Semprini

Another strong announcement with a good few established names, alongside some interesting new ones I'm looking forward to checking out. Still a good few to come for the Boiler and Booth but the Lift is looking like the place to be again this year with loads of great acts (Bolis, Cellini, English Teacher and Glass Beams added just from today that I'll be giving a look). Already concerned about the potential clashes but it's a good problem to have I guess!

Just watched Raye's set from Coachella and it was pretty impressive by all accounts. They only gave her 45 mins (expect it to be an hour at PKP) but even though I don't know much of her stuff it all sounded great. The Marquee often lines up against the Dance Hall, which would mean a potential clash with Brutalismus 3000, who I am probably going to see the following week at Field Day anyway, so shouldn't hopefully be too much of an issue. There's also Charlotte De Witte later this morning and then Barry Can't Swim tomorrow from the PKP line up. Really hoping Orbital, Gesaffelstein, The Last Dinner Party, L'imperatrice, The Beths, Carlita, Jockstrap and Vampire Weekend get added too!

The first time he was booked at PKP (can't remember the year, possibly 2016?), he didn't turn up for his set and no one from the organisation had heard anything? Remember speaking to one of the guys and he was like, 'yeah, we don't know where he is and we haven't been able to make contact?' He finally arrived the day after he was supposed to play and said that he got the dates mixed up. They moved a couple of acts around and he ended up playing on a completely different stage - maybe the old Wablief? - to the one he was booked on. At least this has happened early so plenty of time to get a decent replacement in.

I'm sure they put on extra night buses after the main stages finish each day (2:30am or so) but don't know whether that's just to places relatively local? They don't tend to announce those until nearer the time though so for peace of mind you might be better off looking now at hotel options closer to the site. You're going to have an amazing, and no doubt long and heavy, day at the festival so you'll thank yourself at 2/3/4am when you're tucked up in bed 30 mins after leaving the festival site! Last thing you want to be doing at that time of the morning is navigating your way to Brussels...

Do you think the issue might be that there aren't many new live dance acts coming through at the moment? I also like Barry's stuff (and will be seeing him this summer for the first time) but I get the impression the media are just looking for someone to be the 'next big thing/next big Fred again..' and he currently fits the bill. This is of course nothing new, and has been going on for many years now across lots of genres, but the lack of competition and power of social media has definitely fuelled the rapid rise of these two acts.

Anyone going to Drumsheds this weekend? I'm heading to Radio 1 Dance on Friday and can't wait to see Maceo Plex again as the last time was a good few years ago. His and DJ Seinfeld's sets are also being recorded for a future Essential Mix. Doesn't look like Saturday's Exhale event is selling well as got an email today from LWE offering 2 for 1 tickets.

The fact he's in the vicinity definitely improves the chances of it happening. I think the most likely place he would play if he does is Arcadia.

The people I know are Soulwax/2manydjs crew and they were all working at Despacio last week. One of them, who I've spoken to in a bit more detail about it, told me about the times he's been to Coachella and other festivals in the States where they've put it on so I'm pretty sure they make up the bulk of the Despacio crew. James might have some of his own people but that's not the impression I got.

Haven't found out anything specific to Glasto yet but my son is part of a Despacio group on Discord and apparently the sound system has a permit/licence (something along those lines) to be in Europe for the next 12 months. If that is the case then it makes the possibility of future dates much more likely. It's been in the States for quite a few years so the fact it's now over here can only be a good thing. I wouldn't be surprised if they announce a run of Autumn dates in the Roundhouse as they were due to play there during Covid but it got cancelled.

Pretty decent drop for my tastes! Very happy to see Conman there and looks like they will be playing early in the day which should hopefully avoid clashes. Kettama, Joy Anonymous, Dimension, Boys Noize, Mount Kimbie, Malugi and Salute will all be on my list. There's also some names I haven't really heard of (Model/Actriz, Chalk, Sextile all sounding good on first listen) that I'm looking forward to researching in more detail over the next few months. Saw some of my favourite shows in the Lift last year and that's really starting to find its identity and developing into one of the most interesting stages imo. There's a lot of parallels with the old Chateau/Castello but arguably with a wider range of styles.

By 'everything else' I was referring to their respective tour schedules, rather than what goes on at Glastonbury. Totally agree there's no reason why they can't host Despacio again but I'm pretty sure in 2014 they weren't all touring like they are this summer (LCD definitely weren't as it was 2016 when they started again). It's also one thing getting the two brothers and James free on the same weekend but there's the crew that's needed to make it all work to take into consideration as well. I know a few of them and they told me they were on site in Gent for the whole week leading up to the shows. I hope I'm wrong but I just think they've got too much going on this summer to do Despacio alongside their LCD, Soulwax and 2manydjs commitments.

I went to Despacio in Gent on Saturday and it was an amazing evening. Most of the previous ones they've done have been at festivals in tents but this was in a really interesting building in the centre of the city called the Wintercircus. They hadn't used it for about 30 years but it's been redeveloped and Despacio was part of a bigger event over the weekend that included conferences, tours and workshops. For anyone who's been before, you'll know the soundtrack is a real slow burner over the time (6 hours) but it was a lot more eclectic than I was expecting. The lights were superb and centred as always around the huge disco ball that was suspended from the ceiling. Crowd was mostly in the 30/40yo age bracket but I was there with my lad who is 17 and there were plenty of people in their 50/60's present. The atmosphere was excellent throughout, which is what you would expect with it being the first one in Belgium and in the home city of the two brothers. I'm not sure how many (if any?) Despacio's there will be over the summer as LCD and Soulwax are obviously both touring, plus 2manydjs have quite a few dates announced already? There's a massive amount of planning and a whole lot of logistics that need to be put in place to make each Despacio happen so I think it's doubtful they'll be able to organise that around everything else.

Not doubting your intel, as it's always been pretty accurate, but I know from what I was told by a very reliable source a couple of years back that by this date, the majority of the line up is booked. You may be right in that some could still be at the negotiation stage, so might change, but I still expect them to bring out more decent international bands and DJs. If you look at old line ups, there's always been a big Belgian presence across every stage and I think the overall % will be very similar when the whole line up is out. They've got a great opportunity to really consolidate their position and make what's happened this year a regular thing so I doubt they'll mess that up by booking loads of cheap local acts to 'weaken' the poster. People aren't stupid and will see straight through it. Confidence Man announced for Lowlands (along with Roisin Murphy and Teddy Swims amongst others) so hope they're added for PKP. Also, people will naturally compare LL with PKP so if there's loads of medium sized bands that LL have booked but PKP haven't then questions will naturally be asked why?

Great that you're still coming and reckon there's a decent chance you might pick up cheap day tickets just before, or even on the morning of, if you're there anyway. Pretty sure it's also the case that they let you in from midnight so you can catch the Friday headliners as well.

I thought you might have gone for Sunday but at least we'll still be able to get together. S+S were staying at my mums this weekend and lucky I popped over to see them yesterday. Mentioned sales were going fast so they got theirs straight away.