Buzzin Music Blog

The award winning Latitude Festival returns to Suffolk on Friday 16 July, promising a perfect summer weekend for music lovers, the organisors have just released some late additions to the eclectic mix of artists performing over the weekend.

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