This weekend is the start of The King of Festivals in The Netherlands, Lowlands! Every year around 50,000 people flock towards Biddinghuizen to attend this festival to catch as many of the 200 acts as possible.
The first Lowlands was held in 1993 and already had some incredible names on the bill such as Rage Against The Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tool and Iggy Pop! So you can imagine it only getting better and better every year!
Even though Lowlands can boast such big names every year, they can also have the honour of showcasing some of the lesser known artists and up & coming bands and musicians. Here at Rockstone we like to give those artists and bands the chance to shine, and even though a lot of you might already know them, we have compiled a Top 10 Must See at Lowlands (for those who’s names don’t get printed as big on the poster!)
10. Oscar & The Wolf – Saturday 14:00 Charlie Stage
Oscar And The Wolf is a young Belgian band from Ghent. Their sound is an interesting combination of “dark melancholic pop with danceable rhythms”, according to lead singer Max Colombie.
I saw them 2 years ago at Pukkelpop and absolutely loved it. They have only gotten better since and have released several EP’s, including their debut EP ‘Imagine Mountains’ which I highly recommend!
9. Dark Sky – Sunday 22:00 X-Ray Stage
Dark Sky are a London based Production trio who have remixed for the likes of The XX, Maya Jane Coles and Kelis. They have a heavy percussion driven sound which you can hear in the track above and put on a hell of a show. This month they release their debut album so you might just be some of the first to hear some of it live!
8. XXYYXX – Saturday 17:30 X-Ray Stage
Not so much unknown as he is a superstar now, XXYYXX is the moniker of Marcel Everett. This 18 year old American producer took the world by storm after releasing ‘About You’ (Yeah you know it, the video with the girls wearing an animal mask, smoking a spliff in slow motion! ) and hasn’t looked back. XXYYXX describes his music as “Doing drugs on a freeway…underwater,” I think that speaks for itself.
7. Kaytranada – Sunday 01:00 Bravo Stage
If you wanna have an awesome time, just go see this guy! Hailing from Montreal, Canada, this 21 year old producer is already a big name in the game! His impressive list of remixes, dj sets (including his awesome boiler room set) and own production make him a must see anywhere anytime!
6. Gesaffelstein – Saturday 21:30 Bravo Stage
I don’t know what I love more, the video or the song! Gesaffelstein is a French electronic producer (every single word in that sentence is amazing). Think Justice but even crazier, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed when you go see Gesaffelstein live if you’re up for a crazy adventure!
5. Glass Animals – Friday 13:30 X-Ray Stage
It’s been a long time since I’ve been so excited about an English indie band! The most recent band to step up to the level of Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys and The Maccabees was Alt-J, and Glass Animals are next in line! The childhood friends have been making music together since a young age and have just released their debut album ‘ZABA’ in June. ‘Gooey’ is one of the catchiest tracks I’ve heard in a while and if you like your British indie then don’t hesitate one second to go see these lads!
4. Chet Faker – Saturday 18:45 India Stage
Another on the list who recently made a huge leap into stardom, Chet Faker is an Australian singer/songwriter/electronic musician (That’s a mouth full!). Earlier this year he released his debut album ‘Built on Glass’ to critical acclaim in home country, and now he’s busy touring the world! It’s a fantastic album but it’s his cover of Blackstreet’s ‘No Digity’ that caught my attention a long time ago and if he plays this live you won’t want it to end!
3. Jungle – Saturday 17:45 Bravo Stage
Jungle are a modern soul musical collective from West London who are going to make it BIG! Their infectious soulful, danceable music will you have you partying for the entire night! They released their Self Titled Debut album this summer and it’s good! We have it playing at the office and everyone’s working while tapping their feet and drumming on the desks. I highly recommend going to see them if you’re up for a dance and a sing a long.
2. SOHN – Sunday 15:30 Bravo Stage
SOHN’s debut album ‘Tremors’ is already my album of the year! His soulful voice, minimal electronic style has garnered a lot of attention recently and for all the right reasons. For those of you who don’t know him, SOHN is a singer/producer/multi instrumentalist from London who is being described as being ‘In between James Blake and Gotye’. Not as depressing as James Blake, not as happy as Gotye and even catchier than both. Give the song a listen and I promise you he will become your new favourite artist (who always supplies us with great videos too!)
1. Inc. – Sunday 14:25 X-Ray Stage
“A calm, inviting, smoke-filled place where voices carry, drums crack through an empty room and deep lows envelope the air. Angelic and personal, no world is at once declarative and quietly poetic.” I couldn’t have described their debut album any better if I had written the album myself!
Inc. is formed by brothers Andrew and Daniel Aged, who have a deep and long love for R&B and soul. Their vocals, reminiscent of 80’s/90’s R&B, and their modern day beats culminate in an almost cutting edge style of music. Their contemporary soul is on a rise together with the likes of FKA Twigs, Holy Other and How to Dress well, so if that’s you’re thing then these boys will blow your mind!
This wraps up my top 10 Must See at Lowlands (for those who’s names don’t get printed as big on the posters!) It was very hard to only pick 10 out of the 200 but some others than deserve a mention are: Boy & Bear, Lucius, Luke Sital-Singh, Sam Smith, Selah Sue, Shlohmo, Tangarine, Temples, Thomas Azier and Twin Atlantic. So if you’re one of the lucky ones going to Lowlands, I hope you go and see some of these (even if it’s just for my sake haha) and let us know what you thought of it!
The Rockstone Crew!