Already hailed last year by NME as ‘Offset festival, year one, the best alternative line up of the summer’, it sees a return to the sticks where London meets Essex in Redbridge. Taking place over the weekend of 5-6th September 2009, it returns to the beautiful forest surroundings of Hainault Forest Country Park. This year, the event has been increased for 10,000 festival-goers with camping and this is an easy to get too location being based 30 minutes from London via tube on the Central Line. It is also within minutes of the M25.
The philosophy of Offset is 'news from the future/gifts from the past', so the format of the festival is old meets new, aiming to join the dots between new bands and their influences. Not overly commercial or corporate in the slightest; influential names play with the newcomers with too many to mention. Up to 200 bands will play across 8 stages curated by Artrocker, Clash Magazine, Loud & Quiet, The She Set/Experimental Circle Club, Nuke Them All! and Guitar Hero New Bands stage.
Arkrocker’s Main Stage has influential big names are A Certain Ratio, who were signed by Factory Records , and had the punk funk to influence across the atlantic to bands like LCD Soundsystem & The Rapture. All female punk legends The Slits are giving a rare live performance, with their fusion of punk, dub and reggae; while the main headliners in the current stakes are The Horrors. Their critically acclaimed album ‘Primary Colours’ is up for the Mercury music prize with a new direction that has turned ears with its broody Bauhaus- alike krautrock. The fantastically named Dananananaykroyd will bring the tongue-in-cheek pop anthems, as will post punk new wavers The Futureheads.
Over at the Loud and Quiet Stage, one of the big draws is Damo Suzuki, who is constantly credited by others as influential and fronting one of the most talked about krautrock bands ever Can. We also have electro maestros and remixers Metronomy, with their now famed lights attached to their chests.
Clash magazines own live stage has 2007 Mercury nominee Maps with his atmospheric multi-layered soundscapes and will be a good chance to hear songs from the new Death in Vegas Tim Holmes produced album ‘Turning The Mind’. Buzz band The XX whose debut album is out now, will be there with their dark emotive guitar soul; as will Domino records signed Wild Beasts with that experimental wonky pop sound.
The She Set/Experimental Circle Club stage highlights a DJ set from Jesus & Mary Chain’s Douglas Hart, who recently directed The Horrors ‘Sea within a Sea’ video. Also live performances from Hatcham Social who had fan Tim Burgess (also DJ-ing) produce their debut album for Fierce Panda; and Kap Bambino with their aggressive, arcade-like turbulence of hyperactive electro.
The Hardcore stage has Brighton tour de force The Ghost of a Thousand along with exciting art metal band Devil Sold His Soul, with its own unique bleak noise of looping guitar progressions! After splitting in 1989, skatepunk legends The Stupids have reformed to blast out their brand of US hardcore that tore through the eighties and got them three John Peel sessions.
The dance tent is hosted by hedonistic creative club night Nuke Em All! The theme is carnival so expect plenty of glows in the dark madness, cake fights and the boom of pumping noise!
Over 2000 submissions were put forward to the Guitar Hero New Bands stage, so it will sure to be an eclectic mix of all the alternative electro to guitar driven genres being showcased over the two days. Dead Kids will be headlining on Saturday and the hotly tipped DFA produced Detachments will be playing on Sunday.
There will also be performance art, an old-fashioned fun fair, vintage clothing market and enough food choices to feed the masses! With nearly 2 weeks to go, it won’t be long until the remaining tickets are lapped up, so grab the opportunity while YOU STILL CAN!
All Set for Off Set!!
Posted In Festivals, Aug 24 2009.
Words - Miles