Preview: Flying Vinyl Festival

Words originally for Vapour Trail Blog

Vinyl is back, and in a big way. Fronting the plastic revolution are Flying Vinyl, a company that sends its members a monthly box filled with the best new alternative music printed onto beautiful 7” singles. This April, FV are celebrating some of its most talented alumni with a special all-day festival at Hackney Shapes. Here’s our breakdown of the fantastic line-up, which hosts some old favourites as well as some fresh new faces.

Headlining the show are Birmingham fuzzheads Swim Deep. After headlining London’s Roundhouse at the end of last year, and with a huge Wolf Alice support slot between now and then, catching these indie dreamboats turned electro pioneers in such a small venue is not an occasion to miss. Expect brain-melting synth madness mixed with chilled out, hazy pop numbers from this dynamic five piece.

Brighton eccentrics Black Honey are next on the bill. Since bursting onto the scene with a string of punky, vintage sounding singles – including the unforgettably raucous Spinning Wheel – they’ve earned nationwide notoriety for their high-energy live shows. Frontwoman Izzy B Phillips is a blonde bombshell with a savage stage presence, and her leather-clad boy band back her up to create an effortlessly sophisticated but uniquely exciting force of rock ‘n’ roll.

Nottingham grunge trio Kagoule are sure to give Shapes a kick in the teeth with their youthful and unforgiving grunge sound. Their debut album Urth was met with widespread acclaim upon its release last August, and Pharmacy, the first taste of new material, is a chilling but rampant explosion of hysteria. For fans of The Wytches, Eagulls, and unforgiving lunacy.

Another Brighton favourite, The Magic Gang, are also scheduled to make an appearance. Their happy-go-lucky indie tunes range from ballads to bangers, but every single release so far has left their growing fan base eager for more. Live they’re even more fun, with a ramshackle appearance and an infectious, bassy groove that’s sure to put a smile on your face and a tap in your footsteps.

Oddballs of the group The Jar Family will bring a folky twist to the show. They describe themselves as sounding like “Steam Punk infused Bob Dylan wrestling The Pogues with Bez in a top-hat. Intrigued?” Yes is the answer.

The rest of the day will see five new bands strut their stuff courtesy of Flying Vinyl. Juice are a four piece who make tropical indie anthems. All t-shirts and thick-rimmed glasses, Asylums will be there, playing their snotty rock tunes. There’ll also be sets from surf pop trio The Orielles, rising stars The Amazons and Yonaka, who previously blew us away at the Old Blue Last with their incendiary music and formidable stage presence.

You can see all of these incredibly exciting performances for just £20. Tickets are flying out, so snap one up quickly from TicketWeb. You can find out more about Flying Vinyl at their official website.