There was a time when the internet was flooded with proper actual bedroom recorded dream pop. Back then, in the good old days. This gem takes me right back to when Washed Out was this hot new artist, MySpace had seizure triggering .gif background photos and bandcamp didn’t exist. Floridas hails from the good music hot bed that is Victoria, Canada and this sweet track Destination is free for download along with the rest of his brilliant debut EP. I guess it’s an EP. Don’t miss track 3, Cadboro, a Team Poule favorite.
The musical ensembles that are bands seem to be getting younger and younger. And more talented at young age too. I mean look at those babies on the press pic Dundee’s Model Aeroplanes sent along with their fresh tunes. The four Scotsmen age around 17/18 which is a bit amazing. Crazy is their great new single, to be released September 16th.
MS Dockville happened last weekend – and it’s been quite an experience. Spread out on the stream island Wilhelmsburg, it’s been once again a sold-out festival on all three days. What’s really lovely about Dockville is the great number of little things happening around the 50 acres festival area. Because let’s face it. Foals, The Lumineers and Woodkid are all great O.K. on a CD or reasonably sized concert, but on a stage from 100 meters away, it’s actually quite hard to entertain every last one. Takes cojones. So Team Poule never really “gets” this festival vibe. I mean, they were all alright, but [tweetable hashtag=”#dockville #pouledor” alt=”It’s the smaller stages where the magic happens.”]it’s the smaller stages where the magic happens.[/tweetable] And luckily Dockville has quite a few of them. Like, Star Slinger slinged his stars on one for a good hour – epic! So did Aparde, great set on Friday night in front of a couple hundred people. Denmark’s Rangleklods also, expectedly, put on an epic 60 minutes show.
New York’s MSMR had the audience eating out of their hands and Austra quite gracefully marked the highlight on Sunday with a great set under the sunny sky. Denmark’s Mø was great to see too. And then there are all these little art side projects and installations. Every year, Dockville marks the end of a month-long art exhibition. It adds a really nice vibe to the former harbour territory. Like for instance a sort of fake tree with balloons or something in it. It didn’t really make much sense to Team Poule but it certainly raised (and still raises) questions – which means mission accomplished for the curator I guess. Or a pile of bicycles. How about that. Now and because Wilhelmsburg is an actual island in the Elbe river, it is quite green and you can hear crickets at night. And there are bumble bees. And then there was this light, in a tree.
It’s hard to pick a favorite after any festival I guess. Crystal Fighters certainly never get old. Even though they play like three festivals every weekend in summer, they still manage to be absolutely amazing. Every single time. Definitely a band crush on this end. Another favorite for sure was the epic three hour set by Hei & Lej on Saturday – nicely set at the Klüse stage on the lower end of the festival area right by the Elbe river and the harbour industry on the other side. Magical. Dockville, you had quite a lot of these magical moments. If you let us, we will be back next year. Early bird tickets go on sale October 5th.
Finally a new tune by Stockholm’s Redondo Beach: “Oh this sun, it will continue through the afternoon. As I’m listening to the bells of the cathedral, I am thinking of your voice.”
Certainly Hamburg’s most beautiful and quite possibly also best DJ duo: Hei and Lej. Hei is also the mastermind behind electro/ambient project Kirrin Island who released a phenomenal debut album titled Cassette in May. Together with turntable companion Lej, their set will definitely one of Team Poule’s highlights at MS Dockville this year.
Hei & Lej schmeißen die Party at Klüse on Saturday from 15h30. Attached is their latest recorded set from February, a vibrant mix of disco, house and passionate pop.
The Hei himself will also be part of the Brüllwürfel line-up on Friday, right next to the entrance of the Nest stage.
Another great german group in the line-up of Hamburg’s MS Dockville next week. Parasite Single sport a very sophisticated setup on stage with massive drums, a vast electronic kit and the ur-deutsch Glockenspiel. This worked great at their shows, much more forward and lively than their recorded material. Should be amazing under the clear sky.
Parasite Single are playing Maschinenraum on Sunday, 13h20 – that is twenty minutes past one, pm.
