Chelsea Wolfe

Denmark’s Must-See Concerts in November

/ Alan Kortbaek / Leave a comment

Original article written for The Local, available here

All hail the return of the dark days! It’s not all doom and gloom however, with many promising concerts on the billing for November.

As we head into the dark abyss of yet another Danish winter (sigh) there is, believe it or not, a lot to look forward to. Musically, November tends to be a month where a lot of things happen, as bookers and venues fill their arenas for one last time before the always-expanding Christmas season fully takes hold.

This November’s billing has got the likes indie superstars Kurt Vile and Death Cab For Cutie, drum ‘n’ bass dons Rudimental and the exceptional Lianne La Havas for what should be an entertaining month. Here are The Local’s concert picks for the month ahead.

The Prodigy
Tap 1, November 5th at 8pm

The Prodigy are one of the greatest electronic outfits of our generation, holding the baton high alongside other greats like Faithless, Disclosure and The Chemical Brothers. Theirs is a familiar sound best played to an audience of 60,000-plus at Roskilde Festival’s Orange stage but we’ll make do with the industrial confines of Tap1 this time round.

Chelsea Wolfe
Loppen, November 6th at 9pm

After delivering one of the best concerts we witnessed at this year’s Roskilde Festival, Chelsea Wolfe will bring her hypnotic gothic folk to Christiania’s Loppen. The intimate setting should provide the perfect vehicle for Wolfe’s dark and beautiful music, which has reached a new creative peak with current album ‘Abyss’.
Hymns From Nineveh
Pumpehuset, November 7th at 8pm

The music of Danish band Hymns From Nineveh is both richly-layered and easy on the ears. One of many domestic bands who sing in English, Hymns From Nineveh are something of a household name on the national scene and command a strong following amongst fans of indie rock and folk pop.

Kurt Vile & The Violators
Amager Bio, November 7th at 9pm

American singer-songwriter Kurt Vile returns to Denmark on the strength of his recently-released ‘b’lieve i’m goin down’. Often compared to giants like Tom Petty, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Vile will hit Amager Bio at the top of his game so it’s little wonder that the gig has sold out. It’s definitely worth pulling some strings to see if you can still land a ticket.

Death Cab For Cutie
Amager Bio, November 8th at 8pm

Death Cab For Cutie started off as a garage band and are now one of the most successful indie acts of their generation. Despite hitting the jackpot, they remain firmly grounded in their indie roots, from which their universe of gentle rock revolves. Their latest album ‘Kintsugi’ makes for very pleasant listening so you can look forward to hearing new material on the evening.

Rudimental
Store Vega, November 12th at 8pm

How has this not sold out yet ? England’s Rudimental are one of the best (and most accessible) drum ‘n’ bass bands around at the moment. Riding the crest of the wave generated by their latest album ‘We The Generation,’ Rudimental are in good form at the moment. Prepare for epic drum ‘n’ bass with vocals good enough for a Disclosure song.

Nicolas Jaar
Store Vega, November 12th at 1am

For the night owls out there (and those lucky enough to score a ticket) Nicolas Jaar will be rounding off what promises to be an epic night at Vega, following Rudimental’s aforementioned gig. Fusing jazz, minimal techno and ethereal beat complexity, Jaar is also known for his productions as part of the enigmatic band, Darkside.

Lianne La Havas
Store Vega, November 15th at 8pm

Brit Lianne La Havas joins a long list of epic female singers from an admirable production line that has turned out the likes of Adele and Emili Sande . Having stunned the masses after her appearance on Jools Holland’s show a few years ago, La Havas has grown from strength to strength, receiving praise from everyone from Prince himself to Bon Iver.

Cunninglynguists
Pumpehuset, November 18th at 8pm

In the world of lesser-know rappers (where sheer talent as opposed to how many stacks of cash defines success), Cunninglynguists stand out as consistent stalwarts with a knack for reflective texts and rich instrumental beat backdrops.

Anti-Flag
Pumpehuset, November 28th at 8pm

If you are in the mood for a riot (or a long-winded rant at the system and its injustices), your November frustrations may have found an outlet. Anti-imperialist and politically heavy, The US’s Anti-Flag would probably have been a  seminal punk band were they of another epoch. As it stands, they play fiery, fist-pumping rock that makes you think about the state of our world with every drum thud

The Local’s top ten Roskilde concerts

/ Alan Kortbaek / Leave a comment

Original article published in The Local Denmark

Roskilde Festival 2015
Whether it was at the expansive Orange stage or one of the festival’s more intimate settings, there were no shortage of good concerts. Photo: Sophia Juliane Lydolph/Scanpix

The Local’s top ten Roskilde concerts

The Local sent two writers with distinctively different musical tastes to cover this year’s Roskilde Festival and tasked them both with selecting their five favourite concerts.

Roskilde Festival has once again come and gone, leaving a trail of smiles, laughs and memorable experiences in its wake. This year’s lineup was more commercial than previous years, with less rock and metal on the billing, but there was still more than plenty to satisfy all musical tastes.

A testament to the Roskilde Festival’s diversity can be found here in our picks for best concert. Our two writers, Justin Cremer and Allan Mutuku-Kortbæk, have quite different tastes and there isn’t a single repeat among their respective choices for the year’s five best performances.

Justin Cremer’s top five 2015 Roskilde Festival concerts:

5. Africa Express
Arena, July 4

I caught parts of 28 different concerts at this year’s Roskilde Festival, so getting it down to five picks is no easy task. Several others could have just as easily taken this spot – Dolomite Minor, Father John Misty, The Gaslamp Killer Experience or Mastodon, to name a few – but Africa Express gets the nod as it is where I closed out the 2015 Roskilde Festival, surrounded by good friends and treated to an impressive international jam session that had been going strong for nearly three hours when I packed it in.

4. St Vincent
Arena, July 2

I knew basically nothing about St Vincent before strolling in to the Arena stage on Thursday afternoon and when I left I wasn’t quite sure how to describe what I’d just seen. I think my feeble attempt to explain it to a friend later was something along the lines of “robot pop-rock” and perhaps that’s as good as anything. This was a tightly-performed – even occasionally choreographed – and very high-energy performance, highlighted by a final song played on the shoulders of a security guard with St Vincent sporting an ear-to-ear grin that revealed that she had just had as much fun as the audience.

3. Chelsea Wolfe
Gloria, July 4

The intimate Gloria stage was the perfect setting for an absolutely hypnotic performance by Chelsea Wolfe. Her particular mix of dark folk mixed with occasional blasts of rage may have on the surface been a strange pick for a hot and sunny day at Roskilde, but the enchanting Wolfe delivered one of my best musical experiences of the four days.

2. The War on Drugs
Arena, July 1

This was the show I was looking most forward to heading in to the festival and Adam Granduciel and company certainly did not disappoint. The setlist was very heavy on last year’s stellar album ‘Lost in the Dream’ with the performance putting just enough new nuances into the songs to really bring them alive. This was a powerhouse rock ‘n’ roll performance.

1. Goat
Friday, July 3

It is perhaps fitting that I don’t have a particularly good photo to go along with my top choice. The late night performance from these costume-draped Swedes who mix experimental psychedelic rock with African beats didn’t seem to be on the radar of too many, but those of us who were there were treated to what felt like a blissful mix between occult ritual and raging dance party. In a Roskilde Festival full of unexpected musical surprises, this one was the best.

Allan Mutuku-Kortbæk’s top five 2015 Roskilde Festival concerts:

5. Timbuktu
Arena, July 1

Consistent, calm, confident. Those are the words that underline the show of veteran Swedish rapper Timbuktu. It’s never easy for Swedes to perform at Roskilde and earn critical acclaim, but Timbuktu put on a solid show good enough to scrape into our top ten anyway.

4. Kendrick Lamar
Orange, July 3

Kendrick Lamar epitomized the booking policy at Roskilde this year: bombastic, commercial and appealing to the youth. Orange stage host Per Vers introduced him as the man he thought is the best rapper at the moment before his show and whilst some of us may disagree with such a grandiose claim, Kendrick did put on a top-notch performance before a packed Orange stage.

3. Mew
Orange, July 3

Danish rock band Mew played at Roskilde’s Orange stage missing one of their frontmen, guitarist Bo Madsen, who left the group just last week after 20 years. On their sixth appearance at the festival, this time as a trio, Mew were brilliant and endearing, backed by the solid Danish following that they’ve built over the years.

2. Die Antwoord
Orange, July 2

South African duo Die Antwoord brought the Orange crowd to its knees with an emblematic, raucous performance that few expected would be as good as it turned out to be. Given that they are not well-known locally, their psycho blend of Afrikaans rap and trashy shrill vocals proved to be an even bigger hit. Frankly, Roskilde has rarely seen something of this nature.

1. Florence and The Machine
Orange, July 2

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful – not only is that the title of indie band Florence and The Machine’s remarkable new album, it’s also a good descriptor of their show at Roskilde’s Orange stage. The voice of Florence Welsh, the singer at the forefront of the band, is a force to be reckoned with – she found herself at home at a packed Orange stage, with the big, blue beautiful sky above a sea of smiling fans.

The Local’s ten must-see Roskilde gigs

/ Alan Kortbaek / Leave a comment

Original article in The Local

The Local’s culture team will be at the Roskilde Festival – Denmark’s biggest annual party – catching a glimpse of the action over the next few days. Here are some of the many acts we’re most excited to see.

The month of June has been quite a ride. With Distortion, Tinderbox, Northside, Copenhell and the general election now in the rear-view mirror, July is finally upon us, and with it comes the summer’s highlight for many, the Roskilde Festival.

Musically, Roskilde has shifted from its rock and metal roots to a more commercial programme this year with a lineup that’s heavy on the hip-hop. There is no doubt that its headline acts in the past have been grander, but there are still several exciting names to look out for and surely a few surprises lie in wait as well, as they do every year.

We’ll be covering this year’s edition, enjoying what promises to be the summer’s best weather thus far and maybe even contributing to future beer. With 169 acts catering to pretty much every musical taste, the Roskilde Festival will have something for everyone. Here are ten gigs that we are particularly looking forward to:

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
July 1 at 8:30 pm, Arena
Although Oasis’s ‘Wonderwall’ continues to be a karaoke bar staple, the Gallagher brothers’ days as a duo are now long gone. The feuds of Noel and Liam Gallagher are well-documented and both have tried their hands at solo projects. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds are musically not all that different from the seminal Britpop sound that he helped cultivate in Oasis’ 90s heyday. If anything, there is a more mature, comforting appeal to it – make no mistake, if Gallagher can recapture some of his previous magic, this has the potential to be one of the best concerts at Roskilde this year.

Young Fathers
July 1 at 8:45 pm, Apollo
Young Fathers hail from Edinburgh with roots in Nigeria, Scotland and Liberia. Having won a Mercury Prize last year, Young Fathers are steadily evolving into a force to be reckoned with. Flying the flag for British experimental music, Young Fathers draw on trippy universes flanked by a blend of sharp hip-hop lyricism and epic choruses. Their sound that draws quite a few parallels with the music of trip-hop artist Tricky combined with a witty dosage of J Cole-esque influences.

The War on Drugs
July 1 at 11pm, Arena
Some music seems like it was tailor-made for a summer night in Roskilde. Such is the case with The War on Drugs, whose particular brand of American rock mixes a retro feel with indie cred and sprawling sensibilities. Their 2014 album Lost in the Dream was hyped to the heavens with very good reason and should sound even better when infused with Roskilde’s famous ‘orange feeling’.

Sarabi
July 2 at 12pm, Pavilion
Sarabi (a Swahili word for mirage) hail from the Eastlands slums of Nairobi, Kenya and are one of Roskilde’s wildcard entries this year. Socially-critical lyrics alongside well-strung instrumentation and a talismanic lead singer with an exceptional work ethic on stage are what you can look forward to when they take to the Pavilion stage at noon on Thursday.

Steve Gunn
July 2 at 4pm, Pavilion
One of the lesser-known names in this year’s lineup, Steve Gunn’s music is artistic acoustic wizardry at its best. The sorcery behind it lies in complexly-woven guitar motions drowned in a dark tunnel with strange echoes and ticks flanked by comforting vocals every now and again. Gunn is a deft guitarist and his vocal techniques have a Bon Iver-type quietness to them; music for a more tender, comforting moment at Roskilde.

Mastodon
July 2 at 8.30pm, Arena
Roskilde Festival always delivers the goods for metal fans and this year is no exception. Perhaps the biggest name among the metal acts at this year’s festival is the mighty Mastodon, who should be coming with something to prove. Their 2011 performance on the too-big and too-sparsely-crowded Orange stage was something of a letdown and didn’t come near to the powerful performance they deliver in smaller venues. Better placed at Arena this year and having taken a trippier and softer turn since their last appearance, the progressive metal veterans are sure to be a tour de force.

Disclosure
July 3 at 10.30pm, Orange
The last time Disclosure played at Roskilde, they were billed as an interesting act to look out for. After countless gigs around the world since, the two brothers from London are now established festival headliners despite having a rather slim repertoire of their own music. Following in the footsteps of the likes of Basement Jaxx and Faithless, Disclosure have taken UK garage and dance music back to the top of the charts, which in an age dominated by trashy EDM is a welcome addition of quality to the electronic music narrative.

Chelsea Wolfe
July 4 at 8.30pm, Gloria
Chelsea Wolfe is something to the antithesis of Nicki Minaj, who will be playing Orange when goth queen Wolfe takes the stage on Gloria. Her music is both incredibly dark and beautiful and will take listeners on a journey that goes throws blasts of crushing rock into quiet and eerie soundscapes. Her unique style of gothic folk has been embraced by underground rock and metal fans and she earned herself wide exposure when her track ‘Feral Love’ was used to soundtrack the season four preview for Game of Thrones.

Paul McCartney
July 4 at 10pm, Orange
At 73 years of age, Paul McCartney is surely past his prime, if you ask most. Then again, once you’ve sold over 100 million records and won 21 Grammy awards, surely things are only supposed to go downhill from there. The only former Beatle to return to Roskilde’s Orange stage, Knight McCartney has recently collaborated with the likes of Rihanna, Kanye West and Nirvana and is back to touring the world. The Orange scene will be all his come prime time on Saturday.

Africa Express
July 4 at 11pm, Arena
Africa Express is a terrific example of how cultures can be brought together through music. Featuring a varied palette of artists from Africa and Europe, their shows have seen artists like Fatboy Slim, Amadou & Mariam, Paul McCartney and Rokia Traore perform in various venues around the world. Befittingly, this year, Africa Express will be closing Roskilde on Saturday, with names such as Trentemøller, Damon Albarn, Spoek Mathambo and other unannounced acts lined up for what should be a memorable performance.