Sheffield’s biggest annual shindig Tramlines returns next week with its heftiest line-up yet.
Alongside US heavyweights Kelis and George Clinton, the festival will play host to more than 200 acts including Dizzee Rascal, Mystery Jets, Gaz Coombes, Field Music, Little Simz and Toddla T.
Taking place from 22 to 24 July, Tramlines is billed as the biggest metropolitan music festival in the UK, with one of the most eclectic line-ups of any this year.
So we’ve asked Kate Hewett, head of programming, to talk us through some of the acts she’s most excited about catching this year…
I Need A Connection – Jane Weaver
Jane Weaver is a truly original artist, sailing across genres from shoegaze to synth-pop, to create an innovative and slightly psychedelic brand of ambient electronica
We Magnify His Name – Floorplan
This is an enormous track from seminal electronic artist Robert Hood, whose pioneering work paved the way for a wave of stripped-down dancefloor minimalism that directed much of techno's path throughout the late nineties.
Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki – Gwenno
A hugely innovative artist based in Cardiff, Gwenno Saunders makes lush, cerebral disco-pop which combines the electronic with the organic. On her debut solo album Y Dydd Olaf (The Last Day), she performs nine songs in Welsh and one in Cornish.
Get Up – Young Fathers
One of Scotland's most exciting musical talents, Young Fathers offer an exhilaratingly original, genre-blending take on hip-hop. The Edinburgh trio won the 2014 Mercury Prize for debut album Dead and followed it up with last year's White Men are Black Men Too.
IVRY – Miles From Kinshasa
IVRY was the first song we heard by Miles From Kinshasa, and its warm and infectious groove-led R&B was enough to secure him a place on this year's Tramlines bill. He's a DRC export now based in London, and describes his own sound as 'rumba pop'.
Give Up To The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker) – Parliament
Helmed by the irrepressible George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic have a hit-making appeal which spans genres and generations. Their work is still regularly sampled across the hip-hop world by some off the most acclaimed artists performing today, while they were also credited with inspiring many post-disco and post-punk bands of the eighties and nineties.
Circles – Moon Duo
Moon Duo's heat-hazed fuzz makes for a psychedelic take on American rock & roll, and the San Francisco outfit return to Tramlines to perform what is set to be a truly special set in Sheffield's gothic cathedral.
Dead Body – Little Simz
Hailing from Islington, 22-year-old rapper Little Simz topped a whole host of End of Year lists with her genre-blending debut full-length album A Curious Tale Of Trials And Persons. Performing in one of Tramlines' most intimate venues, her set is sure to be one of the most talked-about moments of the festival.
Oh Baby – Micachu & The Shapes
As well as recording forward-thinking alt-pop while fronting her band Micachu & The Shapes, Mica Levi has also earned a BAFTA nomination for her composition of the soundtrack for Jonathan Glazer’s acclaimed film Under The Skin and became the youngest individual artist invited to be a Southbank Artist in Residence. She'll perform a DJ set at this year's Tramlines.
Disappointed – Field Music
Sunderland siblings Peter and David Brewis head up Field Music, creating an off-kilter but danceable brand of funk and alt-pop underpinned by their interweaving vocals and rhythmic gear changes.
Acapella – Kelis
With a career spanning over 15 years and six full-length albums to her name, Kelis is an R&B icon. Having risen to fame singing the hook of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Got Your Money, she's carved out an impressive, genre-spanning catalogue of hits and continues to storm the charts with her futuristic take on soul and electronic pop.
Saxony – Leon Vynehall
Leon Vynehall knows his way around an infectious groove, taking in house, techno, disco, funk, hip-hop and soul, to produce an eclectic and intriguing take on dance music.
Big N Serious – Coco
Coco is the fast-rising face of Sheffield grime, having worked closely with fellow city native Toddla T to manufacture a string of straight-up bangers that have been bothering the airwaves and setting clubs ablaze for more than a year now.
Feel Safe – All We Are
Liverpool trio All We Are embrace everything groove-based and psychedelic, from soul and hip-hop to pop, crafting an intoxicating blend of emotionally astute lyrics and irresistible rhythms.
Wicked Game – Thomas Truax
One of the most eccentric characters on the pop music fringe, American showman Thomas Truax crafts rich songs about insects, trees and technology. His homegrown band of self-made, Dr Seuess-ian instruments accompany his imaginative and fascinating show.
Full weekend tickets are available at £42+ booking fee from http://tramlines.gigantic.com/
Alongside US heavyweights Kelis and George Clinton, the festival will play host to more than 200 acts including Dizzee Rascal, Mystery Jets, Gaz Coombes, Field Music, Little Simz and Toddla T.
Taking place from 22 to 24 July, Tramlines is billed as the biggest metropolitan music festival in the UK, with one of the most eclectic line-ups of any this year.
So we’ve asked Kate Hewett, head of programming, to talk us through some of the acts she’s most excited about catching this year…
I Need A Connection – Jane Weaver
Jane Weaver is a truly original artist, sailing across genres from shoegaze to synth-pop, to create an innovative and slightly psychedelic brand of ambient electronica
We Magnify His Name – Floorplan
This is an enormous track from seminal electronic artist Robert Hood, whose pioneering work paved the way for a wave of stripped-down dancefloor minimalism that directed much of techno's path throughout the late nineties.
Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki – Gwenno
A hugely innovative artist based in Cardiff, Gwenno Saunders makes lush, cerebral disco-pop which combines the electronic with the organic. On her debut solo album Y Dydd Olaf (The Last Day), she performs nine songs in Welsh and one in Cornish.
Get Up – Young Fathers
One of Scotland's most exciting musical talents, Young Fathers offer an exhilaratingly original, genre-blending take on hip-hop. The Edinburgh trio won the 2014 Mercury Prize for debut album Dead and followed it up with last year's White Men are Black Men Too.
IVRY – Miles From Kinshasa
IVRY was the first song we heard by Miles From Kinshasa, and its warm and infectious groove-led R&B was enough to secure him a place on this year's Tramlines bill. He's a DRC export now based in London, and describes his own sound as 'rumba pop'.
Give Up To The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker) – Parliament
Helmed by the irrepressible George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic have a hit-making appeal which spans genres and generations. Their work is still regularly sampled across the hip-hop world by some off the most acclaimed artists performing today, while they were also credited with inspiring many post-disco and post-punk bands of the eighties and nineties.
Circles – Moon Duo
Moon Duo's heat-hazed fuzz makes for a psychedelic take on American rock & roll, and the San Francisco outfit return to Tramlines to perform what is set to be a truly special set in Sheffield's gothic cathedral.
Dead Body – Little Simz
Hailing from Islington, 22-year-old rapper Little Simz topped a whole host of End of Year lists with her genre-blending debut full-length album A Curious Tale Of Trials And Persons. Performing in one of Tramlines' most intimate venues, her set is sure to be one of the most talked-about moments of the festival.
Oh Baby – Micachu & The Shapes
As well as recording forward-thinking alt-pop while fronting her band Micachu & The Shapes, Mica Levi has also earned a BAFTA nomination for her composition of the soundtrack for Jonathan Glazer’s acclaimed film Under The Skin and became the youngest individual artist invited to be a Southbank Artist in Residence. She'll perform a DJ set at this year's Tramlines.
Disappointed – Field Music
Sunderland siblings Peter and David Brewis head up Field Music, creating an off-kilter but danceable brand of funk and alt-pop underpinned by their interweaving vocals and rhythmic gear changes.
Acapella – Kelis
With a career spanning over 15 years and six full-length albums to her name, Kelis is an R&B icon. Having risen to fame singing the hook of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Got Your Money, she's carved out an impressive, genre-spanning catalogue of hits and continues to storm the charts with her futuristic take on soul and electronic pop.
Saxony – Leon Vynehall
Leon Vynehall knows his way around an infectious groove, taking in house, techno, disco, funk, hip-hop and soul, to produce an eclectic and intriguing take on dance music.
Big N Serious – Coco
Coco is the fast-rising face of Sheffield grime, having worked closely with fellow city native Toddla T to manufacture a string of straight-up bangers that have been bothering the airwaves and setting clubs ablaze for more than a year now.
Feel Safe – All We Are
Liverpool trio All We Are embrace everything groove-based and psychedelic, from soul and hip-hop to pop, crafting an intoxicating blend of emotionally astute lyrics and irresistible rhythms.
Wicked Game – Thomas Truax
One of the most eccentric characters on the pop music fringe, American showman Thomas Truax crafts rich songs about insects, trees and technology. His homegrown band of self-made, Dr Seuess-ian instruments accompany his imaginative and fascinating show.
Full weekend tickets are available at £42+ booking fee from http://tramlines.gigantic.com/
