‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – ‘VARIOUS VENUES’ – THE GREAT ESCAPE, BRIGHTON 13-16.5.26
Taking over the city of Brighton every May, The Great Escape is the world’s leading new music festival for discovery, bringing together 450+ emerging artists from around the world across 35+ walkable venues, alongside a globally respected music industry conference. There was also a whole host of ‘Unofficial Escape’ events happening throughout Brighton & Hove at the same time again this year, featuring literally hundreds of additional acts to see, and so where possible, we dipped into some of these events for a full rounded perspective of things.
This is our third installment. If you missed the first one you can find it HERE and the second installment is HERE.
THURSDAY 14th MAY (PART TWO – 18:15 TO 00:00):
SYLVIE’S HEAD – Chalk 18:15 – 18:45
Sylvie’s Head (named after a My Bloody Valentine B-side) are the first band to play Chalk at this year’s festival and are a band I have been looking forward to seeing. They are a four-piece rock ’n’ roll dance band from Gothenburg, Sweden. Their line-up consists of Erik Grahn (vocals, synth), Albin Bureteg (bass), Victor Hogsberg (guitar), and Hannes Lundström (guitar). Although their genre-bending club-rock sound is described as being unique and earned them a “Best in Rock” nomination at the Manifest Awards (Sweden’s indie Grammys), to me, a lot of it looks and sounds like ‘Screamadelica’ era Primal Scream moulded together with the early driving wall of noise guitar sound of early Oasis. They start off with instrumental track ‘Sharp Shooter’ off their debut EP, then they move on to three songs off their debut album ‘Everything Is Free’, which incidentally has its release date the day following this performance. ‘Frankie’ sounds like Primal Scream with guitars turned up to ten. ‘Pure Control’ has a more laid-back trippy feel to it. Then it’s back to the full-on Scream like ‘Saturation’. Another instrumental ‘Low-Life’ is next, then it’s a love song all about Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones titled ‘Godstar’. Erik tells us, “We have one more song, it’s about rock ’n’ roll”. This is ‘Maintainer’, it’s another with a Primal Scream feel to it. As the band are applauded as they walk off stage, Albin says, “Right on, Brigh-ton”.
(Ian Holman)
BIG LONG SUN – Concorde 2 19:15 – 19:45
Steve Lamacq introduced the opening act of BBC Introducing’s line-up at Concorde 2. They are one of my favourite Brighton bands, Big Long Sun, and it’s great to see them play on a big stage. They open with ‘Smashing Valentines’, the only unreleased song of the set. It sounds great even though the bass player, Malte Henning, forgets to switch on his amp, which brings amusement to members of the band when the sound engineer comes out from behind his booth at the side of the stage to switch it on before they move on to the wonderful ‘My Stars Aligning’, which is one of four songs played from their recently released album ‘Love Songs And Spiritual Recollections’. As usual, Jamie’s interaction with the crowd between songs is humorous and includes “This is so great to escape with you”, “We are Big Long Sun, we make records for big corporations”, and he also dedicates one song to Small Grandfather (I’m sure this is in reference to Steve Lamacq not hanging around to see the band he had just introduced, heading up the road instead to see Little Grandad play at Chalk). Back to the music, it’s amazing how this psychedelic folk band is so in tune with each other. They mould together so well and are a delight to watch and listen to. If you’ve not seen them before, I recommend you do so at the earliest opportunity, and hopefully, you will be hooked by them like I and many others are. In the meantime, check out the new album.
(Ian Holman)
LITTLE GRANDAD – Chalk 19:15 – 19:45
In a The Line Of Best Fit interview leading up to The Great Escape, Little Grandad member Harry Lower shared a concern: the band are “a little too poppy” for The Windmill. Playing Chalk for their second set in Brighton in the space of 3 weeks is a tall order – especially when the first was The Prince Albert. However, the room is filled for Steve Lamacq’s new favourite band, with the double A-side of ‘Sleep Walking’ and ‘Unmasked’ released on Monday. Aired only second in their set, the indie-pop of ‘Sleepwalking’ is slightly too clichéd to deserve the hype it receives. However, the snaking dynamism and trumpet throughline on the opus ‘Unmasked’ separate it from The LA’s type jangle and rasp so far. The track descends into screams of “I’d take my mask off for you” as they collectively shake off all structures in the final third of this amalgamation. “This is our first Great Escape. We actually weren’t a band at the last one”, Jack Lower offers, to the packed-out So Young showcase—an impressive feat for them to be on a stage like this so early. Closer ‘Babe We’ve Run Out Of Time’ follows the same collagic ethos, snaking into the vocal breaking, scream-into-the-pillow lyrics of “Oh babe/we’ve run out of time.” Make no mistake: Little Grandad are immensely talented with some impressive harmonies running across all tracks. The issue is a crisis of identity: they categorically do not know what they are, so they try to do it all. Unfortunately, Little Grandad feel like a case of ‘too much too soon’ with the hype overtaking their need to spend time developing on smaller stages.
(Keir Shields)
YNDLING – The Hope & Ruin 19:45 – 20:15
Now I must confess that the act that I was most excited about seeing live at this year’s event was Yndling (pronounced ‘Ind-ling’), which is the dream pop project of Norwegian artist and producer Silje Espevik, who is known for offering weaving heavy, reverb-soaked guitars through expansive synthscapes, introspective lyrics, with a soft, haunting vocal delivery. Her sound draws comparisons to Cocteau Twins, Portishead, Massive Attack, and Mazzy Star, thus blending shoegaze, indie, and trip-hop into a cinematic and emotional live experience. The debut Yndling album ‘Time Time Time (I’m In The Palm Of Your Hand)’, dropped last November and I was desperate to grab a vinyl copy today, but with the variable weather and several other sets still to attend, it wasn’t going to be possible this time around. I’m praying for a Yndling return to Brighton, as the record contains ‘It’s Almost Like You’re Here’, which I reckon is my most played tune all year by anyone thus far! Thankfully today’s set commences with it as Silje and her three chums (bass, drums and second guitar) set out their stall nice and early. The first floor venue was absolutely rammed 10 minutes prior to the start of the set and sadly this is the only performance across the 4 days. The crowd are seriously lapping up the sweet-vocaled tunes, which are mainly culled from the LP, but we do get a brand new tune ‘Better Looking Thoughts’ which we are told is about “someone with negative thoughts”, the drumpads on this track were fabulous. The overall backing harmonies should be flagged up as well. Overall, (as expected) it was a wonderful performance, and this became my third choice set of my Escape adventure.
(Nick Linazasoro)
ADJUA – Concorde 2 20:15 – 20:45
Talented Welsh Music Prize winner Adjua performed at Concorde 2 for BBC Introducing. Introduced by Huw Stephens, the Welsh-Ghanaian alternative R&B and Neo-soul singer-songwriter, who also plays guitar on some songs, has four band members with her. They are Frances Bolley (bass), Gareth Giles (lead guitar), Izzy Oyaide (drums), and Nimat Awoyemi (backing vocals, viola, and percussion). Nimat starts off the opening song ‘Can’t Lose’ on viola and as soon as Adjua begins singing the opening lines of the song, you know you are in for a treat. Her stunning, beautiful, soulful voice resembles Sade in parts, and it’s a great introduction to the other five songs those watching are about to witness. When the unreleased second song ‘Babe, I Think You’re Really Sexy’ is introduced, Adjua says “Make of that what you will”, bringing smiles and chuckles to a few in the audience. The song is soulful and has a good groove to it. For the most recent single ‘Forest Wild’, the lead vocalist says “This makes you think about the plant you haven’t watered for a couple of weeks”. The fourth song is another unreleased one, titled ‘Soak’. This is followed by the 2025 single ‘Clarity’. The set closer is ‘Love Is Calling’ and is introduced by Adjua as “Something a bit different”. It certainly is, it’s the grooviest song of the set and gets the crowd dancing along. A fine performance all round.
(Ian Holman)
MADRA SALACH – Chalk 20:15 – 20:45
In a packed evening at Chalk for So Young, Madra Salach are in an unenviable position: sandwiched between Little Grandad and Westside Cowboy. A tough act to precede and a tough act to follow, Madra Salach follow the lineage of Ewan McColl, retaining an affinity to the punk-folk of Mary Wallopers despite focusing more on atmosphere. With the entire band seated, save for frontman Paul Banks, opener ‘Blue & Gold’ sets an ominous tone with intense shanty-folk feeling, punctuated by a haunting flute. Some voices seize you instantly, demanding attention without craving it; Banks has one of those. Amidst the storming tracks, there are serious statements: “That song is about a little thing your country did to ours” Banks announces to precede the unreleased heavy hitter of ‘BOLG’ after a jauntily indignant cover of McColl’s ‘Tunnel Tigers’. With the entirety of Fontaines DC in attendance, they comically play up to expectations: “It’s amazing to be here in Brighton… the natural world is going on’ … ‘if you listen closely in Chalk, you can hear lizards networking.” Throughout their set, they flip from the earlier out-and-out smashing of tracks to the closing duo of guttural doomer ‘I Was Just A Boy’ to ‘The Man Who Seeks Pleasure’ steadily cresting, with a droning harmonium rising slowly as Paul Banks gives absolutely everything to the vocals. Ending with shouts of “Free Palestine”, Madra Salach have done the impossible: set the bar impressively high for Westside Cowboy and forced a predominantly industry audience into silence with their brand of boiling-over Irish traditionalism.
(Keir Shields)
SONNY E – Secret Comedy Club 20:40 – 21:05
We now scurry around The Lanes in order to endeavour to locate the Secret Comedy Club in order to witness something rather special. Eventually a large sticker on the pavement signifies we have arrived, but it looks like a small cocktail bar, as I enter my eyes catch the barman’s who spies my lanyard and signals us to the rear of the room and thus down a hidden staircase. We have found our underground destination! The room is like one you would hire out for a birthday party and yet we are here to witness a guy, that half-a-lifetime-ago, was seriously famous and riding atop the pop charts as well as spearheading the acid house scene….ladies and gentlemen I give you Adamski! Tonight, he’s flying under the banner of Sonny E, a name which I recently spied as being the mysterious support artist for the forthcoming Sigue Sigue Sputnik (Electronic) gig at The Prince Albert on 20th June. Not surprisingly, the Sonny E sound isn’t that far off Sputnik this evening. It’s simply Adam Paul Tinley with a shaven head with a large quiff and outsized sunglasses, a retro microphone and a laptop. Musically it’s electronic rockabilly 21st century Elvis meets The Cramps meets Sputnik. He dropped his latest single ‘Teddy Boy’ and it’s on Spotify if you fancy checking it out. I spied former Spandau Ballet member Steve Norman in the crowd grooving to the tunes. Sonny E ‘Be-Bop-a-Lula’ he was ‘Something Else’!
(Nick Linazasoro)
BATHING SUITS – Concorde 2 21:15 – 21:45
Highly rated and fast-emerging electro-noise band Bathing Suits were next to take to the Concorde 2 stage. They are from Leeds and they are here to get you dancing and shaking your ass, and that’s exactly what they did. They feature Freyja Blevins (drum machine/vocals), George Dickinson (guitar), Alex Mulholland (guitar), and Elise Hughes (bass). The DIY outfit arrived on stage to great applause and got straight into the bass-heavy opening track ‘Relay’. The four-piece are quite animated throughout the set. Freyja has a large industrial fan on the floor to the side of her, cooling down her slim figure as she dances more or less on the spot, unleashing her vocals with her long bleached blonde hair swirling around and lashing against her face. The heavy techno pumping ‘I Can Be A Freak’ with its repeated song title lyrics is next. Both opening tracks feature on the band’s debut ‘KILL Bathing Suits’ EP, as do the final three tracks of their seven-song set. Sandwiched between them are two unreleased ones, ‘Want More Than Watcha Have’ and ‘Set Me Free’. For the fifth track ‘Lousy Havoc’, guitarist George Dickinson uses his half-filled pint glass as a slide, while the final track ‘Empathy’ finishes with a crescendo of noise and distortion, then comes to a sudden halt.
(Ian Holman)
SUZAN KÖCHER’S SUPRAFON – Brighthelm 21:15 – 21:45
We headed into Brighthelm to see Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon, who is a German band which blend quite a few genres such as Psychedelia, Dream Pop, Krautrock, Disco, 60s influences, Desert Americana and Cinema Noir, and once all of those are put in the pot and shaken together, this really is the tonic you are looking for. Sadly there was a good 20 minute delay on getting started as ear pieces were not working, so Suzan said “We are going to have to go back in time, time to use the monitors only”, whatever the issues, for the audience this set was an utter joy. So who are the Suprafon I hear you ask! We have Suzan Köcher on Roland synth and guitar, Julian Müller on Hofner guitar, Janis Rosanka on bass and Dale Lohse on drums. Cool 60s/70s’esq sparkly outfits are the name of the game for stage attire all round, you even got a free badge if you came dressed that way too, why didn’t I get sent that memo! Tonight was their first ever UK performance and what a performance it was. Suzan with her cool glittering eye makeup swayed and moved with the music, floating around the stage and over her synthesiser. The excellent 30 minute, 7 song took in; ‘Maybe I’m A Lemon’, ‘Poison Ivy’, ‘Camera’, ‘Temps De L’Amour’, ‘Harmonie Dissonanz’, ‘Seventeen’ and ‘Living In A Bad Place’, the bulk of the songs were taken from their recent 2024 album ‘In These Dying Times’, however we were also treated to a Francoise Hardy cover ‘Temps De L’Amour’ which was pure gold. I am not sure if ‘Harmonie Dissonanz’ has been released officially, but it was a much slower song with more synth keys, nice and dreamy. I swayed and danced throughout the whole set. After guitarist Julian gave us a lesson on how to pronounce the band’s name, the closing song ‘Living In A Bad Place’ really took us all on a journey, it had some of that prog rock vibe going for it, but what a journey it was. Needless to say, I went and bought the album and t-shirt straight after, now I’ll have to track down their singles. Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon really had it all for me and sums up what the Great Escape is all about, seeing bands/artists that you just would never normally likely find and get totally blown away.
(Ben ‘Jerry’ Robinson)
WESTSIDE COWBOY – Chalk 21:15 – 22:00
So Young’s Chalk headliners need no introduction; mainly because they scream it at the start of the second track, ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’, after the unreleased ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ has hooked the audience. Their self-proclaimed Britainicana is a four-chord thrash, rumpled through Pavement, evoking the 2010s indie rock darlings. Talk of the town at last year’s Great Escape, a year practically non-stop on the road, has smoothed all edges – each track nearly perfectly blends into the one before, bar a mic stand mishap from Reuben Haycocks, laughed off with “I can’t do anything for myself!”. From the anxious thrum of ‘Don’t Throw Rocks’ to the slowed country bar band of ‘Strange Taxidermy’ to the ever-rollicking ‘Can’t See’, Westside Cowboy return to The Great Escape two EPs wiser, weather-beaten but still as in love with performing as ever. With new tracks debuting, a highlight is Aoife’s haunting vocals concluding ‘Take My Leaving As Loving You’, adding a Lankum-owed folk element to their repertoire; an already bright future now seems blinding. Gathering round a mic with only Paddy Murphy’s drum and Haycocks on guitar for what I hope is a perennial closer, ‘In The Morning,’ their ethos is community, and it is infectious. With a generous 45-minute set still not feeling long enough, Westside Cowboy may have just played their last Great Escape: they are far too big for this now.
(Keir Shields)
HEARTWORMS – The Old Market 21:30 – 22:00
I’d been trying to catch Heartworms live for well over 12 months and failing miserably, so when they were announced as headliners at The Old Market for TGE, there was no way I was missing them again. The solo project of London-based artist Jojo Orme is intriguing on record, but live it becomes something else entirely: electrifying, theatrical and impossible to ignore. The stage is dimly lit in red as the band enter and open with ‘Consistent Dedication’, a track that builds with menacing intent before Orme is screaming into the faces of the front row, part terrifying, part thrilling. The sound sits somewhere between darkwave, industrial electro-rock and post-punk, driven by drums, guitar and bass, yet feeling far greater than the sum of its parts. Hypnotic, aggressive, beautiful and utterly captivating, Heartworms were a long time coming, but more than worth the trek — and easily the highlight of the day so far.
(Cris Watkins)
WAY DYNAMIC – Patterns (Downstairs) 21:30 – 22:00
I head to Patterns (Downstairs) nice and early in order to catch Annie-Claude Deschênes, but before her arrival, I get to witness Way Dynamic which is the solo project of Aussie Dylan Young who is based in Melbourne. Last year he dropped his third album titled ‘Massive Shoe’ which flies the flag for minimalist folk-pop, art rock and baroque pop. Tonight Dylan is certainly not alone on stage as he is joined by no less than a handful of other musicians and between them all they take care of vocals, melodica, violin, keyboards, bass guitar, two guitars and drums. Vocally Dylan’s deliveries can be considered to be in a higher pitch, which remind me of David Byrne of Talking Heads fame. Musically, for me, it’s rather run of the mill bland bop along commercial radio station friendly beats. I retire from the front and perch on the bench at the rear and the band are literally (almost) being drowned out by the copious amounts of punters merrily talking and shouting away. Worse still, I kid you not, the chap on the bench next to me keeps nodding off. Nuff said!
(Nick Linazasoro)
BLUE BENDY – Horatios 22:15 – 22:45
With only the final three tracks caught on a surprisingly spare Thursday night, I settled on Blue Bendy to secure my spot for the following act, Dead Dad’s Club. Adorned in a “Bendy LP2 is real” shirt, Arthur Nolan fronts the wiry art rock group, who are rightfully Pitchfork darlings. From the unsettled chamber-math-folk of ‘Poke’, everything sounds off-kilter, drums never locking into a groove and keys cutting through their fluctuating dynamics. The group are decisively push-pull in sound, with a deliriously stabbed piano adding to a constant feeling that they keep interrupting themselves. A double-bill conclusion of unreleased songs in ‘Tappy’ and ‘Nazi’ is only interrupted by “we love you… Even the lanyarders”, from Nolan, the conclusion teasing more hard-to-pin oscillation. Channelling The Orchestra (for now) and shades of Stereolab, they are deservedly progged-out press darlings, with an uncertainty in sound lending itself to a sort of free-form jazz feeling that keeps everyone on their toes but builds faith for Bendy LP2.
(Keir Shields)
THE LOTTERY WINNERS – TGE Beach The Deep End 22:00 – 22:45
When I first arrived, the tent was already at capacity because of Lime Garden, but the crowd thinned out completely soon after. I made my way to the barrier and waited — and with just five minutes to go, a huge wave of people poured in, filling this 800‑capacity venue right up again. As the band walked on to a massive roar, they opened with Stephen Fry’s recorded introduction from their latest album, ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’, before launching into the upbeat ‘Worry’, which had everyone moving and bobbing along. This band really knows how to give the crowd what they want. Frontman Thom Rylance is a natural comedian, happily taking the mickey out of anyone and everyone — including his own bandmates. At their core, they have sharp indie‑pop sensibilities, but tonight’s set is underscored by a powerful message of acceptance. Guitarist Rob Lally and bassist Katie Lloyd are also commanding presences at the front, but they play perfect foils to Rylance’s razor‑sharp wit. They even took a playful swipe at The Kooks, who had pulled out of their own showcase slot — the band started playing ‘Naive’, while Thom led a singalong, changing the lyrics to make the crowd laugh, and it went down a storm. It was great to hear ‘Letter To Myself’, their 2023 collaboration with Frank Turner, though sadly he wasn’t there to join them. Joe Singleton’s powerful drumming on ‘The Meaning Of Life’ hits you like a jackhammer, but it was the closing track ‘Burning House’ that really got the crowd going — a song about mental health and how consuming it can be, to the point where you barely notice anything else around you. I love everything about these guys — their ethos, their lyrics, and their music. They deserve so much more recognition.
(Stephen Willcox)
THE ITCH – Concorde 2 22:15 – 22:45
The Itch were one of the bands I was really looking forward to seeing at the festival, and they didn’t let me down with their club-influenced synth-pop performance at Concorde 2 that got the crowd dancing and singing along. Although they are a duo formed by Georgia Hardy and Simon Tyrie, having relocated from Luton to London, they performed as a five-piece, adding additional instrumentation to their 80s-influenced sound. Their seven-song set featured their second single ‘The Influencer’ along with six tracks from their highly praised debut album ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’, which sneaked into the bottom position of the Official UK Album Chart when released last month. They closed their set with the tongue-in-cheek and groovy ’No More Sprechgesang’ and the euphoric ’Space In The Cab’.
(Ian Holman)
ANNIE-CLAUDE DESCHÊNES – Patterns (Downstairs) 22:30 – 23:00
My second Escape day closes with the arrival of Montreal’s Annie-Claude Deschênes, who is accompanied by her friend who she introduces as I think Anthony Piattza, who takes care of the live video feed which is shown on the rear of the stage. The next 30 minutes isn’t strictly a music only performance, but it’s thinking outside of the conventions and into the art world. For instance, there’s a small circular table with two chairs sitting in amongst the audience area, it’s not for a romantic meal for two but for Annie-Claude and Anthony to perch upon whilst they consume small green jellies and squirty cream. Annie-Claude makes several forays into the crowd and on one occasion, those that could, were encouraged to crouch down. On the music front it’s retro 80’s electronic vibes that would be lapped up by any self respecting Blitz Kid or Hi-NRG Eurobeat fan, with no compositions outstaying their welcome. Despite there being a Pioneer CD deck arrangement with Korg electronics and other keys on the go, for the final number Annie-Claude literally invited the whole venue to join her on stage. Many did and it was like sardines up there. It was an entertaining set, even if the music did cut out twice.
(Nick Linazasoro)
DEAD DADS CLUB – Horatios 23:15 – 23:45
Closing my day, the uneven pier boards on the walk to Horatios seem to forebode the unsettling nature of Dead Dad’s Club. The project of former NME legend and Palma Violets frontman Chilli Jesson is cathartic, grief-stricken music filtered through his indie-rock roots. Slightly softer than his Palma Violets days, Jesson and his band move from acoustic-driven cries on open-letter opener ‘It’s Only Just Begun’ to the direct indie hook of ‘life is precious’ on ‘Volatile Child.’ While morose synths dart on the stadium-flirting-industrial of ‘Humming Wires,’ the set doesn’t particularly tread new ground; it’s a lot of what you’d expect from someone who knows the hype cycle. Ceaselessly prowling the stage like he’s on an anxious phone call, Jesson holds a late-night crowd hostage with a mania to his antics unchanged in over 15 years of performing. “Do you guys want St Vit or ‘Don’t Blame The Son? Oh f*ck it, we’ll play the intro” Jesson chaotically offers before launching into the percussive pummelling of ‘Don’t Blame The Son For The Sins Of The Father.’ By the time the closing electro-punk self-worship of ‘St Vitamin’ hits, there’s a feeling that the crowd would be jumping around a lot more if they could pull their shoes from the stickiness of Horatios floor. Regardless, Dead Dad’s Club is proof that 14 years on from Palma Violets’ famous show at the same venue, Jesson’s venture into vulnerability has an ironic amount of life.
(Keir Shields)
PISS – Green Door Store 23:15 – 23:45
My final show of the night takes me to Green Door Store, where the queue outside is some of the longest I’ve ever seen for this 150-capacity venue, so there is clearly plenty of interest in PISS. The Vancouver noise-punk four-piece, fronted by Taylor Zantingh, arrive with a warning before they even begin: the set contains lyrical and sampled references to sexual violence, with the crowd asked to make space should anyone need to leave. It is a stark introduction, but an understandable one. Each song is preceded by an audio sample, the messages are bleak and unflinching, and Zantingh’s delivery is as violent as the subject matter, screaming, growling and hurling herself around the stage. Yet amid the chaos, the lyrical content is often devastatingly poetic, with ‘Blocking A Scene You Can’t Remember’ landing as the most powerful moment of the night, a slow, crushing piece that hits on both an emotional and visceral level. Art rock, noise rock, punk rock — whatever you want to call it, this is an unforgettable performance and one of the hardest-hitting sets I’ve ever seen at The Great Escape.
(Cris Watkins)
THE ORIELLES – Charles Street Tap 23:15 – 00:00
The Orielles returned to The Great Escape with a compelling late night appearance, drawing the majority of their eight song set from their latest and fourth studio album ‘Only You Left’. Featuring hypnotic swirls of krautrock rhythms, dream-pop textures and art-rock experimentation from the motorik pulse of opener ‘Three Halves’ to the atmospheric, slow-burning finale ‘To Undo The World Itself’ with tracks like ‘Tears Are’ and ‘Wasp’ shifting between jagged post-punk grooves and shimmering psychedelic soundscapes. I first witnessed them perform at this very festival eight years ago on a hot afternoon at a packed ‘TGE Beach’ venue and was astonished then at the maturity of their sound and incredible raw musicianship as they were all remarkably young at the time. In the intervening years, their sound has constantly evolved and the trio – sisters Esmé Dee and Sidonie Hand-Halford together with Henry Carlyle continue to innovate in a genre that can’t be expressly defined. A truly mesmeric performance.
(Martin J Fuller)
LTTL MORT – Rossi Bar 00:00 – 00:30
Lttl Mort is a fast-rising solo project created by Jazz Pope, who also plays synths for Opus Kink. The sound consists of experimental electronic music mixing up sleaze-soaked synth-pop with industrial death-techno. Performing live, Jazz has Nate Wicks along with him on drums. Nate, wearing a balaclava, provides ferocious drum beats as Jazz provides sardonic vocals, warped synths, samples, and additional keys, providing a high-octane performance. Jazz ventures into the crowd on occasions and is in some of the audience’s faces as he blurts out his vocals. He really gets into his act and also clambers on top of the bass drum at one point and is up against the Rossi bar’s low basement ceiling. The pair work through a seven-song set of unreleased material: ‘Teachers’, ‘Bed Bound’, ’Back Room’, ‘Better’, ‘Animal’, ‘FMO’, and ‘HAHAHAHA’. They support Adult DVD at Chalk later in the year.
(Ian Holman)
Further Great Escape reviews will follow…………
