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Great Danes and Nordic talent shine at Roskilde, Northern Europe’s biggest music festival

A festival review I wrote in summer 2017 for The Line of Best Fit. See it on their website here.

All photography by Kimberley Ross

The 47th edition of the non-profit festival showcased a host of Nordic acts alongside global big-hitters. We give you the lowdown on how we survived and who we caught this year.

Roskilde's lineup is typically very diverse, proven yet again this year with 183 acts of countless genres appearing across 9 stages all-in-all. Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, Royal Blood and Father John Misty gave crowds at the iconic Orange Stage their fundamental arm-swaying mass festival sing-a-longs. Lorde, The Weeknd and Solange injected some polished pop into the weekend while Young M.A, Gucci Mane, Princess Nokia and Ice Cube represented intergenerational rap. As would be expected, Roskilde always has a strong showcase of Nordic acts (almost 40% of all acts, in fact), with Sigrid and Icona Pop drawing huge crowds, as well as home-grown Danish talent in the form of Emil Stabil and Trentemøller.

How does Roskilde Festival work?

Early every summer, the small harbour city of Roskilde plays host to a non-profit, carbon-conscious, community-focused festival. The population of the festival - 130,000 - would make it the fourth largest city in Denmark for the eight day event. The 'core' festival events take place across the latter part of the week from Wednesday evening to Saturday night, with the first half of the festival showcasing rising stars, newcomers and DJ sets across three of its smaller stages. Acts start from midday and last until past 3am.

Getting around at Roskilde

The festival site is a huge 80 hectares - think a slightly smaller Glastonbury - so don your wellies and get ready for a fair bit of walking. It's just south of the centre of the harbour city of Roskilde, so shops, museums, public transport and general civilisation are close by. Not that you'll need to leave the festival site: it's essentially a small city with a pharmacy, library, supermarket, laundromat and pretty much everything else you'll need. The official Roskilde Festival app means you'll always have a map and showtimes at hand, and notifies you of any last-minute stage or time changes.
Being a tourist in Denmark

You'll no doubt be travelling through Copenhagen on your route to and from Roskilde, which offers the perfect opportunity to explore the city's world-renowned new Nordic cuisine, stunning royal palaces, Lego-esque Nyhavn port, freetown Christiania and Danish design boutiques. If you're in a fragile post-festival haze and just need some good hygge, you can still low-key immerse yourself in Copenhagen's culture by weighing in on various smørrebrød toppings and some innovative hair-of-the-dog Mikkeller beers. Oh, and the Little Mermaid statue is possibly one of the most overrated tourist attractions in Europe.

The food at Roskilde

This year, the 145 food stalls on site used over 90% organic produce. While this is quite amazing to us Brits, Copenhageners are slightly more accustomed to organic food as the norm, as it makes up three quarters of the food served in the city's public institutions. The buzz of the festival's food scene this year was the Crick'it stand: the brainchild of Danish food entrepreneurs who see high-protein, near-carbon-neutral bugs as the future of eco-friendly nutrition. Cricket pesto, moth larvae mayo and 15 cricket lemonade (does what it says on the tin) were on the menu for the festival's notoriously open-minded punters. Gorm's freshly baked gourmet pizza, burritos, Thai street food, falafel plates and so many other world cuisines were on offer for those who prefer their food fly-free.

Our tips for surviving at Roskilde in 2018

The campsites are the best places to find a party after the live music stops (or any time really!), and Dream City encapsulates the festival's renowned 'orange feeling'. It's where festival-goers create themed camp communities and neighbourhoods with unique activities such as Quidditch tournaments at Camp Harry Potter, glitter wrestling at the LGBTQ Unicorny Camp, and a hog roast at the Amish camp. There's also the hugely popular annual naked race around Dream City on Saturday every year which is absolutely worth a watch. Elsewhere, the Art Zone is where international artists create and display their work, Rising City hosts engaging talks and events, the new KlubRÅ area holds secret DJ sets, and you can watch or partake in some basketball, skateboarding or BMXing at Street City. Oh, and the Danish are among the tallest people in the world, so if you're vertically challenged, make sure you make it early to your favourite sets to secure a good spot.

Is Denmark expensive?

There's no beating about the bush - Denmark is pricey. It isn't on the euro, but the krone (crown). Roskilde Festival was cashless this year, with all stalls instead accepting plastic or the festival's cash card system, where cash is loaded onto a contactless card and topped up when needed. This is an absolute blessing if you get a fee every time you use your bank card in a foreign country, and means no waiting in ATM queues or coins weighing you down for the whole festival. It's possible to eat for cheap at Roskilde too: some food stands offer filling meals for 50 krone (about £6), but if you're on a tight budget it's a good idea to bring some of your own snacks and booze. Volunteering at Roskilde is a sociable and cost-effective way to go on a shoestring. The 32,000 volunteers each year are hugely valued and are at the heart of the whole festival's operation, and get a free ticket in return for a few shifts.

How do I get to Roskilde Festival?

Roskilde is handily just 20 miles west of Copenhagen, which is unsurprisingly really easy and quite cheap to fly to from many cities around the UK and around the world. From the airport it's just a quick train to the centre of Copenhagen, another to the city of Roskilde, then you have a choice of either the frequent shuttlebuses or a train to take you straight to the site. There'll be plenty of orange-clad volunteers around at Roskilde station to ask for help. In general, if you get lost or you're unsure, the festival and its location is really well-known around Copenhagen. Pretty much everyone in Denmark speaks incredibly good English and typically are really nice people, so ask away.

Where can I stay at Roskilde Festival?

The festival has a lot of space for campers, and camping is included in the full ticket. You can choose where you lay your tent depending on the vibe you want: from 'silent and clean' camping for a good night's sleep, to the party epicentre of Dream City. Roskilde also offers pre-pitched tents for an extra fee if you're travelling far and don't want the faff of bringing a tent.

Who we saw this year...

Angel Olsen

Topping everyone's list of must-sees at Roskilde, Olsen brought her sarcastic wit and Dolly Parton vibrato to a huge crowd at Roskilde. Her stunning warbling vocals have been lent to Bonnie "Prince" Billy records - but with two solo albums under her belt released through Jagjaguwar and with her suited-up band and chic mini-dress, her festival sets this year are proving how much she's settling into her distinct style and persona.

Alex Cameron

If you heard that Alex Cameron's high-concept stage persona is that of a failing entertainer, it's hard not to think up some sort of Alan Partridge-esque character. When you see that the whole band is sporting high-waisted '90s jeans, it's even more of a stubborn preconception to bust. But his aesthetic and awkward dance moves work in a symbiotic way with his effortless breathy vocals and endearing conversation between songs ("It's important to keep hydrated. Make sure you drink lots of water, guys"). Signed to Secretly Canadian, the Australian's live set is steeped in dejection and defeat with a vein of facetiousness running throughout ('there's this woman on the internet/even if she's just some Nigerian guy'). The dark and arty Gloria stage suited his set perfectly, and his performance of the gloomy, minimal "She Takes Care of Business" was goosebump-inducing.

Jagwar Ma

It was a seriously tough set time for Jagwar Ma, clashing with both Foo Fighters and Lorde, but the rag-tag bunch who showed up at the intimate Avalon tent were treated to the Aussie trio's woozy vibes, synth loops and jangly guitars. The Brian Wilson-esque vocals of "Come Save Me" brought the sing-a-long that was made for uplifting the moods of a tent full of damp, cold Danes. The set delved through their contemporary psychedelia and Madchester-influenced electro, at one point morphing into a beat that was so Underworld, I thought singer Gabriel Winterfield would burst into 'lager lager lager.'

Princess Nokia

“I’m a shape-shifting bitch,” Princess Nokia snarls in "Brujas", proving this as she bounced between rapping and singing skilfully: rap-goddess one moment and rock star stage presence the next as she crowdsurfed and spurred an unexpected mosh pit at the Apollo stage. 25-year-old Destiny Frasqueri, AKA Princess Nokia is establishing herself as a champion of the NYC underground rap scene, independently self-releasing her EP and mixtapes.

Solange

Without doubt the slickest set to materialise in Roskilde, Solange and her band were placed there on a velvet cushion by the same angelic being that created the celestial four-part harmonies in "Cranes in the Sky". The sleek yet subtle full-band dance routines, matching pillar-box red outfits and minimal, polished pop tunes soothed away any delicate heads from the night before.

Sigrid

Despite her early set time, Sigrid drew the crowds for her sprightly Scandi-pop ditties, and wins the title of looking the most genuinely chuffed to play Roskilde. At the tender age of 20, the Norwegian has already had huge success with "Don’t Kill My Vibe", and with her endearingly youthful pop and pure voice, there’s a lot more to come from Sigrid.

Icona Pop

Roskilde has seen them through since the beginning, hosting the peppy Swedish twosome on the up-and-coming talent stage back in 2012 before their huge breakthrough hit with Charli XCX on "I Love It", and support slots with pop giants such as Katy Perry and One Direction. Icona Pop injected the perfect amount of energy into a tricky 2am slot, with the crowds singing along to what was basically the story of a lot of their Roskilde experiences (treating weekdays like the weekend, drunken nights, blurred memories and cracked phone screens, likely from the one million litres of beer consumed at the festival).

Mammút

The Icelandic five-piece’s chilling art-rock soundscape suited the Danish weather on Friday at the Pavilion stage. They were showcasing a change in pace with their first English-speaking album, Kinder Versions. With her strong-yet-breathy vocals, it’s no surprise that Mammút's lead singer Kata is the daughter of a former Björk-bandmate, but she took surprising turns to more animalistic and guttural sounds on songs like "Walls".

Priests

Walking onto the Pavilion stage looking like Dolly Parton in an all-white ensemble involving cowboy boots and a fringed jacket doesn’t seem very DC punk, but as soon as lead singer Katie Alice Greer shouted the politically-charged opening bars alongside prickly rockabilly guitar riffs, it became clear the playful all-American aesthetic has much darker and more topical undertones. Priests are true to their DIY ethic, having released their debut LP Nothing Feels Natural on their self-run label Sister Polygon Records.

Roskilde 2018 will take place from 30 June - 7 July 2018 and tickets will be on sale in the Autumn from roskilde-festival.dk

Ten acts you can’t miss at Roskilde 2017

Written in summer 2017 for The Line of Best Fit - view it on their website here.

Just west of Copenhagen, the Danish city of Roskilde hosts its eponymous 47th festival this weekend

The 130,000 punters in attendance will be treated to a truly global pick of 180 music acts from 32 countries at the entirely non-profit event. Big-hitters including Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, Justice and The XX head up the weekend's bill, and they're just the tip of the multi-genre iceberg.

Among the Nordic talents and established acts joining international giants across nine stages, here are our tips for the best sets to catch this year.

aYia

The dark wave electro trio native to Reykjavik is signed to Iceland's prominent Bedroom Community label. Fronted by poet Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir and her haunting vocals, their set is bound to be filled with mysterious synths and hushed tones. Catch them on Thursday at 8pm on the Gloria stage.

Icona Pop

Since Roskilde showcased the Swedish pop duo back in 2012 on their up-and-coming talent stage, Icona Pop's major breakthrough came with their collaboration with Charli XCX on 'I Love It'. The chart-topping single catapulted them into pop's elite echelons, having held support slots for Katy Perry, One Direction and Miley Cyrus. They can also cite Barack Obama as a fan. Head to the Arena stage on Friday at 2am and you never know, you might see him there.

Young M.A

The 24-year-old Brooklyn MC is taking over the US rap scene with her brash bars. An independent artist since self-funding her own recording studio with local record producers, her RIAA two times Multi-Platinum Award record 'OOOUUU' has been remixed by Nicki Minaj, The Game and ASAP Ferg. Keep your fingers crossed you'll catch her freestyling or rapping a cappella at the Apollo stage on Wednesday at 5:15pm.

Jagwar Ma

Bringing their contemporary take on psychedelia to Roskilde, we can't wait to catch the Australian trio's woozy vocals, jangly guitars and synth pop loops. Whatever the Danish weather brings, Jagwar Ma will deliver a glimpse of Aussie sunshine to their set on Friday at 11pm on the Avalon stage.

Mammút

The Icelandic five-piece recently released their third album, Kinder Versions, although it was their debut in English language after signing with Bella Union. With their shimmering, shapeshifting rock numbers, it isn't a surprise to learn that Mammút's singer Katat is the daughter of a Birgir Mogensen, a former bandmate of Björk in her pre-Sugarcubes incarnation KUKL - See them on Friday at 8:15pm at the Pavilion stage.

Lorde

The Grammy-winning New Zealander just released her second album, Melodrama, which she co-produced and co-wrote, four years after her debut. Taylor Swift's new best pal puts a darker spin on traditional pop with her lyrics often critiquing mainstream culture. Her festival season included huge stages at Glastonbury and Coachella, so snap up the chance to see her on Friday night at 11:30pm on the Arena stage.

Emil Stabil

A stand-out of Roskilde's showcase of the Nordic countries' vibrant hip hop and rap scene is platinum-selling Danish rapper Emil Stabil. He launched into SoundCloud fame in 2014 and has since started up his own hip hop label, Lil Label, as part of a collective. Emil is becoming renowned for his charisma on stage, and joining him on Saturday at 2pm on the Arena stage will be an array of guests including Norwegian trap duo $ushi x Kobe, Estonian rapper Tommy Cash and Dutch rap sensation Lil’ Kleine.

Angel Olsen

Olsen has lent her mesmerising vocals to Bonnie "Prince" Billy records before releasing two solo albums through Jagjaguwar. Her love of "very dingy sounding things" and sarcastic wit perfectly balances out her ethereal tone and Dolly Parton-esque controlled vibrato warble. Her full-band show is on Friday on the Avalon stage at 5pm.

Princess Nokia

Taking over Europe's festival circuit by way of the NYC underground, Princess Nokia is 25-year-old Destiny Frasqueri. The multifaceted DIY rapper and singer has two mixtapes and an EP under her belt, as well as hosting a podcast, Smart Girl Radio, which she calls a 'safe space for wonderful women'. See her on Thursday at 2:15am at the Pavilion stage.

Alex Cameron

Signed to Secretly Canadian, the high-concept Australian explores underachievement through layering his artistic 'failing entertainer' persona with vintage synth and electronic drum beats. After witnessing his stage shows and aesthetic, it should come as no surprise that he was discovered in a club owned by David Lynch. Catch his unmissable 80s Bowie-era moves on Friday at 6:30pm on the Gloria stage.

Find out more at roskilde.de

TheLineOfBestFit.com Review: Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow

Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow

by Olivia Swash on December 22, 2011 in Record Reviews

To deem the second installation of Kate Bush‘s 2011 comeback  a “Christmas album” would be more than a little off-target. Perhaps it’s Scrooge-like to deny its festive merit, but the seven-track collection is far from the novelty ‘I Wish It Could Be A Wombling Merry Christmas Every Day’ approach to a Christmas release. After all, there isn’t a jingle bell nor a flashing Santa hat in sight.

After Bush’s release of re-recordings earlier this year, 50 Words For Snow marks her tenth studio album after a six year hiatus. Whilst clearly standing its ground as a winter-influenced album, any of the more jovially twee aspects of the chilly months are firmly wrapped away. Every song, whether overtly or subtly, seems to tell a solemn tale with a lonely and melancholic ambiance running throughout. Nevertheless the record is anything but frigid; and drifts effortlessly in and out of a twinkly piano-based backdrop, its delicate vocals complemented by jazz-flecked drums.

Supporting vocals come from Kate’s son Albert “Bertie” on ‘Snowflake’, his celestially clear The Snowman-esque vocals contrasting with his mother’s breathy tones. Elton John and Stephen Fry also make foolproof cameos in ‘Snowed In at Wheeler Street’ and ’50 Words for Snow’ respectively; although the latter does come across as a little too predictable. Although comfortable on a bed of tribal beats, the track simply does what it says on the tin and little more. Ranging from the ordinary (“white-out”) to the graceful (“Wenceslas air”), the count-down of increasingly surreal terms seems to exist principally for the sake of justifying the album’s title.

The highlight of the album, ‘Lake Tahoe’ opens with a luscious operatic duet and sails off into beautiful lulling waves of warm, soft piano and sustained strings. This spacious tranquility contrasts with the song’s tale of a ghostly woman rising from the depths of the Californian lake “wearing Victorian dress”. Myth has it that Tahoe’s depths are lined with illicitly dumped bodies, perfectly preserved due to its extreme temperature.

A yellow spot in the more-or-less unblemished whole picture rears its head in the 13 minute long ‘Misty’. Whilst Bush’s vocal is refreshingly raw and gritty, a distinct awkwardness meets these slightly-too-literal depictions of a night of passion with a snowman. She leaves us no clues as to the reasoning behind the surreal fantasy, describing his mouth as “full of dead leaves / and bits of twisted branches / and frozen garden”. Prudishness aside, Bush doesn’t leave much to the imagination with this bizarre narrative, concluding with the universally-dismal lines of ”Sunday morning / I can’t find him / the sheets are soaking”… It could almost be the subject of a French & Saunders Christmas Special spoof, perhaps accompanied by a censored music video.

While the rest of the album fails to rise to the complexities of ‘Lake Tahoe’, 50 Words For Snow is another stepping stone away from the interpretive-dancing-in-a-field Kate Bush of yore. It proves her credentials of distinct maturity as well as exhibiting her ability to experiment successfully with deep-set and sombre but thoroughly captivating music.

Review for TLOBF: Tubelord – R O M A N C E

thelineofbestfit.com  Record Review  Tubelord - R O M A N C E

Happy-go-lucky Kingston-based rockers Tubelord return with their second studio full-length, along with a fourth band member and a newly honed rhythmic maturity that last year’s Aztec-inspired EP Tezcatlipōca narrowly lacked. R O M A N C E is a collection of jittery noise-pop ditties brimming with a sprightly energy, neatly encapsulating early Biffy riffs with the childlike optimism of Dananananaykroyd.

The growth from a twee fidgety trio through to a fledged and tangible electro foursome is reflected through the concept behind the album. Not that R O M A N C E can be described as a ‘concept album’ per se: there is no overt mystical vein or grand operatic tale running throughout, but the album’s methodical compilation is subtly intriguing. Lead vocalist Joseph Prendergast has rejected a conventionally emotive writing stimulus in favour of a complete lack of personal attachment to the lyrics. Rather than using egocentric references to relationships or even vague abstract depictions of events that hold meaning to him, the words are a hotchpotch of borrowed and adopted references from female poets throughout history. Prendergast defines this emotional disconnectedness as putting himself in the position of reader rather than writer.

But although it could be considered a lazy method of penning lyrics, the words as an essentially meaningless device means that Prendergast’s distinctive voice plays the part of just another instrumental layer in the unpredictable swoops of spacious intervals. The jigsaw of words, sometimes ‘re-wind and double-check that’s what he actually said’ phrases drawing you in (“Sun-tusk haze of golden / east will swallow your Comic Sans lover” – These lines alone cite the works of 6 poets over 3 decades, in case you wondered).

tubelord ≈ my first castle by tubelord 

 The new presence of fourth member and producer James Elliot Field is clear throughout, as the zany and sometimes theramin-reminiscent synths (‘My First Castle’ bordering on Clangers-esque blips and bloops) add a woozy Nintendo level, distinctly separating the sound from their debut Our First American Friends.

For the Poirot wannabes amongst you, the band have created a secret password-protected online index citing the references of dozens of writers from Sylvia Plath to Carol Ann Duffy alongside the lyrics. Only the eagle-eyed fans who spot the details hidden amongst the album artwork will be able to access the expansive appendix and figure out just where those odd lyrics you thought you heard have come from.

While edgy and chipper for the most part with a few deliciously dreamy lulls (’4T3′), the album is never boring. With the help of fans trusting enough to preorder so that the band could afford to create the album, it is the first release from Pink Mist – a collaborative music group made up of Scary Monsters, Holy Roar Records and Blood & Biscuits.

(Oooo!)