My Chemical Toilet

In-Tents Questioning: Electric Picnic, Eire - Niall and Dianaimh

1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you're from.

DW - Hello my name is Dianaimh Ward, I’m almost 25 and I’m from Strabane.

ND - Niall Doherty, 25, Strabane, Northern Ireland.

2. Which festival have you recently attended?

Both - Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co.Laois, Eire

3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?
DW - No. I’ve been to Witnness and Oxegen (which are the same thing except two years apart), so compared to them EP was amazing. Although Oxegen is known for its massive headliners and the fact it brings in so many bands the atmosphere is so different. EP is more about the experience than the bands. It welcomes families so there’s a much more chilled atmosphere. There’s much more to do apart from seeing bands at EP such as a free Circus show, Paint balling (ouch!), a film tent, a whole arena dedicated to the well being of your body and soul. So compared to other festivals EP offers much more, which attracts a large and diverse crowd.

DJ Yoda @ Electric Picnic

There's quite a few YouTube videos knocking around from last weekend's Electric Picnic... but they're awful quality. Best of the bunch is this marvelous little vid of the wonderful DJ Yoda. Watch it 'til the end for a real treat where decks and video combine to blow collective minds!

Festivals round-up: Human League, Kasabian, M.I.A. and Bjork rock out

Can someone tell me how it got to September already? Despite a severe lack of sunshine, it’s creeping from summer towards autumn – and taking festival season with it. Here’s the lowdown on the latest weekend of action.

- Buzzword of the weekend at 80s bonanza Retrofest? ‘Nostalgia’, according to The Herald. Scotland’s stunning Culzean Castle played host to what was trumpeted as ‘the biggest 80s line-up since Live Aid’. Kajagoogoo and co certainly delivered, but it seems the Human League missed that ‘nostalgia’ brief – slightly disappointing the crowd by steering away from the classics and towards a politically charged (and no doubt slightly less entertaining) setlist. Still, at least the heckles were good.

Man dies at Electric Picnic

Sadly the Electric Picnic recorded a death over the weekend. John Fitzpatrick, 23, fell ill in the early hours of Sunday morning before being taken to Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.

A post-mortem is due to be carried out today, but police have said they do not suspect foul play.

[via RTE]

This weekend’s festivals round-up: Bjork, Beastie Boys and Bananarama

Summer may have never really arrived and the festival season may be drawing to a close, but there are still plenty of tasty treats on offer this weekend. Here’s a round-up.

- The unlikely setting of Culzean Castle in Ayrshire is gearing up for Europe’s largest 80s music festival, Retrofest. It’s set to be ‘bigger than shoulderpads’, apparently, with the biggest 80s line-up since Live Aid.

Bat For Lashes - MCT's favourite tip for the Mercury Music Prize

Natasha Khan It’s not often I advocate gambling, but in the case of Brighton’s Bat For Lashes, I know I'm onto a winner. Seriously, I've been rambling on about the sheer amazingness of this band for so long nobody will actually talk to me anymore. Still, you'd be best off forgoing that round of beers after work tonight – instead, head to your nearest branch of William Hill and put that tenner on the ethereal group to win this year’s Mercury Music Prize. Read my lips: Bat For Lashes are making the most stunning music this side of 1990.

Fronted by the band's songwriter, the extremely nice Natasha Khan, this four-piece made one of the best albums of 2006 with their nominated debut, Fur and Gold. Fizzing with theramins, haunting lyrics and the sort of tunes you’d sell your own mother for, it’s testament to its spine tingling beauty that I spent an entire day in a weird state of hypnosis listening to four 50 second clips when the review copy failed to materialise.

From the melancholic beauty of 'Bat's Mouth' to the sexual Duracell that is 'The Wizard' it's impossible to pick a favourite. Oh go on then, 'Prescilla'. No, 'The Horse and I'. Damn.

Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, Amy Winehouse - The festivals where you can catch Nationwide Mercury Prize nominees

You may have noticed that the shortlist for this year's Nationwide Mercury Awards was announced the other day. So it's only a couple of months until the papers go mental over the odds of the potential winners, in marked contrast to how much the record-buying public actually cares.

If, however, you would like to see which festivals all these marvellous folk are playing, you may do so below because I've typed that very information there.

Bat For Lashes - ‘Fur And Gold’

You can catch Bat (pictured), or "Natasha" as she's know to her friends, at Field Day, Connect Festival, Electric Picnic and Bestival. She's also playing Rock En Seine if you happen to be in France towards the end of August.

The Young Knives - 'Voices of Animal and Men'

Ashby de la Zouch's favourite sons have already played Glastonbury and will also be playing the Redhill Park Music Festival, the Electric Gardens Festival, Leeds / Reading and the Underage festival at London's Victoria Park.

Jamie T - ‘Panic Prevention’

Jamie T will be inspiring severe brappage at Lowlands, Leeds / Reading and also this weekend's Benicassim fest in Spain.

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