The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | 30 January

FESTIVAL WATCH: KNOCKENGORROCH, BERLIN FESTIVAL, SURFACE FESTIVAL, SUNSPLASH, BEARDED THEORY, BEACON FESTIVAL
More festival lineups are coming to light this week, with a good mix of exotic destinations and boutique options, plus some absolyteely cracking local and specialist festivals. The lineup for this year's Knockengorroch World Ceilidh Festival (23-26 May) will include Asian Dub Foundation, Dizraeli & The Small Gods, Luke Vibert, Congo Natty, Mungo's Hi-Fi, Morphamish and The Mezzanine Allstars, alongside a top-notch selection of folk, soul and roots music. With a growing reputation as one of Scotland's best small festivals, this year's Knockengorroch looks stronger than ever. Tickets are on sale now.

Sllightly further afield, in Derbyshire to be precise, is the marvellously-minikered Bearded Theory Festival (17-19 May). Anyone with more than a passing interest in '90s alternative rock, indie and dance will want to give this one serious consideration -- they've bagged Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Levellers, Stiff Little Fingers, The Farm and A Guy Called Gerald, alongside more recent names like Reverend & The Makers. It's a kid-friendly atmosphere at this jamboree, as it is at Knockengorroch, so there's stuff for the little 'uns to do as well, if you're bringing some tiny humans along. Tickets are on sale now.

The Beacons Festival (16-18 Aug), set amidst the beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire Dales, has a very tasty lineup tthis year -- they've announced a really eclectic lineup featuring Django Django, Theo Parrish, Moon Duo, Floating Points, Dutch Uncles, David Rodigan OBE, Now Wave and Egyptian Hip Hop. Tickets are on sale now.

Berlin Festival (6-7 Sep) is set in the impressive environs of Templehof Airport, abandoned in 2008 and given over to the people of berlin as a public park. The huge terminal building is now used for special events, one of which is the annual Berlin Festival. The main stage headliners -- Blur, Pet Shop Boys and Turbostaat -- have already been announced, but some fantastic dance acts have now been added to the bill -- Justice, Busy P, Breakbot and SebasiAn will help celebrate the tenth anniversary of Ed Banger Records at Club XBerg, at the festival's second location in berlin Arena. Discounted advance tickets are available until 1 Feb.

With lineups still to be announced, and networked events taking place in Madrid, Cape Town, London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow and Barcelona, this year's Surface Festival could prove be a revelation. It's dedicated to new music -- applications for bands and musicians of all stripes and persuasions are open now. Get involved here.

Looking for a festival in the sun? Why not consider SunSplash Antalya in Turkey, hosting their fifth annual shebang with chilled tunes from Gilles Peterson, Koreless, Norman Jay and more. This is one festival which might appeal to those turned off by the idea of mud, tents and warm cider -- their luxury packages include full festival access, a stay in a five-star designer hotel, breakfast, dinner, Yoga classes, a luxury spa and gym access. Posh! Tickets are on sale now.

BJORK'S BIOPHILIA KICKSTARTER
Bjork has started a new Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to help make her Biophilia app available to the public on multiple platforms. "The Biophilia Educational Program is a new way to teach children about science and music,” explained the singer. The aim is to teach scientific concepts using artistic methods and approaches, a kind of holistic learning. The program's website has more detail about the activities they are involved in - the whole project is non-profit, and run by volunteers. The Kickstarter project aims to raise money to get the Biophilia app, released alongside her multimedia-enriched album of the same name, converted for use across Windows, Android and Apple formats. Find out more and get involved here.

NEW VIDEOS FROM GRIZZLY BEAR, SOUNDGARDEN, KARL BARTOS AND ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
Grizzly Bear's new video for Gun-Shy is an abstract and weirdly scientific affair. Director Kris Moyes explains the concept: "The idea came from a question: if the creative energy of any living organism could be seen, what would it look like? Ed, Daniel, T and Bear demonstrate where their creative energy is located by extracting their hair, nails, skin, sweat, tears and blood. This is an invitation for a very rare glimpse of what creative energy could look like on a molecular level, if it could be seen." Kind of gross, but very cool.

Soundgarden's new video for By Crooked Steps (taken from their recently released sixth LP, reviewed here) is directed by none other than Dave Grohl. Rockin' LA moshpits, flirting with biker gang imagery, escaping from the cops on Segways, big hair -- this video's got it all, really. It's classic rock turned all the way up to eleven, just how it should be. You can read our recent interview with Chris, Kim and Ben from the band here, and guest questions posed by Alice Cooper and Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchison here.

The new Animal Collective video comes courtesy of visionary Argentine director Gaspar Noé (Touching The Void, Irréversible). Noé has directed clips for Nick Cave and Placebo before, but the video for Applesauce, from Centipede Hz, is bold in its simplicity and its oddness. Animal Collective have been announced as headliners at both Primavera Sound and Field Day this Summer. 

Karl Bartos meanwhile, former Kraftwerk member turned solo producer, has released a video for his new track Atomium, takien from a fothcoming album -- Off The Record -- out 18 March. Atomium itself gets a 7" release on 4 Feb. The Kraftwerk influence is of course present in the track, but there's a darker, more industrial feel to the music and visuals. Bartos talks about the inspiration for the album on his website -- read it here.

KARL BARTOS: ATOMIUM – THE FILM from KARL BARTOS

Psych-rock innovators Moon Duo meanwhile have kindly released an English language version of their track Ich Werde Siehen (I Can See). The digital single is available from iTunes. It''s taken from the album Circles, which we gave four stars to back in September. Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada's Guest Selector piece for us is a fascinating ten-track mix as well -- check it out here. 

NEW MUSIC FROM EELS AND WAVVES
Wavves have announced their new album Afraid of Heights, which now available for pre-order, and previewed the first track on their Soundcloud page. Demon To Lean on is a grungy, downbeat slice of pop-punk, from an album that deals with themes of "depression and anxiety" according to the band's Nathan Williams. Pitchfork reports that the finished album features guest appearances from Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley.



Eels meanwhile have made the decision to stream their entire album -- Wonderful, Glorious -- via Soundcloud prior to its release. We gave it four stars in our current issue, confirming old E is still at the top of his game. The band play live at the o2 Academy on 18 March.

ON TOUR: A$AP ROCKY, SMASHING PUMPKINS
Two more big tours to look out for in the coming months -- the first is from Billy Corgan's latest configuration of alternative rock behemoths The Smashing Pumpkins, who will be blowing the doors off the O2 Academy again on 1 July this year. Their last show at the venue didn't disappoint; hopefully they'll pull out the classics from the recently-reissued Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness album alongside cuts from last year's Oceania.

Another tour just announced is that of swagged-up, smoked-out Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky. He plays the O2 Academy on 16 May. Check the video for Peso below.

AT THE DRIVE-IN REISSUES ANNOUNCED
Following news of the fallout between Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, which led to the breakup of The Mars Volta this week, Transgressive Records have announced two deluxe reissues of seminal albums by El Paso mavericks At The Drive-In. The label will reissue Acrobatic Tenement on 25 March, and their Ross Robinson-produced, Iggy Pop duetting swanson LP Relationship of Command a month later, on 25 April, with vinyl copies available on 20 April in time for World Record Store Day. This marks Acrobatic Tenement's first final vinyl pressing.

SQUAREPUSHER ANNOUNCES EPIC LONDON GIG
On 30 March, Squarepusher will bring his unique multimedia Ufabulum experience to the Roundhouse in London. The rhythm-pushing loop destroyer's new lightshow and audiovisual performance has been thrilling crowds since the release of last year's album of the same name, which was generally thought of as a stunning return to form for the electronic pioneer. Support will come from intense bass-merchants The Bug, featuring Flowdan and Daddy Freddie on vocal duties, and Factory Floor, who will be acting as DJs for the night. Tickets for this one-off show are available now.

MICHAEL J. DOLAN ON WOMAN'S HOUR
Comedian Michael J. Dolan wrote an honest, very funny, self-aware confessional piece for us about confronting possible overtones of misogyny in his work. This morning, he was invited on radio 4's Woman's Hour program to discuss the column, his work, and what he has learned from thinking about the way women are represented in stand-up comedy routines. Listen to him being interviewed on BBC iPlayer.