If Glastonbury festival, or the lack thereof, has left a gaping hole in this summer’s festival diary, don’t hang up your wellies and wet wipes just yet. That leaves you free to get a little bit more exotic this year, with your weekend free to visit INmusic Festival in Croatia. The festival is taking place over the last weekend in June (28th, 29th and 30th) on the beautiful banks of Lake Jarun in Zagreb and 2012 plays host to an array of top indie rock acts. First headliners of the weekend are Franz Ferdinand, and they’re joined ...

Die fünfte Ausgabe der "Made In Iceland"-Compilation ist jüngst erschienen — und zwar nicht nur physisch, sondern auch gratis im Stream. Während Sigur Rós und Björk noch immer als Aushängeschilder der Insel rund um die nördlichste Hauptstadt der Welt dienen, hat Island in letzter Zeit einige der spannendsten Newcomer herausgebracht. Bands wie Retro Stefson , FM Belfast , GusGus und Helgi Jonsson erfreuen sich mittlerweile auch außerhalb des Landes recht großer Beliebtheit. "Made In Iceland V" hält neben diesen auch noch Dreampop-Songs à la Sóley, über tanzbare Electro-Hits von Sykur bis hin zu den Bluesmelodien von Lay Low und einige Geheimtipps bereit ...

Hamburg calling - wieder einmal erweitert das MS Dockville seinen Timetable mit neuen Künstlern. Zuletzt vergrößerte sich das vielfältige Line-up bereits in Form der Pop-Newcomer Me And My Drummer, sowie des britischen Indietronic-Trios We Have Band ( motor.de berichtete ). Auch der neue Bandschwall zeigt eine große Bandbreite an Musikstilen. Für den hanseatischen Singer/Songwriter-Charme sorgt Niels Frevert mit seinem aktuellen Langspieler "Zettel Auf Dem Boden" im Gepäck. Daneben bringt der geheimnisvolle, maskierte Elektronik-Künstler o F F Love die Tanzmeute zum Kochen. Außerdem zeigen Boy & Bear mit ihrer Mischung aus rollenden Drums, krächzenden Gitarren und schwärmerischen Melodien weshalb sämtliche Konzerte von ihnen ...

Hotly tipped electronic cool-boy Enjoyed , aka Peter Evan-Pritchard, has announced the release of a free EP, Sugar , which will be downloadable in exchanged for your email address on June 4th. He has also unveiled a warm, kaleidoscopic video, bursting with movement and colours, to accompany the fast moving, heartfelt electronica of our first taste of Sugar, 'Teeth'. Head here to enter your email address to receive the EP on its release, and watch the video below. You can also listen to Enjoyed's involvement in a remix swap with Icelanders Retro Stefson below: Enjoyed’s remix of 'Kensho' here:

The 405 team was out in force for The Great Escape this year, so rather than bringing you a band-by-band account of our time in Brighton, our editors/writers have chosen their five favourite bands from the event. Who came out on top? Read on to find out... Photos by Tim Boddy James Canham Swords">Forest Swords - Tim and myself arrived partway through Swords">Forest Swords set (they started at the same time AlunaGeorge finished) to a stunned and mostly silent crowd. The two of them on stage (one at the mic, laptop and electronics and another on the bass ...

405 Photography editor Tim Boddy put together some of his favourite shots from The Great Escape 2012 - from the manic energy of Retro Stefson, to the people queued up in the hope of watching Grimes. Same again next year? Retro Stefson Odonis Odonis NCZA/Lines Half Moon Run The Queue for Grimes Grimes Gang Colours Yacht AlunaGeorge Swords">Forest Swords The Warren Lonely, Dear Perfume Genius Regal Safari Novella Vondelpark Crowns Doldrums

The final offering of the Projekta x Great Escape Remix Exchange project. If you've lost count, this time Enjoyed steps up.

Through countless formative live performances and the crafting of a collection of superior pop songs, super-youthful Icelandic octet Retro Stefson have mastered the art of moving a crowd to the brink of sheer ecstasy - and keeping it there for as long as they wish. Continue reading →

Listen to the latest instalment in Projekta's Great Escape series, in which UK and Scandinavian artists trade remixes.

Festival season is now so close you can nearly touch it, and The Great Escape is not only one of the first, but is also guaranteed to be one of the best. This year's event is taking place from Thursday 10th May and culminates on the Saturday 12th of May. Across the three days three hundred plus bands will be providing Brighton rock, indie, electronica and more in 30 venues on the south coast. Listing all the great acts playing may break the internet but some names we’re excited about include: Perfume Genius, Niki & The Dove, Alt-J, Shabazz Palaces, Grimes, Friends, Zulu Winter and Django Django. There will be shows in the Brighton Dome, in churches and pubs around the city. Add to that an array of fringe events, club nights and a daytime conference - plus a bar on the famous Brighton pier - and you have all the ingredients for a very special time indeed. Amazingly tickets are still available and you can get them here . For a full of who’s playing and for more info visit escapegreat.com . See you there, yeah? Listen to our Great Escape playlist by clicking here . ***** Editors Picks: James Canham (Live Editor): Retro Stefson Possibly the most interesting and entertaining live act I've ever personally witnessed, Retro Stefson would need no introduction in their homeland of Iceland. Renowned on the Reykjavík circuit for their unique mix of pop ethics and peculiar, yet stunning, execution they're definitely one to catch. [ Listen ] Performances: 10th May - Latest Music Bar - 23:15 11th May - Above Audio - 14:30 11th May - Green Door Store - 19:30 Fever Fever Art punk isn't dead, and with bands like Fever Fever it never will die. On top of their fantastically literate lyrics their layers of dissonant yet raw guitar and pounding drums give the festival one of the best and most interesting performances. [ Listen ] Performance: 10th May - The Hope - 20:30 AlunaGeorge With an EP coming soon on the illustrious Tri-Angle records, and with an arsenal of future pop hits to hand, now is the time to see AlunaGeorge before they make it huge. Every song they've released so far is dredged in a fantastic drape of smooth and sexy vocals with rich synthy backing, and their near-midnight show at Coalition on the Friday is shaping up to be one of the best of the festival. [ Listen ] Performance: 11th May - Coalition - 23:30 Seams While Seams will be playing the sounds at his Corn exchange, the real reason anyone will be going is to see his fringe jumping excitedly on stage. We've loved him from the word go (especially his remarkable Tourist EP, a piece of work focused and composed from sounds heard in Berlin, the city he's now based in) and by all reports his live show is just as great as his recordings (mainly because of his fringe...). [ Listen ] Performance: 12th May - Corn Exchange - 21:30 Micachu & The Shapes Along with many others we've eagerly awaited the next move from Micachu and The Shapes . After a few interesting diversions (most notably their chopped and screwed mixtape performance piece with the London Sinfonietta Orchestra) they've finally got a sequel to 2009's Jewellery in the pipeline and, with any luck, we'll hear something new from the makers of one of the last decade's most fascinating albums. [ Listen ] Performance: 12th May - The Haunt - 21:45 ***** Alt-J Editors Picks: Wil Cook (Music Editor): As they prepare to drop one of the albums of the year, Alt-J are the band to be excited about. Engaging, melodic songs full of depth, songs that linger on longer than you expect. Remnants appear in your head for days after and they are welcome. I cannot wait to see this band play live. [ Listen ] Blind Tiger Friday 21:15 Jonquil I have been screaming from the rooftops about Jonquil since 2006 when I caught them playing in a horrible little bar in Ipswich. It's been fascinating to watch them evolve from a folk band who evidently had a bit of a crush on Boards of Canada into this massive summery behemoth of a band. I love this band more than I could ever put into words for you, which says a lot, because I love to talk. [ Listen ] Prince Albert Thursday 22:15 Green Door Store Friday 14:00 Cloud Nothings Since releasing the wonderfully nihilistic Attack on Memory earlier in the year Cloud Nothings have been on my "must see" list. It's a crunching punk rock pop fix that simultaneously restores my faith in my ability to feel alive and reverts me back to a mindset where I wanted to die. Basically, they are the hipster Nirvana. I just hope they are as ramshackle and urgent in the flesh as they are on this record. [ Listen ] Above Audio Thursday 21:45 Perfume Genius I'm not who St. Mary is, but she doesn't half know how to book a gig, last year she hosted Dustin O Halloran and Richter">Max Richter for one of the shows of the festival. This year it's the turn of Perfume Genius who plays after Loney, Dear making one of the sexiest double bills of the three days. The chance to see songs like Hood and Dirge performed in the beautifully intimate surroundings of the church is not something that you should pass up. [ Listen ] St. Mary's Church 21:15 Tall Ships One of my favourite memories from last year was the mass sing-along during Vessels, mid afternoon in the Pav Tav, it placed in my mind an idea that has been reaffirmed several times since, Tall Ships have it. They have whatever it is that every band is trying to achieve when they write songs, that feeling. Y'know that feeling when your hairs prickle up with your skin bumps as you realise that you are lucky to be alive and in a world full of potential. Yes, that is quite a bold statement, but have you seen Tall Ships play? If you haven't, then you really need to catch them soon, this years Great escape is the place. [ Listen ] Pav Tav Friday 1am The Hope Saturday 22:15 ***** Editors Picks: Tim Boddy (Photography Editor): Gang Colours The 405 have been following Will Ozanne's Gang Colours closely since the release of the violently monikered EP, In Your Gut Like A Knife , last summer. Recently the chap from Southampton released full-length debut album The Keychain Collection on Brownswood Recordings, to positive appraise. It's the kind of album that rewards enormously on repeated listens, the reflective soundscapes burying deep into the skin, and cut-up homages to garage swirl smoothy through the bloodstream. The result is rather Beautiful stuff, like if Mount Kimbie went into ballad territory - but with a very definite Gang Colours personal grace to proceedings. [ Listen ] Swords">Forest Swords Oh Swords">Forest Swords , where have you been? The solo project from Liverpool-based Matthew Barnes has been quiet of recent, following the release of 2010's gorgeous and beguiling LP Dagger Paths . Beguiling in that a myriad of differing styles are sewn into each other; Barnes' passion and knowledge ...

I Ching take on a Zebra and Snake and Enjoyed swap remixes with Retro Stefson in this cross-border project.

Das isländische Quartett Agent Fresco macht polyrhythmischen Prog-Rock, hat in seinem Heimatland über die vergangenen Jahre so ziemlich alle wichtigen Musikpreise abgeräumt und will nun auch außerhalb der Insel mit dem Debüt-Album "A Long Time Listening" punkten, welches hierzulande am 11. Mai erscheinen wird. Mit der ersten Single "Tempo" möchte die Band bereits ein Ausrufezeichen setzen. Der Song beginnt gewohnt melancholisch, Sänger Arnór trägt seine gefühlvollen Lyrics vor und wird dabei von einem akustischen Bass begleitet, die Drums spielen gegen die sanften Gitarren. Doch das Stück bietet noch allerhand Überraschung im weiteren Verlauf und unterstreicht so die musikalische Vielseitigkeit der ...

Reykjavik’s indie pop collective Retro Stefson was born out of the ashes of an ill-fated rap group started by lead singer Unnstein Stefansson. The six members (who happen to be former schoolmates) gradually moved to a more pop-oriented sound, while also taking inspiration from world music. Now a fully-fledged band, Retro Stefson have released 2 … Continue reading »

OFF Festival has expanded its line up once again, with Metronomy, The Antlers and more being added. Held in Poland, OFF has rapidly developed a reputation for producing left field bills of an extremely high standard. Mixing experimental music with some tasteful mainstream fare, the Polish event recently expanded its bill yet again. Amongst the latest additions are Joe Mount's Mercury nominated collective Metronomy. Since the release of 'The English Riviera' the band have spent considerable time on the road, honing their live set in the process. Clad with those distinctive lamps on their chest, Metronomy are set to ...

Metronomy and The Antlers have been added to Poland’s Off Festival , joining the likes of Iggy and the Stooges, Kurt Vile and King Creosote & Jon Hopkins. The award winning “best mid sized” festival takes place in Krakowice over the weekend 3rd – 5th August and tickets are still available ( here ) starting from around 50 euros. Other names added in this latest announcement include High Places and Andy Scott as well as Bardo Pond Apteka and Beneficjenci Slendoru. Unfortunately the band Swietliki will no longer be playing the festival. Full line up so far: Africa HiTech, AfroKolektyw, Akron/Family, Alva Noto ...