Modern-day champions of old-school house and techno who have somehow made it to the biggest of stages, Bicep are a remarkable example of how to take the past and transform it into something bold and beautiful. Playing: Sunday June 12 th, 19.30, Parklife FM (G-Stage) A master at building up a colossal sonic template before twisting it, yet also capable of uniquely beautiful ambience and texture, Joy Orbison‘s live performances are a true journey through the highs and lows of club culture and electronic expression. I still can’t quite get over the name (I have a weird aversion to artist names as puns, for reasons that are almost certainly my own) but Peter O’Grady has wrested electronica and contemporary urban music into something that is not only fascinating but profoundly engaging. Playing: Saturday June 11 th 19.30, The Hanger Stage
With an influence that spreads from indie music to hip hop and a back catalogue that explores a multitude of musical genres, any Four Tet show is a joyous communal experience that will hypercharge your mind and pacify your soul. One of the most consistent and fascinating electronic artists of the past 25 years, Kieran Hebden has been a genuine trailblazer of the subtle, dynamics-heavy and ethereal electronica that has come to define so much of the past two decades. Playing: Sunday 12 th June, 16.45, The Parklife Stage A truly contemporary artist who points the way forward to the future of UK popular music and the ability to bring disparate social tribes together. A rightful winner of the 2021 Mercury Prize, her live performances lose none of that emotion and intimacy whilst bonding the audience in a bear hug of rhythms, jazz inflections and electronic folk. One of my favourite discoveries of lockdown was her sublime ‘Collapsed into Sunbeams’ which seemed to mercurially capture the contemporary human experience in a way that was almost impeccable in its timing. Playing: Sunday June 12 th, 20.15, The Parklife StageĪrlo Parks writes songs of joyful intimacy performing them as if she is in the same room as you. Expect filth, freedom and some serious getting down – there are few performers on earth like her right now. There are elements of Outkast and Beyoncé there but the sound is entirely of her own as a live performer, she is a force of nature. The Texan is a body-positive, sex-positive and pro-feminist earthquake of a performer effortlessly slipping between slow Southern US drawl and lightning-fast rap syllables within the space of a few bars. I was put off by Megan Thee Stallion’s nom de plume for a while. Playing: Sunday June 12 th, 17.55, The Parklife Stage Do not miss her if you get the chance – her forthcoming new album will take her stratospheric. She also has a genuine sense of humour and disarming charm in her music, alongside a genuine vision for what contemporary pop music should be. But what this stylish image is wedded to are songs with genuine melodic expression, joy and character: fired by emotion and propelled by effervescent and universal rhythms.
Watching her multi-faceted and uniquely choreographed stage performances, you would be forgiven for assuming she was obtuse art pop. So with the event taking place this weekend, I wanted to point out six acts who are well worth checking out if you are heading over to Heaton Park.įor me, Caroline Polachek is the most interesting pop artist in the world right now. And as such, I am thoroughly looking forward to this year’s event, albeit with more years and wrinkles under my (growing) belt…
#Parklife festival full
The music was terrific (it was the first time I’d ever heard the excellent Slowthai and Little Simz and the atmosphere was joyous and full of bonhomie. Instant bad vibes.īut then, once I’d got past the initial visions of my impending degradation and death in the neon sunglasses of the younglings, I suddenly found myself enjoying the event. Face it, nobody wants to see their lecturer at a festival. Even at 37, I was nearly two decades older than the average attendee age and boy did I feel it! I recall frantically pulling my hoodie up when passing a couple of my then-current university students living it up. The first was the feeling of “dear lord, I’m far too old to be here”. When I last reviewed Parklife Festival for Louder than War back in 2019, I had a strange kind of epiphany one that went through two distinct stages. Here, he gives recommendations on six artists to see over the course of the two full days of music… As Parklife rolls into Manchester’s Heaton Park this weekend, David Edwards will be covering the festival for Louder than War, albeit lying about his age if anyone asks him.
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