The first #ArtBeatFest was a two-day thrill-a-minute rollercoaster at The Amersham Arms in London, featuring bands across all kinds of genres, from Hyper-Pop through to Electro and Garage Rock. With a booking policy of future festival headliners, and spearheaded by ArtBeat Promo, along with The Zine, Panda Power and Kitmonsters, the all killer no filler lineup was stuffed with the stars of tomorrow.
MOSES - pic Terry Tyldesley
Anita Maj kicked things off with an impressive acoustic set. She’s an acclaimed pop and rock writer and producer, with songs on US Radio and in computer games. With a rich voice, and some gorgeous new material, she finished with a fantastic Anita’d up version of The Clash’s ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ in celebration of #40yearsofpunk.
Anita Maj - pic Terry Tyldesley
With dance routines, glittering tunes and some cutting edge live electronic beats, Bubbles staked her claim to the DIY pop crown. She’s an Australian producer now based in London, and making ‘Hyper-Pop’ music. There were echoes of Femme, and a dash of K-pop too, the cheerleader styling bringing a fresh vibe to the festival.
Bubbles - pic Terry Tyldesley
New Reign are an RnB style duo with pop tunes, sweet harmonies and a strong classic girl group feel. Recently signed to CO Records - who were in the house - their slick routines should see them go down a storm.
New Reign - pic Terry Tyldesley
Enne was a revelation. A singer/songwriter/poet with a ton of attitude, stunning voice, soul and NuDub grooves, and a wicked sense of humour. She wrote two songs with the audience, made everyone laugh, and should have her own TV show, now!
ENNE - pic Terry Tyldesley
It’s the second time we’ve seen 485C (FKA Eyelid Movies - the first time was at The Zine night at Urban Bar. They’re passionate indie rockers with a distinctive sound, and a front man with a Jim Morrison kind of charisma. They’re flying under the radar at the moment - there’s no public info - but they’re not going to stay low profile for long.
Eyelid Movies - pic Terry Tyldesley
Kent-based Mourning Birds picked up plenty of praise for their debut album last year, with a great sound and production by Rhys Downing who also plays guitar in the band. Their riff-laden visceral garage rock thrilled the crowd, and they premiered two new songs, including a new favourite of ours called Transmitter.
Mourning Birds - pic Terry Tyldesley
Sheffield’s Spears play alt rock tunes that veer from seductive Nirvana-esque grunge-ing to noise workouts. They’re signed to the wonderful End Of The Trail Records and have been making plenty of waves already, and at ArtBeatFest premiered a song so new it didn’t even have a name.
Spears - pic Terry Tyldesley
The Connectors’ raw punk rock n roll smashes electrifying guitar riffs with a huge drum sound. Fast, furious and fabulous, they carved their songs into people’s brains with the kind of attitude that only legends like Iggy Pop possess.
The Connectors -pic Terry Tyldesley
MOSES have a ton of swagger and the tunes to match. Anthemic, with a touch of glam rock, and choruses to sing along to, especially on their tune Low which is still going round in our heads. Their compelling frontman Victor jumps around like a lunatic, treats the crowd like old mates, and the set was a set of legend.
MOSES - pic Terry Tyldesley
Dedwardians have a touch of 50s rock n roll as well as garage punk about them, with a dash of The Cramps. With their snarling guitars and singer Paul Gautrey’s moves, they were a great climax to Day 1 of #ArtBeatFest.
Dedwardians - pic Terry Tyldesley
#ArtBeatFest Day 2 blog is here