10 of the Best: The Big Chill 2011 Line Up

Another festival looms, time to get listing! Much like I did for Melt! (which was amazing by the way) I have compiled a list of ten of the acts I am most looking forward to catching at this year's Big Chill festival. Some of these acts will be ovbious picks but there will be as usual some hidden gems selected, usually on a post-dubstep/future garage tip. I will note that Jamie Woon and Metronomy are both worthy of places in this top ten but in the interest of not repeating myself I shall point you over to the Melt! post for information on those two.

Upon completing the list I have realised it may be a bit more mainstream than I had first expected, if you feel this is the case let me redeem myself by pointing you in the direction of three DJs from the People's Ear stage who I will be hoping to catch. On Friday I will be enjoying the sounds of Hot Flush recordings boss Scuba who's recent Boiler Room set is superb. Saturday is time for a bit of old school jungle vibes as I plan to take in Congo Natty & Tenor Fly. Finally on Sunday, in addition to Fantastic Mr Fox there is also the brilliant Sepalcure flying the flag for the post dubstep elite. Anyway on to the list proper now!

10. Craig Charles' Funk & Soul Show
Saturday/Starburst Stage

"Fancy going to see Craig Charles DJ for 20 minutes for a laugh?"
The above quote was made by one of my friends at last year's Big Chill. We duely adhered to this request and went to see good old Dave Lister on the ones and twos. However this was no laughing matter and twenty minutes turned into the full two hours of his set as we discovered Craig Charles is an extremely talented DJ with an excellent selection of funk and soul, both new and old. In 2011 with a set on the outdoor Starburst stage, I and my friends will be there from beginning to end fully getting our funk on!


9. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Friday/Deer Park Stage

Creator of one of the buzz albums of 2010, Ariel Pink brings his band to The Big Chill and is likely to be one of the first acts that I catch on the Deer Park Stage. With a slight look of Kurt Cobain about him and a tempremental streak that saw him walk off half way through his Coachella performance Ariel is what you might call a "proper rock star". His music certainly has a feel of the 80s about it, synth laden pop with an experimental twist. It is going to be an intriguing performance, one that I am very much looking forward to.

8. Fantastic Mr Fox
Sunday/Starburst Stage

The Big Chill are really quite good to me, last year I had been waiting a long time to catch a Joker DJ Set and they booked him. Much is the same this year I have been wanting to catch Fantastic Mr Fox since I heard his FACT Podcast and subsequently awarded it the mix of the summer award for 2010. He is a DJ who was handpicked by The XX to play the after shows of their US tour, high praise indeed for a producer/DJ who has already had several EPs of critical acclaim released. His future garage infused with an emotional edge has the potential to be one of the highlights of the weekend, especially as he plays on the outdoor Starburst stage on Sunday (hopefully under the stars!).


7. Aloe Blacc
Friday/Revellers Stage

Upon hearing 'I Need a Dollar' my initial thought was that it was a catchy tune, but I immediately thought he would either be a one hit wonder or even worse go on to be a Cee Le Green rip off. Listening to his album and in particular watching his Glastonbury performance set the record straight, a consumate performer who can deliver incredible live soulful vocals and theres lots of fun when he's around as can be seen in the above video as he bursts into a bit of Bob Marley. Also worth checking is his Jay Z '99 Problems' cover from the Live Lounge, which I would very much like to hear performed on the Revellers Stage.

6. Digital Mystikz
Friday/People's Ear Stage

At Glade 2009 I bore witness to the best dubstep set that I have ever experienced as Coki and Mala, joined by Loefah absolutely destroyed a full to the brim 3000 capacity Vapor tent. Rare banger after banger, but these two do not deliver the Radio 1 friendly wobble, expect some underground melt your face off type bass music. I hope the People's Ear stage is structurally sound as the low frequencies delivered by these two coupled with the guaranteed vociferous reaction of the crowd. Mala and Coki will smash it!


5. James Blake
Thursday/Deer Park Stage

Post Dubstep's poster boy appears at the Big Chill for a special Deer Park stage Thursday night performance where the attention will all be on him. Attention that he has earned, fresh off the back of a much deserved Mercury Music Prize nomination for his stunning self titled album he will blow the crowd away with amazing vocals, haunting use of the piano and lets not forget the quivvering bass. Having been fortunate enough to catch Mr Blake in a small 300 capacity show in Liverpool in June I know how good he is live and I am looking forward to seeing how this very astute and charming performer steps up to the big stage, I have every faith in him.


4. Janelle Monae
Saturday/Deer Park Stage

Having been a fan of her album I was pleasantly surprised to see that the BBC had chosen to air a good portion of her Glastonbury performance. What was to follow was a 'wow' moment, talk about an electric performance. She is all action, she raps, she sings, she dances - a lot! On stage she resembles a child with A.D.D. who hasn't taken their Ritalin for a couple of days, but in a good way. Her vocals do not suffer one iota despite the strenuous cardio vascular workout that she partakes in during her show. A true show woman.

3. Kanye West
Saturday/Deer Park Stage

From a show woman to a show man, possibly the best show man to burst into the public eye in the past decade. There's not a lot I need to say about Kanye West; he's brash, cocky and self assured but he has continued to back it up and has an unenviable back catalogue to woo the Big Chill crowd with on his Saturday night headline slot, including tracks from an album which many critics rated as 2010's best not to mention a forthcoming duel album with Jay Z that is due to be released three days before the festival. Exciting times, there is a very good chance that Mr West will be the show stopper of the weekend.

2. The Chemical Brothers
Friday/Deer Park Stage

I am so excited for The Chemical Brothers, having watched two of their past Glastonbury performances on TV wishing I could be there so badly, the time has now come to experience their live show in all its glory and in a much more intimate surrounding than the hoardes upon hoardes of people at Worthy Farm. I don't really need to sell this act with their amazing visuals, incredible back catalouge of anthems all mixed together with pounding acid techno they sell themselves. Unmissable.

1. Warpaint
Sunday/Deer Park Stage

Previously featured in this piece is The XX's handpicked US Tour DJ, well now its time for their handpicked US Tour support act. This all girl quartet have both an incredible EP and longplayer to their name, both of which I have played a ridiculous amount of times. Packed with emotion and brilliant vocal harmonies - all four of the group can and indeed do sing. They take to the stage in a humble girl next door type of way before launching into songs of great depth and meaning. I stayed up until 3am to catch their Coachella performance live and it was all worth it to hear the live version of Billie Holiday, I will be right at the front when these girls take to the Deer Park stage. In the run up to the line up announcement I was praying for Warpaint, so maybe there is a God.

If anyone reading is going to the festival I'd love to hear who you are looking forward to catching. Tweet me @therealmikael. Also of interest to some of you might be the Big Chill 2010 review that I wrote in the wake of last year's festival. Thanks for reading.

Event Preview: TRM @ The Lovely Job III

The third installment of TRM’s residency at Liverpool’s stalwart bi-monthly indie night The Lovely Job is scheduled for Friday 29th July at its usual home of The Zanzibar on Seel Street in central Liverpool. With a tantalising line up as ever the night is shaping up to be full of fresh new music not to mention the usual fun and frolics. Resident band Tone Puppets return after having the night off for the last event. They are fresh off the back of delivering an epic performance in The Monto in Kings Cross, London which saw a pretty rowdy mosh pit develop during 'Ignore'. Tone Puppets certainly left their mark on the capital, so much so the next installment of The London Job has already been confirmed! (More info at the end of this post). Expect high energy, great tracks and who knows maybe mosh pit part two!

Ignore by Tone Puppets

Also on the bill are a Liverpool band who are causing a bit of a stir lately in Bird, recipients of regular radio airplay, their music is very atmospheric and has a folky feel, Phantoms actually reminds me in certain ways of Warpaint and regular readers of the blog will know how much I love Warpaint. I also love a good female vocal and this band certainly have one of those in abundance, its no wonder they have been selected to join Tone Puppets on the bill at the next edition of The London Job, in addition to gracing this month's Liverpool installment.

Phantoms (Radio Edit) by Birdofficial

Support comes from the elusive Slow Motion Stranger (Ian Ruddock) from whom you can expect an acoustically driven performance which will encapsulate facets of blues, fock, funk, folk and even Asian music. With his complex structures Ian Ruddock creates a strong dark and twisted atmosphere whenever he plays and will certainly offer something for The Lovely Job audience to think about. The evening is also the place to catch a rare Liverpool performance from Chris Selmen who brings a full band back with him to the city where it all began to play tracks from his new longplayer 'All or Nothing'. The next band on the line up are a 3 piece outfit who have been described as having a 60's Merseybeat sound with a slight psychedelic edge, so when The Romley's take to the stage there is a chance that the Zanzibar may be akin to a certain Eric's nightclub. Completing the bill and performing live together for the very first time will be Sons of Caligula, replacing Chemical Casino, who unfortunetly had to pull out.


Slow Motion Stranger - King of Rock & Roll


Debuting upstairs on July 29th is going to be long time Lovely Job favourite DJ Dean Mack who begins his new party 'Uptight' where he will be playing a variety of northern soul, mod, ska and reggae in between two acoustic performances by Mark James and Western Promise. For more information about Uptight check out their official Facebook group.

As ever this blog will be providing the backing soundtrack to the evening downstairs, the date of this edition of The Lovely Job is sandwiched in between my visits to Melt! festival in Germany and The Big Chill, not to mention much time spent watching the TV coverage of Glastonbury and T in the Park. So expect a heavy emphasis on music that will be rocking this summers festivals, maybe even a little Beyonce (well more likely Destiny's Child) well if she is good enough for Glastonbury! For an insight of what to expect check out the post about my top 10 acts to catch at Melt! and keep your eyes peeled for a post in a similar vein about my trip to The Big Chill. Also enjoy the below hour selection of tracks that I put together for my own aural enjoyment during my flight to Berlin, many of these have featured at past TRM appearances at The Lovely Job.

The Real Mikaél - A Selection of Good Music Vol 1. by therealmikael on Mixcloud

The Lovely Job kicks off at the earlier time of 7pm with upstairs opening with Australian comedy folk duo 'Anyone For Tennis?' who are due to take the stage at 7.30pm with yours truly kicking off proceedings at a similar time downstairs. The event takes place on Friday July 29th 2011, the door charge for the night is £5. If you are planning to come, why not let us know by clicking 'Attending' on the official Facebook event or by using the official hashtag #thelovelyjob to discuss the event on Twitter.

As promised earlier in the blog a little mention about the next installment of The London Job featuring Tone Puppets and Bird. This night takes place at The Bowery on Saturday September 10th 2011 and there is a return coach from Liverpool which will be departing at 10am, giving people the chance to spend a full day in the capital. Tickets are priced at £25 this includes entry to the venue and return coach travel. For more information e mail Colin at riseinfo@hotmail.co.uk

10 of the Best: The Melt! Festival 2011 Line Up

After receiving the tickets for my first foray into European festivaldom the excitment is approaching fever pitch, so in order to harness the excitement and also plan for the festival I have decided to collate a quick list of the ten acts or DJs that I hope to catch more than any other. I say hope as once there anything can happen! The ordering isn't really to be taken too much notice of and this isn't a list of hidden gems either (though there are a couple on it) anyway I hope you enjoy reading and if you are going to be at Melt! tweet me @therealmikael.

10. Richie Hawtin

Having left my techno shoes at the door back in 2008, this DJs inclusion may raise a couple of eyebrows. However he is undeniably a showstopper on his day and has a penchant for dropping a crowd pleasing anthem towards the end of his driving sets of electronic techno. I imagine he will be on around 4am which with a German crowd should be one hell of a close to whatever night he plays!

9. Addison Groove

It was a tough decision selecting a Future Garage/UK Funky stalwart from the line up to include, Addison Groove is in my list ahead of Doc Daneeka and Benjamin Damage primarily because of the Jimmy Mack bootleg he has recently made and been hammering, I love a bit of Martha! Addison’s DJ set is one of my most eagerly anticipated DJ sets by far.

8. Rusko

Festivals are about fun right? Well not many people bring the party like Rusko, expect all the dubstep hits and get ready to wobble! The ultimate party dubstep DJ with the energy behind the decks to match, I would be very surprised if a DJ set at the festival goes off as much as this is destined to. Riot.

7. Chase & Status

I have referred to Chase & Status as my generation’s The Prodigy after both the previous times I have been enjoyed their live show (they were easily one of the Bestival highlights), with an abundance of anthems and a variety in sounds all of which are represent the current trends in UK dance music our generation finally has a dance band capable of smashing it up as a festival headliner. With Plan B in Germany also at Melt! A cheeky cameo to perform Pieces and End Credits would certainly make the Chase & Status live show a highlight.

6. The Koletzkis

I remember when Oliver Koletzki was making swashbuckling electro, he appears to have matured his sound and while his house music does have elements of the electro edge in there it is a lot more subtle now. He brings his live show to Melt! And with a massive German following his live performance should attract a big and receptive crowd. I cannot wait to hear the stunning Hypnotized performed live.

5. SBTRKT

SBTRKT is another person who was definitely one of the highlights of Bestival, absolutely destroying the Bollywood tent. I have been eagerly awaiting his new album which drops a couple of weeks before his live show at Melt! The live show from the bits I have caught on radio and TV looks superb and features the soulful tones of the man Sampha and occasionally the stunning voice of Miss Jessie Ware, whom I hope will be in tow at Melt! Little Dragon also features on the album and is at Melt! So who knows a cheeky cameo could be in the offing, SBTRKT is going to explode this year – with Drake picking up on one of his tracks - so I cannot wait to catch him to say I was there at the start!

4. Metronomy

I was late getting onto Metronomy, even then it took me a while to fully appreciate their talents. I am now however a full convert and have been championing a fair few of their tracks at recent Lovely Jobs. They are brilliant live and incredibly good fun pop music with an electronic edge, I really enjoyed their recent Jools Holland performance. Their 2011 album currently gets regular plays and Nights On/Off is one of my most played albums of the last 6 months. I included Metronomy ahead of Everything Everything and The Naked & Famous as I am yet to see them, however the two aforementioned bands are high on the agenda as they too are both excellent live acts.

3. The Streets

It still saddens me to the day that I was slow on the uptake with The Streets, initially unable to see the genius behind Original Pirate Material and as a result missing the initial tour. It is quite criminal that Mike Skinner has eluded my gig career to date so his addition to Melt! was met with great delight. I hope to hear mainly older material although I did quite like the most recent album Computer and Blues. Hearing Blinded By The Light on the main stage of a beautiful festival is certainly going to be a ‘moment’.

2. Pulp

It may be a cliché but Jarvis Cocker has got 'it', what exactly 'it' is, is quite hard to quantify or describe but whatever it is, Jarvis Cocker has it in abundance. Afer witnessing Pulp at Melt! there is a serious chance that I will be witnessing the performance of the most charasmatic front man that I have seen to date. A huge array of hits, this has the potential of being a very special headline performance.

1. Jamie Woon

It was only in January that on this blog I was championing Mr Woon, in the months that have since past his album has surpassed James Blake's in the TRM long player of 2011 stakes. I am so excited for seeing him live, expecting it to be an early evening affair, though with the Berlin heat the only chills will be coming from the haunting melodies of his musical offerings. Lets see if he can surpass Mr Blake on the live stakes too.

Event Preview: TRM @ The Lovely Job II

Superstitious? Well let us prove it all to be a load of old codswallop as on Friday 13th May the next instalment of The Lovely Job hits The Zanzibar in Liverpool bringing a predictably strong line up to the table yet again. Headlining the event are arguably 2011’s biggest buzz band on the Liverpool scene Seville, formed by two ex members of The Black Velvets they have an abundance of live experience and will undoubtedly deliver a performance worthy of their headline slot. They are joined by Strait Laces, a band who will be travelling over the Irish Sea to perform for the Lovely Job faithful – with a SXSW appearance to their name these are certainly a band worth sticking around for.

Seville - Ours Only

In addition to Seville and Strait Laces support comes from the able groups of Oxygen Thieves and Man Get Out who will both be providing a rock fuelled influence to the evening. We also have a folk and blues element to the evening with The Donja Vines and Dusty and the Termites, two exciting bands who both encompass a variety of sounds into their live performances expect the unexpected.

Man Get Out - Doppler (from the PS3 Game Hustle Kings)

Providing the backing soundtrack to the evening will be this blog, after a successful debut back in March The Real Mikaél once again takes over the reins behind the decks. Past features from the blog will give an insight as to what to expect. For those who do not wish to trawl past features expect an eclectic array of contemporary music from acts such as Jamie Woon, Warpaint, The XX, The Naked & Famous and Everything Everything blended into a portion of well known hits from the likes of Paul Weller, Blur, Pulp, Bob Marley and The Clash with a side order of classic hip hop and a bit of soul thrown in for good measure.



Doors for the night will open at 8pm with myself, playing a nice array of music to ease you into the night, with the first act due on stage around 8.45pm. Door charge for the evening is £5. I hope to see you there, if you are coming why not let us know on the official Facebook event.

TRM Loves: 10 of the Best Cover Versions

It has been a little while since my last blog, for this edition I have compiled a Youtube Playlist of 10 of my favourite cover versions after trawling the internet to find some contemporary takes on classic tracks in preperation for May's The Lovely Job where this blog will again be providing the backing soundtrack to the night. Once again becoming the Supremes to The Lovely Job's Diana Ross. More info to come in the next week or so.

I will get to the good stuff now, the music. I initially tried to devise an order to play these tracks but it was difficult to rank on merit (apart from the fact Nirvana would be number one every time) so I am afraid I sat on the fence for this one and opted for alphabetical order - via song title. If its good enough for the Premier League then its good enough for TRM! Below the embedded playlist is a list of the tracks with a little sentence or two to explain their inclusion.



Warpaint - Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)
These girls can do no wrong in my eyes at the moment, really enjoy the female vocals on their take of this classic.

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence (The Beatles)
Thanks to The Weeknd using Happy House in his excellent 2011 mix tape I have rediscovered Siouxsie and the Banshees, they give a darker and in my opinion more polished take on this White Album track.

Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats (The Knife)
You know its a good cover version when the track becomes more syonymus with the coverer than the original artist and that has certainly happened in this instance. I cannot wait to see this performed on a Sunday afternoon at Melt! Festival.

Method Man & Mary J Blige - I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)
There aren't really that many covers about in the hip hop world and I thought the genre needed to be represented as it has had a big infuence over me. This is a high quality version of one of my favourite Marvin Gaye tunes.

Nouvelle Vague - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)
I stumbled accross this very performance while channel hoping during Glastonbury coverage a few years ago. Simple, refined, angelic, stunning.

James Blake - Limit To Your Love (Feist)
I will be honest here, for the first 3 months of blasting this I was unaware that it was a cover. It is such a brilliant effort staying true to the original while giving it the post dubstep twist, no wonder James Blake is one of my men of the moment.

Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie)
There are no superlatives to describe the brilliance of this version. In my opinion this is the seminal cover version of all time!

Otis Redding - Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
The soul boy in me just adores this. A fantastic danceable fun cover.

Soft Cell - Tainted Love (Gloria Jones)
Not many people know that this is a cover, well it is. Such a brilliant take on a Northern Soul track. Quite possibly the defining track of the 80s.

Paul Weller - Thinking of You (Sister Sledge)
This could perhaps be the most disputed inclusion in my list, the covers album from which it is taken did not recieve high praise. However I really like this version, really liked the covers album and I really like Paul Weller.