Off Festival part 2

// August 24th, 2009 // events

I feel so much wiser and educated musically after the whole festival weekend that I could probably write a book about the current ‘off’ tendencies. What it is: the bands performing here, in Myslowice, are generally unknown to a wider, predominantly commercial-oriented crowd and this event makes this crowd aware, curious and wanting to experience something new. It may be a bit arrogant and haughty in its ‘come and learn’ style but it works – at least on me. However, whilst I do listen to a lot of different themed, non-commercial music every day and am receptive to any good suggestions – because this is what I love and what I work with anyway – I can’t believe an average festival goer does the same. I’m not aiming at being too brash here, with my opinionated self, only wish there was more acts somehow established and known enough so we all could dance to or sing to on such gatherings, something that an average person recognizes and therefore enjoys more. After all when you pay for the ticket not only do you expect to be thought by the others but you try to prove you are right at liking a certain artist and are immensely proud of the fact that those who taught you before learn something from you too sometimes. Otherwise the event turns into a very limited, arty-farty or even a posh happening for the musicians themselves, organizers, critics, media, their friends and the families and maybe a bunch of real nerds. The rest is not attracted enough. And this rest can also be interested in new, ‘off’ music, but just need an insulation of something that will drag them down to the event, something bigger than the remaining line-up names.
From the factual point of view there is a few more artists I’d like to recommend, indeed. Amongst them: Wooden Shjips – amazing psych-rok, sounding like modern The Doors -video link below- commercially reminiscent enough to bring the dream success into reality. Wooden Shjips – Dance, California
Then there should be The Field (or Axel Willner) from Sweden, a mixture of ambient, minimal techno and… shogaze, who made an instant contract deal with The Swidish label Kompakt, after handing them a copy of the demo in 2005. The Field – Everybody’s got to learn sometime
Finally a whole rest of the good stuff which, I hope, will be analysed more by me in the future. Beginning with The National, Crystal Antlers to Handsome Furs, The Frightened Rabbit and finally to Marissa Nadler, The Spiritualized, Olafur Arnalds, The Week That Was and Errors (Errors – Cutlery drawer), this honours list is at the same time a very special recommendation and I hope you will share the interest in it with me too. It surely will be on the playlists for radiobalance.com

Pawel

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