Field Day 2012 playlist

Despite the inevitable rain, toilet queues and frustrating clashes, Field Day 2012 promises to be the best yet. Besides, you wouldn't get clash-fury if the line-up wasn't as top draw as it is this year. Although choosing between Grimes, Chairlift and Metronomy among others at about 7 is going to be mind-meltingly impossible. Perhaps this Field Day timeline playlist below will help you make that call.



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Latitude 2011 // Festival highlights

While this year's Latitude line-up may not have had quite the commercially attractive draws of its preceeding year, it was without doubt as engaging, diverse and inspiring as ever.

A festival that fails to sell out is perhaps a sign that your ticket investment may not offer equal returns. However, a festival is better judged on the number of tough, band-clash choices you have to make, so with Suede up against Eels, Lykke Li battling Gold Panda, Anna Calvi vying with The Leisure Society, Everything Everything mixing it with Iron & Wine, and Foals locking horns with Paolo Nu... Well perhaps not all decisions were difficult.

Here's our pick of the music we caught at Latitude 2011, with a couple of live videos from The National and Suede, alongside the pick of the rest.

The National: Son and About Today - Friday, Obelisk



Suede: Animal Nitrate - Sunday, Obelisk



Foals: Blue Blood - Saturday, Word Arena



The Walkmen: Angela Surf City - Saturday, Word Arena



Mazes: Summer Hits or J+J Don't Like - Sunday, Lake Stage



Anna Calvi: Jezebel, Sunday, Obelisk



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Offset Festival // Mixtape

Offset Festival has a line-up so brimming with creative juice, the fact that tickets for the two days are still available begs the obvious question: what the hell is wrong with people?

At just 30 minutes to Hainault from central London on the sweaty cylinder more commonly known as the Central line, the locals have no excuse. A selection of the finest young musical minds (and Tim Burgess) will be proving why they could be ‘the next big thing’, so while the journey may be somewhat longer for some (or shorter, depending where you start from), entertainment is inevitable. Plus you can try Garam Guru’s revitalising Sexy Breakfast. What more could you ask for?

Here are some examples of the brilliance coming to East London.

Male Bonding

For stand-out Offset bands you can’t look beyond Male Bonding, not only because there are 13 shoe-gazing grunge-punk reasons on their Sub Pop debut Nothing Hurts, but because the vibrancy and discordant thrill their live show offers is un-matchable. Seeing them at The Basement a few months back felt like nirvana. Or Nirvana. Choosing an example track to emphasise the point was tough, but No Action chose to look beyond the inevitable Franklin or Years Not Long to hidden gem Nothing Used To Hurt, mainly for the life-affirming drop at 1.06.

09 Nothing Used To Hurt by subpop

Egyptian Hip Hop

Being hyped at the start of the year as one of the BBC’s ‘Ones to Watch’ can be a burden to heavy to bear for some. One fears that Ellie Goulding may buckle within the intense media whirlwind at any moment. Egyptian Hip Hop have remained firmly under the radar but have set about crafting a fine selection of soulful tropicalia, not least on Heavenly. If the sun shines on the Saturday, Egyptian Hip Hop will definitely become your new favourite band.

Egyptian Hip Hop - Heavenly by Pure Groove

Colours

London four-some Colours produce songs draped with claustrophobic reverb yet filled with vibrant melody, making for a thrilling sonic experience. While their song-naming can only be described as satisfactory (Lost Youth, The Lost Hour, Losers), there's much to love in their powerful three minute thrash. Having shared vinyl space with fellow Offset attendees Not Cool, Colours will definitely provide a Saturday treat.

Colours - Lost Youth by Brattwell Recordings

Fiction

Much is being said and written and loved about London’s Fiction, so let’s add to that here at No Action. The foursome conjure an addictive, restless sound, with touchstones in post-punk and new wave but without dwelling on any genre for long before it’s on to the next. Having recently released Devo-esque single Curiosity, the first ever release on Offset Recordings, the band will no doubt be seeking to impress their erstwhile employees, as well as the rest of the ECC Stage spectators on the Sunday.

Fiction - Curiosity by Worthknowingpleasures

Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster

Choosing a fifth and final example of why you MUST attend Offset Festival was a tricky business. It could have been Caribou’s psychedelic aural blessings, Mystery Jets’ increasingly powerful power pop, or Bo Ningen’s bombastic, 70’s rock revivalism. Instead, I can’t look beyond Brighton’s own 80’s Matchbox. Partly brought on by seeing Guy lately in the town’s unmatchable thrift / antique store Snoopers Paradise and seeing the grey streak of maturity through his otherwise raven locks, but mostly because, despite the hampered quality of their more recent output, their first two records remain throbbing, gothic treats while their live show offers the most self-destructive, gum-chewing, eye-popping spectacle No Action has ever witnessed. So for the very reason that every show may be their last, you must see 80’s Matchbox.

Little London Fields Festival

In a bid to distance itself from current associations with shootings and stabbings and regain its throne as the place Hackney folk can gather, in the weeds and scrubland, to spot Kate Moss and feel part of it, London Fields is hosting a mini arts and music festival on August 7th.

Alongside "an eclectic, alternative mix of Contemporary Art and cutting edge fashion", they've got a pretty broad spectrum of music on show. London's Dirty Projectors the excellent Hind Ear will be bringing their tropically-flecked harmonic stylings to the Main stage, IDRchitecture will be offering pop with ambition and odd song titles on the Unplugged stage, while the headline stuff will be coming courtesy of Don't Wait Animate's angular riffs and Mirrors' brooding electronica.

All that and it's FREE. Viccy P is still our park de jour, but Little London Fields is doing its best to change our minds.

Here's something from Hind Ear to warm you up.

1234 Shoreditch Festival preview // Pure Groove

In order to tempt us into parting with 15 quid and coax us into spending a day among the East End's pouting classes, 1234 Shoreditch Festival put on a preview at Pure Groove last night.

An odd preview it was too. Hampered by the no-show of a couple of London's up and comers (Turbogeist and Thrush Metal) thanks to the all conquering ash cloud, a courageous band of teen-somethings thrashing out what seemed to be an instrumental Hendrix cover, a half-naked female, her Mac and some beats, and a few complimentary ciders, stepped in to save the night.

The absence of both bands last night will be compensated by appearances at the festival proper on 24th July. Yet again the full line-up promises much, with We Have Band, Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast, Vivian Girls, Wavves, Bo Ningen and Not Cool among many others comprising a stellar cast for 2010. Here's a lovely song from LA's Best Coast to ready your mind for the summer.