The second day of #ArtBeatFest was stuffed with hotly-tipped artists, from country punk to dream pop, electro and rock. Put together by ArtBeat Promo, along with The Zine, Panda Power and Kitmonsters - our reviews team checked out these rising stars at The Amersham Arms in London.
The crazily talented Thomas Cameron of Arrows Down was in the unique position of both opening and closing Day 2 of #ArtBeatFest. We can’t think of any other artist who is as compelling with an acoustic perfromance as with serving up a full on electronic dance set. His haunting song ‘Fugitive’ comes in two flavours! More later but here’s our interview.
Arrows Down - pic Terry Tyldesley
Singer/songwriter and producer Emily Magpie was celebrating the release of her debut EP of folky dream-pop tunes ‘Same Stuff’. Her addictive vocals and ukelele hooks are fused with sparse electronic beats and effects for a distinctive sound.
Emily Magpie - pic by Caffy
Jean Genie’s MaSsIvE HUGS brought joy and light to the festival like a Summer sunrise. With Jean Genie Graham on guitar and the warmest of vocals, and the rich sounds coming from the electric upright bass, the indie folk dream pop was hitting all the right spots.
Jean Genie’s Massive Hugs - pic Terry Tyldesley
Rhiannon the Nightmare are a duo who bill themselves as Country Punk, New Cross meets Nashville style, though we’d add a large helping of Liza Minelli into the mix. Giant personality Rhiannon Carr and guitarist Phamous cranked out the tunes with costume changes and rollicking licks a plenty.
Rhiannon The Nightmare - pic Caffy
Manchester’s alt pop meister Richard Lomax has been getting tons of love for his gorgeous new single ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’, and it was a real highlight at #ArtBeatFest. Dubbed ‘Lord of the Omnichord’, his tunes and tones on this rare bit of electronic kit, earned him plenty of new fans.
Richard Lomax - pic Terry Tyldesley
Engaging techno beats and disco glamour; electro punk duo, Feral Five have it all, distilled into dark, articulate pop tunes. There’s Kraft at Werk here, and earworms to move automatons and humans alike. The serious tunes are balanced with an entertaining energy that sparkles like Kat Five’s dress.
Feral Five - pics © Iona Dee
Blindness’s brilliant electro filth is like an iron fist in a velvet glove - seductive and punchy, with incredible guitar and bass. Fronted by the compelling Beth Rettig, they’ve got a passionate following and played choice tunes from their album ‘Wrapped In Plastic’ including our favourite ‘Last One Dies’. Here’s our interview from their album release.
Blindness - pics © Iona Dee
Just weeks away from releasing their thrilling debut album Tracks Of Wire, blistering guitar and drums duo deux furieuses promised some surprises, and ended up delivering the biggest rock and roll fireworks of the whole festival. Their fast and furieuse set was heavy on new material with the likes of the hypnotic ‘Kill Us’, and anthemic ‘Dream For Change’. Blindness’s Beth Rettig and Emma Quick joined them for a huge version of their debut single ‘Can We Talk About This?’ Then guitar legend Debbie Smith, also of Blindness, spat out Hendrix-esque licks on ‘From Fear To Fury’ while attacking her custom-made Ayers axe with a big framed picture of the furieuses. Unmissable stuff! Check out our deux furieuses interview.
deux furieuses + Blindness - pic Terry Tyldesley
How do you top rock and roll fireworks? By forcing people to the dancefloor with stunning electronic tunes like ‘Fugitive’, featuring haunting vocals and heart-stealing keys. Thomas Cameron was back on as a duo, with his full Arrows Down set and mesmerising visuals. A fantastic headliner, and an unforgettable performance. The Arrows Down album is coming out later this year and deserves to be huge. More on this in our interview.
Arrows Down - pic Terry Tyldesley
#ArtBeatFest Day 1 blog is here