morrison, Luke Wright and WordTheatre; dramatic performances courtesy of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House, Bush Theatre and Sadler’s Wells to name but a few, cabaret performances from Rich Fulcher, Laura Solon and Idiots Of Ants; BAFTA return to the Film & Music Arena with Q&As and discussions with award-winning director Paul Greengrass already confirmed. The magical woods and forests are a place of discovery featuring Masked Balls, a Baccanalian Party, DJ’s and all night parties.

It really is a place like no other; an intimate world away from reality that encourages you to be all that you’ve ever wanted to be, whilst indulging in the spirit of exploration and discovery.

In Barrow’s words: “The lunatics are taking over the asylum…. There’s going to be lots of amazing noise and interesting things to stare at,” says Barrow, who promises to make the event “like a mini festival.”

Invada Invasion will see Invada recording artists invading Colston Hall and storming each of the venue’s three performance spaces with a winning line-up culled from the labels own roster and some like-minded individuals.

Representing Invada are Malakai, Joe Volk, Team Brick, Rosie Red Rash, Fuzz Against Junk, Gonga and Thought Forms plus a very special, one-off collaboration between neo-prog heroes Crippled Black Phoenix and Bristol string section The Emerald Ensemble with arrangements by Ben Salisbury and Elizabeth Purnell.  Salisbury has also contributed orchestral arrangements for Joe Volk.

Representing the label’s friends are local boys done good and all-round noise terrorists Fuck Buttons, who last played for Barrow at the Portishead-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in 2007. Adding to the eclectic bill are Italian giants Zu and Zun Zun Egui with more acts to be announced. DJs for the evening include Invada DJs and Grumpyman.

In addition to the live performances there’ll be a high visual element to proceedings with special projections for the main hall acts by AV artist John Minton. The arty aspects will centre around a specially commissioned exhibition presented by Friend & Co, the Bristol-based underground art gallery and creative platform founded by Barrow and Tom Friend. The showcase will feature the work of Mr Jago, Byroglyphics, China Mike, Acerone, Mudwig, Asbestos, Paris, Eco, 45RPM and more TBA.

Tickets for the Invada Invasion cost £20, and are on sale now from Colston Hall Box Office (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org).

One musician or band will win the chance of a lifetime to experience the star treatment – Big Chill tickets, a shoot with the legendary photographer Rankin and an half hour set at the Big Chill Festival on Friday August 7th.

Opening on 1st July this is a money can’t buy chance to get your mug made beautiful by the man who launch Dazed and Confused and shot the likes of U2, Jarvis Cocker, Madonna, Oasis, Verve and Bjork.

How to enter:

Visit www.myspace.com/rankinlive • Add Rankin and The Big Chill to your top 8 MySpace friends. • Post a comment to RankinLive stating why you’d like to be photographed by Rankin and win a slot at The Big Chill festival. • Tip – make sure your photo is super-hot and you have your best tracks on your myspace page – this is how you’ll be judged! • The competition closes on 14th July 2009. • Winners will be announced shortly after 15th July on RankinLive’s myspace page.

Time is running out for this incredible competition, so act now!

UNCUT ARENA
Tricky burst on to the music scene in the mid-nineties with his Mercury Music Award nominated debut Maxinquaye which expanded on the sonic template of fellow Bristolians and former band mates, Massive Attack. His dark, rich, layered sound and whispering expressive lyrical style fused rock and hip hop, high art and pop culture to great effect and with eight solo records under his belt he comes to Latitude to perform in the Uncut Arena. Last year he released his most recent album ‘Knowle West Boy’ a dazzling record of musical styles that never forgets his trademark social realism.
Uncut Arena boasts an eclectic range of bands and artists confirmed for this year including, Bat For Lashes, Spiritualized, Gossip, Mew, Squeeze, Magazine, St Etienne and much, much more.

SUNRISE ARENA

From Norway , former guitarist from Quadraphonics and now successful solo artist Thomas Dybdahl is often compared to Nick Cave or Jeff Buckley. His five superb albums justify these comparisons greatly as Dybdahl’s natural and effortless yet deep, melancholic and soulful sound has earned him critical acclaim both in Scandinavia and throughout the rest of Europe and America .

Frances Noon and Lazlo Legezer are the founders of My Toys Like Me, a combination of hypnotic vocals, great hooks and boogy basslines– a perfect blend of electronic alternative pop. Before becoming a four-piece, Noon And Legezer started in 2005, mixing up funk and dance influenced by both nostalgia and bouncy, bubbly moments of life. “Barkingly, brilliantly mad…My Toys Like Me casually knock out new genres with each song…as distinctive a new sound as you’re likely to hear this year” The Word.

DM Stith is a talented musician and designer sounding like a cross between Jeff Buckley and Paul Simon. Friends with big names My Brightest Diamond and Surfjan Stevens; they encouraged DM Stith to continue writing music which eventually lead him to record his debut album. He comes to Latitude to present his personal, introspective and warm songs that form ‘Heavy Ghost’, influenced, according to him by Nina Simone, Randy Newman and Appalachian Spring by Copland.

21-year-old Laura Groves a.k.a Blue Roses is a Yorkshire singer-songwriter influenced by the likes of Kate Bush and Joanna Newsom. Melodic folk that’s impeccably arranged, the ambience of a soaring vocal with, at times, desolate alt-rock guitar make her self-titled debut album a fantastic discovery.

Lyrebirds are a four-piece band from Brighton , formed just last year and take their name from a David Attenborough documentary. In their short time together they already boast a wealth of dark rock/indie songs influenced by Joy Division, Interpol, Echo and The Bunnymen. Bold and epic, their songs are so immediate you’ll find them hard to forget.
Already confirmed are !!!, Passion Pit, Little Boots, Kap Bambino, 65DaysOfStatic and a whole host of other emerging bands. See them play on the exquisite Sunrise Arena at Latitude.

THE LAKE STAGE

curated by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens
9Bach mix tales from Welsh folk’s dark heritage with melodies that conjure memories of long forgotten childhood songs. They create a sweet, magical sound of vocal melodies, angelic harps and a dreamy rhythm that has taken their musical journey far beyond their roots in the mountains of North Wales and the spoon-playing backstreets of North London .
They join Slow Club, Golden Silvers, Bombay Bicycle Club, Little Comets, We Have Band, Post War Years and many, many more. Discover your new favourite band on the Lake Stage at Latitude.

Elsewhere, the very best in film, theatre, comedy, literature, poetry, dance, art and cabaret will be pitching up at the fourth edition of Latitude Festival. Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Opera House will be showcasing stunning performances on The Waterfront Stage; Royal Shakespeare Company, The Bush, National Theatre, Paines Plough, and nabokov plus more will all be coming to the Theatre Arena along with the English Touring Theatre presenting Latitude’s first musical ‘Been So Long’. Also for the first time is the dynamic orchestral brilliance of Britten Sinfonia performing in Latitude’s outdoor spaces. The House Of BlueEyes collective will be presenting a stunning fashion show over the lake at sunset plus stellar poets Andrew Motion, Brian Patten, Jackie Kay and Simon Armitage will be in the Poetry Arena. The Cabaret Arena welcomes Pippa Evans, Ida Barr, Dusty Limits, Johnny Woo, Timberlina, David Mills and Watson & Oliver plus plenty more exciting performances to announce.

Latitude Festival takes place from 16-19 July at Henham Park Estate, Southwold, Suffolk