Festival Preview - Latitude

For those of you still bitter about Glastonbury’s obligatory year off, Suffolk’s Latitude festival might just be your best bet.

Now in its sixth year, Latitude has rightly made a name for itself in the festival calendar. This year the line-up includes headliners Bon Iver, Paul Weller and Elbow, among other favourites like M83, The Horrors, The War on Drugs, Battles, SBTRKT and Wild Beasts.

Music not your thing? Well, probably don’t go. But if music is your thing and you’re in the mood for something different, Latitude’ll probably have it covered. Their comedy tent this year will house Tim Minchin, Jack Dee and Reginald D. Hunter, and apart from that there’s the poetry, cabaret, dance and film tents, as well as art exhibitions and late-night DJ sets in the woods.

Since it’s pretty family-friendly, you might need to be prepared to act sober on cue, but don’t let it put you off. Complete with neon sheep and extensive arts events across the site, there’s more than a weekend’s worth to get involved with.

Read More

James Blake - James Blake (Mancunion #7 Album of the Year)

Of all the things to have come out of the explosion of dubstep over the past few years, James Blake’s eponymous debut has to be the most unlikely. At the start of 2011, Blake was a 21-year-old popular music student from Enfield, releasing EPs of glitchy futuristic dubstep to a community of loyal fans. Despite alienating some dubstep purists, James Blake is an album of unexpected beauty and textural brilliance. His voice is fragile and soulful, carefully manipulated and seamlessly integrated into each track. From the earth-shattering drop of ‘I Never Learnt To Share’ to the delicate piano arrangement of ‘Give Me My Month’, it’s powerful, important, and sounds like nothing else in the world.

Listen: To Care (Like You), I Never Learnt To Share

Read More

Bert Jansch, 1943-2011

Up there with the most respected guitarists of his generation, Bert Jansch will be sorely missed. Influencing everyone from Jimmy Page to Johnny Marr to Devendra Banhart, his virtuosic style and intricate songwriting helped him lead the 60s folk revival, both as a solo artist and as part of folk-rock troubadours Pentagle. After fighting a two-year battle with cancer, Jansch died earlier this week at a hospice in north London, aged 67. In an interview with the Guardian last year, he said, "I'm not one for showing off. But I guess my guitar-playing sticks out", and as his legacy will testify, that’s more than an understatement.

Read More