Now in its fourth year the festival will offer an array of music, theatre, comedy and art. BoomTown Fair is a music, arts and family festival that takes place at Matterley Bowl, nr. Winchester, Hampshire, from Thursday 9th until Sunday 12th August 2012.
Born out of a city that often echoes the bassy hypnotic sounds of Dub influenced music come ‘First Degree Burns’ or more simply known FDB. Having coined the term ‘Skip-Hop’ to sum up their unique blend of genres, FDB have held onto their roots, developing their unique sound into their impressive 8-piece band and creating a seamless fusion of Ska, Reggae, Hip-Hop and Rock.With a trunk load of new material being finely tuned in their Bristol studio and various videos projects due to launch this year, FDB are set to turn even more heads in 2012.
‘Hip Hop Why’ – has an enormous expanse – almost a hollywood movie in intent and ambition. The horns bump, gleam and intrude. The vocals and lyrics are timeless and splendid. Rappy at times, they also hold on tight to their vintage heritage. The percussion sparkles and the whole piece dances along- shoving slow-coaches out of the way to get to the centre of the dance-floor. Stupendous.
And ‘Narcissus’ has some gorgeous steelpan harmonies and then a twisting horny instrumental, that comes in like a python on the kill, and soon takes over. The place turns into a fiery wreck, as things speed up to a break-neck assault. The vocalist manages to hang on, but has to spatter out vocals as fast as a scatter gun. A lesson in shaking and vibrating.
Born out of love for Jamaican sound clash, forged through a do it yourself punk rock ethic and delivered with a raw hip hop swagger, the unstoppable BaByHeAd sound is drawn from all quarters of the musical universe, in true Bristol fashion. They have been a live phenomenon in the clubs and on the festival circuit, for a decade plus, rocking stages from Glastonbury to Fabric and Keith Allen once called them the “bastard child of Ian Dury and Iggy pop” while the legendary Toots Hibbert has, himself, tipped the band.Rapid-fire vocals illuminate the bruising fleshy sounds that are stout in girth and all encompassing in ambition. Every now and then, things get glued down, and then things can become hot, anarchic and raunchy. This is when trumpets flare and the audience skanks. Come alive to BaByHeAd !
The Devil Kicks Dancehall
It’s always time to party with the Pussycat!
Check out “Trouble with the Devil” here: http://youtu.be/8Y5swwI5N4wLink: http://www.facebook.com/thedirtyjohnsons
Reggae influenced Recording artist Stush is signed to Island records and known for UK top ten single ‘Get Down’ alongside Groove Armada. Currently Stush is recording new material, and has recently launched her ‘already popular’ jewellery line Stushlery.
Put simply, Honeyfeet are Manchester’s best ethno-trad, barrel-house pop, cowpunk folk-hop band. It’s as easy as that to categorise them! Honeyfeet have already garnered a magnificent reputation as one of the best live acts in Manchester, down – in no small part – to the vocal prowess of front-woman Ríoghnach Connolly, assisted by a tight rhythm section and a hefty bank of horns.
Honeyfeet will be releasing their debut EP “Little Boat” on Debt Records in the summer of 2012.
‘Knocking on Another Man’s Door’ is a soft elegy, preposterously shaky – and about to collapse in a faint at any given moment. The accommodating blues sounds tend to hold things up a little, but this shaky confection is just too fragile, it cannot stand on it’s own two legs. Calamity awaits.
‘You Let Me Down’ is smoky and jazzy. The clarinet twines around the Blue Café, lingering a while on the empty tables, before meeting with the claggy air outside. The voice is livid. You will feel terribly sad. The drip-drip of unwanted rain in your life will shock you. Yes, you will have been let me down, lover. But the lingering taste of rich jazz will captivate the soul.
The Hanging Gardens
The Ska/funk/electro outfit The Infinite Collective from Plymouth just buzz and purr. This group of like minded musicians, encompassing many styles and backgrounds, aim to come together and partake in nights of fun and creativity.
They’ve had many successful times at festivals and running nights in gig venues across the southwest… and now they have been let loose at Boomtown!
The Meow Meows are a legendary eight piece traditional Ska ‘n’ Roll supergroup from Brighton, UK. with vocals from Danny and Hanna and a whole pile of juicy sounds from saxophone, trumpet and guitars.
Their unique sound is something of an amalgamation of 60s garage rock ‘n’ roll, 80’s 2 tone ska and anything else they may feel like chucking in. They formed back in summer 2005 mainly as an excuse to drink on a week-night, but since then they have played with major international acts including The Beat, King Blues, Bad Manners, The Slackers, and The Aggrolites.
Song ‘Bad Man’ is refreshingly bright with stashes of breezy chords and an upbeat attitude. A profusion of drums is the precursor to those flamboyant Meow Meow horns – and then you realise that this is a ‘Twist’ – so get twistin’ sister! Absolutely superb!
Say it with a song… and why not indeed especially when you have a lot to say and a voice strong enough to ensure that you are heard! Keltrix is a varied beast, grooving it up one minute with freak folk foot stomping crowd pleaser’s before sliding into ambient acoustic moments then rousing it up all over again with hints of ska, rock disco and dubfunk. An eclectic mix but one that appears to work…
Keltrix are led, most fearlessly into battle by Keri. Better known as ‘Scouse’ for obvious reasons after a few ciders, Keri’s fiery, temperament is just as apparent in her voice as it is in her general demeanour, though she and the rest of the band are really quite nice when you get to know them.
With a flourish of Spanish guitar and some wavering strings ‘Different But The Same’ starts. Keri’s vocals may remind you of Grace Slick crossed with Sandy Denny. Seeping enough to shiver your timbers, but protesting and hard faced when the nuances need it. This is a spiky song – as spiny as the holly that is lyrically painted- the pain and aggravation is hardly hidden. But the quality is like a highly polished piece of furniture. It even smells rich and waxy!
http://youtu.be/hMMFpLANmu8
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