Jazz, Dance & Psychedelia. Caribou see out the festival in grand style

Sunday saw some extreme weather in the form of torrential rain and gales, but this is where Butlins as a venue for festivals comes into its own. The place is basically designed for holidays come rain or shine. Aside from a mad dash to the central complex you can easily forget what's going on outside.

On my 7th visit to an ATP at Butlins I finally managed to make it to the cinema, attending an interesting abstract photography lecture by Jason Evans. He spoke of his work with Radiohead, one of the few clients that encourage full creativity without rules. This was part of a series of lectures, unfortunately most of which fell too early (for many of us!) or clashed with bands later in the day.

Caribou started Sunday in great style, with (half) an ensemble joining them in the form of a brass section, performing many songs from their earlier albums. Unusually, they also managed to curate the vast empty space of the Pavilion Stage elsewhere, with piped birdsong, trippy psychedelic visuals and even a smell (better than that infamous hotdog smell elsewhere for sure). The contrast of the nearby sounds of the Amusements added to the surreal vibe. A solitary pigeon that had gained entry to the Pavilion looked suitably dazed and confused.

The legendary Jazz musician Pharoah Sanders' set gave us another complete change in direction, perfect for a Sunday morning (ATP time). Not my genre but highly enjoyable in a live setting, lots of solo instrumentals gained warm applause.

Connan Mockasin put on a mellower psychedelic set on Centre Stage; a calming set to sooth the headaches, something of a rarity over the course of the festival on reflection. 'Big Dolphin Love' was the epic long highlight, a graceful tune that builds slowly over its 12 minutes.

Another lively, fun set courtesy of The Ex followed, Jazz man Getatchew Mekuria guesting on saxophone. Their sets are always good value at ATP, though last year's seemed better to my ears.

More Jazz arrived in the form of the colourful Sun Ra Arkestra band. Twelve musicians outrageously dressed in all things shiny and sequins, in a fashion that only Tim Harrington managed to top over the three days. Considering the advancing years of many band members (saxophonist Marshall Allen is now 87), they set quite a blazing pace, if not everybody's cup of tea.

Clad in colourful LED light head gear and more colourful, camp glittery attire (a big feature of the weekend if you hadn’t already guessed. . . ), Orchestra of Spheres played out another fun set on Reds. ATP describe their sound as "Channeling ancient future funk from the IS! Warping spatio-elastoplasticity with sound!" I think I'll have to take their word on that, though it sounded different certainly.

Another highly influential musician, Silver Apples, performed his set of psychedelic electronica, at times downright gloomy and weird, but in a good way. On a day of big bands, dance and fun his set seems a little out of place, though such is the way of ATP.

The first of 2 frenzied sets on Reds saw Syrian singer Omar Souleyman work his energetic songs to another bouncing audience, following on from an appearance at Glastonbury earlier in the year. Sporting a thick moustache, mirror sunglasses and Keffiyeh, the man clearly knows how to work a crowd; a street-party atmosphere ensued, Omar constantly spinning some kind of chain relic over their heads. The songs are Arabic–Electro pop bordering on Bhangra/Bollywood, much of his recordings have been at weddings, presumably quite lively affairs judging by this performance. Check out his Björk (Crystalline) remixes from this year for something a little different. ATP stalwarts Factory Floor later upped the intensity a few more notches with their dark, pulsating electronica. More excellent live drumming, a notable feature of the weekend. Vibrant psychedelic wallpaper visuals strobed as a backdrop, adding to the intensity.

The full 12-piece Caribou Vibration Ensemble closed Centre Stage in great style just as they had opened it, attracting another of the best crowds of the weekend. Despite the early hours slot on Monday it was clear most people had stayed on at Butlins to catch their set, normally crowds have noticeably thinned at this stage. Three drummers are always going to be good value live and the brass section had swelled compared to the morning show. Despite the epic assembly of musicians onstage, the audience seemed somewhat split on which of their sets was better, too many cooks spoiling the broth for some at the latter show. 'Sun' closed out the festival in grand dancing style however.



The usual events that I never seem to be able to make time for also happened as usual; the band-curated cinema and TV program, Lord Sinclair's Pub Quiz and Book Club/Bingo, DJ sets and much more.

A really lively weekend overall then, with great crowds frequently in party mood. The music slowly meandered its way from alternative rock-out to dance and psychedelic sounds over the course of the three days. Multiple curators seemed a definite plus as regards the variety of the line-up on offer. Lots of artists mixing with the crowds as usual, it would have been nice to see a few more guesting on others' sets perhaps, particularly with the vocalist-less Battles (Gary Numan and Matias Aguayo played the same day after all). There were lots of guest appearances for Caribou Vibration Ensemble however, including Marshall Allen, Four Tet and Junior Boys.

The next instalment of ATP at Butlins features a (rescheduled) weekend curated by Jeff Mangum 9-11th March. For more information click here.

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