The 2012 Laneway Festival
January 27th 2012 01:02
You’ll find a heady mix of artists in this, the 2012 St Jerome’s Laneway Festival line-up announcement. There’s the ground-breaking, the genre-bending, your recent discoveries and your soon-to-be new favourites. But one thing unites them all: they are spine-tinglingly great live. Say that five times.
The 2012 Australian event returns to the five venues that have established Laneway as one of the most unique events in the country. The banks of Melbourne’s Maribyrong river, the historic sandstone buildings of Sydney’s College of the Arts, the tree-lined laneways just minutes from the Brisbane CBD, the lush grounds of the Perth Cultural Centre, and a new, expanded site at University of SA will provide the backdrop for 2012’s most exciting indie line-up.
Laneway continues its ongoing international expansion, returning for events in Auckland and Singapore. The festival is proud of its continuing association with US based The Windish Agency and UK promoter Eat Your Own Ears, both of whom return in 2012 to co-curate a stage. This year, Laneway is also thrilled to collaborate with Young Turks, the London label proving to be one of the most exciting on the planet right now.
Stay tuned for more details about an extra stage in each city that will boast some of the best cutting-edge electronic acts around. Over the years, the festival has hosted many still relatively-unknown acts at the start of their careers who have gone on to have major international success shortly after: The Temper Trap, Tame Impala, Feist, Florence The Machine, The XX and Mumford & Sons to name just a few. It’s an impressive record, one we’re determined to uphold.
So here it is: the headliner-free, A-Z, top to bottom awesome list of acts playing at the 2012 Laneway Festival:
ACTIVE CHILD - ANNA CALVI - AUSTRA - BULLION - CHAIRLIFT - CULTS - DZ DEATHRAYS - EMA - FEIST [except Adel**] - GEOFFREY O'CONNOR - GIRLS - GIVERS [Syd Melb] - GLASSER - HUSKY [Bris, Syd, Melb] - JOHN TALABOT - JONTI - LAURA MARLING - M83 - ONEMAN - PAJAMA CLUB (featuring Sharon and Neil Finn) - PORTUGAL THE MAN [Syd Melb] - SBTRKT (Live) - TRIPLE J Unearthed Winners - THE VERY WEST - THE DRUMS - THE HORRORS - THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART - THE PANICS - TORO Y MOI - TOTAL CONTROL - TWIN SHADOW - WASHED OUT - WU LYF - YUCK
ACTIVE CHILD’s heaven-high vocals were honed in school choirs, which kind of makes us wish we listened to our parents. You Are All I See is the assured debut from LA resident Pat Grossi, a synth-y affair that melds danceable hip hop beats and soaring R&B melodies. And harp. There’s lots of harp. It makes for a gorgeous, diverse sound that has seen him tour with the likes of English dubstep producer James Blake and dreamy synth-poppers School of Seven Bells.
ANNA CALVI is on fire. Do a quick Google search and you’ll see adjectives like hot, incendiary, burning and smokin’ thrown round with abandon. Pretty sure it’s metaphorical but listen to her eponymous debut or watch any video of her performing and you’ll see why. The half-Italian, half-British artist’s deliciously dramatic vocals and darkly cinematic instrumentation have won countless plaudits (including a prestigious Mercury Prize nomination) and the praise of Brian Eno who calls her ‘the best thing since Patti Smith’, which is not a compliment you’d throw out of bed.
AUSTRA’s assured debut Feel It Break is a culmination of the leading lady Katie Stelmanis’ years of school choirs (Again! Sorry Mum.), operatic training and her fascination with electronic music. Stelmanis, along with fellow Canadians, drummer Maya Postepski and bassist Dorian Wolf, have crafted a darkly hypnotic album, not quite dance music but made for night-time. Some people call it electro-goth but it’s much warmer than that. triple j and alternative radio have been all over stylish singles ‘The Beat, The Pulse’ and ‘Lose It ’, as they should be. File next to Bat For Lashes, Kate Bush and The Knife.
Nathan Jenkins is BULLION. Three years ago, the West Londoner self-released a 'mash up' album combining music by the Beach Boys with production inspired by J Dilla, called Pet Sounds: In The Key Of Dee and watched it become a viral sensation on the internet within days. The latest offering from the fast-rising, fresh-faced producer is You Drive Me To Plastic, which drops courtesy of Young Turks Records, friends of the festival and the ultra-hip home of Laneway alumni The xx, Holy Fuck, El Guincho and more.
You may remember CHAIRLIFT’s insanely catchy track Bruises from their 2008 debut, Does You Inspire You . Caroline Palochek and Patrick Wimberly are Chairlift and their music pivots around a hazily romantic, fragmented, psychedelic sense of humor and love for pop music. The duo have spent the past year holed up in the spare room of an antique shop producing their forthcoming album, which will be debuted in Australia in live-band form at Laneway. If lead single 'Amanaemonesia' is anything to go by, it’s a massive winner. The clip for said track is directed by Palochek and is fairly mesmerising. Girl can move, too.
Young NYC-by-way-of-San Diego pop duo CULTS burst onto the scene early last year with the irresistible 'Go Outside', a short, sharp burst of hazy bedroom pop steeped in classic girl-group harmonies and Spector-esque production. Little was known about the twosome of Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin, whose almost ungoogleable name and refusal to give interviews befitted their creepy moniker. A couple of months ago, the band decisively stepped out of the shadows, silencing the doubters with their great self-titled LP , a winsome and succinct half-hour set shot through with darker undercurrents that amply delivers on the band’s early promise.
There’s only one word for DZ DEATHRAYS and it’s ‘fucking-awesome’. Fuzzy, scuzzy, wall-of-sound punk of the highest order. The Brisbane duo have been gaining praise from all over the place (a spot in NME’s Top 50 Bands of 2011, Q Mag, Mark Ronson) for their two EPs but it hardly matters when your face is being melted at one of the band’s electrifying live shows.
‘Holy fucking fuck!’ is how NYC’s Village Voice responded to EMA’s former band, the cult outfit Gowns, but it applies equally to her debut Past Life Martyred Saints. South Dakota songwriter Erica M. Anderson’s devastating, poetic, deeply emotional album is nothing short of gut-wrenching. It’s sparse and full of reverb and like all our favourite Nineties girls’ albums rolled into one.
Can’t believe it’s been four years since FEIST ruled Laneway. Time is a fast train, people. Having gone underground for the past few years, Leslie Feist emerges with her new album, Metals, a typically gorgeous, acutely observational collection of tracks ranging from low rumbling and moody ambiences to those more brutal and intense. It’s a worthy follow-up to her already classic, award-winning and much loved albums Let It Die and The Reminder.
In lieu of a festival appearance in Adelaide, Feist will be performing an exclusive, intimate theatre show at the Thebarton Theatre, presented by the Laneway Festival. Fans purchasing tickets to the festival will be able to bundle a Feist side show and Laneway Festival ticket for a special discounted price of $159. That's a $40 saving, so we're basically giving you money! This is a strictly limited offer. The discount is only valid upon purchase of the bundle ticket. Festival and bundled tickets go onsale Wednesday 19 October through lanewayfestival.com.au . Single side show tickets go on sale Friday 21 October through VenueTix.
GEOFFREY O’CONNOR has more or less been releasing one accomplished album a year since the debut of his former, much-adored outfit Crayon Fields in 2006. Not sure what inspired him to lose his Sly Hats moniker for his solo material but his brand new album Vanity is Forever is brimming with sexy swagger that shifts seamlessly between seductive dance hits, suave funk joyrides and modern synthetic power balladry. Proof. Also, his new live show is the bomb, demonstrating a new found confidence that has come with the new throne.
GIRLS (who are not actually girls) have upped the ante with their stunner of an album, Father Son, Holy Ghost, a release marked by classic song-writing and classy production. Critics everywhere have praised the San Fran natives’ follow-up to their 2009 breakout debut: Pitchfork stamping it with a 9.3 and Clash mag proclaiming it a ‘quiet, understated triumph’. Taking cues from the likes of Alex Chilton and Elliott Smith, frontman Christopher Owen’s loverlorn lyrics are perfectly complemented by deft instrumentation and a refusal to get anywhere via just one musical avenue. The album is a slow-burner and, dare we say it, a masterpiece. Spend some time with it and you will be rewarded many times over.
Lafayette quintet GIVERS bring their joyful pop to the Sydney and Melbourne events and take the party vibe Up, Up, Up. Their debut ‘In Light’ is as sunny as its title, with requisite handclaps, tropical beats and electronic samples. Sound familiar? It is but Givers’ are possessed of a restless spirit that helps set them apart from the plethora of Vampire Weekend/Animal Collective 2.0 imitators. It’s fun, but not simple. Mad dancing prediction. Get into it.
‘Easy to like’ says Pitchfork of GLASSER, the one-woman orchestra of Cameron Mesirow; ‘easy to love’ say we. On Ring, the L.A. native’s universally praised debut lp, ethereal vocals swirl above an intoxicating mix of tribal percussion, lush electronics and orchestral flourishes. It’s mystical, yes, but without any of the put-on eccentricity or pretension those words sometimes imply. Glasser’s music, like her beguiling, beautifully restrained live shows, is the real deal: generous, direct and free of any gimmickry, all of it built around Mesirow’s formidable pipes.
East London via Southend-On-Sea band THE HORRORS have come a long way since 2005, when they graced the cover of the NME with eye-linered eyes, big hair, an eff-you attitude and barely a single (the spiky ‘Sheena Is A Parasite’) to their name. Their live shows were a riot – often literally – but did what rock n roll is supposed to do: energise, excite, divide and polarise. Three records on, they’re all grown up and the hype has evolved into almost universal respect. Skying is a wide-ranging, shapeshifting album with an overarching pop sensibility (see: unlikely hit single ‘Still Life’). They headlined the Laneway-curated stage at London’s Field Day in July and we guarantee that they’re as thrilling as ever.
Ten bucks says that local newcomers HUSKY grew up listening to Paul Simon, The Doors, Leonard Cohen and The Beach Boys. The Melbourne four-piece make classic pop, and their influences are as undeniable as their talent for rich harmonies, and artful songwriting. The band have had people talking since winning a Triple J Unearthed competition earlier in the year. They’re obviously hard workers, having supported Devandra Banhart, Noah & the Whale and Gotye and recorded their forthcoming debut Forever So (out 21 October).
You may not be familiar with Barcelonian producer JOHN TALABOT, but you should be. He makes pop-inflected house music, fusing driving club-friendly beats and gorgeous soaring melodies. Check out his Young Turks debut, the Families EP, which features Laneway cohort Glasser on the title track. Hypnotic, adventurous and infinitely interesting.
Over the past few years JONTI has been quietly making a name for himself as one of Australia’s most interesting musical exports. Under various guises, the multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer and vocalist has already worked with Mark Ronson, Santigold, Sean Lennon and the Dap-Kings and producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth). Pretty impressive for someone who is yet to release his debut album. ‘Twirligig’ is out next week via US indie label Stones Throw and it is all summery fun: a breezy, cacophonous album that belies its sophisticated arrangements.
It’s as though LAURA MARLING was born in the wrong decade. Wrong century even. Preternaturally wise beyond her 21 years, Marling inhabits an analogue world where she makes literate, timeless folk music. Previous albums Alas, I Cannot Swim and I Speak Because I Can were both nominated for the Mercury Prize (the latter earning her a 2011 Brit Award and NME Award for Best Solo Artist) but her new album, A Creature I Don’t Know, is perhaps her best yet.
We’re calling it. M83’s new LP Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is the Album of The Year. It’s an ambitious, sprawling, epic 22-track double album and it’s outstanding. We were massive fans of French electronic dream-pop artist Anthony Gonzales’ last album, Saturdays = Youth, (as was, um, everyone) but this is next level. Buy it, put it on, turn it up. Can’t wait until M83 close out the main stage in February.
Wanna dance? Same. Luckily, that’s the modus operandi of ONEMAN. Revered for his incredible mixing skills, this London Dubstep king is among the scene's most important. His RINSE FM shows are some of the stations most popuar and throw in his legendary London Boiler Room sets and we can be assured that ONEMAN will get the party started.
Neil Finn is an international treasure (did you see him at Meredith last year? Bloody hell) and thus, we are thrilled to present PAJAMA CLUB, the new project by Finn and his wife Sharon. Borne out of a post-dinner jam to fill their empty nest, the coolest parents in the history of the world joined forces with friend and neighbour Sean Donnelly to create a mesmerising self-titled album that embraces electronica, krautrock, soul and is positively brimming with chemistry.
Combustible Brooklyn-via-Florida outfit THE DRUMS have packed a lot into their two years: two excellent, mostly self-recorded albums and an EP, line-up changes, internal strife, a couple of world tours. Now a five-piece, The Drums deftly sidestepped the sophomore slump this year with Portamento, an intimate and largely autobiographical LP full of the band’s trademark mix of giddy hooks and singer Jonathon Pierce’s musings on heartbreak, redemption, loss and love. Lest it all get too glum, The Drums keep their arrangements spry and wiry, drawing on the dynamics of 80s British post-punk to turn some decidedly heavy feelings into seriously compelling pop.
It’s not hard to get your head around the appeal of THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART. Belong is their second album and it’s classic indie pop: jangly guitars, sun-soaked melodies, themes of heartbreak, redemption and so on. It’s like they sat down and wrote an album specifically for the Australian summer. Produced by genii Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Flood (PJ Harvey, Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode), Belong is an album that both revels in and transcends its palpable Nineties influences. Also, they have a song called ‘Anne with an E’, which is appealing if you are an Anne of Green Gables fan.
THE PANICS have found a wider audience since their breakout track ‘Don’t Fight It’ from their 2007 J Award-winning album Cruel Guards, and rightly so. The Melbourne-via-Perth band have long been a world-class act and their latest long player, Rain On The Humming Wire, is an accomplished, beautifully evocative work, full of incisive lyrics and expansive soundscapes. One for the canon.
PORTUGAL. THE MAN is not a man. It is a four-piece hailing from the fabled Alaska and settled in Portland, Oregon, though their rock n roll mantra of record, tour, repeat as necessary means that they’re not home all that much. 800 shows and six albums in (In The Mountain In The Cloud is their accomplished latest) Portugal. The Man are on the cusp of breakthrough success, though you suspect they don’t care about that much. They’re a jam band, capable of texturally rich, sprawling opuses and europhic singalongs. Current single ‘Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)’, for example, wouldn’t be out of place on the Almost Famous bus. Makes for a rollicking good time.
(MEL and SYD)
Don’t let SBTRKT's aversion to vowels put you off. The anonymous producer’s self-titled debut album (released via Young Turks) pulls off a series of impressive feats: it's bursting with fresh ideas, and yet it sounds immediately familiar; it’s warm yet gritty, playful yet seriously powerful. SBTRKT’s nuanced, purposeful production is augmented by the silky smooth guest vocals of Sampha (accompanying SBTRKT at the festival), Roses Gabor, Jessie Ware and Little Dragon. It’s a record that marks SBTRKT as a standout of the pervasive dubstep scene and an artist worthy of a mainstream audience.
This year’s line-up is crowded with over-achieving youngsters and Chaz Bundick, a.k.a TORO Y MOI, is one of them. Hailing from South Carolina, the multi-talented 24 year old musician, designer and photographer this year released the follow-up to his acclaimed 2010 debut Causers of This, which had him in the company of blogger favourites and chillwave proponents Washed Out, Neon Indian and Memory Tapes. A lyrically rich, stylistically diverse album, Underneath The Pine has firmly established Toro as an exciting and ambitious talent, one confident enough to move on from the scene that made him. His recent live shows, meanwhile, have been described as akin to ‘a flashy, sex-fueled 80s rooftop fiesta’, which is to say they require your attendance.
The supremely-titled TOTAL CONTROL epitomise everything great about punk: a restless musical spirit and a deep disdain for social networking. Composed of members from various Melbourne indie outfits (UV Race, Eddy Current Suppression Ring et al), the band’s primitive synth-punk singles and already-legendary live show will see them tour around the US and UK (including an appearance at All Tomorrow’s Parties at the invitation of Les Savy Fav) before returning to tear apart Laneway.
George Lewis Jnr aka TWIN SHADOW’s debut album is as intriguing as his upbringing. The troubled son of a hairdresser and a teacher ‘who lived many lives’ (semi-pro footballer, massage therapist, film maker and other things we’ll tell you about when you’re older), Lewis Jnr was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in Florida. Forget is the sepia-tinged homage to his childhood, recalling moments from his youth in moods alternately sweet and sinister, but always compelling. Chris Taylor (Grizzly Bear) produced the album and he does a fine job of making Forget’’s 80s-tinged electro-pop sound altogether new. Grab a partner and pretend it’s your school formal: Twin Shadow’s slinky tunes and deep, velvety voice are made for this.
If ever there was an evocative title for an artist, it’s WASHED OUT. Ernest Greene’s dreamy, melancholic pop denoted the arrival of a new scene when his first couple of EPs surfaced a few years back. The poster boy for chillwave proves he’s not just a flash in the pan with his highly-anticipated/lauded first full-length (and Sub-Pop debut), Within and Without. Live, it’s less ‘chill’ and more ‘party’ as Greene and his full live band nimbly manoeuvre his multi-layered pop out of the bedroom and onto the stage.
Being ‘fiercely independent’ means nothing if your band is rubbish. Thankfully publicity-shy, record label-averse Mancunian four-piece WU LYF (World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation) are anything but. The self-described proponents of ‘heavy pop’ released their startling first record Go Forth To The Mountain to far-flung adoration in the middle of the year and it is indeed a corker: the explosive mix of organs, echoed percussion, chiming guitar and one of the most distinctive vocalists of recent years combining to utterly euphoric effect. Believe it.
Multi-national London four-piece (and occasional five-piece) YUCK take us straight back to the golden era of Nineties indie rock, a time where Pavement, Dinosaur Jr, Teenage Fanclub and Yo La Tengo ruled supreme. That the band were infants when this era’s defining records came out is very much to their advantage: instead of reliving lost youth, Yuck instead reinvigorate the fuzzily charming sound of a now bygone era with an energy and verve all their own. Their self-produced, self-titled LP, released early this year, is, as Pitchfork put it, ‘a deeply melodic, casually thrilling coming-of-age album’ for a generation who weren’t around for Slanted and Enchanted and Nevermind. If you can imagine that.
BRISBANE – SATURDAY 28th JANUARY 2012
Alexandria Street, Bowen Hills QLD 4006
Laneway returns to a Saturday! That’s right, no more slinking off early on a Friday afternoon mumbling something about a headache to your boss. The festival returns to weekend frivolity and to its adopted home at the RNA Showground. Just a few minutes walk away from the Fortitude Valley precinct and public transport hub the festival awaits. Due to Brisvegas' January heat we have included more undercover areas and shade to ensure you will have a prime Laneway experience. Get up early as doors are opening at 11.30am.
AUCKLAND - MONDAY 30th JANUARY 2012
Silo Park, Beaumont Street. Auckland
For 2012 Laneway New Zealand takes another step towards the ultimate Auckland experience. The remodelled, revamped, refreshed waterfront site of Silo Park will play host to Laneway with three stages, all those showcase boutique amenities and a truly exciting landscape. Silo Park provides Laneway NZ with its first waters edge location, spectacular views to the Harbour Bridge and the towering restored silos to pinpoint this landmark location.
Silo Park was recently completed as part of the upmarket restoration of the Wynyard Quarter. Laneway is proud to be one of the first ticketed outdoor events to grace this new cosmopolitan heart of Auckland City.
MELBOURNE – SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY 20th
Footscray Community Arts Centre – 45 Moreland Street, Footscray VIC 3011 (Subject to Council approval)
There couldn’t be a better location for the Melbourne event than the banks of the Maribyrong River. The generous assistance of our friends at the Footscray Community Arts Centre and Maribyrong City Council (and the Boon Wurrung and Wurrundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation on whose grounds the event takes place) enables punters to catch their favourite bands in a spacious, tranquil and idyllic ... but still suitably Laneway-esque, urban site (cue stages on roads, views of a gorgeous city skyline and sweet industrial vistas). The spaces that you loved will all be there but we've given you a little bit more too - there's a brand new stage in leafy Grimes Reserve and the Car Park stage is moving to an even better location further down the all new 'River Promenade'.
In another very important development for 2012, the Laneway Festival in Melbourne is especially honoured to be naming a stage after one of our local music heroes, Dean Turner and proud to be supporting the Yiriman Project in his name. More details can be found here but we ask that you select the donation option when you purchase your ticket to Laneway this year.
We've upped the local content and, along with the always brilliant performance of a winning Very West band, we'll be bringing you more of Footscray's wonderful arts, markets and cuisines as well all your favourites from Laneway last year.
The public transport will still be free and we're currently working on a bike valet for all of you cyclists out there, so getting to and from Laneway in Melbourne this year will be as easy as the line up is good.
SYDNEY – SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY 2012
Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) – Balmain Road, Rozelle NSW 2039 (Subject to Council approval)
There will be many and varied developments to the Sydney event in 2012, the most notable being the move of the main stage to the gorgeous Callan Park Ampitheatre and the addition of another stage tucked away in the trees behind the Sydney College of the Arts. Don’t worry - the historic sandstone buildings of the Sydney College of the Arts will still be fully utilised, hosting stages, markets and fine cuisine. Following feedback from punters, we are making significant improvements to the transport options to and, especially, from the event with more frequent bus services running to the city centre. Stay tuned for more news on this closer to the event.
ADELAIDE – FRIDAY 10th FEBRUARY 2012
Fowler's Live and UniSA West Courtyards – 68-70 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000
Adelaide can look forward to major upgrades to the site following extensive consultation with Laneway fans. The bottleneck issue from the last event will be avoided by the addition of two brand new stages and a one way flow system into and out of the Fowler’s Courtyard: The Young Turks stage, in the recently renovated Law Building Courtyard; and a new main stage on Register St, off Hindley St. A big video screen with vision of the Main Stage, additional food and vintage clothes stalls and a bigger main bar will ensure a premium boutique festival experience.
Click here to see festival director, Danny Rogers, walk you through the changes.
PERTH – SATURDAY 11th FEBRUARY 2012
Perth Cultural Centre – Beaufort Street, Perth WA 6000
In 2012, Laneway will again take place in the urban beauty of the Perth Cultural Centre, with a couple of changes to the layout from last year. The magical Museum Stage area under the trees has been expanded while the Francis Street stage will move to the State Library end of the street and the patron entry will move to the Beaufort St end. The market stalls move across to the Urban Orchard. Look out for all the new upgrades around the Cultural Centre precinct, including a neat little kiddies playground outside the Museum. Our fine selection of foods stalls, located around the Urban Orchard and Art Gallery, ensures there’ll be plenty of fine food for you to enjoy.
SINGAPORE - SUNDAY 12th FEBRUARY 2012
Fort Canning, Canning Rise, Singapore
After the legendary inaugural event in 2011, Laneway returns to Fort Canning in 2012. Demonstrating our commitment to building this show into the premiere music festival event in South East Asia, Singaporeans and their regional neighbours can expect some exciting developments, including the addition of a second stage. Fourteen bands (eight up from last year) from around the world will descend on Fort Canning in February, transforming the event into a bona fide festival experience. The confirmed lineup for Laneway Singapore is now to be announced on October 21. Some final amendments are being done to ensure that the lineup for Singapore is unsurpassed.
**FEIST SIDESHOW TICKET OFFER - ADELAIDE
In lieu of a festival appearance in Adelaide, Feist will be performing an exclusive, intimate theatre show at the Thebarton Theatre, presented by the Laneway Festival. Fans purchasing tickets to the festival will be able to bundle a Feist sideshow and Laneway Festival ticket for a special discounted price of $159. That's a $40 saving, so we're basically giving you money! This is a strictly limited offer. The discount is only valid upon purchase of the bundle ticket. Festival and bundled tickets go on sale Wednesday 19 October through lanewayfestival.com.au . Single sideshow tickets go on sale Friday 21 October through Venue Tix.
The 2012 Australian event returns to the five venues that have established Laneway as one of the most unique events in the country. The banks of Melbourne’s Maribyrong river, the historic sandstone buildings of Sydney’s College of the Arts, the tree-lined laneways just minutes from the Brisbane CBD, the lush grounds of the Perth Cultural Centre, and a new, expanded site at University of SA will provide the backdrop for 2012’s most exciting indie line-up.
Laneway continues its ongoing international expansion, returning for events in Auckland and Singapore. The festival is proud of its continuing association with US based The Windish Agency and UK promoter Eat Your Own Ears, both of whom return in 2012 to co-curate a stage. This year, Laneway is also thrilled to collaborate with Young Turks, the London label proving to be one of the most exciting on the planet right now.
Stay tuned for more details about an extra stage in each city that will boast some of the best cutting-edge electronic acts around. Over the years, the festival has hosted many still relatively-unknown acts at the start of their careers who have gone on to have major international success shortly after: The Temper Trap, Tame Impala, Feist, Florence The Machine, The XX and Mumford & Sons to name just a few. It’s an impressive record, one we’re determined to uphold.
So here it is: the headliner-free, A-Z, top to bottom awesome list of acts playing at the 2012 Laneway Festival:
ACTIVE CHILD - ANNA CALVI - AUSTRA - BULLION - CHAIRLIFT - CULTS - DZ DEATHRAYS - EMA - FEIST [except Adel**] - GEOFFREY O'CONNOR - GIRLS - GIVERS [Syd Melb] - GLASSER - HUSKY [Bris, Syd, Melb] - JOHN TALABOT - JONTI - LAURA MARLING - M83 - ONEMAN - PAJAMA CLUB (featuring Sharon and Neil Finn) - PORTUGAL THE MAN [Syd Melb] - SBTRKT (Live) - TRIPLE J Unearthed Winners - THE VERY WEST - THE DRUMS - THE HORRORS - THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART - THE PANICS - TORO Y MOI - TOTAL CONTROL - TWIN SHADOW - WASHED OUT - WU LYF - YUCK
ACTIVE CHILD’s heaven-high vocals were honed in school choirs, which kind of makes us wish we listened to our parents. You Are All I See is the assured debut from LA resident Pat Grossi, a synth-y affair that melds danceable hip hop beats and soaring R&B melodies. And harp. There’s lots of harp. It makes for a gorgeous, diverse sound that has seen him tour with the likes of English dubstep producer James Blake and dreamy synth-poppers School of Seven Bells.
ANNA CALVI is on fire. Do a quick Google search and you’ll see adjectives like hot, incendiary, burning and smokin’ thrown round with abandon. Pretty sure it’s metaphorical but listen to her eponymous debut or watch any video of her performing and you’ll see why. The half-Italian, half-British artist’s deliciously dramatic vocals and darkly cinematic instrumentation have won countless plaudits (including a prestigious Mercury Prize nomination) and the praise of Brian Eno who calls her ‘the best thing since Patti Smith’, which is not a compliment you’d throw out of bed.
AUSTRA’s assured debut Feel It Break is a culmination of the leading lady Katie Stelmanis’ years of school choirs (Again! Sorry Mum.), operatic training and her fascination with electronic music. Stelmanis, along with fellow Canadians, drummer Maya Postepski and bassist Dorian Wolf, have crafted a darkly hypnotic album, not quite dance music but made for night-time. Some people call it electro-goth but it’s much warmer than that. triple j and alternative radio have been all over stylish singles ‘The Beat, The Pulse’ and ‘Lose It ’, as they should be. File next to Bat For Lashes, Kate Bush and The Knife.
Nathan Jenkins is BULLION. Three years ago, the West Londoner self-released a 'mash up' album combining music by the Beach Boys with production inspired by J Dilla, called Pet Sounds: In The Key Of Dee and watched it become a viral sensation on the internet within days. The latest offering from the fast-rising, fresh-faced producer is You Drive Me To Plastic, which drops courtesy of Young Turks Records, friends of the festival and the ultra-hip home of Laneway alumni The xx, Holy Fuck, El Guincho and more.
You may remember CHAIRLIFT’s insanely catchy track Bruises from their 2008 debut, Does You Inspire You . Caroline Palochek and Patrick Wimberly are Chairlift and their music pivots around a hazily romantic, fragmented, psychedelic sense of humor and love for pop music. The duo have spent the past year holed up in the spare room of an antique shop producing their forthcoming album, which will be debuted in Australia in live-band form at Laneway. If lead single 'Amanaemonesia' is anything to go by, it’s a massive winner. The clip for said track is directed by Palochek and is fairly mesmerising. Girl can move, too.
Young NYC-by-way-of-San Diego pop duo CULTS burst onto the scene early last year with the irresistible 'Go Outside', a short, sharp burst of hazy bedroom pop steeped in classic girl-group harmonies and Spector-esque production. Little was known about the twosome of Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin, whose almost ungoogleable name and refusal to give interviews befitted their creepy moniker. A couple of months ago, the band decisively stepped out of the shadows, silencing the doubters with their great self-titled LP , a winsome and succinct half-hour set shot through with darker undercurrents that amply delivers on the band’s early promise.
There’s only one word for DZ DEATHRAYS and it’s ‘fucking-awesome’. Fuzzy, scuzzy, wall-of-sound punk of the highest order. The Brisbane duo have been gaining praise from all over the place (a spot in NME’s Top 50 Bands of 2011, Q Mag, Mark Ronson) for their two EPs but it hardly matters when your face is being melted at one of the band’s electrifying live shows.
‘Holy fucking fuck!’ is how NYC’s Village Voice responded to EMA’s former band, the cult outfit Gowns, but it applies equally to her debut Past Life Martyred Saints. South Dakota songwriter Erica M. Anderson’s devastating, poetic, deeply emotional album is nothing short of gut-wrenching. It’s sparse and full of reverb and like all our favourite Nineties girls’ albums rolled into one.
Can’t believe it’s been four years since FEIST ruled Laneway. Time is a fast train, people. Having gone underground for the past few years, Leslie Feist emerges with her new album, Metals, a typically gorgeous, acutely observational collection of tracks ranging from low rumbling and moody ambiences to those more brutal and intense. It’s a worthy follow-up to her already classic, award-winning and much loved albums Let It Die and The Reminder.
In lieu of a festival appearance in Adelaide, Feist will be performing an exclusive, intimate theatre show at the Thebarton Theatre, presented by the Laneway Festival. Fans purchasing tickets to the festival will be able to bundle a Feist side show and Laneway Festival ticket for a special discounted price of $159. That's a $40 saving, so we're basically giving you money! This is a strictly limited offer. The discount is only valid upon purchase of the bundle ticket. Festival and bundled tickets go onsale Wednesday 19 October through lanewayfestival.com.au . Single side show tickets go on sale Friday 21 October through VenueTix.
GEOFFREY O’CONNOR has more or less been releasing one accomplished album a year since the debut of his former, much-adored outfit Crayon Fields in 2006. Not sure what inspired him to lose his Sly Hats moniker for his solo material but his brand new album Vanity is Forever is brimming with sexy swagger that shifts seamlessly between seductive dance hits, suave funk joyrides and modern synthetic power balladry. Proof. Also, his new live show is the bomb, demonstrating a new found confidence that has come with the new throne.
GIRLS (who are not actually girls) have upped the ante with their stunner of an album, Father Son, Holy Ghost, a release marked by classic song-writing and classy production. Critics everywhere have praised the San Fran natives’ follow-up to their 2009 breakout debut: Pitchfork stamping it with a 9.3 and Clash mag proclaiming it a ‘quiet, understated triumph’. Taking cues from the likes of Alex Chilton and Elliott Smith, frontman Christopher Owen’s loverlorn lyrics are perfectly complemented by deft instrumentation and a refusal to get anywhere via just one musical avenue. The album is a slow-burner and, dare we say it, a masterpiece. Spend some time with it and you will be rewarded many times over.
Lafayette quintet GIVERS bring their joyful pop to the Sydney and Melbourne events and take the party vibe Up, Up, Up. Their debut ‘In Light’ is as sunny as its title, with requisite handclaps, tropical beats and electronic samples. Sound familiar? It is but Givers’ are possessed of a restless spirit that helps set them apart from the plethora of Vampire Weekend/Animal Collective 2.0 imitators. It’s fun, but not simple. Mad dancing prediction. Get into it.
‘Easy to like’ says Pitchfork of GLASSER, the one-woman orchestra of Cameron Mesirow; ‘easy to love’ say we. On Ring, the L.A. native’s universally praised debut lp, ethereal vocals swirl above an intoxicating mix of tribal percussion, lush electronics and orchestral flourishes. It’s mystical, yes, but without any of the put-on eccentricity or pretension those words sometimes imply. Glasser’s music, like her beguiling, beautifully restrained live shows, is the real deal: generous, direct and free of any gimmickry, all of it built around Mesirow’s formidable pipes.
East London via Southend-On-Sea band THE HORRORS have come a long way since 2005, when they graced the cover of the NME with eye-linered eyes, big hair, an eff-you attitude and barely a single (the spiky ‘Sheena Is A Parasite’) to their name. Their live shows were a riot – often literally – but did what rock n roll is supposed to do: energise, excite, divide and polarise. Three records on, they’re all grown up and the hype has evolved into almost universal respect. Skying is a wide-ranging, shapeshifting album with an overarching pop sensibility (see: unlikely hit single ‘Still Life’). They headlined the Laneway-curated stage at London’s Field Day in July and we guarantee that they’re as thrilling as ever.
Ten bucks says that local newcomers HUSKY grew up listening to Paul Simon, The Doors, Leonard Cohen and The Beach Boys. The Melbourne four-piece make classic pop, and their influences are as undeniable as their talent for rich harmonies, and artful songwriting. The band have had people talking since winning a Triple J Unearthed competition earlier in the year. They’re obviously hard workers, having supported Devandra Banhart, Noah & the Whale and Gotye and recorded their forthcoming debut Forever So (out 21 October).
You may not be familiar with Barcelonian producer JOHN TALABOT, but you should be. He makes pop-inflected house music, fusing driving club-friendly beats and gorgeous soaring melodies. Check out his Young Turks debut, the Families EP, which features Laneway cohort Glasser on the title track. Hypnotic, adventurous and infinitely interesting.
Over the past few years JONTI has been quietly making a name for himself as one of Australia’s most interesting musical exports. Under various guises, the multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer and vocalist has already worked with Mark Ronson, Santigold, Sean Lennon and the Dap-Kings and producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth). Pretty impressive for someone who is yet to release his debut album. ‘Twirligig’ is out next week via US indie label Stones Throw and it is all summery fun: a breezy, cacophonous album that belies its sophisticated arrangements.
It’s as though LAURA MARLING was born in the wrong decade. Wrong century even. Preternaturally wise beyond her 21 years, Marling inhabits an analogue world where she makes literate, timeless folk music. Previous albums Alas, I Cannot Swim and I Speak Because I Can were both nominated for the Mercury Prize (the latter earning her a 2011 Brit Award and NME Award for Best Solo Artist) but her new album, A Creature I Don’t Know, is perhaps her best yet.
We’re calling it. M83’s new LP Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is the Album of The Year. It’s an ambitious, sprawling, epic 22-track double album and it’s outstanding. We were massive fans of French electronic dream-pop artist Anthony Gonzales’ last album, Saturdays = Youth, (as was, um, everyone) but this is next level. Buy it, put it on, turn it up. Can’t wait until M83 close out the main stage in February.
Wanna dance? Same. Luckily, that’s the modus operandi of ONEMAN. Revered for his incredible mixing skills, this London Dubstep king is among the scene's most important. His RINSE FM shows are some of the stations most popuar and throw in his legendary London Boiler Room sets and we can be assured that ONEMAN will get the party started.
Neil Finn is an international treasure (did you see him at Meredith last year? Bloody hell) and thus, we are thrilled to present PAJAMA CLUB, the new project by Finn and his wife Sharon. Borne out of a post-dinner jam to fill their empty nest, the coolest parents in the history of the world joined forces with friend and neighbour Sean Donnelly to create a mesmerising self-titled album that embraces electronica, krautrock, soul and is positively brimming with chemistry.
Combustible Brooklyn-via-Florida outfit THE DRUMS have packed a lot into their two years: two excellent, mostly self-recorded albums and an EP, line-up changes, internal strife, a couple of world tours. Now a five-piece, The Drums deftly sidestepped the sophomore slump this year with Portamento, an intimate and largely autobiographical LP full of the band’s trademark mix of giddy hooks and singer Jonathon Pierce’s musings on heartbreak, redemption, loss and love. Lest it all get too glum, The Drums keep their arrangements spry and wiry, drawing on the dynamics of 80s British post-punk to turn some decidedly heavy feelings into seriously compelling pop.
It’s not hard to get your head around the appeal of THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART. Belong is their second album and it’s classic indie pop: jangly guitars, sun-soaked melodies, themes of heartbreak, redemption and so on. It’s like they sat down and wrote an album specifically for the Australian summer. Produced by genii Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Flood (PJ Harvey, Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode), Belong is an album that both revels in and transcends its palpable Nineties influences. Also, they have a song called ‘Anne with an E’, which is appealing if you are an Anne of Green Gables fan.
THE PANICS have found a wider audience since their breakout track ‘Don’t Fight It’ from their 2007 J Award-winning album Cruel Guards, and rightly so. The Melbourne-via-Perth band have long been a world-class act and their latest long player, Rain On The Humming Wire, is an accomplished, beautifully evocative work, full of incisive lyrics and expansive soundscapes. One for the canon.
PORTUGAL. THE MAN is not a man. It is a four-piece hailing from the fabled Alaska and settled in Portland, Oregon, though their rock n roll mantra of record, tour, repeat as necessary means that they’re not home all that much. 800 shows and six albums in (In The Mountain In The Cloud is their accomplished latest) Portugal. The Man are on the cusp of breakthrough success, though you suspect they don’t care about that much. They’re a jam band, capable of texturally rich, sprawling opuses and europhic singalongs. Current single ‘Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)’, for example, wouldn’t be out of place on the Almost Famous bus. Makes for a rollicking good time.
(MEL and SYD)
Don’t let SBTRKT's aversion to vowels put you off. The anonymous producer’s self-titled debut album (released via Young Turks) pulls off a series of impressive feats: it's bursting with fresh ideas, and yet it sounds immediately familiar; it’s warm yet gritty, playful yet seriously powerful. SBTRKT’s nuanced, purposeful production is augmented by the silky smooth guest vocals of Sampha (accompanying SBTRKT at the festival), Roses Gabor, Jessie Ware and Little Dragon. It’s a record that marks SBTRKT as a standout of the pervasive dubstep scene and an artist worthy of a mainstream audience.
This year’s line-up is crowded with over-achieving youngsters and Chaz Bundick, a.k.a TORO Y MOI, is one of them. Hailing from South Carolina, the multi-talented 24 year old musician, designer and photographer this year released the follow-up to his acclaimed 2010 debut Causers of This, which had him in the company of blogger favourites and chillwave proponents Washed Out, Neon Indian and Memory Tapes. A lyrically rich, stylistically diverse album, Underneath The Pine has firmly established Toro as an exciting and ambitious talent, one confident enough to move on from the scene that made him. His recent live shows, meanwhile, have been described as akin to ‘a flashy, sex-fueled 80s rooftop fiesta’, which is to say they require your attendance.
The supremely-titled TOTAL CONTROL epitomise everything great about punk: a restless musical spirit and a deep disdain for social networking. Composed of members from various Melbourne indie outfits (UV Race, Eddy Current Suppression Ring et al), the band’s primitive synth-punk singles and already-legendary live show will see them tour around the US and UK (including an appearance at All Tomorrow’s Parties at the invitation of Les Savy Fav) before returning to tear apart Laneway.
George Lewis Jnr aka TWIN SHADOW’s debut album is as intriguing as his upbringing. The troubled son of a hairdresser and a teacher ‘who lived many lives’ (semi-pro footballer, massage therapist, film maker and other things we’ll tell you about when you’re older), Lewis Jnr was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in Florida. Forget is the sepia-tinged homage to his childhood, recalling moments from his youth in moods alternately sweet and sinister, but always compelling. Chris Taylor (Grizzly Bear) produced the album and he does a fine job of making Forget’’s 80s-tinged electro-pop sound altogether new. Grab a partner and pretend it’s your school formal: Twin Shadow’s slinky tunes and deep, velvety voice are made for this.
If ever there was an evocative title for an artist, it’s WASHED OUT. Ernest Greene’s dreamy, melancholic pop denoted the arrival of a new scene when his first couple of EPs surfaced a few years back. The poster boy for chillwave proves he’s not just a flash in the pan with his highly-anticipated/lauded first full-length (and Sub-Pop debut), Within and Without. Live, it’s less ‘chill’ and more ‘party’ as Greene and his full live band nimbly manoeuvre his multi-layered pop out of the bedroom and onto the stage.
Being ‘fiercely independent’ means nothing if your band is rubbish. Thankfully publicity-shy, record label-averse Mancunian four-piece WU LYF (World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation) are anything but. The self-described proponents of ‘heavy pop’ released their startling first record Go Forth To The Mountain to far-flung adoration in the middle of the year and it is indeed a corker: the explosive mix of organs, echoed percussion, chiming guitar and one of the most distinctive vocalists of recent years combining to utterly euphoric effect. Believe it.
Multi-national London four-piece (and occasional five-piece) YUCK take us straight back to the golden era of Nineties indie rock, a time where Pavement, Dinosaur Jr, Teenage Fanclub and Yo La Tengo ruled supreme. That the band were infants when this era’s defining records came out is very much to their advantage: instead of reliving lost youth, Yuck instead reinvigorate the fuzzily charming sound of a now bygone era with an energy and verve all their own. Their self-produced, self-titled LP, released early this year, is, as Pitchfork put it, ‘a deeply melodic, casually thrilling coming-of-age album’ for a generation who weren’t around for Slanted and Enchanted and Nevermind. If you can imagine that.
BRISBANE – SATURDAY 28th JANUARY 2012
Alexandria Street, Bowen Hills QLD 4006
Laneway returns to a Saturday! That’s right, no more slinking off early on a Friday afternoon mumbling something about a headache to your boss. The festival returns to weekend frivolity and to its adopted home at the RNA Showground. Just a few minutes walk away from the Fortitude Valley precinct and public transport hub the festival awaits. Due to Brisvegas' January heat we have included more undercover areas and shade to ensure you will have a prime Laneway experience. Get up early as doors are opening at 11.30am.
AUCKLAND - MONDAY 30th JANUARY 2012
Silo Park, Beaumont Street. Auckland
For 2012 Laneway New Zealand takes another step towards the ultimate Auckland experience. The remodelled, revamped, refreshed waterfront site of Silo Park will play host to Laneway with three stages, all those showcase boutique amenities and a truly exciting landscape. Silo Park provides Laneway NZ with its first waters edge location, spectacular views to the Harbour Bridge and the towering restored silos to pinpoint this landmark location.
Silo Park was recently completed as part of the upmarket restoration of the Wynyard Quarter. Laneway is proud to be one of the first ticketed outdoor events to grace this new cosmopolitan heart of Auckland City.
MELBOURNE – SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY 20th
Footscray Community Arts Centre – 45 Moreland Street, Footscray VIC 3011 (Subject to Council approval)
There couldn’t be a better location for the Melbourne event than the banks of the Maribyrong River. The generous assistance of our friends at the Footscray Community Arts Centre and Maribyrong City Council (and the Boon Wurrung and Wurrundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation on whose grounds the event takes place) enables punters to catch their favourite bands in a spacious, tranquil and idyllic ... but still suitably Laneway-esque, urban site (cue stages on roads, views of a gorgeous city skyline and sweet industrial vistas). The spaces that you loved will all be there but we've given you a little bit more too - there's a brand new stage in leafy Grimes Reserve and the Car Park stage is moving to an even better location further down the all new 'River Promenade'.
In another very important development for 2012, the Laneway Festival in Melbourne is especially honoured to be naming a stage after one of our local music heroes, Dean Turner and proud to be supporting the Yiriman Project in his name. More details can be found here but we ask that you select the donation option when you purchase your ticket to Laneway this year.
We've upped the local content and, along with the always brilliant performance of a winning Very West band, we'll be bringing you more of Footscray's wonderful arts, markets and cuisines as well all your favourites from Laneway last year.
The public transport will still be free and we're currently working on a bike valet for all of you cyclists out there, so getting to and from Laneway in Melbourne this year will be as easy as the line up is good.
SYDNEY – SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY 2012
Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) – Balmain Road, Rozelle NSW 2039 (Subject to Council approval)
There will be many and varied developments to the Sydney event in 2012, the most notable being the move of the main stage to the gorgeous Callan Park Ampitheatre and the addition of another stage tucked away in the trees behind the Sydney College of the Arts. Don’t worry - the historic sandstone buildings of the Sydney College of the Arts will still be fully utilised, hosting stages, markets and fine cuisine. Following feedback from punters, we are making significant improvements to the transport options to and, especially, from the event with more frequent bus services running to the city centre. Stay tuned for more news on this closer to the event.
ADELAIDE – FRIDAY 10th FEBRUARY 2012
Fowler's Live and UniSA West Courtyards – 68-70 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000
Adelaide can look forward to major upgrades to the site following extensive consultation with Laneway fans. The bottleneck issue from the last event will be avoided by the addition of two brand new stages and a one way flow system into and out of the Fowler’s Courtyard: The Young Turks stage, in the recently renovated Law Building Courtyard; and a new main stage on Register St, off Hindley St. A big video screen with vision of the Main Stage, additional food and vintage clothes stalls and a bigger main bar will ensure a premium boutique festival experience.
Click here to see festival director, Danny Rogers, walk you through the changes.
PERTH – SATURDAY 11th FEBRUARY 2012
Perth Cultural Centre – Beaufort Street, Perth WA 6000
In 2012, Laneway will again take place in the urban beauty of the Perth Cultural Centre, with a couple of changes to the layout from last year. The magical Museum Stage area under the trees has been expanded while the Francis Street stage will move to the State Library end of the street and the patron entry will move to the Beaufort St end. The market stalls move across to the Urban Orchard. Look out for all the new upgrades around the Cultural Centre precinct, including a neat little kiddies playground outside the Museum. Our fine selection of foods stalls, located around the Urban Orchard and Art Gallery, ensures there’ll be plenty of fine food for you to enjoy.
SINGAPORE - SUNDAY 12th FEBRUARY 2012
Fort Canning, Canning Rise, Singapore
After the legendary inaugural event in 2011, Laneway returns to Fort Canning in 2012. Demonstrating our commitment to building this show into the premiere music festival event in South East Asia, Singaporeans and their regional neighbours can expect some exciting developments, including the addition of a second stage. Fourteen bands (eight up from last year) from around the world will descend on Fort Canning in February, transforming the event into a bona fide festival experience. The confirmed lineup for Laneway Singapore is now to be announced on October 21. Some final amendments are being done to ensure that the lineup for Singapore is unsurpassed.
**FEIST SIDESHOW TICKET OFFER - ADELAIDE
In lieu of a festival appearance in Adelaide, Feist will be performing an exclusive, intimate theatre show at the Thebarton Theatre, presented by the Laneway Festival. Fans purchasing tickets to the festival will be able to bundle a Feist sideshow and Laneway Festival ticket for a special discounted price of $159. That's a $40 saving, so we're basically giving you money! This is a strictly limited offer. The discount is only valid upon purchase of the bundle ticket. Festival and bundled tickets go on sale Wednesday 19 October through lanewayfestival.com.au . Single sideshow tickets go on sale Friday 21 October through Venue Tix.
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David Jobling
